Leaf colourgreen, red
Native range
- Bangladesh
- India
rosette background midground specimen Conservation status: LC
A crypt with long, narrow, slightly twisted leaves that sway like ribbons in the current. It grows tall enough for a background, which is unusual in this genus.
- Light
- medium
- Difficulty
- medium
- Height
- 20 – 35 cm
- Temperature
- 20 – 30 °C
Parameters
Plant typerosette
Growth ratemedium
CO₂ demandmedium
Tolerates lightlow – high
Carbonate hardness2 – 20 °dKH
Placementbackground, midground +1
Propagationdivision, daughter plants +2
Grows emersedyes
Appearance
Upright leaves 1–1.5 cm wide and 20–35 cm long with softly waved edges; some forms are green, others reddish. A mature clump looks like a stand of narrow reeds.
Keeping
Moderate demands: decent light and a nutritious substrate bring out the colour and size, though the plant survives with less. Like other crypts it dislikes being moved and may shed its leaves after planting — leave the roots and it grows back.
Placement
The back of the tank or a single clump as a centrepiece. The narrow leaves cast little shade, so plants in front of it keep their light.
Propagation
By runners: young rosettes appear beside the parent. Separate them once they have several leaves of their own.
Fish and this plant
Water conditions match
The water suits 1014 of 1249 species in the catalogue — these are the ones people look up most often.
Swordtail GuppiesCobra GuppyBlood Red MollyButterflyfishRed Zebra CichlidJulii CorydorasRed-finned ParotocinclusGastromyzon monticolaEgg-shaped GoldfishFlame TetraGardner's KillifishAfrican TetraKenyi CichlidCuckoo CatfishGolden SwordtailHypsolebias picturatusCommon ZaccoLabeo BicolorGambusiaFlying barbGastromyzon scitulusAlbino Zebra DanioGeophagus BrokopondoZebra Mbuna
Will eat this plant
These species damage plants, especially when their diet is short of vegetable food.
Bengal LoachZebra LoachBurmese Border LoachEmperor BotiaMarbled HeadstanderPellegrin's LeporinusLeporinus striatusFalse Black TetraCommon MetynnisMylossoma duriventreRed Whiptail CatfishMolly sphenopsBalloon MollyLyretail MollyMarble MollyHi-Fin PlatyHawaii PlatyBlue PlatyPintail PlatyBlack PlatyChocolate MollyMoonlight GouramiMelanotaenia parva
Will uproot it
These species dig through the substrate and pull rooted plants out.
Marble LoachPeacock EelForktail LoachGuntea LoachLong-nosed LoachHorseface LoachPearlscaleBlack Moor GoldfishShubunkinPainted PlecoFeatherfin SynodontisReddish Mystus CatfishBlue AcaraAulonocara maylandiAulonocara multicolorAulonocara OrchidGeophagus altifronsGeophagus winemilleriPearlscale CichlidPearl CichlidRedbelly CichlidRed-spotted CichlidChuco godmanniHaplochromis philanderRed ChromideJack Dempsey cichlid
Cultivars
The same plant with a different look: light, water and care are shared with the species.
Other varieties: Cryptocoryne spiralis 'Red', Cryptocoryne spiralis Cooksche Form, Cryptocoryne Spiralis 'Nari', Cryptocoryne Spiralis 'Jwala', Cryptocoryne spiralis ''Shola Forest'', Cryptocoryne spiralis ''Shola'', Cryptocoryne sp. ''Shola''