Re: Crypt meltdown and getting green water

To: Aquatic-Plants at actwin_com
Subject: Re: Crypt meltdown and getting green water
From: krombhol at felix_TECLink.Net (Paul Krombholz)
Date: Tue, 9 Jan 1996 19:20:04 -0600
>From: Stephen Halderman <sthalder at eastman_com>
>Date: Mon, 8 Jan 96 08:35:58 CST
>Subject: Crypts
>
>I just received a shipment of 1 crypt willisi, and 2 crypt wendti from TFP.
>They looked pretty good out of the box, but as soon as I planted them in my
>tank, the leaves began dropping off.
>
>My question is, is this natural for crypts to loose their leaves upon
>replanting?
>Also, will they grow back, eventhough they have no leaves left?
>
>My tank is a 42 gallon hex with 2 angels, 4 corys, and on Otto.
>Gh = 4 degrees
>Kh = 2 degrees
>Ph = 6.8
>Lighting provided by a wonderlite (full spectrum)
>Substrate is vermiculite mixed with sandy soil, and one inch of aquarium
>gravel
>on top of the verm/soil mix.
>Fertilized by plant tabs in the root system, and tetra blackwater extract.
>
>P.S. the Amazon swords and Vallisneria I received at the same time from TFP
>looked great and are doing great in the same setup.  Is it just a problem with
>the crypts?
>

Crypts often lose some or most of their leaves when conditions change. I
have seen this so-called meltdown or 'Crypt disease' when I have put fish
in a tank with crypts that previously had no fish.  I have also seen it
when plants grown under low nitrogen and phosphorous availability have been
given high N and P.  I have also seen it when plants grown under low light
and low CO2 have been given a lot of CO2, but no more light.  When I gave
the plants high CO2 plus high light, there was much less meltdown and much
quicker recovery.  My crypts have always recovered from meltdown.  They
apparently have food reserves in their rhizomes.  Meltdown does not usually
mean that the conditions are bad for crypts.  They usually recover and do
fine if the conditions causing the meltdown are maintained.

Good luck!

>
>------------------------------
>
>From: wjhamlin at hydro_mb.ca (bill hamlin)
>Date: Mon, 08 Jan 1996 08:39:22 -0800
>Subject: Re: High intensity lights - question
>
>>From: sywang at whale_st.usm.edu (Shiao Y. Wang)
>>Date: Fri, 5 Jan 1996 13:12:31 -0600 (CST)
>>I'm trying to do something opposite of what we usually try to do - I'm
>>trying to grow algae. I have a setup to grow phytoplankton (suspended algae
>>essentially) to feed diaphnia and fairy shrimp. I'd like to have more intense
>>lighting for the phytoplankton.
>
>Is more intense light really needed to grow algae or just longer hours?
>
>For my daphnia culture have a plastic garbage pail with a 100 W bulb mounted
>in the lid.  I fertilize with a little garden fertilizer and leave the light
>on all the time.  There is plenty of green algae growing on the sides and
>surface and lots of daphnia.
>
>I would love to get the green water, suspended algae.  I guess I have to
>wait for spring to get a wild culture.
>
>Bill Hamlin, P.Eng.

I have always been able to get green water with a 15 gallon tank full of
guppies and two or three 24" fluorescent lights.  It never fails as long as
the tank isn't absolutely packed with plants.  You can't expect to produce
green water in the tank with the Daphnia.  Make it in a tank with fish, and
then move it to the Daphnia tank.

When you say you would love to get some green water, it sounds to me like
someone saying he would love to find some mosquitoes or blackflies in
Canada in June.  How do you *not* get green water?
----------------------------

Paul Krombholz                  Tougaloo College, Tougaloo, MS  39174