Cryptocoryne - Emerse Substrate for 'Forgiving' Types

Cryptocoryne occupy a diverse range of habitats ranging from estuaries, to hard-water calcium-rich streams, to highly acidic peat swamp forests. Due to this diversity of habitat preference, the substrate requirements of species vary considerably.

Luckily, most of the commonly cultivated species in Australia are not too fussy and will grow in a wide range of substrates. These “forgiving” species include C. beckettii, C. pontederiifolia, C. undulata, C. wendtii and species of the C. xwillisii hybrid complex. Less commonly encountered, but still easy to grow are C. (crispatula var.) albida, some C. cordata types, other C. crispatula varieties like var. balansae and var. kubotae, C. palawanensis (often known as C. pygmaea), C. retrospiralis, C. spiralis varieties and C. usteriana.

In emerse culture, a simple mix of aquarium gravel and a little added clay loam has proven to work well. For species originating in limestone areas (like C. crispatula and C. usteriana), it is helpful to add some limestone chips to the mix. Fertilisation is straightforward if using Osmocote granules. Keep pots in 1cm-2cm of water as we find that higher water levels can cause algae issues on the substrate surface.

You may want to try to grow the acid loving peat swamp species sometime in the future once you have mastered the more “forgiving” types. Some of them can be extremely challenging!