# Cryptocoryne spiralis Dying?



## skysblue (May 26, 2013)

I just got these Cryptocoryne spiralis a week ago, they were really healthy and green, but now they started to brown and have curly brown edges.
I use 13w daylight 6500k cfl, no co2, no fert.
what can i do to keep it alive??


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## LittleBettaFish (Oct 2, 2010)

Could just be crypt melt. Crypts can die back if there is a change in conditions such as going into a new tank.

I recently got some crypts and lost a few leaves. 

Just cut off the dead/dying leaves and once they settle in you should start to see new growth.

Just looking at the picture, that isn't possibly just new growth? I haven't kept this plant before so not sure what normal appearance is and whether perhaps it was emersed grown and is transitioning to submersed form for example.


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## skysblue (May 26, 2013)

LittleBettaFish said:


> Could just be crypt melt. Crypts can die back if there is a change in conditions such as going into a new tank.
> 
> I recently got some crypts and lost a few leaves.
> 
> ...


There wasn't any new growth since i only had it for like a week. the leaves that turned curly brown are the one used to be straight and green:-( and they were kinda the new leaves when i first got it


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## Raye (Feb 5, 2013)

I agree, it's probably crypt melt. Crypts are finicky lil' things and tend to get fussy after being transported from on set of tank conditions to another. They could die down to basically nothing, but they'll bounce back.

Also, maybe look into ferts of some sort. Crypts are easy plants, yes, but they're root feeders and need a source of food. c: Try root tabs. API and Seachem have them from something like 8 to 10 dollars a box, and they last a while if you cut them up (though the seachem ones are hard to break!).


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## LittleBettaFish (Oct 2, 2010)

Yeah if it's not new growth, it's probably just the plants adjusting to their new environment. As Raye has said, they can die back quite a lot and then bounce back. 

I actually found when I used root tabs (mine were the Seachem brand ones) under my crypts from the start, I got a lot less melting going on then when I just stuck the crypt straight into the substrate.


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## skysblue (May 26, 2013)

Then i think my brazilian pennywort is also kinda melting...
would getting root tab benefits all plants or just the root feeders?


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## Raye (Feb 5, 2013)

root tabs benefit root feeders (such as crypst & swords) more-so than stem plants because the nutrients are sort of 'trapped' beneath the substrate. what escapes into the water column will be helpful no doubt, but for stems like your pennywort, you should look into a liquid fertilizer. Seachem Flourish Comprehensive (not excel and not trace) is pretty good.


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## skysblue (May 26, 2013)

Raye said:


> root tabs benefit root feeders (such as crypst & swords) more-so than stem plants because the nutrients are sort of 'trapped' beneath the substrate. what escapes into the water column will be helpful no doubt, but for stems like your pennywort, you should look into a liquid fertilizer. Seachem Flourish Comprehensive (not excel and not trace) is pretty good.


Would that be too much fert if i use both liquid and root tab


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## Raye (Feb 5, 2013)

it shouldn't be. people do it all the time. you'd just have to dose the liquid ferts in accordance to your plant mass. so if you've got just a few stems, dose less. if you've got a jungle, dose more. as for the root tabs, i personally break mine up and distribute them around the tank. and if i recall correctly, root tabs only have to be replaced once every four to eight weeks depending on how small you've cut them up.


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## Aqua Aurora (Oct 4, 2013)

Sounds like crypt melt, if there are still roots leave it be it should grow new adapted leaves in another 2 weeks. I agree that you do not need liquid ferts and soil (though i do use seachem excel (a "liquid co2" supplant) in my soil based tank).


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