Emersed Cryptocoryne

How To Grow Aquatic Plants Emersed

Many people have asked me how to start an emersed set up so I thought it’d be best to go ahead and do this write up; please keep in mind I’m in the process of clearing out many of my plants and tanks since I’ll be moving to Australia in early 2015. With that said many of the pictures you will see won’t have as many plants in the tanks as they normally would but this will still give you an idea of how to start an emersed set up for aquatic plants.

My set up consists of a three tier set up, one custom made 33 gallon aquarium on the bottom, three 10 gallon tanks in the middle section, and three 10 gallon tanks on the upper section. I recently removed one of the 10 gallon aquariums from the middle row and took one from the upper row of the stand to complete the middle section again; the upper section of the stand now only consist of two 10 gallon tanks. Every tank of course has a lid on it which consists of two pieces of glass, one that can slide over the other for easy access in and out of the tank; this is an absolute must for growing emersed aquatic plants, especially if you’re going to be in and out of your tanks a lot.

I’ll write how everything is controlled and any tips/tricks through the pictures below:

Here is the 33 gallon custom aquarium on the lowest level of the three tier stand; this tank houses 75% rare cryptocorynes and the rest are anubias and some stem plant species I’m experimenting with under lower light. Every pot in this tank has the same substrate, lighting, and misting schedule since they are all in the same tank, here are the specs :

Lighting – Dual bulb Coralife T5NO fixture with 6700k and rosette bulb, approx. 10 inches above the tank. 10 hour photo period.
Substrate- Cow manure, Sheep Manure, Worm Castings, Natural Red Clay, & Top Soil.
Misting- 20 seconds every 3 hours via Mist King pump.
Plants – Cryptocoryne Cordata Var. Siamensis ‘Blassii’, Cryptocoryne Cordata Var. Siamensis ‘Rosanervig’, Cryptocoryne Cordata Var. Siamensis ‘Thailand Sungai Kolok’, Cryptocoryne Cordata Var. Grabowski ‘1952 Shirley Aquatic’s’ , Cryptocoryne Sp. ‘Flamingo’, Cryptocoryne Moehlmannii ‘Sosak’, Cryptocoryne Purpurea Nothovar Purpurea ‘Kota Tinggi’, Cryptocoryne Nurii ‘Pahang Mutated’, Cryptocoryne sp. Affinis aka Cryptocoryne Haerteliana, Cryptocoryne Cf. Affinis, Anubias Barteri Nana, Anubias Barteri Nana Petite, Anubias Congensis, Alternanthera Reineckii Var. Roseafolia Mini, and Ludwigia Repens.

This is the top level of the stand where originally one emersed and two submersed tanks sat; as you can see I’ve cleared out the emersed tank on the left as well as many of the plants from the submersed tanks. Currently the two submersed tanks are just used for housing smaller fish/fry and any plants before they go into my main display tank in my room or into the grow out tanks. Both submersed tanks are connected to the main air pump while also having HOB filter’s to provide extra filtration for the fish.

The middle level does have three 10 gallon tanks again, I just haven’t taken a new pictures since the tank is still empty anyway. On the left hand side you’ll see an emersed tank which is also connected to the MistKing pump and includes the same substrate as above except the lighting is four T5NO shop lights with two 6700k bulbs and two rosette bulbs for a total of 4 T5 bulbs which sit approx. 6 inches above the tanks. I use these tanks for my higher light plants or any plants in which I’m trying to grow at a faster pace as opposed to the 33 gallon tank where everything in there is grown very slow.

This is where the magic happens in terms of misting and all the power connections; as you can see a food safe 5 gallon bucket filled with R.O.D.I water acts as the reservoir to feed the MistKing pump which is then connected to all the emersed tanks to receive a 20 second misting every 3 hours during the 10 hour lighting period. The air pump is an Active Aqua Commercial Air Pump with 6 outlets, 45 LPM, 713 GPH and surprisingly only 20 watts! I picked this up on Amazon for less than $50 shipped to my house which is a steal considering what you’d pay at the local fish store for a basic air pump that still isn’t as powerful as this one; my only complaint is it’s a bit noisy but I didn’t expect silence for $50 so I’m satisfied. I have two main power stations which control the plant room; they are identical which is why I only took a picture of one but one is for all the lights which is plugged into a timer, while the other one is for everything that always needs to stay on like the air pump, filters, etc.

This last little set up contains two high humidity domes where I normally grow out different Cryptocoryne’s and carpet plants like Glosso or H.C Cuba; the lighting on the first level consist of two 23watt 6700k daylight CFL bulbs. Since the lights can get quite hot I rigged up an old computer fan I found in the garbage to some spare wire’s I had from previous electronic projects and placed this behind the lights blowing the warm air outside of the tent/domes to keep the temperature down. During the night when the lights are off the fan also goes off in order to not cause a drop in temperature.

The second row is used for growing mosses like Singapore Moss, Flame Moss, Riccia, and even H.C Cuba in smaller pots which I was surprised to see grow. I have these plants on the second row under a much lower light; just a cheap Marineland LED that came with my tank when I first bought it.

The most important thing when growing aquatic plants emersed is that you maintain a high humidity inside the tanks or domes that you are using, anywhere between 75-85% is what I’ve found to be best, although some plants may need a higher humidity like if you were to try growing a Crinum species. Another important thing to keep in mind is the water level in the tanks, I’ve found if the water level is too close to the top of your pots and your soil appears to be very wet you’re going to have bad algae problems; I always try to keep my water level 3/4 of the way to the top of the pot, making sure that the top of the soil is damp and firm, not soaked and mushy.

Another thing to keep in mind is how you will mist your plants ? If you have a large number of tanks and grow set ups physically misting them every day can be a pain in the butt; investing in equipment like a MistKing pump will save you time to look after other things and money on wasted water from over misting. Be careful not to mist too often during the day or you will increase your overall water level within a few days and possibly have an algae outbreak on your hand if not looked after in a timely manner.

Here is a full list of all the plants I have inside all the tanks:

Stem Plants
Ammania Sp. ‘Bonsai’ True Rotala Indica
Alternanthera Reineckii Var. Roseafolia Mini
Ludwigia Repens
Bacopa Monnieri
Rotala Rotundifolia
Rotala Macaranda
Staurogyne Repens
Hygrophilia Polysperma ‘Rosanervig’ – ‘Sunset Hygro’
Pogostemon Helferi ‘Downoi’
Pogostemon Erectus

Rooted Plants
Cryptocoryne Cordata Var. Siamensis ‘Blassii’
Cryptocoryne Cordata Var. Siamensis ‘Rosanervig’
Cryptocoryne Cordata Var. Siamensis ‘Thailand Sungai Kolok’
Cryptocoryne Cordata Var. Grabowski ‘1952 Shirley Aquatic’s’
Cryptocoryne Moehlmannii ‘Sosak’
Cryptocoryne Purpurea Nothovar Purpurea ‘Kota Tinggi’
Cryptocoryne Crispatula Var. Tonkinensis
Cryptocoryne Sp. Affinis AKA. Cryptocoryne Haerteliana
Cryptocoryne Cf. Affinis
Cryptocoryne Lucens
Cryptocoryne Aponogetifolia ‘Sorsogon’
Cryptocoryne Nevillii
Cryptocoryne Wendtii ‘Brown’
Cryptocoryne Wendtii ‘Green’
Cryptocoryne Wendtii ‘Green Gecko’
Cryptocoryne Wendtii ‘Mi Oya’
Cryptocoryne Wendtii ‘Tropica’
Cryptocoryne Wendtii Sp. ‘Flamingo’
Cryptocoryne Nurii ‘Pahang Mutated’
Cryptocoryne Pontederiifolia
Cryptocoryne Retrospiralis
Hemianthus Callitrichoides “Dwarf Baby Tears”
Sagittaria Subulata – ‘Dwarf Sagittaria’
Echinodorus Tenellus ‘Micro’
Echinodorus Amazonicus
Vallisneria Americana
Glossostigma Elatinoides
Lilaeopsis Brasiliensis ‘Micro Sword’
Marsilea Crenata

Floaters/Mosses Etc.
Riccia Fluitans – Crystalwort
Riccardia Chamedryfolia – Mini Pellia
Monosolenium Tenerum – Pellia
Vesicularia Dubyana – Singapore Moss
Vesicularia Montagnei – Christmas Moss
Limnobium Laevigatum- Amazon Frogbit
Lemnoideae – Duckweed
Spirodela Polyrrhiza – Giant Duckweed
Taxiphyllum Sp. ‘Flame Moss’
Subwassertang
Fissidens Fontanus ‘Phoenix Moss’
Eichhornia Crassipes ‘Water Hyacinth’

Rhizome Plants
Anubias Barteri
Anubias Barteri Var. Nana
Anubias Barteri Var. Nana Petite
Anubias Barteri Var. Congensis
Anubias Lanceolata
Anubias Frazeri
Bolbitis Heudelotii
Microsorum Pteropus ‘Narrow Leaf’
Microsorum Pteropus ‘Trident’
Microsorum Pteropus ‘Windelov’

Bulb Plants
Nymphaea Lotus ‘Red’
Nymphaea Caerulea
Barclaya Longifolia ‘Green’
Crinum Calamistratum

Floaters
Giant Duckweed
Amazon Frogbit

If anyone ever has any questions, comments or needs help feel free to e-mail me or comment below and I’ll be sure to reply.

Cryptocoryne Cf. Affinis

I originally purchased this plant as Cryptocoryne Cf. Affinis and to my understanding the .Cf is used when the species is undefined/unknown. I’ve had this plant growing in emersed conditions ever since I got it and it’s displayed a wide variety of colours for me in the time I’ve had it as you’ll see in the pictures below.

I hope one day this plant will send up a spathe so I can hopefully ID it but it’s still gorgeous nevertheless

As always here are the conditions in which it’s kept

Lighting- Coralife T5NO Dual Bulb – 6700k and rosette bulb – Lights are on for 10 hours.
PH- 7.5
Substrate- Homemade substrate mix, cow manure, sheep manure, worm castings, natural red clay, and cheap topsoil.

Cryptocoryne Wendtii ‘Mi Oya’ Spathe Update 6

This plant has been consistently producing spathes for literally almost 3 months straight now; it’s almost as if it is begging to be pollinated. I decided to cut this one open in order to get a shot of the inside kettle and limb.

If you look closely you will notice a spathe on the left that I’ve cut open and a spathe on the right which is forming; as I’ve said this plant is CONSTANTLY sending up spathe’s for me.

Cryptocoryne X Purpurea Ridley Nothovar. Purpurea ‘Kota Tingga’

This is by far probably the rarest Cryptocoryne I own, especially considering they have completely destroyed it’s natural habitat due to palm oil plantations being put up. I really hope I can grow this one and propagate it so it can be spread to fellow hobbyists; here is a link for further information and pictures of the plant :

http://images.aquaria.net/plants/Cryptocoryne/p/PUR/PUR/Kota_Tingga/
http://crypts.home.xs4all.nl/Cryptocoryne/Gallery/pur/pur.html

Since I literally just got this plant it still needs to adjust to it’s new conditions, I’ll be keeping it in my emersed tank like many other Cryptocoryne’s I own.

Cryptocoryne Cordata Var. Grabowski ‘1952 Shirley Aquatics’ AKA ‘Charlie Drew’s Giant Red Crypt’

Before I begin this post I just wanted to apologize for the lack of posting; I’ve been swamped lately with preparing for school as I’ll be moving to Australia in 2015.

Cryptocoryne Cordata Var. Grabowski ‘1952 Shirley Aquatics’ AKA ‘Charlie Drew’s Giant Red Crypt’ is a beautiful Cryptocoryne that can get extremely large like most Cordata’s do; hense it’s name “Giant Red Crypt” however it’s been known to get as large as 2ft tall. This is a Cryptocoryne that is extremely hard to come by now a day and has quite a history and was originally sold under the name “giant red crypt, crypt grandees” in the 1950’s; for anyone looking to read into it’s past here’s a link to the Tropical Fish Hobbyish February 2009 issue where Charlie Drew’s Cryptocoryne Cordata Var. Grabowski ‘1952 Shirley Aquatics’ was on display : http://www.tfhdigital.com/tfh/200902?pg=111#pg111

Now lets get into how I’ve been keeping this plant; I originally tried it in submersed conditions under low light with a PH of 6.5 when the CO2 is on and 7.5 when the CO2 is off. The growth was EXTREMELY slow and almost painful so I decided to take it out and give it a try emersed as I was having success with other Cordata species in the emersed state.

I went ahead and potted the plant in my homemade substrate as mentioned in many other previous posts and placed it in my low light emersed tank, specific details will be listed below:

Lighting – Coralife T5NO dual bulb with 6700k and rosette bulb on for 10hours a day, the fixture is raised roughly 12-15 inches above the tank.
PH- 7.5
Substrate- Cow manure, sheep manure, worm castings, natural red clay, and cheap topsoil.

As you’ll see in the pictures below this plant has really begun to display dark veins as it matures; as well as it’s daughter plants showing a deep red.

All the pictures are in order from newest to oldest so you can get an idea of how the veining will display as it matures.

Cryptocoryne Cordata Var. Siamensis ‘Rosanervig’ Emersed

In the past 6 months I’ve had my Cryptocoryne Cordata ‘Rosanervig’ send 8 runners which has allowed me to experiment with it’s growing conditions. Up to date I’ve kept this plant submersed in medium light with CO2, E.I dosing and a very nutrient rich substrate but because of the excess amount of plants I have I decided to try some emersed in low light.

Most of the plants are still adapting to emersed conditions but it’s interesting to see the different leaf formations/patterns all within one plant; it’s easy to see now how this plant can be mistaken for another if grown improperly. I personally do not have a large enough tank at the moment to keep this plant under it’s proper conditions which is why I have it under medium light & it isn’t displaying it’s veins.

From my previous research and experimentation with this plant I’ve found that keeping it light conditions under 20-30 PAR really bring out the veins, to increase the pink coloration I’ve found it to be a matter of increasing phosphates, contradictory to other experts advice.

Enjoy the pictures, and as you will see in them the Cryptocoryne Cordata ‘Rosanervig’ is truly a beautiful plant when it’s veins are displayed.

As you can see I have many to experiment with in emersed conditions 🙂

TorontoPlantMan
Kirk Gibson

Cryptocoryne Wendtii ‘Mi Oya’ Spathe Update 4

Here is the progress of the spathe forming on my Cryptocoryne Wendtii ‘Mi Oya’, if you look closely there is actually two spathes forming. I was surprised to see this plant flower again right after it just finished flowering, let alone send two spathes up this time, hopefully I can fertilize the plant & get a seed pod; it is my ultimate goal to try and grow a Cryptocoryne from Seed.

I will update with more pictures as the second spathe isn’t large enough yet for me to properly focus on with just a little point and shoot.

Cryptocoryne Wendtii ‘Mi Oya’ Spathe Update 3

I’ve been quite busy lately which would explain my lack of posting but to fill everyone in, the Wendtii ‘Mi Oya’ Spathe in update 2 is the spathe fully opened. I imagined that the spathe would have opened more but sadly that is as far as it got; about 2-3 days after the spathe began to melt from the bottom up and eventually just fell over.

Here we are now about 3 weeks later and to my surprise the Wendtii ‘Mi Oya’ is beginning to develop another spathe!! I will continue to post pictures as it develops again.

Cryptocoryne Wendtii ‘Mi Oya’ Spathe Update 2

It’s been approximately one month and two days since I first saw the Spathe developing on my Cryptocoryne Wendtii ‘Mi Oya’ & this morning it finally partially opened. I watched it every hour for the entire day and it didn’t appear to open any further so hopefully by the morning it will be fully open. I at least now know a rough time frame of how long it takes for the spathe to fully develop and open so I can now properly plan when to take pictures in the future.

The next update will show the spathe fully open, stay tuned!

Cryptocoryne Wendtii ‘Mi Oya’ Spathe Update 1

The spathe on my Cryptocoryne Wendtii ‘Mi Oya’ is finally what looks to be fully developed, so hopefully the spathe will open fairly soon. I have yet to fully understand what it takes to make Cryptocoryne’s flower but if I took an educated guess at it based on my research I would say it has to do with the amount of time the plant itself sits in the pot & the lighting duration. I normally keep my lights on for 12 hours a day but once I cut it back to 9 hours a day the plant begun to produce a spathe; this plant has also been in the same pot for just under a year now without being moved/transferred.