Substrate comparision so far…
April 15th, 2008
In the almost 1 year now, that I’ve been keeping crypts emeresed, I’ve tried out several different substrate mixtures.
Mix #1
Leaf Compost + Aquasoil
This is my most successful mix to date for both blackwater and freshwater crypts. It consists of leaf compost + Amazonia Aquasoil in a 3/5 ratio and most plants in this mix have done really well!
Mix #2
Leaf Compost + Aquasoil + Fagus leaves
I tried this mix out on a few crypts that were not doing so well in Mix @#1 – namely C. pallidenerva. Unfortunatly, the plant didn’t like this mix either. Its still alive, but just barely. In addition, this mix doesnt seem to be as stable and attracts algae like no other. Maybe due to something the leaves are leeching?
More later..time for breakfast.
Hey man, you are a lucky one, in my first year I lost the most of my collection… Only after few years spending and spending money to get new plants I started to get some success.
The fact is soil is the secret…
Its definitly all about the soil for some species. The easier ones, like wendtii, parva etc, grow well in rockwool too. The local aquatic nurseries tissue culture these common crypts and grow them out to nice large sizes in rockwool medium. I’ll try and dig some pictures out from one of my visits. Crypts regularly flower there and even have fruit.
Ok, so can you define “leaf compost” for me? Is it the obvious, or do you have a recomended way of getting the right leaf compost?
The new crypts are doing well, and I’d like to keep them that way!
Leaf compost is basically decomposed leaf litter. High in organics, its powdery, black and composed of 100% decomposed leaves. In MD, VA you should be able to find it under the commerical name ‘LeafGro’ at our local nursery. A large bag will be $5 or so.