why can't i grow crypts?

[cichlidlover]

hi folk,
could anyone tell me why my crypts don't do well in my tank?
the tanks been set up over a year and things like my African lilly do really well but my crypts just grow a while then the leafs just get holes all over them and decay, thought they were supposed to be robust! my 125ltr tank 40 watts of lighting ( one glo-flora and one glo-life tubes) i dose 5mill of easycarbo every day and 15mill of profito once a week. once a week i do a thirty litre water change once a week, my ph is 6.8/7 and kh/gh is around 6/8. i have a tetra substrate under 4cm of fine quartz gravel and also JBL 7 balls around the plants.
just don't understand why i can grow thinks like lilly and runcus and yet these so called simple plants give me grief
any ideas?
thanks
mark

 

[Dolly Sprint 16v]

hi folk,
could anyone tell me why my crypts don't do well in my tank?
the tanks been set up over a year and things like my African lilly do really well but my crypts just grow a while then the leafs just get holes all over them and decay, thought they were supposed to be robust! my 125ltr tank 40 watts of lighting ( one glo-flora and one glo-life tubes) i dose 5mill of easycarbo every day and 15mill of profito once a week. once a week i do a thirty litre water change once a week, my ph is 6.8/7 and kh/gh is around 6/8. i have a tetra substrate under 4cm of fine quartz gravel and also JBL 7 balls around the plants.
just don't understand why i can grow thinks like lilly and runcus and yet these so called simple plants give me grief
any ideas?
thanks
mark

Hi Mark

After reading your thread I have noticed that you are not adding any nitrogen, as for you profito you should be adding this daily not weekly, it is likely that your lilies are comsume all the fertz and the poor old crypt's are left with nothing that probably why they are struggling. As you are using Easylife fertz buy some easylife nitro and dose daily, split the weekly profito dosing up into daily dosage, easycarbo leave as it is - this should ease the problem, any holey leafs on the crypt's pinch them out at the roots.

Oh just remembered - you havn't stated whether you are adding any co2, injected co2 will always help as there is a lack of this within the water column.

Regards
paul

 

[cichlidlover]

hi paul,
i have never bothered with adding no3 as the tank is heavily stocked and after the weekly water change it reads between 10 and 15ppm nitrate anyway. i have never bothered with co2 injection as the tank is supposed to be low maintenance.
you could be right about the nimphaea lotus as it does dominate a bit ( i am quite proud of how well i have done with it)
I was told that i was taking to much water out at each change and it would halter the chemistry, but i have tested the water before and after a change and there is not much difference ( I know the water board alter the ph a little but this go's back too normal in a few hours anyway)
thanks paul.

 

[Iliveinazoo]

Could they just be old leaves? or maybe the substrate around them is being disturbed?

I've noticed that my crypt wendtii's grow quite small in the heavily lit areas but if they are shaded they will grow as tall as they need to reach the light.