I have a few potted Cryptocoryne undulata, coming this next week

[Magnum Man]

I intend to put them in a couple small stump pots I have… anyone growing these??? I have some small river gravel , that I could plant them in, in the pots, or do I need some soil in the pot, capped with the river gravel??? this will be my 1st crypts…

 

[Back in the fold]

Don’t use soil . It’s messy and never works out . It’s also a fad that is due to die out . There are plenty of good aquatic substrates that a guy can buy now these days that are pretty good . Either that or plain sand with a fertilizer tab . I’m not for sure positive about this but Cryptocoryne’s are supposed to be fussy about conditions and fizzle out if too big a changes are made . Many moons ago I grew underwater plants in small clay pots with my special blend of Schultz Aquatic Soil with gravel over the top . It worked great . I could move them around without disturbing the roots and it got the plant up a hair closer to the light . One of my plants was Cryptocoryne wendtii and I had it for several years before it succumbed to the dreaded Cryptocoryne wilt .

 

[TwoTankAmin]

I have been doing plants in my tanks which are planted in an assortment of different size clay pots. All of then use a small size gravel. Some of this gravel has laterite mixed in with it but more of my pots do not. I also use my gravel ferts in the pots. I have sued Jobes plant spikes for this for years. My first choice are the one for lush Ferns and Palms, This come in a houseplant version. These used to be sold mostly in the south when I began using them but now are all over. When I could not find the fern and palm ones i would use the houseplant ones. But the fern and palm oines have the best mix for tank use.

There are two good reasons to use this fert and one warning. The spikes are easy to cut to size. This make is easy to change the dosing, It also makes it possible to cut smaller pieces to use in my potted plants. They are also much cheaper than typical aquarium substrate ferts. The spikes are slow release and U usually add them about every 3 months or so. The warning is that when used in normal substrate they are not good for people who like to change their plants with some regularity.

The reason for this id that if you uproot them and they get into the water column you will earn your MBA- Mastered By Algae. The odds are you have never have seen that amount of algae in your tank, it goes nuts.