Cryptocoryne spiralis Tiger

• 

  Spiralis
• TigerThis page
• Red
• Jwala
• Nari

Care at a glance

Overview

One of the easier patterned plants in the hobby. Plant it in a nutrient-rich substrate with root tabs, in the midground or background where the long ribbon leaves can arch. Moderate light is enough and CO2 is genuinely optional, though growth is slow either way. Expect classic crypt melt after planting or any big change in conditions: the leaves dissolve, then the plant regrows from its roots over a few weeks, so resist the urge to pull it. Once settled it spreads by runners.

In the wild

Tiger is a selected form of Cryptocoryne spiralis, so its habitat story is the parent's: southwest India, where spiralis grows in and along rivers, in marshes and even in rice fields, submersed during the monsoon and often emersed as the waters recede. The Tiger selection itself exists as cultivated stock, distributed largely as tissue culture.

Good to know

Cryptocoryne spiralis, in the family Araceae, is a highly variable species, and Tiger is a trade selection prized for dark banding over olive to reddish-brown, ribbon-like leaves. The species name refers to the spirally twisted spathe of the flower. ADA carries the plant in its tissue culture line, which spread it well beyond specialist collections. Despite the striping it is not Cryptocoryne striolata, a rarer Bornean species; the Tiger in general circulation is a spiralis form.

Did you know

Striped and banded aquarium plants almost all demand high light and CO2 to hold their pattern. This crypt keeps its tiger marks in a plain low-tech tank, a combination almost nothing else with patterned leaves offers.

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