TankBud

One species · 9 forms

Cryptocoryne wendtii

Also known as Crypt wendtii, Wendt's water trumpet

FreshwaterBrackishRosetteRunners

Cryptocoryne wendtii (Cryptocoryne wendtii)
Haplochromis · CC BY 2.5

Care at a glance

Light
Low light
CO2
No CO₂ needed
Temperature
72–82°F
22–28°C
Max height
9.8 in
25 cm
Growth rate
Medium
Placement
Midground
Type
Rosette
pH
6.0–7.5
Hardness
3–12 dGH
Spread
7.9 in (20 cm)
Nutrient uptake
Root + water column
Growth region
Submersed or emersed
Difficulty
Beginner
Family
Araceae
Origin
Sri Lanka

Pick a form

one species, many colors

Classic forms · any low-tech tank

High-color forms · brighter light, steady feeding

What the high-color forms ask for

Classic formsHigh-color forms
LightLow lightMedium light
CO2No CO₂ neededCO₂ beneficial
Colorgreens, browns and redspink, copper and marbled

Same species, same roots. The pale and pink leaves simply carry less chlorophyll, so those lines grow slower and want brighter light and steady nutrients to hold their color. Flamingo is the slowest and touchiest of the three.

One species, many looks

Wild wendtii varies from stream to stream in Sri Lanka, and nurseries stabilized the best-looking populations into the named lines sold today. The same plant also changes with its tank: stronger light pulls the ruffle tighter and the color darker, so your green wendtii may not match the shop's, and both are normal.

Crypt melt is a phase

Move a crypt and it often drops every leaf within days. The roots stay alive, and new leaves suited to the new conditions follow within a few weeks. Plant it, resist the urge to dig it back up, and feed the substrate; wendtii forgives almost everything except constant replanting.

The pink forms play by harder rules

Florida Sunset, Sindoor and especially Flamingo carry so little green tissue that they run at half speed. They need brighter light than the classic forms, steady root feeding, and patience measured in months. Flamingo, a tissue-culture line famous for its bubblegum pink, is the slowest crypt most keepers will ever own.

Overview

A bulletproof low-light midground rosette and one of the best beginner crypts. Plant individual rosettes in rich substrate with the crown above the soil and use root tabs, since it feeds from both roots and water column. CO2 is not needed, but stable parameters are: nearly every newly planted crypt goes through 'crypt melt' where old leaves turn to mush, so do not pull the plant, just trim the slime and wait two to four weeks for new tank-adapted leaves. Avoid sudden swings in water chemistry, which is the usual trigger for melt.

In the wild

Endemic to Sri Lanka, where it grows along shaded freshwater streams and rivers under the forest canopy. It lives an amphibious life, submersed when water is high and emersed along the banks when levels drop, which is why it tolerates such a wide range of tank conditions.

Good to know

A water trumpet in the arum family (Araceae), so its 'flower' is a spathe and spadix like a peace lily rather than a true bloom. It grows as a rosette from a crown and spreads by underground runners that send up new plants nearby. Leaf color and shape are highly plastic, ranging from green to brown, bronze, olive, or red depending on the cultivar, light, and water chemistry, which has produced many trade varieties (Green, Brown, Red, Tropica, Mi Oya).

Did you know

Cryptocoryne wendtii is famous for crypt melt: move it or change its conditions and it can drop nearly every leaf, then regrow from the rooted crown within a few weeks. The roots survive the meltdown, so a plant that looks dead is almost always just resetting.

Common questions

Why did my crypt melt when I planted it?

Transplant melt is normal for the whole genus. The roots survive; new leaves grown for your tank's conditions appear within weeks. Do not pull the plant out.

Do wendtii crypts need CO2?

The classic forms do not; root tabs help far more. The pink forms appreciate CO2, though they survive without it, just more slowly.

Which wendtii is best for a first planted tank?

Green, brown or red. They are equally tough; pick the color you like. Save Flamingo for when a slow, expensive plant will not test your patience.

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