Some
Cryptocoryne are popular commercially cultivated
aquarium plants. Submerged plants
reproduce vegetatively, emerse plants may
flower and reproduce
sexually. Many species are cultivated only by dedicated experts and are very hard to grow, or are not present in a culture at all. Some species are
endangered because their natural habitats are disappearing. On the other hand, some water trumpets (e.g.
Cryptocoryne beckettii) are very hardy aquarium plants, easy to grow to the point that they have become an
invasive species after being introduced in
Florida in
North America. Cryptocoryne is either found in peat bogs or on limestone; the latter do well in most aquaria, the former must have soft water to survive and need decomposing
leaf litter to do well.
C. striolata, while found primarily in
peat bogs, has also been found growing on
limestone.
Borneo is home to many endemic crypts previously thought to grow only in tea-colored soft acid water emulating peat bogs but exploration of habitats from 2005 to 2010 showed about half grew on limestone as well. These hardwater
Cryptocorynes are generally the easier ones to keep (in fact, some species, such as
Cryptocoryne wendtii are said to be among the most versatile of aquarium plants); they tolerate low or bright light but grow faster in more intense light. This water plant's range is around 12 to 33 °C, and slightly alkaline to neutral
pH. Plants of the genus
Cryptocoryne, which range from
India to
New Guinea are found in very diverse conditions. Some are true acid loving plants such as
C. pallidnerva, found in peat bogs in Borneo, while others such as
C. crispatula var. balansae and
C. pontiderifolia are found in streams with limestone beds—hard alkaline water. One species,
C. ciliata is even found in semi-
brackish water in some areas. It is one of the few aquarium plants that tolerates salt concentrations.
Cryptocoryne plants have been in cultivation in the aquarium hobby since the late 18th century, although it was not until the 1960s that more than a handful of species was known and became more common in the hobby. New species still regularly crop up as interest in these plants widens and more collecting expeditions by private parties are carried out. == Crypt melt ==