Crypt Wendtii Green (Cryptocoryne wendtii 'Green') - Potted

Crypt Wendtii Green (Cryptocoryne wendtii 'Green') is the workhorse midground plant of the low-tech planted tank. Narrow, wavy-edged green blades rise from a compact crown, and once the roots take hold it spreads quietly by runners into a clump that needs almost nothing from you. It handles soft acidic blackwater and hard alkaline tap water equally well, which is why it ends up in more beginner tanks than any other crypt. Browse the rest of our live freshwater plants.

Sold as a nursery pot in rock wool. Endemic to Sri Lanka, and one of the easiest plants in the hobby once it settles in.

Care Guide

Why Crypt Wendtii Green

• Grows in almost any water. Soft or hard, acidic or alkaline, it adapts. Very few plants are this indifferent to parameters.
• No CO2, no special light. A basic LED and a root tab are the whole equipment list.
• Fills in by itself. Runners send up daughter plants around the parent, so one pot becomes a stand over a season.
• Shade tolerant. It is one of the few midground plants that keeps growing tucked under driftwood or behind taller stems.
• Safe with everything. Fish, shrimp, and snails all leave the tough leaves alone.

How to Plant

1. Slip the plant out of the pot and rinse all of the rock wool off the roots. Buried wool rots and can foul the substrate.
2. Separate the mass into individual crowns if it came as more than one plant.
3. Bury the roots and keep the crown sitting just above the substrate. A buried crown is the most common way to lose a crypt.
4. Slide a root tab in near the roots. Crypts feed mostly through their roots rather than the water column.
5. Then leave it alone. Crypts hate being moved, and every relocation buys you another round of melt.

Recommended Pairings

• Aquarium Co-Op Easy Root Tabs, the one supplement a crypt genuinely wants.
• CaribSea Eco-Complete, a nutrient-rich substrate for root feeders.
• Cryptocoryne wendtii 'Bronze', the same plant in coppery red for contrast in the same bed.
• Crypt Parva in front and Anubias Nana on the hardscape beside it.
• More freshwater plants and water care for the rest of the scape.

FAQ

My crypt melted a week after planting. Did I do something wrong?
No. Crypt melt is a normal response to a change in water chemistry, and wendtii does it more visibly than most. The rhizome and roots survive. Trim the mush, keep conditions steady, and new leaves push out in two to four weeks.

Do I need CO2 or high light?
No to both. This is the classic low-tech crypt. Extra light mainly makes it shorter and darker rather than faster.

How is 'Green' different from 'Bronze' or 'Red'?
Same species, different color forms. Green stays a plain wavy green, Bronze goes coppery brown, Red pushes toward burgundy under stronger light. Care is identical across all three.

Can I move it once it is established?
You can, but expect it to melt back and rebuild. Pick the spot before you plant.

Will it take over the tank?
Not aggressively. It spreads by short runners into a clump roughly 6 to 10 inches across. Unwanted daughter plants pull out easily.