Is this algae on my crypts or nutrient deficiency?

[sciencefiction]

It probably will. Just don't forget to lift the stones up when cleaning up the substrate as mulm tends to collect underneath. I have a hillstream tank full of stones and it gets manky underneath. When you see the crypts are spreading, it means they've grown long enough roots.

 

[cozmoz]

Thanks. I was thinking that would be the case. Hopefully it should be okay to remove them in a month or two. Being two inch fish they hopefully won’t be able to move too many of them.

 

[sciencefiction]

I haven't kept the fish you'll be keeping but I've kept predominantly bottom dwellers and none can uproot crypts, not even the big common pleco I had.

 

[cozmoz]

To be honest, I’m surprised a Pleco didn’t kill them off by whacking into the rhizomes.

 

[sciencefiction]

To be honest, I’m surprised a Pleco didn’t kill them off by whacking into the rhizomes.

He didn't and that was on sand substrate. However, as a matter of fact he was quite a gentle swimmer taking care to swim around the plants and not through them, unlike what you'd expect of a fish his size so maybe not the great example 🙂

I have a crypt only tank which I once decided to re-scape. When I started pulling out all the crypts, the root systems were as long as the tank length. As I lifted up the crypts, the entire sand layer was being lifted like a sheet.

 

[cozmoz]

The same thing happened with my tank when I had to tear it down while moving home. It was like pulling up weeds. Sounds like a lovely fish btw.