Crinum calamistratum
Continent: Central Africa
Region: Western Cameroon
Height: +90cm
Width: 30cm
Light Requirements: High
Temperature: 18-25 °C
Hardness Tolerance: Medium (6dKH)
pH tolerance: 6.5 - 7.5
Growth: Moderate
Demands: Moderate
co2 requirements: Recommended
Crinum calamistratum is a unique plant found in Central Africa in the Western Cameroon region. This is the smallest species of Crinum that can be kept in the aquarium.
The calamistratum has a unique leaf structure. It is long, slender, deeply wrinkled, dark green and will naturally curl and loops as it grows longer. The leaf texture is hard thus most fish would not be about to munch on the leaves. The calamistratum like the natans require high lighting and will benefit from regularly measured co2. Being such a large and unique plant, with aquascaping, the calamistratum should be a feature plant. Being a large grower, the Crinum calamistratum's growing spot should be carefully considers. Constantly moving of this species around the tank should be avoided, as it will damage the huge root system and will eventually stress the plant and may melt away. The calamistratum is a heavy feeder, thus having a high nutrients substrate is recommended. A constant replenishment of root ferts is high recommended. Tempreture of the water must not exceed 30*C, the Crinum will start to melt from the leaves. The cooler the temp the better.
The bulbs of both the Crinum and the Onions (the ones we eat) is very similar. They consists of scale like structures which are formed by the leaves. If you cut open an onion you will see layers of flesh, these are called scales. Basically when trying to propagate the onion bulb you can cut the onion into quarters and new plant-lets will form, but instead of cutting the bulb of the Crinum, you cut the leaf off, making sure you cut most of it off. Once the leaf has been cut you should only have a thin piece of layer on the bulb. Eventually the layer will melt towards the base, and a new plant will form. This method has worked 100% in the past, and many have tried this method.
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