Cryptocoryne Beckettii
Cryptocoryne beckettii
Scientific Name: Cryptocoryne beckettii
Common Name: Crypt Beckettii
Cryptocoryne beckettii is a slow-growing cryptocoryne that grows deep green to brown, slightly wavy foliage. Native to Sri Lanka, this plant inhabits streams and pools, making it highly adaptable to the botanical method, biotope, and blackwater aquarium. Its upright, slow-spreading growth adds contrast in a foreground or midground of other plants like moss, dwarf sag, and ferns, where it develops into clumps over time.
Like most Crypts, it may ‘melt’ at first when adapting to new water parameters. With stable conditions, fresh submerged leaves quickly replace older emersed ones, and the plant will slowly grow into a focal point of your ecosystem. Moderate light helps bring out richer brown tones, while low light encourages a more subdued green. Root tabs or a nutrient-rich substrate support the strongest growth.
Caring for Cryptocoryne beckettii in Blackwater Aquariums
Care Level: Easy; very forgiving once established
Lighting Requirement: Low to medium; moderate light enhances color
CO₂: Not required; benefits from additional CO₂ but remains hardy without it
Growth Rate: Slow and steady
Native Habitat: Sri Lanka; shaded forest streams and pools
Tint Tolerance: Thrives in low–medium tannin levels typical of blackwater aquariums
Tank Placement: Foreground to midground
All Plants may contain snails or snail eggs. We keep them in all of our tanks for the benefits they provide. Our blackwater aquarium plants are provided by H2OPlants in adherence to their Shipping and DOA Policies. Your curated selection will arrive in their packaging separate from your botanical & merch orders.
Cryptocoryne Beckettii
contrast the tint with greenery
While the aesthetic appeal of tinted waters can be quite attractive to us, the recreation of nature—which includes both submerged and emersed plants—is the end goal. Flora helps to improve water conditions, feeding patterns, spawning displays, and territory building.
Aquatic Plant FAQs
DOA Policy
Please ensure that you add a heat pack or cold pack to your orders if temperatures in your area are above 90°F or below 40°F. Click for more info on our DOA Policy.
Are these plants duckweed and snail free?
All Plants may contain snails or snail eggs, small macroinvertebrates, and duckweed. We keep them in all of our tanks for the benefits they provide. We have experienced the presence of small snails, ostracods, daphnia, and beneficial detritus worms.
Are your plants only for tinted water conditions?
Nope! All of our plants will grow perfectly in untinted aquariums that have CO2 and aquasoils, or low-tech planted aquariums. Our selection, though, is optimized for emersed plant growth and low- to medium-tinted water environments.
What is your aquatic plant shipping schedule?
We’re a small company and ship Tuesdays & Thursdays only. Orders placed Wednesday–Sunday → Ship Tuesday. Orders placed Monday–Tuesday → Ship Thursday
Are your plants just for bettas?
Nope. Our aquatic plants are safe for almost all aquariums, terrariums, vivariums, and paludariums. Many of our plants can be grown emersed in filter compartments, vivariums, or incorporated into wabikua.
What are Tannins?
Tannins are natural compounds released by leaves, seed pods, and bark as they decompose in water. They soften water, gently lower pH, and create the characteristic tea-stained tint found in blackwater habitats. But their role goes far beyond color—tannins fuel beneficial bacteria, fungi, and biofilms, which form the foundation of a healthy ecosystem. They also offer mild antifungal benefits and help reduce stress in fish by replicating the natural conditions they’ve evolved in. At their core, tannins are plant-derived antioxidants that connect your aquarium to the same processes at work in wild flooded forests and streams.