Want a plant your fish won't destroy? Crinum calamistratum is one of the very few aquarium plants that large, plant-eating fish generally leave alone — and it happens to be beautiful, growing narrow, deeply corkscrewed dark green leaves from a bulb into a flowing centerpiece.
What You’ll Receive
Available in the following options:
- Loose Bare-root Plants (Normal Size): 1 healthy, loose bare-root Crinum Calamistratum of normal size
- Potted Plants (Normal Size): 1 normal-sized Crinum Calamistratum potted with rockwool and net pot
- Loose Bare-root Plants (Larger Size): 1 larger, mature bare-root Crinum Calamistratum with more developed foliage and bulb
- Potted Plants (Larger Size): 1 larger Crinum Calamistratum potted with rockwool and net pot
Plant Profile
- Common name — African Onion Plant, also known as Crinum Lily
- Scientific name — Crinum calamistratum
- Also known as — Crinum Lily, Onion Plant
- Origin — Central Africa
- Placement — Background or centerpiece
- Shipped size — Bulb with foliage; well short of mature height
- Mature height — 12–24 in
- Suits — 29 gallons and up
- Growth rate — Slow
Care
- Difficulty — Beginner
- Light — Low to medium
- CO₂ — Not required
- Water — 72–82°F · pH 6.5–7.5
- Substrate — Required. Root feeder — nutrient substrate or root tabs
- Growth habit — Fully aquatic. Cannot be grown emersed
- Propagation — Bulb offsets
Grower’s Notes
- Fish generally leave it alone. Crinum foliage is tough and unpalatable, which makes this one of the few realistic plants for cichlid tanks, goldfish tanks and anywhere else that shreds normal planting.
- Bury the roots, not the whole bulb. Plant so roughly the top third of the bulb stays above the substrate line. Fully buried bulbs rot, which is the usual way Crinum is lost.
- Be patient. It is slow to establish and may sit for weeks doing nothing, then grow steadily for years. It is a long-term plant, not a quick fill.
- Don't move it once planted. Crinum resents disturbance and sulks after relocation, sometimes for months.
- Occasional leaf melt or temporary dormancy during the transition is normal. Keep the bulb if it is firm.
Want to go deeper? Read our guide to the Best Background Plants for Your Planted Aquarium.
Notes
- Crinum Calamistratum may take time to adjust to new environments. Occasional leaf melting or temporary dormancy is normal during the transition phase. Be patient — new growth will appear as the plant acclimates.
- Never release aquarium plants into natural waterways.
Shipping Policy
At Aquarium Plants Factory, we carefully package and ship all orders to ensure plants and livestock arrive healthy and ready to thrive.
Order Processing Time
Most orders are processed within 1–2 business days after payment is received.
Orders placed on weekends or holidays will be processed on the next business day.
Orders containing out-of-stock, pre-order, or backorder items may require additional handling time.
Once your order ships, tracking information will be sent to your email.
Shipping Schedule
Live Plants
Live plant orders ship Monday through Saturday when using United States Postal Service (USPS).
Most plant-only orders ship within 1–3 business days, excluding products that are out of stock, pre-order, or backorder.
Estimated USPS delivery time is 2–5 business days, depending on your location.
UPS Express Shipping
We offer the following UPS expedited shipping options:
UPS 2-Day Air®
Estimated delivery: 2 business days
Please note that UPS 2-Day Air® is not a guaranteed service in the event of carrier delays, weather disruptions, or operational issues.
UPS Next Day Air®
Estimated delivery: 1 business day
This service is guaranteed by UPS according to their service guarantee policies.
UPS expedited orders ship Monday through Wednesday only to ensure packages arrive within the same week and avoid weekend delays.
Please note that orders require 1–2 business days of handling time before shipment.
To help ensure same-week delivery, please place UPS orders on or before Tuesday at 6:00 AM Pacific Time (PT).
Live Animals Shipping
Live animal orders ship Monday through Wednesday only.
This schedule ensures animals arrive within the same week and do not remain in transit over the weekend.
Handling time for live animal orders typically ranges from 1–5 business days, depending on:
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Weather conditions
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Livestock health
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Shipping destination
Tracking information will be emailed once the order has been shipped.
Free Shipping
We offer Free Shipping on eligible orders over $150 within the contiguous United States.
Estimated delivery time for free shipping orders is 2–5 business days.
If your order contains both live plants and live animals, the shipment may be combined and the appropriate shipping rate will be shown at checkout.
Free Shipping is not available for customers located in:
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Alaska
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Hawaii
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Puerto Rico
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Guam
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U.S. Virgin Islands
Customers in these locations must select Expedited or Express shipping options at checkout.
Delivery Time Estimates
Delivery times shown at checkout are estimates provided by the shipping carrier.
While we work hard to ship orders quickly, delivery times may vary due to factors outside of our control, including:
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Weather conditions
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Carrier delays
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High shipping volumes
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Transportation disruptions
Aquarium Plants Factory is not responsible for shipping delays caused by the carrier.
Delayed or Lost Packages
Occasionally, shipments may take longer than expected.
A package is considered lost only after 15 business days (approximately 3 weeks) from the ship date.
If a package is confirmed lost by the carrier, we may offer a 50/50 replacement, meaning:
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Aquarium Plants Factory covers 50% of the replacement cost
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The customer covers 50% plus shipping
Address Accuracy
Customers are responsible for providing a complete and accurate shipping address when placing an order.
Please ensure that your address is correct when using payment methods such as:
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Credit / Debit Card
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PayPal
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Apple Pay
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Google Pay
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Amazon Pay
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Shopify Pay
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AliPay
Orders returned due to:
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Incorrect address
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Refused delivery
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Failed delivery attempts
may not be eligible for a refund.
Order Cancellations
If you need to cancel an order, please contact us as soon as possible.
Orders can only be canceled before they have been shipped.
Once an order has been shipped, it can no longer be canceled.
Returns
Due to the sensitive nature of live goods, all sales are final.
We do not accept returns or exchanges for:
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Live plants
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Live animals
For any shipping questions, please contact us before placing your order.
Aquarium Plants Factory
https://www.AquariumPlantsFactory.com
What We Guarantee
24-Hour Live Arrival Guarantee — We guarantee that live plants and live aquatic animals will arrive alive. In the rare case of a Dead on Arrival (DOA), you must notify us within 24 hours of the delivery time recorded on the carrier's official tracking page. The guarantee is void after that 24-hour window, as condition can no longer be attributed to transit.
How to Submit a Claim
- Take at least 2 clear, well-lit photos of the affected items in their original, unopened, sealed packaging, plus a photo of the shipping label on the box.
- Email your photos and order number to hello@aquariumplantsfactory.com within 24 hours of delivery.
- Do not photograph plants or animals after they have been unpacked, planted, or introduced to your aquarium — once an item enters your aquarium's ecosystem, it is no longer covered.
Approved claims are resolved with a replacement, store credit, or refund at our discretion, under the terms of our Refund Policy. Each item is eligible for one replacement only — replacements are final and we cannot replace a replacement.
Conditions That Void the Guarantee
- Incorrect or incomplete shipping address (vacant address, missing apartment number, or any issue that prevents delivery)
- Packages marked "invalid address," "undeliverable," refused, or returned to sender
- Packages left unclaimed, held at a carrier facility at the customer's request, or not retrieved promptly after delivery — live goods must be brought indoors and unpacked the day they arrive
- Carrier delays, weather events, or delivery exceptions once the package has left our facility
- Shipments to freight forwarders or package-forwarding services
Providing accurate, complete shipping information and monitoring your tracking are essential to keeping your guarantee valid.
Please note: the Live Arrival Guarantee covers arrival only. We cannot guarantee ongoing success — aquarium environment, water quality, nutrients, temperature, lighting, filtration, and CO2 all affect long-term results.
What We Can't Guarantee
- Pest-free plants (potted & bare-root): Although our plants are grown in our own clean greenhouse, we cannot guarantee they are 100% free of snails, algae, or other hitchhikers. We recommend rinsing and quarantining all plants before adding them to your aquarium. Tissue culture (in vitro) plants are the exception — they are grown in sterile lab conditions, are 100% free of pests, algae, and disease, and have never been in contact with any aquarium.
- Pesticide-free plants: We use homemade, organic pest control in our greenhouse and never use copper-based pesticides, which are toxic to invertebrates such as snails, crabs, and shrimp. However, we cannot guarantee plants are entirely pesticide-free — always rinse and quarantine before use in invertebrate tanks.
- Your aquarium's success: We are not responsible for your aquarium inhabitants, including fish, shrimp, snails, and turtles. Please quarantine all plants before use.
- Growth form: Unless specified, we do not guarantee plants will grow emersed or submersed in your particular setup.
Please review your state's regulations on restricted plants, as we are committed to not shipping plants that are restricted in your area. Do not release any plants into the wild or waterways, as this can harm local ecosystems by introducing invasive species.
Your cooperation in protecting the environment is appreciated. For continuously updated information, refer to the USDA State Noxious Weed list here.
Thank you for your responsible commitment to environmental preservation.
Customers love this aquatic plant for its "beautiful" curly leaves and robust growth. Reviews highlight healthy arrivals with strong roots and "show-stopping beauty." Most report excellent condition despite shipping delays. Some noted initial browning or slow establishment, but plants typically recovered. "Easy-care plant for low tech setup" that thrives in various tanks.
- An easy-care plant for low tech setup with show-stopping beauty!
- Came in so healthy and a decent size. Leaves are beautiful!
- Fabulous! Great growth and a bunch of roots already looking to anchor.
A
Here is another picture. Tank is relatively new. Still a little cloudy when I took Pictures. 180 gallon tank
M
This plant came in so healthy and a decent size. Very excited to see this one mature. Leaves are beautiful 😍. Slight browning on a couple leaves because I live in the middle of nowhere and they were stuck at the post office over the weekend. After removing the dead leaves looks great and still plenty of leaves left. Roots and stem were not affected.
L
So, delivery was slow on these and the box was a torn up mess…but the plants inside were very well wrapped in other packaging. All of the plants look a little worse for wear. The crinum calamistratum is turning tan in the bag but I’m hoping that once they’re planted they will perk back up. Most of it is green still. They’re such a cool looking plant. I’m very excited to get them into my tank and see what they do.
C
My plants arrived in excellent condition. I caught the mail man before he put them in the apartment mailbox in the Florida summer heat. I will definitely buy from this seller again.
J
This thing is fabulous! Great growth on it and a bunch of roots already looking to anchor into the substrate when received. Super happy I got this plant. It looks so good.
J
Received this plant as part of a larger order. All the plants in order arrived in a timely manner and all appear very healthy. The Crinum was of a good size and appears very robust with dark green leaves. I was especially pleased with this plant that is going into an angelfish/tetra tank. I am so pleased with this plant that I will most likely order at least one more for another tank I am in process of setting up. Thanks to the staff at APF for quick delivery of good products!
R
This product was much more than I expected! It came healthy and large. A great deal for the price!
J
Took a chance on these during the holiday sale. So glad I did. They are super healthy with lots of baby leaves coming in.
T
Crinum Calamistratum is an African water onion. When I first decided to setup a tank a few years ago, this was the one plant I was most excited about. It was out of stock at the only plant shop I knew of and I didn't take the time to look for other aquatic plant retailers. Fast forward a few years, I finally took the search engine plunge. I found APF very easily and lo, they had this curly little cutie in stock! So yeah, it took a few years for me to get this, my dream aquarium plant, and it's so much more impressive in person!
The Crinum arrived in beautiful condition: all the leaves were intact and I did not experience any melt at all. This little beauty is thriving in my Dwarf Puffer tank, they love playing with the swirly fronds! If you're looking for an easy-care plant for a low tech setup with show-stopping beauty, this is it.
M
My cc came in a little ziplock and I immediately put him in my tank. Substrate is Amazonia light. It didn’t die but didn’t make a lot of progress either. It is kind of there couple of tentacles seem to have grown a little. I think this plant is super slow to get established. It was a little cooked when it came but that is because it’s summer and I live in hot Midwest. I think it will come around. It sure is cute plant. It gets good circulation, light and nutrition so it’s just matter of time.
A
USPS lost my order for over a week, but they still were super healthy and I love them!
D
If the crinum has a rizome, is there a special way to plant it? I want to purchase one but I need to know how to plant it properly.
Crinum Calamistratum grows from a bulb-like rhizome, so you'll want to plant it with the rhizome mostly buried but the neck/growing point where the leaves emerge left just above the substrate surface - don't bury it completely, since covering the crown can cause it to rot. It's a slow grower, so give it a bit of time to settle in and root before it starts putting out its long, ribbon-like leaves.
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