Want the look of Vallisneria from a Crypt? Cryptocoryne crispatula var. balansae sends up long, narrow ribbon leaves with a distinctive hammered, ruffled texture — a background plant that moves like grass but behaves like a Crypt, and one that takes hard water in its stride.
What You’ll Receive
- Sold as Bare-root Plants, Bunched Plants, or Potted Plants
- Bare-root plants | approx. 1-2 plants loose, bare-root portion
- Bunched plants | approx. 1-2 plants bundled with foam, and lead weight
- Potted plants | approx. 1-2 plants with net pot and rock wool
- Young plants grow in a controlled laboratory environment
Plant Profile
- Common name — Balansae Crypt
- Scientific name — Cryptocoryne crispatula var. balansae
- Also known as — Cryptocoryne balansae
- Origin — Southern Thailand
- Placement — Background
- Mature height — 12–20 in
- Growth rate — Slow
Care
- Difficulty — Beginner
- Light — Low to medium. Brighter light brings bronze tones into the leaves
- CO₂ — Not required
- Water — 72–82°F · pH 6.5–7.5. Hard water with good calcium suits it well
- Substrate — Required. Root feeder — nutrient substrate or root tabs
- Growth habit — Amphibious. Also grows emersed
- Propagation — Substrate runners
Grower’s Notes
- Hard water is not a problem here. Cryptocoryne generally do well in harder water than most planted-tank species, and balansae is no exception — it appreciates a good calcium content. If your tap water is hard and stem plants have disappointed you, Crypts are the group to look at.
- Expect it to melt after planting. Crypts drop their leaves on a change of conditions and rebuild from the roots over two to four weeks. Leave it alone through that.
- Feed at the roots and place it once. Crypts melt again every time they are moved, so decide position before planting.
- Slow to start, then quick. Once established it spreads by runner and fills a background with little further help.
- Leaf colour ranges from lush green to bronze depending on light — both are healthy.
Also available as sterile Balansae Vitro Culture if you want several plantlets in one bag.
Want to go deeper? Read our complete Cryptocoryne Care Guide.
Notes
- Pictures are not the actual plants you will receive, but a sample representation. Unless specific, we don't guarantee aquatic plants will be free of pests, and pesticides, grow emerged, or submerge.
- 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 praised these aquarium plants as "impeccable quality" with healthy roots and leaves. Most reported plants arrived in excellent condition with minimal melt-back. Some noted plants were smaller than expected and one reported slow growth. Shoppers appreciated generous quantities and praised the packaging quality that kept plants fresh during shipping.
- CONSISTENTLY delivers the best quality plants! Always the healthiest, highest quality plants
- After a few weeks the plants have tripled in size and have a healthy root stock
- I was very surprised that they greened up right away and did not melt at all
Y
Good healthy looking plants. Thank you! :)
A
I use a liquid fertilizer in my tank and it’s growing after only a few days! It’s lush and green like all their products! This is my go to place for all my plants!
S
The fronds are a little curly. All of my specimens were healthy, some were kind of short, but they are beginning to adjust to the new environment. They all arrived looking good but are dying back a little after the transplant.
S
Plants arrived fresh and healthy. Was delivered fairly quick even during these tough times. Have been buying from APF for a while now and have received high quality products always!
J
Look great and are going to provide excellent camouflage to hide filter pipes and back wall.
B
arrived in excellent condition, even a few extra "nubs" in the package that have sprouted new leaves! I will be Ordering more from APF in the future.
K
Arrived as is as expected for a bare root plant.
G
APF CONSISTENTLY delivers the best quality plants! I've ordered many, many plants from these guys and they are always the best, healthiest, highest quality plants, regardless of whether they're easy, low light plants or high light, bathed in CO2 to survive plants, they're always thriving in my tanks. This crypt is no exception. Healthy roots, corms and leaves. Just impeccable quality!!
L
Plants were in perfect condition on arrival, and have barely melted back after several days.
M
Beautiful
G
Basket is perfectly waited and plant is growing great!
R
Cool. Awesome texture.
M
healthy but smaller than I imagined. would like a better photo of what you actually get on line. I would have bought more for my new tank set up.
M
Cute little crypt. I was very surprised that they greened up right away and did not melt at all.
K
Very happy with the plants. They came in very healthy and are doing great in my tanks.
J
The plants i received were in great health and doing well in. I did a bulk purchase as I was setting up a 150gallon. I am very pleased with quality and quantities of plants that came. Very happy customer.
B
Instead of just 1 Cryptocoryne Balansae plant there were multiple plants
S
Dear APF,
Back in October I purchased 3 Cryptocoryne Balansae plants from you for my thriving fully planted 75 gal. tank. The plants were very small when arriving, but I wanted to see how they would do before reviewing the purchase. Here almost two months later the plants have not died, but have also not grown as much as a millimeter. I have had these plants before and find the lack of growth unusually poor. So, to this point this purchase has been a disappointment.
Sincerely,
Soren Meibom
A
This plant, along with the many others I ordered, arrived in perfect condition and looks beautiful in my aquarium! Very pleased
P
I thought I would received my order by now But I haven’t received it. Please send. Phyl Savage
A
Plants came in large and healthy, I'm excited to get them into substrate. Will be a great addition to my nano tanks.
T
After about a week of the plants being in the mail they were still in really good shape since they were packaged really well. I’m looking forward to them growing in!
c
I got 2 bundles and one for free. I received so much of the crypt balansae. Wish I started ordering from these guys a year ago. Super fast shipping and great communication. A+
J
Plants came with no roots. After a few weeks the plants have tripled in size and have a healthy root stock. I am amazed buy the growth.
J
I was so impressed when I opened my order, My plants were bright green and looked as if they had just been pulled from the tank. everything looked exactly as it does on the webpage. very little breakage considering how much I ordered. APF you have a customer for life.
m
Thank you for sending mature plants
R
Bright green and healthy! Nice midrange height for my 29 gallon. Survived the trip with great packaging. Overall very happy with this plant.
J
Unfortunately the cold weather has infiltrated our region and most of the beautiful leaves were damaged during the shipping process. I don’t believe that short of paying overnight rates that anything else could have avoided this, but as always the important parts of the plants have survived beautifully. Just a little trimming and I had the planted safely in their home and I’m sure they will grow and thrive as long as I keep the keep the environment the way it needs to be. I will send photos once they start new growth.
D
My balansae arrived in good condition, and started growing new leaves within a few days.
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