The Crypt that tolerates almost anything. Cryptocoryne wendtii 'Brown' grows bronze-brown, slightly rippled leaves in low light, in soft water or hard, without CO₂. Leaf size and texture vary noticeably from plant to plant — a quirk of the species, not a defect. These are young plants grown in a controlled laboratory environment.
What You’ll Receive
- Sold as a Small Bare-Root Plants, Bunched Plants, or Potted Plants
- Young plants grow in a controlled laboratory environment
- These pest-free, young plants were grown in a lab before transitioning ex-vitro for maximum hardiness. Expect natural variations in their initial size and color as they settle in and mature in your tank!
Plant Profile
- Common name — Wendtii Brown Crypt
- Scientific name — Cryptocoryne wendtii 'Brown'
- Placement — Foreground to midground
- Mature height — 4–6 in
- Growth rate — Slow
Care
- Difficulty — Beginner
- Light — Low to medium. Tolerates shaded corners other plants refuse
- CO₂ — Not required
- Water — 72–82°F · pH 6.5–7.5. Soft or hard — it grows in both
- Substrate — Required. Root feeder — nutrient substrate or root tabs
- Growth habit — Amphibious. Also grows emersed
- Propagation — Substrate runners
Grower’s Notes
- Brown is a warm color, not a dull one. Against green plants and pale sand the bronze reads as depth. It's the Crypt to use when you want tonal contrast without buying a difficult red or pink cultivar.
- Expect it to melt after planting. Crypts drop leaves on a change of conditions and rebuild from the roots over two to four weeks. Don't pull them out.
- Place it once. Every move triggers another melt.
- Leaf shape and size vary between individual plants — wendtii is genuinely variable, so the plant you receive may not match the photograph exactly.
- Feed at the roots. Root tabs under the crown do more than any liquid dosing.
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 aquatic plants as "absolutely beautiful" and "lush," arriving in excellent condition. Most reported healthy plants that survived shipping well, even in extreme heat. While some noted "pretty small" portions and initial melting during acclimation, shoppers found the plants recovered quickly and thrived in various conditions.
- Submerged growth is absolutely beautiful!
- The Crypts I received were lush and beautiful! Absolutely perfect.
- Good size and healthy. Bought multiple plants and never been disappointed.
M
These plants are a good size and healthy. I bought multiple plants and never been disappointed.
K
Pretty small portion but seems healthy. Fast shipping
R
Wasn't sure what to expect when I first recieved and planted these guys, but I should have known better. APF has never let me down, and these are no exception. Thetve been planted for about 6 weeks and the submerged growth is absolutely beautiful!
C
Plants came in great! I had no experience with plants before this, and wanted to share my experience. I'm growing on pure eco-complete with no heater (~70-75F) in really hard water, pH 8, low/medium light. Plants doing great, some growth, no complaints!
BUT just as an FYI/point of comparison for anyone else with similar conditions, COMPARED to the green crypts -- which I got from this company too at the exact same time & kept in exact same conditions -- the "brown" have grown WAY more slowly. See side-by-side comparison in photos. The greens have grown about 3-4x the amount, and in a different part of the tank have so far exceeded the "brown" growth that you can't even see the brown anymore even though I started with more "brown" plants. So far I've given each plant probably 0.5 root tabs total, a little water column fertilizer in a relatively understocked 20g high tank of 14 endler males + 1 bristlenose, and that's it. I believe that the darker crypts will thrive better if I had better lighting conditions, as that is the case with most plants, whether aqueous or not!! Just keep this in mind if you can't decide between types or if you're looking for faster growth!
J
Shipping was really fast and all plants were packaged amazingly, recieved 9 healthy cryptocoryne bunches that were a couple inches long pretty happy with the purchase
B
Plant arrived quickly and in good condition… and with a nice healthy root system! So often, when I order plants online, I get a snip with no root so I really appreciated the quality of this item. So far the plant has remained healthy with no melt.
A
Made the trip in the mail with record heat in Colorado and was perfect! Planted it in my shrimp ecosystem 4 days ago and things are looking good
J
Arrived in good condition and healthy. Melting a little after placing in my tank but that’s to be expected and they’re already bouncing back!
M
It arrived it great condition. It looks wonderful
B
Aquarium Plants Factory had the order together and shipped in a day. Pleased with the plants and size. If I need more plants I would order from them again.
J
Although the plants were delayed ln shipping do to the holidays the plants although small are trying recuperate sure they will make it ok
K
I have received healthy and big plans, will definitely shop again
J
As with all the plants from APF, the Crypes I received were lush and Beautiful! I mean absolutely perfect. Their quality astounds me!!!
M
Order came quickly and everything was healthy and as described.
R
matter of fact the Crypts looked pretty bad. I contacted APF with my concerns and explained what I was dissatisfied with.
After a few emails back and forth, I was notified that three new Crypts would be sent to me on Monday.
They arrived in excellent condition thanks to the way they pack them and the Crypts looked 100% better than my initial order did. APF has been my go-to vendor for live aquatic plants and after the way they stepped up to the plate and made good I cant see shopping elsewhere.
Much obliged to everyone associated with APF for being such an honorable and upstanding company.
N
No melt at all. The size id expect and looking great 3 weeks later
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