# Bucephalandra success



## Bucephalandra (Oct 10, 2015)

This'll be my first post, so I wanted to share an Aroid that seems to adapt well and thrive submersed in the planted tank. Bucephalandra is a magnificent genus of uniquely formed and adaptive plants. Many of you know most of the banter about it being rheophytic and it's distribution restricted mostly to the island of Borneo, blah blah blah. A factor that I have observed is, even how primitive the floral characteristics of the genus are, they seem to never self-pollinate. I could go on and on, and probably form the conclusion that the specific ranks assigned to Bucephalandra need re-substantiating through genetic analysis and studying the morphology, and that the various naturally occurring varieties exist due to the likelihood of intrageneric hybridization, which resulted in multitudes of different natural hybrids that bred true through the ages. But I wouldn't do that!

So, here's the beauty, they call her Buceph. Theia Ada, and it grows steady and rampantly under high light (6500k and 10000k T5), CO2 diffusion (switches off at night), moderate water movement, and weakly-weekly amounts of that good 'ol Excel and Iron Propel. Note, it may be hard to see, but at each internode and back growth, there is a newly developing offshoot, about eight to ten. The roots tend to branch out into a million little diggers once they hit something, quite intriguing to observe. Any questions or care to share yours; lay it out! It's a fun and beautiful genus, currently have five different cultivars, one species starting to bloom. I'd encourage those seeking this uncommon genus to buy or trade within the aquariast community, first.


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## Raymond S. (Dec 29, 2012)

So you have one of the larger ones. They have become quite popular lately in the
planted tank circle. I do 10g tanks so I strongly prefer the mini type. I don't have any close up pictures as yet. This isn't a good picture but on the driftwood in the back left you see three plants across. The two on the far left are W. Java Fern and the third is the mini Buce.
http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/images/pGallery/pg_12001e.jpg


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## MassiveDynamic17 (Feb 3, 2015)

i'm going to get CO2 soon lol


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## WaterLife (Jul 1, 2015)

From what I hear, they bloom in low tech tanks, but won't have the nice colors as produced in high tech tanks (rarely or never bloom in high tech tanks).

I just got a large order of many Buce species recently, but no good camera to do them justice, plus they are still adjusting my different tank params, and still have my co2 system shipping as of right now.

For some reason, not much real research is being put into Bucephalandra, which is why most are just given random/made up "common names" (granted some are localities) and not scientific names.


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## BruceF (Aug 5, 2011)

http://www.aroid.org/gallery/boyce/...rg10.3372wi.44.44201] - Wong & Boyce 2014.pdf


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## jcmv4792 (Jul 15, 2015)

I actually just recently found out about buces...and will make a mostly buce filled tank in the near future! Just one question..what is your experience when planting these guys in the substrate as opposed to attaching them to surfaces like anubias and ferns? Will these rot if the rhizome is buried? It seems to be a mixed bag.. some people say they can be buried without any problems, others say they will rot and die.


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## Bucephalandra (Oct 10, 2015)

As with many many tropical rhizomatic plants, you shouldn't bury the growths. Often times, the rhizomes trail upon rock and tree, with roots utilizing their strength as a foothold. I'd say it would be best to secure the plants to a rock or wood, and allow the advantageous roots to bury themselves. Or, you can place growths among slow growing plants (wedge them in) and allow it to do its thing. Burying the growths would increase the likeliness of dying back.


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## jcmv4792 (Jul 15, 2015)

Bucephalandra said:


> As with many many tropical rhizomatic plants, you shouldn't bury the growths. Often times, the rhizomes trail upon rock and tree, with roots utilizing their strength as a foothold. I'd say it would be best to secure the plants to a rock or wood, and allow the advantageous roots to bury themselves. Or, you can place growths among slow growing plants (wedge them in) and allow it to do its thing. Burying the growths would increase the likeliness of dying back.


Do you have any photos of your buces wedged into slow growing plants? Wouldn't they eventually get covered up and die due to lack of light?


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## Chaoslord (Feb 12, 2011)

Hi tech.
Flowers profusely.


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## jcmv4792 (Jul 15, 2015)

Chaoslord said:


> Hi tech.
> Flowers profusely.


Nice colors! Are those attached to a rock? And do all buces become tall like in the back? Or are there some that stay low like anubias nana/petite?


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## Chaoslord (Feb 12, 2011)

jcmv4792 said:


> Nice colors! Are those attached to a rock? And do all buces become tall like in the back? Or are there some that stay low like anubias nana/petite?


The buces in the front are actually buried in the substrate. The growth is extremely compact. The back are attached to driftwood. 

Top shot


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## HybridHerp (May 24, 2012)

Nice buce guys. Chaoslord what variety is that?


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## WaterLife (Jul 1, 2015)

@Chaoslord Everything about your tank is beautiful! Even the electric blue rams look super blue! Garras are definitely cool.

Is that a little boraras species I see on the very right edge of the first pic? The rams ever eat any of those little guys?

Do you find only certain Bucephalandra species flower in hi-tech? If so, which ones have you noticed do?
It's nice to see at least some can bloom in hi-tech tanks.

That tank looks really nice! Got any more pics of it?


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## Mumford (Nov 12, 2012)

I'm curious how to best include these in your tank if you don't have any rocks/wood to wedge them in. Would you attach the roots to a rock and then bury the rock in the substrate?


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## BruceF (Aug 5, 2011)

I've never owned any epiphyte that more readily attached to rocks.


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## Bucephalandra (Oct 10, 2015)

BruceF said:


> I've never owned any epiphyte that more readily attached to rocks.


Agreed! Once they are on a rock, there is no coming off!
Bucephalandra is a Rheophyte first, with epiphytic and lithophytic tendencies. For a plant to grow on the roots or trunk in situ, this is a different habit than growing on a piece of wood in the aquarium (assuming the use of Mopani, or other heavy harvested woods). The plants do not cause harm to the tree in situ, yet will have a stronger hold due to the crevices in the live bark than your average piece of dead wood. If the dead wood is heavily textured, pitted, and rough, there's a better chance of successful attachment. The Bucephalandra seems they would be more inclined to penetrate and take hold of rock because a.) they have lithophytic habits, and b.) the more porous the rock, the better the stronghold. Not an expert on Bucephalandra, but, if they were growing on a piece of dead wood in situ, there are two possibilities: a.) the piece of wood floats away, and puts the plants in an area where there is lack of water or it will not survive, and b.) the wood sinks, too deep where there is little light penetration or is overturned causing death. 

To take it out of water, epiphytes on trees must be removed with some force and care to reduce mechanical damage to the plant. Finding epiphytes on the ground still attached to branches, you can almost always slide it off, if the branch is dead enough. Many times, epiphytes who fall attached to branches will have a limited lifespan, due to lack of light, too much moisture, pests, and inability to adapt to a terrestrial growing environment. There are definitely plenty of epiphytic plants out there that can survive and make the transition, and funny thing, the best ones are AROIDS, which Bucephalandra is allied!

If growing epiphytes in cultivation, the best way to grow is mount upon wood. You have one plant mounted on a textured piece of cork bark, and you have one mounted upon a smoothed flat piece of wood. The one growing upon cork will have rooted and established faster, and reduced the possibility of coming off. The other will take some time to establish, and may come off unless an extensive root system is made and encircles the mount. With lithophytic plants, the root systems tend to be the strongest holding roots I've come across. Removing a lithophyte from its place of existence, typically results in enormous root loss and damage. In a similar situation, you pot up a lithophyte with small rocks, and you pot one with just one large non-textured rock. The tiny rocks allow deep root penetration, and will take a hold of less rock. The single large rock allows the plant to grow, however, the plant may stunt, but the roots will be 100% attached to the rock.


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## amphirion (Nov 13, 2008)

one of my favorite buces, brownie ghost









i have the name of this one somewhere, but too lazy to find it...


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## bk. (Sep 27, 2014)

How does Buce react to excel? I'm about to get a decent order in and don't want to kill them in my low tech, excel based tank.


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## Bucephalandra (Oct 10, 2015)

bk. said:


> How does Buce react to excel? I'm about to get a decent order in and don't want to kill them in my low tech, excel based tank.


Firstly, I believe that proper dosing (and not overdosing) is key to Excel working correctly in your tank. So make sure to not overdo it, that is something I've never wanted to experiment with. 

I use Excel along with an Iron supplement (Fe Propel by AquaVitro), and Bucephalandra does fine. However, the best results seen with Bucephalandra is a tank with water movement and very high lights, with CO2. In a stagnant tank (no filter; allowing organisms, fish, and plants to maintain the tank for 2+ years without water changes, and two 13W white CFL bulbs) with Bucephalandra obtained 3 months ago, I dose according to the label once a week, and it is probably growing at a slow "normal" rate. You will have a better growth rate if ideal conditions are offered to the Bucephalandra. The good thing about some Bucephalandra is that it can grow with lower lighting. The dwarf cultivar I have doesn't seem to favor low lighting. 

Though I'm not too fond of the idea of smuggling in plants, this is a genus that could be easily wiped out in situ, and the very existence of the genus could be held amongst thousands of aquariasts world-wide. This happens to a plethora of tropical plants, and many plants that we have been cultivating have been extinct in the wild for some time. Having said all this, I highly suggest at least obtaining Phyto permits for your plants.


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