How to grow Bucephalandra

Are Bucephalandra hard to grow?

Bucephalandra are endemic to Indonesia and are found on the island of Borneo. They are slow growing, hardy and are particularly suited to growing on hardscape (rock/wood) as shown above and below. They can also be grown on the substrate as long as the rhizome is not buried. Due to their flexible light requirements, they can be grown in shaded areas of the aquarium or in full light.

Buceps are a genus of flowering rheophytes that grow with a creeping rhizome and come in a wide variety of leaf shapes and colours. A distinctive feature of all Bucephalandra is the bright spots on the leaves. Many are iridescent, reflecting brilliant colours when viewed from certain angles.

Bucephalandra species have less stress/melting problems with cooler water, although they can still be grown at discus temperatures (above 80f/27c). For those living in the tropics, a cooler or at least a fan will be beneficial. They do better in tanks with good flow.

So, why is my  Bucephalandra melting?

Uncycled planted tanks with high levels of ammonia or organic waste leads to melting; this is common among beginners who do not cycle their tanks fully before planting.

Melting Buceps is not a "normal" situation. Bucephalandra species do better in stable tanks with mature biological systems. Especially if they are exposed to transport stress or the stress of being moved between tanks with different parameters, it is important to have cool, clean water and supplemental CO2 to prevent melting.

Bucephalandra are hardy plants that can survive in planted tanks without CO2 injection or heavy fertilisation. However, in order for them to grow to their full potential, they do better with good flow and CO2. Good growth parameters also make them much more resistant to algae.

Depending on the species, their growth rates can be a little different. Slower growing species can produce as little as 1 leaf every 3 weeks, while faster growing species can produce 2 leaves per week in good conditions.

How to grow Bucephalandra in an aquarium?

Key success factors

• Slightly cooler water (71f/21c-79f/26c).
• Clean, well filtered water with good flow.
• Stable, biologically matured tank environment.
• Some hardness (GH/KH) is helpful. (5dGH and above). We use APT SKY for all tanks with Bucephalandra.
• Adequate CO2/Fertilization brings out coloration, speeds up growth.

To learn more about GH, click here.

To understand why long term stability is important for Bucephalandra read this post on preventing holes and deterioration of older leaves here.

Light & Algae Control

Is Bucephalandra a low light plant?

Bucephalandra grows well under lower lighting levels. In fact, growing them in CO2/nutrient rich waters but with subdued lighting below 50umols PAR makes them easy to manage.

As they grow very slowly they are very susceptible to algae. You can grow them in high light (100+ umols) but you must keep your planted aquarium very clean and your Buceps must be healthy to remain algae free. This means being consistent with water changes, removing organic debris and pruning.

 Thealgae sectiondetails how to maintain an algae free tank.

In tanks with overly turbulent CO2 nebulisation and violent flow, Bucephalandra in the flow path become more susceptible to Black Brush Algae (BBA). This is an example of where too much flow can be counterproductive. Find ways to redirect the flow or get a gentler distribution of flow if you find that Bucephalandra in the flow path are the ones that consistently get BBA.

If you have consistent algae problems with Bucephalandra, it is most likely due to high levels of organic waste in the tank (e.g. a high fish load but an immature bio-filter) or that the plants are not getting the parameters they need (lack of flow, key nutrients are common reasons).

If the patch of Bucephalandra is infested with algae, you can spot treat the area by spot dosing APT Fix directly onto the algae spot using a dropper.

Bringing out Colors

Firstly, not all Bucephalandra are brightly coloured. Most are green. Many species that develop coloured submerged leaves have greenish emersed leaves, so it is important to use a knowledgeable dealer.

For many species, the new leaves may be strongly coloured, but as the leaves age they will fade to greenish tones. It is therefore more effective to grow them in clumps where there are a few new leaves at a time to maintain colour. This also means a faster growth rate, so it is important to provide good growth conditions (CO2 and airflow are paramount).

Many Bucephalandra are iridescent; this means that they are good at reflecting certain colours; especially when viewed from a certain camera angle. Using coloured T5 tubes or mixing RGBs with LEDs will allow more colours to be reflected - use your own judgement as to how much coloured lighting is used; too much will look artificial. In general, flat white T5 tubes; plain white LEDs rarely have a healthy spectral profile (all almost universally lack an adequate red spectrum) and do not show coloured plants to their best advantage.

Which are the most colorful Bucephalandra species?

Some colored variants to try:

• Brownie ghost 2011/2012 - develops red new leaves that turn purple over time
• Brownie blue - red new leaves that turn purplish metallic
• Silver powder
• Phoenix
• Jade
• Catherine

'Brownie Ghost 2011/2012' below retains strong purple coloration even on older leaves if growth conditions are good. New leaves are often more distinctively colored. Many Bucephalandra have redder or bluish new leaves, fading to darker/greener colors as the leaf matures.

Color change after planting

Most Buceps are sold and bought in emersed form, and most emersed Buceps have green leaves, even though their submerged forms have much more colour. This picture shows a batch of recently submerged Bucephalandra - the emersed leaves are green (red arrows) and new shoots of submerged leaves are darker and more colourful (blue arrows). Depending on the tank parameters, the newly submerged plants may sacrifice some of the older emersed growth, while the younger emersed leaves convert completely to submerged growth. This conversion process can be stressful for the plant - if tank conditions are poor, it can lead to widespread melting and excessive loss of existing leaves.

How do you plant Bucephalandra in aquariums?

Separating clumps

If your Bucephalandra supply comes from Indonesian farms, it will often come in large mats or clumps. Bucephalandra, like all plants, grows much better when it has plenty of space - separating clumps into individual plants allows for much faster, healthier propagation as each plant has better access to water flow and light.

Separating clumps also allows you to remove dead/old leaves and rhizomes, making room for new growth. Removing debris and old growth is important in keeping Bucephalandra clean and free of algae - one of the top priorities in growing Bucephalandra well over the long term.

When breaking up the clump, make sure that individual rhizomes are not too short; pieces longer than 1.5 inches work well (shorter for very small species). Often bare rhizomes will produce new leaves if they are healthy and growing well - just stick them to rock/wood surfaces.

In the picture below, Horticulturist Sera Brown carefully picks apart individual Bucephalandra pieces.

Bucephalandra varietals- Allan Lau

Many of the Bucephalandra species in the trade have not been assigned formal scientific names. The circle of more reputable dealers have a high accuracy with their trade names though. These trade names are created based on the names of regions or rivers where they were collected (e.g. Lamandau [central kalimantan], Sintang [west kalimantan]). The names are also created according to the coloration and shape of the leaves (e.g. Dark wave, Super blue, Brownie purple). These are sample pictures of various Bucephalandra species available in the aquarium trade from my local Bucephalandra dealer Lau Allan; who we get most of our Buceps from. His photos are taken from tanks with only plain white bulbs.