Please NOTE:
Buce tend to lose their leaves when relocated into a new aquarium. This is 100% normal.
You should look at the rhizome size and health as this will produce the new leaves. A healthy Rhizome will give you stunning leaves, very fast in a healthy aquarium.
 
General
Bucephalandra – Buce – for short. Is a hardy plant with a low-to-medium light and nutrition demand.
Buce is a rhizome growing sub-aquatic plant that originate from Borneo
In nature Buce grow mainly on rocks in natural streams in the jungle, which are submerged in the wet season and out of water in the dry season.
Bucephalandra can be grown submerged or immersed and is slow-growing.
New growth can be found sprouting from the rhizome.
It can be propagated by cutting the rhizome and then attaching the piece to driftwood or rock.
 
LEAF FORM
This is sometimes called the Chameleon plant as the colouration of the leave vary according to their environmental conditions.
 
Leafs that form while immersed (out of water) does not show the characteristic white spots on them. While leafs that are formed submerged (under water) all have the characteristic white spots.
(PS – those white spots are not a disease like white spots on fish ;) )
 
ROT & MELTING
ONLY Plant them by attaching the rhizome to décor like driftwood and rock. Beginners should NOT plant the rhizome in substrate, as chances for melting and rot is then VERY HIGH. If you are an expert you will know how to do this without rotting.
Sudden changes in water quality normally lead to rot and melting as well. So the old aquarium rule “stability of water parameters is more important than the perfect water parameters” is also important for Buce.
 
CO2 & LIGHTING
The addition of CO2 is not essential but it will lead to much faster and healthy growth.
Lighting follow along the same lines, but it is recommended to plant them in shaded spots in aquariums with high lighting BECAUSE too much lighting lead to algae growth on the leafs, that might even suffocate the plant.
 
Remember our pictures might not represent the final plant colours in your aquarium as all your aquarium conditions will combine to influence the unique colours in your aquarium. But is a good representation of what you could expect.