# Someone please explain Bucephalandras



## phreeflow (Aug 4, 2007)

I have been intensely curious about buces and have seen a handful of stunning footage with vivid blue, purple, orange, and red buces in some YouTube vids. However, when I go to shop for them and see sales photos of them in hand or in someone's tank, they're just plain green. Is it just tv magic or special lights that I'm seeing in some of these videos??

I have scrolled through several dozens of websites and forums and regardless of what fancy name they're given, they all practically look the same for the most part...oval leaves of various sizes or lengths and they mostly look green or slightly brownish/black with tiny dots. Am I missing something?

I'm still curious though and have been itching to buy some. Before I drop a ton of money and dedicate a tank to these, can someone clue me in? Why am I not seeing more tanks with truly blue or purple Buce? 

If such a thing exists, please share pics and please do tell me which varieties are most colorful (in a non green or brown way)

Thanks all


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## junglefowl (Nov 16, 2012)

Most of Bucephalandra species have green leaves while growing emerged in the wild or in the farm. The color of the leaves will begin to turn darker and may change to different color (including blue, brown, dark green, dark purple) when grow submerged in an aquarium. The rhizomes can turn very bright red. Please also note that the same Bucephalandra plant can grow different leaves and color on different tank condition, lighting, CO2.

Most of the names of Bucephalandra came from the seller and location where the plants were harvested. There can be more than 200 different types: long leaves, round leaves, narrow leaves, mini leaves, wavy leaves...

Bucephalandra is not even expensive anymore. The price is a lot cheaper than before. I remember paying and selling $20-$25 for a 5+ leaves plants.

Here is a few pictures of my Buce that grow underwater:
Shine Blue









Brownie Brown









Brownie Phoenix 









Fire Bird:









Kedagang









Brownie Brown in different tank









Oh I tried to reply to your pm, but your inbox is full.


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## phreeflow (Aug 4, 2007)

Thanks for the informative response and the great pictures. So I guess I'll just have to buy them green and wait for them to turn color. Hard to pick what I want since the pics of the plants I see for sale don't usually correlate with the end result. I was swayed by plants like these I've seen on the internet but was confused when all I ever see are mostly green plants.


















What species turns this color and why aren't there more examples of tanks with these types of Buce in them? Again, most are usually green. Yours are gorgeous and look very healthy...I can see how some of them are turning colors. Can't wait to see a full metamorphosis.

Btw: inbox cleared


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## Michael (Jul 20, 2010)

I don't grow _Bucephalandra_, but several people in our club do. Based on what i see in their tanks, Junglefowl's photos are realistic representations of what the plants can look like in good aquarium conditions. I suspect that the photos in your last post have been digitally enhanced and are not a color found in nature or the aquarium.


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## junglefowl (Nov 16, 2012)

Yes, the pictures look photoshopped! Lot of enhancement.


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## phreeflow (Aug 4, 2007)

Yes, I too thought they were digitally enhanced as well until I saw these videos...








This just blew my mind. Any thoughts on this? Could it be the lighting?


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## junglefowl (Nov 16, 2012)

Light color, if you have purple, blue, pink lighting color, even the fish and snail turn different color


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## Michael (Jul 20, 2010)

Light color and digital manipulation. The second video looks like ultra violet lighting was used, based on the color of the fish and snails. Even the substrate looks purple!


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## phreeflow (Aug 4, 2007)

Hmm...that stinks, kind of takes the wind out of my sails on these Buce. What's with people manipulating everything lately? Nothing is ever as pictured it seems. Thanks for the input everyone. I'd love to see more pics of folks' most colorful Buce, natural of course


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## Yo-han (Oct 15, 2010)

That's not really manipulating, just add a lot of light and plants turn more red/purple, this combined with sump purple light and a species that has the most purple potential and you can do the same. It just depends on whether you like that. In the reef would, some people use crazy amounts of UV to make the fluorescents in the corals 'pop'. I don't think it's cheating, you just display them different and anybody can do it. I find it unnatural looking, but as long as the overal color of the tank looks like daylight I would add some UV as well. Plants are no different. Most people love to get the Mac red/purple out of them. It's harder to maintain the tank but if you like it, go ahead!


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## phreeflow (Aug 4, 2007)

Yo-han said:


> That's not really manipulating, just add a lot of light and plants turn more red/purple, this combined with sump purple light and a species that has the most purple potential and you can do the same. It just depends on whether you like that. In the reef would, some people use crazy amounts of UV to make the fluorescents in the corals 'pop'. I don't think it's cheating, you just display them different and anybody can do it. I find it unnatural looking, but as long as the overal color of the tank looks like daylight I would add some UV as well. Plants are no different. Most people love to get the Mac red/purple out of them. It's harder to maintain the tank but if you like it, go ahead!


By UV, are you referring to actinic lights?


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## niko (Jan 28, 2004)

Bucephalandra took the American hobby by storm because here this hobby is about the latest and greatest plant or gizmo and not about aquascaping at all.

Bucephalandra is a plant that is impossible to kill. That certainly helps too in a hobby where very few people have an idea how to intentionally setup and run a planted tank without having to change water and work on the tank every week.

The above three mean one thing - someone could actually start creating unique aquascapes using Bucephalandras. Which don't have to be limited to underwater either. But the colors that we all seem to think are fake will show up with different conditions - Vasteq's articles are great to see and understand how. Find him here on on Facebook. Some of these conditions is not what you want - high light and high ferilizers. But a unique Bucephalandra aquascape(s) will make you famous on the internet, which is a big deal in the American hobby


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## tkblazer (Mar 20, 2016)

This is a great read

http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/...rsed-culture/87637-bucephalandra-all-one.html


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## Michael (Jul 20, 2010)

By coincidence, several of our club members who have been successful with Bucephalandras did a show and tell at our meeting yesterday. I asked specifically about the day-glow colors in internet photos. The verdict was "almost always Photo-shop". They did say that when grown under high light with CO2 and lit with certain types of lamps, some varieties do show vibrant blues and purples.


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## phreeflow (Aug 4, 2007)

This has been a very interesting conversation. A very fascinating plant indeed and one I'll have to try. I am setting up a tank for them now but am afraid that the lights may be too strong...Kessil Amazon Sun. 

I have received feedback ranging from "yes, they are that colorful with optimal conditions" to the majority saying that "they are photoshopped." The verdict is till out and that makes me even more curious. I'll have to get some and try but now the challenge is which variant...there are soooo many it's crazy.


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## phreeflow (Aug 4, 2007)

tkblazer said:


> This is a great read
> 
> http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/...rsed-culture/87637-bucephalandra-all-one.html


Thanks for he link! Interesting read


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## JustLikeAPill (Oct 9, 2006)

You can usually tell plants have been photoshopped by looking not at the plants themselves, but by looking at the area around the plants, between the leaves, etc. It is relatively difficult to only photoshop plant tissue and nothing else. Always ask yourself if this looks like something you'd find in nature. 

What drives me insane are the arbitrary BS names people come up with for Buephalandra. Any tiny variation get's it's own name. It's a disaster.

I have no idea why there are so many brownies. WTF?!


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## easternlethal (Mar 28, 2014)

I am trying to grow them in my high tech / high light tank with other more demanding plants like pogostemmon helferis, tonina fluviatilis and hc and they keep attracting bba so I wonder whetherthey can really be grown in those conditions..


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## junglefowl (Nov 16, 2012)

They grow better and faster in medium light condition with CO2 injected. The leaves would look healthy and stronger in the same condition. 

In high light, the leaves tend to burn if too much light or too close to the light...then melt. 

But similar to anubias, hide them under driftwood, give them some shade, then it would be okey in that setup!


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## easternlethal (Mar 28, 2014)

Thanks for the tip! My leaves are okay and grow fine. They just seem to attract bba and I don't know why. The only place where it's not so bad is near the outflow. I'm wondering if my organics is too high but other plants dont seem affected..


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## junglefowl (Nov 16, 2012)

Good cleaning livestock: Siamen Algea Eater, Shrimps, Amano shrimps. They work well on BBA for me.


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## phreeflow (Aug 4, 2007)

JustLikeAPill said:


> You can usually tell plants have been photoshopped by looking not at the plants themselves, but by looking at the area around the plants, between the leaves, etc. It is relatively difficult to only photoshop plant tissue and nothing else. Always ask yourself if this looks like something you'd find in nature.
> 
> What drives me insane are the arbitrary BS names people come up with for Buephalandra. Any tiny variation get's it's own name. It's a disaster.
> 
> I have no idea why there are so many brownies. WTF?!


Yeah, that's the frustration I am having trying to select some Buce for my tank. I don't even know if there really are that many varieties or if there is only 1 type of Brownie with a bazillion different names. Reminds me of when I used to collect discus. There were dozens of creative names of red turquoise discus....but in the end, they all just looked like red turquoise!! Or they would hormone feed blue cobalts and call them purple cobalts...so aggravating. Lol


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## junglefowl (Nov 16, 2012)

Just showing a video of my 10gal Bucephalandra tank with Red Cherry Shrimps. This tank have 2x6500K bulbs and all the Bucephalandra plants in here are 100% submerged...including the Brownie Ghost


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