# Bucephalandra species



## mats808

Hey guys I realize that this may be a shot in the dark but is anyone keeping any Bucephalandra species?


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## miremonster

I'm keeping Bucephalandra motleyana, a reddish brown form, obtained from Piet van Wijngaarden, collected by W.A. Tomey in Kalimantan Barat (article: W.A. Tomey, Wasserpflanzen in Kalimantan Barat. Das Aquarium Nr. 407, May 2003, p.35-38 ). Somewhere I've got a few ugly photos of my plants... Bertram Wallach (Munich) has also B. motleyana and has written an article about this species and Schismatoglottis roseospatha in another German aquarium journal. The plants in his pics look definitely better than mine. This small aroid grows very slowly but frequently develops inflorescences in submersed cultivation.


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## Cavan Allen

I found an odd note about cultivation with a specimen that said it doesn't grow so well emersed with soggy roots. That sounds odd for a rheophyte! 

Let's see those pics!


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## miremonster

OK, but like I said, the pics are not the best... and please don't notice the algae 
They are about 2-5 cm high and are attached on stones by their roots. The branching stems/rhizoms are rather ascending than creeping.
































The spathe is detaching itself soon, leaving the basal part that surrounds the spadix then like a cup or funnel.



> I found an odd note about cultivation with a specimen that said it doesn't grow so well emersed with soggy roots. That sounds odd for a rheophyte!


 I consider that possible because they apparently don't grow in stagnant wetness in their natural habitats. The roots are possibly not adapted to lack of O2. For emersed cultivation I've planted some offshoots in a pot with coarse substrate mix (soil and lava chippings) - moist, but well drained. It seems they do well.


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## mats808

Miremonster,

You seem to have the answer to all my questions. :hail:

I've only seen pics of unamed Bucephalandra species in situ and a couple of pics of unamed species in culture. The cultured ones were on Japanese websites.

How are you growing them? Do they like soft, tannined water, with low to moderate light. I've seen pics of them growing totally submerged, emersed, and in the crevices of rocks along the sides of streams totally out of the water. I was thinking that the ones totally out of water are at some point submerged when the water line is higher. They seem to enjoy water movement in the pics I've seen of submerged plants.

thanks for sharing your knowledge and experience.

Aaron


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## Tex Gal

Beautiful plants.


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## miremonster

I'll answer soon, at the moment I'm looking for the articles from Tomey and Wallach.


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## Zapins

What exactly are these plants? Are they some kind of crypt? They look a little like lobela? 

I've never heard of them before...


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## miremonster

Bucephalandra belongs together with Schismatoglottis, Aridarum, Piptospatha, Phymatarum to a group of Araceae mainly from tropical Asia: Schismatoglottideae. Terrestrial plants from the understory of forests as well as rheophytes. They are the next relatives of Lagenandra and Cryptocoryne.
See these papers:
http://www.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0006/72771/Tel9Hay001.pdf
http://www.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0007/72772/Tel9Bog179.pdf
Aaron has sent me a link to a site with awesome habitat pics: http://www5b.biglobe.ne.jp/~borneo/bun/41.html


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## mats808

Thanks Heiko. The value of the information you share is greatly appreciated. 

Zapins, wait to you check out the link. The in situ pics are so [email protected] A$$. When I saw those pics I knew I had to get some. It's been almost a year now since I began searching for them. Aside from "Team Borneo" I've only found them on Japanese websites. Heiko is the first person I've actually had dialogue with that has any Bucephalandras. Another friend of mine knows people in Japan with some but they are not selling any. I'm still trying to find a way to get some sent to me or a dealer in the US that has some. However I don't think the latter exists. I think I need to move to Japan or Germany. LOL At times, it's frustrating trying to get rare or obscure stuff in the US.

Aaron


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## Zapins

Definitely! I'm a bit of a collector of obscure plants myself, I've recently acquired some plants I had never heard of before. It would be great to get hold of some of these.


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## mats808

Zapins,
Care to share what plants you got?


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## hydrophyte

that's a neat, really obscure little plant. i wonder if there is any hope of acquiring it here in the US(?).

i have a little _Schismatoglottis_ at home that i almost killed but it's making a comeback. i tried to grow it as an emergent, but i think that my conditions were too wet. i got it from BlackJungle.com


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## Zapins

Just recently got some Acisanthera sp. They are nearly flowering now. I had never heard of them before I purchased them, they are beautiful plants and I can't wait until I have more of them.

I've got a stash of other "rare" plants, but they aren't really rare as much as most people find them hard to grow. Nesea, macrandra, some polygonums (tiger, Kawagoeanum), purple bamboo, etc...

I'd love to keep collecting the plants I've never heard of before


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## hydrophyte

hey you know a good place for odd & unusual aroids is Asiatica Nursery:

http://www.asiaticanursery.com/

i understand that they run a good business. i wonder if one could work with to import some new weird stuff(?).


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## ErioLover

I have Bucephalandra sp. "Kedagang"

In my experience, extremely slow growing plants. A leaf every week if lucky.

But extremely beautiful.


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## mats808

ErioLover,

Are you growing them submersed or emersed? How long have you had them? Do you find them easy but slow or touchy but slow or somewhere in the middle?

Aaron


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## Tex Gal

What's the deal? Do these not hardly grow? Why wouldn't people be able to propagate them and get them going in the US?


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## mats808

Tex Gal,

From what I've heard Bucephalandras aren't really hard but they're pretty slow growing.

I think Bucephalandras could be established more in the US if there was more demand. ErioLover has some. There are lots of stuff, both fish and plants that haven't really made it to the US. Or they've made it in very limited quantities and are in the hands of various hard core hobbyist. As sad as it is to admit in many ways the U.S. hobby is far behind a lot of countries when it comes to the more rare and obscure stuff. As an example, I take it you've been in the hobby for a while now considering you're a moderator and the number of posts you've made yet I'm going to assume that this thread is the first you've heard of the genus Bucephalandra. You can't get what you don't know to ask for, right?

My memory is pretty foggy of the past but I think it was about 8-10 years ago I went on a trip with some friends to Germany, Switzerland, and the Netherlands. This trip was to visit a few hobbyists who were friends of my friends as well as some orchid nurseries and whatever petshops that popped up along the 2 weeks of driving we did. The trip wasn't soley for fish. It was kind of split evenly between fish, orchids, and dart frogs. We visited the personal collections of 1 orchid guy, 1 fish guy, and 2 frog guys. As I recall all of them did field work in the past. Again my memory is bad but I know for sure that the fish guy who was from Switzerland and the orchid guy who was from Germany both made more than a couple of trips to equatorial Africa (fish guy) and PNG (orchid guy). That's just what the hard core guys do in those countries. I've never been to Japan but my understanding is it's the same there. 

To be honest I don't know much about dart frogs but my understanding was that we got to see some truly "kick_ss" stuff. As for the fish and orchid guy I got to see things that still today has never been "established" in the U.S. hobby. Even in some of the petshops I saw fish that 9 or so years later have never really made a big impact here.

Let me also say that there are great hobbyist everywhere and I really hope that I didn't offend anyone. Also I know that there are hobbyists in the U.S. who have ventured into the field, I just think it's far less common and maybe for different types of stuff. I simply wanted to share my oppinion as to, as Tex Gal put it, "What's the deal?" But I went rambling on as I sometimes do. I think to answer your question in a single sentence, "The U.S. often gets the "goodies" last because as a whole we tend to not know what the "goodies" are."


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## ErioLover

Tex Gal said:


> What's the deal? Do these not hardly grow? Why wouldn't people be able to propagate them and get them going in the US?


There is non in the US and these grow extremely slow. EXTREMLEY


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## ErioLover

mats808 said:


> Tex Gal,
> 
> From what I've heard Bucephalandras aren't really hard but they're pretty slow growing.
> 
> I think Bucephalandras could be established more in the US if there was more demand. ErioLover has some. There are lots of stuff, both fish and plants that haven't really made it to the US. Or they've made it in very limited quantities and are in the hands of various hard core hobbyist. As sad as it is to admit in many ways the U.S. hobby is far behind a lot of countries when it comes to the more rare and obscure stuff. As an example, I take it you've been in the hobby for a while now considering you're a moderator and the number of posts you've made yet I'm going to assume that this thread is the first you've heard of the genus Bucephalandra. You can't get what you don't know to ask for, right?
> 
> My memory is pretty foggy of the past but I think it was about 8-10 years ago I went on a trip with some friends to Germany, Switzerland, and the Netherlands. This trip was to visit a few hobbyists who were friends of my friends as well as some orchid nurseries and whatever petshops that popped up along the 2 weeks of driving we did. The trip wasn't soley for fish. It was kind of split evenly between fish, orchids, and dart frogs. We visited the personal collections of 1 orchid guy, 1 fish guy, and 2 frog guys. As I recall all of them did field work in the past. Again my memory is bad but I know for sure that the fish guy who was from Switzerland and the orchid guy who was from Germany both made more than a couple of trips to equatorial Africa (fish guy) and PNG (orchid guy). That's just what the hard core guys do in those countries. I've never been to Japan but my understanding is it's the same there.
> 
> To be honest I don't know much about dart frogs but my understanding was that we got to see some truly "kick_ss" stuff. As for the fish and orchid guy I got to see things that still today has never been "established" in the U.S. hobby. Even in some of the petshops I saw fish that 9 or so years later have never really made a big impact here.
> 
> Let me also say that there are great hobbyist everywhere and I really hope that I didn't offend anyone. Also I know that there are hobbyists in the U.S. who have ventured into the field, I just think it's far less common and maybe for different types of stuff. I simply wanted to share my oppinion as to, as Tex Gal put it, "What's the deal?" But I went rambling on as I sometimes do. I think to answer your question in a single sentence, "The U.S. often gets the "goodies" last because as a whole we tend to not know what the "goodies" are."


You are mistaken. I live in the US and in Hong Kong. I travel alot from country to country. I have a tank in HK that is being taken care of by family and friends. That is the one where I have the bucephalandra.

There is a ton of "goodies" in HK but there is a reason why it is not here in the US. There is alot of problems getting stuff into the US due to customs so don't expect it to arrive here soon.

Also bucephalandra is very rare because it comes from just one island and it is still new. In fact its rare even in asia.


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## Tex Gal

I have been collecting rare plants for a couple of years now. That's not very long compared to most. I've had aquariums for decades. I'm always intrigued to hear about the collecting trips. It so neat to see the plants in their natural habitat.

One thing I've seen is that US hobbyists are hungry for the new and rare. We have seen the same plants for decades and are ready, willing and able. That's why it's so great for hobbyists like yourself to post the new and rare. Now all we need to do is to begin to share these new plants with one another so that we can begin to experience this hobby like others in the other parts of the world have done for decades!

Thanks for doing your part. I hope that those with rare plants will let them go to others with the knowledge to grow them and pass them on.


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## mats808

ErioLover said:


> You are mistaken. I live in the US and in Hong Kong. I travel alot from country to country. I have a tank in HK that is being taken care of by family and friends. That is the one where I have the bucephalandra.
> 
> There is a ton of "goodies" in HK but there is a reason why it is not here in the US. There is alot of problems getting stuff into the US due to customs so don't expect it to arrive here soon.
> 
> Also bucephalandra is very rare because it comes from just one island and it is still new. In fact its rare even in asia.


ErioLover,

Sorry, I didn't mean to say that there are no goodies in Hong Kong. I've never been there but I'm sure there are a lot. That's why I said that the U.S. is behind a "lot" of countries when it comes to stuff like that. Sorry for not mentioning Hong Kong specifically.

I know that importation laws/customs play a role in what we receive in the U.S. but I also think that the other stuff I mentioned plays a big part.

Your last sentence kind of coincides with my point. When you say, "In fact its rare even in asia". I guess to put it in a different way. Often times what is "new" or "rare" in places like Asia is pretty much non-existent in the U.S. Also it's not uncommon for things that are considered "rare" in the US to actually be not that rare in other places in the world.

I don't think there are too many hobbyists from Japan, Hong Kong, Germany, etc. that walk into a pet shop in the U.S. and go, "Holy Cow, what the hell is that!!!!!!" Of course there are exceptions to the rule but in general I don't think that happens too often.


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## hydrophyte

mats808 said:


> Tex Gal,
> 
> There are lots of stuff, both fish and plants that haven't really made it to the US. Or they've made it in very limited quantities and are in the hands of various hard core hobbyist. As sad as it is to admit in many ways the U.S. hobby is far behind a lot of countries when it comes to the more rare and obscure stuff.


for that matter, there are many native North America plants with great potential, but for whatever reason many of these have not been tried in aquariums.

i think that people have a way of valuing the "exotic" possibilities, even when very intriguing new plants might be quite literally just down the street or in the back yard.


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## mats808

Tex Gal,

I totally agree that it would be great if we could catch up so to speak. 

I've kept fish since I was about 5 years old. Like many of today's hobbyist I started to get more and more interested in the hobby as I got older (8th grade-ish). I was lucky to meet a very gifted hobbyist when I was about 18 while I worked at a local petshop. He sort of took me under his wing and opened my eyes to a lot of the more obscure stuff. I was forced to stop keeping fish/plants about 6-8 years ago.

I just started keeping stuff again for about a year. I hoped that the U.S. hobby had changed during my abscense. I can tell you that from what I can tell it hasn't. It has gotten a little better with the power of the internet but we are still so far behind. I still do most of most of my "internet surfing" on foreign websites. All the really cool stuff can still only be found on Japanese, German, Dutch, etc. websites. Of course there are exceptions but in general. 

Sadly I think it's our culture that keeps us where we are and so I think it will always be the case that we are a little behind the curve. It's true for fish, aquarium plants, orchids, dart frogs. In just about any similar hobby the U.S. is pretty slow to get the goodies and/or know what the true goodies are. In my experience this has been true for almost 2 decades as it's been almost 20 years since I was 18.

Again I know that there are exceptions to the rule and I hope that this didn't offend anyone I just wanted to share some of my frustrations.


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## mats808

hydrophyte said:


> for that matter, there are many native North America plants with great potential, but for whatever reason many of these have not been tried in aquariums.
> 
> i think that people have a way of valuing the "exotic" possibilities, even when very intriguing new plants might be quite literally just down the street or in the back yard.


Hydrophyte,

You make a good point.

I agree that there might be some good plant possibilties here in the US. Personally I tend to want to keep things from the tropical and sub-tropical regions of the world. The species diversity there is just not comparable.

In a way you are kind of saying that we only want what we can't have. That may be true for some. I can tell you that if I lived in Peru, Borneo, PNG, or various other places I know that I would spend much of my free time looking for things there. I like the things that I like regardless of where I live. It just so happens that I live in a place where none of those things are.


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## hydrophyte

mats808 said:


> Hydrophyte,
> 
> You make a good point.
> 
> I agree that there might be some good plant possibilties here in the US. Personally I tend to want to keep things from the tropical and sub-tropical regions of the world. The species diversity there is just not comparable.
> 
> In a way you are kind of saying that we only want what we can't have. That may be true for some. I can tell you that if I lived in Peru, Borneo, PNG, or various other places I know that I would spend much of my free time looking for things there. I like the things that I like regardless of where I live. It just so happens that I live in a place where none of those things are.


a major reasons that tropical organisms are much more popular in the model ecosystem hobbies (like planted aquariums) is that they do not have strict winter dormancy requirements, like many of our native temperate plants and animals do. however, it seems that many northern temperate lake plants actually do not require dormancies. i know several folks who have kept _Potamogeton_ and other plants from our local lakes for years on end in their heated planted aquaria.

naturally, tropical organisms also often have very bright colors and other striking features as compared to temperate species, which are generally more subdued.

as for species diversity, there is a great deal to explore in our waters in the Northern US. Wisconsin has something like 180 species of fully aquatic plants. tropical areas do not by default have greater biodiversity than temperate areas for all groups. i have a friend who recently went on a collecting trip in Cameroon, West Africa. they drove hundreds of miles and he took hundreds of pictures in many bodies of water, but the aquatic flora, which was abundant and present everywhere, seemed to have only included the familiar West Africa aquarium plants--a few _Anubias_, a couple of _Nymphaea_, _Bolbitis_ fern and two or three _Crinum_--and that was it.


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## mats808

Hydrophyte,

I think it's cool that you like N. American fish and plants. I think Notropis welaka is a beautiful fish. But I don't really want to keep any.

Personally I'm going to stick to the tropical stuff.

What plants did your friend expect to find in Cameroon? Did he do research prior to his trip? I really wonder what he was looking for?

I don't really feel like arguing about whether or not the tropics has more diversity than North America because I feel that's really silly and a waste of time. Last I checked rain forests covered a very small % of the earths surface yet they are home to more than half of all plants and animals.

Regardless, my point was that the U.S. hobby is far behind the curve. It wasn't about whether or not there are species worth looking in to within our borders. Like yourself, people in Japan keep Japanese native species however they are always on the cutting edge and are very in touch with fish/plants from other regions of the world. They know what to look for because they do their homework. They don't read TFH to find out what's new or rare. They read scientific papers and original descriptions. They're in the field looking for stuff, finding new or long lost stuff. This is also true of the hobbyist from other countries (Netherlands, Germany, Taiwan, etc.)

Don't get me wrong, like I said there are many good hobbyists in the States. I'm just saying, in general we are far behind. Look at this thread. I asked if anyone had Bucephalandras. Now I really hope I end up putting my foot in my mouth and a lot of Americans are holding back but so far 2 people have come forward and shared some info. Someone from Hong Kong and someone from Germany. Do you think this is a coincidence? In my experience over the last 20 years I'm guessing it's not. I'm guessing the vast majority of U.S. hobbyist said, "Bucepha-what?"


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## hydrophyte

i was not trying to argue anything. i only meant to relate some recent observations that i had made that seemed relevant to the conversation. really i don't keep many native N.A. things. i am mostly interested in crypts and other emergents, although i do have some Mexican livebearers. i just made that point to suggest that while some aquarium hobbyists might eagerly seek "the next new thing", there might be many interesting and useful discoveries to be made much closer to home. here in WI we really have a lot of aquatic plant biodiversity.

my friend went to Cameroon to collect fish, but i asked him to please take pictures of plants. i wasn't surprised at what he found plant-wise and neither was he. he had some great pictures though of big stands of _Anubias_ and river bottoms covered bank to bank with _Crinum_. he also caught fantastic fish. his party did months of research before they left. their leader was an Austrian scientist with interest in a group of West African cichlids. they collected an undescribed cichlid species during their trip.

i do agree that for whatever reason most U.S. hobbyists seem much less inclined to delve into the scientific aspects of whatever group of plant or animal that they might be keeping in comparison to hobbyists from other areas, especially Europe and East Asia. i have only been in the hobby for a few years, but i understand that this is much more the case than it was even a couple of decades ago. i don't run into many aquarium hobbyists younger than myself (early 40's). it is my impression that children in generations after mine have been exposed to less and less nature all the time, instead experiencing the world through TV and more recently also the Internet. they were also more likely to grow up in sterile suburbs than in rural areas or cities, which have more natural things than most suburban areas. so naturally they grow up with less interest in things like aquariums and even less in the scientific aspects or any deeper understanding of the fish or whatever else might be in an aquarium.

that's my pessimistic view.

on the other hand, there is also a great deal of value in just having a pretty aquarium with pretty fish and plants to gaze into. even though i have only a rudimentary understanding of the organisms used in reef tanks, next to no scientific understanding of them and no inclination to keep a reef tank, i can quickly lose track of time staring into a nice reef tank and i enjoy this very much too.

for most people aquariums are just objects that are set up as semi-temporary decorations or momentary diversions.


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## mats808

Hydrophyte,

I apologize. I was under the impression that we were having an argument.  Just like with "text messaging" the absence of facial expressions and voice tone can sometimes create misunderstandings. Sorry for that.

Do you mind sharing what type of West African Cichlids they were looking for? Also please share info about the undescribed cichlid.

I feel the exact same way about the kids growing up these days. I'm 37 so I'm sort of in your generation. I used to spend hours at the river near my house catching swordtails, damselflies, frogs, etc. I never wanted to be in the house. From what I've noticed the opposite seems true today. My personal belief is that this won't really be the cause of the U.S. sucking though. I think life is changing for the children in countries like Japan, Germany, and the Netherlands as well but they're still going to be kicking our A$$E$ 30 years from now as they do today. I don't know what it is that causes our sad state but I'm pretty sure it's cultural. My friends and I used to talk about this all the time for years and more and more it seems it has to be cultural. 

We have a huge number of aquarists with tons of money (not myself but the U.S. in general ). We should have a great hobby. What's wrong with us? It's not that we don't want what's new or rare. The vast majority of hobbyists that I've talked to all want what's new and/or rare. It's just the level of our "rareness" or "newness" isn't very high. We have the money. We don't know what to ask for so we are very slow to get the best stuff.

When I was 18ish or so I used to purchase Japanese aquarium magazines because I knew that's the only way I was going to see "cool" stuff. Granted I couldn't read them but scientific names look the same in all languages so at the least I was able to learn the names of these cool fish. Numbers also look the same so sometimes I was able to tell the temperature, pH, and Hardness that these fish prefer. I also knew that German magazines and books were really good but I had no easy way of attaining them back then (My Japanese magazines were ordered from a local Japanese book store where I live). Sadly no German book stores in Hawaii. Even back then it was obvious that our hobby paled in comparison to the Japanese. However I used to tell my friend/mentor that we're going to catch up one day. He cautioned me not to hold my breath and said that it has been like this for as long as he could remember. Now 19 years later I don't really think we've made too much ground. I think the hobby has improved some because the internet has made the world a much smaller place. Forums like this can be good for the hobby. I also think they can be a little dangerous as I've noticed that there seems to be a lot of "experts" out there.

Before I go on I just want to say that I haven't done any fieldwork myself which I assume is the case for most of us. I was simply fortunate to have a very close friend/mentor who has extensive experience both in the field as well as keeping more than his share of truly rare and touchy species. Being the type of person I am I must have asked him literally over 10,000 questions throughout the years. I was constantly at his house bothering him while he tried to get work done. He also taught me that the library at the University of Hawaii was actually a really good one as far as fish and plant stuff goes. I spent over a hundred hours in Hamilton Library reading journals and books about fish and plants. Much of my "research" was on various orchid species but I did also do a lot of reading on "fish stuff" as well. So I too have never seen thing as they are in nature. The things I've learned are solely through keeping fish/plants, reading, and conversations with friends which is probably how most of us have learned about the hobby.

From what I've noticed over the last 20 years or so I don't think the U.S. hobby will ever be on par with that of other countries. It's really sad but I think that's the reality of it. 

Here's an example of what I mean:
Recently I was conversing with a guy who I guess you would call a tropical fish importer. He actually has one of the more extensive lists that I've seen in a while and he seems to specialize in less common/obscurer stuff. Out of no where he started to imply that he can get anything and was starting to get a little cocky so I asked him if he could get a certain fish. He of course said yes and stated that he had gotten them in before from his collector in Africa. I asked him if he was certain and asked if he had a picture as I was confident that there was no way he had gotten the fish in. I think at this point he realized that he should stop lying to me so he recanted his statement and said, "I thought I got those in but I just saw the pic on Google images and the ones I had were really nice but not the exact same fish." The thing is there are no pics of the fish I asked for on Google images. There are pics but none of the correct fish. What does that say about our hobby when someone who is probably one of the more knowledgeable importers in the U.S. doesn't even know that the pic he's looking at isn't of the fish I asked for? What does that say when someone who most would look to for stuff like this uses "Google images" to I.D. fish?

The sad thing is that in the past year that I've been keeping fish again, stories very similar to the one above has happened on multiple occasions. 

Yet I've asked importers/collectors/hobbyists in Germany and the Netherlands for the same fish and they immediately know the fish I'm talking about and they immediately tell me that they can't get the fish. On a couple of fish they've said, "Don’t believe anyone who says that they've had it or can get it at this time".

One of the reasons why I feel it's our culture that keeps us where we are is that we suck in all similar hobbies. The reason I say this is because when it comes to Orchids things are a mirror image of the aquarium hobby. From what I've heard the dart frog hobby is the same way as well. As I'm sure the reptile hobby is the same way. How can they be so consistently better than us? They're not smarter than us are they? They don't have more money do they? I think it's simply that they care more than us. The U.S. is really good in things we care about.....Olympics, the NBA, NASA, War, Medicine, etc. We just don't place value in knowing as much as we can about fish or aquatic plants or orchids or other stuff like that. It puzzles me as to why but I think that has to be the only logical answer.


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## Zapins

hydrophyte said:


> as for species diversity, there is a great deal to explore in our waters in the Northern US. Wisconsin has something like 180 species of fully aquatic plants. tropical areas do not by default have greater biodiversity than temperate areas for all groups. i have a friend who recently went on a collecting trip in Cameroon, West Africa. they drove hundreds of miles and he took hundreds of pictures in many bodies of water, but the aquatic flora, which was abundant and present everywhere, seemed to have only included the familiar West Africa aquarium plants--a few _Anubias_, a couple of _Nymphaea_, _Bolbitis_ fern and two or three _Crinum_--and that was it.


I totally agree with this. I spent 5 months in trinidad and searched every stream, lake, puddle and other body of freshwater that I could find and I only found introduced species like water hyacinth, duckweed, and hydrilla. I did manage to find an aquatic moss that might have been native to trinidad, but it didn't live since my tank temperature was too warm when I brought it back...

I thought it was very odd not to find lots of freshwater plants on a tropical island with jungle habitat....


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## Submarinr

*US lagging in hobby(ies)?*

one possible rationale I would proffer for the conclusion that the US lags behind Europe and Asia in some of our hobbies could be socio-economic...
Many of my acquaintances in Europe/Asia seem to have much more free time than we in the US
Consider our work hours weekly and the fact that many of us have much less vacation (paid) time available to us... 
just an observation/explanation (possibility)

I know that if I could, I'd vacation every year TWICE - once w/ the wife and once w/ a fellow fish/plant nut - somewhere in SA if I could... (she is already on to my attempts to blend the two) :doh:

there are so many reasons, I am sure,

I am just happy to be able to learn about some of these newer species and every now and then get a shot at keeping them thanks to the persistence and success of other hobbyists here and in my club locally.

Can't wait to see this Bucephalandra species more readily available!!

Joe


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## miremonster

On the other hand, there are several plant species among hobbyists in the U.S., seemingly widely unknown and not yet available here in Europe: 
Staurogyne spp. others than the Tropica stuff from Rio Cristalino, Ammannia latifolia, Bacopa sp. 'Pantanal', Blyxa alternifolia, several Eriocaulaceae, Elatine americana, Hygrophila spp. 'Araguaia', 'Bold', 'Tiger', 'Red', Hyptis sp., Limnophila repens, L. sp. 'Gigantea', Lindernia sp. 'India', Ludwigia inclin. var. verticill. 'Araguaia' and 'Pantanal', L. senegalensis, Murdannia keisak, Purple Bamboo, Penthorum sedoides, Pogostemon erectus, P. yatabeanus, Polygonum praetermissum, P. hydropiperoides, P. sp. 'Acre', Potamogeton dentatus, true Rotala indica, R. sp. 'Araguaia', Rubiaceae sp. 'Pantanal', Sphaerocaryum malaccense.


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## mats808

I agree, we definitely do have some cool stuff here in the U.S. too. I just think that as a whole we have a lot of catching up to do. 20 years ago I thought that the future seemed bright for our hobby here in the U.S. Unfortunately it seems we are still near the bottom of the totem pole. 

We have 3 times the population of Germany and the Netherlands combined yet I think if you look at the respected hobbies as a whole it's pretty clear we're far behind. As an example I think if you let all but a few of the elite hobbyists here in the U.S. rub a magic lamp and they all got to have anything they've ever wanted or even heard of. I think our hobby would still be behind. We as a whole wouldn't even know what to ask for.

In my opinion, at the highest levels we do have a handful of really really good hobbyists. Maybe even some of the best in their respected specialties. The thing is our petshops suck. Our books tend to suck. Our magazines suck. Our overall hobby sucks. 

I apologize for causing this thread which I started to get totally off track. 

If anyone has more to share as far as Bucephalandras go please enlighten us.


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## hydrophyte

I have a few other suggestions that might account for these perceived differences, which I offer here as a list:


*Limited science edumacation* (among Americans)*-*is science education in most European countries much better than in the US? I actually studied the question of science education some in school, and it is pretty bad in the US. It seems that for serious hobbyists the hobby is strongly driven by science interest, so level of education and knowledge would be important factors.
*Victorian collectoritis* (among Europeans)*-*perhaps the enthusiasm for exploring new lands and the plants and animals has persisted for Europeans since the Victorian era, when it was highly fashionable. I understand that Americans also traveled far and wide during the 19th century and did a great deal of collecting, but maybe we conceptualized the value of such endeavors: that is, we value it less.
*Industry + hobby relations-*I don't have much to base this on, but I have the impression that in the United States patterns of consumption among aquarium enthusiasts are strongly "top-down": consumers take whatever the industry offers, rather than demanding anything that might be perceived as better or different. Is this situation different in Europe?
*Daily exposure to nature-*this is a generalization that I have heard many times. Since Europe has a substantially higher population density than North America, much more developed area and less open space, perhaps people have a strong need to keep miniature model ecosystems and captive animals in order to have regular access to nature. Conversely, in the US people might be just as likely to go fishing or hunting or gardening out in the yard or whatever other open-air activity to their liking.
*"Euro Envy"* (among Americans)*-*perhaps these perceptions owe in part to a notion that "the grass is greener on the other side", as opposed to real differences, or to commonly-held beliefs that almost everything (aside from automobile legroom) is better in Europe. 
Anyway, these are just a few ideas. Weren't we talking about those cute little _Bucephalandra_ plants? Does anybody know anything new about them?


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## mats808

Hydrophyte,

You make some interesting points as well as raise some good questions.

I think you would have to also include Asian, and S.E. Asian countries as well. It's not just Europe that's kicking our butt.

The one thing I tend to disagree with is your last point. I really don't think it's a "the grass is greener...." thing at all. I think we are definitely weak compared to other countries. As an example there's a Japanese website which I view pretty consistently. This is simply the website of a petshop in Japan. In their gallery I just counted 37 different localities for Apistogramma agassizii. Many of the localities have pics from multiple importations as there may have been subtle differences. Also for each location as well as each importation of each location there is usually multiple pics. And these are good pics. Just for the genius Apistogramma there's probably over 1000 images. 

To be honest it doesn't seem like the website gets updated too often nowadays but if you told me I had to pick between being able to view that website or any and all U.S. websites there's a good chance I would pick that site. I can't even read Japansese but there is still so much valuable information that can be learned from that site. In the U.S there just isn't anything that comes close. I will say that Laif Demason and Old World Exotic Fish does import some really good African stuff into the states. Also Toyin at Rehoboth Aquatics brings in some really good stuff from Africa as well. So I shouldn't have said no one comes close. Old World brings in an impressive selection of wild collected African cichlids which I think is a specialty that the U.S. actually seems to be pretty good at. For the smaller type obscure stuff which the U.S. doesn't seem so good at Toyin actually brings in some really good fish.

So there are exceptions but in general I really think the grass actually is greener outside our borders.


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## miremonster

Friends of me (Fanny & Sascha) have got a specimen of B. motleyana (the same reddish brown form) for several months in one of their tanks. It looks better than my Buceph. and is growing on a driftwood piece, somewhat shaded by Fissidens fontanus covering the wood. Height of the plant (with inflorescence) about 7 cm. The tank gets strong light (ca. 1 W/L), CO2 ca. 20 ppm or more, constant macro- and micronutrient fertilization, ca. 7°dGH, (ca. 4-5°KH?). The overall plant growth in this rather small tank (Riccia, Riccardia, Monosolenium, Staurogyne sp., HC 'Cuba', Blyxa japonica, Pogo. helferi, Ranunculus inundatus, Echinodorus tenellus var. parvulus) is very good. The more shaded leaves of the Bucephalandra look healthier than these in full light, I have the impression this species can also be grown in a low-light tank.


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## mats808

Thanks Heiko,

From looking at the pics I agree that it might be able to grow with less light. Like you stated the leaves in the most shade seem the healthiest. The leaves receiving full light seem burnt. The in situ pics kind of hint to this as well. 

Your friends with the plant are also living in Germany?

Thanks again for sharing.


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## miremonster

Hello Aaron, 
yes, they both are living in Göttingen, like me. The tap water here (as that in their tank) is relatively soft, but the water in my tank with the buceph's is harder (i don't know the actual values at the moment) because once I've messed around with calcareous stuff...
OK, so we can state that moderately (to low?) lit places are better for Bucephalandra than "sunny" ones.
Now finally I've found the "Aqua Planta" journal with the very informative article from W.A. Tomey, it'll take me a little time to write about it in a new posting.


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## mats808

Heiko,

I guess it grows well attached to driftwood? I've seen it growing in cracks of rocks but never attached to wood. Do you know if the plant is tied down or are its roots securing it to the wood?

When I saw the in situ photos I guessed: Lower light, soft water, with some flow

I wasn't too sure about the soil. Interesting that it's growing as an epiphyte.

Aaron


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## miremonster

The roots were not visible between the Fissidens. I can ask Fanny and Sascha if the roots are really attached. In my tank the better growing tuft sits on a piece of porose lava stone, the others on small smooth stones. First roots were attached 1 to 2 weeks after I've tied up the plantlets.
W.A. Tomey writes that the Bucephalandra motleyana grew in large dense tufts or mats firmly attached to smooth boulders by their extensive root mat. Submersed plants (to ca. 1.2 m deep) were found in strong current. (EDIT: emersed plants may also be inundated in torrential flow during flash floods.) A lot of organic debris was caught between the roots and rhizoms, surely a nutrient source for the plants.
Apparently the Bucephalandra plants invest much in their root system that appears disproportionately big.


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## hydrophyte

Hi. This is a quick post while I have the image link copied for a shot that I got of another neat little aroid, a _Schismatoglottis_ sp. from my collection.










I have a few lines of notes about it in my blog.


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## Vadim S




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## miremonster

Hello Hydrophyte, 
many Schismatoglottis spp. are "normal" tropical forest understory herbs and no rheophytes. But I think they may grow under conditions corresponding to hydroponic (coarse, drained substrate above water level), as many other terrestrial plants. 
@Vadim: Well developed specimen! Is it grown submersed?


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## BryceM

Hmmmm.

Comparing cultural values is always risky business and it's pretty easy to offend people. It's very clear that the hobby is perceived differently in different countries. I would be very careful saying that the hobby as a whole is "better" in certain countries. Some aspects are better, sure. National pride is a funny thing.

One thing I know for sure is that there are crazy-smart people all over the place. The vast majority of them keep to themselves and enjoy the hobby on a personal level, never getting much involved with clubs or forums.

When it comes to aquascaping and planted aquariums it's pretty clear that the hobby has a larger following in the Pacific Rim countries and many parts of Europe. It's easy to see how newer species would be more easily found in those areas. 90% of the world's aquascapers live in those areas. On a per-capita basis though I bet the dedicated US 'scaping hobbyist holds his own. There just aren't that many of us here in the US yet.


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## Vadim S

miremonster said:


> @Vadim: Well developed specimen! Is it grown submersed?


submerse


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## mats808

BryceM,

I agree that there are crazy smart people all over the world. Like I said, at the highest levels we have some very top notch aquarists. Gerald Allen used to live in the U.S. until he moved to Australia. Hopefully you know who Gerald Allen is. Honestly though there's maybe a handful. To illustrate my point let me ask you this. Obviously, this is impossible to know but if you had to guess how many Americans do you think actually knew what a Bucephalandra was before this thread? So far there have been 3 people who have shared anything useful about this Genus. Someone from Hong Kong, Russia, and Germany. Heiko who is from Germany even showed us pics of his friend's Bucephalandra. His friend also lives in Germany. So far no pics of Americans with Bucephalandras. Like you said, I definitely realize that there are great aquarists who just keep to themselves. I know many of them personally. Keep in mind that there are also great German, Dutch, Japanese, etc. hobbyist who keep to themselves as well, yet so far only non Americans seem to have even heard of these plants.

Would you say that the biggest population on this forum are Americans? I would guess so. Funny how there are probably a bigger % of Americans on this forum yet only non-Americans have shared any valuable information/pics of Bucephalandra.

I think part of the problem is that we don't even realize/admit that we are inferior. That's how far behind we are. We are so lacking that we don't even realize that we are lacking. The ones who know enough to realize where we stand are in denial. You can't fix a problem that you don't know exists, right? You also can't improve if you are in denial.

Have you ever visited some of the top notched foreign websites? I don't think you have. I have and I can tell you that it's so painfully obvious how much the U.S. hobby pales in comparison to that of other countries. I mean really, with the overall wealth of our nation as well as our huge population shouldn't we be kicking everyones butt? I already mentioned this in a previous post but can you think of an American website that has a 1000 pics of really high quality wild caught Apistogrammas? I bet you can't. And it's not just Apistos. It's everything.

I'm not trying to offend anyone here. I'm trying to inspire. When people post comments like why isn't this in the U.S. I just want to scratch my head. I can't believe that we don't all know that if you want the coolest, newest, rarest stuff it's never in the U.S. Like I said before there are exceptions. There are some really hardcore, truly top notch Americans who have gone into the field and brought back some truly rare, sometimes new species.....but in general this really isn't the case. Our hobby needs to catch up big time. Unless we drop our egos and admit we are lacking we will never get to the level of some of the other countries.


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## BryceM

mats808 said:


> Have you ever visited some of the top notched foreign websites? I don't think you have.
> 
> Unless we drop our egos and admit we are lacking we will never get to the level of some of the other countries.


Have I ever visited top-notched foreign websites? Yes. Rather frequently I'd say. Despite your rather impudent tone throughout this thread, I'm not totally ignorant of the "outside world". I lived in Europe for several years and I do try to keep abreast of the larger world-wide view of our hobby. We all have things to learn from others and we all have things to contribute. One of the best parts of APC's community is our international membership.

Do you think it's the American ego that is responsible for what you perceive as US inferiority? Sorry, but that arguement doesn't fly with me. U.S. bashing, (or bashing of any other country) is a rather pointless exercise. The simple fact is that the hobby is very young and very small here in the US. That's OK. It's growing. I doubt very much that our "failure" to be number one in this particular area has much to do with "American" ego, generalized ignorance, or any other cultural character flaw.

OK, enough of this.

Back to the OP's topic.......


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## Fishtory

I thought the hobby was lagging in the US mainly because it didn't catch on over here til later... so many flora/fauna just haven't made it here yet.

Egos do get in our way, and I agree that in many ways we Americans carry big egos, but I don't think that applies in a hobby. Sometimes things just catch on in one country *(or area) more than another.

Just my 2 cents..... and I have heard of these plants, but have not seen them so I appreciate the thread no matter who brought the information to the table!


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## mats808

BryceM,

Really I'm not bashing the U.S. I love the U.S. and would never actually want to live anywhere else. I'm just sharing my opinion about where I think our hobby is. Being honest about something and realizing where you stand doesn't make you a hater. It doesn't even make you negative. Personally I think it's good to be honest about your strengths and weaknesses no matter what the relative percentages of either may be? I think that's what you should do when you love yourself and in this case love your country, hobby, etc.

You are absolutely right. We all have things we can learn from each other. Parents.....at least good parents learn from the children all the time. I think you may be taking my words too far. I never said that no American or America as a whole has nothing to offer. All I'm saying is that we are behind. In your last post you kind of seem to agree, although you feel it may be because our hobby is young here. 

I think there also is a misunderstanding of what I'm talking about. I'm talking about the overall hobby. Fish of all kinds, plants of all kinds, and Aquascaping too. The reason I mention this is that you state that our hobby is young and in a way you use this as one of the reasons why we may have some catching up to do. I have no idea how "young" our hobby actually is because I am only 37 years old and truthfully have never done specific research on that. I will say that my father was heavily into the hobby when he was much younger than I and he is in his 60's. So I feel like regardless of the actual age of our hobby we've had ample time to be in the ballpark. When you mention our "failure to be #1" you are also misunderstanding me. I don't think it's a challenge. I just wish that our hobbies were at similar levels so that we could get the good stuff when they get it......not years later or never.

So again please don't think that I am a U.S. hater. I've kept fish since I was 5ish and I've been what I would call a U.S. hobbyist for about 20 years now and I love it. Here's why I seem like I have so much frustration....and that's all it is......it's not hate. When I first really got into the hobby (1987ish) and started to want things that you couldn't get at the petshop or see in TFH I saw a Japanese magazine. I was floored. I searched every book I had access to and could not find any info on these fishes I saw. A couple years later I worked at a petshop and so I was able to search through even more books with no success. Soon after this I got a subscription for the Japanese magazine. This is when I realized that it wasn't a fluke magazine that I saw the first time. It was pretty consistent that I got to see something that floored me. Around that point I met a hobbyist who changed the way I saw the hobby. He taught me most of what I know today. I really had high hopes for the hobby here in the U.S. and I really thought that it was a matter of time. Now roughly 20 years later where we stand on the international level has remained largely unchanged.

I also had a collection of around 200 orchid species and I can tell you that the status of that hobby is quite similar. I've kept 1 type of dart frog so I am no expert but a friend of mine is pretty much world famous in that field and so I at least know that it's pretty similar with that hobby as well. 

Like I said before there are great hobbyists all over the world....U.S. hobbyists included. I apologize if it seemed like I was trying to hurt our hobby. I really was trying to help. That's why I started this thread. I kind of had an idea where the information would come from but at least U.S. hobbyists would get to possibly see pics and read about a plant that is a little on the rarer/more obscure side.

Yes the thread has gotten a little off track and it is mostly my fault. I'm sorry for that as well. I've been frustrated for such a long time and sometimes I let it out when it may not be appropriate but don't worry I probably won't be posting much anymore. I was going to start threads every few weeks on a fish or plant that was on the rarer side but I realize this might not be such a good idea. 

Again, I am sorry for any bad feelings I caused.


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## mats808

I also should just clarify and maybe appologize for my usage of "ego". I didn't mean that Americans are raging egomaniacs. All I meant is that we can't learn or improve if we first don't admit that we are lacking. That's not to say that we won't learn and improve regardless it's just that I don't think we can truly get to where we could be if we are too busy trying to prove how great of a hobby we already have. I just meant that if we could instead admit that we are behind it might make it easier to catch up.

Personally, I would always like to be the weakest hobbyist in the room. That way I have the best chance of learning the most. But that won't happen if I sit there convincing myself that I am just as good. I guess that's kind of an example of what I meant.

For the last time I appologize and really hope that my comments can be used constructively.


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## Zapins

So? Has anyone had luck propagating the stuff yet? Mine has just been sitting there for 2-3 months now not doing much.


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## miremonster

The friends of me I've mentioned above have cut some rooted side shoots from their plant now. When I've photographed it 3 months ago, the branches were still very short: http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumapc/attachment.php?attachmentid=9056&d=1243862344 That means, from the time when they have obtained the Bucephalandra, it took about 6 months or more until they could propagate it first.
I think, In-vitro propagation would be worth a try.


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## hydrophyte

Hey *Zapins* do you have any pictures of yours?


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## Tex Gal

Mats808, I don't think you should take all your marbles and go home. I have been enjoying the thread. I think it's hard to communicate intent in the printed word. You and Hydrophyte had the "argue" word going around in your posts. As I read them both I didn't see any arguing and in fact both of you came to that same conclusion as well.

I would love to see you continue to post new plants for everyone to see. *Pass it forward* - all the help that you received from you neighbor can now go forward to this community. I have said so many times to people I see here with so much knowledge that I wish I lived next door to them. I could learn so much.

I think it's been interesting to hear why people think the hobby is behind in the U.S. Obviously we are young compared to places that have been doing this for centuries. Perhaps there is some truth in each point made. But really, when it comes right down to it - *sharing the knowledge is what's important*. You certainly can do that. Each one can teach one and at least that one can be a little farther ahead.

Don't get discouraged with the lack. Continue to go forward. You've inspired me to continue to look through the foreign web sites even though I don't know their written word. I've had a few bookmarked for a while. Perhaps you can share some of your favorites here. Keep the posts coming!!! 

Hey if I come to HI can I come visit you and see your tanks?


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## hydrophyte

Hey I just discovered what looks like a pretty cool group, the *International Aroid Society*:

www.Aroid.org

I don't have a sense of how much interest the members might have in obscure aquatic aroids. It seems they have a lot of discussion of taros and other similar tropicals. They have a show and sale coming up in Miami the third weekend in September. I sure would like to go.


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## Zapins

Just an update on my plants.
I just potted one in soil and put it under my 4x54w T5HO fixture (in the 90g). It developed two new leaf buds within the first week. So I think this plant needs soil and very high light when being grown submersed. I plan to pot the remaining 2 plants in soil and transfer them to the T5 tank. Hopefully soon I will have enough to propagate it...

I previously had it in my 2x55w (55g) PC tank dosed with EI and it didn't do anything for months and months.


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## miremonster

Hello Michael, 
thank You for the update! I also have received the impression that nutrient uptake by the roots is important for submerged Bucephalandra. Although the plant is able to firmly attach on rock, it seems to be advantageous if the roots can grow into nutrient-rich substrate at the same time.
Your soil = aquasoil?
Perhaps the potted Bucephalandra would do the same under rather medium light conditions?


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## Zapins

My soil is scott's topsoil from the local hardware store. Its just regular black topsoil, nothing fancy 

I also wonder if the plant would be ok in medium light, probably. I think I might try it out if I can get the plant to produce some babies. I just don't want to risk losing them. I think the growth rate might be similar to anubias judging by the 2 new leaves it sent up in the last week. At this rate I could probably get a few more plantlets in the next two months or so.


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## miremonster

That sounds good! The topsoil may probably also be suitable for emersed Bucephalandra culture, with normal moisture, not really wet.
I'm trying a simple emersed culture method, kind of hydroponic, inspired by "wabi-kusa": a piece of filter sponge in irregular form, messed with some loamy soil, with incisions for the plants, in a flowerpot saucer with water. Some Vesicularia montagnei. Until now it does quite well, also flowers appeared, and the moss covers the sponge rubber now. But some newer leaves melted, similar to Cryptocoryne rot, probably due to irregular nutrient supply.


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## Zapins

Hmm nice pics! I think I'd like to try emersing it when I have new plantlets in a few weeks. In my experience emersed plants take much longer to grow then submersed plants.


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## mats808

Miremonster, thanks for sharing your pics. Your plant looks to be growing well. Nice emersed culture.

This is based off of no practical experience but I'm guessing that if you grow it in really bright light then you may need a nutrient rich substrate for the plant to do well. I would tend to grow it with a lot less light then mentioned. I've seen pictures of plants grown in the "dark" that are growing without a substrate (on rocks and wood) and they look really healthy. No idea how fast they're growing but the leaves are clean and the plants look strong.

Zapins, can you take a pic of your plants? I find it interesting that your plants grow faster submerged vs emersed. Are you talking about plants in general or this specific plant? In general I've found plants to grow quicker under emersed conditions. I'm not a high light guy though so we may be comparing different things. I tend to like plants that prefer less light and I grow them in the dark by todays standards. As an example one of my 40 Breeders has a single 18inch T8 bulb and I use 60% shade cloth to cut down the light even more. My favorite types of stuff are things like Anubias, Microsorums, Bollbitis, Cryptocorynes, etc. In my experience these types of plants seem to grow faster emersed unless it's a plant that just doesn't like to be out of water.

Anyways, please post a pic of your Bucephalandra. Cell phone pic if need be, it's still worth a 1000 words.

Cheers,
Aaron


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## Zapins

miremonster clear your inbox please!!!


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## mats808

Hi All,

I recently received this unknown Bucephalandra species. Awaiting location data.









I also have a piece growing emersed. Can anyone share their experiences working with the genus?

Cheers,
Aaron


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## ianmax

Hi friends,
i'm Massimo Iannella, www.rareaquaticplants.com administrator, today i have published on my site a important Bucephalandra sp. 'Sintag'' experience 



Uploaded with ImageShack.us


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## mats808

Hi Massimo,

Thanks for sharing. Nice culture. I enjoyed your website as well.

Cheers,
Aaron


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## ianmax

Hi,
thanks 
in last post there is a error, NO B. sp. 'Sintag', 
correct is B. sp. 'Sinta*n*g'


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## Vasteq

How is it with the second part of name bucephalandra. Are they all are named motoleyana? I saw name like: Bucephalandra cf. Kedagang , Bucephalandra sp. Kedagang, and Bucephalandra Motoleyana Kedagang. I have some Motoleyana but i do not know what exactly. I thought that Motoleyana is just Motoleyana.


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## ianmax

hi,
for moment all Bucephalandra spp. should be ecotypes or variation of B. motleyana. I contacted Ms. Kasselmann, her told me that after seeing, together Mr. Bogner, my plants that i sent.


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## pianofish

How much do these plants usually run in price?
I'd love to try one or two in my lowtech 75 gallon medium light tank if its not too bad on my wallet. Do they need a certain ph/ hardness-softness/ temperature to grow correctly?

Thanks,
Pianofish


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## JustLikeAPill

There are some for $90 for sale now on the forum to give you an idea.

That's a good price right now.


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## ianmax

Hi,
i sell these species less money.
You can see information in my site here, is in Italian only for moment: http://www.rareaquaticplants.com/in...&view=article&id=395:bucephalandra-sp-sintang

you need registration please.


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## Vasteq

*Bucephalandra sp. Copi Susu:*

















*Bucephalandra sp. Green West Kalimantan:*









*Bucephalandra sp. Narrow Leaf Sintang:*









*Bucephalandra sp. Midnight Blue:*

















*Bucephalandra sp. Fake Catherinae:*

















*Bucephalandra sp. Red Gaia:*


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## rs79

Anyone that's followed Jungle Mike's exploits in the jungles of Borneo has seen lots of these and a few different species.

Think of them as a slow growing version of Anubias. They seem to grow mostly on rocks with a fairly decent current. I've never seen a photo of one emersed in nature, they appear as rheophytes.

The thing is, pick the rarest and hardest to grow of all Crypts, and in nature you'll see colonies of them en masse, entire areas just covered in these plants. Not so with Bucephalandra, you see one or two, maybe a dozen in an area. So they're not only rare to find but you won't find very many when you do.

Tissue culture is the only way it'll be possible to service the pet trade, even at the advanced hobbyist level. I suspect there's more people that want these than there exists Bucephalandra plants in the entire world.


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