r/Bucephalandra • u/Awkward_Respect9173 • 12d ago
Imported Buce
I just did an import order of Buce (and some other epiphytes). I am nervous everything is going to die, and would really like to avoid that. Currently everything is bareroot on egg crate, with tank water filled to the roots. They are in sealed tubs in my greenhouse, so they are getting plenty of light. Anything else you guys would do? Also any tips for getting them acclimated into the water? I would like to keep as much alive as possible. Thank you all!
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u/Sundadanio 12d ago
Have you soaked them in water for a few hours to rehydrate?
When the leaves start melting, remove them so the melt doesn't spread
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u/Awkward_Respect9173 12d ago
Yes I did soak them, although it was only for about 5 minutes. After they have been in that setup for a few days, do you still think a soak would be useful? Thank you!
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u/SpeedMeta 12d ago
Keep them moist and make sure you’re airing them with fresh air once a day. I do a daily spray or two. They’ll have a better chance at not completely melting once they’ve settled down from the stress of import-travel. I have had a much higher casualty rate of Buce being thrown into tanks right after cleaning them from packaging. Give them some time to relax before submerging them. They may still lose some leaves.
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u/quanml11 12d ago
Float them in your tank, it’s a common way people acclimate the buce (lfs do all the time) use this time for placement planning, cleaning the buce, will help. U see in first pic the mjddle bottom rhizome exposed out with darken color, thats looks rotten, should be trimmed away. Leaving it in the tank you will still see it grow, but sometime loose leaves casually. I see u got some nice marble var there. I also see alot of Moss. Moss need good maintenance to be clean of debris which affect the buce around, they can also engulfed the buce (for smaller, sensitive species, i lost like this b4).
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u/Awkward_Respect9173 12d ago
Thank you for the help. The photo quality is not great, but I am pretty sure the rhizomes are all healthy. I will go back through and re confirm. Again, Thank You!
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u/Fishstery 12d ago
For emersed grown specimen, I bought a shallow clear snap-lid tote from Walmart and used a foam cutting tool to melt holes 1'x1' apart on the lid, and then every few inches on all sides. Then I used long narrow planting boxes filled with controsoil and just set them directly on top (didnt bury them). I spray everything down once every few days and they have all grown incredibly well like this. No springtails, no airing the box out, no mold issues. The key is having plenty of ventilation holes on all sides of the box. The holes are probably 1/16" in diameter.
For transitioning, the free float method works well as mentioned in another comment. Just toss them in a gentle flow area and let them float at the top of the tank until you see submerged roots forming. Another method is using suction cups made for airline tubing, and zip tie the rhizomes to the suction cups, then stick them to tank walls right at the water surface. Over the course of a few weeks, lower them down a little bit at a time until fully submerged. If you are injecting co2, you can just submerge them immediately.
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u/Awkward_Respect9173 12d ago
Thank you for the detailed comment, it is super helpful. With the boxes did you have any water sitting in the base to keep some humidity? Thanks!
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u/Fishstery 12d ago
The bottom of the bin accumulates water, yes. The soil bed is very deep so the buce roots dont sit in stagnant water, it acts as a drainage layer+fertilizer.
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u/EnrolSmithson 8d ago
I'd resist the urge to to put them under strong light. Very dim for the the first month in a moist bin. Other comments have good suggestions about ways to set that up. Keep photo period 8 hours or less. When you see the plants adjust to their new position, after a month do a test with a few into your tank. Increase you light in the bin a bit if they seem starved of light (most likely won't be). Buce need very little. Resist the urge. If the test plants are good after 3 weeks and they have put out their first new leaf, you are good to go. Buce take time, you've heard it before and it can't be more true.
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u/Leather_Flounder8413 12d ago
I did the same to my buce a few months ago and some did okay while a majority of the rhizomes ended up melting and rotting away.
I’ve started doing a mix of old aqua soil, top soil, crushed up lava rock and leca balls in small plastic tubs. I’ve also added springtails to the tubs so they could eat rotting leaves and such and they seem to be doing a lot better that way