Feel free to distribute to me anytime
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Journal 20 gallon Rotala florida tank
- Thread starter Dennis Wong
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APF carries it
With buceps I feel like there's a big mismatch between way too many species. and way too few clear reports on differences and growth habits and ease of maintaining
I really appreciated your overview here!
Dennis mentions that the tissue cultured version do not retain the deep purple coloration. See here. Its sad because I have wanted this plant for a very long time but I struggle to even consider buying with the price tag it has.APF carries it
With buceps I feel like there's a big mismatch between way too many species. and way too few clear reports on differences and growth habits and ease of maintaining
I really appreciated your overview here!
- Thread starter
- #64
Dennis Wong
Active Member
I bring free samples to every US event I go to, and if you pass by singapore you can collect them also ha.Feel free to distribute to me anytime
TC versions never get the deep purple coloration. I've seen everything from light touches of purple to completely green ones (see below as compared to BG2011 from another tank). The APF ones look nothing like brownie ghost - even the leaf shape is wrong. My guess is that if were real we would be seeing a lot more impressive pictures of them being grown - even in mediocre low tech conditions the coloration is good.
Samples taken from CO2 injected tank (left) and after 4 months in a easy going low tech aquascape (right) (not the Sudipta shaw high powered kind).
Sadly, even for non TC plants there is significant natural variation within the "brownie ghost" family. I've seen quite well known sellors that claim to sell BG2011 that I will never call BG2011 because they look so different from what I have. Stable BG2011 should really have no discernable green other than for emersed growth, very small/young leaves, or trauma from fresh planting. It loses its shine when not grown well, but the leaves remain dark coloured.
1 real BG2011 vs TC ones below, easy to spot.
The plant propagates very well emersed grown, it loses its coloration when grown emersed but gains it back very quickly once submerged. I've done many emersed to submerged conversions and they look identical after submerged growth for some time.
In as neutral lighting as I can manage for buyer reference:
If you are a member of the AGA, look in the archived videos from past conventions for the Denver convention. Ghazanfar gave an excellent presentation on Buce back when they were still a bit new. Discussed morphology, habitat, identification, flowering, reproduction, etc etc. All those good things. It was top notch. He speculated that there were probably only a few actual species of Buce and that most were the same thing grown in different conditions or just slight variations of the same species.With buceps I feel like there's a big mismatch between way too many species. and way too few clear reports on differences and growth habits and ease of maintaining
- Thread starter
- #66
Dennis Wong
Active Member
I think the current problem with Bucephalandra (that applies to some other species in the aquarium trade as well), is that the same species can have quite different morphologies across the spectrum, and when folks buy something they want a specific color varietal and not just the correct species. I guess in the same way that all dogs are one species, but one breed can be very different from another. This makes sales and trading plants especially troublesome - there is no governing body, just comments by one trader/hobbyist or another and by reputation of said trader/hobbyist. Due to the small industry size, I doubt this will change either.
Names for plants used in the current tank
- Thread starter
- #67
Dennis Wong
Active Member
I was given this "Eriocaulon Sao Benedito" and it seems to be a smaller version of Eriocaulon setaceum.Wondering whether it will be a good compliment to Rotala florida. Its a tad messier than Syngonanthus. I think the larger pipeworts are more impressive as a whole.
Green vs red Rotala macrandra mini type 4:
Spare plants corner of the tank. Have to decide whether to use them in the next re-arrangement or the tank or shift them elsewhere. One orange version of Elatine triandra, white/variegated pearlweed, and Eriocaulon Sao Benedito
Dennis, could you post top view of your tanks thx
- Thread starter
- #69
Dennis Wong
Active Member
I'll try to take some in the coming weeks. The stems got very extended after my 2 weeks in the UK. Just replanted the florida bushes, and removed some of the Ludwigia arcuata as I wanted shorter plants all round to show off the wood some more.
Thanks! Saw video from MJ Aquascaping who mentioned it, seemed like a great meeting!
From a technical standpoint, how does one get such deep orange/red hues without nitrate limitation ? You had mentioned using APT EI, so curious how EI and deep colors go hand in hand. Does your tank bottom out on nitrates because of plant mass ?
Second technical question, when is the correct height to trim L.Arcuata. I am getting pretty comfortable with rotala blood red but the L.arcuata seems quite delicate and seems to grow slowly in my tank. Your article on this plant goes over how to get better colors but is there anything that causes it to stunt and does it accept trimming at very low height.
- Thread starter
- #71
Dennis Wong
Active Member
The reds for plants that require nitrate limitation (such as Ludwigia arcuata in this tank) will never be as red as tanks that have nitrate limitation. However, you can compensate for lack of nitrate limitation by having a lot of light. This tank gets around 8.5 - 9 hours? (i need to check) of light per day, and its 300~ PAR where the arcuata bushes are. The nitrate levels are around 15ppm consistently, never dropping below 10ppm.
Trimming wise, Ludwigia arcuata has a lot of flexibility, I think it can be trimmed at any height. You can use it as a low foreground bush or as a much taller background plant (but this takes more time to grow out). I find that it doesn't stunt easily - it is generally a very resilient plant. However, it does thicken up more nicely with more light. I think under 150 umols of PAR it doesn't grow as nicely
Some examples of deeper reds for Ludwigia arcuata in N limited tanks (near 0ppm residual levels)
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- #72
Dennis Wong
Active Member
oh I discovered this pic from a couple? few weeks back. May have discounted it because I couldn't find an angle without the light reflection. but here you go
Thank you!
- Thread starter
- #74
Dennis Wong
Active Member
Have this sitting in the holding pond - Microsorum pteropus 'Orange'. Wondering why it hasn't gotton more popular despite being around for years by now. Maybe could use it as a planted bush
How big does this get Dennis? Do you have images of it in a scape? What kind of par do you have over it to get that burnt orange look.
- Thread starter
- #76
Dennis Wong
Active Member
It seems normal (non dwarf java fern varietal) sized? Which means slightly large for most tanks. around 150 PAR you can get the colouration above, so not that crazy.
Can't find anything that gorgeous listed in the states
Closest I see is these guys' Red
Buce has one they call gold Sparkle
And a different one they call Sunrise
APF calls this one Red
Be worth giving these a try under 150 par to see what they do
Attachments
Looks like Italy has some
Microsorum Orange Leaf 2 Rhizome 7/10cm 8/10leaf | eBay
Microsorum 'Orange Leaf' – Il tocco esotico per il tuo acquario! Se vuoi dare al tuo acquario un look unico, il Microsorum 'Orange Leaf' è la scelta perfetta! Questo splendido felce d'acquario si distingue per le sue foglie ondulate che, in condizioni ottimali, assumono una sfumatura...
ebay.us
The seller reached out to me: his shipping is $20 US, here is the direct website
Microsorum orange leaf 1 plant 7cm rhizome 8/10 leaf
Microsorum ‘Orange Leaf’ – 7 cm Rhizome (8–10 Leaves) English: Microsorum ‘Orange Leaf’ is a rare variant of the classic Java fern, distinguished by its copper-orange undertones and graceful, elongated fronds. When mature, each leaf glows with warm reflections under strong light, giving the...
florithglbuc.com
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- Thread starter
- #80
Dennis Wong
Active Member
Managed to snap some pics of the Hyphessobrycon sp "Muzel red cherry'. They are in the pond where all the spare fish and plants go.
Really solid red colouration for folks wanting a pure red fish. Easy going and not very aggressive either for their size. Neocaridina shrimps continue to multiply in the same tank.
Really solid red colouration for folks wanting a pure red fish. Easy going and not very aggressive either for their size. Neocaridina shrimps continue to multiply in the same tank.
