Leaf colourgreen
Native range
- Borneo
rhizome on stone and wood midground nano tank foreground
A small rock plant from Borneo whose dark leaves carry a blue sheen that shifts as you move past the tank. Kept exactly like an anubias: tied to wood or stone, no substrate needed.
- Light
- low
- Difficulty
- easy
- Height
- 5 – 10 cm
- Temperature
- 20 – 26 °C
Parameters
Plant typerhizome
Growth rateslow
CO₂ demandlow
Tolerates lightlow – high
Carbonate hardness0 – 10 °dKH
Placementon stone and wood +3
Propagationrhizome division, division +1
Grows emersedyes
Appearance
Narrow leaves 5–10 cm above a creeping horizontal stem, deep green with a metallic blue cast that shows best under bright light. Underwater the leaf surface is dotted with tiny pale specks, which is normal for the genus.
Keeping
Easy and slow. Dim light is enough, carbon dioxide is not required, and it will hold in almost any water. The one rule is the same as for anubias: the thick horizontal stem must stay above the substrate, or it rots. Growth is a few leaves a month, so do not expect it to fill a space.
Placement
Tied or glued to stones and driftwood in the front or middle of the tank, where the colour can be seen close up. Its size suits a nano tank.
Propagation
Cut the horizontal stem into pieces with three or four leaves and tie each one down separately; a settled plant also grows side shoots of its own.
Fish and this plant
Water conditions match
The water suits 972 of 1249 species in the catalogue — these are the ones people look up most often.
Swordtail GuppiesCobra GuppyBlood Red MollyButterflyfishRed Zebra CichlidJulii CorydorasFeatherfin SynodontisRed-finned ParotocinclusGastromyzon monticolaEgg-shaped GoldfishFlame TetraGardner's KillifishAfrican TetraKenyi CichlidCuckoo CatfishGolden SwordtailHypsolebias picturatusCommon ZaccoLabeo BicolorGambusiaFlying barbGastromyzon scitulusAlbino Zebra DanioZebra Mbuna
Will eat this plant
These species damage plants, especially when their diet is short of vegetable food.
Bengal LoachZebra LoachBurmese Border LoachEmperor BotiaMarbled HeadstanderPellegrin's LeporinusLeporinus striatusFalse Black TetraCommon MetynnisMylossoma duriventreRed Whiptail CatfishMolly sphenopsBalloon MollyLyretail MollyMarble MollyHi-Fin PlatyHawaii PlatyBlue PlatyPintail PlatyBlack PlatyChocolate Molly
Cultivars
The same plant with a different look: light, water and care are shared with the species.
Other varieties: Bucephalandra sordidula ’Blue’, Bucephalandra sordidula Blue, Bucephalandra sordidula Blue Topf