Bucephalandra Theia is an easy, slow-growing Buce for rock and driftwood, with broad, soft leaves in olive to reddish-brown tones.
Did you know
The metallic blue-green sheen on Bucephalandra leaves is structural color from light interference, not a pigment. That is why the shimmer shifts as your viewing angle changes.
Caring for Bucephalandra Theia
Superglue or tie the rhizome to rock or driftwood and never bury it. A buried rhizome rots.
Bucephalandra Theia stays easy in low light with no CO2. Moderate light and CO2 deepen the color and speed its slow, leaf-by-leaf growth. Liquid fertilizer reaches it better than root tabs, because it feeds from the water column as well as its roots. It is comfortable from 70 to 82°F (21 to 28°C).
The thin rhizome creeps along hardscape and forms low mats over stone and wood. Divide it into pieces with several leaves each to propagate. Good flow and regular water changes keep algae off the slow-growing foliage.
Good to know
Theia is an undescribed cultivar, so it sells under a trade name rather than a formal species epithet. Bucephalandra is an aroid genus (family Araceae) endemic to Borneo. Scale-like staminodes on its spadix separate the male and female flower zones. They thicken over the developing fruit, then shed to expose the ripe berries.
In the wild
Bucephalandra Theia, like all Bucephalandra, is a trade form collected from Borneo. There the genus grows as an obligate rheophyte, clinging to rocks in shaded, fast-flowing forest streams.
Common questions
Does Bucephalandra Theia need to be planted in the substrate?
No. Bucephalandra Theia grows attached to rock or wood, so tie or glue the rhizome in place. If you plant its roots, keep the rhizome above the substrate, since a buried rhizome rots.
Does Bucephalandra Theia need CO2?
No, but it helps. Bucephalandra Theia can grow without injected CO2, and added CO2 makes it grow faster.
How much light does Bucephalandra Theia need?
Bucephalandra Theia is a low-light plant, and the light that comes with a standard tank kit is enough for it.
Does Bucephalandra Theia need root tabs?
No. Bucephalandra Theia feeds from the water, so a liquid fertilizer suits it better. Root tabs only help if its roots reach into the substrate.
How do you propagate Bucephalandra Theia?
Bucephalandra Theia propagates by rhizome division. Cut the rhizome into pieces with several leaves each, then tie or plant each piece.
How tall does Bucephalandra Theia grow?
Bucephalandra Theia grows to about 3.9 in (10 cm) tall. It grows slowly and rarely needs trimming.
Low lightEpiphyte3.9 in (10 cm)
Low lightEpiphyte2.4 in (6 cm)
Low lightEpiphyte2.4 in (6 cm)