Achilles Black is one of the darkest Bucephalandra varieties in the trade — near-black green leaves that catch blue when light strikes them at an angle. Like every Buce it grows slowly on wood or rock and asks for very little, which is exactly why collectors keep it.
What You'll Receive
- Sold as a Bunched Plants or Potted Plants.
- Pictures are not the actual plants you will receive, but a sample representation.
Plant Profile
- Common name — Achilles Black Buce
- Scientific name — Bucephalandra sp. 'Achilles Black'
- Also known as — Buce, Bucep; tribe Schismatoglottideae, family Araceae
- Origin — Borneo, Indonesia
- Placement — Foreground to midground, attached to hardscape
- Mature height — 2-4 inches
- Growth rate — Slow
Care
- Difficulty — Beginner
- Light — Low to medium
- CO₂ — Not required
- Water — 72-82°F, pH 6.0-7.5
- Substrate — None needed; tie or glue the rhizome to wood or rock
- Growth habit — Amphibious epiphyte, feeds from roots and water column
- Propagation — Rhizome division
Grower's Notes
- Expect roughly an inch of growth per year. Bucephalandra is one of the slowest plants sold. Most arrive around 2-3 inches and stay close to that for a long time — which is why it holds a scape's composition without trimming.
- Never bury the rhizome. The horizontal stem must sit in open water, tied or glued to a surface. Buried, it rots, and a plant this slow does not grow back from it in a season.
- Dark varieties need low light, not none. Strong lighting bleaches the near-black tone toward green and invites algae onto leaves the plant cannot replace quickly. Low to medium light keeps it dark.
- Look at it from the side. The blue iridescence on dark Buce only shows at an angle. Mounted flat on the substrate and viewed from above, it just reads as a dark green plant.
- Melt after shipping is normal. Some leaves may drop in the first fortnight while the rhizome settles. Leave it attached and undisturbed — new growth comes from the rhizome, not the old leaves.
Want to go deeper? Read our complete Bucephalandra Care Guide.
Notes
- Pictures are not the actual plants you will receive, but a sample representation.
- Never release aquarium plants into natural waterways.
Shipping Policy
At Aquarium Plants Factory, we carefully package and ship all orders to ensure plants and livestock arrive healthy and ready to thrive.
Order Processing Time
Most orders are processed within 1–2 business days after payment is received.
Orders placed on weekends or holidays will be processed on the next business day.
Orders containing out-of-stock, pre-order, or backorder items may require additional handling time.
Once your order ships, tracking information will be sent to your email.
Shipping Schedule
Live Plants
Live plant orders ship Monday through Saturday when using United States Postal Service (USPS).
Most plant-only orders ship within 1–3 business days, excluding products that are out of stock, pre-order, or backorder.
Estimated USPS delivery time is 2–5 business days, depending on your location.
UPS Express Shipping
We offer the following UPS expedited shipping options:
UPS 2-Day Air®
Estimated delivery: 2 business days
Please note that UPS 2-Day Air® is not a guaranteed service in the event of carrier delays, weather disruptions, or operational issues.
UPS Next Day Air®
Estimated delivery: 1 business day
This service is guaranteed by UPS according to their service guarantee policies.
UPS expedited orders ship Monday through Wednesday only to ensure packages arrive within the same week and avoid weekend delays.
Please note that orders require 1–2 business days of handling time before shipment.
To help ensure same-week delivery, please place UPS orders on or before Tuesday at 6:00 AM Pacific Time (PT).
Live Animals Shipping
Live animal orders ship Monday through Wednesday only.
This schedule ensures animals arrive within the same week and do not remain in transit over the weekend.
Handling time for live animal orders typically ranges from 1–5 business days, depending on:
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Weather conditions
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Livestock health
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Shipping destination
Tracking information will be emailed once the order has been shipped.
Free Shipping
We offer Free Shipping on eligible orders over $150 within the contiguous United States.
Estimated delivery time for free shipping orders is 2–5 business days.
If your order contains both live plants and live animals, the shipment may be combined and the appropriate shipping rate will be shown at checkout.
Free Shipping is not available for customers located in:
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Alaska
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Hawaii
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Puerto Rico
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Guam
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U.S. Virgin Islands
Customers in these locations must select Expedited or Express shipping options at checkout.
Delivery Time Estimates
Delivery times shown at checkout are estimates provided by the shipping carrier.
While we work hard to ship orders quickly, delivery times may vary due to factors outside of our control, including:
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Weather conditions
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Carrier delays
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High shipping volumes
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Transportation disruptions
Aquarium Plants Factory is not responsible for shipping delays caused by the carrier.
Delayed or Lost Packages
Occasionally, shipments may take longer than expected.
A package is considered lost only after 15 business days (approximately 3 weeks) from the ship date.
If a package is confirmed lost by the carrier, we may offer a 50/50 replacement, meaning:
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Aquarium Plants Factory covers 50% of the replacement cost
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The customer covers 50% plus shipping
Address Accuracy
Customers are responsible for providing a complete and accurate shipping address when placing an order.
Please ensure that your address is correct when using payment methods such as:
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Credit / Debit Card
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PayPal
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Apple Pay
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Google Pay
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Amazon Pay
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Shopify Pay
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AliPay
Orders returned due to:
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Incorrect address
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Refused delivery
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Failed delivery attempts
may not be eligible for a refund.
Order Cancellations
If you need to cancel an order, please contact us as soon as possible.
Orders can only be canceled before they have been shipped.
Once an order has been shipped, it can no longer be canceled.
Returns
Due to the sensitive nature of live goods, all sales are final.
We do not accept returns or exchanges for:
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Live plants
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Live animals
For any shipping questions, please contact us before placing your order.
Aquarium Plants Factory
https://www.AquariumPlantsFactory.com
What We Guarantee
24-Hour Live Arrival Guarantee — We guarantee that live plants and live aquatic animals will arrive alive. In the rare case of a Dead on Arrival (DOA), you must notify us within 24 hours of the delivery time recorded on the carrier's official tracking page. The guarantee is void after that 24-hour window, as condition can no longer be attributed to transit.
How to Submit a Claim
- Take at least 2 clear, well-lit photos of the affected items in their original, unopened, sealed packaging, plus a photo of the shipping label on the box.
- Email your photos and order number to hello@aquariumplantsfactory.com within 24 hours of delivery.
- Do not photograph plants or animals after they have been unpacked, planted, or introduced to your aquarium — once an item enters your aquarium's ecosystem, it is no longer covered.
Approved claims are resolved with a replacement, store credit, or refund at our discretion, under the terms of our Refund Policy. Each item is eligible for one replacement only — replacements are final and we cannot replace a replacement.
Conditions That Void the Guarantee
- Incorrect or incomplete shipping address (vacant address, missing apartment number, or any issue that prevents delivery)
- Packages marked "invalid address," "undeliverable," refused, or returned to sender
- Packages left unclaimed, held at a carrier facility at the customer's request, or not retrieved promptly after delivery — live goods must be brought indoors and unpacked the day they arrive
- Carrier delays, weather events, or delivery exceptions once the package has left our facility
- Shipments to freight forwarders or package-forwarding services
Providing accurate, complete shipping information and monitoring your tracking are essential to keeping your guarantee valid.
Please note: the Live Arrival Guarantee covers arrival only. We cannot guarantee ongoing success — aquarium environment, water quality, nutrients, temperature, lighting, filtration, and CO2 all affect long-term results.
What We Can't Guarantee
- Pest-free plants (potted & bare-root): Although our plants are grown in our own clean greenhouse, we cannot guarantee they are 100% free of snails, algae, or other hitchhikers. We recommend rinsing and quarantining all plants before adding them to your aquarium. Tissue culture (in vitro) plants are the exception — they are grown in sterile lab conditions, are 100% free of pests, algae, and disease, and have never been in contact with any aquarium.
- Pesticide-free plants: We use homemade, organic pest control in our greenhouse and never use copper-based pesticides, which are toxic to invertebrates such as snails, crabs, and shrimp. However, we cannot guarantee plants are entirely pesticide-free — always rinse and quarantine before use in invertebrate tanks.
- Your aquarium's success: We are not responsible for your aquarium inhabitants, including fish, shrimp, snails, and turtles. Please quarantine all plants before use.
- Growth form: Unless specified, we do not guarantee plants will grow emersed or submersed in your particular setup.
Please review your state's regulations on restricted plants, as we are committed to not shipping plants that are restricted in your area. Do not release any plants into the wild or waterways, as this can harm local ecosystems by introducing invasive species.
Your cooperation in protecting the environment is appreciated. For continuously updated information, refer to the USDA State Noxious Weed list here.
Thank you for your responsible commitment to environmental preservation.
Customers praised these aquatic plants for arriving "healthy" with "no leaf damage" and "very healthy roots." Multiple shoppers noted generous portions with 2-3 individual plants per bunch. Plants showed strong growth, "sprouting new leaves after just a couple weeks." Packaging quality and quick shipping consistently impressed customers.
- Showed up in great shape, look to be sprouting new leaves after just a couple weeks.
- Very healthy leaves and roots. There was no damage whatsoever.
- Nice portion with three plants in one bunch. Everything in perfect condition.
B
This is my first purchase from APF as well as the first time I'll have any Bucephalandra. Anyway, after doing some research on buceps, I converted a matured 50-Gallon tank to a holding tank (for the four sets of BUY2GET1FREE items labelled in the attached photo) as I'm cycling two other tanks that they'll be placed in. As this was my first purchase from APF, I didn't order all the plants that I intend to stock those other tanks with as I had no idea what condition their product would arrive in. However, based on the timeliness with which my order arrived, the obvious care with which the product was packaged, and the healthy plants (and extra plants) that I received, APF will now be my go-to plant supplier. As a matter of fact, I just ordered a few more buceps (Brownie Ghost).
Details: I am located in the Seattle area of Washington state. I placed the order on Saturday, June 27, 2020. APF sent an acknowledgement email with the USPS tracking number which initially indicated a delivery date of Friday, July 3, 2020 but was updated a few days later to Thursday, July 2, 2020. Delivery was made shortly after noon on July 2 (according to the USPS tracking info) but I didn't realize that they had arrived until about 2.5 hours later when I received a delivery notification email from APF. I was worried that everything would be baked but after retrieving them from my mailbox, I was relieved to see that APF's packaging included heat shielding and all sets of packaged items were sealed in moisture-retaining, custom-sized, plastic bags. I took them inside and left them in a cool area of the living room where the holding tank is located as I was still doing work-related stuff. Finally got to them around 8 p.m., opened up all the sealed plastic bags, carefully removed each set of buceps from their foam and lead weights, inspected, rinsed and trimmed (minimal trimming was required), got the buckets I had with hardscape soaking... one with driftwood and the other with Seiryu... and started super gluing everything... also added a few Anubias Nana that I had on hand. Finished around 11 p.m., gave everything a once over, then placed them all in the holding tank.
It's now 3 a.m. on Sunday, July 5, 2020 and I took the attached photo about 2 hours ago. Therefore, the buceps have been in the holding tank for a little over two days with no melting that I'm aware of. I'm totally satisfied with APF.
K
Healthy on arrival. Quick shipping.
B
Showed up in great shape, look to be sprouting new leaves after just a couple weeks. Very pleased.
S
Nice plant!
N
Nice portion with three plants in one bunch. Even the free shipping on this site gets from California to me in New York in about three days and everything is perfect condition.
A
Plants arrived in perfect condition and are growing well both submerged and emersed so far!
S
I made my first order with Aquarium Plants Factory a couple of weeks ago and I couldn't be happier. The buce in particular was gorgeous, big plants with healthy leaves, and each of my single portions had at least two plants in them! Everything was very carefully packaged and looked great when it arrived; they even included a heat pack for my winter weather. I've ordered from a few different aquatic plant sites but I was the most impressed with this one. I will order again!
C
nice healthy plants
H
I was really excited to see there were three stems in the order so I can have them in a few places in tank. They all have healthy roots, no leaf damage and no snails. Only one stem had leaves that look really dark/black so I am hoping the others darken up.
M
There were 2-3 individual plants per bunch and at sale price with the buy 2 get 1 free promotion, it is the best place to get the Bucephalandra Dark Skeleton King aka Achilles Black besides importing yourself.
C
Plants were shipped in a vacuum sealed bag. Leaves usually have a chance to be damaged during shipping, but there was no damage whatsoever. Plant also had very healthy roots. Very happy with my purchase. :) I haven't noticed any snails on it either, so that is always a plus.
B
Every shipment I receive from APF is better than the next, from the quality of the plants to the packaging to the shipping speed. Thank you!
J
What’s the difference between Bucephalandra Achilles Black and Bucephalandra Dark skeleton King? They seem to be identical when fully grown.
They're actually two distinct named varieties - Achilles Black is a straightforward Bucephalandra selection, while Skeleton King is Bucephalandra Kishii, known for its more skeletal-looking leaf venation pattern. That said, you're right that Bucephalandra coloration and leaf texture can shift quite a bit with age, lighting, and CO2 levels, so two different varieties can end up looking very similar once fully mature under the same tank conditions - this kind of overlap is pretty common in the buce hobby given how many similar cultivars are out there.
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