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.
At a glance
- Free shipping on orders of $150 or more (after discounts) within the contiguous United States, by USPS.
- Free thermal protection is included with every shipment, all year round.
- Processing: most orders leave us within 1 to 2 business days. Tracking is emailed when your order ships.
- USPS (2 to 5 business days) ships Monday through Saturday.
- UPS 2nd Day Air® ships Monday through Wednesday. Order by Tuesday at 6:00 AM Pacific Time for same-week delivery.
- UPS Next Day Air® ships Monday through Thursday. Order by Wednesday at 6:00 AM Pacific Time for same-week delivery.
- Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands and military addresses ship by USPS at a flat rate shown at checkout.
- Weather holds: during extreme heat or cold we may hold live orders until it's safe to ship.
- We ship within the United States only.
Please bring live plants indoors and unpack them the day they arrive. Every live order is covered by our 24-Hour Live Arrival Guarantee.
The complete rules, including lost packages and address issues, are in our Shipping Policy. If anything conflicts, that policy applies.
Every live order is backed by our 24-Hour Live Arrival Guarantee. If a plant arrives dead, we'll make it right.
How it works
- Tell us within 24 hours of the delivery time on your tracking.
- Send photos of the affected items in their original, unopened packaging, plus a photo of the shipping label, to hello@aquariumplantsfactory.com with your order number.
- We'll make it right with a replacement, store credit or refund for the affected item.
Good to know
- Some melting or yellowing as plants adjust from greenhouse to aquarium life is normal. They regrow from healthy roots and rhizomes.
- Please bring your package indoors and unpack it the day it arrives.
- Free promotional items and shipping charges are not covered.
The complete rules, including what's covered and what voids the guarantee, are in our Returns, Refunds & Live Arrival Guarantee. If anything conflicts, that policy applies.
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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