Struggling with Bucephalandra Brownie

[GLAB]

In Dec. 2025 I added Bucephalandra Brownie to my tank, attaching to small pieces of wood and then attaching the wood to my main tank decoration in the center of my tank. I realize this plant species is very slow growing. What I am struggling with is the Pale (Bleached out) looking leaves. Trying to figure out why this plant is not doing well.
Some conditions;
Nicrew light set to low settings as all plants in tank are all anubias type varieties (11 hours/Day).
W: 25
R: 25
G: 20
B: 15
Water Conditions (Arizona Well Water):
Hardness: 300 GH
Alkalinity: 300
PH: 8.1
Nitrates <20
Nitrite: 0
Fertilizer: Aqua Boost BLOOM Liquid Fertilizer once a week (Potassium 1%, Iron .1%, Chelated Iron, Trace Elements)
Tank is 40 gallon tank with 10 gallons changed weekly.
Any suggestions would be appreciated.

 

[MattW47 163]

If it's the buce I'm thinking of, it's normally a much redder/purple coloured leaf. How close is this plant to the surface? White leaves can sometimes indicate excessive lighting and can burn the leaf (look into reducing the light period). If it isn't close to the surface, it may be some form of nutrient deficiency.

 

[GLAB]

Thank you for your input Matt !
I purchased this Buce from Petsmart and the description was limited to name "Bucephalandra Brownie". Other than the "Bleached" look on some of the leaves all other leaves have maintained similar size and color. The level of the grouping in the picture is about 6 - 7 inches below the surface of the water.

I was thinking the same thing in terms of lighting and I have been struggling with the flexibility of the light spectrum you have control of with the LED style setups. For the Nicrew LED 24/7 programmable Model that I have, I understand the White is 6500K and then you can add additional Red, Green, Blue per my settings description above. Given I am already down to 25th of full output for the White, I will reduce the additional Red and Green settings further and watch for plant response.

Regarding nutrients, I was figuring maybe Iron? So in order to ensure proper take-up of Iron I made the sure the fert had chelated Iron for ideal absorption.

 

[MattW47 163]

Sounds like a start . That's the one problem with the things in these glass boxes. They are never happy until we eventually get that balance in order
If iron is sufficient, the only thing I can think of is nitrogen. The plant would get that from the inhabitants and BB, though. Maybe the light duration is the cause? I have my tanks set to around 8ish hours at 25-30% intensity on my Chihiros units and haven't seen my Buce or other slower growers show loss of pigmentation.

Hopefully you will see better results soon

 

[fishthatfit]

Worth checking which chelator it is, not just that there is one. EDTA is the cheap one and it starts coming apart above about pH 7, so at 8.1 with your alkalinity a good share of that iron drops out before the plant ever sees it. DTPA holds to roughly 7.5 and EDDHA up past 9. If the label only says chelated iron it is almost certainly EDTA.

 

[GLAB]

Thanks for that Valuable information "fishthatfit" !! I will look to resolve that as the supplier of the Fert I am using does not specify. I checked the Chelated Iron we use on our trees in the yard, and sure enough it's EDDHA based for High PH Soil. It works like a champ. I did not realize there were cheaper versions.

Do you happen to know a great EDDHA based aquatic Fert that I could purchase ? I will also try contacting the supplier of the fert I use to verify their formula.

 

[fishthatfit]

You'll struggle to find one. EDDHA is deep red in solution and tints the water at any useful dose, which is why it stayed a soil and orchard product.

DTPA is the practical step. The dry fert shops sell it as Fe-DTPA 11% powder. It holds to about 7.5, so at 8.1 you still lose some, but nothing like EDTA does.

The yard stuff would work if it's the plain chelate with nothing else in the bag, at a tiny fraction of the lawn rate. You'd be living with brown tinted water for it though.

 

[GLAB]

Update;
I have reconciled a way to move forward was to try Florin-Fe which is formulated with ferrous gluconate and iron EDTA. Both requiring essentially daily or every other day dosing.

After two weeks I am seeing positive change with new leaf growth.

Thinking I will eventually change to the Seachem Iron version as it appears to be higher a concentration ferrous gluconate therefore lower cost option for a daily/everyother day dosing solution.

Thanks for the support on this topic !