Bucephalandra propagation on steel mesh

[Simon Cole]

Please could anybody give opinions on whether Bucephalandra can be propagated tied on stainless steel mesh pads?
Has anybody tried this?

The tank is bare bottom, standard high tech, it's just I am not that enthusiastic about using aquasoil if I can get away with it.

 

[Stu Worrall]

It should be fine as it will take the nutrient from the water column

 

[Simon Cole]

Super. Thank you @Stu Worrall.

 

[Little]

I have a bucephalandra only zero soil tank.
Absolutely no issues.
I would consider why you want steel mesh vs tiring or glueing to pebbles?
I guess the pro is its flat but the con is steel looks unnatural.

 

[Wookii]

Please could anybody give opinions on whether Bucephalandra can be propagated tied on stainless steel mesh pads?

Buce very rarely gets to touch any substrate in most tanks its put in, so it's not nutritionally a requirement for it, so it should be fine tied to mesh pads.

Has anybody tried this?

The tank is bare bottom, standard high tech, it's just I am not that enthusiastic about using aquasoil if I can get away with it.

That said, some Buces seem to struggle in microbially immature tanks for some reason. The substrate forms arguably the largest home for microbes in an aquarium, so personally for a Buce grow out tank, I'd be inclined to use one, even if its just a half inch of crushed lava rock or a coarse sand.

 

[Simon Cole]

I would consider why you want steel mesh vs tiring or glueing to pebbles?

I had a go with it with some mosses/liverworts on mesh and I really liked the simplicity. When I thought about it, I reckoned it would be easier to remove than rocks, which could stick-to roots.
I've more or less gone off CA glue - although I will be experimenting with some two-part pure epoxy (WRAS-approved) for sticking hardscape together.

That said, some Buces seem to struggle in microbially immature tanks for some reason. The substrate forms arguably the largest home for microbes in an aquarium, so personally for a Buce grow out tank, I'd be inclined to use one, even if its just a half inch of crushed lava rock or a coarse sand.

I am experimenting by going down the other route. I wanted a propagation tank that could be completely sterelised with ease.
I wish I knew someone who had access to a SEM microscope because I had to quarantine an infected/diseased Bucephalandra plant from an emergent propagator earlier today (second outbreak). I reckon it is easier to manage disease when there are fewer factors at play. The plant was in-vitro "mini needle leaf" and had spent a year growing happily in Jack's Magic compost before something gradually spread and wiped-out plant after plant. I sterelised the lot with bleach, but it came back. At first I thought it might not be an Oomycete disease, and I have also wondered whether there was a sporulation phase that allowed the infection to continue or whether it may be a systemic infection or something in the compost. I might freeze the sample and send it away to have it analyzed. It's not all bad news because I did want infected tissue to study. What I really want to do is to develop an <"immunity inducer"> or to use plant-specific <"immunomodulators"> but for that I really do need to get some idea of what we are dealing with. Clearly Bucephalandra in the wild have greater resistance to infection and this might simply be down to the plants nearby sort-of priming the immunity of the bucephalandra through early contact with their own biological molecules - acting to switch on their immune defences in new apical cellular growth at the tips. Conversely there might be a phytohormone added to in-vitro plants that supresses their immunity. I though since I am growing Buce for aquascaping, I might aswell mull over these ideas while they are in my head. Sorry it's a bit off-topic.

Thank you both! I'm good to go.

 

[Little]

Need leaf full melt (including the rhizome) has been frequently reported and it’s assumed it’s due to immature tanks… it’s interesting to think that a disease of some sort may be at play with this species. I’m looking forward to hearing about how your investigation goes.