AQUATIC PLANTS & LIVESTOCK

Anubias

Slow-growing rhizome plant that tolerates low light and must never be buried.

Planting stage Plants

Unplug before servicingHands out of the water firstDrip loop on every cableTest before you dose30 ppm CO₂ ceilingCycle before stocking

Plants

Specification
Type	Rhizome, epiphyte
Light demand	Low to medium
CO₂ demand	None required
Growth rate	Very slow
Max height	10–40 cm depending on variety
Placement	Attached to wood or stone

Technical parameters
pH range	6.0–7.5
Temperature	22–28 °C
New leaf interval	2–4 weeks
Propagation	Divide the rhizome
Pruning	Remove old outer leaves
Algae risk in high light	High

Anubias is a West African rhizomatous plant with thick, leathery leaves and a reputation for indestructibility. It grows in low light, it does not need added CO₂, and it survives in the shadow of other plants where almost nothing else will.

The one rule that matters is the rhizome. The horizontal stem from which the leaves emerge must be exposed to water, not buried in substrate. Buried, it rots, and the plant dies from the middle out. It is attached to wood or stone with thread or glue, and its roots then grow down and grip the surface.

The trade-off for that toughness is speed. Anubias grows perhaps one new leaf every two to four weeks, and a mature specimen is the product of years. That makes it expensive per unit of growth, and it makes it vulnerable to algae: a slow-growing leaf in a high-light tank accumulates algae faster than it can outgrow it, which is why Anubias is happiest in the mid-to-lower light range.

Safety and welfare

Do not bury the rhizome. This is the single most common way Anubias dies, and the plant can take weeks to show it.
Anubias sap can irritate skin. Wash hands after trimming, and do not rub your eyes.
A rhizome that has gone soft and brown at the base is rotting. Cut back to firm green tissue immediately or the rot spreads.

Using it well

Tie it on with cotton thread and let the thread rot away. The roots will have gripped by then.

Split a large clump by cutting the rhizome cleanly with a sharp blade. Each section with three or four leaves becomes a new plant.

Keep it low in the tank. Anubias nana in the foreground shadow reads as detail; the same plant under a high light grows algae on every leaf.

Lives with

Java fernCherry shrimpNeon tetraNerite snailBucephalandra

Note. Parameters are conventional ranges across the category, not the claim of any one manufacturer. Nothing on this page is for sale and no outcome for any plant or animal is guaranteed. Simulator output elsewhere on this site is a simplified model, not a measurement — confirm everything with a test kit and the equipment's own instructions.

Anubias

Using it well

Lives with

Works alongside