Anubias barteri
Anubias barteri var. barteri
Also known asAnubias broad leaf · Barteri anubias
Water parameters
Light and nutrients
Substrate type: epiphyte. Propagation: rhizome division.
Substrate compatibility
| Substrate | pH effect | Nutrient load |
|---|---|---|
| Wood and rock mounts (Hardscape mount) | varies | none |
| Inert sand (Pool filter sand) | neutral / inert | none |
| Inert gravel (Aquarium gravel) | neutral / inert | none |
| Limestone gravel (Crushed coral) | raises pH | none |
| Bare bottom (no substrate) (Bare bottom) | n/a | none |
| Aquasoil (ADA Amazonia) | lowers pH | very high |
| Mineralized clay substrate (Seachem Fluorite) | neutral / inert | moderate |
With fish
Origin and habitat
A West and West-Central African aroid, family Araceae, growing as a rheophyte that clings by tough rhizomatous roots to rocks and wood in and beside fast freshwater streams. The species Anubias barteri (the var. barteri form) occurs mainly in southeastern Nigeria, Cameroon and on Bioko, while its named varieties spread the group more widely across West Africa: var. nana (a dwarf from around Victoria, Cameroon), var. glabra, var. angustifolia, var. caladiifolia and the textured var. coffeifolia. The leaves are thick, dark green, waxy and leathery, which makes them unpalatable to most herbivorous fish, the main reason Anubias is recommended for goldfish, cichlid and silver-dollar tanks where softer plants would be eaten.
Care notes
One of the most forgiving aquarium plants. It takes low light, needs no CO2, and handles soft or hard water and temperatures from about 20°C to 30°C. Growth is very slow whatever the conditions, often only a new leaf every few weeks and sometimes as little as one every two to three months. The cardinal rule is never to bury the rhizome, the thick horizontal stem that bears leaves above and roots below; buried, it rots and the plant dies. Instead attach it to driftwood or rock with cyanoacrylate gel, thread or fishing line, and the roots grip the hardscape within a few weeks. It does well in shade, which is also the best defence against algae: because the leathery leaves grow so slowly and stay still, they are prime sites for black beard and green spot algae, and the worst combination is strong light with no CO2, where algae outpaces the plant. In bright tanks, add CO2 and balanced dosing, and let nerite snails or Amano shrimp graze the leaves. Propagate by cutting the rhizome into pieces with at least three or four leaves each and re-attaching them; both ends keep growing. It is an ornamental epiphyte, not a crop, so it is not suited to media-bed aquaponics or hydroponics.