Anubias nana petite
Anubias barteri var. nana 'Petite'
Also known asAnubias petite · Petite anubias · Anubias 'Bonsai' (sometimes)
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 |
| 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 dwarf cultivar of Anubias barteri var. nana (family Araceae), itself a small Cameroonian aroid first described as A. nana by Engler in 1899 and reduced to a variety in 1979. 'Petite' is not a wild plant but a compact mutation that arose in cultivation at the Oriental Aquarium nursery in Singapore. Its leaves are tiny, about 1–2 cm long, roughly half the size of standard nana, on a correspondingly thin rhizome, and the whole plant stays under about 5 cm. It keeps the same tough, leathery leaves as other Anubias, so herbivorous fish leave it alone. Most stock is sold as clean tissue culture. The miniature scale makes it a favourite for nano tanks and fine foreground detail where standard nana would be too big.
Care notes
Care matches standard Anubias nana but the plant is even slower, often pushing only about one new leaf a month. Each leaf is just 1–2 cm. Attach it to small stones, thin driftwood or mesh pads with cyanoacrylate gel, which is far easier than thread at this scale, and never bury the rhizome, which rots if covered. It is unfussy about light, doing well anywhere from very low to strong, but strong light is risky: because growth is so slow, new leaf surface cannot outrun algae, and black beard algae on the tiny leaves is especially hard to clean by hand, often forcing a hydrogen-peroxide dip outside the tank. The better approach is prevention through moderate light, optional CO2, balanced nutrients and a grazing cleanup crew of Amano shrimp, nerites or otocinclus. Propagate by rhizome division as with other Anubias, but expect to wait many months for enough rhizome to cut. It costs more than standard nana because nursery production is so slow. It is an ornamental epiphyte, not a crop, so it is unsuited to media-bed aquaponics or hydroponics.