Interesting Things

[Khole new fish]

I was reading up on many scaping technical forms it is incredible I really have learned new things but I really would like more ideas on the use of anubias plants

[lefty o]

well, you can pretty much stick anubias to anything and they will grow there. you just need to pick out the individual variety that you like.

[Khole new fish]

Cool thanks

[Patrick_G]

My trouble with Anubias Nana is it grows so slowly that it attracts algae on the older leaves, at least in my tanks. It’s beautiful and easy to grow but I have quite figured out this problem. 

[Odd Duck]

You are only limited by your imagination.  There are dozens of varieties in the aquarium trade from less than 1/2” tall (Anubias ‘Mini Coin’) to over 36” tall (Anubias gigantea ‘Chevalier ex Hutchinson’).  Both of these are rarely seen in the trade and you will pay a good chunk of change for them (Google is my friend).

Most easily found Anubias range from about 2” tall (A. nana ‘Petite’ its varieties for instance) to about 15-18” tall (A. hastifolia is a good example).  Some come in very dark green varieties, some in Golden varieties, even white streaked, blotched, banded, or nearly fully white varieties.  Even a couple that have yellowish streaks or blotches.  The majority are shades of emerald green.

Some have skinny leaves, some are very round, some have big leaves or small leaves, some have short stems, and some long stems.  I’ve never seen or heard of one that had any red or orange or strong yellow, just greenish yellow.

If you search, you can find pictures of Anubias only tanks that are stunning!

On 12/4/2021 at 4:51 PM, Patrick_G said:

My trouble with Anubias Nana is it grows so slowly that it attracts algae on the older leaves, at least in my tanks. It’s beautiful and easy to grow but I have quite figured out this problem. 

More water circulation is often helpful, good cleaning crew (love horned/thorned nerites for this), and running a bit light on stocking always help.  Mine that do best have very good water circulation.  Don’t get me wrong, none of mine are pristine.  😝 

[Tyler Kaplan]

Hi Khole new fish,

 

Anubias is one of my absolute favorite plants! It's so easy to work with and can go in almost every planted scape. When I first started working with it I would try to wedge it between rocks or other hardscape, but nowadays I usually just use a drop of super glue to get it exactly where I want it. With a little planning you can really make it look exactly how you want! 

Another really cool thing about anubias is that there is a huge variety of different kinds, coming in shades from a bright lime green to a deep foresty black; from small anubias nana petite to towering anubius gigantea; with every leaf shape in between! One of my favorites of all time would have to be coffefolia, but really it comes down to personal preference. 

This is one of my first scapes, it has something like half a dozen different anubias in here. You can play around with it by putting the smaller plants in front, bigger in the back. (This is a 10 gallon for my plakat betta, he shares it with a couple of vampire shrimp and a khulli!) Overall it's a really easy plant to work with and change. Just go ahead and try something, if you don't like the look of it there are easy to just move around until you are happy. Good luck and have fun!

[Patrick_G]

On 12/4/2021 at 3:05 PM, Odd Duck said:

More water circulation is often helpful, good cleaning crew (love horned/thorned nerites for this), and running a bit light on stocking always help.  Mine that do best have very good water circulation.  Don’t get me wrong, none of mine are pristine.  😝 

Ok, good advice! I definitely need to add more snails to the cleaning crew. I’ve also noticed that time is starting to have a positive effect on my oldest specimens. For whatever reason they’re starting to lose some of the algae. Maybe it’s sneaky MTS doing their nighttime rounds. 

[Beardedbillygoat1975]

I agree @Patrick_Gand find the key is flow. Having good flow (doesn't have to be fast flow) just enough to make the leaves and/or stems of other plants quiver just a bit usually will keep the leaves free of detritus and this then will allow you to have clean leaves. This is the one issue with sponge filters that you don't have with HOB or with canisters. Adding a powerhead not even a powerful one just getting some flow around the tank is super helpful. In addition, having the right kind of cleanup crew is super important. I find that otocinclus cats are the best at this. If it is a nano tank they are indispensable. In a larger tank, ancistrus cats can be of help (bristlenose, . 

In terms of uses of anubias, I have used petite on wood to simulate a tree, floated large bits of barterii for cover for fry and shrimplets, it is super versatile. I saw a dutch scape that used walls of petite instead of moss or buce. 

[eatyourpeas]

I let them float and they grow roots towards a place they like, then settle themselves.

[Khole new fish]

Wow thanks for sharing, I have three nana Petit one nana and I am going to recieve another nana and an anubias nangi.

Lol I've your pictures of please share more

[Odd Duck]

On 12/4/2021 at 5:16 PM, Khole new fish said:

Wow thanks for sharing, I have three nana Petit one nana and I am going to recieve another nana and an anubias nangi.

Sounds like a good start!

[darkG]

I like Anubias. They don't whole-heartedly love me back, I feel. The different kinds I have seem more similar than different (except the tissue culture snow-white who just didn't make it).

[Odd Duck]

On 12/4/2021 at 5:26 PM, darkG said:

I like Anubias. They don't whole-heartedly love me back, I feel. The different kinds I have seem more similar than different (except the tissue culture snow-white who just didn't make it).

I look far and wide for different varieties to give more contrast.  Someday I might do an Anubias only tank.  There are varieties out there, but you have to get picky about what you choose to get good variety in shape and color.

All the whites I think are challenging.  I’ve only got Petite Pinto which is supposed to be one of the easier whites and it is definitely not impressive with growth or maintaining good amounts of white.  It is growing glacially slow, and maintains some white.  I won’t likely buy more.  I’ve thought about trying a larger Pinto and see if it does better.  I’ve got too many plants in buckets right now to buy anything more.  I’ve got to get them out of bucket QT and settled before getting anything else.  😊 

[Guppysnail]

The best tip I found for anubias. When first  positioning turn the plant so the leaves are tilted away from direct light. It will reorient itself upright as it grows. The tilting alleviates it getting algae growth on the surface prior to it adjusting to my water and getting settled in. Once it’s adjusted and growing strong it reorients itself upright and looks great. 

[Mmiller2001]

On 12/4/2021 at 3:51 PM, Patrick_G said:

My trouble with Anubias Nana is it grows so slowly that it attracts algae on the older leaves, at least in my tanks. It’s beautiful and easy to grow but I have quite figured out this problem. 

Nor have I. I consider all Anubias to be difficult plants and have given up on them.

[Patrick_G]

On 12/5/2021 at 3:42 AM, Mmiller2001 said:

Nor have I. I consider all Anubias to be difficult plants and have given up on them.

Yup, the myth in the hobby is that Amano San pioneered injected co2 to combat BBA on Anubias.