Afzelius's Anubias

Anubias afzelii

The first anubias ever described, and one of the largest: long leathery leaves on a strong rhizome. Undemanding to the point of dullness, in the best sense.

Light: low–high
Difficulty: very easy
Height: 30 – 40 cm (12 – 16 in)
Temperature: 12 – 30 °C (54 – 86 °F)

Leaf colour: green
Plant type: rhizome
Growth rate: slow
Tolerates light: low – high
pH: 6 – 8
Carbonate hardness: 0 – 15 °dKH
General hardness: 0 – 30 °dGH
Placement: cichlid-proof, background +1 cichlid-proof, background, midground
Propagation: rhizome division, division +1 rhizome division, division, daughter plants
Grows emersed: yes

Appearance

Elongated leaves on sturdy stalks, deep green and thick to the touch, reaching 30–40 cm as the plant matures.

Keeping

Very easy: dim or bright light, soft or hard water, no carbon dioxide. Growth is slow. As with every anubias, the horizontal stem must not be buried. The leathery leaves are left alone by most plant-eating fish, so it survives in tanks where softer plants do not last a week.

Placement

The middle or back of the tank, tied to wood and stone or planted with the stem exposed. A good choice for a cichlid tank.

Propagation

By dividing the horizontal stem; each piece needs several leaves of its own.

Water conditions match

The water suits 983 of 1249 species in the catalogue — these are the ones people look up most often.

Swordtail Guppies Cobra Guppy Blood Red Molly Butterflyfish Red Zebra Cichlid Julii Corydoras Red-finned Parotocinclus Gastromyzon monticola Egg-shaped Goldfish Flame Tetra Gardner's Killifish African Tetra Kenyi Cichlid Cuckoo Catfish Golden Swordtail Hypsolebias picturatus Common Zacco Labeo Bicolor Gambusia Flying barb Gastromyzon scitulus Albino Zebra Danio Geophagus Brokopondo Zebra Mbuna

Will eat this plant

These species damage plants, especially when their diet is short of vegetable food.

Bengal Loach Zebra Loach Burmese Border Loach Emperor Botia Spined Loach Marbled Headstander Pellegrin's Leporinus Leporinus striatus False Black Tetra Common Metynnis Mylossoma duriventre Red Whiptail Catfish Molly sphenops Balloon Molly Lyretail Molly Marble Molly Hi-Fin Platy Hawaii Platy Blue Platy Pintail Platy Black Platy Chocolate Molly Moonlight Gourami Melanotaenia parva

Will uproot it

These species dig through the substrate and pull rooted plants out.

Marble Loach Peacock Eel Forktail Loach Guntea Loach Long-nosed Loach Horseface Loach Pearlscale Black Moor Goldfish Shubunkin Painted Pleco Featherfin Synodontis Reddish Mystus Catfish Blue Acara Aulonocara maylandi Aulonocara multicolor Aulonocara Orchid Geophagus altifrons Geophagus winemilleri Pearlscale Cichlid Pearl Cichlid Redbelly Cichlid Red-spotted Cichlid Chuco godmanni Haplochromis philander Red Chromide Jack Dempsey cichlid

Matching water does not mean the fish will leave the plant alone.

The same plant with a different look: light, water and care are shared with the species.

Other varieties: Anubias afzelii congensis, Anubias afzelii congensis Topf

Scientific and other names, conservation status

Anubias afzelii: Schott
Family: Araceae

Afzelius's Anubias

Tank conditions

Care and keeping