Knowledge Centre · Planted aquariums

Anubias care: the slow, shade-tolerant plant that survives almost anything

Anubias barteri and its varieties — plus at least one separate species commonly sold under the same trade umbrella — are among the toughest plants sold for freshwater aquaria: genuinely difficult to kill through neglect, tolerant of low light and a wide range of water chemistry, and one of the few plants that regularly survives goldfish and digging cichlids. The one way it's still commonly killed is the same rhizome mistake that catches out Java fern buyers: Anubias isn't planted in substrate, and burying its rhizome reliably rots it. This guide covers correct attachment, the varieties (and one separate species) worth telling apart, and why algae seems to love its leaves more than most other plants.

Before you plant it

A good fit when…

You want a genuinely low-maintenance plant that tolerates low light and variable water chemistry, need something that survives goldfish or cichlids that destroy softer plants, or want a shade-tolerant option for the darker corners of an aquascape.

Worth knowing first…

It's slower-growing than most aquarium plants, including Java fern, so it isn't a quick-fill option, and like Java fern it must be attached to hardscape rather than planted in substrate — burying the rhizome is the single most common way it's killed.

Worth knowing: "hard to kill" describes its tolerance for light and water conditions, not its planting method — get the rhizome rule right and there's genuinely very little else that goes wrong with this plant.

Identification and native habitat

Anubias barteri Schott, a member of the arum family (Araceae), is catalogued by Kew's Plants of the World Online as native to West and West-Central tropical Africa, including Cameroon, Gabon, Nigeria, Guinea, Liberia and the Republic of the Congo[1]. In the wild it grows in shaded, wet places along forest streams and riverbanks, often partially or fully submerged depending on water level rather than as a permanently underwater plant[1] — which is a large part of why it tolerates both fully aquatic aquarium life and the low light typical of a shaded forest floor so well.

The species includes several named varieties sold under the same "Anubias" umbrella in the trade — see "Varieties" below — all sharing the same rhizome-based growth habit and care requirements regardless of leaf size or shape.

The rhizome rule

Never bury the rhizome in substrate. Like Java fern, Anubias grows from a horizontal rhizome that needs contact with water and light to stay healthy. Buried in gravel or sand, it's cut off from both and reliably rots[2] — a mistake that's easy to make since Anubias is commonly sold already potted in substrate-filled net pots, which need removing before planting, not simply dropping straight into your tank's own substrate.

The white roots that grow from the rhizome are for anchoring to a hard surface, not for feeding from substrate — the plant draws what it needs from the water column instead, the same as Java fern.

How to attach it correctly

Attachment

  1. Remove it fully from any pot or wool it was sold in

    Aquarium-store Anubias is very often sold rooted into rockwool inside a small plastic net pot. Gently rinse and tease the roots free of the wool rather than leaving any of it attached — wool left in place can trap debris against the rhizome.

  2. Choose a piece of driftwood or rock with a stable point of contact

    A crevice, notch or reasonably flat face gives the rhizome something to grip as new roots establish.

  3. Tie it on with cotton thread, fine fishing line, or aquarium-safe glue

    Cotton thread breaks down naturally over time; fishing line lasts longer but is worth checking periodically so it doesn't cut into the rhizome as it thickens. Aquarium-formulated cyanoacrylate glue bonds almost instantly and is a common alternative.

  4. Keep the rhizome against the surface, never pressed into it

    Water flow and light need to reach the rhizome itself, not just the leaves.

Light, CO2 and water conditions

Widely reported tolerance ranges, gathered from specialist aquatic-plant sources — treat as a practical range rather than a single confirmed figure.
Condition What it needs
Light Low to moderate; widely regarded as one of the most shade-tolerant common aquarium plants[3]. Strong light doesn't meaningfully speed growth and more often invites algae onto its slow-replacing leaves (see below).
CO2 Not required; grows on ambient CO2 in the water, the same as Java fern.
Temperature Roughly 22–28°C (72–82°F), suiting most tropical community tanks without adjustment.
pH and hardness Tolerant of a broad range; not a species that requires soft or acidic water specifically.
Substrate Irrelevant to the plant directly — it's attached to hardscape, not planted, so substrate type doesn't need to suit it.

Varieties (and one separate species) worth knowing apart

Anubias barteri has several botanically recognised varieties, and the trade also sells at least one genuinely different species under a confusingly similar name — worth untangling before you buy, since "variety" gets used loosely in aquarium shops for all of it:

  • Anubias barteri var. barteri ("broadleaf") — a formally recognised variety, and the largest common form, with broad, leathery leaves that can reach around 30 cm (12 in), needing real space to display properly[4].
  • Anubias barteri var. nana — a formally recognised variety, and the most widely sold form, compact at roughly 8 cm (3 in) tall, well suited to nano tanks and foreground-to-midground placement[4].
  • Nana petite — an informal, further-dwarfed selection sold within var. nana, not a separately recognised botanical variety in its own right — among the most compact Anubias sold.
  • Coffeefolia — distinctive wavy, textured, dark green leaves. This is a name used in the aquarium trade for a form within the Anubias barteri complex; we found conflicting secondary reports on whether it has ever been formally published as a botanical variety versus remaining an informally recognised trade form, and couldn't verify either claim against a primary taxonomic source, so we're not asserting a specific formal status here. Treat it as a trade name for now, whatever a plant label may claim.
  • "Congensis" — sold in the trade as if it were another Anubias barteri variety, but it isn't: Kew's Plants of the World Online treats this trade name as a synonym of a separate accepted species, Anubias heterophylla, not a form of A. barteri at all[5]. Narrower, more pointed leaves than the broadleaf form, at a similar overall size to nana.

Despite that species-level difference, day-to-day care is reported as effectively identical across all of the above — choose by the mature size and leaf shape that suits your layout, not by assuming any one form is easier or harder to keep.

Why algae seems to love Anubias leaves

This is the plant's main practical downside, and it shares the mechanism with Java fern: new leaves take a long time to grow, so any algae that establishes — commonly green spot algae or black beard/brush algae — has months, not weeks, to colonise a leaf before it's naturally replaced[6]. It isn't a sign the plant is unhealthy or that you're doing something wrong with the tank generally; it's simply a consequence of how slowly the leaves turn over.

Keeping light on the lower end of what the plant tolerates, avoiding excess nutrients, and gently removing algae from individual leaves with a soft brush or cloth — rather than letting it build up and trying to scrub established growth off later — are the most commonly recommended practical responses[6]. Some fish and shrimp graze algae off Anubias leaves as part of normal foraging, which can help keep growth in check without any intervention from you. See our algae in aquariums guide for the broader causes worth checking if it's spreading well beyond the older leaves.

Flowering underwater

A mature, well-established Anubias occasionally produces a small, pale spadix flower, similar in shape to a miniature peace lily flower — a plant it's distantly related to within the same family. Flowering happens more readily when part of the plant grows above the waterline, but a fully submerged Anubias can flower too, and a bloom can last several weeks[7]. It's a genuine curiosity worth knowing about rather than something to expect or aim for — a healthy Anubias that never flowers isn't missing anything, and flowering isn't a sign of better or worse care.

Propagation

An established, healthy Anubias propagates by rhizome division: once the rhizome has grown long enough to carry several leaves and a visible growth point, it can be cut into sections with a clean blade, each section with at least one leaf and healthy roots capable of becoming an independent plant. Growth is slow, so a single Anubias may take considerably longer to reach a divisible size than a similarly sized Java fern — patience matters more here than with most other easy plants.

Tank mates and placement

Anubias's toughest, most leathery leaves and hardscape-attached growth habit make it one of the more reliable plant choices for tanks with fish that would otherwise destroy softer, substrate-rooted plants — goldfish and digging or plant-grazing cichlids in particular are commonly kept successfully alongside it, since it can't be dug up and isn't a preferred food source[3]. See our Mbuna cichlid care guide and goldfish care guide for the broader stocking picture with either group, and our choosing tank mates guide for compatibility more generally. Placed on hardscape in the low-to-midground, it also gives shy or juvenile fish and shrimp cover without competing with substrate-rooted plants for space.

Common mistakes

  • Planting it straight into substrate, including leaving it in the rockwool net pot it was sold in — the single most common way this plant is killed.
  • Expecting Java-fern-like growth speed and assuming a slower-growing plant is struggling when it's behaving normally.
  • Running high light "to help it grow faster", which mostly just encourages algae on leaves that take months to replace.
  • Letting algae establish unchecked on older leaves, given how long those specific leaves remain on the plant.
  • Repeatedly re-tying or repositioning it before new attachment roots have had time to establish.

Frequently asked questions

Why does my Anubias have yellow or holey leaves?

A single old leaf yellowing and dying back occasionally is normal turnover on a slow-growing plant. Yellowing across several leaves at once, or new leaves emerging smaller and more distorted than the ones before them, more often points to a nutrient shortfall — check our nutrient deficiency in aquarium plants guide. Holes are usually feeding damage from a tankmate rather than a health problem with the plant itself, since Anubias leaves are otherwise unusually tough.

Is Anubias safe with goldfish and cichlids?

It's one of the more commonly recommended plants for exactly these fish. Its leathery, tough leaves are unappealing to most grazing and digging species, and because it's attached to hardscape rather than rooted in substrate, a digging cichlid can't uproot it the way it could a planted species. No plant is guaranteed safe with every individual fish, but Anubias survives this kind of tankmate better than most.

Does Anubias need CO2 or strong light?

No. It's widely regarded as one of the most shade-tolerant common aquarium plants and grows without CO2 injection on ambient levels alone. Strong light doesn't speed it up much and more often encourages algae growth on its already slow-replacing leaves, so low to moderate light is the more useful target, not a limitation to work around.

How AquaPulse can help

Anubias grows slowly enough that a real problem — a nutrient shortfall, a rhizome starting to soften — can take weeks to become obvious just by looking at the tank day to day. The only reliable way to catch that early is comparing against a specific earlier point, not a general impression of how the plant "usually looks."

That's what logging is useful for. Recording notes alongside your regular water testing in AquaPulse gives you something concrete to check back against later, rather than relying on memory of what a leaf or rhizome looked like a month ago — it doesn't diagnose plant health itself, just holds onto what you've recorded so you can compare. Get it on the App Store or Google Play.

Sources and editorial information

Published
11 August 2026
Last reviewed
11 August 2026
Written and maintained by
AquaPulse (Valeon Labs Ltd)

This guide draws on Kew's Plants of the World Online for taxonomy, native range and variety/species-level naming, and specialist aquatic-plant retail and hobbyist sources for practical planting, algae-management and propagation guidance, since no single source covers all of it together. An earlier draft of this page included a handling caution based on calcium oxalate content documented in other Araceae family members; we removed it after finding no study or reliable record establishing that specifically for Anubias barteri, rather than leave a hazard claim resting on family-level inference alone. We've been explicit throughout about which claims are confirmed for this species specifically versus general trade-name-level convention. We'll update this page if we find something we've got wrong.

Good to know: This guide provides general informational guidance only, reflecting widely reported hobby practice rather than a single official standard.

What we deliberately left out: a calcium-oxalate handling warning, since we could not find evidence establishing oxalate content, exposure pathway or practical risk specifically for Anubias barteri rather than inferring it from other Araceae family members — see the note above; a precise growth-rate figure (in cm/month or similar), since sources describe it qualitatively as slower than Java fern rather than with a measured rate; and a claim that "congensis" and other informally named forms are botanically equivalent to Anubias barteri's formally recognised varieties, since Kew's own taxonomy treats them differently.

Java fern care: the easy plant most people still get wrong

The other major rhizome plant sharing the same attachment rule, at a faster growth rate.

Best beginner aquarium plants: Java fern, Anubias and more compared

How Anubias compares to five other genuinely easy plants at a glance.

Starting a planted aquarium

Setting up a tank Anubias and other easy plants can thrive in from day one.

Algae in aquariums: causes and what to do

The broader causes worth checking if algae spreads beyond a few older leaves.

Nutrient deficiency in aquarium plants

What to check if new growth looks smaller or paler than expected.

Mbuna cichlid care

A digging, rock-dwelling cichlid group Anubias is commonly kept alongside successfully.