Anubias Afzelii - Potted

Anubias Afzelii (Anubias afzelii) is the tall cousin in the Anubias family. Where Barteri and Nana stay squat and rounded, afzelii sends up long, lance-shaped leaves on upright stalks that reach well above the hardscape, giving you the same bulletproof, low-light toughness in a plant with real height. It grows on a creeping rhizome, asks for no CO2 and no special substrate, and is thick-leaved enough that cichlids and goldfish generally leave it alone. Browse the rest of our live freshwater plants to build out the tank.

Care Guide

• The one rule: never bury the rhizome. The thick horizontal stem the leaves grow from has to stay exposed above the substrate or it rots. Glue it to rock or driftwood with super glue gel, tie it with thread, or wedge it into a gap in the hardscape. Burying the thin roots alone is fine.
• Light: Low to moderate. This is a shade plant. Strong light does not make it grow faster, it just grows algae on leaves that stay put for months.
• CO2 and fertilizer: Neither is required. It feeds from the water column, so an occasional dose of Seachem Flourish is plenty. Root tabs do nothing for it.
• Water: 72 to 82F, pH 6.0 to 8.0, soft or hard. It adapts to almost anything as long as conditions stay stable.
• Growth: Slow, roughly a leaf a month. That is the trade for a plant that never needs trimming and never melts.
• Propagation: Once the rhizome is long, cut it into sections with three or four leaves each. Every piece becomes a new plant.

Specifications

Placement and Companions

Use afzelii where you want an Anubias that actually reaches upward. Attached partway up a piece of driftwood it fills the middle of the tank, and a group along the back wall makes a dark green screen that needs no light and no trimming. It is completely shrimp safe, a favorite resting plant for bettas, and one of the few plants that survives goldfish, large cichlids, and turtles.

For the same plant in a low, rounded form, see Anubias Nana or Anubias Barteri. Pair it with Java Moss on the hardscape below, or a fine textured stem like Water Sprite Indian Fern behind it for contrast.

Recommended Supplies

• Seachem Flourish, the water-column fertilizer this plant actually uses.
• Batman Nerite Snail to keep algae off the slow-growing leaves.
• CaribSea PyroFlora Substrate for the rest of your planted layout.

FAQ

Can I plant it in gravel or sand?
Only if the rhizome sits on top with just the thin roots buried. Bury the rhizome itself and the plant slowly rots from the middle out. Attaching it to wood or rock is safer and looks better.

The leaves in the photo look rounded, not long.
Young nursery plants start with shorter, broader leaves and elongate as they mature. Each new leaf comes in longer and more lance shaped once the plant settles in and the rhizome thickens.

How is this different from Anubias Barteri?
Mostly height and leaf shape. Barteri is broad and low, afzelii is taller with narrow, elongated leaves. Care is identical, so pick on looks alone.

Why is it growing so slowly?
That is normal for Anubias. A leaf a month is healthy. In exchange you get a plant that never needs trimming, never melts, and tolerates almost any water.

Is it safe with fish and shrimp?
Yes, completely. The leaves make excellent grazing surface for shrimp and resting pads for bettas.