Anubias Hastifolia - Potted

Anubias Hastifolia (Anubias hastifolia) is the giant of the genus. Instead of the low mounds most people picture, it throws tall stalks topped with big arrowhead-shaped leaves, each one flaring into a pair of pointed lobes at the base. Mature leaves clear a foot in length, so a single plant reads as a structural centerpiece rather than a background filler. It keeps every Anubias virtue while doing it: no CO2, no special substrate, low light, and leathery foliage that grazing fish will not touch. Browse the rest of our live freshwater plants to build around it.

Care Guide

• The one rule: never bury the rhizome. The thick woody stem the leaf stalks rise from must stay above the substrate or it rots. Tie or glue it to driftwood or rock, or wedge it into the hardscape. Burying just the thin roots is fine.
• Light: Low to moderate is ideal. This is a shade plant from riverbanks, and because each leaf stays put for months, strong light mainly grows algae on them.
• Give it room. This is the one Anubias where tank size genuinely matters. Leaf stalks reach well over a foot, so it wants depth and height to look right. In a nano it will simply outgrow the tank.
• CO2 and fertilizer: Neither is required. It feeds from the water column, so occasional Seachem Flourish is plenty. Root tabs do nothing for it.
• Water: 72 to 82F, pH 6.0 to 8.0, soft or hard. Stability matters far more than hitting any specific number.
• Growth and propagation: Slow, roughly a leaf a month. When the rhizome lengthens, cut it into sections with three or four leaves each and every piece grows on.

Specifications

Which Anubias Is This One?

We carry several, and they differ mostly in size and leaf shape while sharing identical care. Hastifolia is the largest, with tall stalks and spear-shaped lobed leaves. Afzelii is also tall but with plain lance-shaped leaves and no basal lobes. Barteri is mid-sized with broad flat leaves, Coffeefolia is compact with corrugated leaves and bronze new growth, and Nana is the low, small-leaved mound. Pick on scale first, then looks.

Placement and Companions

Use hastifolia the way you would use a piece of hardscape. Anchored low on driftwood in a deep tank, the stalks lift those arrowhead leaves into the middle of the water column and cast real shade underneath, which smaller shade plants and shy fish both appreciate. Its leathery leaves are the reason it turns up in African cichlid and goldfish tanks so often: those fish shred almost every other plant and generally leave this one alone. It is completely shrimp safe as well.

Underplant it with Java Moss on the hardscape, or set a fine textured stem like Water Sprite Lace Leaf behind it so the bold leaf shape has something soft to read against.

Recommended Supplies

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

FAQ

How big does it actually get?
Bigger than people expect. Leaf stalks commonly pass 16 inches and mature leaves clear a foot on their own. Plan for a tank with real depth and height, and treat it as a single specimen rather than something to plant in groups.

Will it work in my 20 gallon?
It will grow, but it will dominate and eventually look cramped. For smaller tanks pick Coffeefolia or Nana instead, which give you the same toughness at a workable scale.

Can I plant it in gravel or sand?
Only with the rhizome sitting on top and just the thin roots buried. Bury the rhizome and the plant rots from the middle out. On a large plant like this, tying it to a solid piece of wood also keeps it from toppling.

Why is it growing so slowly?
Normal for Anubias. A leaf a month is healthy, and on this species each of those leaves is a big one. In exchange it never needs trimming and never melts.

Is it safe with cichlids, goldfish, and shrimp?
Yes on all three. The thick leathery leaves resist grazing, which is exactly why it is a staple in tanks that destroy softer plants.