STOP Planting Anubias Like This! (It’s Killing Your Plants)

[00:00:00][sighs] >> Wow, that's a great way to start a video.

[00:00:05]Today we're going to talk about the easiest plant in the world to keep in aquarium, period.

[00:00:10]We really don't even need to say a whole lot about them because >> they're just put them in the water and you're good to go.

[00:00:17]>> Pretty much.

[00:00:19]>> Anubias.

[00:00:21]This particular Anubias that I'm showing you is the Nan con variety. This one is going to get considerably larger than you see it right now, but Anubias they're available in a bunch of different shapes and colors. Colors vary slightly. Sometimes there's they're a little bit more on the yellow side. Uh mostly they're just going to be the deep green.

[00:00:44]>> is a little darker.

[00:00:46]>> And but also lighter. It has the the yellowier or lighter ones.

[00:00:51]>> Oh, like the new plants. The new stems.

[00:00:54]>> pop up, yep. They come up and they're a little bit yellow and then they they turn deep dark green.

[00:01:00]>> And the coffee folia and also the the barter eye, they have like ridges to the leaves which definitely differentiates them from these, but there's also the nanas, the nana petites. There's a bunch of different types of Anubias. We carry a very large variety of them. The reason why these are great is because it's basically like keeping plastic plants. If you can keep plastic plants in your aquarium, you can keep these too because they're just bulletproof.

[00:01:30]They're one of the most foolproof aquarium plants out there.

[00:01:35]But there is one thing about them that if you don't know this, it's going to surprise you. And that is a this is a plant that you do not want to plant in your aquarium. Meaning you don't want to bury it down into the substrate with just the leaves sticking out. Sometimes you you get away with that, but that is not what we want with this plant. In fact, I have decided that I'm going to sacrifice this one. I'm not going to kill it, but I'm going to sacrifice it from its rock wool to show you exactly what you would want to do with this.

[00:02:09]This is going This is how it's going to show up to you, wrapped up in uh rock wool, and you're going to be left with this when you remove that rock wool. This is what you're going to want to put into the aquarium and attach this to a piece of driftwood, a rock, put it between two pieces of rock to hold it down, however it is that you want to do it. If you want to attach them, you know, actually attach them, not just jam it in there, you could use things like black thread, you can use super glue, whatever it is that you want to use to fasten it down to the rocks, otherwise it's just going to float all over the place. That's all you need to do with this. It's going to receive its new nutrients through the rhizome in the water column, not from the substrate. So, uh something like a root tab, stuff like that, is going to be a complete waste for these plants because they're not going to be down into the roots. They're going to get their their nutrients from the water column. So, >> I have them in my uh goldfish tank, and they are thriving. Like, they love the goldfish poopy water.

[00:03:16]I do clean it, but >> And people would tell you you shouldn't put plants with with goldfish, but >> they do not mess with that plant at all.

[00:03:27]I mean, they play with it a little bit.

[00:03:29]I have like six of them in there, I think.

[00:03:32]>> You found a couple of them floating before.

[00:03:33]>> Yeah, they And I just let them float now at this point because the the plants are doing great. The, you know, the roots are just kind of doing their thing. Kind of reminds me of a pothos plant with the roots coming down. Uh but it's the leaves are inside of the tank, which is great, and they don't eat the plant leaves because I don't know if it's um it tastes different if they're I think the leaves are thicker, too.

[00:03:59]>> that's what it is. They're the the leaves are thicker, hardier, and crunchier. And the >> Yeah.

[00:04:05]>> goldfish just aren't interested in that.

[00:04:06]Now, if you put these in a tank full of mbunas, it's going to go. They're they're going to eat these, but that's cuz of mbunas are savages, but goldfish are sweet and they do eat plants.

[00:04:16]>> Oh, yeah. I can anytime I'm messing with one of my planted aquariums and I get the duckweed sleeve, you know, I stick my arm in the goldfish tank and I do this and let the duckweed fall off in there and they eat it all up.

[00:04:32]>> Yeah, I mean, it goldfish will absolutely devour plants and they will eat anubias, too, but it's not as likely as other plants, stem plants, things like that that are a little juicier, a little more fragile.

[00:04:46]>> I don't think I would put nana petite's in there with them, but a nancong, yeah.

[00:04:51]They do great.

[00:04:52]>> what you have in there is hastifolias or you might have uh you you might have nancon's in there. Who cares? It's one of the larger varieties that you have in there. We are not >> Yeah, you might be right.

[00:05:05]>> We're not trying to encourage people to plant their goldfish tank. We're just saying that's how hardy anubias is. It can actually go into It's so hardy, it can go into a goldfish tank and do really well.

[00:05:19]Um the best fertilizer for anubias is going to be fish food fish food fish The English language is something I I'm challenged with sometimes. Fish poop, the natural thing that happens in your aquarium is going to fertilize these plants. If you have an in a well-established aquarium, you're not going to need to add any fertilizers at all, but if you do want to fertilize them because it's a newer tank or you're just introducing the plants, then this is where you would use a liquid fertilizer, not the root tabs. Because again, you're going to stuff root tabs down in the substrate for nothing.

[00:06:00]>> Yeah.

[00:06:00]>> Put it in there for your stem plants, but for Anubias, no.

[00:06:04]>> actually would suggest using a liquid fertilizer in the beginning for them.

[00:06:10]Definitely. But after a few months, it's really not necessary.

[00:06:14]>> And also be aware that Anubias plants grow super slow.

[00:06:21]>> And the coolest thing though is once they do start growing, and if you're doing it right, you're taking care of them right, they'll start flowering.

[00:06:30]>> They will.

[00:06:31]>> And they're the prettiest little flowers. They remind me of like a peace lily, like the flower that comes up.

[00:06:38]>> Yep.

[00:06:38]>> So um >> And they they will grow and they'll keep growing and they'll the rhizome will keep growing. They'll you you can actually cut the rhizome and replant it.

[00:06:46]You can not replant it, but replace it.

[00:06:49]>> Um >> Um you can do all of these things, but it's not propagate it. That would have probably been the right way of saying that.

[00:06:56]But it's not going to happen as quickly as something like a rotala or a ludwigia that's just going to explode overnight.

[00:07:03]>> Right.

[00:07:03]>> Not Anubias. They do take a long time to get there, but once they get there, they are magnificent. And you can have a more instant impact with them if you get the larger varieties.

[00:07:16]>> Right.

[00:07:16]>> This is actually very small nancons. We get them in sometimes that are like 12 in. I mean, they're really, really big.

[00:07:24]>> They really are.

[00:07:25]>> Um but because they're so slow growing, the farms basically have what they have.

[00:07:31]The the nurseries have what they have and around wintertime and things like that, their their growth is going to be slowed down even more. And so when you get to spring and early summer, things like that, the anubias are a little bit smaller because >> I think like that version right there, the nancon, I think is a really good one to have in like a beta tank, too.

[00:07:57]Especially if you are putting it on something to where it's a little higher up from your substrate anyway, like a piece of driftwood and it's attached higher on the driftwood, the beta's going to have something like a beta hammock.

[00:08:15]>> Yep. It's a real hammock.

[00:08:16]>> It is. And so, I I would definitely definitely recommend those for like a beta tank along with all your community fish, too. But, one of the um the smaller anubias, I think is amazing. Like your nana petites and stuff. If you have like a whole bunch of them and like bunched together on a piece of driftwood or rock or something, they're great for if you have um live bearers because the babies can go hide in all of the little spots and not get eaten. So, I mean, that's another plus, too.

[00:08:55]>> I think nana petite is probably the most sought after by aquascapers cuz they can do all kinds of little things with them, like making them look like little bonsai trees and things like that.

[00:09:05]>> They're cute.

[00:09:06]>> They're they're really neat. The nana petite is very, very small, though. But, they will substan- get substantially larger. They spread out more.

[00:09:15]>> The nana petite is probably my least favorite anubias. I like the bigger leafed ones, you know, that produce bigger leaves. I just they're more my favorite.

[00:09:30]>> So, the barteri's, the the nancons >> coffifolia >> Coffifolia is pretty much like the nanas. They don't get really big.

[00:09:37]>> I feel like the leaves do get a little bigger though.

[00:09:39]>> They're way bigger than nana petite, but they're >> I have seen them very large before. Like in a more established tank that has had it going for years and years and years.

[00:09:50]The leaves are huge and I love that they have the the ridges in the leaves too. I think that's really awesome.

[00:09:58]>> They're all anubias, but they all look very different. I mean the nana and the nana petite are basically the same plants. Just one's really small, the one's a little bit bigger than that. But they look the same. But yeah, when you go to the the coffeefolia, the barteri, the nancons, they look very very different. But they all behave the same.

[00:10:17]They all grow very slow. They're very rigid. They're very very hardy. There's a reason why we're not talking at all about water parameters and things like that because it doesn't matter. Just put them in the water and they're going to be fine.

[00:10:30]>> Yeah.

[00:10:31]>> You don't need to worry I mean you want to keep your aquarium clean, but they're actually going to help you with that too. So, they're just they're perfect especially if you're somebody that's struggled with live plants in the past.

[00:10:42]>> And another thing, they are low light plants. So, you don't have to have this fancy expensive light on your aquarium for anubias. They do really well if you do have a heavily planted aquarium and they're underneath, you know, tucked in here and there so that the the plants that are growing more above them and taking the light from them, they'll do really well in the areas that don't get as much light in it. So, >> It's very very true. One of the most common questions that I get about this plant is do I need once I once I put it in the tank and I attach the rhizome to a a rock, do I need to let these roots go down into the substrate. No, you don't need to let any You can just float this in a tank if you want to, like hornwort or something like that, and it'll do its thing. You don't need to do that.

[00:11:44]>> Some might naturally do it, but it's >> naturally does it, that's fine, but you don't You don't want to do that. You want to just put it in there, attach it to something, and let it do its thing.

[00:11:54]Let it get its fertilizer from the water column, from the fish waste, all of those things. Everything that happens naturally in the tank is going to be the best fertilizer for it. But, like we said earlier, if you want to boost it a little bit in the beginning, uh using a a liquid fertilizer is going to be great for that. But, don't expect it to just explode like your stem plants will and stuff like that. It's not going to do that.

[00:12:18]>> really love the roots. They love to, you know, hang out and eat the little stuff that collects on the roots, so >> Very true.

[00:12:29]They are the perfect aquarium plant.

[00:12:32]Some plants, hornwort, wisteria, bacopa, rotala, they can grow out of control. And And you can be overrun. Vallisneria can absolutely take over a tank really fast. You're never going to be surprised by Anubias because they're they're going to grow so slow, but they're just going to look magnificent and they're not going to melt away and die, which is the best. It is very similar to keeping a plastic plant.

[00:13:00]Rub the algae off of it every once in a while. That's really all you need to do as far as maintenance goes.

[00:13:06]>> Take a leaf in between your fingers and do this. It comes right off.

[00:13:10]>> It's the perfect plant. I love them so much. Like I said, we sell five or six different varieties of Anubias, and it's one of those plants that we always try to keep in stock because they are such good sellers.

[00:13:21]They're good sellers because they're great plants and everybody loves them.

[00:13:25]Perfect for beginner plant keepers. So, >> Definitely a beginner plant.

[00:13:30]>> Oh, for sure. No No doubt about it. But, also beautiful enough and versatile enough to be for those advanced aquascapers, too. So, it's the perfect plant. What do you want me to say? It's perfect. We've got them. We'll send them right out to you. kgtropicals.com. You might be on the website right now watching this video. If you are, thanks for coming by. We're glad to have you.

[00:13:53]We would love to send you a whole bunch of these Anubias. So, order them up right now. We'll get them shipped out to you and you will love them.

[00:14:01]>> Yeah. Bye.

[00:14:02]>> Bye.