Most people probably think that all aquatic plants need to be grown in water. However, there are several plant species that can grow out of water.
Anubias is one of these plants, and in this blog post, we’ll explore how it grows and what conditions it needs to thrive. So if you’re interested in learning more about this fascinating plant, read on!
Contents
Can Anubias Grow Out of Water?
The fishkeeping community favors anubias, a semi-aquatic blooming plant that is frequently used in freshwater aquarium tanks. If you’ve only ever seen anubias in aquariums, it might surprise you to learn that they can really grow with their leaves out of water.
Anubias can grow without water and flourishes when it is exposed to the air. You must create the ideal lighting conditions, water needs, and growth medium in order to do this.
Anubias is more than a nice beginning plant. They can survive in many different environments. Let’s find out the best ways to plant anubias and how they thrive without water.
Does Anubias Need to Be Fully Submerged?
Anubias may develop without being completely immersed. In actuality, anubias thrives when it has emerged, which is simply when the leaves are poking out above the surface of the water.
Anubias can therefore thrive in a terrarium when given the proper circumstances. Growing anubias immersed is challenging since the plant needs a lot of moisture to thrive.
In a contained space like an aquarium, this moisture is clearly readily available. If you don’t provide your anubias with an adequate moisture level, the leaves will wither.
As a result, your anubias should flourish after being emerged if you have a closed-lid tank. Specifically, when the leaves are above the water’s surface. An ideal humid atmosphere for the anubias is created as the water evaporates and sticks to the tank’s cover.
If you have an open lid, it’s not a good idea to have your anubias out. The humidity in your aquarium tank room won’t be acceptable for your anubias to grow correctly or appear attractive because humans prefer a considerably less humid environment than plants do.
Can Anubias Grow on Soil?
On soil without water, anubias do not thrive. Simply said, it won’t work. Anubias like to “cling” to driftwood or rocks. The plant will perish if the stolon, or runner, as you may choose, is immersed.
Anubias often require lower light levels and flourish in shadier conditions in contrast to many other aquarium plants. In addition, as was previously indicated, they need a humid atmosphere to develop out of water.
Anubias are not well suited to the typical life of a potted plant due to all of these characteristics. Due to sun exposure and a lack of moisture, the leaves will dry out and die, and the soil will smother the stolon.
While you may easily anchor or plant the anubias roots in the soil, you should take care to avoid burying the rhizomes as well. Anubias are root feeders, but it can be challenging to get them to stick to the ground. To do this, you will need to weigh down your anubias so that it remains in place by using stones or other decorations.
Again, don’t bury the stolon to prevent killing the plant. You may take out the rocks after approximately a month, at which point the anubias should have established itself.
Of course, if you just want to go the easy route, attaching your anubias to hardscape like a stone or piece of bogwood is considerably easier (and entirely fine).
How Long Can Anubias Nana Be Out of Water?
Your plants will be alright for roughly 30 minutes out of the water if you need to remove your anubias nana from a tank for any reason, such as heavy cleaning or redecorating. Put your anubias securely into a wet Ziplock bag if you think you’ll be any longer than that or if you just want to be cautious.
Anubias need a lot of humidity, as you may remember, so keeping them in a high-humidity environment can help them cope if you need to remove them from your tank for whatever reason.
Caring for Anubias Emerged
If you intend to develop your anubias, there are a number of things to take into account that will make the process much simpler and probably more effective.
Light
Anubias don’t have particular lighting needs, which is one of the reasons they work well in many novice tanks. In actuality, going overboard when it comes to lighting your anubias is your biggest risk.
Check to see whether the anubias’ leaves aren’t turning yellow and dropping off. If so, you should probably lessen the amount or intensity of light your anubias receive.
Media
It’s critical that you get the right media for your anubias’ growth. If you want to plant your anubias, it’s vital to use a substrate made for aquatic plants. Both sand and fine-grained gravel will work well. Additionally, you may securely tie it down with thread or superglue it to a piece of wood or rock.
Although floating isn’t the best option, Anubias can do it just well.
Water
The needs of various anubias species vary, but you should strive for a temperature between 73 and 80 degrees Fahrenheit (23 to 27 degrees Celsius). The pH should fall between 6.0 and 8.0. Generally speaking, your anubias will do just well if your water conditions are perfect for your aquatic fish to live.
Feeding
Anubias don’t develop quickly and don’t require any special food. Fertilizers can help restore balance to a diet deficient in nutrients, but in general, you shouldn’t need to feed your anubias directly to keep it healthy.
FAQs
Why does Anubias turn brown?
In planted tanks, this is a less frequent issue, but if you add a lot of plants before the tank has fully cycled, you might not have enough beneficial bacteria to convert fish waste into usable nitrates. Your new plants might become brown, black, or yellow before dying.
Why does my Anubias keep dying?
Why does anubias rot occur? Anubias rot still has not been definitively explained. It’s now thought that a bacterium or fungus is to blame, although this is difficult to say because occasionally an early infection weakens the plant, allowing a secondary pathogen to exploit the vulnerability.
Will Anubias grow new leaves?
The formation of a new leaf normally takes 4-6 weeks in Anubias species due to their sluggish growth. Anubias is an epiphyte plant, thus unlike other plants, it shouldn’t be buried in the substrate. All of Anubias’ leaves and roots emerge from the plant’s rhizome.
Final Thoughts
Anubias is a hardy aquarium plant that can thrive in different water conditions, making it an ideal choice for beginning aquarists.
While it is possible for Anubias to grow out of the water, it typically does better when planted in soil or another substrate.
If you are looking for an easy-to-care-for aquatic plant that will help keep your tank clean and healthy, Anubias may be the perfect option for you. Have you ever grown Anubias out of the water? Share your experiences in the comments below!
