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Dwarf Anubias – aquarium plant
Anubias in the aquarium is good-looking, unpretentious and convenient, as it serves as a shelter for small fish. The endurance of the green bush allows even a beginner to cope with caring for it.
General description of the Anubias plant
This bush comes from tropical Africa, where it lives along the banks of rivers and lakes, and sometimes completely hides under water. But it is mainly an emergent plant, so it is not so much suitable for aquariums as for paludariums – containers that combine land and water. However, it is used just for aquariums.
Anubias has tough, dense leaves and a tenacious root system.
The plant is represented by many species, so it is difficult to describe it accurately. All species have fairly dense, tough leaves. At the base, they are lanceolate, higher they can be round or oval. Leaf petioles are glabrous.
The plant feels great in the aquarium. He needs quite warm water – 24-27 ° C. There may be some deviations in one direction or another. Water hardness and pH are practically irrelevant, since the range is quite large. It does not like bright lighting. Light is needed diffused, you can hide the bush under the foliage of other plants.
The bush grows slowly, therefore it does not require frequent formation and division. It is beautiful: old leaves are dark green, and young ones are light green. Its leaves are quite tough, so fish cannot nibble on it. It is this fact that allows you to plant it with almost any fish, but the aquarium must be equipped with a filter. The accumulation of a large amount of suspension can slow down the growth of the bush.
Characteristics of the dwarf anubias
Beginners should get a dwarf form of this plant called Anubias barteri var. nana. This species is distinguished by its super-stable traction to the ground, since its natural habitat is fast streams and mountain rivers. These conditions determined the appearance of the plant. In addition to the tenacity of the roots, the leaves of this species are round and small, and the stems are tough. All together, it forms a kind of shield, covering the roots from the ingress of large pieces of rock during river floods.
Due to its qualities, the plant is not afraid of even such “burrowing” fish as cichlids. An established bush is very difficult to tear off from the soil or stone on which it is located.
The high cost of a plant will more than pay off with its unpretentiousness and appearance.
You need to plant a plant by fixing the roots on a stone or snag. For the first time, you can tie the root with fishing line or thread. Later, this fixation is no longer needed. Do not dig roots into the ground.
Aquatic bushes will decorate an aquarium with any inhabitants: neither fish nor snails can cope with hard leaves. Despite their slow growth, the bushes are hardy and difficult to kill.