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Anubias

Contents:

  1. Flowering Anubias
    by uweb-at-hpbidrd1.bbn.hp.com (Uwe Behle) (Tue, 25 Jan 1994)
  2. Growing Anubias emersed
    by ac554-at-freenet.carleton.ca (David Whittaker) (Mon, 17 Jul 1995)
  3. Can Anubias stand ~1 tsp NaCl/5 gallons?
    by milun-at-cs.buffalo.edu (Davin Milun) (15 Sep 1995)
  4. Anubias, recognised and unrecognised species
    by karl.schoeler-at-tclbbs.com (Karl Schoeler) (Fri, 16 Feb 1996)
  5. Anubias, H. polysperma, Denitrification
    by krandall-at-world.std.com (Karen A Randall) (Sat, 17 Feb 1996)
  6. Anubias and Snails that Crunch
    by krandall-at-world.std.com (Karen A Randall) (Tue, 3 Dec 1996)
  7. Re:Locations of Anubias species
    by krombhol/teclink.net (Paul Krombholz) (Fri, 24 Oct 1997)
  8. Too much light for Anubias?
    by ac554/FreeNet.Carleton.CA (David Whittaker) (9 Feb 1998)
  9. H2S problem
    by krombhol/teclink.net (Paul Krombholz) (Thu, 26 Mar 1998)
  10. Anubias ID
    by krandall/world.std.com (Sun, 10 Jan 1999)
  11. micro anubias(?)
    by "David W. Webb" <dwebb/ti.com> (Wed, 13 Jan 1999)
  12. Anubias barteri vs. b. nana
    by krandall/world.std.com (Thu, 14 Jan 1999)
  13. I'm glad there's no SPCP
    by krombhol/teclink.net (Paul Krombholz) (Sat, 16 Jan 1999)
  14. Anubias Cuttings and Flesh Eating Bacteria
    by lovell <lovell/drizzle.com> (Sat, 14 Aug 1999)
  15. Anubias sp. and non-species
    by krandall/world.std.com (Fri, 30 Jul 1999)
  16. Anubias Stumps.
    by busko/stsci.edu (Ivo Busko) (Wed, 15 Mar 2000)
  17. RE: Anubias and algae
    by "Thomas Barr" <tcbiii/earthlink.net> (Wed, 15 Mar 2000)
  18. Propagating anubias coffefolia
    by Karen Randall <krandall/world.std.com> (Wed, 05 Apr 2000)
  19. Stunted Anubias
    by Karen Randall <krandall/world.std.com> (Thu, 06 Apr 2000)
  20. Aquatic Plants Digest V4 #50
    by busko/stsci.edu (Ivo Busko) (Tue, 25 Jan 2000)
  21. types of Anubias plants
    by "James Purchase" <jppurchase/Home.com> (Wed, 31 Oct 2001)


Anubias nana with flower


Flowering Anubias

by uweb-at-hpbidrd1.bbn.hp.com (Uwe Behle)
Date: Tue, 25 Jan 1994

Nicholas Plummer (nicholas.plummer-at-um.cc.umich.edu) wrote:
: Over the last couple of weeks, one of my _Anubias nana_ appears to have
: been trying to flower.  It has sent up a short spike from the rhizome
: between two old leaves. The end of the spike has a single bud.  The bud has
: not yet opened, but it looks like it will turn into something similar to
: the flower (is "spathe" the technical term?) of a peace lily
: (Spathiphyllum).

: Is it common for Anubias plants to flower while growing submersed?  I was
: under the impression that since Anubias are typically only submersed during
: floods, they only flowered when grown emersed.  I think this is what the
: Rataj and Horeman plant book said.  I assume this is a sign that the plant
: is happy, but I guess it could be the last gasp of a dying plant.  I know
: that abused orchids will sometimes flower one last time before giving up
: the ghost.
:          
:                                                  Nick

Thhis seems to happen a lot with the A. nana and A. barteri. Unfortunately 
the flowers rot after a while and you have to remove them. The flowers 
keep coming back. I had plants with two flower stems on them, one from each
end of the rhizome. 
If you want to grow seeds you need to make sure that the humidity in the air 
part of the tank is 100% and that the flower can reach above the surface.
Also it helps to have two or more A nana; the flowers are protected against
self fertilization by the spathe. 
By the way, the A. nana grows mainly submersed in the natural habitat; as
a matter of fact it grows much better under water than emersed.

--
Uwe

NAME    Uwe Behle, HP Boeblingen Instruments Division
EMAIL   uweb-at-hpbbn.bbn.hp.com (internet), df3du-at-db0sao.ampr.org (packet radio)

Growing Anubias emersed

by ac554-at-freenet.carleton.ca (David Whittaker)
Date: Mon, 17 Jul 1995

Peter Konshak says....

>It seems like I heard somewhere that Anubias species will grow much 
>quicker if grown emersed.  I have several specimens that aren't doing 
>much right now, and might give this a try.  I was thinking about putting 
>them in a spare 10 gallon tank about half filled, and leaving out on my 
>porch.  The porch gets about 6 hours of direct sun.  Of course it is also 
>about 95-100 every day here in Central Texas.

They do VERY well emersed in 1.5 to 2 inches of water.
>
>Has anyone tried this?  Any idea what kind of substrate to use (ie, the 
>same as a normal tank, or would you want a "richer" substate?).  Any 
>comments/suggestions are welcome.

No substrate necessary. Soluble fertilizer or hydroponic mix.
Change water every few days if you want.

>I would think that the evaporation would make the interior of the tank 
>quite humid, which would be ok for the plants.  Thanks,

Yes.

Dave


Can Anubias stand ~1 tsp NaCl/5 gallons?

by milun-at-cs.buffalo.edu (Davin Milun)
Date: 15 Sep 1995
Newsgroup: rec.aquaria

Hong-chang Liang <h-liang-at-ux7.cso.uiuc.edu> wrote:
»	I've read that Anubias are good for these plant-eating mbunas and
»can also take the high pH.  Would they survive/thrive with ~1 tsp of salt
»per 5 gallons of water?

Yes - A have various Anubias sp. growing well in my 20 gallon tank, which has
1tsp of salt per 2.5 gallons of water.

Davin.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Davin Milun    Internet:  milun-at-cs.Buffalo.EDU
               WWW:       http://www.cs.buffalo.edu/~milun/


Anubias, recognised and unrecognised species

by karl.schoeler-at-tclbbs.com (Karl Schoeler)
Date: Fri, 16 Feb 1996

To those interested in the genus Anubias-SCHOTT:

In 1979 a revision of the genus Anubias was published by the
Laboratory of Plant Geography, Agricultural University,
Wageningen, The Netherlands.  In this revision, 8 species
and 4 varieties were identified, and pictured with photographs
and drawings.  They were as follows:

Species:
A. afzellii
A. gigantea
A. gilletii
A. gracilis
A. hastifolia
A. heterophylla
A. pynaertii
A. barteri

Varieties:
A. barteri var. caladiifolia
A. barteri var. glabra
A. barteri var. nana
A. barteri var. angustifolia

This list leaves out many "species" which are familiar in the
aquatic plant trade such as:

A. congensis
A. congoensis
A. coffeafolia
A. frazeri
A. lanceolata
A. minima  ....to name a few.

In the revision, A. congensis was placed as a heterotypic
synomym of A heterophylla. I am assuming the A. congoensis
very probably can be placed with the same species, and may
only be a spelling error from A. congensis.

A. coffeeafolia is not mentioned in the revision, however I
believe it to be a cross of A. barteri var. caladiifolia and
A. barteri var. nana.

A. minima and A. lanceolata were placed as heterotypic synonyms
of A. barteri var. glabra.  This leaves A. frazeri which I have not
been able to track down.

The reason I am posting this is to ask anyone who is interested in
the genus Anubias what they have found and where the information
was discovered.  I have poured over all the books at my disposal,
but I'm hardly satisfied at this point.  Anyone interested in
this exploration is certainly welcome.

I have propagated the following species and varieties:
A. afzelli
A. barteri
A. barteri var. nana
A. barteri var. caladiifolia.
A. gigantea
A. gracilis
A. hastifolia
A. heterophylla

Most propagation was emersed in a completely enclosed aquarium,
where I was able to keep the heat and humidity constant.

I am also searching for A. gilletii and A. pynaertii. These
two species are out there somewhere, as they were cultivated
during the writing of the revision.  Any help would be great!

Karl R. Schoeler


Anubias, H. polysperma, Denitrification

by krandall-at-world.std.com (Karen A Randall)
Date: Sat, 17 Feb 1996

Subject: Anubias, recognised and unrecognised species
 
> To those interested in the genus Anubias-SCHOTT:

<big snip>

> The reason I am posting this is to ask anyone who is interested 
> the genus Anubias what they have found and where the informatio
> was discovered.  I have poured over all the books at my disposal
> but I'm hardly satisfied at this point.  Anyone interested in
> this exploration is certainly welcome.

I have an article coming out soon in AFM on this subject, but like 
you, most of my information comes either from the Cruzio paper or 
from my personal experiences with the plants.

These are the species/varieties I have propagated.  The ones that 
I have flowered are marked **:

 A. afzelli
 A. barteri**
 A. barteri var. nana**
 A. barteri var. caladifolia**
 A. 'Coffeefolia' (I agree this is most likely a barteri variety, 
 whether naturally occuring or a cultivar...probably the latter)
 A. gracilis
 A. heterophylla**
 
> Most propagation was emersed in a completely enclosed aquarium,
> where I was able to keep the heat and humidity constant.

In my case, all species/varieties have been propagated and 
flowered submerged, which is why I've steered clear of the really 
big ones like A. gigantea and A. hastifolia. (Although every time 
I've seen hastifolia for sale, it has turned out to be A. 
gracilis!<g>
 
> I am also searching for A. gilletii and A. pynaertii. These
> two species are out there somewhere, as they were cultivated
> during the writing of the revision.  Any help would be great!

Let me know if you find them.  I'd love to play with them too.

I also got "suckered" into paying too much money for a 
"variegated" nana, which, under good conditions in my tank 
reverted to its normal coloration!<g>

A final observation is of a "Bonsai" Anubias I have.  I first saw 
this plant in a pet shop, and in the tank, I had no idea what it 
was.  It had tiny (1/8th") ovate leaves, shiny and bright green.  
I asked what it was, and they had no idea.  I fished it out of the 
tank to look at more closely, and as soon as I turned it over, 
recognized from the root structure that it was an Anubias.  It 
seems it had been in the fish room of a hobbyist in a bare-bottom 
tank for at least 5 years with only ambient light.  Rather than 
give up and die as any lesser plant would, it had merely become 
dwarfed by the poor care it received.  

I have had it in my tank for over a year now, and all the new 
leaves grow in as normal A. barteri var. nana leaves should.  But 
because of the long life of Anubias leaves, there are still a 
large number of the tiny leaves left.  I almost wish it had 
remained dwarfed... it was really quite attractive!


Anubias and Snails that Crunch

by krandall-at-world.std.com (Karen A Randall)
Date: Tue, 3 Dec 1996

 Subject: Anubias 'Coffeafolia' and 'Frazeri'

> > From: "A. Inniss" <andrewi-at-u.washington.edu>
> > Date: Mon, 2 Dec 1996 16:23:18 -0800 (PST)
 
> >     About a month ago, our store ordered and received a plant 
cal
> > Anubias cofiafolia.  
> 
> [summary: typical anubias barteri features, 7" tall, darker leav
> normal anubias, strikingly-indented leaves, rubharb red stems]

This sounds like a very good description of the plant to me.  I am 
_sure_ it is part of the A. barteri complex, whether it is a 
cultivar or a naturally occurring variant.  It is _not_ a true 
species, or even variety as recognized by Crusio. I've seen it 
spelled Coffeafolia, Coffeefolia, Coffeeafolia, and now this new 
spelling.  Your guess is as good as mine which one is correct. 
(BTW, named cultivars are written as 'Coffeefolia', not 
"Coffeefolia" just to be picky<g>)  I believe there's a photo of 
it in the AFM article if you want to compare what you have.

Whatever it is, it's one of the nicest Anubias for the aquarium 
with good color, compact growth and an iron clad constitution.  It 
flowers easily in the aquarium as well.

> OK, so anyone like to explain A. frazeri then?  My fiancee broug
> very large show specimens of this from Texas.  I'm assuming they
> another cross of some sort.  Hey, I should fire off some digital
> all these, since at least two of you have ID'd my mystery plant 

I've seen this name floating around to, but the plant you get when 
you order it is very variable.  Some look most like A. afzelli to 
me, others look more like A. barteri var. angustifolia.  I've 
never gotten the ones that look like Afzelli to flower, and the 
ones that look like A.b. var. angustifolia have, so I suspect 
there's more than one plant being sold under that name.


Re:Locations of Anubias species

by krombhol/teclink.net (Paul Krombholz)
Date: Fri, 24 Oct 1997

>FORWARDED MESSAGE:
>
>>Date: Tue, 21 Oct 1997 07:09:58 -0400
>>From: FROISSART Thierry <tFroissart-at-compuserve.com>
>>Subject: QUESTION
>>
>>hello,
>>i live in France near Geneva's Lake and i have a question about Anubias.
>>I search African country where i can find Anubias Bartheri, Anubias
>>Lanceolata and Anubias Congensis.
>>Please help me !
>>I'll go in Afirca in 4 weeks.
>>Thank a lot for all you can do.

A. afzelii----------------------Senegal, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Mali
A. barteri, var. barteri--------SE Nigeria, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea
A. barteri, var. angustifolia*--Guinea, Liberia, Gold Coast?, Cameroon
A. barteri, var. Caladiifolia---SE Nigeria, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea
A. barteri, var. glabra---------Guinea, Liberia, Gold Coast, Nigeria, Cameroon
                                Equatorial Guinea, Gaboon, Congo
A. barteri, var. nana-----------Cameroon
A. gigantea---------------------Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Gold Coast?
                                Togo, Cameroon (?)
A. gilletii---------------------Nigeria, Cameroon, Gaboon, Congo, Zaire
A. gracilis---------------------Guinea, Sierra Leone
A. hastifolia-------------------Ghana, Togo(?), Nigeria, Cameroon, Zaire
A. heterophylla**---------------Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Gaboon, Congo,
                                Angola, Zaire.
A. pynaertii--------------------Cameroon, Gaboon, Congo, Zaire

Above is what I got from the pages of Aquarienpflanzen, by Kasselmann.  My
translation of the names of the African countries from the German was just
guessing on my part.  *The A. barteri, var. angustifolia was formerly
called A. lanceolata.  **A. heterophylla was formerly called A. congensis,
var. crassispadix

Good luck!  Watch out for the Gaboon viper!

Paul Krombholz in Jackson, Mississippi where the channel 3 TV tower fell
down yesterday, and now we can't get the world series.      

Too much light for Anubias?

by ac554/FreeNet.Carleton.CA (David Whittaker)
Date: 9 Feb 1998
Newsgroup: rec.aquaria.freshwater.plants


"Zapped" (zapped-at-nycap.rr.com) writes:
> Hi everyone,
>     Is it possible to give plants too much light? According to the formula
> in the FAQ my light would be low. I have 2 20 watt fluorescents over a 29
> gallon tank (approx 18" x 30" x 12").
>     I leave the light on from about 9:30 am - 10:00 pm. The room the setup
> is in starts getting indirect natural light at around 6 or 7 am. Also, we
> don't go to bed sometimes until midnight so it gets a couple hours of room
> lighting (compact fluorescents) after the hood lights shut off.
>         I have a DIY yeast CO2 injecting into the powerhead of my UGF. PH -
> 7.0  KH - 4dh, which I figured to be about 10 ppm CO2 so is this also a
> little low?
>     I have a bunch of hygro polysperma growing like crazy. Some jungle
> Vallisneria (anyone know scientific name?) doing well, sending off runners
> and growing new shoots. Some corkscrew Val(not doing as well as jungle, but
> doing O.K.), cryptocoryne Wendtii, and cryptocoryne walkeri both doing O.K.
> (new leaves).
>     The Anubius is also growing (a new leaf opened up) but I see some
> brownish spots on the older leaves, like a discoloration, and some
> yellowish. The veins are green.
>     I have also added kent freshwater plant supplement.
>     The tank has been set up for a while (years) and is cycled. I recently
> replaced old gravel with flourite. The plants have only been in there for
> about 2 1/2 maybe 3 weeks.
>     There is only some film algae on the back wall. I have 2 SAE's a few
> adult mollies, a load of baby mollies, a red sword, and two celebes rainbows
>     Does this sound like my Anubius is getting too much light? I'd
> appreciate any advice given.

If you have Anubias bartieri var. nana or A. lanceolata, the answer
is no. The former grow very well under six (6) watts per gallon of
metal halide. I have very many. The problem you describe is a nutrient
deficiency. It may be potassium. Nutrient deficiencies are difficult
to diagnose. With soft water I'd also watch the calcium and magnesium
levels.
--
Dave Whittaker
ac554-at-FreeNet.Carleton.ca


H2S problem

by krombhol/teclink.net (Paul Krombholz)
Date: Thu, 26 Mar 1998

Pierluigi e Simone Vicini wrote, Monday, March 9:

>....I had to take down my gravel laterite tank in these days and I saw that the
>Anubias' roots where totally black and decaying 1 inch deep in the
>substrate.  Is this the cause of H2S?
>
>How come that I had this problem? Reading the article in the TAG issue I
>couldn't find anything wrong with what I did.
>I used 3mm gravel less than two inches deep, 15g tank with 3watts gallon of
>light, water temp at 80, no fertilizer except for KNO3 and Pflanzengold 7
>(Dennerle)
>
>Can anybody tell me what I did wrong?
>
>Anyway my anubias was growing fast but not very healthy, with that I mean
>that its leaves were very easily attacked by algae........


Anubias is one of the few aquatic plant genera whose roots are not well
adapted for anaerobic soil.  The air channels in Anubias roots are very
small.  Anubias seems to do fine in almost pure gravel with only a very
small amount of soil or laterite at the bottom.  Anubias barteri and all
its varieties have roots that stick to rocks in the same manner that the
specialized rootlets of ivy cling to walls.   Kasselmann says that  Anubias
barteri varieties grow where there is running water and that the plants are
attached to stones or large pebbles.

I don't think that algae growing on Anubias leaves is necessarily a sign of
poor health.  I don't think that the health of the plant plays much of a
role in determining whether or not algae can attach.


Paul Krombholz, in warm, windy central Mississippi.  

Anubias ID

by krandall/world.std.com
Date: Sun, 10 Jan 1999

>1) I have an anubias with arrowhead-shaped leaves that I have not seen in any
>references.  It grows slowly, even for an anubias.  Has anyone else seen this
>plant?

If the leaves are quite triangular, and softer in texture than most
Anubias, it is probably A. gracillis.  If the leaves are longer, with
smaller, rounded bottom lobes, it could be either A. hastifolia or A.
gigantea.  Both grow quite lareg in the wild, but under aquarium
conditions, size can be deceiving.

Karen Randall
Aquatic Gardeners Association


micro anubias(?)

by "David W. Webb" <dwebb/ti.com>
Date: Wed, 13 Jan 1999

> From: "Burke Harris" <burkeh@starlingconsulting.com>
> 
> A couple of weeks ago my LFS got in a plant they called the micro anubias.
> It looked just like var. nana but was a lot smaller. The guy at the store
> said he only gets them every couple of years, thus justifying the $20 price
> for a single(tiny)potted plant. Does anyone out there know the scientific
> name for this plant or better yet where to find them mailorder for a more
> reasonable price.

My bet on this plant is that it's anubias barterii var. barterii or var.
nana.  I've never been able to determine a real difference between the
two after watching my two small A. nana that I purchased seven years ago
turn into giant versions of A. barterii that I'm now occasionally
clipping into smaller (and more numerous) pieces.

How to get small anubias?  Clip off a segment of the rhizome with no
leaves and let it grow new leaves submersed.  It will sprout a few small
leaves, and then can be sold for $20, according to your LFS.  Or, you
can wait a little while and it will look like the A. nana that you see
regularly in the stores.  If you let it grow emersed or let it get
older, it will grow larger and larger, with larger leaves (some of mine
are now about 4.5" across and 6" long on emersed specimens).  Emersed
growth is much faster and fuller, but it dries easily, and requires 100%
humidity.  Either emersed or submersed, anubias turns from "the plastic
plant that grows" to a fairly rapidly growing, flowering, very
attractive plant with a very dense root structure (submersed).

- -- 
David W. Webb
Live-Foods list administrator


Anubias barteri vs. b. nana

by krandall/world.std.com
Date: Thu, 14 Jan 1999

David Webb wrote:

>My bet on this plant is that it's anubias barterii var. barterii or var.
>nana.  I've never been able to determine a real difference between the
>two after watching my two small A. nana that I purchased seven years ago
>turn into giant versions of A. barterii that I'm now occasionally
>clipping into smaller (and more numerous) pieces.

There really _is_ a difference between A. barteri and A. b. var. nana,
though, as you have mentioned, they are both quite variable.  A. barteri,
in addition to the leaves being larger, also has longer petioles.  The
leaves of A. barteri stand a good 4-5" above the rhizome, even my tanks
with moderate light and no supplemental CO2.  The leaves are about 2 1/2"
wide and 4-5" long.   A. b. var. nana OTOH, has short petioles, so the
leaves are set close to the rhizome. Even in my CO2 supplemented high light
tanks, the leaves are about 1 1/2" wide and 2 1/2" long.  In unsupplemented
moderate light tanks, the leaves are 1 1/2" long and about 3/4" wide. 

I've grown these plants for years, and can always distinguish between them,
no matter what conditions they're grown under.  I _have_ seen _very_
stunted Anubias.  They can become amazingly small.  I found one "bonsai"
Anubias that had been in an unlit tank in a basement of an ex-fish keeper's
house for 3 years without care.  The entire plant was  about 7x4", and the
tiny round leaves were no more than 1/4" in diameter and appeared healthy.
I didn't even recognize the plant until I picked it up and saw the root
system.  I thought it was neat, and brought it home.  Every new leaf that
sprouted was normal A. b. nana size.  Because individual Anubias leaves are
so long lived, it actually took about 2 years before _all_ the little
leaves were replaced.

Another difference between the two varieties is that the rhizome of nana
tends to stay closer to the substrate, making nana a useful foreground
plant.  The roots of A. barteri puts the rhizome up on long "stilts" so
that the entire height of the plant, from substrate to leaf tip is over 11"
even in moderate light without supplemental CO2.  My oldest and largest
leafed nana, (which hasn't been divided in at least 2 years) is only 7"
from substrate to leaf tip, and even that height is due to the typical
diagonal growth habit of all Anubias rhizomes.

If there really is no difference between the differnt plants you have, I
suspect that what you've gotten has been stunted growth of normal A.
barteri which has, because of the stunting, looked temporarily like A. b.
nana.

Karen Randall
Aquatic Gardeners Association


I'm glad there's no SPCP

by krombhol/teclink.net (Paul Krombholz)
Date: Sat, 16 Jan 1999

That stands for Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Plants.  The
Anubias barteri, var. barteri I got more than three years ago is finally
looking a little unhealthy, having been in the plastic bag from the pet
store since July, 1995 in the kitchen with no light other than room light.
I guess I ought to plant it.  Better give it a bleach treatment, first.

Paul Krombholz, in foggy central Mississippi.


Anubias Cuttings and Flesh Eating Bacteria

by lovell <lovell/drizzle.com>
Date: Sat, 14 Aug 1999

>>I sliced a rhizome all the way through, and I lost quite a bit of the
>>plant. Both halves recovered, but I was disappointed with the amount of
>>loss of plants as a result of the cutting.

>I've never had that happen. Generally they are very tough and the
>ends don't rot. 

I bought a 4" long piece of A. barteri at the LFS about a year ago.  It
was clearly a scrap from somebody's tank and not a commercially raised
specimen.  It had a slightly ragged end where it had (apparently) broken
off the parent plant, but since the plant looked generally healthy, I
didn't pay any attention to this.  Gradually, though, leaves at the
ragged end would rot at their attachment to the rhizome and fall off.  I
let this go on longer than I should have.  When I finally pulled the
plant out of the tank to have a look, it was clear that rot was
progressing slowly up the rhizome.  I thought all I'd I've to do was cut
off the bad end and the plant would be fine.  (Anubias are the
indestructible plants, right?)  I squared off the bad end with a razor
blade, but I could see that there was still just a little necrotic
tissue within the rhizome.  Once again, I didn't think this was a big
deal, but leaves continued to slowly rot at the bases and die, so I
pulled the plant again and decided to keep cutting this time until all I
had left was healthy tissue.  I was surprised to find that the rot had
basically propagated all the way up the inside of the rhizome until the
whole thing was full of it to a greater or lesser degree.  I tried to
save a pitiful little 3/4" stump and it's attached leaf, but it too
rotted and died; over the course of about 9 months the plant had slowly
rotted away to nothing.  Later, when I bought an A. coffeiafolia (sp?)
"cutting" (that looked like it hadn't so much been cut as broken off the
end of the parent), I kept slicing away at the rhizome until I came to
absolutely healthy tissue.  This entailed taking off about an inch of 3"
long piece, but the remaining 2" with it's few leaves started growing
well shortly thereafter and is now turning into a pretty little plant.
	I guess the moral of this (too) long post is that it's best not to be
cheap or cowardly about cutting back rotten sections of expensive
Anubias plants.  It also occurs to me that I have never had this kind of
problem with commercially grown Anubias -- they are usually vibrantly
healthy specimens.  But who can resist a cheap little Anubias cutting?
- -- Sherman Lovell


Anubias sp. and non-species

by krandall/world.std.com
Date: Fri, 30 Jul 1999

John wrote:

>From your description it does sound like the real Anubias Nana, the Nana that 
>you have could most likely be Barteri or Barteri var. Nana, the real nana is 
>quite small.

There is no such species as "Anubias nana".  _ALL_ nana is Anubias barteri
var. nana.  It is a very variable plant with leaves ranging from ovate to
cordate.  I've seen plants under poor growwth conditions that looked green
and otherwise healthy with leaves no more that 1/8" in diameter.  It's also
not uncommon to see it with leaves up to 2" long.  A.b. barteri is also
quite variable, and at the extremes, both can be quite similar.  IMO, the
only (fairly) sure way to tell which one you're dealing with is the length
of the petiole.  In nana, the petiole is short enough that the leaves stay
down close to the rhizome.  In A.b. barteri, the petiole is at least as
long as the leaf, giving the plant a taller, more open look.  But the
absolute size of the leaves won't tell you.  I've seen barteri stunted down
to nana size too.

>Without a picture it is almost impossible to tell.

I'll agree with you there!

Karen


Anubias Stumps.

by busko/stsci.edu (Ivo Busko)
Date: Wed, 15 Mar 2000

"Bailin Shaw" <bailin_shaw@hotmail.com> wrote:
> Hello Eveyone,
> 
> I've seen various mention of regnerating anubias plants and stumps by
> placing them in a terrarium setting?  How does one go about setting up a
> terrarium?  What substrate?  Does it require water flow of any kind?  How
> much water?  Any information would be appreciated.  I'm trying to get rid of
> some nasty hair algae on the anubius plants, and haven't been able to yet.
> This might be a good solution.
> 
> Thank.
> Bailin

Myself and others posted about this topic a while ago. To clean up a small
a. barteri nana from hair algae (and to experiment with the idea !) I set up 
a minimum-cost "paludarium" in the basement. It consists of a 15 gal sterilite 
box ($5) covered with a clear plexiglass plate ($6). On top of the plexiglass 
I put a Lights of America underthecounter 15 watt fixture ($6) with a GE 
Plant&Aquarium bulb ($5). I plant the plants in clear plastic container 
lids used by the food store bakery to pack cakes ($0 after you eat the cake). 
Open some small holes in the container sides to help water to circulate, and 
fill with plain gravel. Put the containers in the box and add water until 
its level coincides with the gravel surface so the leaves stay out of the 
water. This corresponds to about 3 gal in my setup. I had a spare powerhead 
that I put to use to circulate water using existing pieces of nylon hose and 
barbed tees/elbows. I believe some circulation is necessary to enable 
nutrients to reach the plant roots. I feed PMDD dayly and replace 90% of the 
water every other week. A spare timer cycles the light (12 hours on).

The original anubias meant for treatment grew into a 2-rizome monster. The
algae never let go the infected leaves but now I can just snip that portion of
the plant off. Other tiny anubias I put in there are also growing to
humongous proportions. I also added in the deeper water between the containers 
pieces of driftwood with Java fern and moss; they all grew in submersed and 
emersed forms to large sizes. In the spring I'll move the box outdoors so 
the plants will benefit from sunlight. An maybe set a second box just to hold
the excess growth from the first ?

- -Ivo Busko
 Baltimore, MD


RE: Anubias and algae

by "Thomas Barr" <tcbiii/earthlink.net>
Date: Wed, 15 Mar 2000

>Hello Eveyone,
>
>I've seen various mention of regnerating anubias plants and stumps by 
>placing them in a terrarium setting?  How does one go about setting up a 
>terrarium?  What substrate?  Does it require water flow of any kind?  How 
>much water?  Any information would be appreciated.  I'm trying to get rid of 
>some nasty hair algae on the anubius plants, and haven't been able to yet.  
>This might be a good solution.
>
>Thank.
>Bailin

A good way is a simple very tight fitting hood (or piece of plexi-glass)
over a tank with two inches of old tank water. To this add small pots filled
with dirt/peat/sand/clay/flourite etc in some combo that you think might
help. Anubias have done well in all of these. No need for flow. A small ten
gallon tank will work great with a single 15 watt 18 inch light you can get
for about 6-8 $ or so. Build a small wood box for this light and add water
and lid and pots with plants. Cost .....about 25 -30$ total. You'll only
need to repot (maybe once every three months or so)and spray with a general
fertilizer every week. You'll make your money back by growing Anubias and
also solve your problem. The heat from the light produces quite a bit of
humidity so a fogger is not needed etc.
The tank is light and cheap and the plants can be added to a tank without
removing them from the pots. The only electrical thing is the light. You can
add KNO3, K2PO4, TMG, Kent to the water etc also. Change this 2 inches of
water after a week or two and replace with old tank water.
Regards, 
Tom Barr

 


Propagating anubias coffefolia

by Karen Randall <krandall/world.std.com>
Date: Wed, 05 Apr 2000

>Does anyone on the list have experience with propagating this 
>plant? 

Sure.  It's just like any other form of A. barteri

>If I cut the rizhome into smaller pieces, will new leaves 
>grow at the cut? 

Normally, the rhizome will branch at the cut, and leaves will grow on that.

>I also read about nicking the rizhome with a 
>sharp knife, and new branch would grow. 

Yes, that will work.

>Will the new branch be as big as the old rizhome? 

In time.  It's not a fast growing plant, but a steady performer.

If you want to optimize production, the best bet is a humid terrarium with
the plants grown emersed.  They grow _MUCH_ faster that way than submersed.

Karen


Stunted Anubias

by Karen Randall <krandall/world.std.com>
Date: Thu, 06 Apr 2000

Michael Rubin wrote:

>.  I've also seen A. nana with
>small, yellowish leaves start to improve dramatically when placed in a
>shadier part of the tank.  In that case the aspect of the plant was the same
>as the former case.  The conditions in the shade were better balanced for
>that plant.  According to Claus I could also have adjusted the water column
>nutrients to effect the same balance and allowed the plant to remain where
>it was.

I'm glad you added the last bit about Claus' comments, because I have had
beautiful Anubias growth in very bright light.  It _tolerates_ shade better
than many plants, but it does not _need_ shade.

Karen


Aquatic Plants Digest V4 #50

by busko/stsci.edu (Ivo Busko)
Date: Tue, 25 Jan 2000

Dinyar Lalkaka asked about an Anubias spa.

I have one working for about 8 months. It's a Rubbermaid 20 gallon clear plastic
tote box covered with a piece of transparent plexiglas. Ligth comes from a
Ligths of America under-the-counter fluorescent fixture ($6.75) with a 15 watt
GE Plant & Aquarium bulb. There is about 3" of water and the plants are potted
in plastic containers with pure aquarium gravel. I drilled holes in the containerners
to enhnace water circulation. There is a small pump that dumps water over the
containers. I feed weekly with PMDD mix and some extra P-rich fertilizer.
Monthly 100% water change. The Anubias grew BIG. There is also java fern and some
other bog species, all growing well. It's a good way to get large anubias nana
completely free of algae.

- -Ivo Busko
 Baltimore, MD


types of Anubias plants

by "James Purchase" <jppurchase/Home.com>
Date: Wed, 31 Oct 2001

Shireen, check out the following URL links. They are articles written by
Karen Randall and are the most comprehensive and authorative things I've
seen on the genus to date. (B.T.W. Anubias is a genus, not a family). The
genus Anubias belongs to the plant family Araceae, as do Aglaodorum,
Aglaonema, Amauriella, Caladium, Calla, Colocasia, Cryptocoryne,
Dieffenbachia, Lagenandra, Lasia, Peltandra, Pistia, Spathiphyllum, and
Syngonium. There are other genera in the family, but these are the ones most
likely to be familiar to aquatic gardnenrs (they aren't all aquatics).

It looks like Karen went right to "the source" and obtained a copy of the
most recent taxonomic revision of the genus to research her article.
http://www.animalnetwork.com/fish2/aqfm/1999/mar/aquatic/default.asp
http://www.animalnetwork.com/fish2/aqfm/1999/may/aquatic/default.asp
http://www.sfbaaps.com/reference/randall_01_01.shtml

For a complete listing of Anubias species, go to the KRIB -
http://www.thekrib.com/Plants/Plants/Anubias-nana.html
- - look for the message posted by Karl Schoeler on 16 Feb. 1996. He gives a
full list of the valid species and varieties of Anubias which were described
in the most recent revision of the genus, done in 1979 (this is from the
same paper used as a reference by Karen).

Further along in the message string from the KRIB is a lisiting of "original
habitats" for the various Anubias species taken from Kasselmann.

It _is_ possible that new species have been discovered and described in the
past 20 years that are not covered by that taxonomic revision. But it is
also possible (and more than likely) that the plants you have have been
mislabelled by someone in the chain from grower to you. This happens a lot
and is often a case of someone trying to gain a bit of an edge over their
competition (with the rare and unusual).

See if you can match your plants to the descriptions given in Karen's
articles.

James Purchase
Toronto


Up to Plants! <- Plants <- The Krib This page was last updated 17 February 2002