# Anubias are NOT aquatic submersed plants in nature



## plantbrain (Dec 15, 2003)

I recently had some time to listen to Anton Lamboj who has written a great deal about Western African cichlids. His book on Western cichlids is nothing short of one of the best:

http://www.amazon.com/Anton-Lamboj/e/B001I7VE6S

http://www.cichlidae.com/author.php?id=140

In his travels, he mentioned that he has never seen Anubias growing in the water except once. He said that if you attempt to create a biotope from this region, Anubias would not be in the water in the strict sense. Most all of them are high and dry. We know they do amazingly well above water and have thick leaves and cuticles. This may explain why many get algae on them vs say most other aquatic species which often lac a cuticle and have thin delicate leaves and stems.

My tank here is more appropriate in terms of biotope and Anubias:









With the plants growing up and out of the water.

If you like West African cichlids, buy his book also.


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## Da Plant Man (Apr 7, 2010)

Very cool! Any chance of a full tank shot of that tank?

I think I am going to have to get some anubias to grow emersed now


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## AW0L (Jan 15, 2004)

There was a time i had pennywhorl just grow out of my tank and cover my window its a cool plant. But most people dont have the humidity to let anubias we get from the hobby transition well most thave been grown submersed/emersed cant transition unless it grown out. And how slow anubias grows it makes it more dificult


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## Gatekeeper (Feb 20, 2007)

Any Anubias that I have had out of high humidity or water dries out and crumbles to pieces. I have no idea how you pulled that off Tom but would love to see a write up or something.


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## problemman (Aug 19, 2005)

If you ever hit up your local pet chains they get all their plants and fish mostly from segrest farms in florida and the plants are grown emmersed. Pick one if them up and see how it goes


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## Gatekeeper (Feb 20, 2007)

problemman said:


> If you ever hit up your local pet chains they get all their plants and fish mostly from segrest farms in florida and the plants are grown emmersed. Pick one if them up and see how it goes


But that's done in a controlled environment, including controlled humidity to I am sure.


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## kuni (May 7, 2010)

It turns out a lot of Florida is pretty humid.


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## kuni (May 7, 2010)

I'm told this is true for most Java fern - it grows on the edges of streams and near waterfalls, rarely under the water.

The needle-leaf variety has been seen submersed in streams, though. There's a post in thekrib archives about it.


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## problemman (Aug 19, 2005)

Gatekeeper said:


> But that's done in a controlled environment, including controlled humidity to I am sure.


Yah I forgot about that lol


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## koldsoup (Feb 21, 2011)

Wow that is too kool lol FTS please. The rimless makes it even nicer


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## houseofcards (Mar 21, 2009)

Plantbrain's got some canopy going there.

Just for the record I've been able to transition Anubias to emersed in several setups. I currently have some Bolbitis transitioning as well. The easiest plant that I've ever seen transition is Purple Bamboo. It doesn't even break stride with no ill effects visible.


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## Gatekeeper (Feb 20, 2007)

Curious how you transitioned them. Any write up on this?


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## Prometheus (Feb 24, 2011)

Gatekeeper said:


> Curious how you transitioned them. Any write up on this?


agreed. i would love to read a write up.

bookmarked


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## chad320 (Mar 7, 2010)

Isnt this true for aleast 1/2 of the aquatic plants we keep? Almost all of them grow at the edges of the water and are only submersed a few days at a time during floods. They have adapted the ability to grow submersed for this reason. Which makes it possible to grow them in aquaria although its not an ideal condition for them. Most stems are growing to fast to try to break the surface. Almost all of them grow faster emergent.


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## PaulG (Oct 10, 2010)

That's a great tank.

I grow anubias emmersed in 85% humidity.


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## mistergreen (Dec 9, 2006)

The anubias won't survive our dry winter air. Humidity is must.


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## Gatekeeper (Feb 20, 2007)

chad320 said:


> Isnt this true for aleast 1/2 of the aquatic plants we keep? Almost all of them grow at the edges of the water and are only submersed a few days at a time during floods. They have adapted the ability to grow submersed for this reason. Which makes it possible to grow them in aquaria although its not an ideal condition for them. Most stems are growing to fast to try to break the surface. Almost all of them grow faster emergent.


Yes, but every type of species has specific conditions that they can thrive in. 



PaulG said:


> That's a great tank.
> 
> I grow anubias emmersed in 85% humidity.


Ahhh. The humidity factor. This is the only way I have grown anubias out of water. Some type of moisture or condensation in the air.



mistergreen said:


> The anubias won't survive our dry winter air. Humidity is must.


That is what I was driving at. Not sure if Tom's tank is an exception to this rule or their is a strict regiment of misting that is going on. Would love more info on that tank.

Maybe I am learning something new here.


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## houseofcards (Mar 21, 2009)

If anyone is interested this is the way I've transitioned Anubias and African Fern to emersed without using a controlled humid environment. 

I attach rhizome to wood very close to surface. When the water evaporates the plant get's a taste of air. I usually will mist the plant at this point and eventually top off the tank, but not to the same height, slightly less. This will create a pattern of the plant being exposed to a little more air each day over time. 

Low lighting will increase your success rate. Strong light unless it's raised up will dry out the leaves and/or misting affect to quickly. I pretty much mist whenever I think about it. I leave a mister near the setup. This takes a lot of patience and time depending on conditions. Kinda like weaning a baby off a bottle.

Here's an example of an African Fern I currently am transitioning. If you look to the upper left, you can see a leaf that was too exposed and dried up.


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## mistergreen (Dec 9, 2006)

Gatekeeper said:


> That is what I was driving at. Not sure if Tom's tank is an exception to this rule or their is a strict regiment of misting that is going on. Would love more info on that tank.
> .


They don't have winter in the in California.


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## plantbrain (Dec 15, 2003)

chad320 said:


> Isnt this true for aleast 1/2 of the aquatic plants we keep? Almost all of them grow at the edges of the water and are only submersed a few days at a time during floods. They have adapted the ability to grow submersed for this reason. Which makes it possible to grow them in aquaria although its not an ideal condition for them. Most stems are growing to fast to try to break the surface. Almost all of them grow faster emergent.


More like 95%

Most are amphibious.


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## plantbrain (Dec 15, 2003)

mistergreen said:


> The anubias won't survive our dry winter air. Humidity is must.


That's why you need more aquariums if your home:tongue:
More tanks= More humidity

I keep the RH at 60-65%.

In the summer, it drops to 20-30%.


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## plantbrain (Dec 15, 2003)

mistergreen said:


> They don't have winter in the in California.


Depends on where in CA.
We just got over 3ft of snow a few miles away yesterday.
20ft-30ft are typically amounts. 100mph winds, ah the mountains. 
Death Valley? Not much. Lost Coast range peaks? 300-400inches of rain per year. 

In my house, the RH varies from about 60-65% in the winter(would go higher, but I use a dehumidifier) to 20-30% in the summer. It's not quite a desert in the summer. 

I think the "trick" is really just allowing the time to have the plants form new leaves about the water and form roots, basically allowing the plants to grow up and out of the water. This is no different than on terrestrial soil really.
You do not just toss the plants on the ground, you have to bury the roots and water it good till the roots grow in and the plant adjust to the conditions.
Anubias obviously are tropical forest understory shade plants. 

If you want to speed this process along, one can use moss and wrap the branches with the moss being in the water at the surface, and the moss will transfer the water via capillary force up to the root zone and keep the roots moist and supplied with water.

HC, pennywort and most species of plants, Crypts, swords etc..........will grow just fine like this emergent.

I have Gloss growing on my Bonsai ground cover outside, but it's like NZ where Gloss is from, and bonsai are watered often, if it freezes, I take them inside. But this would not last too long(not more than say 3-4 days).

Anubias will grow roots very very long and they are very tough indeed. So with time, they can stretch pretty long distances and be high above the water.

No trick or exception here really.


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## mistergreen (Dec 9, 2006)

I have a crypt grown out in the open air. It's doing ok but not great, not like the hygrophilias. It's a runt actually.


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

I get the impression some _Anubias_ are more aquatic than other. We all know that _A. barteri_ grows very well underwater, but I have heard several times that the larger arrowhead-leaf species, such as _A. hastifolia_ have poor growth when submerged.

Furthermore, I have only been able to grow emersed _A. barteri_ in high-humidity setups, but _A. hastifolia_ and _A. gigantea_ have both grown well for me in open-top, moderate-humidity ripariums.

Below, the foliage and spathe of _A. hastifolia_.


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## prototyp3 (Dec 5, 2007)

mistergreen said:


> They don't have winter in the in California.


Oh how I wish that were true! I was swindled into moving here thinking it'd be a tropical paradise. It rains too much. I'd trade it for my midwest snow, and a pile of anubias.


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## houseofcards (Mar 21, 2009)

This is obviously not a black & white issue. Depending upon how much moisture you can keep on it, your own natural environment and how much attention you pay to it will vary your mileage greatly. That little bit of African Fern that is growing emersed took about two months to develop, but that is in NY over the winter, I keep my thermo at around 65 and there is no heater on that tank. So the amount of time I have to pay attention to it would probably be greater than for example someone who admittingly lives in a swamp. LOL.


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## mistergreen (Dec 9, 2006)

Heh, I used to live in SF for a little bit and yes, you got swindled.


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## Gatekeeper (Feb 20, 2007)

Houseofcards,

Thank you so much for that. Something worth keeping in mind to try. I can see how you are almost mimicking a tidal influence with the borderline submergence levels and moisture influence. Excellent explanation and I think this is something that makes sense.

So Tom, how about so more information on your tank that you posted? All the foliage I see hanging from the tank do not appear to be anubias. What portion of them are and what did you do to make the convergence over? Just sustain your status quo of multiple tanks = humidity in the home? Does this ever cause mold problems for you?


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## Kibblemania1414 (Feb 1, 2011)

love the tank!!! is there anything bad for having your anubias fully submerged, i just bought some anubias nana and i am attaching it to driftwood.


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## Gatekeeper (Feb 20, 2007)

Kibblemania1414 said:


> love the tank!!! is there anything bad for having your anubias fully submerged, i just bought some anubias nana and i am attaching it to driftwood.


No.


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## Kibblemania1414 (Feb 1, 2011)

ty.


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## plantbrain (Dec 15, 2003)

Gatekeeper said:


> So Tom, how about so more information on your tank that you posted? All the foliage I see hanging from the tank do not appear to be anubias. What portion of them are and what did you do to make the convergence over? Just sustain your status quo of multiple tanks = humidity in the home? Does this ever cause mold problems for you?


Mold is always an issue for open top tanks.
I had an older place and it was terrible.

1. The new place has dual pane windows, great for energy conservation, sound reduction from the outside or rowdy loud kids inside, and thermal differences, sweating windows etc.........

2. Dehumidifier. Let's me how much water is removed from the air and the RH.

3. Wiping the window sills and the walls, airing the place out etc.

4. Using glass lids at night for keeping the moisture content down(big help actually).

I'd say the windows and the lids are the best.

But also relative sqft of water to the air space and temp differences btw the water and the room temp. So fewer tanks/smaller tanks, less issues.

As far as the other weeds, there has been many, water sprite, it got 2ft tall and went all over. Mint was nice and provided a rich smell once you walked in the door. The mint did not taste as good as the soil grown type outside next to the water spigot. It also tried to take over. 

The penny wort makes a nice carpet and drapes over the tank nicely.

This goes back 20 years to some of my first open top tanks:










Anubias also are there, but smothered by Pennywort.
I aggressively trim the pennywort on the ADA tank though.

Moss will also creep and grow. I do not do much special for the Anubias, just let the old leaves die if the plant must be planted above the water, otherwise, I just allow the plant to produce more aerial leaves upwards.

No real trick. Once roots have been well established, then the humidity is MUCH less an issue.


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## Gatekeeper (Feb 20, 2007)

Excellent Tom. That tank is beautiful. I like the look of the plants coming out the top. Gives that extra dimension and provides that "out of the spectrum" feel. 

Mint is an excellent idea! (I may try something like that to appease the wife!)

Thanks for closing in on the humidity factor. This explains alot and also brings light to the idea that open top tanks DO create moisture in the air and this is something that people commonly overlook. 

Thanks for this thread. Really goes to show that this hobby has many angles for everyone to explore.


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## chad320 (Mar 7, 2010)

I have to agree Tom and it was your tanks that inspired me to not cut you driftwood you sent to try some of this overgrownig out for myself. i am really amazed at the amout of plants that can be made to grow,basically, hydroponically.


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## plantbrain (Dec 15, 2003)

BTW, if you think CA is all milk and honey regarding the weather:

This is what Spring looks like where I collect wood:

http://www.weather.com/outlook/weat...erra-snow-feet-upon-feet-slideshow_2011-03-23
http://www.weather.com/outlook/weat...w-feet-upon-feet-slideshow_2011-03-23?page=12

50 ft of snow this year. 
This is about 80 miles from where I live.
So if I want winter, I got more than I know what to do with.
It's not as cold in general, but it depends on WHERE you are at here.


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## jcgd (Feb 18, 2004)

And you guys think Canada is cold... I've never in my life seen snow that deep. Ever...


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## timwag2001 (Jul 3, 2009)

i'm surprised that your rh is higher in the winter than in the summer. having an rh over 40% causes high risk for secondary damage (mold) on all porous materials in your house. 

i wonder if having some sort of mist/rain setup that people use in their terrariums would work well enough instead of having a high rh.


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## plantbrain (Dec 15, 2003)

justincgdick said:


> And you guys think Canada is cold... I've never in my life seen snow that deep. Ever...


We get snow some years like mad. Crater lake, OR averages 44ft every year. 50+ ft is nuts. We might only get 20 inches of rain here, but there? 
One reason why I live here, but the snow shuts down most of the mountain roads from Dec or so till May, sometimes June. HYW 120 Over Tioga pass in Yosemite rarely opens before Labor day. 10,000ft and 20-30 ft average of snow. They do not even try to plow many roads. Plows cannot keep up when a storm comes in. All the flood control by passes are open around here, the causeway is a 3-4 mile wide river to the delta 10ft deep now.

If all this snow were to suddenly melt due to a warm front + a lot more rain, then you can see the flood potential. I'll happen in my lifetime for sure.


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## plantbrain (Dec 15, 2003)

timwag2001 said:


> i'm surprised that your rh is higher in the winter than in the summer. having an rh over 40% causes high risk for secondary damage (mold) on all porous materials in your house.
> 
> i wonder if having some sort of mist/rain setup that people use in their terrariums would work well enough instead of having a high rh.


CA has a Mediterranean climate, so long hot dry summers(it gets 110F most every year and often we have 20-30 days over 100F) and cool wet winters. Most of the rain misses the central valley and packs into the mountains and coast ranges. Then melts all summer long to provide irrigation water for the crops and people. So snow is what drives the economy in many ways, or lack thereof. 

Great for growing food, but a limited fickle supply of water. 

We have little mold issues at 60% RH.

Florida in the summer? That place has mold growing on top of mold.
Everything rots in the South Eastern USA in the summer.
They grow aquatic plants there too:icon_wink


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## timwag2001 (Jul 3, 2009)

not to get too far off topic (sorry) but what is the rh outside your home compared to the rh inside with tank evap?


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## waterfaller1 (Jul 5, 2006)

plantbrain said:


> Florida in the summer? That place has mold growing on top of mold.
> Everything rots in the South Eastern USA in the summer.


You've got that right. Even the rot rots.:icon_bigg
Gorgeous tank Tom.


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## !shadow! (Jan 25, 2010)

Hey Tom, got a front view pic of this tank?


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## ikuzo (Jul 11, 2006)

i have a cracked aquarium used for keeping anubias emerse. i put them outside with undirect sunlight. notice that bare rhizome can grow back too!!










the photo is about 1-2 years ago


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## jcgd (Feb 18, 2004)

Do anubias grow faster emmersed? I find it's difficult to find information on growing plants emmersed so this thread is a jewel.


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## Geoinerworks (Jan 11, 2010)

Chad yeah it is.. most of the plants we keep underwater are actually not underwater plants in nature. They just happen to survive underwater.


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## speedie408 (Jan 15, 2009)

plantbrain said:


> BTW, if you think CA is all milk and honey regarding the weather:
> 
> This is what Spring looks like where I collect wood:
> 
> ...


This will make an interesting boarding trip next weekend. :bounce:

And your emergent tank... I gotta try a setup like this one day. Thanks for sharing Tom.


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## Robert H (Apr 3, 2003)

This isn't a big surprise. Kasselmann has photos of Anubias growing on the shore and in and around rocks, near a water fall and so forth. Moisture is the key. You can use misters, foggers... anything to keep moisture around the leaves. I have tried to grow anubias above water, and what has often happened is the edges of the leaves dry out and turn brown. Hot air is an enemey as is stagnant, stale air.


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## SearunSimpson (Jun 5, 2007)

Hey Tom, what is your meathod for planting the emersed plants? Are you using a hanging basket on the outside lip behind the aquarium, or planters inside? Old AC filters for planting?
I love the look!


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