# Anubias Stardust - Growing experiences



## Kehy (Feb 5, 2012)

In mid 2015, when I got my Anubias Stardust, it was a rare plant yes, but not as rare or desirable as Anubias White or the very trendy Buces that had suddenly appeared. I believe I paid something along the lines of $25, and was quite pleased I'd taken a first step towards collecting rare Anubias. Nowadays, it feels like this plant is nearly gone, and I'd like to encourage more people to cultivate and share this little gem.

*What I'm trying to do is get an idea of what growing conditions work for these plants, and hopefully track the growth of any more hiding in people's tanks.*

This is the earliest clear picture I have of my Stardust, and while I have NO idea what plant I was trying to measure, this is a good starting point. Date is 7-15-2015, and I'd had the plant for at least a month. Tank was a blackwater tank with low-very low lighting, and no ferts (I think?) 









The tank went through a year+ long period of neglect, about a year long where the lighting was low to very-low, no ferts were added, and snails were the only livestock. Given that the primary plants in the tank were anubias and a buce, they didn't care and kept growing. I did notice that _the leaves grown during the dimmest period were considerably whiter than the original leaves, and that the plant had no issues with handling the low light and lack of nutrients._

A few months ago, I started to get back into properly taking care of my tanks. I was given a much better light for my 5, and even on its lowest setting, it's still medium light. I started lightly feeding my tanks after finding a stray cherry shrimp, and growth seems to have exploded. For an anubias. 

These are the pictures taken on 4-14-2017, before I took cuttings from this plant. The new leaves have much more white, I'm guessing from differences in light intensity from the tank the mother plant was grown in. Medium light tank, no ferts, just lightly feeding the snails and shrimp. _Growth seems to be up to 1 leaf every 2-3 weeks, or even faster faster on young growth._ There's also branching starting all over the plant.

















From this plant I took 2 cuttings- a 12 leaf cutting and an 8 leaf cutting, both with the starts of branching. The 12 leaf is already in its new home, but here's it and the remaining mother plant (and shrimp for scale). Interestingly, the 8 leaf cutting appears to still be growing strong, with a new leaf or two on the way and growing by the day. Growth that has come in under the effects of the new, stronger light appears to have much more solid green coloring. 

















Personally I'll be keeping on with what seems to be working fine for me: 
-Medium light
-light or no ferts
-lower temps (temp varies from 50's in winter to 70+ in summer)
-no co2 outside of oxygenation from a sponge filter


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## sfsamm (Apr 3, 2017)

I was just considering purchasing some as I just placed a new plant order yesterday was very much looking forward to it until the enormous out of stock error came up... I'd love to get my little green mits on some! I'll just keep looking around and waiting until I find it at the right time. 

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## Kehy (Feb 5, 2012)

My automatic water change system at work. All I have to do is top off about 2 gallons a week. Even from a distance you can see how much the Stardust stands out in the tank.


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## Kehy (Feb 5, 2012)

Got in a portion of Anubias 'Pinto', so I took the opportunity to compare them. There are 2 Stardust on the wood, and the contrast between the varieties is fairly clear. Leaf size ignored, the Stardust have much more green areas in general, and the white coloration is primarily limited to the veins. This is much more evident in the submerged shot. 

It will be interesting seeing the differences in how the two types will grow.


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## vajcher91 (Jan 2, 2016)

I just got stardust milkyway. Supposedly a variation of the stardust.









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## Kehy (Feb 5, 2012)

vajcher91 said:


> I just got stardust milkyway. Supposedly a variation of the stardust.
> 
> Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk


It looks a bit like a cross between Stardust and a Pinto. Nice plant!


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## vajcher91 (Jan 2, 2016)

Kehy said:


> It looks a bit like a cross between Stardust and a Pinto. Nice plant!


Thanks. It kind of does but it's been hard trying to find the original stardust. 

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## Kehy (Feb 5, 2012)

vajcher91 said:


> Thanks. It kind of does but it's been hard trying to find the original stardust.
> 
> Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk


It does seem like a slow grower, but like many slow growing things, it also seems very tough, almost thriving on neglect. I know people had been trying them in high light/ high tech, seeing if there was an improvement change in growth rates. Never actually heard much of what came of that. 

If we can figure out what conditions allow it to grow best, hopefully it'll mean more on the (hobbiest) market someday.


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## Darkblade48 (Jan 4, 2008)

A bit off topic, but what a gorgeous cat!


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## Kehy (Feb 5, 2012)

Darkblade48 said:


> A bit off topic, but what a gorgeous cat!


His name is Booger, and he acts like it. Never seen a cat that could drink so much water, I have to top off 2 gallons a week from that 5 gallon. 

To be fair, that means the tank always has fresh water in it.


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## Sharleneand3 (Apr 22, 2017)

~~~ And here I thought I was the only one with auto water changer - I've got a few of those actually. They also like to clean cups left on the table with water in them.  

This is a beautiful anubius. Would love to get some. Anubius is my fav plant and honestly I tell everyone about it because I swear you can't kill this thing and anyone can grow it. I bought one a few years ago and now most of my 3 tanks are anubius as the only thing that has ever survived any issue in the tank


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## Kehy (Feb 5, 2012)

The thought had occurred to me last night-had anyone gotten in touch with anyone that does tissue cultures? I know anubias does exceptionally well in terms of culturing, so perhaps a company or possibly better, a university or college would be interested in culturing Stardust. One plant could easily become dozens, and would be a fantastic solution in terms of availability.


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## Acro (Jul 7, 2012)

Check out this thread I started a while ago. And add to it! 
http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/33-plants/1046441-has-anubias-stardust-disappeared.html



.


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## Kehy (Feb 5, 2012)

Update on my plant. It's clearly starting to grow new leaves and potentially branch after having 2/3 split off a few weeks ago (4-19). Seems to have the standard anubias toughness after such a split, and is even growing at the same rate. Not terribly surprising, but good to note.


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## whale93 (Apr 25, 2017)

Any idea whats the difference between milkyway stardust and original stardust? I have a stardust but it has much less white. Just a line down the centre of the leaves. Wondering if its original stardust http://imgur.com/qNH3PQM http://imgur.com/lUcz1KL

Bump: To add on i noticed a sudden growth spurt when i started dosing Seachem Flourish 2 weeks ago. Tank specs: Classica Eco 60 Lighting: 48W 10000K, Pressurised co2


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## jellopuddinpop (Dec 12, 2016)

Kehy said:


> My automatic water change system at work. All I have to do is top off about 2 gallons a week. Even from a distance you can see how much the Stardust stands out in the tank.


I had to put a cover on my tank after my cat took a swim trying to catch a fish lol. She was perched on top and my dog started barking at absolutely nothing, and she got startled and fell in the tank. Caused massive destruction, some seriously spooked fish, and a very angry feline. This is several years (and tanks) ago, but now she doesn’t go anywhere near the fish tank.


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## Kehy (Feb 5, 2012)

whale93 said:


> Any idea whats the difference between milkyway stardust and original stardust? I have a stardust but it has much less white. Just a line down the centre of the leaves. Wondering if its original stardust http://imgur.com/qNH3PQM http://imgur.com/lUcz1KL
> 
> Bump: To add on i noticed a sudden growth spurt when i started dosing Seachem Flourish 2 weeks ago. Tank specs: Classica Eco 60 Lighting: 48W 10000K, Pressurised co2


I believe it's the original Stardust that primarily has white veins, but the white can appear in other areas as well. The milky way appears to have more white spread through the leaf in a somewhat gradient pattern.


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## Krispyplants (Apr 15, 2014)

I believe that they're both the same exact plant. Milky way is most likely another flashy name to milk out more bucks. Just like like anubias white, snow white and platinum white. They're all the same plant with a new name just because of the way the plant looks when grown looking a little odd.


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## Kehy (Feb 5, 2012)

Krispyplants said:


> I believe that they're both the same exact plant. Milky way is most likely another flashy name to milk out more bucks. Just like like anubias white, snow white and platinum white. They're all the same plant with a new name just because of the way the plant looks when grown looking a little odd.


In that vein you could say Anubias Barteri, Nana, Petite, Gold, and all the variations are all the same plant. Technically they're all the same species, but when grown look a little odd


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## Krispyplants (Apr 15, 2014)

Kehy said:


> In that vein you could say Anubias Barteri, Nana, Petite, Gold, and all the variations are all the same plant. Technically they're all the same species, but when grown look a little odd


Sarcastically you can get both Anubias stardust and stardust Milky Way from the same plant.


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