Currently there are very many aquascape plants that can be found in ornamental fish shops or aquascape equipment. Among the many types of plants, anubias is one of the easiest plants to maintain.
Because anubias is easy to care for, making this plant a very appropriate choice and is most often chosen by beginners who are just entering the world of aquascapes. Although this anubias plant is very easy to care for, there are a few things you need to know before using anubias in an aquascape.
How to speed up the growth of anubias
Anubias is very well known for being a plant that is very easy to care for. Not only are anubias very easy to care for, they also don’t require much attention and are a hard plant to die of. Anubias is suitable for beginners because it does not require special care such as the presence of CO2 to live. Anubias can live with only the help of light alone, therefore anubias become one of the plants that can be said to be difficult to die or very hardy.
Although anubias is very hardy to the conditions of its environment, but if anubias gets enough nutrition, its growth will be faster than anubias that does not get other nutrients. In addition to being a hardy plant, anubias is indeed a plant that has quite slow growth. This is how anubias can survive even if it only gets light, because its growth is indeed slow. The way to accelerate the growth of anubias is to add liquid fertilizer. Liquid fertilizers that are commonly used are micro and macro liquid fertilizers. If you want it even faster, of course, the addition of CO2 will perfect the way to accelerate the growth of anubias.
Micro fertilizer
Micro fertilizers are usually required in less quantity than macro fertilizers. Micro fertilizers usually contain several minerals that plants need such as iron (Fe), manganese (Mn), copper (Cu), nickel (Ni). These minerals can usually also be found or contained in water, especially well water. These nutrients are needed by all plants to increase the speed of growth.
The use of micro fertilizers is also not as much as the use of macro fertilizers, because micro fertilizers are not the main nutrients needed by plants. Giving micro fertilizer once a week is also sufficient. If the aquascape does not contain many plants and the plants grow slowly such as anubias, java fern, and others, then the use of micro-fertilizers is actually enough.
Macro fertilizer
In contrast to micro fertilizers which are not the main nutrients needed by plants, macro fertilizers are needed more by plants. Macro fertilizers usually contain NPK, nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K).
These nutrients are arguably the main nutrients needed by all plants. If the aquascape contains plants that require a lot of nutrients to live and thrive (usually these types of plants are difficult to care for), additional CO2, and also require high light, then the use of macro fertilizers is highly recommended. Moreover, the number of plants in the aquascape is quite large or lush, so the use of macro fertilizers is highly recommended to ensure all plants get the nutrients they need.
Anubias plant disease
Anubias plants that have easy maintenance can not be separated from the diseases that usually appear on each plant. Of course, this disease arises because there is a cause, and usually it is due to a lack of some nutrients.
Black anubias leaf
Plants that have slow growth, such as anubias, are prone to this problem. Usually if anubias leaves look black, the problem is algae. The black one is blackbeard algae , if left unchecked, over time it will cover the entire Anubias leaf. This algae is similar to brown algae which sometimes also covers the leaves of Anubias.
Usually this type of algae can be removed by simply rubbing it with a finger, but this method is only temporary because the core problem must be removed as well. If it’s hard enough to remove by just rubbing it, usually the method used is to use a bleach solution. Bleach solution is mixed with water so that the solution is not too strong and even damage the plant. Then just dip the anubias leaves in the solution and remove after a few minutes.
Algae that used to be black will turn gray or red, and are usually easier to remove with just a finger. The rest will be gone in a few days. If you use this method, be careful because bleach is toxic to fish. So it’s best to temporarily separate the anubias that has been dipped in the bleach solution until the algae is gone or a few days to make sure the bleach solution is no longer on the anubias leaves. To prevent the re-emergence of this algae, you can move the anubias position to a more shady place or in the shade. The possible cause of algae blooms is because anubias is exposed to too much direct light.
So by moving anubias to a more shady place can reduce the intensity of light and the possibility of algae growth can be reduced.
Hollow anubias leaves
In addition to the problems that can be caused by the black algae, anubias leaves can also experience other problems, namely the presence of holes in the leaves. The first possibility is a lack of nutrients, namely potassium (K). So the way to solve the problem of perforated anubias leaves is to add potassium. Of course the addition of potassium will solve the problem of perforated anubias leaves if potassium deficiency is the problem. Another possibility is a hole that appears due to the presence of algae.
Algae that cover the leaves of anubias can prevent these parts to carry out photosynthesis. The result is that the part of the leaf that is covered by algae can suffer damage such as holes. One other cause that is arguably rare is due to the presence of nematodes or a type of worm. This type of worm is commonly called burrowing nematodes or worms that can dig holes.
This type of worm is called Radopholus Similis which will attack plant roots so that over time it can damage plants. This case is rare but does not rule out the possibility of it happening. Ludwigia repens plant can be a home for this type of worm. So for example anubias was fine at first and after adding ludwigia repens a problem arose, maybe the worms were the problem.
There is no sure way to deal with this worm problem, the thing to do is not to get these worms from other plants. If the worms have grown and reproduced, it can be removed by “boiling” the plant in water at 57 o for 5-10 minutes. However, if the damage is too severe, the plants may not be able to survive even if the worms are gone.
Lighting for anubias
Anubias basically can live and grow with the help of low to medium lighting. If you calculate roughly, using a lamp with a power of 2-3 watts for 4 liters of water is enough for anubias. Even better if you can place anubias in the shade or shade of larger plants or wood. This is done to avoid the growth of algae on the leaves of anubias. If you don’t have any larger plants or wood to provide shade, it’s okay to leave anubias in direct light. The most important thing is that the state of the aquascape is balanced between nutrients and light or CO2 if it uses CO2 too.
How to cut rhizome/rhizome/ rhizome anubias
Anubias plants are plants that use rhizomes to grow. So the leaves will appear through the rhizome. Rhizome itself is a kind of stem that is a place for roots and shoots to grow. Do not equate rhizome and root, because these two things are very different. If you want to use anubias, don’t plant the rhizomes in the ground because this will cause the rhizomes to rot. Rhizomes should not be buried in the ground, and should indeed be attached to rocks or tree trunks. In contrast to rhizomes, the roots of anubias can be buried in the ground or not.
One of the advantages of plants that grow using rhizomes is the ease of multiplying these plants. If you want to multiply anubias, simply cut the anubias rhizome. Be sure to leave a few leaves on each cut rhizome to allow photosynthesis to take place.