Anubias Nana Growing Slow – Unlocking Its True Potential With 7 Key
Have you ever stared at your beautiful Anubias nana, day after day, wondering if it’s even growing? You see a new leaf maybe once a month and think, “Am I doing something wrong?” Let me put your mind at ease: you’re not alone, and your plant is probably just fine. The issue of anubias nana growing slow is one of the most common observations in the aquarium hobby.
But here’s the secret: “slow” doesn’t have to mean stagnant or unhealthy. In fact, with a few key adjustments, you can ensure that slow growth is healthy growth, leading to a lush, deep-green plant that becomes a permanent centerpiece in your aquascape.
In this comprehensive guide, we’re going to walk through everything you need to know. We’ll cover why your Anubias is a slow grower by nature, provide a 7-point checklist to optimize its health, troubleshoot common problems, and even explore the surprising benefits of its patient pace. Get ready to transform your understanding and give your Anubias nana the care it truly deserves.
First Things First: Why Is My Anubias Nana Growing Slow? (And Why That’s Okay!)
Before we dive into tips and tricks, let’s get one thing straight: Anubias nana is supposed to be a slow-growing plant. In the wild rivers of West Africa, it grows in shaded areas, often attached to rocks or wood. It has adapted to thrive in low-light, low-nutrient environments.
Think of it as the tortoise of the aquatic plant world. While stem plants like Rotala are the hares, racing to the surface, your Anubias is taking its time, building a strong, resilient foundation. Its thick, waxy leaves are built for longevity, not speed. A new leaf every 3-5 weeks is a perfectly normal, healthy rate of growth.
So, the goal of this anubias nana growing slow guide isn’t to turn your tortoise into a hare. It’s to ensure your tortoise is the healthiest, happiest tortoise it can be. We want to see steady, consistent growth—no matter how slow—with vibrant green leaves and a firm, healthy rhizome.
The 7-Point Checklist: An Anubias Nana Growing Slow Care Guide
If you’re concerned your Anubias is growing slower than it should, or if it just looks a bit lackluster, run through this checklist. Nailing these seven fundamentals is the key to a thriving plant and represents the best practices for its care.
1. The Golden Rule: Don’t Bury the Rhizome!
If you take only one piece of advice from this article, let it be this. The thick, horizontal stem that the leaves and roots grow from is called the rhizome. This is the lifeblood of the plant. Burying it in your substrate is the single fastest way to kill an Anubias.
The rhizome needs to be exposed to the water column to breathe and absorb nutrients. When buried, it will inevitably rot, and the plant will fall apart.
How to fix it:
- Attach the Anubias to a piece of driftwood or rock using super glue gel (aquarium-safe) or fishing line.
- If you want it on the substrate, you can weigh it down with a plant weight or gently tuck just the thin, stringy roots into the gravel or sand, ensuring the thick rhizome stays completely above it.
2. Lighting: Find the “Goldilocks” Zone
Anubias are low-light plants. This is a huge part of their appeal! In the world of aquarium lighting, they are perfectly happy at the lower end of the spectrum. Too much light is a much bigger problem than too little.
Intense, direct light won’t make it grow faster; it will just make it a magnet for stubborn algae, like Green Spot Algae, that loves to grow on its slow-moving leaves. This is one of the most common problems with anubias nana growing slow—the leaves get covered in algae before they have a chance to grow.
How to fix it:
- Place your Anubias in a shaded area of the tank, perhaps under a larger plant or a piece of overhanging hardscape.
- Aim for a photoperiod (the time your lights are on) of 6-8 hours per day.
- If you have a high-tech tank with powerful lighting, use a dimmer or raise the light fixture higher above the water.
3. Nutrient Needs: Less is Often More
Because it grows so slowly, Anubias nana is not a heavy feeder. It doesn’t require a nutrient-rich substrate (which is good, since you shouldn’t be burying the rhizome anyway!). It gets most of what it needs directly from the water column.
In a standard community tank with fish, the waste produced by the fish often provides enough nitrates and phosphates to keep your Anubias happy. Over-fertilizing can lead to algae blooms.
How to fix it:
- For most low-tech tanks, you may not need to add any fertilizer at all.
- If your tank is heavily planted or has very few fish, consider dosing a comprehensive liquid fertilizer like Seachem Flourish or Aquarium Co-op Easy Green once or twice a week at half the recommended dose.
- Pay attention to the plant. If new leaves are pale or yellow, it might be a sign of a nutrient deficiency, and you can slightly increase your dosing.
4. Water Flow: A Gentle Breeze
Like its lighting and nutrient needs, Anubias prefers gentle, not blasting, water flow. Good circulation is important for any planted tank as it delivers nutrients and CO2 to all plants and prevents stagnant dead spots where algae can thrive.
However, placing your Anubias directly in the high-flow output of a filter can stress the plant. You want the leaves to sway gently, not be whipped around.
5. CO2 Injection: Optional, Not Essential
In the high-tech aquascaping world, CO2 injection is a game-changer for fast growth. But for Anubias? It’s a “nice to have,” not a “need to have.”
Adding CO2 may slightly increase its growth rate and lead to more robust leaves, but it will never turn it into a fast grower. It’s perfectly happy without it. If your anubias nana growing slow is the only reason you’re considering CO2, save your money. Focus on the other fundamentals first.
6. Stable Water Parameters
Anubias are tough as nails and can adapt to a wide range of water parameters. They are happy in temperatures from 72-82°F (22-28°C) and a pH range of 6.0 to 7.5. The key word here is stable.
Like most aquatic life, they don’t appreciate sudden, drastic swings in temperature, pH, or water hardness. Regular, consistent water changes and a properly cycled tank are the foundation of this stability.
7. The Secret Ingredient: Patience
This is the most important tip of all. You can do everything else on this list perfectly, but you still need to be patient. Anubias operates on its own timeline. Appreciate its slow, steady nature. The reward is a plant that requires almost no maintenance and will look beautiful in your tank for years, even decades, to come.
Common Problems with Anubias Nana Growing Slow (And How to Fix Them)
Even with the best care, you might run into a few issues. Here’s how to anubias nana growing slow problems can be diagnosed and treated.
Problem: Algae on the Leaves
The Cause: This is almost always caused by too much light. Because the leaves are around for so long and grow so slowly, they provide the perfect, stable surface for algae to colonize.
The Solution:
- Reduce your lighting intensity or duration (or both).
- Physically remove the algae by gently rubbing the leaves with your finger or a soft toothbrush during a water change.
- Ensure you have a good cleanup crew. Nerite snails are fantastic for this, as they will graze on the leaves without damaging them.
Problem: Yellowing Leaves
The Cause: It’s normal for a very old leaf to yellow and die off as the plant directs energy to new growth. However, if multiple leaves are yellowing, it’s likely a nutrient deficiency, often iron or nitrogen.
The Solution: Begin dosing a comprehensive liquid fertilizer that contains micronutrients. Start with a half dose and monitor the plant over the next few weeks. Don’t expect an instant fix; the plant needs time to recover.
Problem: Rhizome is Black and Mushy
The Cause: This is rhizome rot, caused by the rhizome being buried in the substrate or being damaged.
The Solution: This is serious. Carefully remove the plant from the tank. With a sharp, clean razor blade, cut away any black, mushy parts of the rhizome until you see only healthy, firm, greenish-white tissue. You can then re-attach the healthy portion of the plant to a rock or wood. It may recover if you caught it in time.
Embracing the Pace: The Hidden Benefits of Anubias Nana Growing Slow
We spend so much time talking about how to fix the “problem” of slow growth that we forget to appreciate its advantages. There are incredible benefits of anubias nana growing slow.
- Extremely Low Maintenance: This is the ultimate “set it and forget it” plant. You will almost never have to trim it.
- Aquascape Stability: Because it grows so slowly, your aquascape will look the same month after month. It’s a reliable anchor plant that won’t outgrow its space.
- Perfect for Beginners: Its hardy nature and minimal demands make it one of the best starter plants for anyone new to the hobby. Don’t worry—these plants are perfect for beginners!
- Resilience: Its tough leaves are often ignored by plant-eating fish like some cichlids and goldfish, making it a great choice for tanks where more delicate plants would be destroyed.
Sustainable and Eco-Friendly Anubias Nana Growing Slow Practices
One of the best parts of keeping Anubias is how easy it is to propagate. This makes it a wonderfully sustainable choice for the conscious aquarist. As your plant’s rhizome grows longer, you can easily create new plants for free!
How to Propagate Anubias Nana:
- Gently remove the plant from the tank.
- Identify a spot on the rhizome that has at least 3-4 healthy leaves.
- Using a clean, sharp razor blade or scissors, make a clean cut through the rhizome.
- That’s it! You now have two separate, viable plants. You can attach the new piece elsewhere in your tank or trade it with a fellow hobbyist.
This method of sustainable anubias nana growing slow means you may never have to buy another Anubias again. It’s an eco-friendly way to fill out your aquariums and share the hobby with others.
Frequently Asked Questions About Anubias Nana Growing Slow
How fast should Anubias nana grow?
A healthy Anubias nana will typically produce one new leaf every 3 to 5 weeks. If you are getting a new leaf every month or so and the plant looks healthy, you are doing a great job!
Can I make my Anubias nana grow faster with high light and CO2?
You can, but only slightly. High light will likely cause more harm than good by promoting algae growth on the leaves. CO2 will give it a minor boost, but it will never compete with naturally fast-growing stem plants. It’s better to embrace its nature and provide low-light, stable conditions.
Why are the new leaves on my Anubias smaller than the old ones?
This can be a sign of a nutrient deficiency or that the plant is still acclimating to your tank. Often, plants are grown emersed (out of water) at nurseries, and their initial leaves are larger. The new, smaller leaves are its submerged-growth form. If the plant is otherwise healthy, this is usually not a cause for concern.
Is it normal for Anubias to “melt” after being added to a new tank?
It’s less common for Anubias than for plants like Cryptocoryne, but it can happen. An old or damaged leaf might melt away as the plant adjusts to new water parameters. As long as the rhizome remains firm and healthy, it will bounce back and produce new growth adapted to its new home.
Your Journey to a Thriving Anubias
The journey with Anubias nana is a marathon, not a sprint. By understanding its fundamental nature and following these anubias nana growing slow tips, you can stop worrying and start enjoying this incredibly rewarding plant.
Remember the golden rule—never bury the rhizome—and provide it with the low-light, stable environment it loves. Be patient, watch for the subtle joy of a new leaf unfurling, and you will be rewarded with a beautiful, effortless green centerpiece for years to come.
Now go forth and enjoy your beautiful, slow-growing Anubias. Happy scaping!
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