Hastifolia Anubias

The arrow-shaped leaves with a prominent central vein and long petioles are the clearest way to tell Anubias hastifolia from other Anubias species. This West African plant grows slowly and steadily, producing leaves that are noticeably longer than they are wide with a slight spear-point shape at the tip — the species name hastifolia means 'spear-leaf'.

The rhizome creeps across the surface of wood or stone and must not be buried. Like all Anubias, it rots if the rhizome is covered by substrate. Tie or glue the rhizome to hardscape with fishing line or superglue until the roots take hold. The plant is very slow — one new leaf every few weeks is normal.

It grows well at 22 to 26 °C with pH 5 to 7. Low light is sufficient and CO₂ injection is not needed. In fact, this Anubias does better in low-light, low-tech setups than in high-energy tanks, where algae can settle on the older leaves faster than the plant produces new ones.

The tough, leathery leaves are resistant to plant-eating fish, which makes it one of the few plants suitable for African cichlid tanks. Propagation is by cutting the rhizome into sections, each with at least three to four leaves and a few roots. It also grows emersed in paludariums and ripariums.