Anubias barteri · also called Anubias, Broad-leaf anubias
🐾 Pet-safe
Generally non-toxic to cats and dogs.
Anubias barteri is a robust, slow-growing rhizome plant with thick, dark-green leathery leaves that attaches to wood and rock. Nearly indestructible and tolerant of low light, it is a cornerstone of low-tech and beginner aquascapes.
ℹ️
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Quick facts
Category
Aquatic Plants
Family
Araceae
Native origin
West/Central Africa (south-eastern Nigeria, Cameroon, and Bioko)
Care difficulty
Beginner
Light
Low light
Pet toxicity
Pet-safe
Light
Prefers **low to medium light** (around 10-50 PAR). Its slow growth makes leaves prone to spot algae (especially green spot algae) under strong light, so shaded positions or low-intensity fixtures are best.
Water
Highly adaptable. Temperature **22-28 C (72-82 F)**, pH **6.0-7.5**, soft to moderately hard water. Responds well to **water-column dosing** of a complete fertiliser; targeted liquid carbon or root tabs near the rhizome can boost growth, though it is not required.
Soil & potting
An **epiphyte/rhizome plant — never bury the rhizome** or it will rot; only the roots may contact substrate. Best tied or super-glued to driftwood, lava rock, or stone. Can also be wedged into crevices. Substrate composition is largely irrelevant since it feeds from the water column.
Environment — humidity, temperature, placement
**CO2 optional** but improves growth rate and leaf size. Tolerates low to moderate flow; gentle current helps keep leaves free of detritus and algae. Used in the **midground or attached to hardscape**, foreground on larger setups. Grows submersed and emersed (emersed plants may flower).
Propagation
Propagated by **rhizome division**: cut the rhizome into pieces, each with at least 3-4 leaves and some roots, and re-attach to hardscape. Side shoots also branch from the main rhizome over time.
Toxicity detail
Safe for fish, shrimp, and snails; its tough leaves are rarely eaten. Like other Araceae the sap contains insoluble calcium oxalate, but submersed in an aquarium it poses no practical hazard to aquatic life. Not a regulated or invasive species in aquarium use (it is not among restricted plants like Caulerpa, water lettuce, or Salvinia); do not release into the wild.
Growth stages
How this plant changes through its life — each stage often has its own care, diet and space needs.
Photo coming soon
Spore / recruit
Aquatic plants and macroalgae establish from spores, seeds, or drifting fragments that settle and attach to substrate or rock. Many freshwater aquarium plants and marine macroalgae also spread readily from a detached piece that takes root or holdfast.
Photo coming soon
Young growth
Young growth puts out its first blades, fronds, or leaves and anchors with roots or a holdfast. Submersed plants may look different from their emersed form, and growth speeds up as the plant adapts to the water's light and nutrients.
Mature
A mature aquatic plant or macroalga reaches its full size and characteristic shape, forming the dense growth, runners, or fronds typical of the species. Established plants spread to fill space and can be divided or trimmed to propagate.
Varieties & cultivars
Natural forms are the wild species; cultivars are selectively-bred colour or variegation forms of the same plant.
Natural forms3
Barteri (broad leaf)
The standard large-leaf Anubias barteri with broad, leathery dark-green leaves on a creeping rhizome. Robust and undemanding.
💡 Low-to-moderate light; attach to wood or rock and keep the rhizome exposed.
Coffeefolia
Variety with strongly ribbed, bullate (puckered) leaves that emerge coppery-bronze before turning deep green. A textured colour form.
💡 Moderate light brings out the bronze new growth; otherwise as easy as standard barteri.
Broad Leaf / Wrinkled Leaf
Selections differing in leaf width and surface texture, from very broad flat blades to wavy, wrinkled forms, all in plain green.
