Anubias questions

[cichlids209]

so i want to try plants again and im thinking about anubias . i read that they do well with afican cichlids ? is that true also can i plant them in the substrate or should they be attached to like wood or something ?

[lowlight]

I don't know if Anubius will work with that fish or not since I don't know cichlids. I have 3 different types of Anubius and there all attached to drift wood. You can put them in the substrate as long as the rhizome is not berried.

[Aeonflame]

Anubias can work with african cichlids as the plant tastes bitter to them. They soon learn to leave it alone. I suggest attaching the anubias to rocks though. They wont do very well in your substrate for two reasons. Firstly, the roots have a tendency to rot when buried (never bury the rhizome) And your cichlids may uproot the plants, since they wont be very secure. Ive found that Anubias grows and roots very slowly, so nylon fishing line is your best bet when attaching them to rocks. Cotton thread might decompose before the plant starts rooting.

[rhonin]

Anubia is about the only plant I can get to live with my Africans.

I have it with a mbuna tank - left these potted to prevent having them dug up by the diggers all the time.

I also have them in my calvus/comp nursery - the little guys enjoy hiding just under the leaves - great low level canopy - these are planted.

I have it in my German red tank - also potted - the male likes to nest build along side of it.

In my wife's Oscar(SA) tank, I wove the roots into a bigger piece of drift wood - growing great - roots twining nicely - while the Oscar will nip at the anubia, it grows fast enough to keep up.

You can see that it's a great plant for cichlids, just have to plan how to root it.