Best Fertilizers for Anubias Reviews and Buyer’s Guide

Best Fertilizers for Anubias Reviews and Buyer’s Guide

Having a thriving aquatic habitat doesn’t happen all by itself. It takes care and cultivation, and if you’re growing anubias, some fertilizer.

Not only will the best fertilizer for anubias keep your plants alive, but they’ll help them grow faster than ever and give you a beautiful aquarium with thriving plants.

That’s why we tracked down and highlighted some of the best options for your tank here, and we’ve developed a comprehensive buyer’s guide to walk you through anything else you might need to know!

 

 

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5 Best Fertilizers for Anubias List

Before diving too far into everything else, we wanted to highlight the best fertilizer for anubias. That way if you want to get it on order and move on with your day you can.

Of course, you can check out the buyer’s guide and everything else afterward if you still have some questions about what you need.

Seachem Flourish Excel – Best Overall

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Primarily it just adds a bit more carbon to the water for the plant to use, but it also converts iron into a state where it’s easier for anubias to break it down and use it.

Add in the affordable price tag and the fact that it’s safe for all types of fish, and there’s no reason to look anywhere else when you’re picking out a fertilizer. Finally, it’s super easy to apply to your fish tank.

However, it doesn’t provide a ton of nutrients. While this isn’t an issue for anubias, if you have a multi-plant tank it might not be the best choice for your tank.

Brand: Seachem

Size: 3.4, 8.5, 16.9, or 33.8 ounces

Primary nutrients: Carbon

It’s easy to use, affordably priced, and won’t pump your aquarium full of stuff it doesn’t need. It’s why Seachem Flourish Excel is such an outstanding fertilizer choice for anubias.

Pros

• Affordably priced
• Very effective for anubias
• Easy to apply
• 100 percent safe for all fish

Cons

• It doesn’t provide a ton of nutrients

Seachem Flourish Tabs – Best Tablets

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They come in both a 40 and 80 count and add all sorts of nutrients that plants like anubias need to thrive. It’s still completely safe for fish, and since it’s in tablets it’s unlikely that you’ll add too much.

But while tablets are super easy to use, you’re also paying for that convenience. While you can order 40 or 80 tablets at a time if you have a 20-gallon tank you need to put in 12 tablets every time you want to fertilize your plants.

You’ll quickly run out, so you’ll have to have a constant supply of these tablets on order to keep up. It’s this higher price tag that keeps the Seachem Flourish Tabs from earning our nod as the best fertilizer for anubias despite all the perks that it offers.

Brand: Seachem

Size: 40 or 80 count

Primary nutrients: Iron, manganese, magnesium, calcium, potassium, inositol, choline B12, and biotin

It’s easy to apply and does a great job of giving all the plants in your tank everything they need. If you don’t mind spending a little more and just want the most convenient option, these Seachem Flourish Tabs are the way to go.

Pros

• Pre-portioned amounts
• Provides tons of nutrients
• Easiest possible option to use

Cons

• More expensive than liquids

ECO Complete Planted Substrate – Best Substrate

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Even though it’s best to plant anubias outside of the substrate, this substrate actually pushes nutrients into the water that the plants can use.

Not only that, but it’s a great substrate choice for any other plants you might have in your aquarium. You can get it for a great price compared to other substrates, and there are tons of nutrients.

You can’t put in too much like you can with many other fertilizers. However, once the nutrients are gone there’s no way to get more in there, and adding soil after you have an established tank can make a mess. Instead, this is a much better choice for new setups.

Brand: CaribSea

Size: 10 pounds

Primary nutrients: Iron, calcium, magnesium, potassium, and sulfur

If your tank needs a substrate and you want an extra nutritional boost for plants, there’s no better choice than ECO Complete Planted Substrate. It’ll give your plants all the nutrients they need right from the start!

Pros

• Just put it in the tank!
• Great price
• Provides tons of nutrients
• Impossible to overdose

Cons

• Better for new setups
• Eventually the plants use all the nutrients

API Leaf Zone – Best Budget

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Their API Leaf Zone is a budget fertilizer that focuses specifically on the leaf side of your plants, which is perfect for anubias.

It focuses primarily on adding iron and potassium to the water, but there are other nutrients that this fertilizer puts out that anubias uses too.

It promotes healthy growth, is easy to use, is available at an affordable price, and it comes in multiple size options. However, it only focuses on part of the fertilizers your plants need. It’s enough for anubias, but if you have other plants in your tank you might need to go with another fertilizer.

Finally, this product does contain trace amounts of copper. It’s not enough to affect fish, but if you have crustaceans in your tank, this product will kill them.

Brand: API

Size: 8 or 16 ounces

Primary nutrients: Iron and potassium

There’s nothing wrong with looking to save a little money! The API Leaf Zone is an affordably priced fertilizer that does a great job helping anubias take off and grow in your tank.

Pros

• Affordably priced
• Multiple size options are available
• Easy to use
• Promotes healthy growth

Cons

• Not the most effective – it only helps with leaves
• It contains copper

Aqueon Aquarium Plant Food – Most Versatile

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That’s when a plant fertilizer like Aqueon Aquarium Plant Food really thrives.

It has all the nutrients that anubias needs to thrive, but it doesn’t focus on just anubias. It works for all types of aquatic plants allowing you to use a single fertilizer and get all the results you need.

It’s also an affordably priced option, so you don’t have to break the bank to fertilize all your plants. It comes in three different size options, allowing you to purchase in bulk and save yourself some money in the process.

It’s easy to use and provides tons of nutrients to your tank, and it doesn’t have any harmful chemicals or elements that can hurt the aquatic life in your tank.

Brand: Aqueon

Size: 4.4, 8.7, or 17.4 ounces

Primary nutrients: Calcium, magnesium, sulfur, manganese, zinc, iron, boron, and molybdenum

If you have a tank full of plants and want a fertilizer that will work for them all, then Aqueon Aquarium Plant Food is exactly what you’re looking for. It does a great job with lots of plants and is a top-notch choice for your aquarium.

Pros

• Affordably priced
• Works for lots of different plants
• Multiple size options are available
• Easy to use

Cons

• Not specific for anubias

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Buyer’s Guide

Now that you’ve gone through and read about the best fertilizer for anubias, it’s time to answer a few other questions you might have about growing the plant or using the fertilizer.

This buyer’s guide will break it all down for you and even give you the background knowledge you need to pick the right fertilizer from our list!

How Often Should You Fertilize Anubias?

The fertilization frequency for anubias really depends on the type of fertilizer you use. You don’t have to fertilize any more frequently or less frequently than you would for any other type of plant.

Because of this feel free to follow the recommended fertilization interval on the fertilizer product you’re using. You can even cut back on the fertilization frequency if anubias is the only type of plant you’re growing in the tank.

What Happens if You Over-Fertilize Anubias?

As long as you keep up with your weekly water changes, over-fertilization shouldn’t cause any major concerns. The most common problem associated with over-fertilization is an overabundance of algae.

But if you don’t keep up with the water changes and you over-fertilize, you’re compounding upon issues and things are going to get worse. Too much fertilization and not enough water changes can lead to the wrong concentrations of chemicals in the tank, leading to problems for both the fish and the plants.

The one exception is if you over-fertilize with a fertilizer that contains trace amounts of copper. Small amounts of copper won’t hurt your fish, but too much will kill them. This makes it extremely important not to over-fertilize if you’re using a product with any copper in it.

How To Plant Anubias

One of the most common mistakes people make when they’re trying to grow anubias is that they stick it right in the substrate. While it makes sense to use since all the plants we’re used to seeing grow in the soil, that’s not how anubias grows.

Instead, put something like a rock or a piece of driftwood inside the aquarium and gently press the rhizomes around the object. Hold it there for a minute or two and eventually the rhizomes will actually grab onto the object!

This is what “plants” the anubias in place, and it’s the best way to keep from overloading anubias and killing the plant. Anubias also thrives with some kind of current, so placing it near the filter can be a real perk for the plant.

It makes sense that this helps when you consider the plant gets its nutrients from the water. If the same water is always surrounding the plant, it’ll quickly run through the nutrients. However, if the water is constantly moving, it’s a fresh supply of nutrients for it to thrive on!

What Kind of Fertilizer Do You Want for Anubias?

When you’re looking at fertilizers for anubias it’s all about where the fertilizer goes after adding it to the tank. Many fertilizers settle right down to the bottom of the tank so the substrate can soak them up.

Since you don’t plant anubias in the substrate, these types of fertilizers are all but useless for the plant. You want a fertilizer that’s going to mix into the water and stay there, that way the rhizomes that are above the substrate can soak up the nutrients and deliver everything the plant needs.

That’s what we focused on for all the fertilizers on our list, and for everything except the ECO Complete Planted Substrate, that’s what you get. Just keep in mind that if you do go with the ECO Complete Planted Substrate, you want to get it in tandem with another fertilizer option so your anubias can really thrive!

How Tall Will Anubias Grow?

If you don’t trim back the leaves and plants, they can reach over a foot in height and some of the leaves can reach a foot in length by themselves!

So, while anubias is a slow-growing plant when it really takes it off it can reach impressive sizes. The larger size makes anubias an excellent choice for larger tanks, but it can present a real problem if you plant them in a small tank.

Be mindful of this when you’re planting anubias, and don’t be afraid to trim things up a bit if it’s in a smaller tank and you don’t want it to take over everything!

Will Plant Fertilizer Hurt Fish or Crustaceans?

It depends on the type of fertilizer you’re using. Every fertilizer on our list is perfectly safe for fish. However, the API Leaf Zone is not safe for crustaceans because of the trace amounts of copper that it has.

Every other fertilizer on our list is safe for crustaceans as well as fish. No matter what fertilizer you go with, always double-check if it has trace amounts of copper if you’re keeping crustaceans in your tank!

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FAQ

When you’re looking for the best fertilizer for anubias, it’s only natural to have a few questions. We understand, and it’s why we decided to address some of the most frequently asked questions for you here.

Should you fertilize anubias?

While you don’t always need to fertilize anubias, there’s no doubt that if you do it correctly it can speed up growth. Furthermore, if you don’t have active fish life in your tank, like in a plant-only aquarium, then you absolutely need to fertilize anubias to keep it from dying.

How do anubias get nutrients?

Anubias gets its nutrients from its roots like most other plants. However, you need to keep the rhizomes out of the substrate to keep them from rotting. Anubias has no problem pulling nutrients from the surrounding water, in fact that’s the preferred way.

How many hours of sunlight does anubias need?

Anubias thrives under sunlight, and as such it needs at least eight to nine hours of sunlight a day. Artificial fluorescent lighting will work, but don’t rely on LEDs that don’t pass on the nutrients anubias need to thrive.

Can anubias get too much light?

No! The more light you can give anubias the better! Feel free to leave the lighting on for anubias as much as you can, just ensure that you’re not flooding out the other aquatic life in the tank. Because while you might be able to give anubias as much light as you want, that doesn’t necessarily apply for everything else in the tank.

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Conclusion

Now that you know a little more about the best fertilizer for anubias, there’s no reason you can’t get it on order and watch the plants thrive! Because while anubias might be an easy to grow plant, that doesn’t mean you can’t speed up the process a bit and get the most from the plants.

Any of the fertilizers on our list are a great place to start, and they’ll help the other plants in the tank thrive!