# tying Anubias to wood



## Tokyobaby (Jul 26, 2007)

I bought a lovely Anubias yesterday, lots of vigorous growth...anyway, there are tonnes of roots so when I tied it down the rhizome didn't touch the wood as the roots got in the way...basically the roots are sort of on the wood but i didn't want to damage any of the roots by forcing them onto the wood...so the whole plant is VERY loosly tied down...is this ok, will the roots eventually anchor themselves or do i have to redo this and be brutal?


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## Volenti (Oct 12, 2007)

The rhizome doesn't have to be touching the wood, so long as it can't move around too much it will anchor it's self eventually.

Though I see nothing wrong with trimming away some of the roots that are in the way, I've tied down anubias that had precious little root structure and they sprouted roots fine and also heavily trimmed away roots to get a better "fit" on the driftwood, also with no issues.


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## Tokyobaby (Jul 26, 2007)

Wow - thanks for the speedy reply, you've eased my mind! I'll see if it starts to attach to the wood and if not I'll be brutal and trim some of those roots...how long do you think it will take?


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## gheitman (Aug 18, 2007)

It could take quite some time for a good root structure to develop. I recently anchored several Anubias to some rocks using rubber bands and it has taken a couple of months for them to develop new roots.


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## Tokyobaby (Jul 26, 2007)

thanks for that info...I guess I'll have to be patient!


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## Bert H (Mar 2, 2004)

It won't hurt it at all if you trim some of the roots. I have tons of petite nanas, and my favorite way to 'anchor' it to wood, is to find a crack in the wood where I can wedge some roots or the rhizome itself into it. I will also wedge a rhizome into a "V" shaped area where it is held in place. I've never lost a plant with this technique.


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## Dryn (Sep 6, 2007)

This is just my 2cents but... I have five anubias plants (3barteri & 2"long-leaved") and did a lot of research b/c the first one cost me $15.00! I also spoke to the nursery where I got the anubias, and this is what I found out. 
Anubias will grow well so long as their rhizome isn't buried. (uh yeh) But anubias doesn't really take off until its roots (usually very, very long) are in the substrate. The way I did this was to bore a hole completely through my driftwood and rocks. The rhizome was above the wood/rock and the roots were buried underneath (actually took some doing). I also used some rock wool for cushioning. I also found out that you can "plant" anubias so long as the rhizome isn't buried and they grow crazy this way. Be sure to "point" the growing tip in the direction that you want growth. That said, Anubias also grows better under higher light and CO2 and with added nutrients just like any other plants, but it can survive without any of them. It just grows very slowly...
I could add more, but I've overshot my two cents...looks like you get a dollars worth


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## APCRandall (Feb 2, 2007)

Would just using super glue work? It works for coral.


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## Zapins (Jul 28, 2004)

Wouldn't advise glue, the chemicals could hurt the plant. 

String/wedging the plant into rock/wood works best IMO. It should take a few weeks before you see any significant growth, one the plant takes off though it grows quite fast


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## Tokyobaby (Jul 26, 2007)

Thanks for all the extra info guys, I need all the help I can get, living in Japan and not knowing the local lingo too well means I can't ask any of the experts in the LFS...so you guys are my lifeline! I had a baby Anubias that came with the well grown one I bought and I just pushed that one into a little hole and lo and behold the little thing is already attaching it's roots...the big one will take a lot longer though, I think I may just trim some of the roots as suggested and tie back onto my wood, should hopefully attach a little quicker as it kinda looks like it's floating at the mo as the roots are so long and i was so afraid to cut any of them. Thanks for all the reassurances about cutting the roots!


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## gotcheaprice (Sep 4, 2007)

Hehe, yeah, I'm visiting Japan this winter and definitely want to visit as much LFS as I can. Hopefully my brother will be fluent by then( hes studying abroad right now, living in Tokyo, school in yokohoma). 

Anyway, when I bought my anubias nana (2x) I cut the roots off of one, and attached it into a crach, doing ok, not great since no ferts atm, and the other one I stuck the roots in a hole and it held itself, doing same as the other.


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## _chicken_ (Oct 7, 2007)

APCRandall said:


> Would just using super glue work? It works for coral.


I have one piece of Anubias nana "petite" that would not stay tied down, so in desperation I finally super glued it to a piece of pea gravel. I don't know how risky the chemicals are in a tank, so this may not be recommended. It has only been a couple months, but I have seen no ill effects so far. Shrimp in the tank seem unaffected.

Before anyone tries this, be warned that I am very much a newbie, and may not know what I am doing.


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## Robert Hudson (Feb 5, 2004)

As long as the glue is completely dry and hardened it is safe. Its rather difficult to glue something that is wet though, and most glue will not harden while in water!


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## fishfan (Feb 19, 2006)

One thing interesting I have found about anubias is that, at least in my tank, when planted in the gravel the roots will stick to individual gravel bits like a glue. I took one out the other day to clean algae off the leaves and there were a whole bunch of gravel pieces attached to the root strands.


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## Tokyobaby (Jul 26, 2007)

Gotcheaprice: if you want I can give you a couple of the LFS's addresses here in Tokyo. 

I love the superglue idea, I'm not brave enough to try it but I reckon the Anubias would be tough enough to handle it...


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