Why Anubias Survives What Other Plants Can’t

Ask any experienced aquarist why Anubias ends up in nearly every stocking guide for “difficult” fish, and the answer usually comes down to two things: leaf toughness and root placement. Anubias is an aroid — the same plant family as Monstera and money plant — and it shares the family’s thick, waxy cuticle and tougher-than-average leaf tissue. Fish and invertebrates that happily shred soft-leaved stem plants like hygrophila or ambulia generally give Anubias a pass simply because it’s hard work to bite through, and the payoff in nutrition isn’t worth the effort compared to algae, biofilm, or fish food.

The second reason matters just as much: Anubias grows from a rhizome that sits on top of the substrate, tied or wedged onto driftwood or rock rather than planted with roots buried in the substrate. That means fish that dig, root around, or rearrange the substrate can’t simply uproot it the way they would a stem plant or an unattached crypt. Between the tough leaves and the hardscape-anchored growth habit, Anubias survives a lot of tank mates that would demolish anything else in the aquarium.

That doesn’t make it bulletproof, though, and knowing exactly which fish, shrimp, and snails are safe — and which ones will eventually wear it down — saves you from losing plants you paid good money for.

Tank Mates That Genuinely Leave It Alone

Bettas and other labyrinth fish

Bettas are probably the most common Anubias tank mate in Indian homes, and for good reason: they have zero interest in eating it and actively use its broad leaves as a resting perch near the surface, which labyrinth fish appreciate since they breathe atmospheric air. Gouramis — dwarf, honey, pearl — behave the same way. None of them touch the leaf tissue.

Shrimp

Shrimp are, if anything, good for Anubias rather than a threat to it. Cherry shrimp (Neocaridina), Amano shrimp, and the pricier crystal and bee shrimp (Caridina) graze algae and biofilm off the leaf surface constantly, which actually keeps the plant cleaner and better able to photosynthesise. This is one of the few genuinely symbiotic relationships in the hobby, and it’s a big part of why India’s growing shrimp-keeping community — cherry shrimp typically run ₹30–60 a piece from local breeders — leans so heavily on Anubias and Bucephalandra for hardscape planting.

Snails

Nerite snails are excellent algae cleaners and have no interest in healthy plant tissue. Mystery and apple snails are usually safe too, though a hungry or under-fed mystery snail will occasionally rasp at the softest, most translucent new leaf growth — worth watching if you keep several in a smaller tank. Ramshorn and pond snails, whatever their reputation as “pest” snails in other contexts, are harmless scavengers around Anubias.

Small community fish

Most small to medium community species are safe: neon, ember and rummy-nose tetras, harlequin and chili rasboras, zebra and pearl danios, kuhli loaches, and corydoras, which stay busy sifting the substrate and never bother hardscape plants. Livebearers — guppies, platies, mollies — are fine as well; mollies will sometimes pick algae film off a leaf but don’t damage the tissue underneath. Even angelfish, despite a reputation for semi-aggression, generally leave Anubias alone; their mouths aren’t built for tearing tough leaves the way a herbivorous cichlid’s is.

Tank Mates That Will Shred It

Goldfish

Goldfish are the single most common way Indian beginners lose an Anubias plant, usually because a local fish shop sells goldfish and live plants in the same breath without mentioning that goldfish are voracious, constant grazers that will test every leaf in the tank with their mouths. They’re also coldwater fish that don’t particularly belong in a heated tropical planted setup to begin with. If you’re set on goldfish, plastic plants will save you money and disappointment.

Large cichlids

Large, food-motivated cichlids are the next big offender. Flowerhorns — hugely popular in India, partly thanks to their reputation as a “lucky” fish — along with Oscars, jaguar cichlids and green terrors, dig, rearrange, and chew on anything within reach as part of normal territorial behaviour, not just hunger. Even a rhizome wedged firmly onto driftwood gets gnawed at or knocked loose repeatedly by a large cichlid redecorating its tank.

Silver dollars, barbs and crayfish

Silver dollars and tinfoil barbs are worth avoiding too; both are known plant eaters that will peck at Anubias given enough time, even if it’s not their first choice. Crayfish deserve a specific mention, since they’re a growing novelty pet in India: they’re opportunistic omnivores that will shred rhizomes, snip leaves for the fun of it, and occasionally bother shrimp, making them a poor match for almost any planted tank.

Some plecos

Plecos are the trickiest case because it depends on the species and how well-fed they are. Bristlenose plecos are popular, well-behaved algae crew that rarely bother Anubias. The common pleco — frequently sold small in Indian shops with no mention that it grows past a foot long — is a different story; as it matures and its diet shifts, it will rasp at both the leaves and the rhizome surface, especially if algae and vegetable matter aren’t keeping it satisfied otherwise.

Practical Stocking Advice

If you already keep, or plan to keep, goldfish, large cichlids, crayfish, or a mature common pleco, don’t spend money on show-quality Anubias expecting it to stay pristine — treat it as a consumable at best, or skip it. For everyone else, a few habits go a long way: always tie or glue the rhizome to driftwood or rock rather than burying it, since that protects the plant from diggers regardless of what else is happening in the tank; buy larger, established specimens if you’re stocking anything semi-aggressive, since mature leaves are tougher than the pale, semi-transparent new growth that even peaceful grazers sometimes nibble during their own moult cycles; and don’t panic over the occasional small graze mark on a brand-new leaf — it’s cosmetic, not a sign your tank mates have turned on your plants.

Shop the plants in this guide

Browse anubias.in’s full range of 16 Anubias varieties, along with Java Fern, Bucephalandra and Cryptocoryne — all tough, hardscape-friendly plants that hold up well in community and shrimp tanks — plus isopods for a peaceful clean-up crew in adjacent setups.

Bringing new fish, shrimp or plants into the tank? Our quarantine guide covers how to introduce them safely.