Anubias afzelii

Anubias afzelii is a large, hardy aquarium plant perfect for beginners looking to fill a background space. It features long, tough, spear-shaped leaves that grow from a thick, horizontal stem called a rhizome. It's one of the easiest plants to care for because it doesn't need bright light, special fertilizer, or CO2 gas. This makes it ideal for simple, low-tech aquarium setups.

The most important rule for this plant is to never bury its main stem (the rhizome) under gravel or sand, as this will cause it to rot and die. Instead, you should attach it to a piece of driftwood or a rock using fishing line, super glue gel, or by gently wedging it into a crevice. Over time, its roots will grip the surface on their own.

This plant is known for being an extremely slow grower, sometimes only producing a new leaf every month or two. While this means you'll almost never have to trim it, its slow-growing leaves can sometimes become a surface for algae to grow on. If this happens, you can gently wipe the leaves clean during water changes. Because its leaves are so tough and bitter, most plant-eating fish like cichlids and goldfish will leave it alone.