I had a very nice surprise the other morning. I noticed that one of my Anubias nana was flowering, underwater. I have not had a chance to take a better picture than that from my cell phone, so it will have to suffice for now.

What I find amusing is that the dwarf puffers in the tank seem to occasionally examine it with great curiosity. I have no idea why they do that. They are very camera shy, however, so I have not been able to get a photo of that as yet.

Anubias-nana-flowering.jpg

Beautiful! Next time I make a plant order, I'll have to try one of those nanas.

The flower probably reminds the puffer of a trumpet snail. Those puffers are incredible and quite amusing -- they remind me of helicopters with chameleon eyes! My friend "loaned" me his little puffer for a few days a while back. In my 50G tank, I went from hundreds of snails to zero visible snails in about 3 days! It was on a snail killing mission during every waking hour. I removed my nerites during that time to be safe ... if I can ever find one that doesn't go for nerites, I will always have a dwarf puffer in my tank. I've also been told that puffers will go after the fins of slow moving fish, like gouramis.

Lucky you, anubias flowering have eluded me for the longest time. Good Lord, even the Local Fish Store owner with his display tank has his anubias flowering and he uses nothing more than a layer of laterite capped with turkey grit. My anubias will not even flower and I am using ADA Aquasoil. I always thought that only Anubias Coffelia flowered.

I have no idea why it is flowering. Or when, exactly, come to think of it. I vaguely recall wondering why that new leaf stem growing out was thinner and a bit crooked looking early last week sometime. It just did not register with me at the time.

Cool!

Now, if I can ever get one of my emersed Cryptocorynes to flower. :-)

Congrats!

I have kept both nana and much larger barteri over the last several years and all have flowered. Most with just basic flouro lighting, no c02 or other ferts......Have tied to driftwood, rocks, gravel bed, etc.

I have noted several times that direct sunlight on a specific plant will also induce flowering even through the glass.

Maturity is also key IMO. A well acclimated plant will flower reqularly. Larger plants have had multiple flower stalks.

Homer, try again and have some patience. I have found they will flower even when well shaded, but I think they do well with more light than people think. Also, keep the roots out of the gravel. They will reach there of their own accord, but is better to let it attach first to wood or rock first........

Re: crypt flowering.

Remember that many crypts flower only during low water levels and need specific environmental triggers to flower. You may need to simulate this over a week or two to help get them 'in the mood' and mimic this natural trigger by progressively reducing the amount of water around the plant. Light levels/duration may also play a part in seasonal conditions.

I have had several Wendtis flower submersed, but very few and far between. Mostly mature plants with lots of mass. Would love to see some pics of how you are growing them emersed...

I LOVE crypts in case you didn't get that lol

Which ones are you growing? I am very interested in this so please PM me or post a new thread about this?

Thanks and good luck!