Anubias 'Mini Coin': the round-leaved nano epiphyte

A round-leaved anubias

'Mini Coin' is a compact anubias selected for its rounded, coin-shaped leaves. It is generally placed with Anubias barteri var. nana, but it is worth being honest that anubias cultivar naming in the trade is loose — the same plant appears under slightly different labels, and the exact parentage of many named forms is not well documented. What is not in doubt is the plant in front of you: the same tough, slow, shade-loving West African aroid as every other anubias, with a distinctive leaf.

Neat, round leaves

Most anubias carry an ovate leaf that tapers to a point; 'Mini Coin' instead holds small, near-circular leaves, roughly two to three centimetres across, on short petioles. Deep green and leathery like the rest of the genus, they give a tidy, almost graphic texture that stands out against the pointed leaves of other plants. It stays small — a little larger than 'Petite' — and builds a slow, rounded clump on hardscape.

Attach it and forget it

Like all anubias, 'Mini Coin' is an epiphyte: it grows attached to wood and rock, not planted in the substrate, and the single most important rule is never to bury its rhizome (the thick horizontal 'stem' the roots and leaves grow from). Buried, the rhizome tends to rot. Tie or glue it to hardscape and let its roots take hold. It thrives in low to moderate light — strong light mostly just invites algae on its slow leaves — needs no CO₂, and copes with almost any water hardness, feeding lightly from both the water column and its roots. It is genuinely one of the easiest plants you can keep.

Parameter	Value
Lighting	Low to moderate; tolerates shade well
CO2	Not needed
Temperature	22–28°C
pH	6.0–7.5
Hardness	Soft to hard — very adaptable
Fertiliser	Light water-column feeder
Substrate	None — attach to wood or rock; never bury the rhizome
Growth rate	Very slow
Placement	Midground / attached to hardscape
Difficulty	Easy

Round leaves for contrast

The circular leaves are the whole point: set against fine-leaved stems, mosses or the strappy leaves of a fern, 'Mini Coin' provides a clean, rounded counterpoint that draws the eye. It suits the midground and attaches happily to wood and rock. It combines naturally with bucephalandra, Anubias 'Petite' and mosses in an epiphyte-led scape with no special substrate, and because it grows so slowly the composition holds its shape for months.

Divide the rhizome

Anubias does not make daughter plantlets the way ferns do; you propagate it by dividing the rhizome. Cut a mature rhizome into sections, each keeping at least three or four leaves and some roots, and attach each piece to new hardscape. Growth is very slow, so be patient. A well-kept anubias will also flower underwater from time to time, pushing up a small aroid spathe — harmless, and often taken as a sign of a settled, mature plant.

Rhizome rot and spot algae

A rotting, mushy rhizome is the main way anubias is lost, and burying it is the usual trigger — keep the rhizome exposed on the hardscape. Physical damage and poor water conditions can also let rot set in, and it sometimes follows on from newly imported or tissue-cultured stock, so give new plants a clean, well-circulated spot. Green spot algae on the oldest leaves is common on such a slow grower and is largely cosmetic; it is usually associated with strong light on leaves that grow too slowly to outpace it, with low phosphate another commonly cited driver; other factors contribute too. Trim badly affected old leaves. Otherwise it is one of the hardest aquarium plants to kill.

More plants in this series

• Dwarf anubias — the classic small anubias
• Anubias 'Petite' — the tiniest anubias
• Broadleaf anubias — the large-leaved cousin
• Bucephalandra — the other slow epiphyte jewel
• Java fern — the easy epiphyte fern