Can Anubias Barteri and Willisii Grow Together?

Anubias Barteri and Willisii share a workable water window around 20 to 28 °C, pH 6 to 7.5, and 4 to 15 dGH.

Both plants are comfortable in freshwater, so salinity is not a meaningful obstacle.

Flow is workable if the layout gives Anubias Barteri moderate flow and Willisii gentle, low-flow water.

Their light and CO2 needs are close enough for one routine: Anubias Barteri does best with low light and no added CO2, while Willisii does best with low light and optional added CO2.

Both plants naturally lean toward the midground, which is why spacing, pruning, and final mature size matter more than they do in a more staggered planting mix.

Anubias Barteri reaches about 35 cm tall by 25 cm wide, while Willisii reaches about 20 cm tall by 15 cm wide. Use those mature sizes for the layout, not the small nursery portions you bring home.

Shade is not the main concern here, which makes the layout easier to keep balanced over time.

Anubias Barteri is typically attached / wedged to hardscape with no substrate required and feeds mainly as a water column feeder. Willisii is typically rooted in substrate with nutrient-rich substrate preferred and feeds mainly as a root feeder. That difference can make the pairing easier to arrange than two plants fighting for the exact same root or attachment zone.

Mature size is not the main thing working against this pairing, so normal maintenance is usually enough to keep the scape readable.

Both plants have slow growth, low maintenance, and beginner difficulty. That makes the maintenance rhythm predictable: watch for crowding, remove old leaves, and avoid letting one clump shade the other for weeks at a time.

The practical watch-outs are that both plants tend to work in the midground, so spacing matters more than usual; and that their substrate preferences are different enough that rooted nutrition should be planned deliberately.

The strongest reasons to try the mix are that they share a workable temperature window around 20 to 28 °C; and that their flow preferences sit close enough to tune one layout around both plants.

Use this pairing when you are willing to manage the scape, not when you want a plant-and-forget combination. Start with more spacing than you think you need, then adjust once both plants show their real growth pace.

The simple success test is whether both plants still look healthy after the faster grower has been trimmed several times. If one keeps declining after routine care, the layout is probably asking too much of it.

This pairing is best treated as a layout decision, not just a water-parameter match. Anubias Barteri and Willisii can work together, but only when you intentionally manage spacing, shade, and maintenance so the stronger grower does not quietly turn the other into dead weight.