Can Buce Motleyana and Congo Anubias Grow Together?

Buce Motleyana and Congo Anubias share a workable water window around 22 to 28 °C, pH 6 to 7.5, and 3 to 12 dGH.

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

Both prefer moderate flow, so circulation can be planned as one steady pattern.

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

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

Buce Motleyana reaches about 10 cm tall by 15 cm wide, while Congo Anubias reaches about 50 cm tall by 30 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.

Buce Motleyana is typically attached / wedged to hardscape with no substrate required and feeds mainly as a water column feeder. Congo Anubias is typically roots anchored, rhizome exposed with no substrate required and feeds mainly as a water column feeder. That difference can make the pairing easier to arrange than two plants fighting for the exact same root or attachment zone.

They can share the space, but the scape will stay cleaner if you leave more room than the labels alone might suggest.

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 and attached to hardscape, so spacing matters more than usual; and that you will want to leave more room than usual for mature spread and routine thinning.

The strongest reasons to try the mix are that they share a workable temperature window around 22 to 28 °C; and that their flow preferences sit close enough to tune one layout around both plants.

Use this pairing when you want two plants that can share one routine without forcing a compromise at every step. It is strongest in tanks where mature spacing is planned before the plants fill in.

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.