FAQs on the Genus Anubias Related Articles: Anubias, Related FAQs:

Anubias        3/3/15
Hello there,
I was doing tank maintenance last week and my Anubias plants both nana and regular size got left out of water too long(tank needed a major snail poo cleaning). By the time they got put back in the tank 3 or so leaves on each plant were starting to curl under. Now I have massive leaf death: turning yellow and disintegrating unevenly from tip to stem leaving a skeleton before it disappears entirely. My questions: is it likely Im going to lose all the leaves entirely? Will they come back from this? Should I try to prevent more damage and chop all affected leaves off or is it trying to reabsorb nutrients from the damaged leaves? Any suggestions to prevent this from proceeding? (Other then rewinding time and plopping them back in much earlier lol)
Thanks
Kara
<Hi Kara. Anubias is actually an above-the-waterline plant in the wild, and recovers from exposure to air rather well. Some of the leaves may well die, depending on how dry the air was (in the wild they'd still be in hot, humid, wet spots near waterfalls and the like) but the creeping rhizome will bounce back without much bother. So yes, you may well lose some/all of the leaves, but some may well recover, and in any case, the plant will grow back quickly enough given good conditions. The "leaf per month" often stated for Anubias is a bit of an underestimate. Indeed, grown emerse (leaves out of water) in hot, humid conditions it will grow a lot faster than underwater (which isn't how it prefers to be, oddly enough). Plant producers farm them exactly this way, not underwater. Cheers, Neale.>

Floating Anubias       6/12/14
Can Anubias be grown as permeant floating plants?
<Sort of, yes. I do this with surplus Anubias barteri all the time. They don't float, but they will haul up in a corner of the tank somewhere and grow quite happily. Eventually their roots will attach to something though. As floating plants they will be more prone to becoming covered with algae; ideally, Anubias are placed under light filtered through a thin layer of leaves. Note that species other than A. barteri may be more demanding.>
I know they grow better tied down to something. I was just wondering if permeant floating could be accomplished with this species. I have heard of others having had success this way with Anubias on the internet. Thank you.
<Welcome, Neale.>
Re: Floating Anubias     6/13/14
Thank you so much Neal! :)
<Most welcome, Neale.>

Anubias and crypt balansae   10/17/12
Dear WWM,
<Andy>
I have an established tank for 2+ years it's a Juwel Rio 125 with standard lights 2 t5 28w bulbs day and nature.
I have some crypt balansae growing but they never get big enough. They grow to around 20cm then curl or just curl and never really grow.
<Something missing perhaps... or perhaps, too much>
Could this be too much light, I put root tabs in recently and it improved slightly but I was hoping the would replace my vacillis
<Vallisneria?>
 as a tall bg plant without taking over. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
<I'd be testing (PAR/PUR meter) your lighting, and ferrous ion et al. nutrient concentrations>
Also, I have some Anubias round leaf which I'm planning on attaching to wood as it's recommended not to bury the rhizome. I would like to attach them to the wood about 10cm above the substrate using superglue.
<Mmm, no. Just time w/ thread, thin monofilament>
Would the roots get enough nutrients from the water as they may not reach the substrate straight away?
<You/I can't tell w/o water quality testing... N,P,K and Fe>
Many thanks
Andy
<As many welcomes. Bob Fenner>

Re: Various tank questions 8/28/10
Hi Neale,
<Phill,>
In an unrelated topic my Anubias nana are beginning to look bad. Some of the leaves are developing holes and ragged edges and there are dark blue/black spots that are forming.
<Do you have any Suckermouth catfish in this aquarium? These will damage Anubias plants. I can't think of any reason for Anubias to have holes in them other than physical damage. Normally Anubias are very hardy. They dislike dry heat, so if the leaves protrude from waterline they can burn under lamps. They are also vulnerable to hair algae especially, and do best when provided with some sort of overhead shade, Indian Floating Fern working great in my experience. But that's about it!>
However my Cryptocoryne wendtii is healthy as ever (a little brownish but healthy). I use to have a generic fluorescent light and the nana looked awesome and the crypts had massive holes. Now I went to 40 watt full spectrum 5000 lumens and the crypts perked up but the nana's are heading to a watery grave. Any ideas? Nothing else has changed in terms of
fertilization. Some of the nana's are closer to the surface so they are getting some more light but I assumed it wouldn't be too much as it's a 55 gallon tank so I'm not even 1 watt/gallon. Thanks Neale.
Phill
<I wouldn't panic. If cultivated as an emerse rather than submerse plant it may be a bit unhappy about being stuck underwater. Break away carefully any damaged leaves and so long as the rest of the Anubias is healthy, it should perk up in time. Do make sure the rhizome isn't in the substrate -- that will kill an Anubias! --and if you can, add some floating plants for overhead shade. Of course, do make sure you have a true Anubias and not some other plant like Aglaonema simplex sometimes substituted for Anubias by the less reputable retailers. Cheers, Neale.>
Re: Various tank questions
Thanks Neale.
<You're welcome.>
I get my nana's from PetSmart so possible.
<Should be reliable.>
However this same condition is also appearing on my Lance Anubias.
<I see.>
On the leaf edges there are little cracks popping up. And where eve these cracks and holes appear there is a bluish black color. The rest of the leaf looks deep green and healthy. I do have fairly hard water and I do not fertilize yet.
<Neither of these should cause problems.>
I'm not panicking yet but it's a bummer because my hard water and low light prevents a ton of various plants from being used but I had high hopes for these guys.
<Anubias are fine in hard even brackish water.>
Oh and the rhizomes are not submerged. They are attached the driftwood. I do have 2 Otocinclus and 1 Bristlenose Pleco.
<A-ha! My experience of algae-eating Loricariids with Anubias is that they scrape away algae from the glossy surface of the leaf, damaging it over time. Because Anubias have such stiff leaves, the catfish can rest on them easily, so they're attractive feeding places. This doesn't happen with softer plants because the catfish can't sit on the leaves for any length of
time. Try moving the Anubias to another tank or even a large jar on a windowsill filled with water, and see if it recovers. If it does, then that's your answer. Alternatively, make more of an effort to provide soft vegetables the catfish can eat instead of algae -- thought I accept that defeats the object of keeping them. For what it's worth, in tanks with Anubias, better choices for algae control are Nerites snails.>
On a side note I have lost 2 Corydoras randomly this week that looked very very healthy. Should I contact the water company to see if there is something going on and could the be related to the plants and fish?
<Only if you suspect a water quality issue at their end.>
Thanks again Neale.
<Cheers, Neale.>
Re: Various tank questions, planted  8/28/10
Wow no kidding. Now I've seen the Otos on them frequently but never the Pleco. He's always clung to the driftwood and the glass. Could 2 tiny Otos cause that much trouble? I'll take your advice and separate. Thanks Neale.
You're a huge help.
<It's difficult to say for sure. The Ancistrus would be my main worry, especially at night. But all the Otocinclus need to is damage the waxy cuticle for damage to set in, so it's not impossible to rule them out completely. Cheers, Neale.>
Re: Various tank questions
Oh and I also have a Siamese Algae eater in that tank as well. Maybe be time to separate the little buggers.
<Epalzeorhynchos spp. should be fine -- like all Cyprinidae, the don't have teeth in the front of their mouths, so all they're doing is slurping at the fuzz with their modified jaws. It's hard to imagine these could damage Anubias. Cheers, Neale.>
Re: Various tank questions
Hi Neale,
<Phill,>
When I got home I tried rubbing the dark blue off the leaves. It was a bit gritty but came right off! Do you think that is some form of algae forming
on the leaves.
<Yes.>
Could they be responsible for the damage?
<Possibly; it is certainly the case that once Anubias leaves get covered with algae they tend to die shortly thereafter.>
I know Anubias are slow growing. Could there be something hurting the growth of the Anubias that we are missing and the algae is just a symptom?
<See earlier messages about what Anubias need to do well. They're not difficult to grow.>
Sorry, just thinking outside the box. Any advice to speed Anubias growth?
<Not really. Mine seem to grow quite fast without any real effort on my part. I'd be tempted to leave things be for now, and wait to see how things pan out.>
Are there kits that can detect traces in the water and tell if the tank needs ferts?
<Not really. I'm sure the hardcore Amano-types may test for iron, phosphate, etc., but it's hardly worth bothering with usually. Adding fertilisers weekly or monthly to the water should pre-empt any problems.>
Thanks Neale.
<Cheers, Neale.>

Live plants  - 4/1/10
ok this might sound dumb but I have never had live plants before. I have 2 Anubias barteri golden,
<This is an epiphyte. DO NOT bury the green lateral stem (the rhizome) in the gravel or the plant will die. Attach the whole thing to some bogwood or a piece of lava rock using black cotton.>
1 bunch Anacharis
<Likely Egeria densa or Elodea canadensis. Yes, push the roots into the sediment. This plant needs a good deal of light to grow. Egeria densa is intolerant of warm water, this a coldwater/pond plant, so keep below 24 C/75 F, which happens to be a good temperature for Platies and Swordtails.
Even then tends to get raggedy after a while. Elodea canadensis will only last a few weeks above 20 C/68 F. Both species also be left floating, and it will anchor itself with long white roots. Looks a bit messy that way, though. As you can tell, neither plant is recommend for tropical tanks. You would do much better with a good clump of Indian Fern (Ceratopteris thalictroides). This easy to grow floating plant is a superb addition to livebearer tanks.>
and 1 java fern coming
<Like the Anubias, DO NOT plant in the substrate but instead attach to bogwood or lava rock.>
now do I just plant them into the gravel in the fish tank? I have a 10 gallon tank with medium lighting and the fish are swords and Platies
<Too small for Platies, and MUCH too small for Swordtails. Adult Swordtails will need a tank three times this size. They are big, quite aggressive fish. Platies need 20 gallons. Do research the needs of fish (and plants!) prior to purchase.>
thank you so much for any help
<Good luck, Neale.>

Gourami beh., rhizomous plants, asteroid nutrition...  - 03/11/2006 Hello!  I've got just a few questions for you that I've been collecting for a while now. <Okay> How do I get a plant with a rhizome, like Anubias nana, to attach and grow on a piece of bogwood? <Best to find a bit of a notched area, tie the rhizome firmly to this with a bit of thread or light fishing line... it will adhere in time> How do I test for water hardness? <Mmm, most easily with a "aquarium" type colorimetric test kit... these are made... for GH, KH by many companies...> Can you suggest some small plants to put in the front of the tank that will survive in hard water? <Yes... there are members of the genus Sagittaria that are excellent here... and others... posted, labeled for use on WWM> (this is a guess here, I'm just assuming my water is hard) My dwarf (sunset?) Gourami has not been eating and is hiding in the corner behind a piece of wood.  Now that I think of it I don't ever remember him (or her) eating in the month or two that I've had him.  I've tried both flake food and frozen brine shrimp.  Sometimes he comes out, but the other fish aren't picking on him, so I don't know why he hides (he did not hide right after I bought him, it's been recently).  Do you think he's sick, and if so with what and what should I do? <Mmm, likely "just" normal behavior. Is a shy, retiring species... does best in a grouping (in large enough setting) of its species> How do I know if my starfish is eating?  I don't feed him specifically but I've read on this site that I should. <Depends on species. The best indication of health is active behavior... that the animal is moving about daily... Again, some species of Asteroids are predaceous... need to/eat large food items... others lean to being more detritivorous...> I don't know what kind of starfish I have so are there any general foods that can be fed to any starfish? <Unfortunately no> I siphon the gravel in my freshwater tank for dirt, should I do this to the saltwater tank too? <Likely so> I'm thinking no, but is there anything I'm supposed to do to keep it clean besides a water change? <... please see Marine Maintenance on WWM> I've been trying to give my fish a varied diet, but all my snakeskin Gourami will eat is flake foods.  I've tried feeding him peas and brine shrimp but all he touches are flakes!  Is a varied diet strictly necessary? <Not necessarily. There are some complete nutrition prepared foods on the market. The "Spectrum" brand is one of these> Sorry I've got some many questions, but they've been on my mind a while.   The people at my LFS aren't too helpful and books/internet articles don't answer everything.  Thanks for the help! *Kim* <Retain that open, inquisitive mind Kim... is valuable. Bob Fenner>

Anubias Growth 8/24/05 Hello crew, <Hi Andrew,> I bought an Anubias barteri var. nana yesterday for a good price. However, there are hard black bumps on the older, darker leaves. The newer leaves are a brighter green and have no growths. I've searched theKrib and your site, and found that this might be an algae, but I'm not sure what kind or how to treat it. I don't want to put it in my tank until I know it won't spread, but I don't mind what is already on the leaves. Any info would greatly be appreciated. <I agree with not wanting to put this in your main tank until you have made a certain "diagnosis" - it's a good idea to quarantine new plants as well as fish and other livestock.  Good sign that the plant is producing new, bright green leaves; I'd slowly remove (depends on the size of the plant...you just don't want to cut off too many old leaves at the same time so as not to shock the plant) the leaves with the undesired algae growth - if you do it slowly enough, it will spur the plant on to produce newer leaves quicker. Hope this helps! Jorie> Thanks, Andrew

Re: some old conversation inquiry 20 Aug 2003 (Anubias supply) Dear Bob, <Vic> I was browsing the net and stumbled over this discussion: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/AqBizSubWebIndex/bizaqpltfaqs.htm Specifically - the "Re: searching still (Ralf, can you give me a reference to Anubias there?)" thread regarding the "live wood" startup business. We are an aquatic plant supplier and I think we could help Mr. Ted R. Judy with the Anubias plants he needs as we have very liberal restrictions on the volumes. I tried to call the number at the bottom of the page but it's no longer in service. Would you be so kind to give me his e-mail address if you still have it or ask him contact me? <Wish I did have such good organization, tools... we don't retain addresses or I'd ask if it would be okay to send yours on... Will post your note in the hope/s he and others see it and will contact you. Thank you, Bob Fenner> Thank you very much! Sincerely Yours, AquariumGarden.com

Re: searching still (Ralf, can you give me a reference to Anubias there?) Hi Bob, (Oh, Ralf Schmidt produces Knop's Reactors in Germany) how many of Anubias nana he need per order? Is there any different paperwork for importing plants to the US (Health certificate) or is that the same procedure like hardware? I contacted Dennerle for the plants. No problem! ( We are producing the woods for them). Ralf <Great news Ralf. Will use your note here to introduce you two. Be chatting, Bob Fenner>

Re: searching still (Ralf, can you give me a reference to Anubias there?) Hi Bob, Thank you. I will send a note to Ralf. <Good> I have found a source for wood. In fact I may end up distributing the wood (rolling ideas collect lots of moss it seems).  <Well-stated> I new wood supplier is starting operations here in the US. The pieces that that are bringing in are very nice. A lot more variety than the standard 'Swahala' or 'Wallaby' wood. They are looking for customers. Right now they are planning on selling direct to retailers. I think that they should be contacting wholesalers to move containers of wood. <Am sure this has been well-considered... there are only a few factors to ponder here... the volume, price-point, net... going one way or t'other> They agreed with me to the point of signing me on to help develop that market. The really nice part is that I am getting the wood at a much lower cost than I thought that I would be. We will have the container sales proposal ready in a couple weeks. <Am interested in your overall reflection... pls do retain our correspondence... write me/us back in a few to several months with "what you have experienced, learned"> I also found a source for plants out of Nigeria. The prices are very reasonable. I am still checking references though. The only problem is that I will need to purchase plants 2500 at a time... more moss on the rolling idea, I guess I could be wholesaling bare-root Anubias as well. <Careful here my friend... do make sure you have "all your ducks in a row" with the issues of the FDA here and trusting the folks there...> The Asian sources are trickling in. Most of them have the same issue though... they use Dolphin to transship. <Yes... hence my encouraging you to deal with them straightaway> The prices are not as good as the African source, but I would not need to purchase the huge quantity. The African source has a much nicer variety though. <Other problems, as you will find> At the moment, the business plan has been pushed back one month due to the landing date of the wood. <There is time, remember this> However, if I use the African source for plants, I can tie twice the number of plants onto the wood for half the price that I was expecting to pay, effectively cutting production time in half. We are still on track for saleable product in November/December. <This year? Quick...> How many pieces can I pencil you in for...;) <A couple. Bob Fenner, with empty Eheim systems (well, they have water, substrate in them... and a bit of algae)> Thanks again,

Re: searching still (Ralf, can you give me a reference to Anubias there?) Thank you, I will try to contact Dennerle and Tropica. Tissue culture would add a considerable amount of time and space to the operation.  <Yes... but fun to do. And there was an outfit of all places in our home town of San Diego, California that was doing just this (up in Ramona)...> There are a few plants that growing my own would be a viable option, (Riccia, Glossostigma), due to the fast growth and low space requirements. <Yes... or have we chatted re transshipping out of the orient? Do you have space for "recovering" such stock? Sunny Aquarium is a lead here... in Singapore... very reasonable cost per unit. Have you been to the international trade shows? Consider coming out to Aquarama next year... Bob Fenner> Thanks again,

Re: searching still (Ralf, can you give me a reference to Anubias there?) I shot an e-mail to Sunny. I think the 'no order is too big or too small' is encouraging. The plants may be the last piece of the puzzle.  <Yes> I have a target date of no later than September 15 to have my first production vat 'loaded', followed by filling a new vat every 4 weeks.  <May I ask, will you infuse CO2? What sort of fertilization do you intend to employ? Will you grow the plants in a substrate of your fashioning? Soil added to it? What sort of lighting, lighting regimen? Water depth or will you grow in just moist soil> I am reasonably sure that I can produce a saleable product in 8 weeks, assuming the stock that I start with is in at least decent shape. If all goes well, I will be wholesaling to a few customers by November. <Sounds good. Perhaps Cryptocorynes next...> Your help is greatly appreciated. You mentioned that your wife was looking into importing pieces from Dennerle. I hope that when vat 'well done' she would be interested in having a look at my product. <I will cc her re here. Be chatting, Bob Fenner> Thanks again, Ted

Re: searching still (Ralf, can you give me a reference to Anubias there?) > <May I ask, will you infuse CO2? yes What sort of > fertilization do you intend to > employ? Periodic broad spectrum fertilizer and daily iron. Will you grow the plants in a substrate of > your fashioning? Directly on the wood pieces. Soil > added to it? The vats will have a layer of Fluorite on the bottom. Less damage to the liners if there is a substrate. (The entire operation will be portable until it grows large enough to move into a more permanent facility, at which time I will invest in larger, more permanent growing vats.) I am not sold on the idea that just the presence of Fluorite will be of benefit is the plants are not rotted in it, but putting it in from the get go will make propagating other plants around the wood easier if I decide to do that. What sort of lighting, lighting > regimen? Nice thing about Anubias and ferns is that intensity is not as important as specific light wavelengths that will encourage faster growth. No need for super bright halogens. There are plenty of good fluorescents that will provide the desired wavelengths. Water depth varies, but generally less than 10 inches above leaves. or will > you grow in just moist soil> no, I think that aquatic grown for aquariums is best. <<Agreed>> > <Sounds good. Perhaps Cryptocorynes next...> For now, the niche is 'live wood'. I will stick to Anubias and ferns for the time being. I will likely propagate some 'mossy' wood with Riccia and/or Glossostigma for the Amano enthusiasts. <<Good plan>> Tell me if you think the following logic is sound... I intend for this to be a wholesale product. If I can get the materials at desired prices (and they are conservatively high), I believe I can sell these pieces profitably at an average price of $25 - $30. (Less for small pieces, more for larger). I envision marketing a ten-pack that has a few small, a couple large and about half medium pieces, all with good plant growth, for $250. Air freight is the best way to move them. These ten packs, including box materials, should be less than 100 pounds. The local airport is an America West hub, which has decent freight charges. The suggested retail prices would be $25 - $30 for a small piece, $40-$50 for the medium pieces and $60 - $70 for the larger pieces. The idea is that the retail price for size/number of the plants and the retail value of the wood piece alone should be close to the retail price of the propagated piece. For example, a 12 inch (medium) piece of Swahala wood (retail ~$18), plus 3 Anubias barteri with 5 - 8 leaves (retail ~$27 for all three) would be a total of $45, but then the customer has to wait 2 - 3 months (under optimal growing conditions) to create this product. <Mmm, I'd do a bit of local test marketing (perhaps a friendly local fish store) before having labels, ads made up> I am hoping to capitalize on impatience... <You already have two customers. Bob F> Ted

Re: searching still (Ralf, can you give me a reference to Anubias there?) <Mmm, I'd do a bit of local test marketing (perhaps a friendly local fish store) I have moved a few aquarium grown pieces through the 'friendly local pet store'. The pieces have ranged from small 6 - 8 inch Anubias nana pieces up to a couple huge 24" plus pieces. The longest any one piece stayed in the store was three days,  <Wow! Great.> and that was a huge piece with a set of A. sp. 'coffefolia' plants that amassed to about 30 leaves surrounded by a ring of A. nana (about 100 leaves). That piece sold for $150. I cannot say that I made a dime on it though. I started that piece retail everything. The wood alone was $45, and I started with 5 coffefolia and ten nana. It was in a 110 display in my home for a year. <Yikes... at least you enjoyed, grew through the process> Ted PS. Attachments are A)2 two-month grown A. barteri on a large piece of wood in a 110. The plants started with two - three leaves each This is actually hardly at all what I will be producing. I piece of wood this size would have a lot more plants arranged in a much more natural. B) Java fern on a medium (12 inch) piece of wood. Two pics of this. The tank is a 20H. This is more along the lines of the size and plant growth I am shooting for. Ferns take a bit more time than Anubias... this plant has been established for about 4 months at the time of the picture. The larger plant started with about 6 leaves. The smaller plant with about 3. <Very nice. Bob Fenner>

Re: searching still (Ralf, can you give me a reference to Anubias there?) Hello Bob, I chatted with you last week about working towards setting up a planted wood propagation business. I am going nuts. I am having a very difficult time locating import brokers, regardless of their size. I have spoken with Dolphin, and they will not do business with me since I would not be able to meet their $1000 a week minimums. <Mmm, this is a high regular minimum> I look all over the web and find small retailers and wholesalers who have managed to find their sources. Whoever these sources are, they do not advertise particularly well. <Not a high volume or due to back stocking, profitable part of their businesses likely> I have located a source of wood. I need to import the plants. How does a company who is seeking to start out in wholesale locate import sources for livestock? <By doing about what you are doing... asking, calling, faxing, writing. Are you interested in tissue culture yourself? The big deal here is time... and secondarily space. Have you tried contacting Dennerle, Tropica? I would... and ask if they have a liaison in the U.S. (these come and go) that would sell you plant stock> I have even tries the yellow page listings in the major port of entry cities. Many import/export brokers are listed, but the few I have managed to contact do not broker live goods, nor know anyone who does (at least not off the top of their head). <A tough part of the biz... due mainly to the U.S. FDA, other agencies concerns principally re soil nematodes... their import avoidance> If you can provide a hint or two, I would really appreciate it. Sincerely, <Do contact Tropica and Dennerle... they will know who you can in turn to. Bob Fenner> ===== Ted R. Judy Dry Heat Enterprises 1298 S. Monterey St. Gilbert, AZ 85233 (480)821-4934

Finding a good import broker Hello Mr. Fenner, I operate a small aquatic product business out of my home. It keeps me busy, but is not overly productive yet. I am ready to take a step up, however. I am having a difficult time locating a dependable import broker who can assist me in obtaining the livestock I need (specifically plants) to get my business to grow. <What sorts of plant species, volume of organisms are you interested in?> To this point I have been using wholesalers, and now I want to join their ranks. Can you suggest a place to look for an experienced import broker?  <Yes> I have spent literally days on the web searching with no real success. I am also looking to find the companies who are importing Swahala driftwood... <Contact Steve Lundblad of Dolphin International re this material, and its import... The container sizes imported are VERY large... You will likely want to buy this from/through a more mid-size jobber> The wholesalers are getting it from someone, but I cannot figure out who it is. I appreciate your web site. Thank you for your intellectual and experiential generosity. Sincerely, Ted Judy Dry Heat Enterprises Gilbert, AZ <Be chatting, Bob Fenner>
Re: finding a good import broker > <What sorts of plant species, volume of organisms > are you interested in?> > I propagate Anubias and other plants onto driftwood. <Ahhh! Neat! Of all coincidences, my wife is considering importing Dennerle Products into the U.S... have you seen their Anubias, planted and mounted? Nice.> > <Contact Steve Lundblad of Dolphin International re > this material, and its > import... The container sizes imported are VERY > large... You will likely > want to buy this from/through a more mid-size > jobber> Steve works for Dolphin now!?  <Mmm, we may be speaking of different folks here. Steve Lundblad owns Dolphin... in Los Angeles and Miami... the single largest importer/distributor of mainly freshwater livestock on the planet> I have known Steve for years, but obviously not well enough to know what he is doing besides Cichlid Exchange. Thank you for your help. Ted R Judy Dry Heat Enterprises <Let's keep chatting till I can help direct you. Bob Fenner>
Re: finding a good import broker What were the chances that there are two Steve Lundblad's in the fish trade? The Steve I know is going to find my question quite odd... I e-mailed him after hearing from you. Do you think that I can get in ouch with Dolphin's Steve through their web site? <Better to phone: http://www.dolphin-int.com/contact.html> I am not familiar with Dennerle, but I will look them up.  <You should know them: They do on a massive scale what I think you are doing, want to do. Please see the Aquatic Plant Links on WetWebMedia.com> I have a price on various Anubias sp. in lots through a wholesaler that will make the venture get off the ground. I really want to market the product wholesale, however, and to do that as profitably as we need I will need to find jobber sources. The wood is the most expensive component. I am prepared to purchase wood in 100 piece+ lots, but I need to be able to get it consistently.  <This is a tiny amount... cargo or half cargo containers are about the best route if you can use, afford this amount (many thousands of pieces)> As in any propagation venture, time is an issue. So is speculation.  <Yes, well-stated> I want to set up the product batches so that I will have lots of at least 100 pieces available to ship on at least a monthly basis. If I can get this off the ground, I would be interested in seeing how I can compete with a company like this Dennerle... My product will at least be domestic. <This will (aquarium plants, make that real freshwater aquariums) be a reality someday soon. Stick with your plans, dreams. Bob Fenner> Thanks again, Dry Heat Enterprises