My first planted cichlid tank

[KellyElizabeth]

Not bad.Chalceaus and thorichthys should be in groups though.

 

[Hendre]

Looks great! Chalceus always have a soft spot in my heart hehe

Nice work on the plants there, buce here costs a fortune so it's sparse in my tanks
Glad it's working

 

[J. H.]

If Kribs count as cichlids, I've got kribs and angels (and friends) in a heavily planted tank right now. No problems.

 

[tiger15]

If Kribs count as cichlids, I've got kribs and angels (and friends) in a heavily planted tank right now. No problems.

Kribs and angels are certainly cichlid, but they don't count as challenging cichlid to keep with plants. Angel and discus are vertical surface spawner and they don't rearrange substrate. Dwarf cichlid lack the power to do damage to plants.

Keeping large cichlid outside angel and discuss is a challenge. Substrate spawners are worse than mouthbrooders. My first two big guys to rehome were a 9 and 10" Green Terror and Bifas, because they routinely rearrange the plantscape. My Frontosa was the last to go. Even thought he did not rearrange the plantscape as a routine, he was too powerful and one nib a plant is gone.

Now that I have cichlid under 6 inch, they still do it but lack the power to do significant damage. In WC, I still have to pick up planted rock and shake off blown over gravel, and replant (reglue) loosen plants once for a while. Aulonocara species behave the best, as they don't touch the plantscape. Mbuna do to some extent, but they lack the power to do damage. When my EBA breed and clean a nest site, expect some damage if a plant is in their way. This is why I can only keep tough texture plants. So far, the repair work I have to make is minor and infrequent, allowing me to enjoy plants and the cichlid I like in cohabitant.

 

[J. H.]

Kribs and angels are certainly cichlid, but they don't count as challenging cichlid to keep with plants. Angel and discus are vertical surface spawner and they don't rearrange substrate. Dwarf cichlid lack the power to do damage to plants.

Keeping large cichlid outside angel and discuss is a challenge. Substrate spawners are worse than mouthbrooders. My first two big guys to rehome were a 9 and 10" Green Terror and Bifas, because they routinely rearrange the plantscape. My Frontosa was the last to go. Even thought he did not rearrange the plantscape as a routine, he was too powerful and one nib a plant is gone.

Now that I have cichlid under 6 inch, they still do it but lack the power to do significant damage. In WC, I still have to pick up planted rock and shake off blown over gravel, and replant (reglue) loosen plants once for a while. Aulonocara species behave the best, as they don't touch the plantscape. Mbuna do to some extent, but they lack the power to do damage. When my EBA breed and clean a nest site, expect some damage if a plant is in their way. This is why I can only keep tough texture plants. So far, the repair work I have to make is minor and infrequent, allowing me to enjoy plants and the cichlid I like in cohabitant.

Same here. The Kribs rip up plants in the way of their eggs or fry, but don't damage more than a few square inches in a heavily planted tank. My goldfish on the other hand grrr.

 

[tiger15]

Choosing tough texture plants is also a key to success. I had to remove a Rotala rotundifolia because the texture is too soft. This is one rare stem plant that did not melt away in my tank conditions. It even spread by self attaching to a piece of lava rock like an epyphite. But my EBA also picked the same rock as a nest site. So I had to pick up fragments of the plant daily to the point I just got rid of it. Java fern, Anubias and all tough texture plants wouldn’t be an issue as they can withstand the abuse.

 

[tiger15]

Update of my planted tank with close up of specific plants.

View attachment 1323328 View attachment 1323330

 

[tiger15]

Java ferns, both regular and trident, are vigorous, and I have surplus to sell off. Anubias and Buce are growing slowly, and still have minor bba I have to treat with peroxide and excel to mitigate. My only stem plant, Ludwigian repen, is stunt and not growing with bare bottom stems. It’s a sign of light deficiency despite placing higher up in the rock to reach more light.

 

[MrsE88]

I really like your plants.
I was doing good for a while, but now almost everything has die, been shredded, uprooted, or eaten. I miss plants, but I’ll be taking a break from them for now.

Great job with yours.

 

[tiger15]

I really like your plants.
I was doing good for a while, but now almost everything has die, been shredded, uprooted, or eaten. I miss plants, but I’ll be taking a break from them for now.

Great job with yours.

It’s easy to get frustrated if you are first timer on plants, particularly if you try to keep messy cichlid with plants. During my early learning curve, my plants got shredded, uprooted, and covered with algae. There were times I had to replant every day, and was so frustrated thinking of giving up plants and returning to fish only. I had to get rid of cichlid larger than 6 inch, no breeding of egg layers except for dwarfs. Lately, I had to remove all female EBA, because a breeding pair would keep shredding plants to make nest. Dwarf Kribs are fine, and I have a colony breeding in the rock caves underneath the plants. Mouth brooding peacocks are fine. They don’t pair up and make permanent nest. My plants used to be covered with ugly black beard covered algae. I spot treat with peroxide during water change, and dose Excel. Now all algae are gone.

Compare with pics in my early posts, the tank is fuller, greener, and higher in plant mass. It’s not so difficult to have a successful nature aquarium with light stock and small fish. It’s much more challenging to have heavy stock and large cichlid with plants. After 1.5 yr learning and making mistakes, I learned the tricks and am pleased with the outcome.

Here are some updated pics.