I used my response as an example. I will say with any of the vieja I've had and even carpintis and trimac, they've ripped apart any plant I've had.
Are there any Central American cichlids that don't uproot/eat live plants?
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I've used super glue gel to attach to rocks or driftwood. Even used thin fishing line to attach to driftwood.
I used parachromis as an example from my experience but had bad luck with any plants with vieja, carpintis and trimacs.
I used parachromis as an example from my experience but had bad luck with any plants with vieja, carpintis and trimacs.
i have also attached plants with monofiliment fishing line,
and when I supected the plants might sink roots into driftwood , used string that would eventually just rot away once roots were set.
But as said above, many cichlids such as carpintus, and Vieja are omnivores, and eat, uproot, or just chew them up.
I also like to use mangrove trees, sometimes sold as propagules for salt water aguaria.
They work as fresh, brackish and salt water plants, and once established are almost indestructable.
I fill empty bamboo stems with sand and place the seed ods in them, with leaves above te water line.
They become real trees and get quite large, and require sufficient light.
I keep them in a sunlit area, in my outdoor sump to consume nitrate, along with water lilies, and other nutrient suckers.
and when I supected the plants might sink roots into driftwood , used string that would eventually just rot away once roots were set.
But as said above, many cichlids such as carpintus, and Vieja are omnivores, and eat, uproot, or just chew them up.
I also like to use mangrove trees, sometimes sold as propagules for salt water aguaria.
They work as fresh, brackish and salt water plants, and once established are almost indestructable.
I fill empty bamboo stems with sand and place the seed ods in them, with leaves above te water line.
They become real trees and get quite large, and require sufficient light.
I keep them in a sunlit area, in my outdoor sump to consume nitrate, along with water lilies, and other nutrient suckers.
You can attach epiphytes to rock with plastic twist ties or use superglue. Superglue will turn white. Green plastic twist will blend in better. I also secure stem and rosette plants in gravel filled net pots concealed behind rock.
Yes, use the long one in gardening for tying vine to trellis. Superglue is necessary for Anubias nana petite, but for large leaf Anubias, twist ties is easier.
I did ask this before and I hope I'm not coming across as but can you elaborate on which species in those genera you have kept? I'm especially intrigued with the Thorichthys genus.
Hi, nothing can stop me from telling you about my experience 
I have kept Thorichtys meeki, the popular Firemouth cichlid, at first.
This species was digging a lot, at least in my tank, what caused some uprooted plants.
But they were not shredded by them.
Thorichtys maculipinnis and Thorichtys aureus were completely fine with even more delicate stemplants.
They've dug a little when breeding, but their pits have always been small, so no damage was done.
Never been successful keeping groups of 6-8 Thorichthys long term unfortunately.
And they can be prone to stress, except the FMs, which are pretty hardy IMO.
So your best option is no other cichlid tank mates.
I've learned it the hard way when losing a pair Thorichthys aureus, which where thriving perfectly, before adding a much smaller Blue acara and Rainbow cichlid.
They were very mellow, but caused the Thorichthys eating much less, then getting bloated, pale and fading away.
I took the male to a vet for biopsy, but no disease or parasited were found.
A planted 55, housing a mated pair, acompanied by some swordtails or rainbow fish, if you don't mind mixing areas of origin, can be a real beauty.
Fine sand is a must, no coarse grains!
And the males can get nasty towards their females sometimes, so they should have some hiding spots which are inaccessible to the male.
Their digestive tracks are a little sensitive too.
Brine shrimps and high quality granules never caused any issues, but I would never feed them mosquito larvae or blood worms.
Just my experience.
You can keep them a little cooler, as low as 72 degrees up to 78.
I have kept Thorichtys meeki, the popular Firemouth cichlid, at first.
This species was digging a lot, at least in my tank, what caused some uprooted plants.
But they were not shredded by them.
Thorichtys maculipinnis and Thorichtys aureus were completely fine with even more delicate stemplants.
They've dug a little when breeding, but their pits have always been small, so no damage was done.
Never been successful keeping groups of 6-8 Thorichthys long term unfortunately.
And they can be prone to stress, except the FMs, which are pretty hardy IMO.
So your best option is no other cichlid tank mates.
I've learned it the hard way when losing a pair Thorichthys aureus, which where thriving perfectly, before adding a much smaller Blue acara and Rainbow cichlid.
They were very mellow, but caused the Thorichthys eating much less, then getting bloated, pale and fading away.
I took the male to a vet for biopsy, but no disease or parasited were found.
A planted 55, housing a mated pair, acompanied by some swordtails or rainbow fish, if you don't mind mixing areas of origin, can be a real beauty.
Fine sand is a must, no coarse grains!
And the males can get nasty towards their females sometimes, so they should have some hiding spots which are inaccessible to the male.
Their digestive tracks are a little sensitive too.
Brine shrimps and high quality granules never caused any issues, but I would never feed them mosquito larvae or blood worms.
Just my experience.
You can keep them a little cooler, as low as 72 degrees up to 78.
I've kept both Thorichtys meeki and aureus with plants such as anubias and ferns successfully but never with anything that needed to be rooted in the substrate due to their sifting behavior.
I will agree with the above statement as I've never been successful to keep them as group of 6-8 even in 6ft tanks. I usually and always get that one butthead that dominated the others. Unless someone has tried overstocking Thorichthys as a group of 10 or more in a tank which may work.
I will agree with the above statement as I've never been successful to keep them as group of 6-8 even in 6ft tanks. I usually and always get that one butthead that dominated the others. Unless someone has tried overstocking Thorichthys as a group of 10 or more in a tank which may work.
