substrate is fine, keeping it a bit cleaner would be beneficial and you can never go wrong with adding plants, just make sure you pot them in something that can keep them anchored down, none of those pots you get when you buy a plant at an lfs or hydroponics store. my cichlids eat my plants which doesnt bother me, some may try to uproot them, also adding a background and some drift wood would be awesome
ya i still working out the cleaning schedule my hours shot up for the last 2 weeks so i havent had time but my schedule is back to normal this weekend so im going to spend a good amount of time cleaning. I'm definately looking into adding plants but should i go real or fake? im leaning towards fake because they may be more durable against my salvini as he loves to decorate the tank his own way and even will try and move the big rocks LOL. But you also cant beat the look of real plants! and i think i may pick up a few pieces of driftwood but i have also heard that most cichlids luv the clay flowerpots cut in half? should i put one of those in there also? I want to make sure that there is plenty of hiding spots without over decorating the tank at the same time lol. Thx for everyones advice in advance! =D
Woot Woot im going to buy them tomorow!! =) also should i double up my filtration with another marineland emperor 400? or is there another type of filtration that i can get that wont cost me an arm and a leg? lol
look up topdogsellers on google, its an ebay store, their canister is awesome and very cheap
also live plants don't require as much attention as you think when they are securely potted, they also provide oxygen and remove un wanted nutrients. also good for a fish's diet.
ya i would LOVE live plants but if my little monsters (ie salvini and flowerhorn) decide their in the mood to snack id rather not have to replace them lol. but i am going to check out that canister u recommended! hopefully i can find one cheap!
I don't replace my plants they grow back what they lose just get heavy bodied plants, the canister is about 59 bucks and can easily handle a 150+g tank though over filtration is nice
I've never tried live plants with my fish. Always fake and they rip those out too. Pends on your fish man. Plants would add some color though and I second the background idea as that would just make the tank look nicer. I wouldn't worry too much about your fish coloring up. They look great to me. I would worry about that stocklist that is in there though. In about 6 months when they are all putting some size on I am guessing you will need another filter then to keep up with the bioload and may also need to rehome a couple fish. A lot of folks will tell you that that 75 will only be big enough for the flowerhorn. I had a flowehorn, a tex, a jag, and a midas in a 75 back in the day and ended up rehoming my flowerhorn as he kept kicking the crap out of/killing my other fish. I had another 75 gallon set up that was also pretty over crowded and that worked for awhile too but I wouldn't try it again. Just keep an eye on it as they grow. That's my 2 cents. The fish and the set up looks really good! Keep it up!
