I was staring at what I consider my awesome tank today (in my mind anyway), and thinking of all the things that "shouldn't have worked".
When I first started my tank 3 years ago, I really had little clue what I was doing other than "advice" from fish store experts. Being an outdoorsman, I figured I knew a lot about fish, but I guess tropical fish are different, so I was told.
Cichlids like a rocky tank they can't be in a planted tank..... WRONG.
That's like saying poor people prefer to live cardboard shacks. I have a large tank that is 1/2 barren and rocky divided by a wall, and 1/2 heavily planted. Most of the cichlids should be in the rocks, they are not... and I thought they would tear up the plants?
The following plants have been thriving for 2 years.
- Ruffled Sword, Amazon Sword, and Oriental Sword
- Brazilian Pennywort
- Anubias Nano, Anubias Lancelota, Anubias Barteri
- Java Fern (both types)
- Rotala. (actually not thriving because a gourami like to eat it... not a cichlid)
You can't put other fish with Cichlids..... WRONG
Lets see... I have
9 cichlids (2 habs, 2 dwarf pikes, 2 peacocks, and 3 unknown exactly)
2 Black Ghost Knife Fish
1 Rocket Gar
2 Gourami's
1 African Butterfly Fish
1 Leaf Fish
1 Columbian Shark
1 Red Tail Shark
1 Dragon Goby (which I was told could never survive because he is brackish)- Well he is 3 years old and over a foot
1 Rope Fish
1 Raphael Catfish
3 Rainbows
7 Tetras (mostly Congo)
3 Barbs
3 Cory Cats
3 Chinese Algae Eaters
1 Rhino Pleco
a bunch of octo catfish
1 Bumbleebee Catfish (maybe?)
Now I do have a problem with 1 of the unknown Cichlids, he constantly picks on two of the other Cichlids constantly as of late. But that is it. In fact, the Red Tail Shark is probably the biggest jerk in the tank other than that one Cichlid.
The reason I feel I have been successful is because I applied one principal I see in nature: give a fish or any animal plenty of room, their own terrain, den, hiding place etc.. and they will learn to co-exist. For me it seems to have worked, most of this roommates are going on 3 years now.
Oh yeah, PH.... never checked it, ever, fish adapt... and quite easily, personally I think it's a myth. Ever been to the Florida Everglades? You should see the fourishing invasive species of African Cichlids there, and you can't get too much different in PH.
View attachment 807102View attachment 807103View attachment 807104
I was staring at what I consider my awesome tank today (in my mind anyway), and thinking of all the things that "shouldn't have worked".
When I first started my tank 3 years ago, I really had little clue what I was doing other than "advice" from fish store experts. Being an outdoorsman, I figured I knew a lot about fish, but I guess tropical fish are different, so I was told.
Cichlids like a rocky tank they can't be in a planted tank..... WRONG.
That's like saying poor people prefer to live cardboard shacks. I have a large tank that is 1/2 barren and rocky divided by a wall, and 1/2 heavily planted. Most of the cichlids should be in the rocks, they are not... and I thought they would tear up the plants?
The following plants have been thriving for 2 years.
- Ruffled Sword, Amazon Sword, and Oriental Sword
- Brazilian Pennywort
- Anubias Nano, Anubias Lancelota, Anubias Barteri
- Java Fern (both types)
- Rotala. (actually not thriving because a gourami like to eat it... not a cichlid)
You can't put other fish with Cichlids..... WRONG
Lets see... I have
9 cichlids (2 habs, 2 dwarf pikes, 2 peacocks, and 3 unknown exactly)
2 Black Ghost Knife Fish
1 Rocket Gar
2 Gourami's
1 African Butterfly Fish
1 Leaf Fish
1 Columbian Shark
1 Red Tail Shark
1 Dragon Goby (which I was told could never survive because he is brackish)- Well he is 3 years old and over a foot
1 Rope Fish
1 Raphael Catfish
3 Rainbows
7 Tetras (mostly Congo)
3 Barbs
3 Cory Cats
3 Chinese Algae Eaters
1 Rhino Pleco
a bunch of octo catfish
1 Bumbleebee Catfish (maybe?)
Now I do have a problem with 1 of the unknown Cichlids, he constantly picks on two of the other Cichlids constantly as of late. But that is it. In fact, the Red Tail Shark is probably the biggest jerk in the tank other than that one Cichlid.
The reason I feel I have been successful is because I applied one principal I see in nature: give a fish or any animal plenty of room, their own terrain, den, hiding place etc.. and they will learn to co-exist. For me it seems to have worked, most of this roommates are going on 3 years now.
Oh yeah, PH.... never checked it, ever, fish adapt... and quite easily, personally I think it's a myth. Ever been to the Florida Everglades? You should see the fourishing invasive species of African Cichlids there, and you can't get too much different in PH.
View attachment 807102View attachment 807103View attachment 807104
wish I had a better camera, but aren't the volcanoes awesome when they go off at night?
When I first started my tank 3 years ago, I really had little clue what I was doing other than "advice" from fish store experts. Being an outdoorsman, I figured I knew a lot about fish, but I guess tropical fish are different, so I was told.
Cichlids like a rocky tank they can't be in a planted tank..... WRONG.
That's like saying poor people prefer to live cardboard shacks. I have a large tank that is 1/2 barren and rocky divided by a wall, and 1/2 heavily planted. Most of the cichlids should be in the rocks, they are not... and I thought they would tear up the plants?
The following plants have been thriving for 2 years.
- Ruffled Sword, Amazon Sword, and Oriental Sword
- Brazilian Pennywort
- Anubias Nano, Anubias Lancelota, Anubias Barteri
- Java Fern (both types)
- Rotala. (actually not thriving because a gourami like to eat it... not a cichlid)
You can't put other fish with Cichlids..... WRONG
Lets see... I have
9 cichlids (2 habs, 2 dwarf pikes, 2 peacocks, and 3 unknown exactly)
2 Black Ghost Knife Fish
1 Rocket Gar
2 Gourami's
1 African Butterfly Fish
1 Leaf Fish
1 Columbian Shark
1 Red Tail Shark
1 Dragon Goby (which I was told could never survive because he is brackish)- Well he is 3 years old and over a foot
1 Rope Fish
1 Raphael Catfish
3 Rainbows
7 Tetras (mostly Congo)
3 Barbs
3 Cory Cats
3 Chinese Algae Eaters
1 Rhino Pleco
a bunch of octo catfish
1 Bumbleebee Catfish (maybe?)
Now I do have a problem with 1 of the unknown Cichlids, he constantly picks on two of the other Cichlids constantly as of late. But that is it. In fact, the Red Tail Shark is probably the biggest jerk in the tank other than that one Cichlid.
The reason I feel I have been successful is because I applied one principal I see in nature: give a fish or any animal plenty of room, their own terrain, den, hiding place etc.. and they will learn to co-exist. For me it seems to have worked, most of this roommates are going on 3 years now.
Oh yeah, PH.... never checked it, ever, fish adapt... and quite easily, personally I think it's a myth. Ever been to the Florida Everglades? You should see the fourishing invasive species of African Cichlids there, and you can't get too much different in PH.
View attachment 807102View attachment 807103View attachment 807104
I was staring at what I consider my awesome tank today (in my mind anyway), and thinking of all the things that "shouldn't have worked".
When I first started my tank 3 years ago, I really had little clue what I was doing other than "advice" from fish store experts. Being an outdoorsman, I figured I knew a lot about fish, but I guess tropical fish are different, so I was told.
Cichlids like a rocky tank they can't be in a planted tank..... WRONG.
That's like saying poor people prefer to live cardboard shacks. I have a large tank that is 1/2 barren and rocky divided by a wall, and 1/2 heavily planted. Most of the cichlids should be in the rocks, they are not... and I thought they would tear up the plants?
The following plants have been thriving for 2 years.
- Ruffled Sword, Amazon Sword, and Oriental Sword
- Brazilian Pennywort
- Anubias Nano, Anubias Lancelota, Anubias Barteri
- Java Fern (both types)
- Rotala. (actually not thriving because a gourami like to eat it... not a cichlid)
You can't put other fish with Cichlids..... WRONG
Lets see... I have
9 cichlids (2 habs, 2 dwarf pikes, 2 peacocks, and 3 unknown exactly)
2 Black Ghost Knife Fish
1 Rocket Gar
2 Gourami's
1 African Butterfly Fish
1 Leaf Fish
1 Columbian Shark
1 Red Tail Shark
1 Dragon Goby (which I was told could never survive because he is brackish)- Well he is 3 years old and over a foot
1 Rope Fish
1 Raphael Catfish
3 Rainbows
7 Tetras (mostly Congo)
3 Barbs
3 Cory Cats
3 Chinese Algae Eaters
1 Rhino Pleco
a bunch of octo catfish
1 Bumbleebee Catfish (maybe?)
Now I do have a problem with 1 of the unknown Cichlids, he constantly picks on two of the other Cichlids constantly as of late. But that is it. In fact, the Red Tail Shark is probably the biggest jerk in the tank other than that one Cichlid.
The reason I feel I have been successful is because I applied one principal I see in nature: give a fish or any animal plenty of room, their own terrain, den, hiding place etc.. and they will learn to co-exist. For me it seems to have worked, most of this roommates are going on 3 years now.
Oh yeah, PH.... never checked it, ever, fish adapt... and quite easily, personally I think it's a myth. Ever been to the Florida Everglades? You should see the fourishing invasive species of African Cichlids there, and you can't get too much different in PH.
View attachment 807102View attachment 807103View attachment 807104
wish I had a better camera, but aren't the volcanoes awesome when they go off at night?
