cichlids and plants

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dunebuggy

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Jan 19, 2008
5
0
0
Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia.
Hello everyone.
The only thing I don't like about my cichlid tank is that there are no plants.
My understanding is that because they like to dig around so much that you can't plant anything in the substrate.
I was thinking about putting one of the large driftwood/plant pieces from life fish.
My concern is that, being vegetarian, the fish might eat it and there goes a very expensive piece.
At the suggestion of a friend, I gave them some of that chinese lettuce (bok choi?) the other day and it was annialated in no time.
So, I have 2 questions...
Does anyone here have plants in there cichlid tank? and...
Is there a particular plant I can buy that they just won't eat.
Note; I have african cichlids and BN's and some other huge catfish I bought recently (don't know it's name.)
Thanks in advance for the help.
Stuart.
 
Its hit or miss. I've had mild success w/swords, anubis is OK, crypts do OK. My fish don't dig them up very much but I do see small bites here and there.
 
The problem I have had is that the plants never look good... IE you put in a sword and it gets eaten, and never really grows to look good. Hence it actually makes your tank look worse than what it did without. The best plants I have had have been types of Java fern. They weren't really eaten and you can at least get two types. (IE the long skinny type and the broad leaf type.)
 
I have a bunch of Anubias with a group of malawi's, and they just ignore the plants completely. They have done very well half-rooted in the sand (aragonite). Lots of new growth and the roots grow everywhere, gives the fish something else to swim through.
 
I kind of have the same Q. I have an empty planted tank, which has lots os long skinny plant... Crypts, cabomba, etc. and i thought instead of tetras and rams or whatever, it would be cool to have like 5 demasoni. If I feed them often and keep em full, do you think my plants will suffer?
 
Gourami Swami;1461094; said:
I kind of have the same Q. I have an empty planted tank, which has lots os long skinny plant... Crypts, cabomba, etc. and i thought instead of tetras and rams or whatever, it would be cool to have like 5 demasoni. If I feed them often and keep em full, do you think my plants will suffer?
Click to expand...

Not sure about Demasoni as I have never kept that species, but I have plants in with my peacocks and yellow labs. Right now I just have Amazon Swords and Jungle Vals but they don't mess with them at all.

Gonna add some Anubius and maybe some javafern as well...Maybe some Crypts too...Dunno yet...
 
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