cichlids and plants

[cbster]

i am cycling a 55 gal. tank and added plants to it then thought about cichlids and read quite a few questions about it. can it or can't it be done that is the question

 

[scooter]

in my experince witch is only one tank ....i have had no luck with plastic plants and even less with live plants i have sand in the bottom of my tank and my fish are always moving stuff around...even rocks are a problem some times...but i have larger cichlids

 

[Cian McLiam]

It depends entirely on the type of Cichlids. Cichlids from different biotopes have different needs, Central American or Cichlids from the great lakes in Africa will not have much vegetation in their natural habitat as the water does not suit plant life. South American Cichlids prefer plants such as amazon swords etc for cover and for breeding purposes, while Discus will live hapily with plants with proper care,but dont have vegetation in their natural homes.
What you need to do is decide on a type of cichlid and work their needs into your tank design, if you go for south american, plants are fine, if you go for african fish from lake malawi etc then plants arent appropriate or sustainable unless you can get very hardy plants.
Choose whether you really want plants, or whether the species of fish is more important, then decide on plants.

Ken

 

[Juggernaut22988]

I see that the cichlid tanks at the lfs always has plants
but then again, they also have smaller fish (It is a big display tank)

 

[smb]

I see that the cichlid tanks at the lfs always has plants
but then again, they also have smaller fish (It is a big display tank)

Yea, the smaller fish help if you want plants and will probably change when the cichlids get bigger. The lfs also has a high fish turnover rate so the cichlids might only be in there for a few days or so, not enough time to cause any damage.