They will dig an uproot plants, but it can be done if there are enough of the right types of plants - then he'll probably just dig up certain areas. At 2.5 inches he's just a babyand hasn't found his territorial instincts yet.
Well thats a pretty bad thing, my tank is planted and a lot of money has been put forth for plants and plant needs. Is there really anything besides kribs, and is an african cichlid that can be put in a planted tank?
Even though Labs won't eat plants they still dig and might tear them up - I'm really not sure. If you can fit in a bunch of caves among the plants I suppose it might work.