planted Cichid tanks... what has worked for you???

[Magnum Man]

I'm sure it's no surprise that chicles can be hard on plants... I had an angel once that would mow off the twisted val's, as fast as they would grow... I started off with a dozen or so plants, so it took a while to mow them all down to nubs... the fish pruning seems to stimulate growth, but in 3 months one angel was capable of trimming off all the green...

so I have an impossible tank of mixed cichlids, and wanted plants... the pothos roots are holding up to persistent pruning... they have never really messed with the java ferns, other than to relocate them... even anubias aren't necessarily safe they plucked all the leaves from a coffeefola, and a nana plant, early on, but my large size Congensis, seems fine, not sure if it's a sturdier plant, or just large enough???

what has worked for you???

 

[gwand]

In my African tank with Pelvicachromis pulcher and Anomalochromis thomasi, my Amazon swords and various anubias have been left alone. The same is true in my tank with Apistogramma cacatuoide.

 

[connorlindeman]

I had plants in my Neolamprologus similis tank. They didnt bother them. They are a very small cichlid though.

 

[Magnum Man]

I'm sure a lot varies by individual fish... currently my 2 angels pretty much leave the plants alone... back in the old days, I had oscar's, and mine seemed to look at plants as punching bags... come to think of it I don't think I've ever seen an oscar tank with anything but drift wood and maybe some plastic plants... the piranha's I had back then, would also mow off any live plants... in both of those cases, maybe they were just getting rid of prey hiding places, because I don't believe either ate them...

 

[GaryE]

I have had Cichlids that wouldn't only destroy all plants, but also demolished all duckweed. Some do it to clear sightlines for breeding spots, and others for food, or boredom.

Most of my dwarf Cichlids don't care about plants either way. Their tanks have Valls, Rotala and unrooted plants - Anubias, Bolbitis and java ferns/moss. But rainforest dwarf Cichlids that stay small like their tanks more than large Cichlids seem to. A Cichlid that runs out of space when it swims 3 body lengths is going to get bored fast.

I think little Cichlids who hide tolerate plants. Fish like Central Americans, who fight for space in densely packed environments want their sightlines, and Mbuna types eat plants. I've found non herbivorous South American Cichlidds not to care, unless they're bored by the tank environment. A lot of them like fast moving, open water though, and I expect plants can be seen as places to be ambushed from.

 

[Fishkeeper123]

I'm sure it's no surprise that chicles can be hard on plants... I had an angel once that would mow off the twisted val's, as fast as they would grow... I started off with a dozen or so plants, so it took a while to mow them all down to nubs... the fish pruning seems to stimulate growth, but in 3 months one angel was capable of trimming off all the green...

so I have an impossible tank of mixed cichlids, and wanted plants... the pothos roots are holding up to persistent pruning... they have never really messed with the java ferns, other than to relocate them... even anubias aren't necessarily safe they plucked all the leaves from a coffeefola, and a nana plant, early on, but my large size Congensis, seems fine, not sure if it's a sturdier plant, or just large enough???

what has worked for you???

My cichlids(EBA, keyhole and Bolivian ram) seem to leave most plants alone. However the acara is constantly digging up some guppy grass I planted but nothing else.

 

[Uberhoust]

I'm sure it's no surprise that chicles can be hard on plants... I had an angel once that would mow off the twisted val's, as fast as they would grow... I started off with a dozen or so plants, so it took a while to mow them all down to nubs... the fish pruning seems to stimulate growth, but in 3 months one angel was capable of trimming off all the green...

That is interesting, I have 8 angels in a 75 gal tank and they seem to only pick at the damaged sections of the plants. They are lightly fed but they have a lot of ramshorn snails in the tank which I believe they eat any of the juveniles they can find. I will note that my spiral vals don't do as well as my jungle val, but it looks like they are outcompeted not grazed. My fish have a lot of open space to swim wondering if they had less space would they work on the plants to make some? One wonders at why the difference in behavior, if we could identify the cause of the difference, it would make designing an aquarium easier.