RE: Aquatic Plants Digest V6 #71

[Rick Engstrom <rengstrom at shaw_ca>]

Date: Sat, 1 Mar 2003 06:39:14 -0800 (PST)
From: beaker <pweifan at yahoo_com>
Subject: Advice on a New Cichlid Tank

All,

If anyone on-list has experience with a cichlid tank, I have several
questions...

What substrate do you recommend?
What do you add to the water to keep the cichlids happy?
Are you able to grow _any_ plants that the cichlids don't eat or
uproot?
Are you able to get them to breed?
What do you recommend in order to get them to breed?

We're about to move and I thought it was a good excuse to setup an old
tank.  It's a 30 gallon tank 1.5 watts/gallon.  I'll need to buy
substrate for it but I do have some lava rocks for stacking.  I was
thinking of wrapping java moss, java fern and/or anubias on the rocks
in the crevices.  I realize it's a small tank, but from what I've read
controlled over-population might work.  I've got a Penguin 250 BioWheel
for filtration.  I was thinking I'd put a sponge over the intake to
save fry.

TIA,
Scott
aka beaker


what type of Cichlids, South American, Central American, African, it makes a
big difference in water quality and type of plants you may be able to grown.
Many cichlids are substrate diggers, spawners, others spawn in caves. Some
will simply destroy plants, others eat them, some won't touch them. Java
Fern and anubias, are two that are usually left untouched. As far as
substrate and spawning and buffering the water one would have to know the
type of cichlid you plan to keep.

Rick