Green Thumb Aquatics

this is a bit of a dif style scape as its for cichlids (aulonocara)

the white rock in the back is only temp, just weight down some wood, this is tank with all equipment, all fits nice but you see the powerhead for the CO2 a little too much

need to finish planting tomorrow, may even try a little stauro porto velho on the right hand foreground, not sure if the lighting/CO2 will be enough as its med lighting at best, 2 65 watt coralife power compact with 6 month old bulbs and the worst reflectors I have ever seen aside from plain white ones.. looks like brushed aluminum





tomorrow will do all the anubias and ferns, there will be alot of them....

iamivan90

Looks pretty cool so far..The wood makes me think of roots from a tree..should look better when the plants are settled in and fuller..

Robert Henry

Very nice tank. Not too many african cichlid planted tanks on here. But what's up with the white board in the background and the message to "young people of america"? And "Lust"? You must really love that tank.

Michael

Interesting--I'm always curious to see planted Rift Lake tanks. I love the cichlids, but dislike the usual plantless moonscape tanks they are kept in.

Green Thumb Aquatics

funny what people think of the writing on the wall, those are just quotes, the young people of america is part of Hunter S Thompsons first published work...

I have quotes on all types of stuff on the walls in this room only, everything from Thomas Edison to Chuck Palahniuk

round 2 of planting almost done

DonaldmBoyer

Looks really nice! Must be a bit annoying to plant it with the hardscape in place, though! I suppose that if you've been doing this hobby for a while, your arms, wrists, and shoulders know how to contort in ways most people wouldn't know. No problems with the little jerks--I mean--"cichlids" uprooting or trying nibble at the plants yet?

Michael. I totally agree. It is kind of unfortunate, too, because those Africans rely almost completely on eating the algae that grows on the rocks.....the most accurate African tank SHOULD have algae-covered rock in it, and NOT look like a moonscape.

Green Thumb Aquatics

only one stem of hygro pinnatifida and one crypt plant, one stauro stem have been uprooted, as they setup territories they should get to each have a little place they dig and leave the rest alone for the most part...

so I will probably be doing a decent amount of replanting over the next coupla weeks, but the plants as doing good, new leaves on some of the plants already, the vals are already sending out runners too... its only been a couple days...

AaronT

They won't eat the plants? I thought African cichlids all ate plants?

HeyPK

For many of them, it is not so much that they eat the plants as they uproot them.

Green Thumb Aquatics

Aulonocara sp are good at not eating plants, I have never had them eat any of the plants, and they have been in planted tanks for the last couple years...

generally each of the males have a place they will dig out a little, you need to let them have this small area and they will leave the rest alone, so although you may have to rescape some during the first month or so of a new setup, after that you know where you can put plants and where you cant, generally the area is only a few inches around, the Ngara already staked his claim on a little spot over in the rocks on the left, nice and out of the way where not many plants were anyway, we will see with the others.... also that is why I wanted to add CO2 to this tank as it would give the plants a chance to root faster so they could not be pulled up