[Yip812]

I have a 30 gallon tank that houses one jack dempsey cichlid, he's about 4. I just started a low-tech 5 gallon planted tank, and was starting to think some plants would be beneficial for my dempsey.

I can't spend alot of money on this, because I can see planting lots of nice plants and having him rip them out during one of his hissy fits (he's generally peaceful, but hates water changes or too much chaos near/in his tank). I was thinking a big piece of driftwood and some java moss, and maybe some hornwort and/or java ferns.

It's pretty low light - 20w.

Also, putting soil under the gravel would be a disaster, but I don't want to add co2 either.

Can java moss/ferns live in these conditions? The algae seems healthy

Dawn

 

[fshfanatic]

a 29/30 gallon tank is way too small for even a single Dempsey, you do realize that a fully grown mature Dempsey can reach 10-12", right?

 

[Yip812]

I put him in a 55 and he hid all the time, and when he wasn't hiding, he was thrashing around (not happily swimming around, I thought he was going to hurt himself). I put him back in the 30 and he was happy. He's tempermental, and doesn't like change. He's also quite healthy.

He's 4 years old, and 8-9 inches.

 

[Lionsfan]

Java fern is a tough plant and can be attached to heavy driftwood.