Well I have met up with Travis Simonson(who is a member of this board) on The Age of Aquariums to ask whether he would like to show off his beautiful planted Mbuna tank, and he agreed. Take a look at his tank, which I think is a great accomplishment because he actually took the risk of using plants other than Anubias and Microsorum; and all I have to say is that it is awesome!
wow..that looks amazing. im currently planting my mbuna tank as well but its not going to look anywhere as nice as yours. I suggest adding some Haplochromic of Peacocks! Many have amazing colors and are carnivores rather than mbunas that are herbivores and more likely to chew up the plants.
Hi Travis .
I still like your tank very much. I would lose the ricia though (don't shoot me, just my personal taste) because I always feel it looks out of place tied to whatever keeps it down. When I compare it with your other plants, for instance your Amania before that green stone which I absolutely love, it looks artificial.
Ed
That's stunning Travis! Now I can see why African Cichlid tanks are called freshwater reefs, especially with the rock work and the color contrasts you have. I'd like to see you enter this aquarium into this years ADA and AGA contests, I'm sure everyone would be surprised at such an extraordinary accomplishment.
If you're looking for a substitute for the Riccia try an Eriocaulon(not sure how it would do in your hard water) or Lobelia cardinalis 'dwarf'. On the other hand, I heard you were going to use Java fern..where are you planning on placing it?
Thanks, I'm glad you guys like it Sorry it took me so long to reply, my gmail account has been acting sketchy lately and notices of posts to threads on APC haven't been coming through.
I don't know much about entering tanks in competitions Raul, and I'm not sure my tank is at a point yet where I'd even want to. When is the ADA this year? I know the AGA is at the end of the year (November?) so I figure I've got plenty of time to grow some plants before then.
I just put some Java Fern in on the right side of the tank a few days ago. Standard, Windelov, and Narrow-leaf to see which ones look best. The left half of the tank is basically where I want it but the right half still needs work. At least that's the way I see it. I'm still experimenting with what types of plants will work in my tank because of the fish and the hard water and have had to scrap and redo plans several times because something just wasn't working.
I'd like to thank cS for sending me so many cool species to try out even when the plants that I sent in return ended up getting lost in the mail and taking seven days to get there, which wasn't pretty. cS sent me some Lobelia cardinalis 'Small Form' which should be arriving today, so I'll be adding it to the aquascape. I'm getting a bit tired of the monthly rebuilding the Riccia requires and may replace the Riccia on the left side as suggested. There's a really pretty C. blassii trying to grow up from behind it anyway
I'll post some more close-ups when I get some good ones. Thanks again guys
Here are three top-down shots of the right half of my tank, moving left-to-right. The Java fern obviously has some growing to do, but I hope this gives you an idea of the layout of the plants from an AGA layout-type perspective. I would love to hear any ideas as I'm not settled on how I would like things to look. Thanks
That is an amazing looking tank Travis. You say the fish are breeding. Are the fry living and growing? I would be interested how the pH is affecting the sex of the fry. It does not look as if you have the tank heavily populated with fish, so with plenty of cover and room the fish will be less aggressive and do less digging. I am surprised though you did not use more rocks
Thanks guys I will make a point of noting the sex of the fry as they mature. I was not aware that there was a pH/sex relation with FW fish but it sounds very interesting. The tank really isn't very crowded given its size and the current size of the fish living in it. At any given time I've usually got two to three Ps. demasoni and/or L. caeruleus holding. The demasoni seem especially prolific and the number of surviving fry has reached or exceeded the number of adult fish of the species. Every day things seem to get more interesting
I think the tank is incredible, the way you have the riccia and glosso thriving like that is something I would love to achieve but I'm nowhere near that yet.
I'd like to know more about why you chose to keep mbuna in a tank like this? I have recently designed two mbuna tanks for my friend, a 240 litre and 400 litre using only rocks to create a kind of mound. The fish seem to love this as it gives them loads of hiding places and the rock formation must have hundreds of concealed corners and crevices to hide in. Consequently the fish are thriving and producing fry all the time. The rocks are a kind of grey colour and under white/blueish lighting the tank looks pretty good.
Neil - this tank really started life about 6 1/2 months ago as a lightly planted mbuna-specific tank. I wanted to keep a few plants around the rocks to add some color. I had the right lights to begin with but I found out quickly that algae would be a real problem unless I added CO2. That's when things really got interesting I realized that I could keep just about anything that would tolerate hard water and I've been cramming in new species almost weekly since then. I'm fighting collector-itis very hard right now and set up a second 30G tank just for the overflow.
I am curious if u have any tricks that u do to keep the mbuna from eating the plants? I am in the process of setting up my tank and i sound just like u. I am just lightly planting it but as i find myself purchasing better lighting and about to do Co2 i have a feeling its going to be heavily planted. its going to be mostly carnivores (haps/peacocks) im just afraid of them shredding up the plants. heres what it looks like now..please gimme any suggestions for some hardy plants u think would be good for my setup. http://www.wtfhost.com/userfiles/Bavarian3/tankOT2.jpg
commandantp - J'ai les cichlides d'Afrique a Malawi
Bavarian - I keep mainly mbuna so I can't really tell you how haps or peacocks might react, although I know someone who is having good luck with peacocks and plants. My rules are: keep the smaller mbuna that don't have a proclivity for digging; keep your plants algae free (mbuna are algae grazers); and feed your fish well so they don't seek out alternative food sources. I can't really say what the secret is, but those three rules have worked for me
I would suggest starting out with some hearty, fast-growing plants if you've got a lot of lighting: Java ferns, Hygrophila (just about any kind), Ceratopteris thalictroides. Later on you can add in all sorts of other plants, cryptocorynes are one of my favorites, and I've never seen my mbuna touch them. Don't be hesitant to try new plants once you get CO2 running either. You'd be surprised what you can keep alive in an African cichlid tank. Good luck
That really is a fantastic tank Travis! I used to have a 30gal that was home to many cichlids over time, but became the main house for my frontosa I got when he was an inch long and kept him when he was about 10" long at least! Anyway, your tank is inspiring and wish I had another tank!
Bavarian - I keep mainly mbuna so I can't really tell you how haps or peacocks might react, although I know someone who is having good luck with peacocks and plants. My rules are: keep the smaller mbuna that don't have a proclivity for digging; keep your plants algae free (mbuna are algae grazers); and feed your fish well so they don't seek out alternative food sources. I can't really say what the secret is, but those three rules have worked for me
I see, thats one thing i was curious about cuz i know bigger mbuna would definetly have more chance of shredding the plants. Im seen some fairly large demasoni at the lfs though...
One question about keeping the plants algea free. My tank is new so it appears im gettting diatom algea. The plants get really dirty and if i shake them a big cloud of particles wil come off it. so how do u keep the tank algea free? Especially with that much light.
Diatom/brown algae will usually disappear in a few weeks time. It is symptomatic of the conditions often found in newly set up tanks. With high lighting, my first advice would be to get CO2 supplementation running. It is the best and easiest way to give your plants the edge they need to out-compete the algae that will thrive under the lighting. You'll very likely need to supplement nutrients as well. There are a bunch of great threads here on APC about nutrient dosing if you run a search.
Some new pictures I took today. Over the last couple of weeks I've added some incredible plants that cS sent me: Isoetes japonica, Myriophyllum matogrossense, Microsorum pteropus 'Windelov', and dwarf-form Riccia fluitans. I am still amazed at the perfect condition of these plants when I received them. I will do my best to make sure they stay as healthy as they were when I put them in cS. Also pictured: some Pogostemon stellata 'Broad Leaf' that is really starting to take off, a large Nuphar japonicum v Formosa lily that has recently started putting out a lot of new growth, and a stand of Limnophila aromatica in the background that is about ready to grow out of the tank.
You have inspired me to get better at plants. So i can set up my 125 gal. Never thought it could look so good . This tank ranks up with the reef tanks that i have seen on the net.
What is that goldish broad leaved plant left center w/ the really long petioles and ruffled leaves?
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