fish_tank0311 Posted August 17, 2010 Report Share Posted August 17, 2010 "Electric Yellows In A Planted Tank? (can it be done?)" Pretty much all i got to say... I saw down at animates botany here in howick they have e yellows in a bowfront tank, looks about 100 litres just a bit bigger than mine and the tank is fully planted with ambulia, indian fern, and some kinda sword plants, pretty much the same as my tank. I have been going on now to my parents and stuff for about 3 months now how im going through all this effort and stuff, to change my tank to a full on cichlid tank, i already bought the 2 different sands im mixing, and the limestone rocks, but now im thinking.... is it worth it??.... Whenever i go onto the net and look for inspiration for rockwork, i see these boring ass tanks with rocks chucked around in the tank, not looking natural at all, and millions of fish in the tank (obviously overstocked), just swimming right up the front of the tank, backwards and forwards, over and over, not actually exploring the tank and taking territories and living their life, to me i find that so boring, i want my tank to look 100% natural, with lots of action, not just boring fish swimming up the front of the tank mindlessly doing nothing. Imagine yourself living your life normally, now imagine yourself in your bedroom, pacing up and down the room, 1 million times a day, doing nothing else. Thats what i feel these fish are like. I know this sounds like a rant but i have been all up this idea of doing a makeover of my planted tank for a cichlid so i can get e yellows cos they awesome, but im not sure if there is much point, if all i will get this boring upset of a tank, that costed me a fortune. Yes fortune im 13 years old. Ok once i got typing i did have a bit more to say than just "can it be done" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phoenix44 Posted August 17, 2010 Report Share Posted August 17, 2010 sure it can be done. No zebras though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fish_tank0311 Posted August 17, 2010 Author Report Share Posted August 17, 2010 What about the gravel too though. Its gonna look weird with this white as sand with plants??? What im looking for is someone to assure me that these fish are in fact interesting enough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryanjury Posted August 17, 2010 Report Share Posted August 17, 2010 lol it is interesting that you say it is unnatural that people have mbuna in tanks with only rocks and overcrowded I think you need to do a little more research into the fish that you are talking about and their natural environment you might be surprised Anyway yellows and dems and even peacocks can be kept with plants some of them may eat them or dig a little but as long as you have good light and the plants are growing they are fine, gravel colour/type doesn't matter most use the white stuff because it buffers the water but there are other ways of doing this.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phoenix44 Posted August 17, 2010 Report Share Posted August 17, 2010 My old tank PS- silica sand is eww :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fish_tank0311 Posted August 17, 2010 Author Report Share Posted August 17, 2010 Its just i dont think the plants would look nice over white sand. And wont the plants be unhappy in such hard and high pH water? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryanjury Posted August 17, 2010 Report Share Posted August 17, 2010 You obviously have to choose the right plants for the setup, and harder ones that the fish won't eat.. I have java fern, anubais and don't have val growing happily in hard water with tropheus.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phoenix44 Posted August 17, 2010 Report Share Posted August 17, 2010 Choose your plants well. A planted tank would look odd with african rift lake and tang cichlids in it. A tank with plants will look fine. but that silica sand will ruin it in my opinion. A darker sand is always nice, or as you can see in the above tank; no sand at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
si_sphinx Posted August 17, 2010 Report Share Posted August 17, 2010 it will look natural and interesting if you make it that way. Its up to you how you scape your tank. african cichlids are suposed to be kept in big groups as that is how they are in the wild. Yellows will look good in a planted tank if you make it look good with logs and a few rocks. a planted tank is not their natural biotype so it might not look as natural as you want it. Check out my tank i did with wood, plants and rocks, (it also had white sand which can make the plants look brighter) just for an idea. http://fnzas.org.nz/fishroom/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=39179&start=135&sid=7ae9b05c35b289e00cd9e92b4f127f6c Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
firenzenz Posted August 17, 2010 Report Share Posted August 17, 2010 The only Thing i'd add is that I wouldn't worry too much about Ph levels with yellows unless it is unusually low, ( less than 7). I think plants will be fine with them. I've seen yellows in planted community set ups. But a 100ltr tank is too small for a group of yellows or a single adult for that matter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.