Looking for: Aquascaped Cichlid tanks.

[leemonk]

Hi,

I am wondering if there is much in the world of the above.

I'm refering to Rocks more so than Plants as I know that plants tend not to last to long with Cichlids.

Regards

Lee

 

[wearsbunnyslippers]

and i remember another one where the guys had used magnets attached to bath sponges with ferns attached to those, it looked pretty cool, will try and find a pic..

 

[mrjackdempsey]

Can't call it aquascaped for legal reasons but have a 5' tank bursting with plants with a Jack Dempsey,Salvinis, Convicts in it but they can plough through plants and dig holes but great personalities, and another with Angels and Acaras,another with egyptian mouth brooders (mother plus three seperate broods,, she killed daddy for coming too close), another with 7 keyholes and 3 sheepshead acara but they are quite gentle.All tanks are over 80% planted

 

[George Farmer]

Lee Nuttall has done a load of decent biotope stuff, and specialises in cichlids.

http://www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/c ... p?sid=3493

 

[Gfish]

Check out my thread on here:-
'South American 720litre high tech'

More wood and plants than rocks but it's set up as a Geophagus Pindare cichlid community tank

Cheers

Gavin

 

[leemonk]

thanks guys for all the replies.... going to look through them now.

Regards

Lee

 

[sanj]

and i remember another one where the guys had used magnets attached to bath sponges with ferns attached to those, it looked pretty cool, will try and find a pic..

That looks like Travis's tank from back in 2004/5.

 

[George Farmer]

Another one -

http://www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/c ... p?sid=3872

The only issue for me with non-planted tanks is that once they're aquascaped - that's it. I tend to get bored quite soon.

However, I've never kept cichlids that I imagine keep your interest levels up to compensate due to their interesting behaviour and stunning colours.

I'm not a fan of planted tanks containing Mbuna - they just look too unnatural for my taste.

I need to set up a Mbuna cichlid rock-based 'scape at some point.

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,

I need to set up a Mbuna cichlid rock-based 'scape at some point. I'm not a fan of planted tanks containing Mbuna - they just look too un-natural for my taste.

I've always liked the idea of a Malawi or Tanganyika cichlid tank. When I looked into it there are actually quite few vascular plants native to the Rift Valley lakes, although they don't tend to grow on the rock outcrops favoured by the Mbuna. I'd definitely include plants for their beneficial effect on water quality, although my suspicion is that the Mbuna would eat them.

If you have a big enough tank, or keep Utaka, Haps or Aulonocara spp., an area of sand could be planted with Vallisneria (biotope specific for either lake would be V. aethiopica). As an example the "Malawi Eye Biter" (what a great name- sounds like a WWF wrestler) - Dimidiochromis compressiceps is strongly associated in the lake with Vallisneria beds.

My ideal set-up would be a pre-tank phyto-filter "Sudd" with Cyperus papyrus and then a lot of rock work and sand in the tank and it would have to be a big tank.

Other plants present in Lake Malawi are floaters/detached immersed such as Salvinia, Riccia, Azolla, Pistia, Ceratophyllum & Ceratopteris which are all apparently widely distributed over the lake. A fuller list is here: <http://ramsar.wetlands.org/Portals/15/MALAWI.pdf> & <http://www.wetwebmedia.com/ca/volume_6/volume_6_1/placidochromis.htm>.

cheers Darrel

 

[sanj]

Ive thought about a Mbuna aquarium on several occasions, but I just cant get excited enough about them. I have only seen a handfull (if that) of decent mbuna hardscapes. It is a challenge indeed.