Can’t stand Alpaca’s wants to know:
I have a 55 gallon freshwater tank that has been established for approximately 2 months. I recently added very finely crushed coral for my substrate and am planning on housing the tank with a few different African Cichlids.
I have a 55 gallon freshwater tank that has been established for approximately 2 months. I recently added very finely crushed coral for my substrate and am planning on housing the tank with a few different African Cichlids.
1) Can I add plants to my tank using what I have?
2) Is it time consuming? (More than a couple of hours a week)
3) What is CO2 Fertilization? I’ve read to do this in some different literature I’ve found. Does any know if it is costly? (More than $20 a month.)
August 19th, 2009 at 5:51 am
Sure. plant an iris in there.
August 19th, 2009 at 6:16 am
1) no
2) yes
3) ?
August 21st, 2009 at 10:12 pm
coral usually is used for saltwater tanks…as it dissolves, it will change the Ph of the water and poison the fish.
I guess you could add plants but, depending on the fish, they may eat it.
Live plants can become expensive if that happens and they are messy as they drop leaves like the land plants do.
August 23rd, 2009 at 5:21 am
I have a 10 gallon, have had it for over a year, but I haven’t added any live plants yet. I don’t want the hassle. However, I plan on upgrading to a 55 gallon as well, and I also want cichlids! I’m still trying to decide which type to get. Anyway, I don’t think it’s too time-consuming, but you have to have the right type of lighting and stuff like that. And some fish nibble or eat the plants, which doesn’t look nice. I’m happy with fake plants- you can find some that look great and really real, and you can switch them around when you get bored. I know what you mean though, real plants are still great since they’re, well, real lol. I got you some links to help you out. Good luck!
August 24th, 2009 at 3:15 am
cichlids are very good at destroying plants. to get around this you can get plants that aren’t rooted — you tie them to rocks and driftwood and sink them. they are also very easy to grow and require no special care. these are — java fern, java moss and the anubias family of plants.
if you want plants other than these than do your homework. some will require you get more light, some will require fertilization and some will require co2. a lot of plants will grow faster than these and you have to trim them regularly. there are many that look anemic if you dont’ fertilize but if you do they take over your tank.
there are no set answers for aquatic plants. you can’t grow oak trees the same way you grow orchids. start with some java moss and java fern and go from there. there are lots of dealers online and on ebay.
August 24th, 2009 at 5:23 pm
no don’t bother with plants because ciclid are notorious for digging up plants.
but if you really want to you can add plants however you will need plant substrate, which is esential.
its not time consuming just remove any dead leaves, of plants. You’ll need to have you light on for at least 6-7 hours a day
as for c02 alot plants really don’t need it. easy plant are amazon swords, hair grass, etc
this can really help you
August 27th, 2009 at 6:13 pm
African Cichlids are very destructive to all forms of life it seems—–they will destroy plants and fish of other species——-as for the coral—–not good in fresh water——-recommend you get rid of it—-clean your tank and start over——sorry for all the bad news but its the truth.—-also—-i just read the mans post above me—–dustmaster—–went to the web site he provided—-it is extremely informative—–will be going back to learn more.
August 30th, 2009 at 7:47 am
not a good idea…first of all plants need a softer, more acidic water than you would have in a cichlid tank and the crushed coral would not be good for the plants
many of the plants that are sold at pet shops are not aquatic plants at all, simply houseplants that will survive underwater for
a while
the africans will dig up plants so much that you will tire of re-decorating every day or two, you’d be better off using a nice rock scape
September 1st, 2009 at 6:57 am
yes you can add plants
the plants aren’t time consuming
co2 fertilization…you can get a kit for about $40.00 and then go to and click on their articles…it will tell you how to make your own co2 production using yeast and baking soda—really cheaply.
September 1st, 2009 at 10:18 am
sure plants are making oxygen in the weather an offers an real image for the fish
September 3rd, 2009 at 8:26 pm
1) kinda
2) very
3) $3 a month after initial setup costs.
Coral isn’t the best substrate for plants. It raises the ph. Most plants require a more acidic ph in order to metabolize nutrients. Most planted tanks and cichlid tanks use opposite ends of the scale for gravel. Planted tanks usually use neutral or acidic soils like flourite. Most cichlid tanks use basic buffers like crush coral in the substrate so that you can keep the ph of the water higher without adding chemicals. There are some plants that do well in gravel that contians coral. It will limit your choices though. The best plant for your setup would be anything from the apontogen family of plants. Simple apontogen crispus seeds from walmart or petco will do fine in your tank. They don’t seem to mind coral in the substrate at all. You will probably not be able to grow any flowery plants like water lillies though.
Planted aquariums are very time consuming. If you get anything with leaves, you will have to prune the dead leaves on the underside away every week unless you want hair algae. Throwing a couple apontogen bulbs in, is easy, but trying to maintain anything more complex gets very time consuming.
co2 is the best thing for plants besides light. There are many species of plants that will just slowly die unless you add co2 to the tank. if you google “DIY Co2″ you will come up with many cheap formulas to make it. 2 cups of sugar & 1/2 teaspoon of yeast in a 2 litre bottle is the basic formula. Again with the planted vs cichlid thing…. co2 produces carbonic acid which lowers the ph of the tank; something that’s in direct opposition to the preferences of the africans.
You should check out some books on african cichlids & see a little more about where they come from. Their habitat is rocky with lots of caves & open swimming areas. There isn’t much vegitation. Their mouths are made to scrape algae from rocks.
September 5th, 2009 at 8:27 pm
Depending on which Africans you have, some will mess up the plants as they are algae grazers in the wild.
Coral as gravel? That’s going to mess around with your chemical make up in your freshwater. The fish may like it but most plants won’t.
If you do live plants …. make sure to use fluorescent lights with full spectrum tubes. You can also use a touch of aquarium plant fertilizer, not too much though.
Kev