# Planted Mbuna Tank



## Raul-7

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!

The Tank-


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## JanS

Darn, the pics aren't showing for me. I could use a little inspiration for my Mbuna tank too.....


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## Rob G

Raul, I can't access the photos either. I tried going directly to the site listed under the first photo's properties, but I was redirected to a site requiring a login. Do you think you could save the photos to your computer and re-post them for us?


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## Robert Hudson

The pics aren't working.

Here is George Reclos's Mbuna tank










You can read the article he wrote for me here

http://www.aquabotanic.com/afcichplants.htm


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## tsunami

Fixed.

Carlos


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## Raul-7

Here are the stats on the tank-
*Volume/Size:* 125G(73x18x22)
*Setup:* July 2004 
*Filtration:* 2 Rena Filstar XP3 Canisters
*Heating:* 2 Hydor 300 W In-line Heaters
*Lighting:* 444 Watts Total - 2x96 W 10000 K, 2x96 W 6700 K, 2x30 W 6500 K. Photoperiod 12 Hours/Day with Dawn-Day-Dusk-Night Cycle with Moonlights 
*Substrate:* 1.3 cm Styrofoam Support Base, 2.5 cm Caribsea Cichlid Sand covered with 5 cm Caribsea Eco-Complete Plant Substrate (used to create hills and terraces) 
*Decoration:* 70 kg of Lace Rock, 2 pieces of Driftwood (unknown origin), numerous Riccia rocks 
*Others:* JBJ Pressurized CO2 Regulator and Bubble Counter with Milwaukee SMS122 pH Controller and AB AquaMedic Reactor 1000; Aqua 25 W UV Sterilizer; Eheim Auto-Feeder. 
*Water:*Temp 25-27°C , pH 7.2, KH 14-15, GH 15-17, NO3 6-8 ppm, PO4 1.0 ppm, CO2 25-30 ppm 
*Fauna:* Labidochromis caeruleus 'Lion's Cove', Pseudotropheus acei 'Luwala Reef', Pseudotropheus demasoni 'Pombo Rocks', Pseudotropheus sp. elongatus 'Usisya', Jordanella florida, Crossocheilus siamensis (Siamese Algae Eaters) 
*Flora:* Ammannia sp. 'Bonsai', Anubias barteri v barteri, Anubias barteri v nana, Cabomba furcata, Ceratopteris siliquosa, Ceratopteris thalictroides, Cryptocoryne affinis, Crypt. blassii, Crypt. crispatula v balanciaga, Crypt. longicauda, Crypt. nurii, Crypt. wendtii 'Green Gecko', Crypt wendtii 'Red', Crypt. wendtii 'Tropica', Cyperus helferi, Didiplis diandra, Echinodorus 'Red Flame', Echinodorus tenellus, Glossostigma elatinoides, Heteranthera zosterifolia, Hygrophila difformis, Hygrophila polysperma 'Rosanervig', Lilaeopsis brasiliensis, Ludwigia glandulosa 'Peruensis', Marsilea quadrifolia, Nuphar japonicum v formosa, Ranalisma humile, Riccia fluitans 
*Maintenance:* Fish are fed once daily in the morning. Water is changed 50-70% weekly on Saturday as per Tom Barr's Estimative Index recommendations to reset nutrient levels. Nitrates rarely need supplementation due to extremely adequate levels of fish waste. Phosphate is supplemented in the morning on Saturday, Monday, and Wednesday to maintain 1.0 ppm levels using KH2PO4. Traces are supplemented in the morning on Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday using a custom mix of CSM+B, MgSO4, and K2SO4. Sodium bicarbonate is used to buffer water to 14 dKH after water changes.


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## Raul-7

More Pictures-


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## travis

I use the FireFox browser and was only able to pull up the first pic until I switched back to Internet Explorer.

As you can see, things still have some growing-in to do so the tank is definitely still a work in progress, probably always will be. I haven't been doing this long so I'm learning more and more each day. The aquascape is still sort of haphazard and cluttered, but I'm working on it and have some major changes in mind. 

In keeping plants my main adversary has been the hardness of the water rather than the mbuna themselves (i.e. no L. pantanal or A. reineckii ). I've been pretty surprised at some of the supposed 'soft water' plants that have adapted well to 14-16 dKH water. I've got Cabomba furcata and Didiplis diandra that are doing just fine. In my mind the reason why so many people have problems with plants in African cichlid tanks is algae. If any of the plants have algae growth on them, the fish will go after it. Mine seem to be pretty gentle for the most part though. Most of them are dwarf mbuna so they can't do much major damage once the plants get well-rooted. Digging is always an issue so I've created a sort of 'sandbox' in the tank behind the large piece of wood in the center. Given some open gravel to dig in, the mbuna tend to dig there, rather than going to all of the work it would take to rip out the ground cover to get to the substrate. So far so good anyway


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## JanS

I tried both FireFox and IE, but the pics still won't come up...  
The only one showing is the one Robert posted, which is a beautiful tank, BTW.


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## pineapple

I use both and there's no problem. Probably best to clean your cache and reset to load page every time accessed.

Andrew Cribb


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## JanS

Ah, now I see them all using TurboMozilla.... Guess you gotta try them all.

Beautiful tank!


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## ShaneSmith

Nice, the best Mbuna tank i have seen yet!


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## plantbrain

I've grown those two plants, A reineckii espeically in harder water.

Why do you have such hard water(is the tap hard)?
AF rift fish are fine at 5-9 ranges of GH/KH's.

They might live in harder waters, but the GH can be quite high and not bother any plants. 

Julidochromis, Tropheus and lamps are good as are some feather fins.
There's a nice planted 240 gal tank near my place here with Tropheus.
They mow the Val to about 1-2" tall, makes a nice lawn and no mainteance.
About 2/3 of the tank is planted.
No CO2 etc.

Regards, 
Tom Barr


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## travis

plantbrain said:


> I've grown those two plants, A reineckii espeically in harder water.
> 
> Why do you have such hard water(is the tap hard)?
> AF rift fish are fine at 5-9 ranges of GH/KH's.
> 
> They might live in harder waters, but the GH can be quite high and not bother any plants.


Tom,

Thanks for the advice, I assumed that my water was the cause of these plants' demise, when it is was likely just my beginning plant-keeper's mistakes that did them in. That's good to hear because I would love to keep Pantanal. I'll have to try it again now that I know a little more about what I'm doing.

My water is hard (12-14 dKH) because I buffer it with sodium bicarb to bring the pH up to around 8.0 before injecting CO2. This way I can maintain good CO2 levels (25-30 ppm) while also keeping the pH from going below 7.2. I know a 7.2 pH is low for Africans, but they're doing great so far, still breeding like crazy, good appetites, great coloration. They really show no signs of adverse effects. It's sort of a trade-off between what's good for the fish and what works for the plants. Would you suggest trying something else?


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## travis

Thanks for the compliments everyone! I'm really glad people like the way things are turning out


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## tsunami

Don't feel bad about the Ludwigia 'Pantanal.' It, along with a large portion of the plants we grow, are not as easy to grow in water around GH 14-16+ than in GH 5-9 or below. 

I have found the Rotala genus, especially macrandra and sp. Nanjenshan, to be very tempermental when grown in hard water. They do grow, but growing them in water around GH 5-6 is effortless by comparison. 

I have managed to observe this recently in my 10g, where the sp. Nanjenshan began doing poorly when I went from 50/50 tap/RO mix to 100% tap water. 

Having jungled tanks between both Miami's softer tap water and Chicago's harder tap water, I have observed this reaction several times.

Carlos


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## travis

Carlos - it's funny you mention that about the Rotala because I'll be putting both R. macrandra and R. sp. Nanjenshan in tomorrow. Since that pic of my tank was taken about three weeks ago I've been on sort of tear, adding a lot of plants to my tank that I had previously been afraid to try due to the hard water. I had such good luck with the Cabomba that I put in some P. stellata last week and it appears to be to doing just fine so far. Tomorrow I'll be adding R. macrandra 'Broad Leaf', R. sp. Nanjenshan, Limnophila aromatica, Micranthemum umbrosum and a few others, including some of Dr. Prescott's new crypts. This should be a good test of what I can expect to be able to grow  I'll be keeping an especially close eye on the Rotala after what you've told me. Thanks!


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## travis

Well I think I've finally got the plants that I wanted in place. Now it's just time to wait and watch to see how things go. I removed most of the right side and put in Pogostemon stellata 'Broad Leaf', Rotala macrandra 'Broad Leaf', Rotala sp. 'Nanjenshan', Cabomba furcata, Limnophila aromatica, Micranthemum umbrosum, and Ludwigia glandulosa. I also switched most of the lighting to 10000K CFs. I still have about 150w of 6700K but not quite as much of a yellow/green cast to things I think (although it's hard for me to tell for sure because I'm red-green color-blind). Here are a few pics of things as they stand:




























Hope all of the images come through OK


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## Raul-7

It looks really nice, the only suggestion is that you might want to move on of the red bunches on the right and plant near the D.diandra on the left.


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## travis

You're right. There's too much red in one place, isn't there? Sometimes, unless things are bright red, I have a hard time seeing how red they really are. It probably sounds sort of strange, but with red-green color-blindness my eyes really only see the true primary reds and greens with the shades being a little hard to tell apart. Great advice, thanks!


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## ScottH.

This is an awsome tank. Rarely do we see tanks with african cichlids in them. I would have to agree with the comment about the red plants. They seem to make your eyes fight to see everything in the tank.


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## tsunami

This is turning into an impressive layout. I'm especially keen on the beautiful foreground and small stand of Ammannia sp Bonsai on the left. 

Carlos


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## travis

I love the Ammania. It is about as forgiving as anything I've got in the tank and, given plenty of light, grows straight up with some minimal branching. Those stems that do branch end up looking a lot like a saguaro cactus because the branches curve around to grow straight up too. It grew fairly well without CO2 but, once I started supplementing, it really took off.


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## travis

Here's a shot of the Ammania sp. 'Bonsai' as is looks today. It's really starting to get comfortable and has taken on a much richer green coloration than it previously had. Note the tiny 1/2" Ps. demasoni fry hovering in front of the C. wendtii 'Tropica'. He uses the stand of Ammania as cover from the large predatory male mbuna 










And here's a shot of the stand of P. stellata that sits above and to the right of the Ammania. It really seems to be doing well in my hard water.


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## Raul-7

Travis the vigorous growth you have on the P. stellata looks awesome, I love the contrasting pink/bright green growth you have there. Are you using Tom's dosing schedule? Any other updates to the tank?


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## travis

Raul - thanks! I am using a modified form of Tom's Estimative Index dosing with weekly 50% water changes. I find with my Africans I rarely need to dose NO3 as the levels remain fairly constant due to fish waste. I've been keeping phosphates around 1.0 ppm or a little above to help bring out the reds and reduce the algae on my Anubias leaves. I've been doing a lot of changes to the tank lately (I guess it's constantly in flux ). Here's a shot of the full tank I took on Christmas night to give you an idea of how it looks now:


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## neilw

Awesome 8)


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## Bavarian3

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.


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## Phil Edwards

That's absolutely beautiful!!! The demasoni are stunning against the greens and reds of the plants. Well done!


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## teddo10

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


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## Raul-7

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?


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## Neptun

That tank is awsome! =D> 
I'd love to see even more close up photos of it!


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## travis

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


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## travis

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


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## MiamiAG

That is FANTASTIC!

I never thought I would see pearling riccia with a mbuna hovering over it!


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## janlo

man the photos are good. The green is so nice and flashy, almost fluo!


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## Robert Hudson

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


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## travis

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


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## neilw

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.


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## travis

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.


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## commandantp

AMazing!!!! This tank is beautiful!! Congratulation 
What is it for a fish in the tank?


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## Bavarian3

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


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## travis

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


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## chrisl

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! 

Chris


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## Bavarian3

travis said:


> 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.


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## travis

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.


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## Robert Hudson

Well I know the pH determins the sex of soft water cichlids, not sure what it does to rift lake cichlids.


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## travis

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.


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## teddo10

Well Travis you know what I think. Gorgeous


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## BigFoot

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.


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## jcolletteiii

[/QUOTE]

What is that goldish broad leaved plant left center w/ the really long petioles and ruffled leaves?


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## aries

*Wow*

Travis - very impressive. Your tank makes me want to hurry up and get a house so I can house a big tank like yours. My current apartment does not have the room for another big tank (we already have 5 tanks in there now).

I have a planted Mbuna tank as well - not as fancy as yours and is only a 30G with 2 Labidochromis caeruleus adults and 4 Labidochromis caeruleus juviniles (I have more on the way in another tank). Also in my 30G are two adult Pseudotropheus zebra. I wish I had the room to put in the amount of plant varieties as you with the rock.

Currently my 30 has one set of lava rock with two Coffeefolia (Anubias barteri. 'Coffeefolia') attached to it, Anacharis (Egeria densa), two Red Rubin Swords (Echinodorus 'Rubin'), Asian Ambulia (Limnophila sesiliflora), Ludwigia Peruensis (Ludwigia peruensis), two Red Tiger Lotuses (currently bulbs)(Nymphaea zenkeri), two Bronze Wendtii (Cryptocoryne wendtii v. 'Tropica'), and some Baby Tears (Hemianthus micranthemoides) that will be used for ground cover.

Of course, my tank is NOWHERE near as mature as yours is - very good job - impressive actually. I hope one day I can create a tank similar to yours - I would ecstatic in fact.

In fact I joined solely to congratulate you on such an impressive tank (and of course gain more knowledge on plants by using this forum - but mainly to congratulate you)!!

Aries


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## travis

Wow, thanks. You can't go wrong with L. caeruleus in a planted tank. I know your tank is fairly limited in the species you can keep but if you get a 55G or larger I would highly recommend trying Pseudotropheus demasoni. They have a reputation for aggression (rightly so) but kept in a larger tank this is much diminished and is, IME, strictly conspecific. They are (again IME) harmless to plants and don't get large enough to do any serious re-arranging of the aquascape. Also look into Labeotrophues fuelleborni. They are very docile and eat enough algae to put your SAE's to shame  Hope to see some pics!

I would also love to hear your experience with the zebras in your planted tank. I've held off trying them as I've seen what they can do to a tank when they put their mind to it :razz:


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## Bavarian3

travis said:


> Wow, thanks. You can't go wrong with L. caeruleus in a planted tank. I know your tank is fairly limited in the species you can keep but if you get a 55G or larger I would highly recommend trying Pseudotropheus demasoni. They have a reputation for aggression (rightly so) but kept in a larger tank this is much diminished and is, IME, strictly conspecific. They are (again IME) harmless to plants and don't get large enough to do any serious re-arranging of the aquascape. Also look into Labeotrophues fuelleborni. They are very docile and eat enough algae to put your SAE's to shame  Hope to see some pics!
> 
> I would also love to hear your experience with the zebras in your planted tank. I've held off trying them as I've seen what they can do to a tank when they put their mind to it :razz:


I agree that demasonis aggression is very conspecific. Ive kept a single one in a mixed mbuna tank and it wasnt aggressive at all. Apparently they are best kept alone, or with many other demasoni. 
Please dont get zebras!! they can be real nasty little buggers, no offense towards aries fish, i just dont like them.

BTW when could i expect some of that clover? i cant wait to try it out im just dyin to stuff more plants in my tank.


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## travis

jcolletteiii said:


> What is that goldish broad leaved plant left center w/ the really long petioles and ruffled leaves?


 Sorry I missed your question. That is a Nuphar japonicum var formosa lily (actually two bulbs together). It took several months before it became comfortable in my tank but really took off after that, producing up to six leaves per week. I've since moved it out of the tank as it had gotten too big for even a 125G. I think one of these would look great in a taller tank, but in a 20" high tank they hit the surface, start spreading laterally, and (even though the leaves are somewhat transparent) start shading about 3-5 square feet of tank floor. I have to admit I knew this species got large but I didn't bargain for just how large it would grow.


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## waterdog

Well have decided to give it a go. 

I have a 75 gallon cichlid tank and recently have tried some plants. 

Cichlids are 
4 yellow labs
2 Red zebra's
1 johanni
1 demasoni
2 msombo deep

I also traded several cichlids for my plants,my goal was to lower the amount of fish to give the plants a better chance at survival. 

So far my plants are 
4 medium amazon swords
4 cryptos of some sort
1 hygrophilia 
2 clumps of anacharis-these were brought in for food, again hoping the cichlids would eat these and leave the other stuff alone.
1 reddish plant my lfs said was a cherry temple. no idea what it really is, but they said it was a pretty durable plant.

I bought the light they recommend, don't have the specs and will probably add some liquid suppliments of some sort. 

I am about a week into this and so far it is to early to tell how it will work. So far my fish have uprooted the same 2 crypts twice, and that just started Wednesday. Must be something about those 2plants they don't like, I moved them after the first time, but when got home last night, those same 2 plants were floating. 
I really thought the anacharis would be history by know, but so far they are really leaving that alone. I see them nip at once in a while, but I thought they would really go after it.


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## Raul-7

Travis, do you have any updates? I would love to see how it looks like now.


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## Nymph

Beautiful tank you got there!
What's the plant in the right backgroud? Tall straight one?


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## travis

Raul, it has changed quite a bit in the last year. If anything there are more plants and certainly a lot more Africans (hard to keep them from breeding ). I will try to get some pictures this week and post them.

Nymph, I think you're looking at Limnophila aromatica (the reddish plant in the back on the left side?).


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## travis

I took some full tank pictures last night. The aquascape is still not at a mature state, but I think I've got things where I want them and am now just letting it grow in and trimming as necessary.

A shot of some Riccia from above with a Ps. demasoni floating over it:










A full tank shot:










And an oblique angle shot:


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## travis

I took some full tank pictures last night. The aquascape is still not at a mature state, but I think I've got things where I want them and am now just letting it grow in and trimming as necessary.

A shot of some Riccia from above with a Ps. demasoni floating over it:










A full tank shot:










And an oblique angle shot:


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## javoski

Your tank looks absolutely gorgeous for a couples of years now .... and I say that even if you didn´t keep african cichlids in it.
Considering the cichlids, I´m sure you already pushed the bundaries of the hobby. And your thank is famous here in Brazil also. Congrats 

And can you identify, please, this red plant in your photo below?


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## travis

Thank you javoski  The red plant in the picture is Ludwigia glandulosa. It is, without a doubt, my favorite of the Ludwigia genus because of its unique coloration. I just wish it was more prolific.


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## dennis

Beautiful tank Travis, beautiful!


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## Raul-7

I can't believe I missed the new pictures, but it looks amazing! I really like the Hydrocotyle verticillata foreground there; my only concern is that the Cyperus seems to be suffering? 

I really hope you enter it at the AGA 2006 - I bet the judges would be stunned by the quality.


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## travis

Thanks guys, I'm still working on it of course. And no worries Raul, that isn't Cyperus helferi anymore. What you see in the new pics is some recently planted Blyxa aubertii. It resembles C. helferi in shape, but coloration is notably darker, it is more robust in my hard water, and it flowers readily underwater. I think I'm really beginning to like it


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## Overfloater

Update Travis.. Update


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## Six

i cant see the pics either. 

not that i really like mbuna, but isnt that kind of a low pH to keep them? i mean, i know they can live through torture, but I dunno, that's not really emulating reality. 

then again, who keeps biotopes? lol. nevermind!


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## Bavarian3

Six said:


> i cant see the pics either.
> 
> not that i really like mbuna, but isnt that kind of a low pH to keep them? i mean, i know they can live through torture, but I dunno, that's not really emulating reality.
> 
> then again, who keeps biotopes? lol. nevermind!


Take a look at his fish and how much they breed and see ask again if PH is a problem 

-Charles


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## travis

Been gone for some time and felt like I should post some new pics. Yes, I do keep the fish at low (~7.2-7.4) pH for mbuna but I've found that they do quite well at this level. Purists may disagree but the fish show no signs of distress, breed heavily, and eat like starving soldiers  Most plants except some Rotala spp. and Tonina spp. do well in the relatively high pH/KH environment.


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## Ajax

Looks great Travis! The P. Helferi filled in nicely!


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## Tankman

Wow, looking gr8! Congrats!


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## Bavarian3

Amazing travis, ive always been shocked at the plants youve been able to keep under these conditions and with such health. 

The mbuna must all be huge by now as well, im sure youve had to get rid of some of the stock to keep them in check? 

Keep up the good work.

-Charles


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## ranmasatome

Travis.. Wonderful wonderful tank... love it everytime i look at it..


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## Skelley

I am in awe. I am starting a cichlid tank and I will be looking to yours for inspiration. I must have missed it somewhere in the thread...what is your wpg and fert regime?


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## travis

Not much new to add but I have gotten P. stellata "Fine-leaf" doing well.










And a shot of Lurlene, my always-carrying trailer-trash girl:


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## ed seeley

Can't believe that tank has mbuna in it! Looks amazing.

I agree with you on the pH. As long as it stays alkaline they don't seem to mind.

Amazing job, well done. :clap2:


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## travis

Here are latest photos of the tank. I've rescaped extensively since my last photo post. It isn't quite fully grown-in yet, probably will be in about a month, but this is how it stands today.

Left Side










Center










Right Side










Full Tank


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## rich311k

What a great looking tank. Looking forward to the grown in pictures.


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## Genin

WOW *bows down*. That looks awesome. My wife used to keep cichlids like that. Your tank must be awesome to watch.


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## artemism3

WOW, that is an amazing tank!!!


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## travis

This is the most recent picture of my aquascape, although it is four months old and things have changed considerably since it was taken. I've been working on improving my aquascaping since this was taken and will be shooting some new pictures of my tank as the plants grow in.


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## Tex Gal

Your tanks are always gorgeous! I love watching all the changes you have made to this tank. It's making me believe I can give up my collectoritis  and just change my tank once or so a year. 

What is the plant in the center right mid foreground?


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## Leonard

Impressing! =) Really cool.


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## travis

Tex Gal, I think the plant you're looking at is _Ranunculus inundatus_ sometimes referred to as _Ranunculus papulentus_. It is very much like _Hydrocotyle verticellata_ in its growth habits but is more robust and invasive. I find it pretty in large, thick bunches.


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