Real Plants w/ Tangs

[bnoel210]

Can this work and since i hace never done plants before what should i try?

[ree123]

I find the comment above, from stoney, very interesting.
Do others of you find this same statement to be true ?

[mruble]

I have never kept live plants with Africans either, but many years ago when my interests were New Worlds, they tore up everything that wasn't plastic.

[glenoweth]

Plant with small tangs will be fine, If you have lets say frontosa I would vote aginst it

Now with africans from other lakes i would say no live plants will make it. pseudotropheus being one of the worst! they love to move the gravel, and dig to much! i my self just do Rock tanks, because i don't wan to tend to the plants. I have however seen som really nice planted Tang tanks.

[allierw]

The only thing I've had survive in a Malawi tank is java moss. Some of my new worlds (rainbows, severums, and parrots) love to eat and tear up plants, even floating plants I thought they would ignore, like hornwort. I think if you try plants potted ones are the hardest to uproot/destroy versus planting directly into the substrate. I doubt they would bother java moss, either.

[jon carman]

If you try plants, they need to be well suited for african water. I think low light, hardy plants would be fine if you put a lot in there. Even the africans that don't eat plants pull them out of substrate or move substrate around them.

In the lake itself, there are a few places around rivers with plants, but for the most part it is rock, silt, sand, and algae.

[bnoel210]

Well thanks for the infornation. Ill keep my tanks just the way they are with no plants.

[kyangelsncorys]

I HAVE 9 DIFF AFRICAN GROUPS NOW AND I HAVE TRYED SEVERAL DIFF LIVE PLANTS AND NONE MADE IT PAST A WK OR TWO

[fjr]

its not much to look at but i have jungle val in my tang tank with no problem.i also have smaller fish lelepi,bichardi,some shellies and 2 inch frontosias.

[fuzzylogic]

A lot of my friends put Anubias in all of their Cichlid tanks

[rickl]

I kept some val in my Tang tank years ago. It was very lightly stocked, though (2 leleupi and some multies in a 80 gallon tank).

-Rick (the armchair aquarist)

[kyangelsncorys]

i have water sprite and horn wart in most of my tanks and the fish never bother it, but i feed my fish 4 to 6 times a day maybe thats why

[bamaplants]

In my experience.. Malawians can handle some tougher plants as long as they a re fed well and with a high vegetable content in their feeding regime. that can be tough as MOST commercial prepared foods ; though they may be called " vegetable" or " Algae" pellets,flakes,disks, or other ; Have a first ingredient of Fish Meal. This is false advertising and does not do the fish well.. I can share some fish food recipes to make your own which will sate the malawian and tropheus plant eating to a large degree..

malawians are diggers too.. this is true.. but here is where potting plants can be a real advantage too.. if the plant is not uprooted it will do better

As to the stem comment.. I would generally agree.. Stems do not do well with malawians or Large Tangs.

Crinums & Anubias are both not so palatable so those are where I would start.. Dwarf Sag can do well if planted deep. They will stay VERY VERY short as they will get nipped but the plants adjust and don't grow nearly as tall.. I have had a tank of Tropheus with dwarf sag that carpeted the floor almost up to the rocks and was really no more than about 1/2 inch above the substrate.

kyangelsncorys, Yep.. feeding them well means they will not be looking for a buffet all the time.. lol