Since they are substrate spawners, they require a sandy bottom and lots of foliage with many hiding places.Ĭonsider adding a few natural decorations like stones or driftwood to the aquarium and keep them in pairs, if possible. The cockatoo dwarf cichlid, for example, measures less than 10 cm in length and is ideal for an aquascape tank.
These highly colourful and active fish are popular with many aquarium hobbyists. The two types of dwarf cichlids that are best suited for a planted tank include: Apistogramma cichlids The reason being that too many males and not enough females can increase tension and aggression in fish. It is recommended that you keep dwarf cichlids in pairs or in an aquarium with a male-to-female ratio of 1:3. Since males of this species are often territorial in nature, a planted tank is ideal since it provides many places to hide and/or spawn. It is important to note that most dwarf cichlids sold today are highly adaptable and can thrive in a wider range of water parameters, which is due in part to captive breeding. The temperature should also be a bit warmer – somewhere between 22 and 27 degrees Celsius (or 72 to 86 degrees Fahrenheit) with an alkalinity level around 5 dKH. For dwarf cichlids (and most aquatic plants as well), the water should be on the softer side, which is slightly acidic – a pH level around 7 or 7.5. Be sure the water parameters in the tank support both the plant life as well as the fish. These include the following: Dwarf cichlidsįor a ‘green’ aquarium with a heavy focus on aquascaping, dwarf cichlids are a great choice. You can have cichlids in a planted tank, provided they are the smaller species from South America. So, if you are ready to learn more, then please read onward… Can You have Cichlids in a Planted Tank? We will also explore the various types of plants found in many aquascape tanks and how the different cichlid fish species will often respond to them. We will discuss which plants work well in a cichlid tank as well as whether (or not) African cichlids can be kept in an aquascape aquarium. Now that you know smaller cichlids do well in a planted tank, let us take a closer look at this further and in more detail below. Some species like discus or angelfish, however, make great ‘centre pieces’ for planted tanks. Larger cichlids found in the lakes of Malawi or Tanganyika in Africa, are NOT suitable for a planted tank as they will devour and/or uproot the foliage. The best species of cichlid fish for a planted tank are the smaller ‘dwarfs’ from South America like apistogramma and mikrogeophagus cichlids. Right now, you may be curious as to which ones can be kept in a ‘green’ or aquascape aquarium?
Not all species, however, can thrive in a planted tank. Like angelfish and discus fish, cichlid fish are a favourite in the aquarium hobby. Cichlids are a family of fish comprising of at least 1700 varieties and found in freshwater environments throughout Africa, Asia, and South America.
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