# BIG fish in planted Aquariums



## DogFish (Jul 16, 2011)

Other than a Angels & Discus has/does anyone HERE ON THIS SITE keep larger fish in planted Aquariums?


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## jareda (Mar 9, 2011)

I have an 8 or 9 inch common pleco in my planted tank...


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## Kibblemania1414 (Feb 1, 2011)

Big catfish work fine, even though they kinda nip your plants...


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

I want to do a big setup with a bichir someday. 

I have also thought that a riparium with a ray or two would be cool. With the plants up above the water it would leave plenty of footprint for the rays to zoom around.


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## vespers_ (May 6, 2011)

i've seen lots with various large fish. arowana's are a popular one. i've always wanted a planted gar pike tank.


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## Chrisinator (Jun 5, 2008)

My biggest fish was Pearl Gourami and Sailfin Molly..


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## 10gallonplanted (Oct 31, 2010)

My biggest fish is a rainbowfish.


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## DogFish (Jul 16, 2011)

I had to go back and edit the OP. I rally was hoping to hear from people here about what worked & didn't.

I tried years ago to put an Amazon Sword in a clay pot and put in in a 70g; with a 7" Oscar. He ripped the plant out and up. He tipped over the pot, cracked the pot. When I got home he was swimming in his mess, wagging his tail fin like a bad little puppy. Epic fail.

Oscar not such a good choice.



jareda said:


> I have an 8 or 9 inch common pleco in my planted tank...


Tell us a bit more how large a tank, what plants work & what don't.


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## koebwil (Jul 6, 2011)

the largest I have seen are giant gouramis. I used to have a pair of piranhas, but they outgrew their tank and I couldn't get them the new tank I had been planning on due to obligations to a friend. they were around 6" when I had to bring them back.


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## SlammedDC2 (Jun 4, 2011)

I have a silver arrowana in my 55g, he'll soon be relocated to my 125g. I've never had a problem.


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

Some time ago there was a member here who had a real nice planted setup with red-bellied piranhas.


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## ValMM (Feb 22, 2011)

I once read about someone keeping a Pacu in a planted tank.


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## Abrium (Jan 7, 2011)

My largest fish has been a full grown 6-7 inch SAE.


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## Abrium (Jan 7, 2011)

And even HE uproots parts of my carpet and breaks some of my stem plants.


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## DogFish (Jul 16, 2011)

Thanks for the contributions. 

I'm looking at a used 125 and considering who would live in it with plants. Top three are Wild Angels, Wild Discus...OR...Frontosa :icon_eek::icon_eek:


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## ValMM (Feb 22, 2011)

All very pretty fish!


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## kuni (May 7, 2010)

But the Frontosa has a pH 8+ requirement.


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## jameslibtech (Sep 20, 2011)

geophagus can work with certain types of plants, i wouldnt keep them with any sort of shallow rooting plant though


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## reflexhunter (May 15, 2010)

I have a 4inch chocolate cichlid in my 125,no problems as of yet.

Was wanting to get a regani pike but the are about impossible to find.


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## jkan0228 (Feb 6, 2011)

I'm thinking about roselines sharks in my 95g. Just putting it out there.


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## kuni (May 7, 2010)

Pike (not the cichlid, the real thing) are stunning choices for huge planted tanks.


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## MCHRKiller (Jul 25, 2008)

My 150G was planted for well over a year. I kept Geophagus abalios, Rotkeil Severums, Rainbow Cichlids and an Astronotus orbicularis. None of those fish bothered the plants, the Orbicularis(relative to the Oscar) didnt pay any attention to them at all, Severums didnt eat them. The planted tank's demise was the addition of a 10" L330 Royal which uprooted and mauled every single plant in the tank.:hihi:

The key to keeping cichlids with plants is to choose nasty tasting plants to begin with...Anubias, Fern, Moss, Crypts, Melon Swords, Crinum, etc. Then give them veggie matter in their diet. My Rotkeils go through so much nori I sometimes think I am running a sushi bar.


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## deleted_user_12 (Aug 21, 2011)

what about a red terror or pumpkin seed that would be cool


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## DogFish (Jul 16, 2011)

kuni said:


> But the Frontosa has a pH 8+ requirement.


Our water comes out of the ground that hard...LOL

There are Vals that live in the Rift lakes. If I kept Frontosa I'd limit to Vals and sandy/gravel and rock work. I prefer Bio-type displays. For this one I'd pot the plants, hid the pots with rock.

I always like these guys. The down size is 8-10+ adults.


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## DogFish (Jul 16, 2011)

MCHRKiller said:


> ...My Rotkeils go through so much nori I sometimes think I am running a sushi bar


I like the Severums, do you feel that it was the Nori diet suppliment that saved your plants?

I have to ask L330s??? Did you really think that you could pull that off in a planted tank :wink


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## vespers_ (May 6, 2011)

kuni said:


> Pike (not the cichlid, the real thing) are stunning choices for huge planted tanks.


huge is right.... a northern pike will get up to 4 feet long... grass pickerel are nice and small though (i think about a foot long) so you could keep them in a large tank.

they really are stunning though...

have you considered sun fish OP?


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## MCHRKiller (Jul 25, 2008)

DogFish said:


> I like the Severums, do you feel that it was the Nori diet suppliment that saved your plants?
> 
> I have to ask L330s??? Did you really think that you could pull that off in a planted tank :wink


I do feel that catoring to my cichlid's need for vegetable matter and having some fairly gross tasting plants kept things working. They get spinach stuffed seafood cubes, spirulina pellets, various melons and zucchini. 

I had always wanted a large Royal pleco...came across the L330 and bought it...I arrogantly thought "oh he has plenty of wood most of which isnt planted...itll be fine" After about 3 months of totally replanting the tank each week and cleaning plant bits from my canisters I dumped the plants and went to a barren hardscape.


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## DogFish (Jul 16, 2011)

Jenn - I do understand the temptation, L330s....just outstanding fish.

As much I as I love Dicus, they do tend to be the psychotic fashion model of the Aquarium fish world.
Angels & the Rift lake Africans are much more fun to keep.


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## MCHRKiller (Jul 25, 2008)

Something you may check out are some of the Cryptoheros and Thorichthys species. Ive personally been dying to setup a planted tank with them and some wild swordtails. 

I do agree on Discus, kept and bred them for around 7 years....no interest in keeping them again.


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## BlueJack (Apr 15, 2011)

Something a little odd that I loved keeping was a Florida Gar. Nothing like watching these guys eat!! Didn't mess with the plants and was about 12". My Arrowana's were also cool with plants.



















^not my tanks, but pretty cool pics


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## DogFish (Jul 16, 2011)

MCHRKiller said:


> Something you may check out are some of the Cryptoheros and Thorichthys species.


I've keept Firemouths and Convicts when I was young. I did see a really nice Cryptoheros sajica at an auction once. Very good looking adult male fish.



BlueJack said:


> My Arrowana's were also cool with plants.


 I had a Clown Knife that got to 14" in a 70 that shared that tank with Siamese Tiger (Datnode) . All neet fish, that will eventually need bigger than the 125 and are more demanding on feeding that I want to deal with at this point in life.

Even the Altum Angels & Frontosa might be pushing the space limit in a 125 but, at least there will be a market to sell them if they outgrow the tank or I what to keep something different.


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

_Cryptoheros_ seem to be really good choices for planted tanks. They get bigger than the real dwarf cichlid species but they aren't so rowdy that they will wreck all your plants. At least that's been my experience with the ones that I have kept.


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## ddavila06 (Jun 30, 2011)

i used to have a pink chalseus a few years back! cool fish and didn't munch on my little guys lol.. its a pretty darn good jumper though, this one was saved at least twice haha!


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## wantplantsnotwork (Nov 28, 2004)

this guy has been the sole inhabitant for the last year or so. Selling the whole tank hopefully, so some LFS is getting this guy free when that happens.


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## OverStocked (May 26, 2007)

reflexhunter said:


> I have a 4inch chocolate cichlid in my 125,no problems as of yet.
> 
> Was wanting to get a regani pike but the are about impossible to find.


If you are interested in regani, message me. I have 2 of them I'd consider parting with.


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## NStarr (Jun 3, 2011)

Bala Sharks! But only in large groups, and in a good size tank. :icon_smil


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## kuni (May 7, 2010)

DogFish said:


> Our water comes out of the ground that hard...LOL
> 
> There are Vals that live in the Rift lakes. If I kept Frontosa I'd limit to Vals and sandy/gravel and rock work. I prefer Bio-type displays. For this one I'd pot the plants, hid the pots with rock.
> 
> I always like these guys. The down size is 8-10+ adults.



Fronts don't live in Vallisneria beds, they live in deep water feeding on sardine cichlids (Cyprichromis).

HOWEVER...there IS an awesome predatory African cichlid that does: Dimidiochromis compressiceps


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## DogFish (Jul 16, 2011)

kuni said:


> Fronts don't live in Vallisneria beds, they live in deep water feeding on sardine cichlids (Cyprichromis).


Don't be such a _BUZZ KILL_:icon_mrgr 

They both live in the same lake...close enough for me.

BTW - Dimidiochromis compressiceps don't live in the same lake as Fronts....So there!!!


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