# Peacock Cichlid - Are they planted tank safe?



## jplove25 (Apr 6, 2008)

Does anyone on here have any experience with these fish? I can't find a whole lot of information on them. It says they grow to around 5 inches, peaceful, and mouth brooders. 

Has anyone here kept these fish in a planted tank?


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## gibble (Apr 25, 2013)

As far as I know most cichlids will eat your plants.

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## scokaw (Feb 21, 2012)

They like to dig, so they'll probably uproot the plants.


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## Plant keeper (Jan 27, 2011)

java fern is fine as well as anubias. I had both with my peacocks and haps. I have a trio of sunshine peacocks.


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## James M (Jun 21, 2012)

gibble said:


> As far as I know most cichlids will eat your plants.
> 
> Sent from my Galaxy S3 using Tapatalk.


Not at all, especially considering most cichlids are carnivorous.
The problem is they uproot/tear up plants with their digging and rearranging behavior.


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## jplove25 (Apr 6, 2008)

Plant keeper said:


> java fern is fine as well as anubias. I had both with my peacocks and haps. I have a trio of sunshine peacocks.


I have a lot of anubias. Do they do a lot of digging? I have one Krib female who burrows under some rocks but she can't dig up any plants. 

I'm thinking since the Peacocks are small they won't be much different than my Kribs but i thought it was be smart to ask this forum before i made a purchase.


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## SouthernCichlids (Jan 20, 2013)

If your plants are well rooted in the substrate or if you have anubias and java ferns attached to rocks/driftwood, then you should be good to go. Stem plants would be tricky but I'm sure it's possible with some patience


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## gibble (Apr 25, 2013)

James M said:


> Not at all, especially considering most cichlids are carnivorous.
> The problem is they uproot/tear up plants with their digging and rearranging behavior.


I should have said destroy, but I've found they chewed my anubius up, which I was told was one of the few plants that might survive.

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## James M (Jun 21, 2012)

LOL, yeah they do that.
Love em, but they do have their limitations.
A long time cichlid snob for a few decades - I'm into the plant friendly wuss fish now.


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## jplove25 (Apr 6, 2008)

gibble said:


> I should have said destroy, but I've found they chewed my anubius up, which I was told was one of the few plants that might survive.
> 
> Sent from my Galaxy S3 using Tapatalk.


Are you talking specifically about the Peacock Cichlids?


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## Strgazr (Oct 22, 2012)

My peacock is the most prolific digger. I have a ton of cryptocoryne and anubias as well as 3 medium amazon sword plants. The crypts and anubias are all glued to fake rock decor.
None of the cichlids mess with the plants at all, other than combing through the roots for bits of leftovers. With the amount of digging the peacock does there is no way I could have them planted in the substrate.


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## merritt1985 (Jan 16, 2013)

Most cichlids i've kept seem to just want to rearrange things in the tank. I think they get bored lol


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## jplove25 (Apr 6, 2008)

Strgazr said:


> My peacock is the most prolific digger. I have a ton of cryptocoryne and anubias as well as 3 medium amazon sword plants. The crypts and anubias are all glued to fake rock decor.
> None of the cichlids mess with the plants at all, other than combing through the roots for bits of leftovers. With the amount of digging the peacock does there is no way I could have them planted in the substrate.


Thanks for the info, I guess i won't be buying any for my tank.


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