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ButterflyGarden
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Plants in a Fish Tank

I know this forum isn't about fish but since this is a plant question I thought I would try my luck.

We where looking at a plant called anubia. It's bitter and fish don't eat it. The supplier ran out and there are none in the country now. Does anyone know of a plant that can grow in a fish tank, that is rather hardy and that fish will not eat?

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PunkRotten
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You can try some big amazon swords maybe. But you gotta consider your tank size, some of these swords get huge. You can also try java fern.

lily51
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Watch out for passengers the plants may be carrying. We had a 50 gallon aquarium years ago and were invaded by snails. :shock: It took a lot to get rid of them.
As for your actual question, I'm sorry to be of no help.
Good luck with your search.

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ButterflyGarden
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Thanks for the replies. Don't fish eat the amazon swords?

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PunkRotten
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It depends on the fish. The only fish that really eat plants are some herbivores/omnivores and some aggressive fish. Some fish just like to destroy plants like cichlids. But some of the smaller ones will leave it alone. What kind of fish do you have?


Anubias is generally a plant that fish leave alone cause of the texture. Anything broad leafed stands a better chance of not being destroyed by fish.

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ButterflyGarden
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After a year and a half hiatus we are setting our fish tank up again. We don't have any fish yet but my husband wants cichlids.

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PunkRotten
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Depends what kind of cichlids, but most medium and large south/central american cichlids will destroy plants. If they are african cichlids most will eat/destroy them too.


If you can get me the names of the cichlids he wants to keep I can let you know if plants will stand a chance or not.

bromsgrove61
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No.... Better off without plants in a Cichlid tank.

Depending on the lake the fish come from the fish will probably prefer a huge loads of rocks.

Very few plants will survive a battering - It's not that they eat them, it's that they will uproot them and move them.

For further advice on keeping cichlids and the type of tank they need can be found anywhere on internet with a quick search. It is best not to mix the lakes they are from. Especially with Mbuna species Over filtration of the tank will be necessary as a crowded tank with a huge pile of rocks and dozens of fish will make the ideal home that these fish are used to in the wild.

Hope this helped some. Good luck.

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PunkRotten
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You are talking about African cichlids though. Everything you say is true about them but not true about south and central american cichlids. The larger ones will destroy plants but not all smaller and medium ones. I agree that in any cichlid tank it is a challenge but there are species of south/central american cichlids that are fine with plants.



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