Any One Have Plants In There Malawi Tanks?

[jamesmacc]

hey everyone, been wondering if i could keep some tall plants either side of my tank to add a bit of colour but worried about the cichlids eating them. i did a google search and it came up with a few people who have done it but had to be carefull with fish choice and used some additives. just wondered if anyone on here has managed to keep plants with cichlids and if they have any advise.
cheers,
james

 

[Dieses Madchen]

Somenoe had told me that with malawis, fake plants would be the best way to go, and they need to be anchored very well. I was thinking about doing that in mine to add some color

 

[jamesmacc]

yeh i thought about fake plants, just worried about them looking naff. i have seen some that look very genuine but its hard to tell on ebay which ones will look realistic under water

 

[Binge]

I decidied since plants are kinda complicated in a malawi tank I am going to use a lot of varied driftwood cleverly placed like plants. I am going to do another wood hunting trip in a week (realy an excuse to take a long drive in my new miata ) I want some of the pieces that look almost like braided vine ... think they come from roots though so that may be hard. I figure the veried textures from the different woods and the veried hues it can take on will add a lot of color and variety to the tank I already have one large 3 branched piece in there and it has added a lot to my mostly slate tank.

 

[jamesmacc]

binge this post is usless without a photo lets have a peak

 

[Binge]

Only have the one piece in there now i dont think it will show much but I will take some in a few.

 

[Binge]

stuffs 685 by lordtwist2, on Flickr

This is a single piece it just has 3 branches too it but each is a slightly different shade. I Have seen a million textures and so many shades of brown yellow and white in driftwood That I feel its a viable option as I get more pieces I could demonstrate better.

stuffs 684 by lordtwist2, on Flickr
full tank shot.

stuffs 709 by lordtwist2, on Flickr
this is a shot of the two pieces I joined together in my wifes community tank just to show how much the textures and colors can very more as well as endless shapes its all about what you can find, to me the best part is they cant eat it and I cant kill it.

Dunno if others see what I mean or not but I think its all about how creatively you use the drift wood too.

Sorry ya cannot see my fish I turned the lights back on just to take the pics. Once mine are bolted up for the night in thier caves they like to stay there it takes a good 10 min for all of em to realize the lights are on in the morning.

 

[mag123]

i have anubias in my malawi tank they dont need much light and my fish dont like them.