datnoid is a brackish water fish, i feel that either your plants will suffer or the fish will. terror will do the same as the oscar. what about a peacock bass planted tank?
Larger fish in a planted tank?
I've always wanted to try an oscar in a 75g planted tank with a nice foreground carpet...but I'm pretty sure it would uproot everything.
What about something like a green terror or a 5-6" datnoid(very slow growing so 75 should be fine for a while)?
What about something like a green terror or a 5-6" datnoid(very slow growing so 75 should be fine for a while)?
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peacock bass may work for others with larger tanks but i can't upgrade from a 75datnoid is a brackish water fish, i feel that either your plants will suffer or the fish will. terror will do the same as the oscar. what about a peacock bass planted tank?
i've seen dats in freshwater tanks before, i think they can adapt to diff. water conditions. aren't mollies supposedly best in brackish water too?
edit: i got another idea...how about some of the smaller species of bichirs like senegals or delhezis?
birchirs are re-known for uprooting everything they possibly can.
there a pain in a planted tank. and if kept with other fish they will eat them.
there monsters!
sailfin mollies do best in brackish tanks but can be kept just fine in fresh water.
the same goes for the normal mollies.
there a pain in a planted tank. and if kept with other fish they will eat them.
there monsters!
sailfin mollies do best in brackish tanks but can be kept just fine in fresh water.
the same goes for the normal mollies.
Why not try something like placing plants on driftwood and then having like a small group of firemouths?
I saw this one time and us was slick
I saw this one time and us was slick
i was actually considering a group of firemouths before i decided to do plants. i don't mind plants attached to driftwood but i'm definitely looking for a "carpet" effect as well. will firemouths uproot ground cover plants?Why not try something like placing plants on driftwood and then having like a small group of firemouths?
I saw this one time and us was slick
Firemouth will uproot a lot of plants.
lol this sucks 
how about some mass reproducing convict cichlids or honduran red points?
how about some mass reproducing convict cichlids or honduran red points?
i guess that would work. how about something cool though...
angels get decent sized...
clown knife fish would look cool...
angels get decent sized...
clown knife fish would look cool...
My 150G has Rotkeil Severums, Geophagus, L330 and a Green Terror. I am selling off the Green Terror and most of the Geophagus and adding another Rotkeil and growing out 3 A.orbicularis Oscars and keep the nicest for my display.
Keeping large fish in planted tanks isnt hard. You simply must keep in mind they are infact large fish. Use heavily rooted plants(swords, crypts) or plants which you can attach to wood and rocks(moss, fern, anubias). Also most large cichlids require some vegetable matter in their diet, feed them greens and they wont be as likely to eat your plants.
But honestly getting cichlids at small sizes and growing them out in planted scapes results better than dumping in a half grown subadult which has never seen a plant.
Keeping large fish in planted tanks isnt hard. You simply must keep in mind they are infact large fish. Use heavily rooted plants(swords, crypts) or plants which you can attach to wood and rocks(moss, fern, anubias). Also most large cichlids require some vegetable matter in their diet, feed them greens and they wont be as likely to eat your plants.
But honestly getting cichlids at small sizes and growing them out in planted scapes results better than dumping in a half grown subadult which has never seen a plant.
Would you be able to make a carpet(HC or dwarf sag is what I want the most) with fish like geophagus? Won't they sift the substrate for food?My 150G has Rotkeil Severums, Geophagus, L330 and a Green Terror. I am selling off the Green Terror and most of the Geophagus and adding another Rotkeil and growing out 3 A.orbicularis Oscars and keep the nicest for my display.
Keeping large fish in planted tanks isnt hard. You simply must keep in mind they are infact large fish. Use heavily rooted plants(swords, crypts) or plants which you can attach to wood and rocks(moss, fern, anubias). Also most large cichlids require some vegetable matter in their diet, feed them greens and they wont be as likely to eat your plants.
But honestly getting cichlids at small sizes and growing them out in planted scapes results better than dumping in a half grown subadult which has never seen a plant.
C.parva that is very well established *might* survive as would mosses or ricca tied down. However it is unrealistic and cruel to the Geos to cover up most of their sand. You could have patches of select forground tho. Geos are notorious diggers...but honestly they dont bother my plants at all. They dont uproot any of the swords in the tank either. I have left the front open for them to sift for food and that keeps them happy. I feed my Rotkeils veggies so they dont have the need to eat my plants. The most destructive fish in the tank is the 10" L330 Royal pleco which I have seen off the backwall of the tank maybe 3 times in a year. lol! But he is large and knocks things around getting to a different tasty manzanita branch.
I believe the only datnoid that is brackish is the silver datnoid. I would go look at monsterfishkeepers.com. A lot of info.
I had some thin bar dats in my 210 and they were getting large. The cost of food was more of a pain. They were fine in a planted, although some of the tankmates (which have to be large) did a number on my tank. Ended up selling them and going back to planted with more of a community set-up.
I had some thin bar dats in my 210 and they were getting large. The cost of food was more of a pain. They were fine in a planted, although some of the tankmates (which have to be large) did a number on my tank. Ended up selling them and going back to planted with more of a community set-up.
The problem with a lot of cichlids is that they like to rearrange decor to delineate their territories. That being said, there are lots of big fish that don't rearrange decor or uproot plants.
Tom - those gars look great! While they do well in planted tanks, they unfortunately get too big for a 75.
To the OP - you could accomplish a similar look with a lot of the larger predatory characins, which would work well in a planted 75g tank.
Some options to consider:
Acestrorhynchus falcatus (red tail barracuda)
Hepsetus odoe (African pike)
Ctenolucius hujeta (Huejta gar)
Xenentodon cancila (Needle fish)
Boulengerella maculata (Pike characin)
I could suggest a bunch of others but those are some initial suggestions to think about
Based on my experience, not a great choice for a planted tank (my old D. microlepis used to periodically attack anubias plants on driftwood).
Tom - those gars look great! While they do well in planted tanks, they unfortunately get too big for a 75.
To the OP - you could accomplish a similar look with a lot of the larger predatory characins, which would work well in a planted 75g tank.
Some options to consider:
Acestrorhynchus falcatus (red tail barracuda)
Hepsetus odoe (African pike)
Ctenolucius hujeta (Huejta gar)
Xenentodon cancila (Needle fish)
Boulengerella maculata (Pike characin)
I could suggest a bunch of others but those are some initial suggestions to think about
Most of the available datnoid species are actually found in fresh water (D. microlepis, D. undecimradiatus, D. pulcher and D. Campelli). Only D. quadrifasciatus does better under brackish conditions.datnoid is a brackish water fish
Based on my experience, not a great choice for a planted tank (my old D. microlepis used to periodically attack anubias plants on driftwood).
Keeping a tiger datnoid in fresh water will result in fungus and death. Most are kept in brackish water in the pet trade. I very rarely even see a wide datnoid variety for sale on the wholesale end. Either way its a crappy planted pick.
I've had good luck with needle gar in plant tanks.
Sorry to keep harping on this but I have to respectfully disagree. While they are capable of tolerating lightly brackish conditions (up to SG ~1.005), D. microlepis, D. undecimradiatus, D. pulcher and D. Campelli are all found naturally in freshwater rivers and lakes many miles away from the ocean.Keeping a tiger datnoid in fresh water will result in fungus and death.
I have personally raised several indo datnoids (D. microlepis) from ~1" juveniles to ~10" specimens in complete freshwater with no evidence of fungus or poor health. I sold them to someone who still has them freshwater today and they are all alive and well. I've heard similar experiences from hundreds of people on the MFK and WW forums over the years, with several datnoid species. I can back this up with pictures if requested.
As I mentioned, D. quadrifasciatus/polota does prefer brackish conditions and I wonder if this is root of the suggestion that datnoids are brackish water fish.
Water requirements aside, I concur with you that dats would be a poor choice for a planted tank.
Try african tiger fish. lol. But seriously you should look at something like flag cichlids, or if you like the looks of the green terror look at other aequidens, blue acara shouldn't be too much of a problem.
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