Rescaping my Lake Malawi Cichlid Tank with Plants
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- Опубликовано: 28 сен 2024
- There are a lot of changes going on at the moment... Cleaning out my garage, setting up an aquarium rack in my garage dangerously, setting up an aquarium rack in my garage safely. But now, something I never thought I would do - adding plants to my Lake Malawi cichlid tank!
Almost 2 years ago I tried Christmas moss, which my Venustus tore to shreds. Then I tried Vallisneria which my Venustus also tore to shreds. This time, I'm going to try my hand at some good old Anubias, in hopes to reduce my nitrates, lessen tank maintenance, and lessen the black beard algae that is growing wildly in there.
Timestamps:
2:05 - Removing Black Beard Algae from rocks
6:43 - Plan for adding plants
8:13 - Do African Cichlids eat Anubias?
9:51 - Buying a LOT of Anubias at Atlas Aquarium
12:54 - Rescaping the Texas Holey Rock
15:07 - Attaching Anubias to the hardscape!
Please drop your top plants tips below! (I need it) :O
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after I started understanding algae and realizing the benefits and the importance of it in the aquarium, I stopped cleaning it except from the glass. fish love it
Algae is definitely a great helper!! I just got sick of the way the black beard algae looked
Few fish eat black hair algae , so not the same as green algae, which many fish eat
In the old days I spent so much of my energy cleaning algae 😂
What is the benefits of it?
you should get some pothos plants and have the roots hanging in the water it would help with your nitrate reduction/ alagae situation
I do like your freestyle approach to fish keeping. I feel like there really is no right or wrong way to do things, just the way that works for you. I find lot's of little tricks that I don't see anywhere on the internet that make me feel proud of myself. And you as well..
I would recommend putting emersed plant like peace lily or pothos on top of the aquarium with the roots only in the water. It will help to suck out the nitrates. Anubias cannot outcompete the algae. It grows so slow and absorbs so little nutrients. That’s what i did to my cichlid’s aquarium and it helps a lot. I planted also cryptocoryne wendtii. My peacocks doesn’t eat it at all.
I had a bad case of bba on my tank to the point that I got fed up and literally stopped taking care of my tank other than changing water once in a while or topping it off. CO2 tank went empty left it empty dimmed the lights and removed my canister and placed a hob. 7 months later started to clean the tank since plants were overgrown etc. no more blackbeard algae. I have a feeling that light, nutrients and high flow makes bba
Hi Kaity, I enjoyed this video from start to finish. You are very professional and detailed in the care of your fish, I congratulate you. I am your big fan from Mexico. I really enjoy seeing you.
Hi Kaity, have a look at resin called Purolite A520E, it will suck all the nitrate out of the tank, and you can recharge the resin with salt when exhausted.
I think it turned out great! The placement of the Anubias looks great. Love your videos! 😁
Greetings from Indonesia, I am your new subscriber, I am very happy to see your videos showing your favorite pets.
May you always be given health and success
Greetings from Indonesia 🇮🇩🇮🇩
Thank you so much 😊🙏🙏 Greetings from Australia!! 🇦🇺
Looks great love the addition of the plant 👍
Looks very good and I really hope it works dear Kaity, but Anubis grow very slowly and that won't have any effect on nitrate reduction. In this setup it is better to use large and fast growing emerse plants with their roots hanging down into the water. Unfortunately, there is also a big risk that the BBA will grow on the anubies, but I'll keep my fingers crossed that it all works out!
Thank you 🙏🙏 I didn't realise that how fast a plant grows directly impacts how many nitrates it takes out of the water, but it makes a lot of sense lol. It'll be interesting to see how it goes
Comes off very easy with a wire brush
Love the plants! Really makes the tank and the fish look even more amazing. Also, I predict the anubias will live and flourish!
Thank you 🙏🙏 Let's hope your prediction is right 🤣
That anubias looks so good in there! Another great video :) Those cichlids have gotten so big and bright! Just beautiful
Thank you so much 😄 it's crazy how much they have grown!!
Those Anubius look fantastic, Kaity. Eventually, the rhizomes will attach themselves to the rocks with those fine roots. I had a blackbeard algae problem. I ended up pulling the rocks out, put tthem in a 5 gallon (about 19 L) bucket and added about a quarter cup of chlorine bleach (regular laundry bleach) and let them soak for about two days. It killed all the algae then I used a stiff, short-bristle brush to scrub the dead algae away, and then rinsed them clean. Works fantastically and safely. And there's still plenty beneficial bacteria in the tank - substrate, filter, etc. Anyway, I love the look with all of the Anubius along the ridgeline of the big rocks. It really looks fantastic! Have a graet week! ~Ron
Thank you so much Ron!! And that is some excellent tips/advice, and really good to know that normal laundry bleach can work on the rocks too. I was too sure about whether it was safe to use or not so I just went with the hydrogen peroxide
My favorite fish keeper❤🇧🇩
Got Vallisneria in both of my Tanganjika Aquarium. I love Aquatic plants and wont miss it in my tanks❤
You really are a professional, so nice🇸🇪🇸🇪🇸🇪
What a coincidence I just put a small urn with annubias into my quarantine tank. I like the new look for your tank😀hopefully the fish will like it too.
Wow those fish are huge!
They just keep growing! 😂
The plants look beautiful in your tank. It`s always good to experiment. I added plants to my african cichlid tank (mainly vallisneria and echinodorus) but it wasn`t anubias. I think some of the fish ate them as some leaves got loose but I planted them into the sand. In the end, they ended up looking scruffy so I transferred them to my cold water fish tank where my cold water fish ate them quickly. I find planting the plants in the sand makes it difficult cleaning the sand when syphoning the tank as you have to replant them constantly as the fish eat them and leaves get loose. Glueing them to rocks is a better option.
I love my 4 heavily planted aquariums so I was not sure if multi shell dwellers are for me. Finally I got them and their tank has a PH of 8.1 with a GH of 15. I successfully grow anubias, java ferns, some vals. As floating plants, which are brilliant to suck out nutrients, pearl weed, wistera, red root floaters, guppy grass and duck weed are doing very well. I have floating plants in every tank.
i have green algae in my tank and love it 😃🙏
Nice one Kaity . I’m afraid the anubias will be gone in weeks , had in my tank same idea even Ive add valisneria on the background and all was slowly disappearing lol . But hey , every fishtank is different. Good luck . You can try copper wire brush to take algae off the rock then power washer :D
I would put the peroxide in s spray bottle and use a wire brush to scrub the rock with
Looks great
Love the plants! and oh yeah plants love minerals. gives em color! Anubias are low light plants to so you could pretty much plant them in really dark spots and theyll be okay! Wattage with the lights means the more watts the more PAR/"power" it will put out which is light intensity.
Thank you 😁 And that's good to know!
Woww superrr❤❤❤ loved it
Thank you 😊🙏🏻
Hi i like the plants its always nice having green color of plants maybe adding some driftwood too in the future. and you have thick layer of sand its full of banaficints bacteria so don't worry about bacteria. great video 💕🐡🐟🐠
Thank you 😁 I think it definitely looks nice with a bit of green 😊
Fungus Destroyer/Guard kills Blackbeard Algae. I used it before to get rid of it. Couple times actually, but be ready to clean up all the dead algae after. Or dose tank and coral separate and use good new brush on coral pieces soaking them for a day or so. But dose tank too to get it all.
Awesome Kaity . I keep anubius in my mbuna tank and the fish dont touch them they thrive and the fish seem to love them . Some of my smaller yellow labs even sleep on the leaves
Wow beautiful ❤️❤️❤️
Thank you 😊🙏
Viel Glück mit deinen Pflanzen im Chichlidenbecken! 🍀
Came with 19 seconds Yay. You are my inspiration
Yay!! Well done!! And that's so kind of you 😊🙏
You can soak rocks in a bucket with normal kitchen bleach and water solution. After that, use the same bucket with fresh water and tap water conditioner. Then leave it in the sun to dry.
Interesting plant choice. I’m an Anubis fan, but I’m not sure that’s your algae fix. I think you did more by adjusting the flow than with adding the plants. I’ll never discourage anyone from using as many plants as they can though.
I had that algae on my rocks it was a nightmare to get off I did the same thing you did, got most of it off I found a cheap dish brush and bottle cleaning brushes worked best for me
I had bba as well. I boiled the real rocks and soaked anything that was plastic in Hydrogen Peroxide for about 15 minutes. This killed all the bba on the rocks etc. I also lessened my light. I now test for phosphates, keeping them low had stopped the bba.
You sound just like me over the years of trying to keep my cichlids and plants 🤣 I tried and tried but to no avail so rocks it is 😂😂
I would use a pressure washer for the algae.
You can put your rock work in Milton sterilising liquid, just soak it overnight in a bucket its safe for the fish, just needs a good wash off afterwards, I've used it many times.
I'd spray the peroxide onto the whole rocks, let it sit but not dry out. This should kill the algae. Once you're satisfied all the BBA has been treated with hydrogen peroxide, you can break out a pressure cleaner and spray off all the BBA. Rinse and wash the rocks a plenty afterwards. Finally back into the tank.
Hi Katy,Your tanks looking really nice with the addition of Anubias and ime sure the malawis wont bother with them at all.
I had vallisneria plants in my tank and my mbuna didn’t really bother with them either.
Just out of curiosity what are your water parameters out of the tap before you add your buffer.??
All the best from the U.K.
Anubias won't out compete most algae. It will help a little bit, the main thing I'd do if I were you, is I'd turn those lights down a lot. Not only will the bright light really help algae, you can light burn the anubias. The anubias will grow with the ambient light. Additionally, all plants need more than nitrates, they also need potassium and phosphorus....in the correct ratios. Also need trace elements.. Any imbalance between the nutrients and the lighting (intensity and duration) will grow algae quickly. Don't give up though, you'll be planting every tank you can soon😁
It sounds like I've got a long road ahead of me learning how to grow these plants 🤣 Normally I give up on them but I'll try my best. Are there any liquid fertilisers you recommend for the plants at all?
I don't know what is available in Australia. I'd just try a general fertilizer to start with. Keep an eye on the parameters (nitrates) if they get 40ppm or more go ahead and water change, but you might still need to fertilize to keep all the nutrients available in the water column. I'd honestly think there is too much light on the tank as it is, but it's hard to tell due to the camera adjusting the light levels. I'd also see about some plants growing up out of the tank like Nick has in his tanks. They will really drink up the nitrogen. Floating plants do this too, but I don't know how the fish will do with frogbit or something like that. Just keep experimenting, every tank is different and it's own science experiment.
Why don’t you get a tint or black out tint cover sheet for the back of the glass where the widow is?
I think the black beard algae may eventually overtake the anubias. From my experience anubias need low light as they grow so slow. I had used florish as an algae side. But you need to be very consistent. Almost eveey 2-3days dosing
Hi Kaity what live plants can I put in my African cichlid aquarium
🎉
BBA is the bane of my existence. I go through cycles of battling it and trying to live with it. It actually looks ok waving in the flow - except when it breaks off and floats everywhere.
Hi Kaity, Could you add snails to help with the algae? I’ve got one in my tank and he has cleaned all the algae off my rock and it was covered in it😃
Btw your sediment needs a good clean it's a major contributor to your black rock ... I can't remember having any plants survive with Malawi... good luck 👍
The plants will live.
I hope so 😎
another great video, thanks
Super
terrestrial plants growing from your tank will help.
I tried that once a while ago but the problem is they don't fit properly with my lids that I have! They definitely work great though, I had a Pothos in the sump of my other tank and it eats up a lot of nitrates
@@Kaityscichlids That is the best plant for it Kaity. That's a shame they don't fit I have one tank like that as well, love all the new rack setups can't wait to see fish in them..
😳😳😳 you're always full of surprises!! I had a feeling you might do something with plants in this weeks video, but adding them into your Malawi tank..?? I never ever thought we would get to see that!!(Miss i'm all about fish not plants😂) i must say it looks so so nice! And now we get to find out if you're as bad at keeping plants as you always claim to be i guess. Bb algae are a real pain but it looks like you got rid of a lot of it. A hard brush might work better.again a fun video i really enjoyed watching!!👍 6 in a dozen 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣ah man...
🤔maybe you can try to Tie some Moss on one of your rocks and put it in your sump or quarantaine tank, until it has attached itself.before you put that rock back.keeping the Moss short by regular trimming Will make it attach itself faster
Hi... You can take the rocks outside and have them there for i week in the sun. the sun kill the algie..
Would you ever consider painting the back of your tank black? Or juast a black background? Would make those africans pop crazy and hide the cables and pipe work?
Work smarter not harder they say. Try a pressure washer, It will make it so easy to clean the Texas rock
You could do a HOB sump.
Or even better, a small aquaponic garden!
Now that would be cool!! I could totally get behind some aquaponics
I used peroxide on my black algae too... you could pour it on the rocks and use a stiff brush to get it all off...or pressure wash them! Remember, there is bacteria in the sand and the filters. I wouldn't worry about cleaning the rocks. what about a wire brush!
That's very true 😊 I definitely need to get one of these wire brushes!
You can get an affordable electric pressure washer. I'd leave them outside, let them dry out and wash them off. Should work well. That and you can definitely put some pothos and other plants to block some sunlight and help with the algae by competing for nutrients.
Very nice job on this tank. Do you run carbon at all? I run it off and on in my 40 gallon reef and used it a lot when I had an African cichlid tank too.
Thank you 😊 I don't run carbon, but I do have Purigen in one of the canister filters which does pretty much the same thing I believe
Cheap high pressure washer from bunnings will bring them rocks sparkling clean
Use a copper grill brush on your rocks with algae
I'm definitely going to try one of these
Choose a pressure washer or just leave it out of the sun for one week and it'll look brand new. What I do is if I don't have some highly stacked up design and I just have a bunch of singles spread out Obama just take them out one at a time and leave them outside for a week and then put it back in the tank and move on to the next one and within a month I think usually looks brand new as far as the rock goes Sun is the best disinfectant!
That is actually such a great idea 😂 the power of knowledge lol 🧠
Can you try adding couple of bristlenose pleco to remove algae forming on anubias leaves
Hi kaity …Turn off the light for few days in total dark, your plants will be fine,enjoy
My prediction is that the yellow lab will destroy the plants over time. You'll find a few leaf fragments a floating each day and new leaves will have a hard time as they are soft and more easily ripped apart. Yellows don't seem to eat the plants so much as they get bored and rip at them.
Anubias are slow-growing and won't outcompete Black Beard Algae (BBA); in fact, BBA tends to grow on them.
BBA thrives in areas with good water flow, so while wave makers are beneficial for preventing dead spots and detritus buildup, they also create conditions that BBA enjoys.
Consider trying Vallisneria; it has been successful for me in hard water with a sand substrate. It's a rapidly growing plant that can effectively compete with algae and does well in high flow.
For the hydrogen peroxide treatment, there's no need to scrape afterward; the BBA will turn red within 2-3 days and dissolve within a week. For a more effective and quicker treatment, simply put the hydrogen peroxide in a sprayer and spray the rocks, let it sit for 30 minutes, then repeat the process, and you should be all set.
Great work, but why stop there! I think it would be great if you could elevate the rocks and put big peace lilys on it and the leafs will go above the water and above the lights ive done this before and the peace lily thrived
Hay Kaity id use a pressure cleaner on thos rocks.. far easier than a scourer!!
You are always so happy and posetive so then i watch your videos i get happier😅
Hahaha, thank you, I love that!
I had to use peroxide for algae it didn't really work great for me
I'm like fish you good
I have it in my tank and it's taking the nutrients from my other plants! It's impossible to get rid of!
Hey Kaity's :)
Hello!! 👋
You light are too high for that tank, try turning the lights lower as you do not have plants, you dn't need that much light . also i found just praying the rock outside and then leaave over night and scrub with a brush. Great fish and lovely tank.
Less light on the aquarium and a UV light would sort out the Algae
All🐠fishes very well happy 🐠💞💞💞🐠🐠🐠🐠kc ur really great 💞🐠🐠🐠🐠🐠🐠🐠🐠🐠proud of you all ways 💞🐠🐠🐠🐠🐠
Thank you so much 😊🙏🙏🙏
Black beard spores are in the water column. Bleach/ hydrogen peroxide will kill the black bear so isn’t any need to scrub it off. Will turn pink and fish we pick it off.
UV sterilisers can help kill spores in water column.
Craziest thing about this video is that you thought 6 was a dozen😅.
Gerni and done 😂
I think you need a sandblaster to get that crud off😅
tank looking great ;) but a couple things, 1st you said adding the anubis to absorb nitrates, anubis grows soooo slow so aren't very good for that, they'll make virtually 0 difference. need faster growing plants for that, as others have suggest peace lilly or pothos out the top with the roots in water help but it doesn't have to be them can be ANY plant that propagates in water (which is most plants) 2nd, you don't need "aquarium glue" any cyanoacrylate glue (most super glues) and getting regular super glue is much cheaper than "aquarium glue" and lastly, a loach tank!! YES PLEASE loaches are such great fish and i watch A LOT of fish tube channels, and soooo few loaches, probably the most underrepresented fish.
That's good to know, thank you!! And that's a shame about the Anubias 🤣😭 I totally agree about loaches, I think they are the best. Go team loach 🐟🐟🐟
The plants should partially make up for the unintentional removal of all that beneficial bacteria, as the plants take up quite a lot of ammonium and to a lesser extent nitrites and nitrates.
If your afraid of adding straight tap water to your aquarium!
Mix up a 500ml solution, Sodium Thiosulfate 65g to 500ml of RO Water (or distilled water) for a cheaper solution to prime. The dosage is the same.
Black beard algae is definitely the worst in my opinion also but it’s amazing at getting rid of excessive nitrates. Siamese algae eater is the best for getting rid of it also. Instead of the razor blade you can also use steel wool just make sure to use gloves
Crinum thaianum otherwise know as onion plant, is your best best bet! The taste to fish is unpleasant, the plant will survive with malawi cichlids.
Its best to only bury the root because anymore than halfway up the bulb the plant will rot!
I have mine with the whole bulb exposed and have root tab fertlizers burried below the roots. These plants are expensive but if they survive you may be presented with beautiful surface flower.
Jet wash it!
Combatting your rock algae issues,(Peroxide is a great thing for targeting algae in a marine aquarium) Fresh water isn't as complicated;
Take half the rock out, soak in bucket of bleach water for 4hrs, then soak for 24hrs in ro [reverse osmosis) if available or 48hrs tap water then return to aquarium. leave your fx6 filtration alone! 48hrs later do your remainder rock as you did the first.
Again leave filters alone. 24hrs later do full maintenance of one filter, 72hrs later do full maintenance 2nd filter
one more tip, Get yourself a spare set of fx6 sponges, on filter maintenance, stick the dirty ones in the washing machine on a NO Detergent wash! they be ready for your next filtration maintenance
one hard working gal!
I usually wait until my mom and I can watch together but since she's not home and I'm building her a completely finished out tank stand for her 29 gallon to match her other furniture ... I think she'll forgive me. 😂
You need some scrub daddies or some 3M scrubbers. You can leave them in the sun too
Hydrogen peroxide is incredibly effective for black beard algae. But you don't need to clean it off. Lift out the rocks and spray them with hydrogen peroxide. Use a spray bottle. After a minute or two, you can just put them back. The algae will turn red and the fish will start eating it. They will clean it for you. Hydrogen peroxide is not toxic in moderate doses either. It breaks down fast and turns into water and oxygen.
I am not sure of the name of the fish but there is at least one fish that eats black algae
Hello Kaity.
How are your Two Tanks of "Piranhas" going.
They are certainly a Very Fiesty Bunch of Fish from that I saw at an Aquarium whilst visiting the Sunshine Coast last Weekend before off on Another Flight To Los Angeles & Back to get some ideas from the Guys around for my Starter Fish as my 5 ' Tank looks ready to Establish a Community of these types of Fish.
Nice Dark Room, Is that the place you go to Psych Out & Swear & Curse etc.,
Or do you have plans on starting up a Photographic Editing Studio as well.
You must have an Entire Entourage with you doing this Filming but if it's on Your Own with some Help from Friends then Excellently Done & Maybe another aspect of Kaity's Future is just Around the Corner but you like your Fish to much hey.
Can't say as i blame you because it's very Comforting & Relaxing to come back into the House & Sit Down, Look at the Fish & say I wish I was one of you Guys, You get looked after, Fed, etc, Lucky You.
I have to juggle Airline Food on my Lap most times being in the Cockpit far more often than at Home where I am not to bad at Cooking.
No Expert at it for Sure. like that of setting up an Aquarium, Bit of Trial & Error until I viewed your Site.
I have a Second Tank to do Next then after that a Third.
Will continue to Watch as you Do a Great Post & It's Very Educational for us & Fun for us not quite yet up to speed on setting everything back up again Aquarium Wise.
Cheers & Thankyou.
Regards.
John
That's so awesome to hear John :) Good luck with setting up your tanks! It's always so much fun enjoying the process of setting them up. And I do all of the filming and editing myself mostly, and sometimes friends will help me with the filming. It's part of what I enjoy about making videos, so it's all good fun :D
You will have algae covered anubias instead of algae covered rock. And the anubias will have negligible impact on your nutrients given the plant mass vs bioload
We will see 😭
Likely both due to how powerful the lights are. But experimenting and learning first hand is what makes this hobby fun! Just keep the plant leaves free of algae. I gently remove it by massaging with my bare hands. Beautiful setup!
🍌
Oh man people obsessed with aquarium plants incoming lmao