CA Cichlid Aquascape!

Today I was able to go by some LFS and check out some stuff. Here's what I bought!

Front!



Back!



I can make a cave of sorts with these They'll be stable in the sand and the long thin rock is heavy enough not even the jack should be able to move it.



I already have a white sand substrate with some silk plants. I'd like to do actual plants and I thought of abuna and java fern because they're pretty hardy plants but I still have a feeling they'll eventually be destroyed. :/

 

abuna? what is that....do you mean anubias? I have one with my ca cichlids, and they leave it alone. you might be ok with one. I tied it to a rock. looking forward to pics =]

 

Yes, that would be it! xD And there will be pics. I might get some anubias to tie to the driftwood.

 

Debating if I want to keep all or any of the fake plants in there. Two are large grouped plastic plants and the others are silk. The one of the silk plants is starting to fray on the leaves so I probably will leave that one out.

Here's a picture of the different plants I have in there.

 

As promised! It is still cloudy because the driftwood decided it didn't want to stay down by itself yet. Hence the rock sitting over the base of it under the sand. Eventually it'll be water logged and/or sand will be enough to hold it down. That rock will go under the other side of the flat rock to make a pretty decent sized cave. I'd like to make another cave or find another nice piece of driftwood to replace the fake structure on the right. For now it still fits in and both of the cichlids LOVE that they can hide inside of it. I won't make it an immediate concern because they'll be able to fit in/around it for quite some time.

Added some anubias nana. One didn't stay properly attached to the driftwood when it came out of the substrate so I just buried the roots for the time being. I'd like to get some more and possibly some java fern to replace the silk plants currently in the background. I also need to upgrade my lighting. They're only 15 watt (5000k) bulbs. Trouble is finding 16.5 inch bulbs over 18 watts. That and my fixtures are only rated for 22 watts maximum anyways. I'll have to get whole new fixtures sometime. For now they should be fine, though.

Oh, and Giant Danios! The JD loves chasing them even though he'll never catch them. They have a better handle on the output from the filter and since they stay up so high he has trouble since he's smaller. Nevertheless it doesn't keep him from playing in the current with them or peacefully schooling with them once in a while.

 

Looks so much better. Love the simple, natural look!