# Help : Pants stunted



## royalbijoy (Jan 4, 2012)

*Help : Plants stunted*

Hello All,
First, let me elaborate my tank setup over here.
Dimension: Its a 4lx2hx1.5d ft planted tank.
Bio load: Got around 30 fishes in total(all cichlids).
Lighting: 4x36W PLL
Filter: 1 canister 1 internal filter
Substrate: controsoil(top layer) + JBL aquabasis plus(bottom layer).
CO2: DIY yeast generator.

Problem: My plants are not growing(except cabomba). They have remained the same for nearly 3 months without adding any new leaves.
They do not seem to decay too and so most of the existing leaves are very old with diatom on it. I do not have a pressurized CO2 cylinder but have a yeast generator which is attached to the input of my canister. I do have some dry fertilizers, but the LFS guy told me that I would not need to add any for a year since I brought the substrate recently. The only time I see pearling is when I change the water(for around 4- hrs). RED leaved plants have almost perished. Any advice is welcome.
Thanks for reading.


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## susankat (Nov 15, 2008)

For one thing, diy won't work that well with that size tank, you would have to have at least 6 bottles running at the same time. It would almost be impossible to pearl with that little.


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

First off, generally cichlids and plants don't mix well. You have too much light for that size tank. What kelvin rating are your bulbs? You will need ferts. This is a 90g tank, right?


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## susankat (Nov 15, 2008)

I think its closer to 75 gal


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## navigator black (Jan 3, 2012)

I know it's the kind of typo I always make, but I do like your topic - stunted pants sound very painful.


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## debisbooked (Jan 7, 2012)

How long do you run the lights? Do you have any algae growing? It is puzzling that no leaf growth at all is happening. I do not use co2 and the plants I added two weeks ago already show growth; I did up the hours my lights are on though. My understanding of cichlids is that they and plants do not do well together.


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## debisbooked (Jan 7, 2012)

navigator black said:


> I know it's the kind of typo I always make, but I do like your topic - stunted pants sound very painful.


Hehe.


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## navigator black (Jan 3, 2012)

Cichlids are a diverse group, with 1500 plus described species. Many are fantastic in planted tanks.
However, if you have Malawis, Tilapia, or any other herbivore, then it'd be a bit like wondering why your grass is stunted when you have a lawn covered in goats. Almost every cichlid habitat has its specialists, including the plant eaters.
What species do you have?


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## Summer (Oct 3, 2011)

I agree you need to reduce the amount of light, possibly add pressurized co2 and def add some fertilzers.


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## royalbijoy (Jan 4, 2012)

*Re: Help : Plants stunted*

Thank you everyone for the replies. I was under the impression that I am in the average light range, going with the wpg rule, where I have less than 2 wpg. I have read a lot of posts where people were saying how lush growth they had with no external C02(just fish producing it). My lights stay ON for 8-10 hrs daily. I know cichlids are bad for my tank but I just love them and my plants too. Can't get rid of them(just being greedy). But so far the rooted plants have all been a success in this tank(in that they survived the cichlid attacks). But the small ones were picked up like straw by my rude cichlids. You wont believe I had a full mat of HC at the bottom and now they are all gone.

Fishes: Red devil, lake malawi cichlids, lake mbuna cichlids, few south americans.(I know I have mixed up cats and dogs together).

So to complete, do you guys think I should go for a pressurized CO2 setup?


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