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The amazing beauty of Malawi and Tanganyik cichlids often provokes amateurs to create aquarium arrangements that are completely unlike natural biotopes. The Germans, as well as cichlid lovers from Holland, were the first to succumb to this temptation. After them the baton was picked up by cichlids of other European countries, including Poland, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia.
But the ocean arrangement of the aquarium with cichlids like the Dutch has not found enough supporters: even the most recent publications in American magazines on aquariums indicate the continued commitment to the traditional design of the aquarium stones, driftwood and plastic crafts.
In Japan, the developed countries of Southeast Asia and in Australia, I also did not notice a clear interest in the system of decorating cichlid aquariums with living aquatic plants. Of the cichlids in the biotope aquariums of Takashi Amano, one can only see chromic butterflies and apistograms.
During my first visit to the GDR (it was in 1975), I was invited to visit the most famous German amateur, Achim Brühlmayer - just to see the fish and the aquarium.
I was literally battled by the diversity of the collection of cichlids and plants, united in one pond. Perhaps, it was such an opportunity that predetermined the huge popularity of the Malawian cichlids in Europe. Pisces Tanganyika, as shown by practice, are more tender, demanding to the quality of water, fodder and somewhat inferior in brightness or, more precisely, in the variegation of coloring Malawians. Therefore, their content - the fate of the most fanatical cichlidophiles, able to sometimes spend considerable funds for the technical equipment of the aquarium, and in themselves fish.
The camera, which is my indispensable companion during travel, helped document the pictures of all this splendor. To reproduce from photographs a beautiful cichlid aquarium with plants and demonstrate it at a club exhibition in Moscow within a week or two turned out to be not too difficult. However, with a longer content of the water body, many questions arose. They had to be asked both to their foreign colleagues, and, in the absence of satisfactory answers, to themselves. The latter turned out to be the most difficult, since with the acquisition of experience the number of questions grew and, most importantly, they became more and more refined. Nevertheless, it was possible to develop a definite approach to solving a number of complex problems.

It is known that the basis of the diet of cichlids of the Mbun group consists of algae abundantly covering the rocks and underwater deposits of stones, as well as aquatic organisms inhabiting or adjacent to this underwater carpet. But at depths of more than 20 meters the amount of light is getting smaller and smaller, and eventually it becomes clearly not enough for algae and even more so of higher aquatic vegetation.
Therefore, in fish that live at great depths, the proportion of plant food in the diet will be the less, the deeper they live in natural biotopes. Of particular interest in this sense are the inhabitants of underwater caves and grottoes. There, even at shallow depths of several meters, there is little light for aquatic vegetation.
Reading books and articles E. Koenigs, G.-I. Herrmann, A. Ribbinka, A. Spreynata, etc., viewing a number of video films, as well as personal conversations with participants of underwater field expeditions convinced me that the most promising in terms of adaptation to aquariums with aquatic plants among the cichlids of Lake Malawi are in the first Turn representatives of the genus Aulonokar, Otofarinx, as well as planktivorous haplochromids (Utaka).
As for the tangantic cichlids, these are numerous representatives of the genera that previously settled in lamprogolam - cytophylapia, cyprichromis, cyathopharynx, clochromyss, xenotylapia, ophthalmotylapia, etc.

In addition to the cichlids nutrition characteristics considered above, the other problem becomes obvious: the suitability of the conditions of water plants for water salinity (especially its hardness) and pH.
It is known that water in the Great African lakes is slightly alkaline - pH 7.6 - 9.0. It is desirable to create the same conditions in the aquarium. However, reference books on aquatic plants usually indicate that pH 7.5 is almost the upper limit for their normal growth. At higher RH values, it is very difficult to provide in water sufficient levels of carbon dioxide required for assimilation and growth of aquatic vegetation. Thus, the Malawian water is not very suitable for aquatic plants - so you need to accustom the fish?
This is how the matter was solved before, but two years ago I happened to get acquainted with the unique collection of aquatic plants that the Moscow amateur V. Kolesnik gathered there. Particular surprise was caused by his words that all his economy is supplied with hard water with PH 8.3! I admit, I could not resist and personally verified these parameters with the help of a reliably calibrated electronic pH meter. There could be no mistake. Moreover, among the dense thickets of plants near the water surface, the pH value reached 9! The beautiful appearance and good growth of plants seemed to contradict all the known canons and seemed incredible.
It was then that the idea arose to test the possibility of using the entire variety of aquatic plants grown under conditions of high rigidity and pH, to decorate aquariums with Malawians and tanganticans. The underwater flora in the African lakes is rather poor and includes only a few species belonging to the genera of the pondas (Potamogeton), vallisneria and the nymphaeum. It should be noted that the anubias used in the decoration of the Malavi and Tanganik aquariums are not found in the natural biotopes of the East African waters, but they are well suited for such reservoirs due to their durability and hard leaves.
Looking ahead, I will say that with the correct arrangement of the aquarium and the proper selection of cichlids, it is possible to successfully grow potamothetons, vallisneria, nymphaeas, and many other beautiful plants.
In the part of lighting, problems usually do not arise, as fish and plants like bright daylight. Experience shows that the best-selling metal-halogen lamps with natural color rendition are best for this. However, the residents of this capacity will also be satisfied with ordinary fluorescent tubes of daylight, if only the fish looked beautiful, and the plants had enough brightness of artificial light sources.

Imagine that in a traditional Malawian or Tanganik aquarium you plant twigs of synemas or hygrophils.
What will happen? The answer is obvious - it will be eaten in the next few hours, or even minutes.
If you plant a "tasteless" cryptocoryn, for example Cr.pontederiifolia or a nymphea, then the fish are unlikely to destroy them, but they will probably spoil: they will gnaw through the leaves, taste the petioles ... But if you plant hard-leaved echinodorus, anubias? Most likely their appearance will also fade: here and there some holes will appear, in some places - bite marks. But then why in the aquarium with lush thickets of aquatic vegetation cichlids practically do not touch them? Unclear. The situation seems to be hopeless, but is it so? It turns out - no, it is enough only to teach the fish not to touch the plants.

I often had to watch the bewilderment of their guests - connoisseurs of aquatic plants. Spores most often occurred just in aquariums with Malawian and Tanganik cichlids. Some said - armor, others - a new fern, others - an Ulvaceus ... In fact, it was most often the usual garden crops - spinach, lettuce, celery in all the variety of their varieties. The fact is that all newly arrived cichlids are accustomed thus to a vegetable diet. Experience shows that no matter how good the so-called balanced fodder for fish, they still do not have those or other components in the daily diet. Having met its need for vitamins and microelements in this way, cichlids practically cease to pay attention to the majority of ornamental aquatic plants (they are not so rich in useful substances as, for example, spinach), and all the energy of hunters is spent on ascertaining the relationship with their brethren. In this case, the coloring of fish becomes truly compelling.
Secretly I say that at first because of a lack of vitamins in the diet of the fish still spoiled the plants. After all, even on African aquarium fish farms before feeding for a long time they are fed dry food or their local substitutes. The basis of these substitutes is most often flour. About vitamins and microelements here and there is no need to talk. Putting these fish in an aquarium with living plants, you can not even dream of a harmonious neighborhood of flora and fauna.
If you do not have time to teach fish not to eat plants, you should always follow the main rule - there must be a lot of plants and they must be fully developed. Only in this case the fish will not destroy them all at once, and some inevitable losses in the foliage will not be so noticeable. Plant small processes in the hope that they will eventually grow up - a waste of time and money. At best, only the gnawed "sticks" will remain in the aquarium.

From all this, the conclusion suggests itself: Is not it easier to introduce African cichlids to plants at a very early age? Quite right. When cultivating African cichlids, I do just that: I surround the aquatic plants with fry from an early age. Most often they are Javanese moss, hygrophil and fern ceratopters. With good lighting, these plants not only serve as an excellent feeding due to biological fouling and abundance of soft young leaves, but also purify water from pollution, being a kind of living filter. True, Javanese moss has to be periodically (usually once a week) removed from the growing aquarium and washed, as it collects a lot of dirt.
As the fry grows, they have to be transferred to larger aquariums, where I usually grow echinodorus, microsorium, vallisneria, ludwigia and large species of hygrophil.
Long-term experience has shown that hygrophilia in aquariums with cichlids is a key plant. Pisces is very like it, since it probably contains many useful substances.
With a wide variety of species and forms, these plants are also a wonderful decoration of the aquarium. A kind of charm they give even some lightening or yellowing, caused by a lack of nutrients in the water or substrate.


S. Kochetov Aquarium № 1, 2002