I tend to see time and time again the same fish in most planted tanks. I’m positive if you Google pictures of planted tanks you’ll see picture after picture of beautiful tanks, but the same 3 or 4 fish. I have to admit there’s nothing wrong with fish like neon tetras, lemon fins, cherry barbs, and serpae tetras, they do help contrast color with the plants. But why not add a little Emeril spice to your planted tank? You may be wondering how? The answer is cichlids. You may be thinking by this point “don’t cichlids get massive, eat smaller fish, and uproot all my plants?”. Yes some……. Most do. But there are some that still contain beautiful colors that won’t turn your aquatic garden into a nautical fight club.

1.) and 2.) of course angelfish and discus are first on the list. These flat omnivores do add a tremendous amount of color and character. But the downside is that they can get rather large, and when they get large they tend to turn into that grumpy old man that use to yell at you for stepping on his grass when you were a kid. I’ve seen schools of angelfish grow with neons for years until SNAP one night the lights go off and the neons disappear. Discus will definitely go after smaller fish, but they aren’t really built for the predatory lifestyle so most of the time they fail. Also let it be known I would NEVER recommend mixing angels with discus. Wild angels can transfer intestinal worms to discus and angels in general tend to be a little more aggressive than discus. Also I must let it be known that keeping a discus alive and keeping it colorful, happy, and stress free is a job in itself, but that’s a topic for another blog.

3.) Festivum. These guys are like angelfish. But slightly larger with a different body shape. I wouldn’t put them in a small tank, but they love a healthy plant tank. I’d recommend them in a planted tank with barbs and other plant friendly cichlids liiiiiiiiike….

4.) Acaras. Again a little more in the semi aggressive side, they really don’t do a lot of nipping, but they will tend to chase fish away if they are ready to breed. I’d definitely put them in a tank with barbs and larger tetras like congos.

5.) Rams. I have a love hate relationship with rams. After working in a fish store I can confidently say sexing these guys is a job in itself, but they tend to be sooooooo dang sensitive when first acclimating to a tank. That being said if your looking for a vivid blue, a stunning yellow, or a realistic brown dwarf cichlid that won’t get larger than 3 inches and can pair with nano fish rams are the way to go. German blues, golds, Bolivian, and electric Blue rams won’t bother anything. Just be sure to add them as the last fish in the tank

6.) Apistos. Similar to rams these guys come in a large variety of colors, don’t get too large, and aren’t aggressive. If your plant tank needs some red, purple, or blue, and you have a tank with celestial pearl danios, neons, Amanda (ember) tetras, etc. Id highly recommend a pair. The only cons to them are that they are sold usually in a pair, they tend to be pricey, and usually one pair is recommended in a tank to avoid males competing for the females.

7.) last but not least my personal favorite fish the Cryptotheros Sajiica, also known as the T-bar cichlid. Closely related to convicts, without all the aggression and with more color, Sajiicas pop out in a tank due to their bright blue eyes. Males can be differentiated by females by the red hue on the dorsal and caudal fin compared to the females yellow hue. The only con with them is that, like convicts, if you have a colorful breeding pair they WILL breed. I remember my pair laying eggs at least once a month, and wouldn’t recommend them in anything under 55 gallons and only with barbs, other dwarf cichlids, or larger tetras