Publication2 med aquascape Publication1cs complete | Page 162

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into the substrate or use a small plant pot. Using a
plant pot, you can easily control the amount of
nutrient rich substrate. If planting straight into the
substrate, then make sure the plant is well estab-
lished beforehand and protect the roots with a
few large pebbles positioned around the base.
Tiger lotus Lilies originate from Africa, however,
we can use artistic licence to represent the Nym-
phaea sp. found throughout Mexican and Central
American waterways.
I’ve decided to add a small group of Xiphophorus
hellerii (Green swordtails). These are great little
fish to add and will help your cichlids settle. I
would advise to add the swordtails first in any
Thorichthys meeki are great centrals to keep and
are suitable for smaller manageable aquaria. The
following aquascape is based on a pond biotope
that populations of T. meeki are found in. Tho-
richthys meeki are better to keep in large groups
in medium to large aquariums, but if you have a
strongly bonded spawning pair, then the following
aquascape is ideal to try in smaller aquaria. The
one illustrated is a 180L aquarium, 101 x 41 x 50
cm high, but you could still try the same aq-
uascape in a larger aquarium. The main feature is
a Nymphaea lotus (Green) Lilly plant. They will do
best in moderate to bright light with some nutri-
tion added to the substrate. Either plant straight
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