Three main terrains surround the tropical freshwater world: Rain forests, Monsoon forests, and Savannas. Rain forests, such as those in West Africa and South America are marked by profuse vegetation and regular rains and flooding. Monsoon forests, as is much of Southeast Asia, are often swampy with severe dry and wet seasons. Savannas, such as those in Central America, contain grasslands and forests as well as several large lakes.
Within these terrains are various bodies of water. Streams generally have strong but narrow currents as well as rocky beds and shady banks. Many are mountainous with splintered rocks. It is here we find barbs, loaches, swordtails, and plants such as Java or African Ferns, Anubias, and different mosses clinging to fallen foliage and the rocky banks. Setting up a biotope aquarium of this sort entails providing good water flow from filters, some rocks, and a few tough plants along the banks and around the stream bed. Gentler streams, such as the Cryptocoryne streams of Southeast Asia, can be filled vegetation and Gouramis, rasboras, and bumble bee gobies for example. Many Corydoras catfish enjoy the sunny, sandy, open parts of streams, as do danios.
South American Black-Water
Black-water ponds, creeks, and rivers instigate in the rain-forest. In the slack-moving waters, acids are leeched from rotten plants creating tea-colored water. These waters have almost no assessable water hardness and an acidic pH.
This is perhaps the trendiest biotope because of its majesty and the infinite variations in fish and plants.
Equipment:
You'll need sufficient lighting for the plants but not so much as to make the tank unusually bright. Co2 injection may also be used for the plants.
A good size tank would be something above 150L as this would provide you room for decent size shoals and the admired discus or angelfish. With a South American tank, the fish likes slower water making the container filter perfect for this kind of set-up as it doesn't require such a lofty turnover rate to filter the tank appropriately.
Water:
NB: This pH can be attained through peat filtration, the application of driftwood in the aquarium or through the employ of carbon dioxide injection which is too very favorable for live plants.
pH: 6.0-6.5, Temperature 27-30ûC
Aquascaping:
Endow the tank with driftwood and a murky sand substrate. A black tank milieu would also look good. If using standard fruit salad gravel, jumble some carbon in with the gravel making it look darker and more natural.
Plants:
Heteranthera zosteraefolia (star grass), (pictured right) Cabomba, Echinodorus sp. (sword plants)
Fish:
Discus, angelfish, dwarf cichlids, tetras, hatchet fish, Corydoras, Farlowella, bristlenose, Loricariids.
You have a good range of fishes on hand, to choose from. In a 150L you may choose to add;
2 Bolivian rams, 6 Hatchet Fish
6 bronze Corys
10 rummy nose tetras
1 bristlenose
Your beautiful biotope is ready to be placed in your sitting room
Amazon Biotope Aquarium
The water in the Amazon is spongy and acidic and generally highly colored because of all the humic acid. A great deal of light is cut off by overhanging trees, but where the light does break in; there is a rich density of aquatic plants. Those are the uncultivated conditions, but the fish that come from there have also become domesticated over many generations, and because of this they are more habituated to living in harder and less acidic water than their wild relatives. Reasonably a high proportion of all the common community fish originally come from this cosmic region.
Care
Care is just the same as any other community aquarium in most regards. Let the bogwood to color the water slightly - this will give the tank a far more genuine look and will also change the radiance spectrum to one that suits the advanced plants more than algae.
PH
A cautious eye must be kept on the pH, as bogwood has a propensity to cause the pH to fall to hazardous levels. Regular partial water changes of about 20% weekly should be carried out, and the new water should have some trace elements added to it. It may be indispensable to put in something to buffer the water from moment to moment (Kent pH Stable is ideal).
Requirements
Set up the tank with all the utensils and then assemble the bogwood - try to plan for a scrambled effect as though the wood had collected there after drifting down stream. The tank can be of any dimensions but large is best. Because of using a great amount of real plants, two lighting tubes should be used with reflectors. Numerous big pieces of bogwood are used for the core hard background. A power-filter will produce first-class contained water movement. Once you are pleased with the preparations, put the plants in place.
Filtration
As the great number of plants lessen the normal level of filtration and aim to filter the tank's capacity of water once every 4 hours. External power filter, used primarily for organic and mechanical filtration. No chemical filtration, as this would eliminate very important trace elements needed for plant augmentation.
Lighting
Use two or three cylinders with spectrums for plant growth. The cylinders must be the complete length of the aquarium and they should have correctly made reflectors.
Water Conditions
pH - 6.0 to 7.0
Nitrate - < 10ppm
KH - 2 to 4
Temp. - 74¡F to 78¡F.
GH - 3 to 7
Ammonia/Nitrite - no trace
Feeding
All the fishes will flourish on a diet of flake and live on frozen food. The bristle-nose catfish will also maintain any algae at bay.
The herbivores will usually abscond the plants alone if they are nourished with
- Sliced cucumber
- Cooked peas without their skin
- Algae pellets/wafers
- Lettuce
Omnivores will need flake food and a few live on frozen food, two or three times per week.
All the following plants will do well:
- Cabomba
- Myriophyllum
- Dwarf sword plant
- Echinodorus amazonicus
- Hair grass
- Amazon sword
There ought to be LOTS of plants if they are to out-compete the ever present algae. Once planted up the plants should be permitted to reconcile in for at least one week prior to introduction of the fish.
The Fish
There are numerous suitable fishes for this tank. Stocking amount should be kept remarkably low for the best innate effect - try to keep to just one third of the usual stocking thickness.
- Discus (need a high temp. and the plants may not thrive)
- Dwarf cichlids
- Larger characins (such as silver dollars)
- Angelfish (but not with small tetras)
- Bristle-nose catfish
- Whiptail catfish
- Almost all of the small tetras
- Hatchet fish
- Pencil fish
- Corydoras catfish
Southeast Asian Black Water
Another admired biotope consisting of mostly diminutive, schooling fish.
Equipment:
Once more, something above 150L would be suggested with 1.2m being a most favorable length. This tank would also benefit from a container filter with a spray bar but a dangle on back filter would be fine as well. Lighting should be reasonable for the plants but once more, too much light may make this tank look ÒfalseÓ. Being an additional planted tank, co2 immunization would also be an additional benefit.
Water:
Carbonate Hardness 4dCH
pH of 6.0 to 7.0
temperature 25-28¼C
total hardness 8dH
Aquascaping:
Once more, we'll utilize a murky gravel or sand. The carbon trick could also be used in this set-up. Driftwood and roots should be used with some pieces touching the surface. Round river rocks could also be used.
Plants:
Cryptocoryne Wendtii
Cryptocoryne Nevillii
Hygrophila Polysperma
Ceratopteris Thalictroides
Vallisneria
Nuphar Japonicum
Fish:
Barbs, rasboras, cyprinids, loaches, gouramis.
In a 200L aquarium, you might try the following:
8 harlequin rasboras
8 zebra danios
3 zebra loaches
6 kuhli loaches
2 pearl gouramis
Lake Malawi
This biotope will have rock-strewn decor and alkaline water. These can appear dazzling if set up correctly and the fishes should be always bright and colorful.
Equipment:
You'll wish for a fairly large tank that has a good footprint to permit room for you to construct your rock piles. A 190L (36x18x18) would be big enough but a 250L or bigger would of course, be better. You'll desire a little faster flow rate than the previous 2 biotopes and a HOB filter. Lighting isn't so vital and a single 10000k fluro should be sufficient.
Water:
Temperature 24 - 27ûC
pH 7.8-8.5
Aquascaping:
As discussed previously, the decor should be stony, with a sand substrate. Driftwood can be used in minute amounts but too much will damage it. Some first-class rocks river rocks and sandstone can be used to buffer the water. I commend just rocks.
Plants:
Plants aren't frequently used in these biotopes, but if you're keen to extend the rules a little, Java leaf can be used.
Fish:
Synodontis
Lake Malawi Cichlids
These biotopes can appear stunning if done correct.
Australia/New Guinea River
These fish chiefly come from shallow, sandy rivers in New Guinea and Northern Australia. Rainbow fish are gorgeous fish.
Equipment:
Water movement must be literally high and a HOB, container or interior power filter can be used. You'll require a fairly huge tank as nearly all rainbow fishes are big and spirited. 55g aquarium for this biotope will be sufficient, but larger is of course, better. Lighting should be dazzling.
Water:
The water must be low to medium in Hardness with a pH between 6.5 and 7.0, A temperature of 75o (24 degrees C) is recommended as these fish don't like the warmer temperatures of most tropical fish.
Aquascaping:
Sand substrate is recommended, and rocks should be used as decoration. Plant the tank heavily to make the rainbow fish feel at home.
Plants:
Potamageton Crispus
Najas Tenuifolia
cryptocoryne Wendtii
Spirodela Oligorrhiza
Nymphoides Indica
Fish:
Some species you could use in this biotope are:
Glossolepis Incisus
- Red Rainbow Fish
Melanotaenia Affinis
- New Guinea Rainbow
Melanotaenia Boesmani
- BoesmanÕs Rainbow
Glossolepis Wanamensis
- Emerald Rainbow
Melanotaenia Goldiei
- Goldie River Rainbow
Melanotaenia Lacustris
- Turquoise Rainbow
Melanotaenia Splendida Rubrostriata
- Red-Striped Rainbow
Southeast Asia Black -water
Southeast Asia is home to many of the fish which are in most demand by hobbyists today. The backwaters of southeast Asia are both slow moving and thick with vegetation. Both above and below the waterline live many ferns and bamboo. The streams are packed with organic matter and stained brown by the iron rich red rocks that cover the bottom. You can recreate this environment with the following guidelines:
pH 6.0 to 6.5
hardness: 100mg/liter CaCO3
temp 75 to 79 degrees
Plants:
Bamboo Plant, Blyxa Japonica
Giant Hygrophila, Nomaphila Stricta
Recommended Lighting:
3 watts per gallon of water
Substrate:
Laterite
Sand
Red Gravel
Multi Colored Stones
Pebbles
Suitable Fish:
Tiger Barb, Barbus Tetrazona
Siamese Fighting Fish, Betta Splendens
Clown Loach, Botia Macracantha
Zebra Danio, Brachydanio Rerio
Honey Gourami, Colisa Chuna
Dwarf Gourami, Colisa Lalia
Pearl Gourami, Trichogaster Leeri
Paradise Fish, Macropodus Opercularis
Red Tailed Black Shark, Labeo Bicolor
The bottom layer of the substrate should contain iron rich Laterite for the plant growth, topped with a mixture of sand and red gravel accented with larger stones and pebbles. SachemÕs Fluorite is red clay gravel very suitable for this. To make things more interesting you can alternate to have some exposed areas of sand as well as gravel or rock, however the overall look of the substrate surface should be dark with a lot of red color. Broken pieces of red clay flower pots also make a nice accent. The over all look you are striving for is tall, bushy plants in the background and sides, and a rocky foreground. This simulates the plants growing close to shore while the outer areas are littered with rocks.
Zaire River Rapids
The Zaire or Congo River in West Africa stretches for over 2700 miles and is fed by an enormous central basin that was once a lake. Many fish have adapted to life in the part of the river with heavy white water rapids. This is what we will re-create.
pH 7.0 to 7.5
hardness: 150mg/liter CaCO3
temp 77 to 80 degrees F
Plants
Anubias nana
Anubias lanceolata
Anubias Frazeri
Anubias Congensis
African Water Fern, Bolbitis Heudeloti
Recommended Lighting:
2 watts per gallon of water
Substrate:
Sand and large, smooth, rounded rocks
Suitable fish:
African Red Eyed Tetra, Arnoldichthys Spilopterus
African Sucker Mouth Catfish, Chiloglanis Cameroonensis
Ornate Catfish, Chrysichthys Ornatus
Banded African Tetra, Distichodus Sexfasciatus
African Glass Catfish, Eutropiellus "Debauwi"
Butterfly cichlid, Hemichromis Thomasi
Congo Tetra, Phenacogrammus Interruptus
Blockhead cichlid, Steatocranus Casuanus
Synodontis Robertsi, Angelicus, Brichardi, Camelopardalis Catfish
Slope white sand up to the middle where you stack large round river rocks, worn smooth by constant water pressure. Arrange the plants in between and around the stones. Tall Anubias in the rear or ends, ferns and dwarf Anubias in the front.
This is just a few of the many different biotopes you could make. If you are thinking of setting up a new aquarium, consider doing a biotope aquarium.
