Community Tank Or Biotope

[kylealastairlove]

hello guys and girls

so for a while now i had my heart set on creating a south east asian biotope, but this meant i was limited by types of plants (i had a good idea for how i would scape though) i could use and because of the size of my tank it meant i could only have one or two fish species one of them being a schooling fish, and the others i dont know

although every time i visit the LFS i always see so many different types of fish i like the look of or think they would be cool to keep (preferring them over the fish i already have, that happens too), and i always tell myself no because my tank has to be asian themed. but im starting to think just a regular planted community tank would make me more happier so i can choose from any fish i like (providing it will not grow too large for my tank) and it also means i could do a lot more with the choice of plants and how i would scape my tank

what would you rather do a natural looking biotope theme or a planted community tank
would like to know as at the moment i only own the one tank lol

thanks a billion

 

[LongS]

I am currently setting up a south east asian biotope. was supposed to be purely Vietnamese but it restricts me a little, so i'm going to go for a little bit wider variety.

I'm going to try and have the most of the fish vietnamese though

Some Vallisneria, Cryptocoryne and maybe some Hygrophila corymbosa. Fish wise, i have chosen botia histronica with maybe a gourami species or betta or maybe both depending on compatibility.

 

[kylealastairlove]

sounds good to me good luck with your biotope! i was going to base mine purely on thailand. but like yours it was a bit restricting, so i basically just used plants from around south east asia (i put a pic in the photos section if you wanna look) and my fish stocking is going to be only fish from thailand im also looking into getting some gourami or perhaps a betta

 

[LongS]

Pretty similar situation then, i must admit, most of the fish i have found are usually found in Thailand aswell as Vietnam so i bet the finished product won't be a million miles away from yours.

Have you looked into the Betta Imbellis yet? Seems they are quite different from your average splendin species, might give you more of a chance in finding tank mates.

How big is the set up? I'm off to look at your tank now anyway!

 

[RipSlider]

It depends on how brutally rigid you want to be I think.

Remember that this is a hobby, so if you don't want to stick to a specific rule then you don't have to, as long as the fish are OK.

From what I've generally seen, most biotopes stay pretty rigid on the fish species, and also the tank design ( so looking at the tank from 6 foot away, it's obviously an amazonian tributary or a little piece of lake Victoria,) but many people seem to be a bit more flexible about the plants. For example, I'm in the process of building out a River Negro biotope, but I have a few places where I want some medium sized "scruffy" looking plants which can handle medium/low light, and a few of the larger crypts will be a perfect fit.

The way I see it, it'll make the tank look better, the fish won't mind, and I'll be happier with the look of the tank than I'll be annoyed by fact that there's a S.E. asiam plant in the tank.

 

[kylealastairlove]

yeah i guess it is pretty similar, yeah i have read all about them i was also looking into maybe getting a few sparkling gourami because they look nice my tank is only a 64L about 2 ft in length

and ripslider i know what you mean, i was trying to find plants that were purely found in thailand, in the end i just chose a few different species from around south east asia, i had to make sure their demands werent too high aswell as i would say my tank is a low tech set up, just do what works best for you

 

[fluttermoth]

Do whatever makes you happy and gives you the tank you want to look at

For instance, my bedroom tank is 'Amazonian', with false neons and hatchetfish, but I also have glass catfish, anubias and crypts in there!

 

[magpie]

Agree- what makes you most happy? I have mostly SA fish, naturally planted/scaped but just get plants that look nice, nothing strict as far as SA plants. I also have kuhli loaches and a pair of stiphodon gobies just because I love them.

 

[kylealastairlove]

magpie the tank in your sig' looks great, if thats the one your talking about i went and brought myself a half moon betta today, my friend loves them and wanted me to get one and i also really wanted to get one haha! so i did it had a good conversation with the guy working at the shop, seemed quite knowledgeable too which made me feel quite good about where i get my fish from

 

[LongS]

Yeah i agree Ripslider, i won't be too strict with it but i think i'm at a point in the hobby where i have found some inspiration in the biotopes to actually make me want to spend a bit of time making it look good. I've done the community thing and seen a variety of fish, i'm just pleased i've got the motivation from somewhere! haha

Don't suppose you have any pictures of the River Negro set up? Wouldn't mind having a look.

Kyle, what are you planning on keeping with the betta then? would sparkling gouramis and your betta be good tankmates? I have also been looking at them along with various others, its a shame about the Licorice Gourami being so sensitive, they look really nice fish. Also the paradise fish, having the temperament it does, is a bit disappointing.

 

[kylealastairlove]

hmm thats a good question, im not 100% yet i may get a few but first i need to find out if sparkling gourami and a betta will get along, and yeah i agree they do look rather nice i dont think theres a lot else i can put in my tank now, that would be small enough and from thailand anyways, i got my school of lambchop rasboras, and now a betta and if it will work i might get a couple of sparkling gourami !