r.w.girard
Fish Crazy
I have finally decided that it is a must that I invest in a second tank so that I can put some of my community fish into an Orinoco biotope. The rest of my fish, bless them, will be rehomed into a nature aquarium that I have been contemplating for a while; a nuit blanche has convinced me of the necessity to do it. The goal is to end up with two 20L tanks (c. 75l): one a biotope and the other a manicured nature aquarium. No more motley, planted community tank full of odds and ends. But I am still in the planning stage a couple decisions away from getting the tank started.
The Biotope
This is the real reason for everything. My goal is to keep the biotope as strict as possible; this goal is, however, already shot as my Mikrogeophagus altispinosus are from the Amazon basin rather than the Orinoco but, since they are a breeding pair, I would rather keep them than risk two new M. ramirezi. The tank will be unplanted, apart from some floating plants to diffuse light, with blackwater, sand substrate, and plenty of gnarly driftwood. It will house:
The Nature Aquarium
The plan is to set this tank up first as it will be the most complicated. I am imagining my first real high-tech tank: T5 HO or LED [I already have a AquaSun double T5 HO] and pressurized carbon dioxide [will set up for the first time]. I am interested in using the ADA substrate system, but as with most new things, I am a little nervous and not sure I understand how it works. Stocking is up in the air. For the moment, from the community tank, I will have:
The Biotope
This is the real reason for everything. My goal is to keep the biotope as strict as possible; this goal is, however, already shot as my Mikrogeophagus altispinosus are from the Amazon basin rather than the Orinoco but, since they are a breeding pair, I would rather keep them than risk two new M. ramirezi. The tank will be unplanted, apart from some floating plants to diffuse light, with blackwater, sand substrate, and plenty of gnarly driftwood. It will house:
- 2x M. altispinosus, Bolivian Ram
- 6x Corydoras metae, Bandit Cory
- 20x Paracheirodon simulans], Green Neon Tetra
- *2x Apistogramma sp., if I can fit a small pair*
The Nature Aquarium
The plan is to set this tank up first as it will be the most complicated. I am imagining my first real high-tech tank: T5 HO or LED [I already have a AquaSun double T5 HO] and pressurized carbon dioxide [will set up for the first time]. I am interested in using the ADA substrate system, but as with most new things, I am a little nervous and not sure I understand how it works. Stocking is up in the air. For the moment, from the community tank, I will have:
- 10x Trigonostigma hengelii, Hengel's Rasbora
- 4x Otocinclus affinis, Otocinclus
- *anything else that would be nice in an open nature aquarium*
