Setting Up A Biotope

[RipSlider]

Hello.

Within the next 20 days I will have my new 600l tank set up and either cycled or nearly there.

The question then comes as to what to put in it.

right now, I'm thinking that I want some sort of really slow moving river scene from either the amazon or from a murky african river.

I want lots of tree roots, stones and plants on one side, and sand on the other side, so it looks like the cross section of a small stream. I'll probably be putting peat in the filters and not boiling/soaking the bogwood to give the tank a murky/dark water look.

Now I've got to decide how to stock it with both plants and animals.

I'm kind of thinking that I might go for a biotope, where there is only life that originates from a single area in it. Has anyone had a go at one of these, and what were your impressions? Did you find it more or less easy to deal with than a normal community tank with species from all over the world in it?

If I did go for the above idea, what could I put in it?

I "think" that if I went with an amazon biotope, I could add black widow tetras lemon tetras, coolie loach, silver dollars and Angel fish.

However, none of these seem very colourful, and I'm wondering if they would all live happily together?

Anyone have any thoughts or comments?

Steve

 

[Leslie]

Setting up a biotope is very interesting and informative. There's a great book that shows you different setups such as the one you're talking about. It's called The Complete Aquarium by Peter W. Scott. The book is about 10 years old but still has great information and pictures of different setups.

 

[CFC]

Khulie loaches are from Asia so wouldnt fit an Amazon biotope.

I copy and pasted this from a post i made on the topic a year ago, you may find it usefull.

The first thing about most Amazonian biotopes is that for the majority of the year there are no substrate rooted aquatic plants, the murky water doesnt allow much light to penetrate which prevents them from growing and often the pH is so acidic that it burns the leaves!

There are 3 main distinct biotopes in the amazon basin, blackwater, white water and Oxbow lakes

Blackwater flows in and out of jungle streams and as the name suggests is heavy with tannins from rotting vegetation and fallen leaves and trees which give it the colour of strong black tea, it usually has a KH of 0 and a pH in the region of 4 which doesnt allow many plants to grow. A lot of our common aquarium fish like Discus, Angelfish, dwarf Cichlids, knife fishes and many species of Characins and catfish come from this biotope which makes it one of the easiest biotopes to recreate.
A blackwater biotope tank will have a silver sand (play sand) substrate and will be decorated with many pieces of bogwood which should be arranged to replicate broken tree stems at the back of the aquarium and fallen twigs and branches in the front, taller pieces can have mossy plants such as Riccia (or java moss if riccia is unavailable) tied to them near the waters surface. Floating plants such as water lettuce (Pistia stratiotes) and Salvina can also be used if desired. The water should be stained a golden brown colour through the use of peat filtration and/or a blackwater tonic to acheive a natural look. Ideally the water in the tank should be soft and acidic with a pH of 6 and a KH of 3-5, this is higher than in nature but a lot more stable for a captive enviroment.
For a variation on a blackwater biotope you can have a leaf litter zone biotope which is the same but has a 3 inch layer of beech or oak leaves used as a substrate rather than silver sand. Collect the leaves in autumn/fall and store them in a dry place until needed, before adding them to the aquarium boil them for around 10 minutes to ensure they sink and any bugs they may be carrying are dead.

White water (which incedently has nothing to do with the white water you might go rafting on) flows from mountain streams and carries huge ammounts of sediments with it which give it its milky coffee colour. The pH here is usually closer to 7 and the KH around 5 from the mineral deposits washed from the mountains. Again few substrate rooted plants can grow here as little light can penetrate the murky water. Many of the Loricarid species and larger catfish and Characins found in the hobby come from this habitat.
To recreate a white water biotope again use a silver sand substrate and pieces of bogwood arranged as they would be if they had been washed down by the current but this time rounded pebbles and river cobbles can be added as decor too as these would be washed down off of the mountain sides by the flow, the current in this type of habbitat is usually quite strong so a couple of decent sized powerheads placed at one end of the tank will replicate this.

Oxbow lakes are formed when flood waters receed at the end of the rainy season leaving large inland waterholes rich in plant and animal life. Typically the water will be gin clear as the lack of current allows sediments to settle and there is not as much tannin present as in the blackwater rivers and streams. The species present here are very diverse and changes constantly but would typically be made up of mainly Cichlids and Characins.
To replicate an oxbow lake again use a silver sand substrate and decorate with pieces of bogwood arranged as they would be found had they fallen from trees above the tank. The tank can be densly planted making use mainly of Echinodorus plants (Amazon swords) and floating plants such as water lettuce and Salvinia. The pH should be neutral and the KH 5-7 though water chemistry isnt vital here.

There is a fourth Amazon biotope which is only present during the rainy season which is the flooded forest biotope recreating when the flood waters rise well into the jungle flooding many miles of forest and covering all the plants and trees that grow there. This one is more difficult to replicate naturally as the plants are terrestial ones which die and rot after being submerged for long periods but good quality silk plants which look like ferns can be used instead, java fern could also be used but it would not strictly be a biotope then. Decorate with tall upright pieces of bogwood at varying lengths allowing some to rise out of the waters surface and use shorter ones in the foreground to look like snapped off stumps of smaller shrub like plants. The substrate should be of a silver sand and peat mix as to recreate the jungle floor. Fish from any part of the Amazon can be found here feasting on the rich pickings of insects and fruits caught by the rising water.

 

[jkrekord]

i have no experience with biotopes but you mentioned wanting to keep animals and fish now what type of animals could you keep i would have thought they would just eat the fish or just not be suitable

 

[RipSlider]

CFC,

That you very much indeed for the inforation.

Could I ask for your souces? Right now I'm looking for photo's/more info so that I can create something really realistic.

Any help you could provide would be great.

Steve

 

[AnneRiceBowl]

I am currently setting up a SE Asian Biotope. All the advice that I can give: RESEARCH! RESEARCH! PATIENCE!

I spent many nights on google, plantgeek, and aquabid and many other sites. At one point, I think that I had about 9 windows open at once while I was researching. I am still not finished.

Good luck!

 

[CFC]

CFC,

That you very much indeed for the inforation.

Could I ask for your souces? Right now I'm looking for photo's/more info so that I can create something really realistic.

Any help you could provide would be great.

Steve

I dont really have any sources as such, the information is a collection of what i have read in books and on the internet and seen in wildlife documentries featuring the Amazon river. For photos try sites such as mongabay http/www.mongabay.com/ and some of the sport fishing sites have good on location pictures, searching for fish like peacock bass, golden dorado or payara on google will bring up a lot of hits with useful visual information.