South American Biotope

[mematrix77]

HI all I have been toying with the idea of setting up a South American Biotope aquarium 70-125gal I intend to have 3 pr of dwarf cichlids Blue Rams Nanacara anomalas not sure of third pair possibly Laetacara dorsiger or apistos Ive seen three that look cool steindachneri,macilensis,borellii with some tetras and another schooling mid water fish not tetras some hatchets not sure which ones small plecs 3-4in max small shoal corys set up in plants from that area and at least 3 pieces of bog wood to alow each pr a territory this project will take me awile to get started have to get the tank most expensive part must shop probly put one on layawayat LFS I know he sells lots of used equip so any sugestions on setup will help especially good substrat that is plant promotional (healthy) like it to look like I took a Knife an cut out a piece of South American river op[en to other fish but dwarf cichlids are a must Sincerely Curtis wanting to do it up right

 

[yvez9]

I might be mistaken but I'm pretty sure Blue Rams and Gold Rams are not found in the wild. It is man-made species.

You could try bolivian rams, they are a lot hardier and are the original species off which blue rams were bred.

There are lots of south american cichlids you could put in there, too many to list them here. Some tetras too would be cool. Plecos and Cories

 

[TorPeteO]

DISCUS!

I don't know if they'd get along with the other stuff you're planning on getting (namely the rams), but it doesn't matter. Discus would be waaaaay better than rams, anyway. (4) Discus, (12) corys, (10) marble hatchets, and (~20) neon or cardinal tetras.

 

[CFC]

A true SA Amazon biotope would not be planted with substrate rooted plants. The only plants that grow there are surface plants like water lettuce and mossy plants which attach themselves to roots near the surface like riccia.

 

[JamesTasker]

Does it have a leafy bottom as well?

 

[Nix]

Angelfish

 

[phishluvr]

DISCUS!

I don't know if they'd get along with the other stuff you're planning on getting (namely the rams), but it doesn't matter. Discus would be waaaaay better than rams, anyway. (4) Discus, (12) corys, (10) marble hatchets, and (~20) neon or cardinal tetras.

can the other fish handle the high temp of a discus tank?

 

[pica_nuttalli]

(1) Wardley's ceramic pond soil is FABULOUS for root promotion (ge it at a local home improvement store)
(2) blue rams and bolivians are two different species, but the golds are man-made
(3) discus au natural would be less than spectacular, expensive, and possibly a size/territory problem when they finished growing.
(4) a bunch of swords (amazon and otherwise) would probably be reccommended so that your various fishies could have some places to hide


so ja, Wardley's kicks and its not a bad price either (well, at least around here). just be sure to follow the washing instructions or you'll have a ton of powder.

don't forget to post pics when you're done!

 

[Ken]

Blue rams are one of the most interesting fish you could have in SA biotope.

Compared to most other fish, rams are curious, and interact more with their environment, instead of seeming to run on some sort of automatic swim-eat-swim program.

They are a good choice for someone wanting to fill up the bottom third of their tank.

Hatchetfish will stay on topmost part of the tank, so can have hatchets AND tetras.

That would give you corries on bottom, hatchets on top, and rams and tetras in the middle.

Rams seem to be a little more sensitive to water conditions, so be prepared to weekly 25% changes, or more if you have a big bioload.

 

[mematrix77]

Hey everyone who posted Thanks for the input sorry discus are out grow to large wish there was a smaller size about the size of an angelfish's body without the fins because i like discus just to big and I am really Into Dwarf cichlids so must stay loyal to them and yes Blue rams and bolivian rams are two seperate spieces and yes the German blue has been selectively bred for color as well as have the gold unfortunatly many species of tropical fish have the hand of man not nature in to enhance there colors the first and most man altered fish was the common carp as for a real S.A. biotope being mostly suspended plant life how do you explane all the different kinds of swords and other rooted plants come from there you can purchase from shops like plant geeks.com ect Ido agree that a lot of the vegatation in the rivers and streams and savanna pools are floating because it is what we see mostly not so much undewater not a whole lot of sub surface photography that Iv,e found anyway not intending to be argumetive I do appreciate your input since doing a S.A.biotope is a new direction for me I will look into the ceramic pond soil may be I might develope a green thumb finally so everybody thanks again for your sugestions whith the help of fellow hobbyist I believe my S.A.biotope will come into being Sincerely Curtis Johnson