What are some hard to recreate biotope types in the aquarium hobby?

[Blackwater guru]

My main interest when it comes to aquatic animals like fish and aquatic invertebrates it has always been to create biotopes as close to how they would experience it in their native homes whether it's a humid rainforest or a carribean coral reef near the beach.

My question here is this , what types of biotope setups are the hardest to setup or maintain? .

I have yet to maintain something challenging but this is my first and current setup.

So far I have stuck to the classic Rio negro blackwater biotope aesthetic with few bottom plants but plenty of driftwood, floating plants , and some dried oak leaves on the bottom that my corydoras duplicareus catfish love to hide under like they would do in the wild to avoid being eaten and of course some roiboi tea to add the tannins present in their native jungle rivers .

Have you ever owned one of these hard to setup or maintain biotope and how did you manage in doing so?

 

[Stan510]

I've leaned into the stream aquarium. I think you see very few because : People don't want to spend for pumps that can make all the water in an aquarium move at a decent clip. Also,they worry that too much current 24/7 is bad for the fish. I think a stream type tank would be great and maybe reduce that flow 16 out of 24 hours would be ideal.
I just changed to a 1,250 gph pump and in a long rectangle aquarium it really moves the water in some places and yet the shape leaves a lot of lesser to calm waters at the same time. But,seeing the Panda Garras move into the flow at its strongest outlet is like watching a nature film of loaches with sucker mouths moving upstream. Its like a gym for fish- lol...the others can swim to the opposite side of the tank and its still.
Its not a tank now for slow eaters or movers.
I also thought of first going brackish water...Puffers,Scats,Archerfish,even some Groupers can live in part salty water for years. The shapes and forms cannot be found in pure freshwater tanks..even if colors are not all that exotic. The Mangroves would be the habitat recreated in look.

 

[Colin_T]

Sea grass meadow in a marine tank. The sea grasses need bright light and a wave maker. Once they settle in they are fine.

 

[WhistlingBadger]

I always wanted to try a Rocky Mountain foothills creek. It would need a ton of current, a chiller, and a gigantic filter since fish in this environment require completely pristine water, and plants generally won't grow in such a low-nutrient environment. It would also require a large, 100 gallon or bigger tank, since most fish in this region grow quite large. So, I probably won't ever do it since the cost and space are prohibitive. But I sure would love to see someone else do it right.

Sometime in the next year I plan to try a nano Sumatran rice paddy biotope. It probably won't be terribly difficult, but it will be a nice change from the standard Rio Negro and Southeast Asia concepts.

 

[CassCats]

I plan on building a fast flow Orinoco river shallows biotope, a strong stream set up, lots of rocks, snags of driftwood, and tannins.
Stock will be:
1-2 L240 vampire galaxy plecos
10-15 corydoras metae OR corydoras axelrodi (depends on availability)
10-15 pristella tetras

Will be a large tank as well, probably custom built.

The rate of flow will be difficult to get just right. I want to create some sheltered pools between rocks and some areas of white water, looking at a long and shallow tank set up

 

[WhistlingBadger]

I plan on building a fast flow Orinoco river shallows biotope, a strong stream set up, lots of rocks, snags of driftwood, and tannins.
Stock will be:
1-2 L240 vampire galaxy plecos
10-15 corydoras metae OR corydoras axelrodi (depends on availability)
10-15 pristella tetras

Will be a large tank as well, probably custom built.

The rate of flow will be difficult to get just right. I want to create some sheltered pools between rocks and some areas of white water, looking at a long and shallow tank set up

That sounds really, really cool. Could you put some ferns, rhododendrons, and/or monstera plants in pots behind the tank so they shade the water? That wouldn't be the easiest thing to pull off space-wise, but it would really complete the look.

 

[itiwhetu]

paludarium tanks are difficult. The lighting is always tricky.

 

[CassCats]

That sounds really, really cool. Could you put some ferns, rhododendrons, and/or monstera plants in pots behind the tank so they shade the water? That wouldn't be the easiest thing to pull off space-wise, but it would really complete the look.

I plan on it to be a center tank in the middle of my fish room, so it can be viewed on all sides, with rock formations forming sheltered places to make up for the lack of a "background". Plants... it'll be tricky, but id have to look into some south American plants, and I tend to kill any plant that isn't fully submerged.
Worst scenario i could do fake plants, but would have to research ones endemic to the Rio Orinoco area. Could make some replicas somehow... I'll have to get artsy lol

 

[WhistlingBadger]

I'm the same way with plants. I think it's because I tend to fuss about my aquariums, and just take houseplants for granted.

T

 

[The Lumpfish Guy]

I worked with a guy who made a tidal rockpool tank, which he had synced to the local tidal cycle for his son with downs syndrome who used to keep running off to the beach to go rock pooling.
He scaped out in fibreglass (i think) a series of rockpools and had a two pump sump system, one to circulate normally and one to empty and drain the tank with the tidal cycle.
His son then went to the beach and got anemones, shrimp starfish ect and filled the tank.
I saw the photos it looked quite cool!
I have it in the back of my mind for a potential in the future

 

[WhistlingBadger]

I worked with a guy who made a tidal rockpool tank, which he had synced to the local tidal cycle for his son with downs syndrome who used to keep running off to the beach to go rock pooling.
He scaped out in fibreglass (i think) a series of rockpools and had a two pump sump system, one to circulate normally and one to empty and drain the tank with the tidal cycle.
His son then went to the beach and got anemones, shrimp starfish ect and filled the tank.
I saw the photos it looked quite cool!
I have it in the back of my mind for a potential in the future

We spent some time in northern California a couple summers ago and the Badgerling and I had a blast catching critters in the rock pools. That sounds like a really fun project.

 

[The Lumpfish Guy]

We spent some time in northern California a couple summers ago and the Badgerling and I had a blast catching critters in the rock pools. That sounds like a really fun project.

Yeah, It didn't take him that long, and was a good solution to his son walking 3 miles down Devon country lanes to get to the sea unsupervised!

I think that is the main reason I became a marine biologist, rockpooling!

 

[Gypsum]

I plan on building a fast flow Orinoco river shallows biotope, a strong stream set up, lots of rocks, snags of driftwood, and tannins.
Stock will be:
1-2 L240 vampire galaxy plecos
10-15 corydoras metae OR corydoras axelrodi (depends on availability)
10-15 pristella tetras

Will be a large tank as well, probably custom built.

The rate of flow will be difficult to get just right. I want to create some sheltered pools between rocks and some areas of white water, looking at a long and shallow tank set up

That sounds awesome. I wish I had that kind of space (and money). My Orinoco plecos (L199) live in the council estate of a 125L Fluval Roma with a bunch of powerheads. That sounds like a fishy country mansion.

 

[CassCats]

That sounds awesome. I wish I had that kind of space (and money). My Orinoco plecos (L199) live in the council estate of a 125L Fluval Roma with a bunch of powerheads. That sounds like a fishy country mansion.

Shhhh im already crying at the project cost haha

 

[Koglin]

I always wanted to try a Rocky Mountain foothills creek. It would need a ton of current, a chiller, and a gigantic filter since fish in this environment require completely pristine water, and plants generally won't grow in such a low-nutrient environment. It would also require a large, 100 gallon or bigger tank, since most fish in this region grow quite large. So, I probably won't ever do it since the cost and space are prohibitive. But I sure would love to see someone else do it right.

Sometime in the next year I plan to try a nano Sumatran rice paddy biotope. It probably won't be terribly difficult, but it will be a nice change from the standard Rio Negro and Southeast Asia concepts.

Ya know.. I was really thinking about a rocky mountain stream biotope.. you might check out the "Colorado's Little Fish" .pdf at nativefishlab.net, there are a lot of cool small fish native to colorado that could work well in smaller tanks (like a 55) instead of having to go 100. This is another article you should check out too, has a lot of good nano species ideas for a colorado biotope:

https://thenativetank.tumblr.com%2Fpost%2F141741638519

Problem would obtaining them, and making sure from the regions wildlife dept. that you were allowed to catch/net and transport them (we have a lot of touchy wildlife laws here, for good reason though!)

The Colorado Aquarium Society could be a good resource too if you ever get into this idea.