# SA Bio type ideas?



## cichlidfam (23 Jul 2011)

Hi guys and gals,

Im getting a new tank soon ( hopefully ) so im going to dedicate my 4ft 260 ltr tank to my A.Cacatouides, a few corys and L numbers, so im looking for ideas and inspiration.


Cheerz

Matt


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## George Farmer (23 Jul 2011)

I'm setting up a 240 litre Amazon biotope soon, and am also stuck for fish ideas.  

Here's options I've been considering (not all kept together...)  

Large shoal of Rummynose tetra and Corydorus.

Peruvian angelfish.

Wild-strain discus.

Festive cichlids.

I've an RO unit so can tailor the water.

Lots of wood, leaf litter, sand, no plants, tea-stained water.


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## Gfish (23 Jul 2011)

Hi George,

Why don't you leave out the Festivium (the most difficult to keep!) then have plants? 
I saw pics and vids once of a rooty stretch of river with large dense patches of low growing echindorus. It looked great!

*speak to Dan27 off PFK on his and other folks experience of Feativium*

You could put some Biotodoma in there too  
Nice!

Cheers

Gavin


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## BigTom (23 Jul 2011)

Some of the smaller pike cichlids could make a great centrepiece if you tailored the rest of the stocking to suit.


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## cichlidfam (24 Jul 2011)

Thanks George.

I had basically the same theme in mind using one big trunk like piece of bogwood in the center, a few pieces running off that of a more 'root' like design to each side of the tank,then alder cones and leaf litter on the bottom along with sand substrate.

I may even put in a 3D background to mask the heater and filter inlet/outlet pipes.

All this however will only happen if i get the new tank.

Regards 

Matt


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## cichlidfam (2 Aug 2011)

That's a really nice set up you've got there mate.

How big is  the tank, also the floating plant you mention that's sounds like some harry potter spell,is it hard to come by?

Matt


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## Jeremy (5 Aug 2011)

Festives aren't hard to keep -especially compared to wild discus!


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## Gfish (5 Aug 2011)

Have you kept them??? If so, tell us about the tank, conditions,  flow, tankmates etc??? Be good to hear the benefit of a successful keepers experience.

Cheers


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## dw1305 (6 Aug 2011)

Hi all,
Hello Sasa I like this tank as well, reminds me of Lukaz's (Ruki) A. "Breitbinden" tank (that you liked on Apistogramma forums?). 






The floating plant in the picture is _Ceratophyllum demersum_, but ZliBrka is recommeding Amazon Frogbit (_Limnobium laevigatum_), and these are both excellent, or you could use _Pistia_ (in the photo) or _Salvinia_.

I can't remember what I sent Cichlidfam (via BCA forum and they should be with you today) but you will certainly have the 3 floaters.

cheers Darrel


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## cichlidfam (6 Aug 2011)

Hi darrel,

Nothing has turned up as yet, I'm sat at my letter box like a 5 year old kid waiting for his birthday cards.

Cheerz

Matt


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## cichlidfam (6 Aug 2011)

Darrel,

Everything arrived today, thank you very much. A couple of questions if I may.....

1. How long can I keep the staples in for?
2. In amongst the plants there was some brown stringy stuff, what is that?

The floater's are great by the way thanks again, I have the leaves soaking as we speak, chucked some in the fry tank aswel.

Going out tomorrow to grab some porridge oats for the worm cultures and I've got the other half eating her way through some ice cream so ill have another tub.

Thanks again

Matt


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## dw1305 (7 Aug 2011)

Hi all,
I just leave the staples in, they will rust eventually, but I don't see any problem with that. The "brown stringy thing" I'm not sure, it might be _Utricularia gibba_? If it looks like nylon fishing line with lots of knots in it it is _Utricularia_, or if it is "fuzzy and brown" it is the roots from Java Fern.

I sent some other bits to someone else who wanted some _Utricularia_, so I may have sent you the wrong plant bundle. 

cheers Darrel


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## cichlidfam (7 Aug 2011)

Hi,

The Utricularia gibba was easy to identify, as were the roots from the java ferns, it looked more along the lines of a dying moss.

Everything else is planted in and looking great so far, also started the cultures off late last night.

Cheerz

Matt


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## dw1305 (8 Aug 2011)

Hi all,


> it looked more along the lines of a dying moss.


 Got it, it is a moss, but it isn't dying, it has been grown in very high light (in the glasshouse) and has produced pigments that mask the chlorophyll. In the tank it will soon revert to being green and grow much stringier.

I'm not sure where it came from originally, but it is probably _Leptodictyum riparium_. Outside emersed <http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=LERI6> (although it looks the same immersed in high light) and in the aquarium <http://www.aquamoss.net/Stringy-Moss/Stringy-Moss.htm>.

cheers Darrel


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## ghostsword (8 Aug 2011)

ah, so that is what it is.. Leptodictyum riparium.. you sent me some a while ago but I did not know what it was. One piece I used emersed, it turned brown. The other pieces are on my tanks, mixed up with java moss, and growing very fast.  

Thanks for the identification.


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## George Farmer (8 Aug 2011)

dw1305 said:
			
		

> Hi all,
> Hello Sasa I like this tank as well, reminds me of Lukaz's (Ruki) A. "Breitbinden" tank (that you liked on Apistogramma forums?).


Wow!

That's makes my recent effort look rather pathetic.

Darrell - what's the fluffy substance on the wood?  Fungus? Algae? Moss?


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## dw1305 (9 Aug 2011)

Hi all,


> _Leptodictyum riparium_.. you sent me some a while ago but I did not know what it was. One piece I used emersed, it turned brown. The other pieces are on my tanks, mixed up with java moss, and growing very fast.


I think it is the moss that forms the yellow ring around the garden pond in winter. I haven't got a photo, but the edge of the pond has terraces of "Bath stone" oolitic limestone brash (I dug this from the hole where the pond is), with bits of dead wood etc. and the moss has spread to form a complete carpet in the zone that is immersed/emersed as the water level falls and rises. Because the rock is permeable it stays pretty damp even when it is out of the water for extended periods, but the moss goes a very yellow colour. I store any bits of dead wood (that I think I may need fairly soon) in the pond and I think it ended up in the tank originally as a hitch hiker, where it had grown onto one of the stored wood bits.



> Darrell - what's the fluffy substance on the wood? Fungus? Algae? Moss?


 I was interested so I asked Lukasz (Ruki), and he said that they are a red algae. Mike Wise and Tom C said that a very similar algae is often the only submerged "plant" in the black water streams and he posted some shots on "Apistogramma forums".

I also found a reference for this:
"_Necchi, O & Zucchi M (2001) "Photosynthetic performance of freshwater Rhodophyta in response to temperature, irradiance, pH and diurnal rhythm"
Phycological Research 49(4), pp 305 - 318

from the abstract:
"......Parameters derived from the photosynthesis-irradiance curves indicated adaptation to low irradiance for all freshwater red algae tested, confirming that they tend to occur under low light regimes. .......whereas light compensation points (Ic) were very low (= 2 µmol photons m- photons s-1) for most algae tested. Saturation points were low for all algae tested (Ik = 6-54 µmol photons m-2 s-1; Is = 20-170 µmol photons m-2 s-1)..."_"

Tom C's web pages and travel logs: <http://apisto.sites.no/>

The tank itself was actually entered into AGA "Biotope contest" in 2009, but didn't find favour with the judges:


> "Even for a biotope tank, this one is just too messy with too much algae." — Karen Randall
> 
> "Although it may represent the biotope fairly accurately, the algae and the coconut hut really detract from the tank. Also, I would think that the Apistogramma is usually found in the presence of other fish." —Bailin Shaw



However I believe that George may be personally acquainted with the author of the 3 winning entries in this category in 2009? 

cheers Darrel


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## George Farmer (9 Aug 2011)

Thanks Darrell.  Fascinating reading.



			
				dw1305 said:
			
		

> However I believe that George may be personally acquainted with the author of the 3 winning entries in this category in 2009?


I know him better than anyone...


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