# Lake Tanganyika Riparium



## hydrophyte (4 Jan 2013)

This is a 200 litre tank that I have had set up for a long time. I have had various riparium plantings in it and just last night I finished cleaning it up again for a new themed project. There is already a group of the Lake Tanganyika catfish, _Synodontis lucipinnis_, and now I am going to get it ready for a small representative cichlid community to go along with the catfish. I'm still working on my list of desired fish species, but I hope to start getting some of them soon.

Here is a shot from last night. I removed the large river cobbles in there and will replace them with angular slabs of limestone more similar to the rocky shorelines that I have seen in pictures of Lake Tanganyika. I'll also have to remove the little group of the livebearers and the Central America cichlids that are currently in there with the catfish. The riparium plants will look better when I can include some riparium trellis rafts with rooted stems to help cover up the planters and make a more natural scene.


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## OllieNZ (4 Jan 2013)

Looking forward to see what fish get in there. Do you have a short list?


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## hydrophyte (4 Jan 2013)

OllieNZ said:


> Looking forward to see what fish get in there. Do you have a short list?


 
I have never kept Tanganyika cichlids before, so it will probably just be a few of the common and easy fish, such as _Julidochromis_ or _Neolamprologus_.


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## REDSTEVEO (5 Jan 2013)

The more I see of these type of setups the more I like them. Can you give us your plant lists please.

Thanks.

Steve


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## OllieNZ (6 Jan 2013)

hydrophyte said:


> I have never kept Tanganyika cichlids before, so it will probably just be a few of the common and easy fish, such as _Julidochromis_ or _Neolamprologus_.


I think with the addition of some rock work you tank would be great for Paracyprichromis nigripinnis, they would love the cover the plants provide.


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## hydrophyte (7 Jan 2013)

OllieNZ said:


> I think with the addition of some rock work you tank would be great for Paracyprichromis nigripinnis, they would love the cover the plants provide.


 
I have added some large limestone slabs and I'll try to get some new pictures.

I think that that _P. nigripinnis _might be too big for this setup. I read that they can grow to >10cm. 


I hope to track down some suitable fish soon. _Cyprichromis_ seem like a good idea: I just need to find a source.


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## OllieNZ (7 Jan 2013)

Cyps are generally similarly sized or larger and alot more active than paracyps and should be kept in at least a 120cm long tank due to their swimming speed. Where as it is generally accepted paracyps are suitable for a 90cm or larger.


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## hydrophyte (8 Jan 2013)

Here are a couple more shots to show the riparium foliage. The _Ruellia_, _Asclepias_ and _Cyperus_ are all growing in well. I will have flowers on the _Asclepias _before too long.


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## foxfish (8 Jan 2013)

I like the idea but why did you leave the water level so low?
Most of your plants look like stem types, perhaps some more foliage, bushy types, would look good too?
From my experience, there seems to be a huge choice of pot plants available that will grow with their roots in water.


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## hydrophyte (8 Jan 2013)

foxfish said:


> I like the idea but why did you leave the water level so low?
> Most of your plants look like stem types, perhaps some more foliage, bushy types, would look good too?
> From my experience, there seems to be a huge choice of pot plants available that will grow with their roots in water.


 
The water level is lowered a few inches because this enclosure is a DIY de-rimmed tank that formerly had a top plastic frame. The glass and seams are not strong enough to hold it full of water and they would fail if I were to fill it up. The lowered water level also improves the visual proportions of the whole thing while the several inches of glass above the water has prevented loss of fish. I hate having fish jump out of tanks.

I apologize if you do not like the plant selection but I intended the various stem plants combined with the _Cyperus_ as a theme for this planting. It will look more full as the plants grow in.


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## hydrophyte (15 Jan 2013)

Here's a quick update shot. The background plants are growing in well. I need to get more plants established on trellis rafts to start to cover up the planters. I also added this new hardscape of big limestone slabs that I dug from the snow out in our yard.


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## Danny (15 Jan 2013)

I love Tangi's, Neolamprologus Brichardi is my favorite Cichlid!! Get some barnacles especially if you plan on Neolamprologus Leleupi. You are a bit restricted with Tangi's as not many shops have them and those that do only tend to have Brichardi's, Juli's and sometimes Sexfasciatus.

Brevis are quality little things and love barnacles and are great fun to watch, If you can find them Caudopunctatus are lovely but I really struggled getting them when I was doing the Cichlids, may be easier to get now as it was going on 10 years ago now lol


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## Danny (15 Jan 2013)

Keep the PH well buffed and at 8.2-8.4, the limestone should help a lot as well.


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## Danny (15 Jan 2013)

You have just ignited a flame lol, now I no what to do with my spare tank


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## hydrophyte (15 Jan 2013)

Thanks Danny!

My current favorite idea for fish selection is to use a group of _Eretmodus_ and/or _Tanganicodus_ goby cichlids. I am in the US, but shops here also tend to keep a limited variety of Tanganyika species. I might be able to track these down with online orders. 

Our tapwater is "liquid rock" with lots of dissolved minerals and conditioned yields pH 8.2.


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## sanj (15 Jan 2013)

Nicely positioned rock work. I have only kept Neolamprologus brichardi no other Tanginikans and never any Mbuna. Tank scapes never excited me, but I knew they could be better. This is looking very promising.


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## hydrophyte (15 Jan 2013)

sanj said:


> Nicely positioned rock work. I have only kept Neolamprologus brichardi no other Tanginikans and never any Mbuna. Tank scapes never excited me, but I knew they could be better. This is looking very promising.


 
Hey thanks. I am trying to make a compelling hardscape layout in there. I will play around with the positioning of the stones some more.

Here's a shot of the riparium foliage. Everything is growing in well. I will have to start pruning some of it back pretty soon. The _Asclepias_ Mexican milkweed have flower buds and they will bloom soon.


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## hydrophyte (15 Jan 2013)

Thanks for the likes you guys. I appreciate it.

This tank will be looking better as I get the trellis raft plants into it. I also hope to track down the new fish soon.


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## flygja (16 Jan 2013)

How about changing the substrate for a finer white sands? I'm no Tanganyika expert but I think some species like to dig. Would be very entertaining to watch.


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## hydrophyte (16 Jan 2013)

flygja said:


> How about changing the substrate for a finer white sands? I'm no Tanganyika expert but I think some species like to dig. Would be very entertaining to watch.



 I'd rather keep that gravel. It has such a mature (3 years old) biofilter in it that it keeps the tank very clean. I am more inclined to get fish (such as _Tanganicodus_) that will spend more time among the rocks.


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## dw1305 (16 Jan 2013)

Hi all,


hydrophyte said:


> I am more inclined to get fish (such as Tanganicodus) that will spend more time among the rocks.


 I've never kept any Tanganyikans, but I believe that all the Goby cichlids are pretty tricky to obtain and then keep, because they show a lot of intra-specific aggression,  they come from the "surf zone"  and need highly oxygenated water and they are aufwuchs feeders and need very careful feeding.

cheers Darrel


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## hydrophyte (16 Jan 2013)

dw1305 said:


> Hi all,
> I've never kept any Tanganyikans, but I believe that all the Goby cichlids are pretty tricky to obtain and then keep, because they show a lot of intra-specific aggression, they come from the "surf zone" and need highly oxygenated water and they are aufwuchs feeders and need very careful feeding.
> 
> cheers Darrel


 
I'll figure something out.


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## hydrophyte (20 Jan 2013)

I have a good idea for an additional fish to add to this tank. There is quite a bit of open water space up in the front of the tank and I have thought that it might look best if I could include some kind of schooling fish. One idea that I had earlier for the fish stocking was to use a group of _Cyprichromis_, and then call it good. These active fish get to be several inches long however and this 36" is rather short for them. They are also rather delicate. While snooping around I encountered this fish that I had never heard of before...

*Google: Lamprichthys tanganicanus*
Lamprichthys tanganicanus - Google Search

What a cool fish! This is a killi that occurs in open water habitats in Lake Tanganyika and it's gorgeous. It looks something like a rainbow. However, _L. tanganicanus_ also gets to be rather big, to 6", and it would be better suited to a bigger tank. 

While looking around some more on the Internet I saw some descriptions of using this fish as a Tanganyika tank dither and something of a stand-in for the less hardy, larger-growing and hard-to-find _L. tanganicanus_...
*
Google: Oryzias wowerae*
oryzias wowerae - Google Search

What a great idea! _O. wowerae_ is not from Africa at all, but it makes sense to use it in a Tanganyika setup. The area in Sulawesi where it originates has karst (limestone) topography and streams with high dissolved mineral content and probably few underwater plants.

I should be able to track down a group of these, then if I can just add one Tanganyika cichlid that will use the rocky areas in the tank this setup will be complete.


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## hydrophyte (24 Jan 2013)

The _Asclepias _Mexican milkweed is blooming! This plant flowers readily in the riparium if you give it light.


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## jack-rythm (24 Jan 2013)

Such rich reds in the under leaf.. What plant is that? This project is really cool man. Love the colours and size  

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk 2


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## dw1305 (24 Jan 2013)

Hi all,
_Asclepias_ is _A. curavassica, _it used to self seed into the floor of the glasshouse, but I'm not sure  if I have any left now. The red veined leaf is a _Caladium _cultivar._ "_Hydrophyte" will have to tell you which one as they are very popular in Florida etc. and there are a lot of cultivars.

Have a look here:<Rainforest Caladiums>

cheers Darrel


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## hydrophyte (24 Jan 2013)

dw1305 said:


> Hi all,
> 
> _Asclepias_ is _A. curavassica, _it used to self seed into the floor of the glasshouse, but I'm not sure if I have any left now. The red veined leaf is a _Caladium _cultivar._ "_Hydrophyte" will have to tell you which one as they are very popular in Florida etc. and there are a lot of cultivars.
> 
> ...


 


jack-rythm said:


> Such rich reds in the under leaf.. What plant is that? This project is really cool man. Love the colours and size
> 
> 
> 
> Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk 2


 

The _Asclepia curavassicas_ is a great riparium plant. If you can find any over there you should try it out in a riparium. It is very easy to grow and bloom.

That red-verined leaf is from a special plant, _Cyrtosperma johnstonii_. It is a hard-to-find and usually expensive collector plant, but really stunning. It grows to 2M tall, but I am able to keep the pups going as riparium plants for a little while.

Here are a couple more shots of the _Asclepias._


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## dw1305 (25 Jan 2013)

Hi all,


hydrophyte said:


> Cyrtosperma johnstonii


 I was confident with that ones as well! I'd never heard of _Cyrtospermum _before, now I know I can see it has a waxier leaf. Just looked it up and another Aroid from wet places it looks very suitable for these planters.

I've no idea why ripariums aren't more popular in the UK. _Asclepias curavassica_ is really easy from seed. "Chiltern Seeds" sell it in the UK (along with a lot of other strange plants, I see they have _Colocasia fallax & Amorphophallus bulbifer _seed for sale).

Cheers Darrel


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## hydrophyte (25 Jan 2013)

dw1305 said:


> Hi all,
> I was confident with that ones as well! I'd never heard of _Cyrtospermum _before, now I know I can see it has a waxier leaf. Just looked it up and another Aroid from wet places it looks very suitable for these planters. I've no idea why ripariums aren't more popular in the UK. _Asclepias curavassica_ is really easy from seed. "Chiltern Seeds" sell it in the UK (along with a lot of other strange plants, I see they have _Colocasia fallax & Amorphophallus bulbifer _seed for sale).
> 
> Cheers Darrel


 
Yeah _C. johnstonii_ is a great plant. Another really cool related plant is _Lasia spinosa_. I link a picture of my _L. spinosa_ with spathe below.

We'd love to find an importer/distributor for the Riparium Supply product line in the UK 

I've started the _Asclepias curavassica_ by planting the seeds right in the gravel in the riparium planters. Another very good riparium plant also easy to start from seed is _Ruellia brittoniana_.


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## dw1305 (25 Jan 2013)

Hi all,


hydrophyte said:


> Lasia spinosa


That is a beast, I remember that one from your "Hillstream Riparium" thread <Hillstream Riparium | UK Aquatic Plant Society>.


hydrophyte said:


> We'd love to find an importer/distributor for the Riparium Supply product line in the UK


I'm surprised no-one is interested, keep the posts up and I think you may create your own demand.


hydrophyte said:


> Another very good riparium plant also easy to start from seed is Ruellia brittoniana.


I might have a go with that one, I used to have a good range of Acanthaceae in the glasshouse, but they've dwindled over time. I've just noticed that another Acanthaceae, the _Hygrophila corymbosa _that has escaped from the tank in the lab is starting to flower. 

cheers Darrel


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## dw1305 (25 Jan 2013)

Hi all,
Looking back a the _Cyrtosperma_ picture I noticed the light. Is it a T2 fitting?

cheers Darrel


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## hydrophyte (26 Jan 2013)

dw1305 said:


> Hi all,
> Looking back a the _Cyrtosperma_ picture I noticed the light. Is it a T2 fitting?
> 
> cheers Darrel


 
Darrell no that's just a standard HO T5 fixture.

Did you see the menacing spiny rhizome of the Lasia spinosa?...





That's a helluva plant!

My Tanganyika plans for this setup might have been thwarted. I recently found out about potential availability of these two species...

_Etroplus canarensis_ Canara chromide pearlspot
  Etroplus canarensis (Canara Pearlspot Cichlid) — Seriously Fish

_Mesonoemacheilus triangularis_ batik loach
Mesonoemacheilus triangularis — Loaches Online

...both from the same source. I have had it in my head to put together a Western Ghats setup and these are such cool fish. I could probably put one or two of the chromides and a little group of the loaches in this setup. There are proabably a number of smaller Indian barbs that I could also use for a more or less representative combination.


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## hydrophyte (4 Feb 2013)

Here it is with the gold _Asclepias_ grown up quite tall. 





Here's a specimen shot of the _Asclepias_. I like the look of this plant, but I'm going to cut it back to reduce the shade and give the shorter riparium plants a chance to grow up.


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## justin85 (4 Feb 2013)

Very nice looking setup. what will you be stocking in there ?


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## hydrophyte (4 Feb 2013)

justin85 said:


> Very nice looking setup. what will you be stocking in there ?


 
Thanks so much!  I am still working on the new fish stocking. It will depend upon what I can find.


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## hydrophyte (6 Feb 2013)

Another view of those _Asclepias_ blooms...


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## justin85 (6 Feb 2013)

If you live in the UK here's one of the best suppliers of Wild tangs and F1s he also has tank bred: Malawi and Tanganyikan Cichlid supplier Mike's Rifts


This is where I will be ordering my wilds from for my 240 in the next week or so.


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## hydrophyte (11 Feb 2013)

justin85 said:


> If you live in the UK here's one of the best suppliers of Wild tangs and F1s he also has tank bred: Malawi and Tanganyikan Cichlid supplier Mike's Rifts
> 
> 
> This is where I will be ordering my wilds from for my 240 in the next week or so.


 
Thank you but I'm in the US. I have a few pretty good sources I can tap into here.

I finally made up my mind about a cichlid for this setup. This is what I'm going to use...

_Julidochromis transcriptus_ 'Pemba'	 
Cichlid Profiles

I can get these pretty soon from a local seller. It would have been fun to track down one of those more unusual species that occur in the papyrus habitats, but I think julies might be one of the most sensible options. The 'Pemba' type locality is especially attractive. I hope that they will be OK with the lampeye killis if I add the latter in a good-sized (~12 individuals) group.


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## hydrophyte (12 Feb 2013)

This tank got a major trim! I mowed the two _Ruellia_ and the two _Asclepias_ back to the last couple of leaf nodes. They will resprout in no time. I hope that the _Asclepias_ will grow back a bit more compact. Now the _Cyperus_ will get some more light. 






Here's that picture from a week ago for comparison. My camera has rather poor auto white balance and you can se it especially with the inconsistent colors of the rocks.


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## hydrophyte (12 Feb 2013)

Here's a quick shot of the Cryptoheros cutteri. I really like this fish; he has a lot of personality. He is coming out of this tank again when I add the new fish.


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## hydrophyte (18 Feb 2013)

I wanted to post this picture quick to show how I pruned the _Asclepias_. These stems were more than 24" tall and I really chopped them off on top. So long as the stem is left with a few leaf nodes it will resprout and grow again. I like to prune _Ruellia_ and emersed _Hygrophila_ in the same manner.


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## hydrophyte (18 Feb 2013)

That _Asclepias_ grew an impressive root system. Here is a look at the back of the planter. The roots have formed this spongy white mat. This is a magnetic planter and that black dot is the inside magnet.


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## hydrophyte (26 Feb 2013)

I found a few more pre-pruning shots of the_ Asclepias curassavica_ still on the camera.


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## hydrophyte (27 Feb 2013)

Thanks for the likes you guys. Here's another shot a bit closer.


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## Palm Tree (1 Mar 2013)

Hi, today I noticed _Asclepias tuberosa _in a 99p store. I only noticed it because the flowers look identical to the ones you posted up in this thread 
Would it work as well as _A. curassavica _ in a riparium ?


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## hydrophyte (1 Mar 2013)

Palm Tree said:


> Hi, today I noticed _Asclepias tuberosa _in a 99p store. I only noticed it because the flowers look identical to the ones you posted up in this thread
> Would it work as well as _A. curassavica _ in a riparium ?


 
That's funny. That's a native North America plant and it grows wild around here. It used to be common, but all of our habitats are so full of invasive weeds that it's rare now.

I don't think it would grow well in a ripairum. _A. tuberosa_ grows on pretty dry soils and a riparium would be too wet. It also has a strong winter dormancy cycle and I suspect it would be unhappy indoors.

Can I send you guys some _A. curassavica_ seeds? For many countries extra documentation is not required for small (<50) packets of seeds. _A. curassavia_ would be a really good one to have for riparium planting.


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## Palm Tree (2 Mar 2013)

hydrophyte said:


> That's funny. That's a native North America plant and it grows wild around here. It used to be common, but all of our habitats are so full of invasive weeds that it's rare now.
> 
> I don't think it would grow well in a ripairum. _A. tuberosa_ grows on pretty dry soils and a riparium would be too wet. It also has a strong winter dormancy cycle and I suspect it would be unhappy indoors.
> 
> Can I send you guys some _A. curassavica_ seeds? For many countries extra documentation is not required for small (<50) packets of seeds. _A. curassavia_ would be a really good one to have for riparium planting.


I would love some seeds  pm me


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## hydrophyte (6 Mar 2013)

I'm just using this tank for growing out a few different plants for a few weeks. Some of these will go into other setups, while a few will stay in here. I got a quick picture...





Here's a list of the plants in the hanging planters, from left to right.


_Asclepias curassavica_ "gold"
_Phalaris arundinacea_ 'Strawberries & Cream'
_Pleioblastus fortunei_ "variegatus"
_Cyrtosperma johnstonii_
_Asclepias curassavica_, red-flowered true species
_Cyperus alternifolius_ var. _gracilis_
_Ruellia britoniana_, tall bluebell true species
another _Phalaris_ 'Strawberries & Cream'
_Laguncularia racemosa_


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## hydrophyte (6 Mar 2013)

Fresh new leaf on the _Cyrtosperma johnstonii_...


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## Ian Holdich (6 Mar 2013)

Stunning pic!


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## hydrophyte (6 Mar 2013)

Ian Holdich said:


> Stunning pic!


 
Thanks Ian! That C. johnstonii is certainly one of my favorite riparium plants.

Here's the plant that I'm going to use as most of the background foliage in here as I start to redo this setup.

'Strawberries & Cream' is a fast grower! It looks real spindly when first planted, then it fills in with lots of new grass blades. It grows real well in the riparium planters.


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## hydrophyte (8 Mar 2013)

Another quick picture to show the variety of foliage...


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## macek.g (8 Mar 2013)

_Asclepias curassavica_ what a beautiful colour


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## hydrophyte (13 Mar 2013)

I was working on this some more the other night. (Still) in anticipation of the new fish I decided that I needed to have a more consistent fine gravel/coarse sand substrate, so I removed all of the old substrate, then screened out the larger gravel and mixed it with some sugar-size aragonite. I like the appearance. 

I also tidied up the planting, but it will need some more time to grow in. I settled on the theme of using the _Phalaris_ 'Strawberries & Cream' ribbon grass in several planters as the main background plant in combination with _Ruellia_, _Asclepias_ and a couple other stem plants. There is also an _Acrostichum_ leather fern in there. I need to add more trellis rafts with aluminum plant to better cover up the planters.

I removed the little group of _Limia_, so the underwater area looks pretty bare right now. The _Cryptoheros_ and _Synodontis_ are still in there, but hiding in the shadows in this shot.


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## hydrophyte (23 Mar 2013)

I scored a new plant to try out in this tank! If you click around with a few searches you can find pretty cool plants on ebay. _Hibiscus diversifolius_ is a real swamp plant from East Africa. I like the foliage and it has lemon yellow flowers. This 15" plant was just a few bucks. This riparium planting isn't really intended to be an authentic biotope combination of species, but it would be fun to include this plant as a representation of Lake Tanganyika flora.


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## hydrophyte (25 Mar 2013)

Here's a quick fish shot. This is one of the _J. transcriptus_ juvies that came with the group. They have such attractive markings. I really like the charcoal black color.


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## justin85 (25 Mar 2013)

Very nice looking fish


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## LondonDragon (25 Mar 2013)

Very nice fish, doesn't look like they grow that big either


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## hydrophyte (26 Mar 2013)

LondonDragon said:


> Very nice fish, doesn't look like they grow that big either


 


justin85 said:


> Very nice looking fish


 
Thanks mates!

Yes this _J. transcriptus_ is one of the smallest julie species. They are a good choice for this smallish tank setup.


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## WetElbow (26 Mar 2013)

I would love to see a vid of this setup with the fish.


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## hydrophyte (26 Mar 2013)

WetElbow said:


> I would love to see a vid of this setup with the fish.


I'll try to get video next week.

For right now it doesn't look like so much because these new cichlids just hide all the time. So do the catfish.


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## hydrophyte (27 Mar 2013)

I'm getting this tank into shape and the plants are starting to grow in. The planting is still sort of thin for a very good FTS picture, but I got this quick photo to show some of the foliage. The red plant on the right is _Hibiscus acetosella_ African rose mallow. This plant is a true East Africa species, so it represents the flora of that area. The grassy plant is _Phalaris _'Strawberries & Cream' ribbon grass. I have this fast-growing grass planted in several planters to make a grassy background.

The catfish and the new julie cichlids just hide all the time. I hope that I can track down some kind of suitable shoaling fish to add.


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## hydrophyte (28 Mar 2013)

Here's a quick FTS! The riparium planting is rather thin needs to grow in some more. These plants all grow pretty fast, so it should be looking pretty full in about six weeks.


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## hydrophyte (28 Mar 2013)

Here are a couple more shots. Like I mentioned before, the riparium planting needs to grow in some more, but it looks more full if you view it from the side.


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## hydrophyte (29 Mar 2013)

Here's a quick shot of the _J. transcriptus_ "Pembe" juvies. They are very cute little fish. I need to take some more time to try to get better pictures of them.


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## hydrophyte (12 May 2013)

Here's another new plant that I am trying out in this setup.

St. Job's tears (_Coix lacryma_) is a tropical grass related to corn (_Zea mays_) that grows well in wet soils. It is pretty easy to start from seed and these are seedlings that I got about six weeks after sowing. 





This plant can grow to 48"+ tall, but I hope that I will be able to control its size with pruning. I already put all of these little seedlings in riparium planters and I have more sprouting on the way.


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## hydrophyte (17 Jun 2013)

I got back to work on this tank and now I have it replanted and all cleaned up. The water is crystal clear.

This morning I got a quick shot with the morning sun shining through.





The planting will be looking good with about six weeks to grow in.


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## dw1305 (18 Jun 2013)

Hi all,
Looking good in the sunshine, like the Julies as well. I'm very tempted by Tanganyikan cichlids, I like Cichlids and I like interesting fish. I found myself looking at the "Escargot" in the supermarket the other day, and it definitely wasn't the snails that interested me, it was their shells.


hydrophyte said:


> St. Job's tears (_Coix lacryma_)


 This is one that you can get seed of fairly easily in the UK, so I'll be interested in the result.

cheers Darrel


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## BigTom (18 Jun 2013)

I'd also like to know how the _Coix lacryma_ works out. Is it something that would do well planted in about 10" of water?


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## hydrophyte (18 Jun 2013)

dw1305 said:


> Hi all,
> Looking good in the sunshine, like the Julies as well. I'm very tempted by Tanganyikan cichlids, I like Cichlids and I like interesting fish. I found myself looking at the "Escargot" in the supermarket the other day, and it definitely wasn't the snails that interested me, it was their shells.
> This is one that you can get seed of fairly easily in the UK, so I'll be interested in the result.
> 
> cheers Darrel


 
I like these julies a lot. They are one of the best fish that I have kept. With that opaque charcoal black coloration they really look more like a marine fish.

The _Coix lacryma_ rew very well in the riparium planters, but it started to get tall fast. I think it would work in a larger setup or a setup with a more vertical kind of orientation. Each plant has just a few long leaf blades, so I recommend putting several in each planter so that they will fill out more.



BigTom said:


> I'd also like to know how the _Coix lacryma_ works out. Is it something that would do well planted in about 10" of water?


 
It grew very well in the riparium planters. I would guess that it would do best with its crown not much below the water level, so 10" might be too deep.

Here's a couple more quick shots.


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## hydrophyte (29 Jun 2013)

Now the plants have had a couple of weeks to start to grow in. They look pretty good.





Here you can see the new Lake Inle danios. These seem like a real good "stand in" choice as a shoaling species for a Tanganyika setup. They look real good with the julies and the _Synodontis_.


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