Amazon biotope

[Roco]

I'm setting up a amazon biotope and I'm looking for plants I can have in it. It's going to be a dirted tank with no co2 and it's going to be my first dirted tank and the first tank I've done that's going to be properly planted with more than hopefully 3 different kinds of plants any help or links would be extremely helpful

 

[Edvet]

Depends on how precise you'll want to be. There are no plants in the amazon, just floaters. Smaller tributairies can have plants but black water and white water generally don't. In the rainy season some parts of the river can rise 10-20 meter flooding large floodplanes, then there are a lot of submerged plants (whole trees even).
Trying to recreate a biotope will need some research, first find out what you want. There is not one answer. I have been looking at underwater pictures from the amazon regularly during the last 10 years. The internet can be your friend.

 

[Mr. Teapot]

Loads of videos on YouTube. Nice one of some green neons in their natural environment:



Nice looking red plant at 1m:45s. Mostly algae and twigs but really lovely.

 

[Edvet]

Nice clip, but Ivan is always looking for clearwater biotopes, these are few and far apart. And it's not Amazom, there is no amazon in venezuela, Orinoco yes and huge plaines. He is always looking for nice Morichales

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,

Nice clip, but Ivan is always looking for clearwater biotopes, these are few and far apart. And it's not Amazom, there is no amazon in venezuela, Orinoco yes and huge plaines. He is always looking for nice Morichales

Ed is right, if you have a look at Norwegian Apistogramma keeper <"TomC's web pages"> there are plenty of habitat shots of the streams in the Peruvian Amazon basin where fish are collected. (It is a fantastic web site).

There are vegetated lakes along the flood plains of the major white water rivers, they are called "Varzea" lakes. Have a look here: <"Lakes and Floodplain Habitats">.

There is a plant species list and images in Acta Limnol. Bras. (Online) vol.22 no.2 Rio Claro Apr./June 2010 <"Aquatic herbaceous plants of the Amazon floodplains: state of the art and research needed">.

cheers Darrel

 

[Mr. Teapot]

there is no amazon in venezuela

Humph. Serves me right for trying to be a smarty pants.

 

[Mr. Teapot]

Ivan is always looking for clearwater biotopes

Thanks for pointing out the video was from Ivan Mikolji. Absolutely amazing pictures and movies on his site.

 

[Edvet]

Been a fan of him for many years already, even bought a film from him a few years ago, he just needs to get his thumb out of his a$$ and get moving on the next series, been waiting far to long

 

[Edvet]

Acta Limnol. Bras

Nice link Darel, thx, hadn't looked at it from this side yet, only been looking from ichtyological angle.

 

[BigTom]

I think the key here is just to be a bit more precise than 'Amazon'. Especially as many people use it as a catchall phrase for anything found in the many waterways of the Amazon basin, or even the whole of South America! Although clearwater habitats probably only account for something like 1% of the available fish habitats there's nothing to stop you picking one of them for your biotope.

As Teapot posted, Ivan Mikolji's youtube channel and website (http://www.aquatic-experts.com/freshwater.html) contains a wealth of inspiration for clearwater habitats in Venzuela and with a bit of searching you can find lots of other stuff, particulalrly on youtube.

This is a pretty good article from PFK (not often I say that!) about Brazilian clearwater habitats - http://www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/content.php?sid=5004. Nice pictures and some plant lists at least!

Some aquatic plants in this Amazon pantanl video -

 

[Roco]

Well I'm trying to aim for tannin stained stream side with submerged tree stumps and roots in a 6ft community of fish that'd suit it as theyr preferred peramiters with maybe a small group of angels so it was mainly to get some help with being pointed in the right direction of some native suitable plants as you can't plan if you don't know what you can use

 

[Tim Harrison]

Nice links...Alternatively, I suppose you could simplify it and go fairly generic...but I guess it all depends on how strictly you want to adhere to the definition of a biotope.
Also since it's going to be a dirt tank I'd stick with easy to grow plants, but some medium care plants will do ok too...the Tropica easy plant range is a good place to start http://tropica.com/en/plants/. The PFK article has a pretty good plant list, but there are other species to perhaps consider such as Alternanthera spp., water hyacinth, Echinodorus tenellus, amazon frogbit, Lilaeopsis Brasiliensis, Eleocharis spp,

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,

help with being pointed in the right direction of some native suitable plants as you can't plan if you don't know what you can use

You can use Pistia stratiotes as a floater, it occurs all over the Amazon basin.

<"Amazonian fish and their habitats">

cheers Darrel

 

[Edvet]

(strictly speaking Pantanal isn't Amazon() there is a lot of clearwater though due to water coming down from the south eastern plateau)

 

[Edvet]

i'll shut up now

 

[Martin in Holland]

I think the key here is just to be a bit more precise than 'Amazon'. Especially as many people use it as a catchall phrase for anything found in the many waterways of the Amazon basin, or even the whole of South America! Although clearwater habitats probably only account for something like 1% of the available fish habitats there's nothing to stop you picking one of them for your biotope.

As Teapot posted, Ivan Mikolji's youtube channel and website (http://www.aquatic-experts.com/freshwater.html) contains a wealth of inspiration for clearwater habitats in Venzuela and with a bit of searching you can find lots of other stuff, particulalrly on youtube.

This is a pretty good article from PFK (not often I say that!) about Brazilian clearwater habitats - http://www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/content.php?sid=5004. Nice pictures and some plant lists at least!

Some aquatic plants in this Amazon pantanl video -

Love that Youtube video....if I see this, I want my tank like that