Hi all,
had the pleasure of meeting Jeff (one of the mods) recently and he encouraged me to get a bit more involved with UKAPS and specifically with the biotope section.
I've spent a lot of time exploring aquatic habitats, especially in central Brazil, many of them with plants. You can view some of them on my youtube channel.
I was trying to think of a habitat with plenty of plants and fish that are available in the hobby and two stand out, one is a lake habitat with Serpae tetras (Hyphessobrycon eques) and plants including Mayaca sp., Cabomba furcata and Nymphaea sp. You can see a video of it here:
That is a classic blackwater habitat and a temporary one which dries up. Below you can see several photos of the habitat:
The other option is a habitat where you find Black Neon tetras (Hyphessobrycon herbertaxelrodi) and Black-line tetras (Hemigrammus ulreyi) as well as Apistogramma trifasciata and A. borelli, among many others. The plants include a species of Ludwigia inclinata that I cannot identify properly but which goes bright red in the sun, Bacopa myriophylloides, Helanthium sp., mosses and Eleocharis sp. You can see a video of the habitat below:
Some images from that habitat:
I'd also like to highlight a few habitats where fairly well known plants appear alongside popular fish species, such as Hornwort (Ceratophyllum demerseum) with Rathbun's tetras (Aphyocharax rathbuni), Moenkhausia bonita (which you can get at places like Wildwoods or order from Ely Aquatics and Reptiles) and Serpae tetras in the rivers of the Pantanal as seen here:
Another typical habitat is a drainage ditch alongside grasslands in the Pantanal with Black-line tetras, Bronze Corys (Corydoras aeneus) and Moenkhausia forestii, which looks very similar to Moenkhausia sanctaefilomenae, the Red Eye tetra. The typical plants include Echinodorus macrophyllus, E. cordata (along the banks) and Cabomba caroliana in the water:
Cabomba caroliana in a drainage ditch (above). Along the banks, species of Echinodorus grow in the margins while groups of Bronze corydoras forage over the substrate (below):
I've got a lot of photos of plants in the wild from Brazil and am happy to share photos and information. I will also attempt to upload more content to my youtube, some of it specifically talking about plants. I am currently working on a 'biotopes for the people book' with George Farmer, working title Aquatic Habitats - Inspired by Nature. I hope that I've managed to whet the appetites of some of you with these images and videos.
Happy plant growing and fishkeeping to you all!
had the pleasure of meeting Jeff (one of the mods) recently and he encouraged me to get a bit more involved with UKAPS and specifically with the biotope section.
I've spent a lot of time exploring aquatic habitats, especially in central Brazil, many of them with plants. You can view some of them on my youtube channel.
I was trying to think of a habitat with plenty of plants and fish that are available in the hobby and two stand out, one is a lake habitat with Serpae tetras (Hyphessobrycon eques) and plants including Mayaca sp., Cabomba furcata and Nymphaea sp. You can see a video of it here:
That is a classic blackwater habitat and a temporary one which dries up. Below you can see several photos of the habitat:
The other option is a habitat where you find Black Neon tetras (Hyphessobrycon herbertaxelrodi) and Black-line tetras (Hemigrammus ulreyi) as well as Apistogramma trifasciata and A. borelli, among many others. The plants include a species of Ludwigia inclinata that I cannot identify properly but which goes bright red in the sun, Bacopa myriophylloides, Helanthium sp., mosses and Eleocharis sp. You can see a video of the habitat below:
Some images from that habitat:
I'd also like to highlight a few habitats where fairly well known plants appear alongside popular fish species, such as Hornwort (Ceratophyllum demerseum) with Rathbun's tetras (Aphyocharax rathbuni), Moenkhausia bonita (which you can get at places like Wildwoods or order from Ely Aquatics and Reptiles) and Serpae tetras in the rivers of the Pantanal as seen here:
Another typical habitat is a drainage ditch alongside grasslands in the Pantanal with Black-line tetras, Bronze Corys (Corydoras aeneus) and Moenkhausia forestii, which looks very similar to Moenkhausia sanctaefilomenae, the Red Eye tetra. The typical plants include Echinodorus macrophyllus, E. cordata (along the banks) and Cabomba caroliana in the water:
Cabomba caroliana in a drainage ditch (above). Along the banks, species of Echinodorus grow in the margins while groups of Bronze corydoras forage over the substrate (below):
I've got a lot of photos of plants in the wild from Brazil and am happy to share photos and information. I will also attempt to upload more content to my youtube, some of it specifically talking about plants. I am currently working on a 'biotopes for the people book' with George Farmer, working title Aquatic Habitats - Inspired by Nature. I hope that I've managed to whet the appetites of some of you with these images and videos.
Happy plant growing and fishkeeping to you all!
