My first Journal. Trying out Rio Negro Biotope. - Page 2 - Aquascaping

Brilliant · 03-11-2008, 05:49 PM

Dicrossus filamentosa...one of my favorite fish.

What is that substrate? Hopefully its not effecting parameters.

travis · 03-11-2008, 10:07 PM

I am really impressed with the job you've done on the wood. It really catches the eye. If you moved the large piece of wood in the front back a bit it would open up the front left side more so that you could have a better view of the fish, although I'm just going from what I see in the pics. The rock substrate is very natural looking too. Scattering it a bit more into the sand (or vice versa) may improve the random/natural look, but again I'm just going from what I can see in the pics. Great work!

bratyboy2 · 03-11-2008, 11:50 PM

oh wow i love the hardscape!!!!!!

he idea for cardinals is great no matter what they say...their colors are going to just pop! if the tank is big enough a pair of discus or even maybe a pair of silver angels. the dwarf cichlid idea is cute i love them i would go with a pair or apistos like said or my favorite the german blue rams...otos are a good idea but i love the twig cats they are sweet and wiil be amazing in here...i love the frog bit idea it will help the tank get that water dance look...o wow i hope you do this i can only imagin...if you really want to make it look great get some of the fake plastic vines from drs foster and smith..here is the link
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/produc...4&pcatid=12124
put them more by the wood dropping into the wood
cory cats...i love the jullis and the sterbai tell me what you think

dirrtybirdy · 03-12-2008, 01:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by intermediate_noob

These links might help also:

http://fish.mongabay.com/biotope_rio_sucasari.htm

http://fish.mongabay.com/biotope_amazon_blackwater.htm

If you have never checked out mongabay.org or fishbase.org I would definitely recommend it. Fishbase let's you search by river in South America and shows all the fish that inhabit that area. As far as purchasing fish, I have had awesome luck with Mainlycichlids for all my South American cichlid needs and Exotic Finds for my Plecos.

What size is your tank? And schools of tetras can be great no matter what kind you get. Just think about the size you want them to be. Cardinals do not get that large at right around 2 inches or so. I have 20 of them in a community tank and they are great, but a little shy. The red/blue Columbian tetras though are almost three inches long, inch-and-a-half high, have great color and school to the glass when I put my finger on it. Great fish. Anyway, just my two cents.

Oh, and one more thing. Besides almond leaves how else are you going to keep the blackwater theme going? The water parameters normally call for a very low pH in these tanks but wondered if you were going that way.

Keep us updated, and love the hardscape!

thanks for the links! i think i am going to add some swords, maybe 2-3. I think i will also stick with the cardinal tetras. theyre color will stank out more in a blackwater tank (i think).

the sand is from a LFS and the gravel is from a building material place. i didnt want to mix it too much cause i was scared i wouldnt like the gravel but after setting it up i really like the way it looks.

travis thanks for pointing out the large piece of wood. i think i will move it to the back or take it out tomorrow =P i guess i over looked that piece. lol...i added the almond leaves last night and when i went home they were already at the bottom. the water is turning into a tea color so its doing its job. it looks alot better with the leaves at the bottom. i will take pictures when i finish messing with the tank a little bit more.

thanks for all the comments guys

dirrtybirdy · 03-12-2008, 12:23 PM

btw its a 30 gal

ed seeley · 03-12-2008, 02:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dirrtybirdy

ed,

are the mentioned fish all from south america? maybe i dont need them to be from rio negro per say, but same origin.

I was looking at the apisto they look really nice. also the hatchets might make a nice edition as well. thanks alot...i think my vision is getting a little clearer

They're all Amazonian. I believe the nijsenni and cardinals are sympatric, but think the others are from whitewaters rather than blackwaters. They'd all look great IMHO in your tank though.

As it's only a 30g then you may be best going for just cardinals, nijsenni and a few Otos as otherwise you may be overstocked.

dirrtybirdy · 03-12-2008, 06:24 PM

alright here we go! right before i took it all apart and reassembled it! lol

what do you think with the tea color?

bratyboy2 · 03-12-2008, 10:50 PM

it looks good but are you going to keep those leaves?...what did you think of the ideas i told you about and if you ae not keeping them in there i would switch them out for oak leaves and plant the swords...should look very natural

dirrtybirdy · 03-13-2008, 07:31 PM

heres the new layout. to me its a little more intricate. what do you guys think?

orlando · 03-13-2008, 07:40 PM

Very cool, how do you get the perfect tannin tone?