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

dirrtybirdy · 03-11-2008, 12:21 PM

Well, after having a planted tank for several months I decided to try out a Rio Negro Biotope. I saw several different blackwater biotopes and it inspired me to start my own. I always loved the look of schooling cardinal tetras, so I did my research and gathered materials from pet stores and from members on this board to start my tank. So far my set up is this...

I took these pictures right after I got done with it.

I added some almond leaves last night to make the water a tea color. I dont have any filtration or a heater yet. I working on getting a Eheim ECCO 2232. Im not sure what kind of light is needed for a blackwater tank, but I read that you dont really need much light. Ill go home and take more pictures tonight i think the water is less cloudy.

C&C are welcome.

AaronT · 03-11-2008, 12:34 PM

What are your plans for plants? I'm hoping to setup a blackwater tank one day myself.

dirrtybirdy · 03-11-2008, 12:48 PM

I dont think imma put plants in there. i want about 30-40 cardinal tetras though. i dont know what other fish i can put in there that are indigenous to the rio negro that are compatible with the cardinal.

chadly · 03-11-2008, 12:59 PM

that looks great!

Here's some ideas to throw around. Go minimal on plants absolutely no ground cover, maybe some random swords and some really cool hygro. Leave the sandy right side open and brightly lit. Cardinals are an ok fish, a bit over used, but it'll def add some color. Depending on what size tank you have, you could even try some small cichlids with your tetras! Definitely some small plecos. If you go with a dark background that will help w/ the dark effect. I've always thought of a blackwater biotope as eerie and dark, so maybe lights in the front only on the left. That'll leave some mystery to whats lurking behind the wood. I'm always excited to see tanks like this, can't wait to see what you do...

dirrtybirdy · 03-11-2008, 01:16 PM

i would like some plants in there that dont require much light or any kind of substrate. i do plan on putting a light in the sandy part and having the wood side a dark or with less light. i still dont know what kind of fishes i want to put in. but def. alot of cardinals. what kind of plecos/small cat fish come from the rio negro?

Afyounie · 03-11-2008, 01:26 PM

If you go to cichlid-forum.com they have profiles on different cichlids. You can look at the dwarf cichlids in the south american category. There are a lot of blackwater tanks on that site made especially for dwarf apistos and other dwarf blackwater fish. Cardinal tetras should be ok with dwarf apistos due to the different regions of the tank they occupy, and the apistos are really small. For plants, put stuff that would grow tall enough to get to the light, because there isn't much that grows low in those low light conditions.

dirrtybirdy · 03-11-2008, 01:26 PM

maybe some

True Rummynose Tetra
Purple Emperor Tetra
Black Stripe Dwarf Cichlid
kunk Cory Cat
maybe some Discus?

lol i really dont know. i guess ill see after the 30-40 tetras

ed seeley · 03-11-2008, 01:33 PM

Try a big shoal of cardinals as the main theme (overused maybe, but stunning in any tank and show-stopping in this one IMO) and then a smaller group of marbled hatchets at the surface, a pair of Apisotgramma nijsenni (a pair forming Apisto that come from similar blackwater habitats) and maybe some Otos or Whiptail catfish.

For plants I'd stick some Amzon frogbit in to float on the surface with its roots trailing down. Maybe a solitary small sword or two in the lighter areas too?

dirrtybirdy · 03-11-2008, 01:40 PM

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

intermediate_noob · 03-11-2008, 03:39 PM

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!