125 Gallon Biotope

[TripleW]

Well, this tank is always going to be a work in progress but here are some pics of what I have come up with so far. I only have two Pictus in the tank at the moment, but I should be getting some new additions (Gold Saum) this weekend as well as replacing the fake plants with real ones. I am always up for ideas or suggestions.

In this one you can see one of the three caves. I call this one the "Honeymoon Suite" because it has a flat rock inside. I couldn't find a heart shaped one.

A few of the Pictus Jose and Cuervo

I am still trying to figure out this new Cannon T3i my wife has so I am sorry if the pictures are crappy. Let me know what you think or what improvements can be made. Thanks!

 

[rrcoolj]

Very nice clean setup I like it alot. Are you aiming for a pair because a pair would look nice in this tank. You may also want to add some deep bodied tetras like columbian tetras as target fish. Again great setup I look forward to seeing it progress.

 

[TripleW]

Very nice clean setup I like it alot. Are you aiming for a pair because a pair would look nice in this tank. You may also want to add some deep bodied tetras like columbian tetras as target fish. Again great setup I look forward to seeing it progress.

Thanks for the compliment! Well this is where my Biotope kind of is different. I am getting 6 Red Head Tapajos, which are not found in the same region as Gold Saum. I could not resist getting them. My plan was to have the 6 Tapajos, 1 saum and maybe some lemon tetras. I would love to have 2 Saums but I thought it may be a little dangerous for the Tapajos especially if they did some spawning action. Plus I am trying to resist overstocking. but maybe I am way off on my thinking?

 

[GrantA94]

Looks good!

I personally would be careful having both pictus and geos. Both being active bottom dwellers may not work so well. Just a thought though, it may be fine. I would go for some Bleeding Heart Tetras, they are bulky enough to take a hit from the Saum but not too large!

I would either do one or the other (Geos or Saum), because if there is any trouble the Saum will likely tear the geos up - and the last thing you want is a geo with tatty finnage, as thats where their beauty is.

I am bias though, however, I love the breeding behaviour of saums. So that would be recommendation...

looking forward to updates!

 

[TripleW]

Looks good!

I personally would be careful having both pictus and geos. Both being active bottom dwellers may not work so well. Just a thought though, it may be fine. I would go for some Bleeding Heart Tetras, they are bulky enough to take a hit from the Saum but not too large!

I would either do one or the other (Geos or Saum), because if there is any trouble the Saum will likely tear the geos up - and the last thing you want is a geo with tatty finnage, as thats where their beauty is.

I am bias though, however, I love the breeding behaviour of saums. So that would be recommendation...

looking forward to updates!

Thanks for the suggestions Grant. You have hit upon everything I am going to keep my eye on. From what I could tell, the combo the I am attempting has rarely been tried, maybe for good reason, but I thought I would give it a go and see how everything turns out. If worse comes to worse I will just take the trouble makers back to the store. If things go well, I think I would have some fish that would look great together.

 

[Mr. Rain Cloud]

Wow man, I like how you set it up! It's definitely better than my first attempt
View attachment 796101

Since you're asking for suggestions, I'll go with the aquascaping first. That driftwood is quite a piece and I'd like to see it more towards the middle because it looks like it's hiding in the corner and it would help fill in the space on the top right area(seeing the thick end of the wood under some light would be nice). I know that you'll be adding some live plants so my suggestion may not be the best since your light fixture doesn't cover the entire tank. What kind of plants do you have in mind? Will you be using CO2? Keep in mind that your tank is big so I'd lean towards easy maintenance plants so it won't burn a hole on your wallet. Another thing that can help make it feel more natural are the rocks you have(someone advised me before so I'm just passing it on). Simply keep the ones that are similar to each other in shape and in color. The ones on the right are fine but I would have to point out mixing the three rocks that make up what I believe to be the honeymoon suite.

Those are nice pictures of Jose Cuervo! They look amazing, I might consider them for mine I think you're definitely taking a risk with your planned stock but you never know what may happen. Some fish have a reputation of behaving a certain way but there are exceptions every now and then so I hope you get the lucky combo! Regarding the BHTs, they do reach a good size but they are never free from being targeted. I may have just been lucky with my branchy driftwoods at both ends of my tank since I see my GT chase them towards the end but the branches get in the way so this ends the chase.

Subscribed

 

[TripleW]

Wow man, I like how you set it up! It's definitely better than my first attempt
View attachment 796101

Since you're asking for suggestions, I'll go with the aquascaping first. That driftwood is quite a piece and I'd like to see it more towards the middle because it looks like it's hiding in the corner and it would help fill in the space on the top right area(seeing the thick end of the wood under some light would be nice). I know that you'll be adding some live plants so my suggestion may not be the best since your light fixture doesn't cover the entire tank. What kind of plants do you have in mind? Will you be using CO2? Keep in mind that your tank is big so I'd lean towards easy maintenance plants so it won't burn a hole on your wallet. Another thing that can help make it feel more natural are the rocks you have(someone advised me before so I'm just passing it on). Simply keep the ones that are similar to each other in shape and in color. The ones on the right are fine but I would have to point out mixing the three rocks that make up what I believe to be the honeymoon suite.

Those are nice pictures of Jose Cuervo! They look amazing, I might consider them for mine I think you're definitely taking a risk with your planned stock but you never know what may happen. Some fish have a reputation of behaving a certain way but there are exceptions every now and then so I hope you get the lucky combo! Regarding the BHTs, they do reach a good size but they are never free from being targeted. I may have just been lucky with my branchy driftwoods at both ends of my tank since I see my GT chase them towards the end but the branches get in the way so this ends the chase.

Subscribed

HAHA! I knew you would have some ideas! The driftwood is where it is #1 because it is wedged in to keep it from floating, and the corner worked best for that #2 I kinda planned it to be out of the light, so it was more of a "mystery" of where it was coming into the water from, so I kinda planned on it being out of the light. Plants are all going to be low light low maintenance. Java Fern, Amazon sword, probably not much more complicated than that. As far as the rocks go, I thought the same thing before I set up the aquascape. I got the rocks at a landscaping store and they were called Rainbow Stones. After I got them in the tank I decided that they didn't bother me that much and it probably looked more natural since many sizes, colors and shapes of rocks are found in nature.

As far as the stock goes, I am going to give it a go. I think there is always risk with putting fish in an glass box. I bet there has even been "Sure fire Combos" that have went south. I am going to keep my fishes health and well being in the forefront so if something is not going well, I will change it. I should be getting my F1 Tapajos tomorrow (Jeff Rapps), and taking a look at Gold Saums while I am at the LFS so I am pretty excited.

Thanks for the compliments Ruwel, it feels pretty good to think about something so hard and then see it come together. Other people liking it is a bonus!

 

[Mr. Rain Cloud]

I did some quick research on the fish you want to keep and I'll just say that the odds are not in your favor, as you suspected. Let's see, I think the biggest troublemakers would be Jose Cuervo("the more the merrier" kind of fish) since they are active swimmers and a predatory species. I agree with Grant, the hyper-active Pcat will probably bother the slow moving Geos. Another thing to be concerned about are the lemon tetras, they stay small and will probably be targeted by the Pcats and possibly by the Geos also. The chance of the tetras surviving becomes even slimmer if you add the Gold Saum, they'll definitely become a snack at that size.

So to summarize my opinion, I think the Gold Saum and Geos is a reasonable goal. Adding a good number of mid/top level schooling fish that's 3" and up(the bigger the better) could work. If you throw in Pcats into the mix, they will definitely stir things up so it could get ugly. If you throw in the lemon tetras, well, they're on the menu.

 

[Mr. Rain Cloud]

HAHA! I knew you would have some ideas! The driftwood is where it is #1 because it is wedged in to keep it from floating, and the corner worked best for that #2 I kinda planned it to be out of the light, so it was more of a "mystery" of where it was coming into the water from, so I kinda planned on it being out of the light. Plants are all going to be low light low maintenance. Java Fern, Amazon sword, probably not much more complicated than that. As far as the rocks go, I thought the same thing before I set up the aquascape. I got the rocks at a landscaping store and they were called Rainbow Stones. After I got them in the tank I decided that they didn't bother me that much and it probably looked more natural since many sizes, colors and shapes of rocks are found in nature.

As far as the stock goes, I am going to give it a go. I think there is always risk with putting fish in an glass box. I bet there has even been "Sure fire Combos" that have went south. I am going to keep my fishes health and well being in the forefront so if something is not going well, I will change it. I should be getting my F1 Tapajos tomorrow (Jeff Rapps), and taking a look at Gold Saums while I am at the LFS so I am pretty excited.

Thanks for the compliments Ruwel, it feels pretty good to think about something so hard and then see it come together. Other people liking it is a bonus!

Well Wade, it's your tank, hehehe.

*Round 2*
If the dw floating is your main concern, you can always use the rocks to keep it grounded. I think it will work since the dw has branches that reach the substrate so you have multiple areas to weigh it down. I'm only suggesting the dw be centered because the right side looks empty and having it in the middle would be an excellent filler and more importantly, a centerpiece. Still I don't know what you have in mind for the future so I'm only trying to improve it based on what's currently there. I somewhat agree with you on the rocks. Please have a look at this: http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?458519-135gal-Central-American-FTS. The OP of the thread was the one who gave me the rock advice and I'm sure you see why I listened.

Anyway, it looks like you're putting the tank together at a fast pace and I like the order of its completion. You plan pretty well, IMO, so I'm expecting a masterpiece!

 

[TripleW]

That tank you have linked is awesome. I think I have seen that post before. I think at some point down the road I will put the DW in the middle, the thing with weighing it down is that the branches that reach the substrate are pretty flimsy. I had it weighed down on the main thick branch and needed to do something different so I didn't have a rock perilously perched up high.

If something is going to work, I really want it to be the Geos and the Saum. I could live without the Pictus, but they are really cool fish. Lemon tetras, were more of an off the cuff choice and not a for sure thing. The funny thing about the Pictus is they spend most if their time swimming mid to top of my tank. Maybe that will change once they get more company.


Sent from my Evo 4g using the MonsterAquariaNetwork App