220gal Central American Biotope (ongoing thread...)

[cjdesmit]

Managed to finally getting around to uploading a short video last night. Not the most exciting video as it was late and everyone was winding down. The one pair of robertsoni are showing some interest in spawning again with the rock cleaning as you can see. They are also quite territorial, even to the pearsei which easily dwarf them. I simplified the overall scape as the pearsei were starting to show scratches from the large amount of branches I had in there prior. They all do not seem to mind the current minimalist look...

 

[Stanzzzz7]

Managed to finally getting around to uploading a short video last night. Not the most exciting video as it was late and everyone was winding down. The one pair of robertsoni are showing some interest in spawning again with the rock cleaning as you can see. They are also quite territorial, even to the pearsei which easily dwarf them. I simplified the overall scape as the pearsei were starting to show scratches from the large amount of branches I had in there prior. They all do not seem to mind the current minimalist look...

Looks great as usual Chris. I quite like the minimal look too.

 

[cjdesmit]

Looks great as usual Chris. I quite like the minimal look too.

Thanks Stan. The pair of robs are growing more aggressive by the day. Lots of rock cleaning today, as well as some mach egg laying runs by the female. I wonder if they'll actually commit this time and spawn. For some reason nothing ever seems to spawn successfully in this tank and I don't understand why. It's well scaped, low stress and and relatively low stocking with only two species...

 

[mrrobxc]

Can’t believe I missed this thread. Very nice setup. Love the look and feel.

Aside from larger Mollies, I can’t think of anything that would work well. There is a species of swordtails from Lago Peten that are larger growing xiphophorus species. Xiphophorus Mayae if memory serves correct. That said, I’m not sure how they’d work with the Pearsei. Yucatán Mollies are another option.

Either way, keep up the great work. Seeing your tank made me miss my CA setups.

 

[cjdesmit]

Can’t believe I missed this thread. Very nice setup. Love the look and feel.

Aside from larger Mollies, I can’t think of anything that would work well. There is a species of swordtails from Lago Peten that are larger growing xiphophorus species. Xiphophorus Mayae if memory serves correct. That said, I’m not sure how they’d work with the Pearsei. Yucatán Mollies are another option.

Either way, keep up the great work. Seeing your tank made me miss my CA setups.

Thanks for the kind words and suggestions. I previously had Yucatan Mollies in here before and they ultimately had the same fate as the swords did.

Nothing has really changed since my last update. I am currently house shopping, which has been a complete nightmare with the market the way it has been. Depending on the house we end up with, this setup could be disappearing all together soon. If I do keep it, I have been toying around with the idea of changing it up. Perhaps a SA biotope in order to have more variety or I've even been considering going NA native. Who knows though, I've been saying I want to change it up for years now and never do. Time will tell...

 

[mrrobxc]

Thanks for the kind words and suggestions. I previously had Yucatan Mollies in here before and they ultimately had the same fate as the swords did.

Nothing has really changed since my last update. I am currently house shopping, which has been a complete nightmare with the market the way it has been. Depending on the house we end up with, this setup could be disappearing all together soon. If I do keep it, I have been toying around with the idea of changing it up. Perhaps a SA biotope in order to have more variety or I've even been considering going NA native. Who knows though, I've been saying I want to change it up for years now and never do. Time will tell...

Go SA. You’ll probably never go back.

 

[cjdesmit]

Go SA. You’ll probably never go back.

The sheer amount of SA species available in the hobby is what really draws me to them. You can find a good variety of CA species if you look hard enough, however they are all mostly cichlids. I'd love to have a large SA display with big schools of tetras and interesting catfish, with some cichlids sprinkled in.

In other news, apparently my robertsoni spawned overnight as they are currently guarding eggs. This is a first for them so we'll see if it turns out to be successful. It's entertaining to watch them push around the pearsei as they easily dwarf them.

 

[cselandscape]

I am putting together a similar aquarium for Texas cichlids. What do you use for driftwood? Is it stuff you collected locally or is there something special you purchase?