African Biotope Setup- Help me plan it! (image heavy)

[Aw3s0m3]

I don't think I'm gonna keep Dottie in this tank. I want to keep it as accurate as possible and she would completely blow the immersion.

Your thoughts on the aba aba are definitely interesting to me. I'd love to have one of those or a Cornish Jack in my African setup. I suppose this warrants further investigation...


Thus far, researching this project has been extremely fun and interesting.

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I'll keep you updated on aggression. I've read that at mine's size is when they turn evil but I also read that it doesn't start till 18". Maybe mines unique. Who knows? It would definitely be cool to have one in an African biotope though. When did you plan on starting it?



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[bottles]

Those Butterfly Fish are very nice, but they look like big bugs on the surface. Either the Brevis, or the Polys at night will take them out. Even though the Polys are bottom dwellers, they still make regular trips to the surface, and Butterfly Fish are only fast for about 6" bursts haha. I'd expect Congo Tetras, or any 4" fish to slowly disappear at night as well. My old Ornate and Weeksii Bichirs picked off 7 4" Jewel Cichlids in about a month. After lights out, anything is fair game; even fish that won't fit in their mouths. They were both around the 15-16" range and were taking chunks of my 12" Snakeheads tails, and I was giving them heavy feedings every second day. I've kept other species of Bichirs without incidents, but these two species were particularly aggressive in my experience.
Good luck. It looks like a pretty awesome stock list.

 

[Chicxulub]

I'll keep you updated on aggression. I've read that at mine's size is when they turn evil but I also read that it doesn't start till 18". Maybe mines unique. Who knows? It would definitely be cool to have one in an African biotope though. When did you plan on starting it?



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Good stuff! Thanks for the help. I'm looking forward to the updates.

Those Butterfly Fish are very nice, but they look like big bugs on the surface. Either the Brevis, or the Polys at night will take them out. Even though the Polys are bottom dwellers, they still make regular trips to the surface, and Butterfly Fish are only fast for about 6" bursts haha. I'd expect Congo Tetras, or any 4" fish to slowly disappear at night as well. My old Ornate and Weeksii Bichirs picked off 7 4" Jewel Cichlids in about a month. After lights out, anything is fair game; even fish that won't fit in their mouths. They were both around the 15-16" range and were taking chunks of my 12" Snakeheads tails, and I was giving them heavy feedings every second day. I've kept other species of Bichirs without incidents, but these two species were particularly aggressive in my experience.
Good luck. It looks like a pretty awesome stock list.

I'm worried about that as well! Butterflies are cheap enough that I consider them to be somewhat expendable however. I'm hoping that with the significant cover I'll have in this tank, they'll have a reasonable chance to get away from the predatory fish.



Also, I'd like to add one more fish to the stock list that I forgot about but probably shouldn't have. Megalops cyprinoides, the Indo-Pac tarpon. These guys sometimes venture into freshwater in Tanzania and some other areas in Africa that have eastward flowing rivers. This is good, because I really don't want M. atlanticus. They get too big and imo don't look as nice.

 

[Aweshade9]

Hows goes the planning?

 

[Chicxulub]

Fair I suppose. I haven't put much thought into it lately. I started a new job about two weeks ago and just bought a new house so between the learning curve at work and moving, I haven't had much time to worry about fish.

Things are going good though, the wife let me have the Florida room to commandeer as a fish room!

 

[Aweshade9]

Fair I suppose. I haven't put much thought into it lately. I started a new job about two weeks ago and just bought a new house so between the learning curve at work and moving, I haven't had much time to worry about fish.

Things are going good though, the wife let me have the Florida room to commandeer as a fish room!

Congrats on the job, successful move, and room to yourself!

 

[mikehagan]

Awesome idea for a tank. Definately my favorite kind. I cant wait to upgrade my 180 to a 360. You're going to love the african aro. Very active fish that is always begging for food. The leopard ctens will get large in big tanks too. Mines almost 6 inches and very thick. C. kingslayae is also very nice.

I also just added a p. afer. I'll let you know how it works out. Im working on completing a shoal of Schilbe intermedius. Great shoaling catfish that occupy the mid layer of the tank. I only have one at the moment, but I may be able to find more at a LFS near me.

How are you going to position the currents in the tank to cater to the ATF and the bichirs? I always have wondered how they mix with the ATF's requirements. Bichirs are definitely a must for any african tank.

 

[Chicxulub]

Great looking setup, mikehagan! Quite inspiring, to be sure.

I do intend to add polys to the mix. In order to facilitate the polypterus and other non-current loving fish, the first and most important thing I did was to select the only limnological Hydrocynus species. This has proven to present other challenges, but they're not insurmountable. Since I chose a limnological specimen instead of a hydrological specimen, I was able to significantly reduce my current in the tank while being able to keep the fish happy. I'm still running more current than most, but it isn't the crashing white water that I normally advocate for these fish (brevis can survive in the strong current, but they are comfortable in slack water as well). I have also directed the current in such a way as to keep a large portion of the tank not affected. I've also ensured that I provide numerous hiding spots and rest areas.

The P. afer isn't at all what I had been led to believe that it would be. IMO, its behavior is exactly on par with a clown knife. I see no functional difference. Good little fish IMO.

I do like that catfish. I'm going to look into one! I also intend to get a bunch of various Ctenopoma, but the next things on my agenda are the polleni.

Thank you for the well thought out repy!

 

[zapantha]

Great looking setup, mikehagan! Quite inspiring, to be sure.

I do intend to add polys to the mix. In order to facilitate the polypterus and other non-current loving fish, the first and most important thing I did was to select the only limnological Hydrocynus species. This has proven to present other challenges, but they're not insurmountable. Since I chose a limnological specimen instead of a hydrological specimen, I was able to significantly reduce my current in the tank while being able to keep the fish happy. I'm still running more current than most, but it isn't the crashing white water that I normally advocate for these fish (brevis can survive in the strong current, but they are comfortable in slack water as well). I have also directed the current in such a way as to keep a large portion of the tank not affected. I've also ensured that I provide numerous hiding spots and rest areas.

The P. afer isn't at all what I had been led to believe that it would be. IMO, its behavior is exactly on par with a clown knife. I see no functional difference. Good little fish IMO.

I do like that catfish. I'm going to look into one! I also intend to get a bunch of various Ctenopoma, but the next things on my agenda are the polleni.

Thank you for the well thought out repy!

Any thought in trying to find some really big odoe to swim with billy? I know it's a risky business though


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[robmcd]

Dude! Dude! Dude! DOOOOOOD !! DISTOCHUDUS !!! An african themed tank must have !!! Some species of it at least.... Just my 2 cents. Oh yeah and some Odoes.