hi everyone,
i have been browsing through all kinds of fishkeeping sites lately and was interested in starting up an amazon habitat. since i am going back to school shortly, i can't start it now but i wanted to make sure everything was set. that way i can probably start to set up this tank beginning in the summer. for now this is what i had planned.
tank: 40-55 gallon
filter: maybe rena xp1 or a fluval. i have looked at eheim but they seem pricey
substrate: sand
fish: i want the fish to be from the amazon and its tributaries. i have looked at a bunch and i have narrowed it down to a few although i would love suggestions.
-hatchetfish
-neons with possibly serpae or lemon tetras
-a suckermouth catfish (bushynose, gold nugget (L177 i think), butterfly, or zebra. one of them)
-a pair of german blue rams
-honeycomb catfish (oil catfish)
plants: i have a 10g tank now that has all fake plants but a LFS i visited had displays with live plants and i would like to try it. from what i looked up i wanted to use a few amazon plants.
-echinodorus tenellus. they said it was a midground plant. is this true?
-stargrass. i dont know much about it
-cabomba. i have heard it is more difficult to keep, especially since i am not well-versed in plants.
so i was hoping you guys could throw some suggestions my way about lighting i should use or other fish species i should look at. basically anything would be awesome
oh and one last thing. when i look at a lot of display tanks with amazon species (neons and angels especially), they are rarely blackwater tanks. always very bright, even though they are well planted. why is this? i have read that the species need dimmed lighting either from floating plants or tannin-stained water.
any help is greatly appreciated
EDIT: with lighting, i guess that would depend on the plants i used or the fish preferecnes so i am not sure of that yet.
i have been browsing through all kinds of fishkeeping sites lately and was interested in starting up an amazon habitat. since i am going back to school shortly, i can't start it now but i wanted to make sure everything was set. that way i can probably start to set up this tank beginning in the summer. for now this is what i had planned.
tank: 40-55 gallon
filter: maybe rena xp1 or a fluval. i have looked at eheim but they seem pricey
substrate: sand
fish: i want the fish to be from the amazon and its tributaries. i have looked at a bunch and i have narrowed it down to a few although i would love suggestions.
-hatchetfish
-neons with possibly serpae or lemon tetras
-a suckermouth catfish (bushynose, gold nugget (L177 i think), butterfly, or zebra. one of them)
-a pair of german blue rams
-honeycomb catfish (oil catfish)
plants: i have a 10g tank now that has all fake plants but a LFS i visited had displays with live plants and i would like to try it. from what i looked up i wanted to use a few amazon plants.
-echinodorus tenellus. they said it was a midground plant. is this true?
-stargrass. i dont know much about it
-cabomba. i have heard it is more difficult to keep, especially since i am not well-versed in plants.
so i was hoping you guys could throw some suggestions my way about lighting i should use or other fish species i should look at. basically anything would be awesome
oh and one last thing. when i look at a lot of display tanks with amazon species (neons and angels especially), they are rarely blackwater tanks. always very bright, even though they are well planted. why is this? i have read that the species need dimmed lighting either from floating plants or tannin-stained water.
any help is greatly appreciated
EDIT: with lighting, i guess that would depend on the plants i used or the fish preferecnes so i am not sure of that yet.