Tropical Fish Keeping banner

Amazon Blackwater Creek

11K views 69 replies 9 participants last post by  willow 
#1 ·
Currently cycling a 210l (nett) Amazon Blackwater Creek biotope. A few pictures of the setup below. Attempting to make maintenance as easy as possible (let's see how it turns out :lol:)















 
See less See more
7
#58 ·
Thanks Willow. Hate loosing fish but it is all part of the hobby (unfortunately) but worse with something like that because of his character and he was a 'feature' of the tank. In a way it is sort of a relief as (wouldn't say he was suffering but) he just wasn't right. Still, lets just say Mrs K will have a new partner to nag soon...and he will get it in stereo ;-)
Posted via Mobile Device
 
#61 · (Edited)
Thanks Willow. I can honestly say that I am so pleased with them and they look so much better than I expected. Originally I was considering some of the rarer Tetras and Pencilfish for the shoal but am so glad we went for the Cardinals. I think we get so used to seeing 6 or so in a tank but having a larger group is an entirely different thing. The nice thing is they do look like a shoal. As there are so many they do cover a fairly large area of the tank but still tend to move as a shoal (as you can probably tell I am really pleased with them :)). Wait until the Apistos are in, that'll close them up ;-).

What is also pleasing, because they are in Blackwater their colours have become more intense since they went in (unfortunately doesn't really show up on the images).

Where I get them from has a tank with a 1,000 in, now that is a sight to behold!
 
#63 ·
You are absolutely right, their behaviour in 'larger groups' ;-) is entirely different and you seem to get groups within the shoal. One of the Gold Stripes has decided he hates cardinals (must be a bit of a 'mare in there for him :)) and you quite often catch him chasing one. He doesn't seem to catch on to the fact that they are much nipper than he is and just sidestep his charges.

Now all we need are for the Pencils to be more individuals and the Hatchets to shaol. Not asking for a lot, well that's how it's supposed to work ;-).
 
#64 ·
A few images from the Killi tank with the new additions...

A couple of the Serpae (H. eques) and the Corys (C. julii)


The Siamese Algae. Eater (C. siamensis)


The original female Killi (F. nigerianus)


The new one


And the pair of them


The new male


The new pair seem to have settled right in, they can cut that out!


 
#65 ·
Been having a bit of a tinker today as the inflows to the corner boxes have been clogging and it had got to the point where I was having to clear them daily which was becoming a bit of a pain. Decided to cut a sizeable hole through the background and acrylic in the top corners of both boxes... A bit tight for space due to the tank bracing. Cut the original intake pipes for the Eheims and seal them into the holes with underwater sealant. I also used some stainless mesh to create surface skimmers. This is the finished result on the RHS.



Seems to have worked and is completely hidden once the sides are on the cabinet :-D
 
#66 · (Edited)
Bit of a time since the last update, just waiting for the fish to be brought in and go through quarantine.

So in the meantime I have 'fine tweaked' the water circulation and ironed out the teething issues. Starting to build up the layer of leaves which (in time...and hopefully) become the top layer of the substrate and maintain the Blackwater conditions as it breakdowns. The catfish love it and it is really interesting watching them 'work' for their food as all you often see is their tails sticking out of it. They seem to love tunnelling through it :).

 
#67 ·
Even more time since the last update (blame a bout of pleurisy and a hospital stay for that) but lots of news. At least it has given me a bit of time to even 'finer tune' the circulation system. Water was originally drawn from the main area of the tank via two outlets and whilst it was working fine it tended to create a few areas of higher flow, not entirely correct for a Blackwater environment. So armed with various plumbing bits, more stainless mesh and a lot of cursing/head scratching (ah the awkwardness of a 24in deep tank with limited access) I set to work. The water now flows out of the main area of the tank through six outlets. I can now honestly say I am 100% happy with the filtration/circulation system (probably...for now...perhaps :))

On the downside, I was tinkering with stuff in the back boxes and I saw it...one of the Cardinals is living a life in solitary confinement, don't know how I missed him but he is there. Spent a few days trying to catch him but he just wasn't buying it. Anyway, told Mrs Biff "I am going to have to rip some of the background out". She didn't say anything but gave me a look of "you start ripping that background out I will rip your head off". OK don't like leaving him in there but at least he isn't terrorised by anyone and he has a ready food supply. So think, for my own safety (and as much as I hate to do it) he had better stay in there.

The second downside, the Miriophyllum matogrossense has finally completely disintegrated. I must admit I am not surprised, lighting conditions in the tank are far from ideal for it and it was a bit of a gamble that was always likely not to work out. The surprising thing is that it maintained its colour right until the end but it just slowly melted. The upside on the plant front is that the Pennywort and Stargrass require regular pruning and the Swords have doubled in size since they went in.

The other alteration is a remote feeding point. Basically there is now a cup in the electrics cupboard (or mission control as it has been termed by some) which is connected to the tank via a tube and food can be flushed through. It means that the hood only has to be opened for water changes and when I need to sort the plants.

And finally, the Guppies have a new home. My father upgraded one of his tanks (yep still going strong on the fishkeeping front at 84) and asked if I wanted the old one. Was thinking three tanks is enough these days....but if I put the guppies into that then we can increase their numbers..."OK Dad, I'll have it please". Just realised, I never put up pics of the old Guppy tank but I promise to do ones of their new residence soon. Anyway moved the fish over and all seemed well at first. The following day the fish started to hang near the surface and were generally lethargic. Checked the water and there was a nitrite spike. Eek! A quick think. I hadn't moved the sand over from the old tank. Fortunately (as I was supposed to be resting) I hadn't broken down the old tank. A 60% water change using the water from that and as I syphoned it out I stirred the sand and sucked up the gunk[\I] and into the new tank it all went. Within minutes the fish started chasing each other around (as the norm) and the nitrite never returned. Crisis averted....If I had caused the demise of one of her beloved guppies I think I would have been sleeping with the fishes!

And now the good bit the new Amazon arrivals....

Blackwing Hatchet (Carnegiella marthae)


Dwarf Pencil (Nannostomus marginatus)


Cockatoo Cichlid (Apistogramma cacatuoides)


Peppered Cory (Corydoras paleatus)
 
#69 · (Edited)


Current stocking
Blackwing Hatchet (Carnegiella marthae)
Dwarf Pencil (Nannostomus marginatus)
Head and Tail Light Tetra (Hemigrammus ocellifer)
Cardinal Tetra (Paracheirodon axelrodi)
Cockatoo Cichlid (Apistogramma cacatuoides)
Emerald Catfish (Brochis splendens)
Peru Gold-Stripe Cory (Corydoras sp. cf. aeneus)
Peppered Cory (Corydoras paleatus)
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top