More SA habitat of corydoras, cichlids, tetra

Byron

Several enjoyed the video in yesterday's post, so here's another of interest, again from Heiko. His discovery of a new creek, probably the first time seen by non-indiginous people, in Columbia, and new species of fish photographed.

The video part-way down the series of photos is quite interesting; tetras some will recongize, and Corydoras in shoals. The corys definitely remain close together for security, and notice how they also prefer the quieter bank to escape the faster water flow mid-stream. I have frequently written about these forest fish and their preferences for slow-flowing water and dim light (overhanging trees), plus sunken branches for cover; these habitat videos show why I maintain this view.

Aquapress Bleher - Caño Libertad, Colombia, 10 December, 2009

Don't neglect page 2 on the site, there are more good photos of fish Heiko caught in this stream, including some beautiful cardinals, the true Poecilocharax weitzmani, hatchets, pencilfish, dwarf cichlids... amazing.

Byron.

LisaC144

Very, very interesting. I especially enjoyed the video on the Cardinal's. This gets me even more excited to plant my tank and get a nice piece of tree stump/branches in there for them. Thanks for sharing, Byron. Loved it!

iamntbatman

Very cool. I had no idea there were so many types of knifefish living in SA. Some great looking dwarf cichlids, too!

aunt kymmie

That was great, thanks for posting, Byron! :)

JohnnyD44

thanks again B!

Angel079

That makes me wanna use leaf litter from the shrimp tanks for the Cory's too now...What you think Byron?

Byron

Using leaves on the substrate certainly is "natural" for I would say most of the Amazonian forest fish. And some species of dwarf cichlid use leaves as spawning substrate. But there are issues with leaves.

They rot, some quicker than others. Be prepared for very diligent regular maintenance.

Some leaves discharge highly toxic substances as they decompose, or even before. I know of a cichlid expert who collected many species of dwarf cichlid in Amazonia and told me of bringing back one group once that used certain leaves, and he collected the leaves from the stream as well; set up their tank, all was fine until suddenly one day they all died--turned out to be a toxic substance within the leaves that killed them. In the wild the water carries it away, but not in the aquarium. Know the leaf you are using before putting it in the tank. I have read that oak leaves are OK. They must be dry first, not fresh.

With leaves on the substrate, detritus will accumulate on the leaf and be stirred up much more than on gravel substrate. This can be seen even in the video.

Byron.

Kelso

Wow! Thanks Byron! I love these kinds of things!

Angel079

Yea that's the same in the shrimp farms, you're very limited on the leaves you actually CAN use in tanks (I had addressed that in the Shrimp sticky post too). Luckly I have the supply I need in the back yard and collected (as one should do) the leaves in the fall; boiled them and dried them and are now stored in a brown paper bag.
I'd imagine to change them out every once in a while as I do in the shrimp tanks for best results.

I think I'll start doing that since I have what I need; have dealt with it for the shrimps for yrs now and know what I'm getting myself into; I think that'll be nice for the Corys Lets see what they say

iamntbatman

You can also use Indian Almond Leaves. They deteriorate very slowly and add some nice tannins to your tank. You can usually buy them in large amounts from Aquabid for very little money. For example, right now someone's selling 100 leaves for $15 shipped.