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Asia and Africa
By Robert Paul H.
Southeast Asia Back -water
Southeast Asia is home to many of the fish which are in most demand
by hobbyists today. The backwaters of southeast Asia are both slow moving
and thick with vegetation. Both above and below the waterline live many
ferns and bamboo. The streams are packed with organic matter and stained
brown by the iron rich red rocks that cover the bottom. You can recreate
this environment with the following guidelines:
pH 6.0 to 6.5
hardness: 100mg/liter CaCO3
temp 75 to 79 degrees
Plants:
- Bamboo Plant, Blyxa japonica
- Giant Hygrophia, Nomaphila stricta
Recommended lighting:
3 watts per gallon of water
Substrate:
- laterite
- sand
- red gravel
- multi colored stones
- pebbles
Suitable Fish:
- Tiger Barb, Barbus tetrazona
- Siamese Fighting Fish, Betta splendens
- Clown Loach, Botia macracantha
- Zebra Danio, Brachydanio rerio
- Honey Gourami, Colisa chuna
- Dwarf Gourami, Colisa lalia
- Pearl Gourami, Trichogaster leeri
- Paradise Fish, Macropodus opercularis
- Red Tailed Black Shark, Labeo bicolor
The bottom layer of the substrate should contain iron rich laterite for
the plant growth, topped with a mixture of sand and red gravel accented
with larger stones and pebbles. Seachem's Flourite is a red clay gravel
very suitable for this. To make things more interesting you can alternate
to have some exposed areas of sand as well as gravel or rock, however the
overall look of the substrate surface should be dark with a lot of red
color. Broken pieces of red clay flower pots also make a nice accent. The
over all look you are striving for is tall, bushy plants in the background
and sides, and a rocky foreground. This simulates the plants growing close
to shore while the outer areas are littered with rocks.
Zaire River Rapids
The Zaire or Congo river in west Africa stretches for over 2700 miles
and is fed by an enormous central basin that was once a lake. Many fish
have adapted to life in the part of the river with heavy white water rapids.
This is what we will re-create.
pH 7.0 to 7.5
hardness: 150mg/liter CaCO3
temp 77 to 80 degrees F
Plants
- Anubias nana
- Anubias lanceolata
- Anubias frazeri
- Anubias congensis
- African Water Fern, Bolbitis heudeloti
Reccomended lighting:
2 watts per gallon of water
Substrate:
Sand and large, smooth, rounded rocks
Suitable fish:
- African Red Eyed Tetra, Arnoldichthys spilopterus
- African Suckermouth Catfish, Chiloglanis cameroonensis
- Ornate Catfish, Chrysichthys ornatus
- Banded African Tetra, Distichodus sexfasciatus
- African Glass Catfish, Eutropiellus "debauwi"
- Butterfly cichlid, Hemichromis thomasi
- Congo Tetra, Phenacogrammus interruptus
- Blockhead cichlid, Steatocranus casuanus
- Synodontis robertsi, angelicus, brichardi, camelopardalis Catfish
Slope white sand up to the middle where you stack large round river rocks,
worn smooth by constant water pressure. Arrange the plants in between and
around the stones. Tall Anubias in the rear or ends, ferns and dwarf Anubias
in the front.
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