Badger's 150g Rio Negro/Orinoco Flooded Rain Forest

[Ch4rlie]

Nice looking tank and will look more stunning once the plants have grown out more.

Agree that some leaf litter, IAL, alder cones etc would complete the look of that nice tank but will darken the water a bit but that’s no bad thing imho, some folks like darker water and others clear as a whistle, personal choice really. As you say, the tannins are good for the livestock, natural antioxidants so it benefits their health.

A good sized tank, 150g, lots of options stocking wise and like some of the choices you’ve made, nice variety for the clients to look at and relax with.

Also think that vals and redneckii they don’t do so well in soft water, my tank water is hard and vals thrive in this.

And redneckii does better with good lights as red leaves plants tend to need more light. Perhaps your new lights will help them fare better if they establish themselves in due course.

Sword plants are never micro imho, heh, always have seen them grow huge in good tank set ups and your 150 g tank is good sized for one or two of those sword plants fully grown.

Keep up the good work

 

[WhistlingBadger]

Disaster: Yesterday, during a water change, one of the angel fish got caught on the business end of the siphon. It badly injured its eye and might have broken its jaw. I was going to euthanize it, but it seemed to rally, so I decided to give it a chance. I feel terrible about it.

Added four ottos and three twig cats, all the pet store could get in. They seem to like their new home. The new lights look good. But man. That angelfish. Hope it makes it.

 

[Slaphppy7]

Dang, that's awful, sorry to hear it, bud...you must use running water to siphon, I don't see how gravity-fed vacuuming could do that kind of damage...

 

[WhistlingBadger]

No it was gravity fed. But I was just using a 1" piece of tubing, no aquarium siphon intake on it. And these are small angelfish. Lesson learned. If this one makes it, I'm going to name it "Lucky." But with a hurt mouth, I don't know how it will.

 

[DoubleDutch]

awwww Sorry to heat Badger. Hoping it is "Lucky" enough to survive. I'd call it Siphon.

 

[Slaphppy7]

No it was gravity fed. But I was just using a 1" piece of tubing, no aquarium siphon intake on it. And these are small angelfish. Lesson learned. If this one makes it, I'm going to name it "Lucky." But with a hurt mouth, I don't know how it will.

Ahhh, I see....how unfortunate

 

[Ch4rlie]

Ah sorry to hear that buddy, shame and know you feel a little bad for your little angelfish, am sure he will recover.

Pretty certain he’ll be proud to show off some impressive scars -


That’s Gill from finding Nemo if you’re curious

 

[Animallover😍]

Sorry to hear about that @WhistlingBadger.
Hope he recovers.

 

[WhistlingBadger]

Good news! Not only did the angelfish make it, it has recovered so thoroughly that we can't even tell which one got injured. Amazing. Takes a lickin' and keeps on tickin'!

The doctor asked me to write up a little description on a card that we can attach to the tank, because she thinks people would have fun learning about the biotope and different fish therein. Brevity is difficult...

 

[Animallover😍]

Great! good to hear the angelfish is fine.

 

[Bruce Leyland-Jones]

Good news! Not only did the angelfish make it, it has recovered so thoroughly that we can't even tell which one got injured. Amazing. Takes a lickin' and keeps on tickin'!

It's always good to hear of a recovery!

The doctor asked me to write up a little description on a card that we can attach to the tank, because she thinks people would have fun learning about the biotope and different fish therein. Brevity is difficult...

Words of less than four syllables...with a Glossary...and a dictionary!

 

[WhistlingBadger]

Here's the write-up I did. Kind of fun. Hope people enjoy it.

About This Aquarium
During the annual rainy season, rivers in the Amazon Basin overflow their banks and flood the surrounding rainforest. Fish move into these flooded forests, where they find abundant food, shelter, and breeding sites. This aquarium recreates this environment. Most of the plants and all of the fish come from the Rio Negro, a major tributary of the Amazon, and the Rio Orinoco, which lies just to the north.

You might notice a brown or yellow tint in the water. The water is not dirty. It is stained brown by chemicals called tannins that naturally come out of the wood and leaves. These tannins make the fish feel comfortable and help them stay healthy. The Rio Negro is called “Black River,” because its waters are dark with tannins, about the color of black tea.

See if you can locate the different fish in the tank. Some of them are easy to see, and some are very good at staying hidden!

Angelfish (Pterophyllum scalare).
A predatory cichlid that is very tough and adaptable. They will develop a bluish coloring as they grow up. We are hoping that someday this group will lay eggs and give us some baby fish!

Diamond Tetras (Moenkhausia pittieri).
Another very tough fish that can thrive even in polluted water. Watch for these young fish to become very sparkly as they grow up.

Red Phantom Tetras (Hyphessobrycon sweglesi).
These peaceful little fish eat fallen fruit and tiny water bugs in the wild. They often swim close together for safety.

Cory Catfish (Corydoras adolfoi).
These catfish patrol the tank in a group, looking for food that the other fish have missed. Sometimes they enjoy dashing to the surface for a taste of air.

Otos (Otocinclus vittatus).
Look for these tiny, sucker-mouth catfish stuck to hard surfaces on the aquarium, eating algae and other microorganisms.

Twig Catfish (Farlowella acus).
If you can find more than one of these algae eaters, you are a fish-spotting champion! They really do look like twigs, and they’re almost invisible when they aren’t moving.

 

[Ch4rlie]

I have a real soft spot for farrowellas, just such a lovely specie.

But the write up looks spot on and adds more interest for anyone looking at the fish in this lovely tank and wondering what they are.

Nice little detail

 

[WhistlingBadger]

Well, the hurt angelfish didn't make it. I've lost several ottos and a twig cat too. I chalk it up to bad stock. I'm about ready to give up on the LFS as a fish source. The gal that runs it does pretty well, but her supplier sends garbage fish. Almost always sick or in poor health. I think in the future I'll fork out the extra $$ and order from TWS. Probably cheaper in the long run, especially for wild-caught fish and fish like ottos that tend to starve in transit.

As of yesterday, ammonia, nitrates, nitrites all reading zero. Still have a lot of brown algae. New light fixture coming in Friday, and some new plants too. I'm going to reduce the light period but up the intensity, which will hopefully give the plants a leg up over the algae.

 

[WhistlingBadger]

Haven't updated on this tank for a while. Have had a couple hardscape tipping over disasters, and a bout with ich. That's all gone now, the wood has finally been secured (I hope), and the brown algae has gone away! Bottom is looking just a bit bare for my taste, though the top with all those floaters (frogbit, water sprite, crystalwort, and Java fern growing emergent) looks pretty darned amazing. Ordered from thewetspot: ten more otos, four twig cats, four adolph cories, and a couple swords to fill in the bare spots. Coming in tomorrow. Will get some vids once the new fish and plants are settling in. It's looking pretty nice.