Need ideas: Centerpiece for a Central Asia hillstream tank

[WhistlingBadger]

Hey, kids. I plan on resealing my old 55 gallon this week and begin setting it up as Tea Garden 2.0. Footprint is 48" x 12". Water will be around 11" deep. Lots of plants, lots of rocks and wood, moderate to heavy current. Fish and plants from the Himalayan foothills: northern India, Nepal, northern Myanmar, and southwest China.

The plan is for schools of hillstream loaches and sand loaches on the bottom, choprae danios and odessa barbs up top, pretty much what I have in the current Tea Garden, just more. I don't absolutely require a "centerpiece" fish, but I do like having something larger and calmer to give some balance to the active schoolers. Needs to be a critter that can hold its own in fast current, and won't be intimidated by lots of activity. I've already considered and discarded various anabantoids (paradise fish, dwarf gourami, honey gourami, three spot gourami) because none of them seem to like current.

Any ideas?

 

[WhistlingBadger]

 

[Magnum Man]

I can add a link if you want, but I did a search of fish in the streams of SE Asia... probably the bulk of which aren't generally available in the aquarium trade... but I was surprised how many actually were...

see anything here that would work???

Freshwater fishes of Southeast Asia

this clip from another on-line article...

"Most loaches, Barbs, Danios, Red tail sharks, Bala sharks, and small Asian catfish are more than suitable for this biotope. Always check that the size of the tank is right to suit the adult size of the fish you are adding or be prepared to move the adults to a larger tank in the future. Bala sharks and clown loaches will definitely out grow a three or four foot tank so research before buying. I have seen this biotope set up with just a shoal of green tiger barbs and the effect was stunning."

there are a few suggestions in this article...

https://www.tfhmagazine.com/articles/freshwater/aquascaping-a-southeast-asia-biotope

 

[Beastije]

I dont think there is one for you
A guy here has an interresting and similar combo (or at least idea, he does se asia) :
8x Danio Sysphigmatus (large, live, jumpers)
10x Garra flavatra
6x Gastromyzon punculatus
6x Pangio kuhlii
in a 150 liter tank

And another one of his is
14x Devario aequipinnatus
10x Botia striata
7x Sewellia lineolata
in a 270 liter tank
I like his tanks a lot, he is very territory specific, tries to give the fish what they would do in nature

But nothing larger in the upper streams that could take the current or handle the activity. I tried the paradise fish, was a no go.
Maybe just do a large school of the odessa, they grow quite big, and see if those work?

 

[Magnum Man]

How about this??? it is a schooling fish though

Devario regina – Queen ‘Danio’ (Danio regina, Danio suvatti) — Seriously Fish

www.seriouslyfish.com

or this... also a schooling fish though

Brachydanio albolineata – Pearl ‘Danio’ (Danio albolineatus, Danio tweediei) — Seriously Fish

www.seriouslyfish.com

these are more solitary though...

Rhinogobius rubromaculatus – Red-spotted Goby — Seriously Fish

www.seriouslyfish.com

 

[WhistlingBadger]

I'm already going to have plenty of schoolers. I really want a school of blue hill trout, but that would require a bigger tank. Unless I end up having a big, calm area (which I won't know until everything's set up), I'll probably just go with the barbs, danios, and loaches. Thanks for the input, everybody.

 

[simonas]

I've no suggestion as not my area of knowledge but I am intrigued by your plans as I always fancied a hill stream loach tank as I believe they are relatively easy to breed and I would love to see that happening in a tank of mine

 

[GaryE]

I don't think there is a valid answer. The larger barbs are your centrepiece if you follow that old approach to aquarium design. A hill stream design tank is a tank in movement, and no fish is going to sit in the centre and draw the eye there. A plant, a rock, driftwood - they'll do it. A pronghorn on sedatives standing ankle deep in the water would draw my eye.

 

[WhistlingBadger]

I've no suggestion as not my area of knowledge but I am intrigued by your plans as I always fancied a hill stream loach tank as I believe they are relatively easy to breed and I would love to see that happening in a tank of mine

Well, here's the current incarnation of this idea. The 55 is going to look much the same, only bigger, and with a school of odessa barbs added. At least, that's the current plan.

I don't think there is a valid answer. The larger barbs are your centrepiece if you follow that old approach to aquarium design. A hill stream design tank is a tank in movement, and no fish is going to sit in the centre and draw the eye there. A plant, a rock, driftwood - they'll do it. A pronghorn on sedatives standing ankle deep in the water would draw my eye.

Yeah, but how to you convince the antelope to swallow the benadryl???

 

[simonas]

I love that the tank looks ace as it is

How many hillstream loaches are there ?

 

[WhistlingBadger]

I love that the tank looks ace as it is

How many hillstream loaches are there ?

Thanks! I have five right now, and four sand loaches. Hoping to add three more when I upgrade.

 

[Boundava]

Kinda late to the party, but the larger betas could work so long as other fish aren't small enough to snack on.

 

[WhistlingBadger]

Kinda late to the party, but the larger betas could work so long as other fish aren't small enough to snack on.

Interesting idea! Don't they like still water, though? And aren't they more Southeast Asia?

 

[Boundava]

I don't know why the link won't work but I did attach a link to seriously fish and according to them they are found in hillstream conditions so they do like the additional flow. If you take a look at pictures that you have big mouth so if you're danios are smaller they may predate on them. They have torpedo shaped bodies so they're adaptable to current.

 

[Boundava]

Betta sp. ‘Antuta/Bulungan’ — Seriously Fish

www.seriouslyfish.com