"New" to Hobby - Looking for Biotope themed aquariums

[WhistlingBadger]

If you still want tiger barbs, you could get a big school of them, and leave out the pearl gouramis. But do have a look at pentazona barbs (Desmopuntius pentazona). I think you'd like them.

Another fun Maylasian bottom feeder is the two-spot catfish, Mystus bimaculatus. You could probably keep 5 or 6 of them in a 75g.

 

[Klinge]

Yeah I still need to figure out my water hardness, however I’m moving to a new place soon, so I can’t really measure, unless Copenhagen has the overall same water hardness.

I’m a bit stuck if I should choose Gourami of Tiger barbs, however I do like the gourami a bit more because it’s like a centerpiece fish… could the Desmopuntius pentazona go with gouramis? I would really like 2 schools of different fish. Or do you know other centerpiece fish prehabs from that region?

I do really like all the other fish you told me about, but I will try my best to keep it only from Malaysia/Thailand/Borneo.

Are clown loaches hard to keep? If I get a 75 Gallon tank (Maybe 100G I don’t know yet) won’t that be enough space? And Can you recommend other catfishes/loaches? From the region?

Thanks for helping me

 

[WhistlingBadger]

You're welcome! I really enjoy fish from this region so it's fun helping you out.

Some good news: pentazonas do great with pearl gouramis! So do harlequin rasboras. I had the three species together in a 55g for many years. In a 75g I think you could easily do 6 pearl gouramis, fifteen pentazona barbs, fifteen harlequin rasboras, and still have room for a nice school of bottom feeders.

I don't know much about clown loaches except they get really big. This poses two problems: First, they need a lot of swimming space. Second, they produce a huge amount of waste. I'm not sure how big a tank you would need for clown loaches, but seriouslyfish says you need at least a 70" x 35" base tank to keep a group. That's quite a bit bigger than 100g. Perhaps someone else could say for sure. I believe @Wills used to keep them?

Dwarf chain loaches live in Thailand, and Mystus bimaculatus live in Sumatra (Could Sumatra be part of your biotope? It's right in between Borneo and the Malay peninsula). A lot of the loaches of Thailand/Malaysia are aggressive, so you have to do your homework. There are so many to choose from I'm sure you can find something. To me, researching different fish is part of the fun.

 

[reptilenotfish]

you might be able to keep shrimp as well, neocardinia and cardinia shrimp are from asia, and could possibly breed fast enough to keep a stable population.

 

[TwoTankAmin]

I currently have my clowns in a 150, I hyst lost my 22+ yo tank misteress. She had been with me since late 2002. She was about 12 inches and fat. The next two biggest are in the 10+ inch range. The rest are 3.6 -6 inches and the totoal is 10. I was thinking to keep them longer term a 220 is likely going to be needed.

The odd thing is I only keep two species of loach, the clowns which get pretty big and then then the sidthimunkis which are one of the smallest loaches. My sids are almost as old as the clowns.

 

[WhistlingBadger]

you might be able to keep shrimp as well, neocardinia and cardinia shrimp are from asia, and could possibly breed fast enough to keep a stable population.

Neocardina and cardina are native to China, Taiwan, and Japan, but there are many Thai and Malay shrimp that are not available in the hobby. Shrimp are definitely a realistic part of the ecosystem. I've always kept amanos in my SE Asia tanks and figured close enough.

Bamboo shrimp live in Thailand. In my experience they require some specialized conditions that didn't exist in my tanks, and I've never had them live long. @Slaphppy7 does pretty well with them, so maybe he could chime in here.

 

[Klinge]

Hi Again

It seems unfortunately that I cannot buy Mystus bimaculatus and the Desmopuntius in Denmark near me. However I did find some "Systomus pentazona". Would they work?
However I did find "panda garra" and the dwarf loaches (also the saim algaeeater and Kuhli Loach) so I guess I have to choose one, which would you recommend?
I would also like to have some kind of catfish kinda like the Gastromyzon (can't get that one either). Any recommendations?

Also think ill look into some shrimps!

 

[Essjay]

Gastromyzon aren't catfish, they're loaches. One of the hillstream loach species. All hillstream loaches need specific conditions - lower temperature than other fish and well oxygenated water usually created by fast flowing water. These factors make it tricky to find compatible tank mates.


Systomus pentazona is another name for Desmopuntius pentazona

 

[Byron]

You (and we) need to know the GH and pH of your water. I realize your earlier [posts about moving, but you should be able to find the website of the water authority for the area you are moving to, and the parameters may be there. This is crucial, because you are considering a number of species that have specific requirements, and if we suggest fish "x" without knowing the parameters, we may only be suggesting fish that will slowly weaken and die. None of us wants that.

Desmopuntius pentazona (the accepted name for Systomus pentazona now) is a black water and still clear water fish that has specific needs.

Desmopuntius pentazona – Five-banded Barb (Systomus pentazona, Puntius pentazona) — Seriously Fish

www.seriouslyfish.com

A good substitute for Tiger Barb is Pethia nigrofasciata. But it is endemic to Sri Lanka, which is not within your preferred area. But if you change to geographic, it would fit.

 

[Klinge]

Yeah sorry about that!
Just checked on a danish website and it seems my water is above 30DH, that the only information i can get. Ill look a bit more!

 

[Klinge]

Yeah its seems like it above 30dH. For the pH i'll have to buy some kind of tool i think

 

[Byron]

Yeah its seems like it above 30dH. For the pH i'll have to buy some kind of tool i think

This is going to seriously limit your options. The vast majority of SE Asian fish are very soft water with an acidic pH. In my opinion they will not adapt to very hard water (30 dH is very hard), and many of what are being suggested will be wild caught which means adhering to their water preferences much more.

 

[Klinge]

This is going to seriously limit your options. The vast majority of SE Asian fish are very soft water with an acidic pH. In my opinion they will not adapt to very hard water (30 dH is very hard), and many of what are being suggested will be wild caught which means adhering to their water preferences much more.

Hmm what could i do? This is of course tap water. Is there no way i can buy water or do something to change it? sorry very new to all this.
Again it might be wrong. I've had an aquarium years ago when i was a kid. Were i had Tiger Barbs, Corydoras, Plecos, Neon Tetras and platies.

 

[Klinge]

Oh wait! I looked at the wrong region lol! My water hardness is between 18-24dH! Sorry about that

 

[JaysTank]

I'm also new to the hobby and wanted to make a South American biotope as I've lived there some years ago. Here is a thing that I realized too late and I wish I'd have know:

• Make A LOT of research (months or even half a year) and be extremely specific in the conditions and the area you want to replicate.
• Make the hardscape BEFORE anything else, and make sure you collect all the woods, rockts, etc you wanna use, and make a few test setups first, before you buy any plants and fish.
  • You could use a cut out cardboard box or something for a test setup first, and try a lot of different angles to your hardscape to see what you like best.
• South American biotope almost certainly requires a reverse osmosis system, so if that's out of your budget an african cichlid tank could be an idea.

Good luck and keep on learning!