"New" to Hobby - Looking for Biotope themed aquariums

[Byron]

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

That is still fairly hard water. @WhistlingBadger has more experience with fish from this area as he mentioned, so he may know of species that could manage here.

 

[Klinge]

That is still fairly hard water. @WhistlingBadger has more experience with fish from this area as he mentioned, so he may know of species that could manage here.

As far as i can see i can still use Pearl Gourami and Harlequin Rasboras. Not sure tho

 

[WhistlingBadger]

Most pearl gourami and harlequin rasboras available today have been tank-raised for many generations, which makes them a bit more adaptable. As Byron mentioned, wild-caught fish tend to be more exacting in their needs. When creating a biotope, even fishkeepers with lots of experience generally prefer to choose a region that matches their water quality. Otherwise it becomes too much work to be sustainable.

Since your water is quite hard, I advise changing regions. Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Australia-New Guinea, and Central America all have lots of fish that do well in hard water. So do some areas of China/Taiwan. All have an abundance of very beautiful fish. Do a bit of looking at Rainbowfish, Cental American cichlids and livebearers, fish from Lake Inle and the surrounding areas of Myanmar. (which would include our beloved Panda Garra). There are many beautiful barbs and loaches in India and Sri Lanka.

Your other alternative is to install a reverse osmosis system. But in my experience most RO systems produce water so slowly they are impractical for big tanks.

 

[Klinge]

Most pearl gourami and harlequin rasboras available today have been tank-raised for many generations, which makes them a bit more adaptable. As Byron mentioned, wild-caught fish tend to be more exacting in their needs. When creating a biotope, even fishkeepers with lots of experience generally prefer to choose a region that matches their water quality. Otherwise it becomes too much work to be sustainable.

Since your water is quite hard, I advise changing regions. Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Australia-New Guinea, and Central America all have lots of fish that do well in hard water. So do some areas of China/Taiwan. All have an abundance of very beautiful fish. Do a bit of looking at Rainbowfish, Cental American cichlids and livebearers, fish from Lake Inle and the surrounding areas of Myanmar. (which would include our beloved Panda Garra). There are many beautiful barbs and loaches in India and Sri Lanka.

Your other alternative is to install a reverse osmosis system. But in my experience most RO systems produce water so slowly they are impractical for big tanks.

Ah damm thats a shame. Was really gettting hooked on my aquarium haha! Guess ill look into something else than!

 

[WhistlingBadger]

Yeah, I know the feeling. When hard realities collide with beautiful dreams.

 

[Klinge]

Most pearl gourami and harlequin rasboras available today have been tank-raised for many generations, which makes them a bit more adaptable. As Byron mentioned, wild-caught fish tend to be more exacting in their needs. When creating a biotope, even fishkeepers with lots of experience generally prefer to choose a region that matches their water quality. Otherwise it becomes too much work to be sustainable.

Since your water is quite hard, I advise changing regions. Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Australia-New Guinea, and Central America all have lots of fish that do well in hard water. So do some areas of China/Taiwan. All have an abundance of very beautiful fish. Do a bit of looking at Rainbowfish, Cental American cichlids and livebearers, fish from Lake Inle and the surrounding areas of Myanmar. (which would include our beloved Panda Garra). There are many beautiful barbs and loaches in India and Sri Lanka.

Your other alternative is to install a reverse osmosis system. But in my experience most RO systems produce water so slowly they are impractical for big tanks.

So i checked with my local aquarium shop. They told me all their fish are raised and have adapted to regular tapwater in my area and that they will do fine, as they are breed in captivity and are not wild. I have no idea if this is true or not, but they told me that i should not worry. Is this possible or are theyh just trying to get me to buy some fish?

 

[Essjay]

It takes a long time to rewrite DNA to allow fish to thrive in different water. It is better to keep fish which originate in water similar to our tap water.

 

[Byron]

So i checked with my local aquarium shop. They told me all their fish are raised and have adapted to regular tapwater in my area and that they will do fine, as they are breed in captivity and are not wild. I have no idea if this is true or not, but they told me that i should not worry. Is this possible or are theyh just trying to get me to buy some fish?

At face value, their advice is inaccurate and misleading. It depends upon the species in some cases, and obviously the actual parameters, but fish in a store tank have not adapted to that water. It takes weeks, if not months, for any fish to adapt, and some cannot regardless. The fish in the store are there for limited time, and most species can manage for this brief period, again depending upon the species, where it comes from, and the actual GH/pH of the water involved. When you get the fish home, you are intending to keep it for its life, and that means providing the water parameters it needs. Otherwise the fish will be stressed, it will weaken, it will be more susceptible to disease, and it will have a shorter lifespan. Studies done with the cardinal tetra in the late 1980's in Germany confirmed that the lifespan of the fish was in direct relation to the GH of the water; the harder the water, the shorter the lifespan. And when dead, necropsies found that the fish died from calcium blockage of the kidneys. The high calcium in the water gets inside the fish as it "drinks" by water passing through the cells, and the kidneys attempt to filter out the toxic calcium, and get blocked.

 

[Klinge]

At face value, their advice is inaccurate and misleading. It depends upon the species in some cases, and obviously the actual parameters, but fish in a store tank have not adapted to that water. It takes weeks, if not months, for any fish to adapt, and some cannot regardless. The fish in the store are there for limited time, and most species can manage for this brief period, again depending upon the species, where it comes from, and the actual GH/pH of the water involved. When you get the fish home, you are intending to keep it for its life, and that means providing the water parameters it needs. Otherwise the fish will be stressed, it will weaken, it will be more susceptible to disease, and it will have a shorter lifespan. Studies done with the cardinal tetra in the late 1980's in Germany confirmed that the lifespan of the fish was in direct relation to the GH of the water; the harder the water, the shorter the lifespan. And when dead, necropsies found that the fish died from calcium blockage of the kidneys. The high calcium in the water gets inside the fish as it "drinks" by water passing through the cells, and the kidneys attempt to filter out the toxic calcium, and get blocked.

Yeah thats what i thought. Well its a shame, my options have really been limited now.
Most of the fish I want require soft water sadly. Think i might need to get an osmosis plant or something

 

[JaysTank]

Yeah thats what i thought. Well its a shame, my options have really been limited now.
Most of the fish I want require soft water sadly. Think i might need to get an osmosis plant or something

You can also do some seriously sick rock scapes with african cichlids man, and they have a ton of personality. Some that I think are pretty cool and you might wanna looj into are julidochromis (apparently always has their stomach towards any type of surface they swim on, which looks super cool when they swim on a vertical rock), neolamprologus multifasciatus (shell dwellers), neolamprologus leleupi (amazing colours). Just suggestions, as there are a ton to consider.

 

[WhistlingBadger]

You can also do some seriously sick rock scapes with african cichlids man, and they have a ton of personality. Some that I think are pretty cool and you might wanna looj into are julidochromis (apparently always has their stomach towards any type of surface they swim on, which looks super cool when they swim on a vertical rock), neolamprologus multifasciatus (shell dwellers), neolamprologus leleupi (amazing colours). Just suggestions, as there are a ton to consider.

Agree. You still have some really great options.

 

[Klinge]

Hey! Sorry i've been away from home
Can you be more concrete with region biotomes i can do? What are some of the fish? ^^

cheers

 

[sharkweek178]

Yeah, I know the feeling. When hard realities collide with beautiful dreams.

I've learned that when this hobby tells you that you can't do something, it always provides a bunch of alternatives. And those can end up being even better than what was originally envisioned.

 

[JaysTank]

Hey! Sorry i've been away from home
Can you be more concrete with region biotomes i can do? What are some of the fish? ^^

cheers

Try look up Google for Lake Tanganyika or Lake Malawi cichlids

 

[WhistlingBadger]

Hey! Sorry i've been away from home
Can you be more concrete with region biotomes i can do? What are some of the fish? ^^

cheers

You can also do some seriously sick rock scapes with african cichlids man, and they have a ton of personality. Some that I think are pretty cool and you might wanna looj into are julidochromis (apparently always has their stomach towards any type of surface they swim on, which looks super cool when they swim on a vertical rock), neolamprologus multifasciatus (shell dwellers), neolamprologus leleupi (amazing colours). Just suggestions, as there are a ton to consider.

Since your water is quite hard, I advise changing regions. Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Australia-New Guinea, and Central America all have lots of fish that do well in hard water. So do some areas of China/Taiwan. All have an abundance of very beautiful fish. Do a bit of looking at Rainbowfish, Cental American cichlids and livebearers, fish from Lake Inle and the surrounding areas of Myanmar. (which would include our beloved Panda Garra). There are many beautiful barbs and loaches in India and Sri Lanka.

Time for some google action! Just google "Sri Lankan Aquarium fish" or whatever. Then get on seriouslyfish.com, research a few species that appeal to you, plug them into aqadvisor to check your stocking levels, and you're on your way.