Setting Up A 20 Gallon South American Tank   5/10/07
Hello Crew, I am setting up my second planted aquarium, and would love to have some input from you guys.  It is a 20 gallon long and I would like it to be a South American biotope and the temperature is 80 F. Doing a 50% mix of Southern California tap water and RO water my pH is 7.6 and dKH 5 or 89.5 ppm HH.  I am going to buy a GH test online, I can't get one at any store.  Is there a freshwater test kit for Alkalinity, I've looked online and at the stores and don't see any.
< Get a test for carbonate hardness, it is the same as alkalinity. Lots of info on the website covering this subject already.>
The lighting is two fluorescent strips and is 2 watts per gallon.  My substrate is a mixture of natural gravel the LFS recommended for plants and Fluorite.  I have two 200 Aquaclear filters. Are there any South American plants that would do well in my 20 gallon tank?
< There are lots of different species and cultivars of Echinodorus, Amazon sword plant, that would do well in your situation.>
and still be I've read and read, but I'm not really sure if anything is suitable.
Are there any Cory cats that would do well in the higher temperature?
< Most Cory species do well at 80 F, but check Planetcatfish.com for details about a specific species.>
I would like to stock with either Cardinal Tetras/Corys/Otos and possibly Rams.  Is my tank large enough for both Corys and Rams, and if so how many Corys should I get?
< Rams are territorial little cichlids that don't usually like to share the bottom of the tank with anybody else. They will drive the cats away but they are pretty well armored and can handle a little pushing around.>
Also, are Cardinal Tetras omnivores, or carnivores?
< Carnivores.>
I'm wondering how much plant material should be in their diet.
< Not much, they eat little invertebrates.-Chuck>
Thanks a bunch for this website and all your help!
Michelle

Re: 20 Gallon Long South American Tank. Plants For A South American Tank   5/11/07
Thanks a bunch for your answer!  From my reading I thought Echinodorus, Amazon sword plant became too large for a 20 gallon long and needed more than 2 watts per gallon.  Are there any specific ones I should look at? Thanks again, Michelle
< Lots of smaller varieties like E. quadricostas ( Broad Leaf Chain Sword), E. tenellus (Narrow Leaf Chain Sword). Might try Lilaeopsis brasiliensis (Microsword).-Chuck>

Amazon River Basin   5/10/07
I've set up a 90g Amazon River Biotope using
1) Drift wood (4 relatively large pieces)
2) Rounded river boulders and stones
3) Plants: Java Fern, Amazons, Java Moss, Riccia
4) Substrate: Super Naturals white and black sand - totally inert.
<Sounds nice, but plants aren't really part of the Amazon biotope. It's mostly rocks, water, bare sand, and tree trunks. Amazon Swordplants, ironically enough, aren't that common in the Amazon River proper. The species sold in the aquarium trade are mostly amphibious plants found in marshes. Few (if any) live permanently submerged. Obviously Java ferns/moss aren't from South America at all. All this said, these are nice plants and will look the part if nothing else!>
Equipment:
Eheim wet/dry filter (I know you guys are not fans)
Rena canister filter (I know you guys are not fans)
Powerheads
UV Filter
Aqua Medic 150w MH 10,000k bulb
White Lunar Lights
<Sounds fine. Do be careful with water flow though; while some species will appreciate a strong current, like the Chalceus, others, like the Satanoperca jurupari, are more fish of swamps and pools.>
Stock:
5 Geophagus jurupari
3 Pink Tail Chalceus
1 Black Ghost Knifefish
1 Fire Eel
8 Red Eyed Tetras
8 Cardinal Tetras
2 Redfin Prochilodus
<This mix of fish is what English politicians term "courageous", i.e., suicidal. The Chalceus (presumably Chalceus macrolepidotus), the Fire Eel, and the Knifefish are all very accomplished predators and will simply view the two species of tetra as live food. These are also rather large: the Chalceus to at least 20 cm, the Fire Eel to around 90 cm, and the Knifefish up to 50 cm. The Redfin Prochilodus (presumably Semiprochilodus taeniurus) is a large (25 cm) and very territorial omnivore that eats plants as well as mud and small fishes given the chance. Two in a tank may fight. Satanoperca jurupari are lovely fish, but dig constantly and need large areas of sand. While established Amazon Swords and Java ferns will be fine, anything much smaller is likely to be uprooted or covered in sand.>
And 10 snails to eat that damned Algae
<Irrelevant. In a tank with good (fast) plant growth there won't be much algae. Manual removal from the glass will be fine. Amazon Swords might not be quite fast enough on their own, so the addition of some cheap floating plant that you can crop weekly might help. Limnobium or Salvinia would be ideal.>
All is fine, all systems a go for 4 months no problems so far and I'm sure that will change soon or later. My question is would changing the 10k bulb to a 6,700k bulb make the tank appear more yellow than white AND the most important question, how can I make the water more 'murky' that look like there are Tannins in the water - do I add unwashed wood, is there a safe additive to create that murkiness?
<Lights around 5500-6500K are optimal for plant growth and give a nice warm colour. There's no reason the change right now, but after 6-12 months of use when the tubes are ready to be swapped anyway, then by all means replace with 6700K tubes. Don't bother making the water murky if you want good plant growth. The two things are mutually exclusive. So what I'm saying next is for interest's sake. To make the water dark, blackwater extract can be added directly or you can put peat granulate in the filter or allow bogwood to leach tannins out naturally. All these things work well, but monitor the pH constantly because in soft water the pH can crash downwards rapidly. None of your fish needs very acidic water, so aim for pH 6.5-7, and only slightly soft water, around 5-10 dH. Some Amazon Swords, incidentally, tend not to do well in acid water, so choose the species carefully. Anyway, don't bother with darkening the water if you want good plant growth. Remember, only bits of the Amazon region are "blackwater rivers"; most of it is either "whitewater" (silty, coffee-au-lait colour) or "clear water" (i.e., clear and uncoloured). Most of the fishes are from the non-blackwater regions, the fish like discus that live in blackwater streams are extreme specialists evolved for very harsh environments. They are to the Amazon fish fauna what those weird deep sea fish are marine fishes.>
Thanks,
Aydan
<Cheers, Neale>

Re: Amazon River Basin   5/10/07
Thank you Neale for your help.
<Hello Aydan, and you're welcome.>
1. I've had an incredibly difficult time in getting info on the Amazon River Basin - in terms of environment - live stock was easy, but getting photos of plants and caves and such have been scarce, if you have any book or DVD that you could suggest that would be very much appreciated.
<There is a book called "The Flooded Forest" by Michael Goulding that covers the Amazon habitat and includes a lot about the fish. While mostly text, there are lots of colour photos, including some underwater shots. There was also a BBC documentary series on which the book was based, and it had lots of great underwater footage. But I haven't seen it on sale for years and it doesn't seem to be on DVD. A more recent BBC series on marine biology, "Blue Planet", came with an Amazon special on the DVD set and while not brilliant in terms of underwater footage, it was at least inspiring. You may have luck looking over Animal Planet and National Geographic catalogues for their DVDs. While sometimes a bit inane in terms of commentary, the video footage these two channels use is often very good. It is difficult to generalise about the Amazon region because it is so diverse, and that's one nice thing about the "The Flooded Forest" book. So to some extent you can decorate the tank as you want, and then tweak the fish collection accordingly.>
2. Taking your advice and will be getting the Semiprochilodus taeniurus out of tank and slowly moving the tetras elsewhere.
<Cool.>
3. No Black Water - I'll leave that for a Discus tank in the future.
<Good call. Plants are difficult enough as it is without making things more difficult.>
4. I've been thinking about introducing a teacup stingray. Any thoughts?
<There's no such thing as a teacup stingray. All that name means is a baby stingray. They all get very large. You want a tank at least twice as broad as the stingray is long, and since most stingrays get to *at least* 12-18" in disc diameter, that means a big tank. They're basically incompatible with plants because you want minimal substrate (many experienced keepers house them in tanks with no substrate at all). They also need masses of "floor space" so open not planted tanks are best. So while rays can make excellent pets for advanced aquarists able to provide them with a suitable tank, in general I don't consider them especially good aquarium fish.>
5. I've thought of using a thin tube siphon with a mesh or pantyhose something fine enough to stop the sand bed from being filtered out while getting gaseous waste out of the sandy substrate any idea if this approach is a smart one?
<How deep is the substrate? Realistically, an Eartheater cichlid and a fire eel are both going to keep the substrate thoroughly turned over. Plants also oxygenated the substrate, and actually grow best when the soil is very slightly anaerobic (basically the mineral ions are in the chemical state the plants want, and the roots carry down oxygen for the root tissues to survive without needed oxygen from the soil). That's why plants grow so well in ponds with icky, smelly mud at the bottom. I've used sand in tanks many times, and while gases sometimes do get trapped in very deep beds, I've yet to see any sign of actual harm. My assumption is that H2S, while toxic, also oxidizes almost at once as and when it happens to get into the aquarium. Other gases may develop down there, such as nitrogen, and these are harmless (and in fact the nitrate to nitrogen reaction is a good one from the aquarist's point of view. In other words, while you certainly should endeavour to keep the sand clean by having fish, plants, and yourself do their bits, don't get paranoid about it.>
Again Thanks for your help.
Adayn
<Cheers, Neale>