Dicrossus maculatus biotope

[Gertbl]

Hi everybody,

Because I am going to move to a other place, I have the opportunity to change one of the tanks to a special biotope tank for the Dicrossus maculatus. I've read that the Dicrossus maculatus is found near to Santarem and the are found in the tributaries of the Rio Tapajos. I was wondering what kind of other fish species are found next to the Dicrossus maculatus?


Here are some pictures of my WC Dicrossus maculatus that are swimming in a heavily planted tank.
My male:

The female that has fry:

I am not sure if this is a female:

 

[Mike Wise]

My search didn't list other species actually collected with D. maculatus, other than juvenile specimens of Sataoperca acuticeps. Of course, other species of fishes do live in the same biotope. It's just that they weren't listed. I would look for references that list fish that occur in the lower Rio Tapajós.

 

[Gertbl]

Thanks Mike,

I will search for fish species that occur in the lower Rio Tapajós. It helps me a lot with looking for fish species.

The tank that I will use for these fishes is a 1.20m tank.

What do you think of this one? Is it a young male or a female?

 

[peterK]

What do you think of this one? Is it a young male or a female?

I'd say it's a male. Coloration of anal and ventral fins are rather typical for males.

 

[Gertbl]

Thanks PeterK.

I've been searching for Characidae that occur in the lower Rio Tapajós and made this list:

Moenkhausia hasemani
Moenkhausia lata
Hyphessobrycon cachimbensis
Hemigrammus analis
Hemigrammus elegans
And read something about the Heterocharax macrolepis and that it occurs in the Rio Tapajós.

I also came on an article about the Moenkhausia plumbea and that is is found in the Rio Tapajós tributaries.

In this video, they show the Dicrossus maculatus in their natural habitat and their are two Characidae swimming in their habitat. Does someone know which Characidae they are?

In the book "The Amazon Below water" from Oliver Lucanus, he described that the Nannostomus unifasciatus is found in the Rio Tapajós tributaries. Is this true?

 

[Gertbl]

I've lost track of my own thread on this forum.
After some months of research and thinking how to create the tank, I'm finely finished with it.
This is how it looks right now:

This is what I have in mind of the fish that will be swimming in here:
2m 5f Dicrossus maculatus
2m 6f Copella arnoldi
25 Nannostomus unifasciatus
6 Hypoptopoma sp.
4 Sturisoma festivum
8 Poecilocharax weitzmani
some Taeniacara candidi

What are your opinions about this tank?

 

[slimbolen99]

I like that quite a bit. A larger image would help me see more of the details though. I see some swords, but what are the pointy plants there in the right third rear of the tank? What kind of water flow do you have going?

 

[Tom C]

......In this video, they show the Dicrossus maculatus in their natural habitat .....
.......In the book "The Amazon Below water" from Oliver Lucanus, he described that the Nannostomus unifasciatus is found in the Rio Tapajós tributaries. Is this true?

Hi Gert,
Here is another video of D. maculatus in it's natural habitat; some characins to see here too. You should notice that compared to the natural habitats, your tank is far too "clean"; I would add some mud and debris to the bottom.
And here are pictures of the fish where it seems to live together with cardinals!

I have not seen any collection records of Nannostumus unifasciatus from the Rio Tapajos, but this species has a very wide distribution, and since it is found near Manaus/Rio Negro and in the Rio Xingu drainage, it is quite likely that it also occurs in the Rio Tapajos, which is just between those two.....
In the Rio Tapajos drainage you could also find Nannostomus nitidus, Nannostomus limatus and Nannostomus digrammus.
I keep my Dicrossus maculatus with Nannostomus nitidus, that works perfectly. Both species breed and multiply in this tank (160 liter).

 

[Gertbl]

I like that quite a bit. A larger image would help me see more of the details though. I see some swords, but what are the pointy plants there in the right third rear of the tank? What kind of water flow do you have going?

Unfortunately I haven't got a bigger photo of the tank. The plants that I use are:
Echinodorus radicans
Eichhornia diversifolia
Echinodorus parviflora tropica
Hydrocleis nymphoides
Above water I've got some Philodendron scandens. These are for the Copella arnoldi to set their eggs on the leaves.
Their are two external filters on this tank. One outlet is going through a self-made little stream to the tank. The other outlet is just above the water level. Although their are two filters on this tank, their is not a strong current in the water. The lights that I use is 3x 50W GU10 warm white. The water is heated by a external heater and is approx 27°C.

Hi Gert,
Here is another video of D. maculatus in it's natural habitat; some characins to see here too. You should notice that compared to the natural habitats, your tank is far too "clean"; I would add some mud and debris to the bottom.
And here are pictures of the fish where it seems to live together with cardinals!

I have not seen any collection records of Nannostumus unifasciatus from the Rio Tapajos, but this species has a very wide distribution, and since it is found near Manaus/Rio Negro and in the Rio Xingu drainage, it is quite likely that it also occurs in the Rio Tapajos, which is just between those two.....
In the Rio Tapajos drainage you could also find Nannostomus nitidus, Nannostomus limatus and Nannostomus digrammus.
I keep my Dicrossus maculatus with Nannostomus nitidus, that works perfectly. Both species breed and multiply in this tank (160 liter).

Hi Tom,

I've seen the other movie of the D. Maculatus in it's natural habitat and if I compared it with that, then I've got indeed a to clean tank. After a while I think their will be more debris from the oak and beech leaves that I've got in it. So that won't be a problem.
On first side I was thinking of combining the D. maculatus with a characidae like cardinals or Hyphessobrycon heliacus, but I think that combining D. maculatus with a Lebiasinidae would be a better choice. The reason that I chose for the N. unifasciatus is because the way the are behaving. I'm familiar with the N. eques and from these two I find the N. unifasciatus more attractive.
The water that I use for the water changing is Osmosis water. With this I want to achieve to get a ph of 5. I had this ph before in my old 1.20m tank. What is the right conductivity value to hold on for these species?
What is your opinion about the combination of the fish that I have in mind?

 

[Gertbl]

During making photo's I found out that the Dicrossus maculatus has eggs.

Here are some other residents of the tank:

Poecilocharax weitzmani male

Hypoptopoma sp.

 

[Gwendal]

Nice aquarium and nice fish.





1 saludo

 

[Joe]

Beautiful biotope! Excellent work, well done

 

[Gwendal]

I love the tank.








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