African Riverine Biotope 37g tank

[Diogenes]

I am about to have a 37g tank available and I would like do to a west african biotope. I was thinking of doing kribs, buffalo heads, or jewels, african one line or congo tetras, possible some upside down cats, and an african butterfly fish for the top of the water column. Also I've recently developed an interest in the senegal bichir, and the Ctenopoma acutirostre and I wouldn't mind incorporating these or any other african riverine fish into the setup. I was also considering changing around the decor in the tank and converting it to a planted tank with some good nutrient rich substrate, but I'm not sure about the kind of plants one would use for a west african biotope (All the fish I've ever kept have been CA/SA). How many of each and what combination of these fish could I keep in 37 gallon aquarium?

I've already read the mongabay entry on west african biotopes and I was really looking to hear from some people who have actually had experience keeping these sorts of fish. Thanks

 

[tjudy]

Welcome to the forum!

A 37 gallon tank is going to be a bit limited on size. One of the differences between SA and West Africa is the relative low density of fish in West Africa. This is mostly to the streams not being very large but still holding good size fish. It is not uncommon to find a stream of less than three meters in width and 1/2 meter deep with populations of 4-5" Hemichromis elongatus and 3-4" Brycinnus tetras. The small fish are all pushed up into the edges of the stream.

So... to answer your questions. Pick a community of fish that has less species diversity. Such as one cichlid species, one tetra species and one hardy oddball species; OR one small cichlid or Microctemopoma species, two or three small barb/tetra/schooling killifish species and one peaceful (nonpredatory) oddball (such as an Mormyrid). A 37 gallon tank will hold 25 or so smaller fish or 15 or so larger fish (unless they are 4"+ bruisers).

Plants... another difference between Africa and SA is that the streams is African are almot devoid of true aquatic plants other than Crinum sp. or Nymphaea sp. All the other plants are either emergent Anubias or Bolbitus heudelotii water fern growing on the rocks or logs in the stream, or marginal plants extending over the water from the shoreline (such as dwarf marginal bamboo). Therefore I would forego the thick rich substrate and use a thinner layer of sand with some very small darker gravel mixed in. If you want to try a Nymphaea or Crinum you can grow either in a 2" thick substrate with plant tabs under them. Light is a bigger issue. The Nymphaea and Crinum need bright light, but bright light over Anubias and Bolbitus grown submergently usually results in a lot of algae on them. Dim light for those species is better. The anubias and fern are grown tied to a rock or piece of wood, so the depth of the substrate can be very minimal.