biotope of Dicrossus filamentosus

[starforsaken]

Hey all,

I haven't had much of a chance for dwarf cichlids these days, and even my fishroom of 50 tanks is now my new office, renovated, and I am down to 3 tanks.

However, I just found a store that has a bunch of D. filamentosus.
I want to create an actual simulation biotope of their area.

Does anyone know what I should put in the tank to make it look that way?
I will be using aqua soil amazonia...

what kinds of tree roots are safe?
oak leaves? any other leaves?
what species do they exist with in the wild? cardinals?

 

[Daryl]

hey starforsaken - I'm planning an Otinoco bio-tope in the near future and D. filamentosus is one of the fish I have come across in my research...

Now depending on how picky you are you may want to try a very specifc region or type - such as Orinoco blackwater, or Orinoco clearwater etc... Myself, I am broadening the criteria to cover the entire Orinoco region for now, and when it comes time to set-up my tank I may get more specific...

Some plants from the area are Amazon Sword plants and Valisnaria... Other fish include Cardinal Tetras, Keyhole Cichlids, Blue Rams, A. hoignei, A. hongsloi, A. veijita, A. macmasteri, ancistrus pleco's and Corydoras metae...

I've started a thread titled "Apisto's of the Orinoco" that will hopefully provide more fish species once people start replying!

I am actually moving to Vancouver next month and once I am settled I will start setting up my bio-tope tank - if you have the time I would greatly appreciate any insight into reputable shops etc that you frequent!

Cheers,

Daryl

 

[DH247]

Sup Star,

It's been a while. I hope all is well. Are the Filamentosus from Big Al's in Richmond? If so, be aware that they were pretty well all females. If not, where are you getting them from and do they have any males?

 

[Gillie]

When I had my biotope the decor consisted oak leaves ,twigs, a couple smooth stones and a few small pieces of driftwood. I prefered the wider leaved lower growing swords for plant life. The fish were Dicrossus, a pair of Rams, Characidium, Cardinal tetras and a pair of Taeniacara Candidi in a 40 long.

 

[starforsaken]

DH247- They all look like females for quite some time when they become sexually dimorphic. Trust me. I have had them a few times from big als, when they all look the same... after 6monthes of heavy feeding and cleaning they are mostly MALES in the end.

Daryl- there are NO reputable shops in vancouver. this place SUCKS for fish. If you want to get anything worth while, best is to find a local importer. There is a forum called www.bcaquaria.com and there are some people on their who will getyou want you want: Charles and April. Contact either of them by PM for getting in fish. I am getting my dicrossus from Charles. Even last week Charles had Apistogramma diplotaenia on his list, but it was $100 ea haha.

 

[DH247]

No kidding. Crazy. I guess all I can do is be more patient. I've been feeding lots of live foods (bbs mostly and the occasional blackworms) and they have grown tremendously. I keep watching in the hopes of seeing any male characteristics. And thanks for the link and contacts.

As for roots, etc I would recommend any driftwood you can find. The sap and any toxins carried should be fully removed. Just be sure to soak it for a good while to remove the salt that is probably soaked into the material (if collecting from the ocean). There's some great pieces to be found along the coast.