Biotope sites

[tetras]

hi,
does anyone know of any good biotope sites for apistos?
have searched the net and am not finding anything to my liking.
adam

 

[Mike Wise]

Römer's Cichlid Atlas describes & has pictures of some apisto biotopes.

 

[tetras]

Thanks Mike but is that a website?
adam

 

[Mike Wise]

No, it's a book that anyone really interested in dwarf cichlids should own.

 

[tetras]

thats a pretty broad statement Mike.
who's to say they're right? info is changing all the time.
different things work in different tanks and there is alot of info on the net.
i just thought some on here might know of some helpful websites.
thanks anyway
adam

 

[Greg PL]

there were some discussions about the books on the forum, you can easily search them and make up your decision.
I am very happy with Roemer's Cichlid Atlas. it has lots of information which will remain valid for a long time.

for websites - www.mongabay.com is perhaps the best on biotopes. for a beginner it could be some reference.
you could also google the net for fish collecting trip diaries/reports - there are quite a few of them and they sometimes present interesting observation.

if you give it some time www.fishbase.org can be very hepful. spend some time exploring the options of looking fish up by country/river system.

 

[Mike Wise]

Römer's book isn't perfect, but since he has actually done biotope studies in Brazil, I respect his ecological descriptions. In my opinion web sites are the least reliable sources for information of this type. Too many people write about things they know amost nothing about or repeat what they have heard from other unreliable sources. I can't tell you how many apisto sites that I have seen that not only have inaccurate information, but bad information to the point of harming the fish! Too often people ask for web sites instead of books/magazine articles because they are too cheap to buy a book. Please, don't think that I am putting you in this group. I'm not. It is just a personal observation of mine. To me, spending some money on a good book is money well spent if it prevents the loss of some expensive fish.

 

[tetras]

cheers guys,
please don't think i am a novice , i have bred many soft water species of fish.
and i am cheap:wink: LOL
was more so looking for pictures of apistos in the wild and seein what the surroundings are like.
i found a great site yesterday in all my searching and it actually showed pics of apistos hiding under leaf litter in the wild.
and i was glad to see the substrate in these areas was river sand/gravel with smooth pebbles scattered here and there.
although plant life was very sparse as was lighting.
alot of blackwater/clearwater creeks in south america are shaded, hence not many plants.
decided i wont be making an "exact" biotope anyway, so am just going with what looks natural to me.
thanks
adam

 

[kingborris]

I am just reading the new book by Heiko Bleher, entitled Bleher's Discus. OK its a discus book rather than an apisto book, but the two genus are from not dissimilar environemnts. it does however, contain a massive amount of biotope information, all collected in the field, by the author. It's a fascinating read

 

[algaefarmer]

i found a great site yesterday in all my searching and it actually showed pics of apistos hiding under leaf litter in the wild.
and i was glad to see the substrate in these areas was river sand/gravel with smooth pebbles scattered here and there.
although plant life was very sparse as was lighting.
alot of blackwater/clearwater creeks in south america are shaded, hence not many plants.

Could you share the link?

 

[zmirek]

Hi,

Here you have it:
http://www.aquageo.com/BooksETC/DiscusMonographTOC.html

BTW I'd like to know opinion from those of you who have seen this book or own it. Due to plenty of information taken during field expeditions this monography seems to be really good source of biotope info for dwarfs as well.
Am I right? If it is really as goods as it seems from table of contence than it would be another "must have" position even if its price is really high.

Well that is how it looks like from my point of view at the end of "before CA2 age" ;-) I do hope to lay my hands on both Bleher's Discus vol 1 and CA2 within this year.

Regards

 

[kingborris]

I have only read as far as the start of chapter 5 (the biotope section) so cant give too much detail on what is in that chapter as yet. although there are around 250 pages dedicated to the habitats of discus (and therefore other species from the samne areas) including detailed measurements of water parameters.

the book is excellent so far, and i'll post more information as i get further through it.

 

[zmirek]

I have only read as far as the start of chapter 5 (the biotope section) so cant give too much detail on what is in that chapter as yet. although there are around 250 pages dedicated to the habitats of discus (and therefore other species from the samne areas) including detailed measurements of water parameters.

For this moment this is most interesting part for me since detailed biotope description can not be found so often neither in books nor internet.

the book is excellent so far, and i'll post more information as i get further through it.

Ok keep all of us updated in this case.
If you could only tell what is the size of the book (format) as this info is lacking. Also the last request. Have you found enclosed maps as informative, giving so many details as it is decribed in internet.

Thanks in advance

 

[tetras]

well i am way off the biotope now anyway guys
decided i am just going to go with what looks good, although i need to find some suitable leaves to use as i would like some scattered over the substrate.
pic with no flash and a 150w MH.

 

[P.W.]

If you just need pictures, and no text. You can buy the book by Takeshi amano- amazon . It have alot of great underwater pic´s. The text is in Japanese, unfortunately.

some examples:

http://www.finarama.com/gallery/amano.htm

Take a close look at the picture of the Piranha. There´s a lot of some dicrossus among the leaf litter!

Best regards/ Per