South American river aquarium

[Yoannikko]

Hello everyone,

So, along with my 57L A. borellii tank, I've started working on a new project. I'll be re-using my Aquel 54L tank (60x30x30) that's been empty for three weeks now. Plans are to make it a loricaridae tank. It will also serve as intermediate untill I can get a bigger tank, ideally a 120/150x45x30. The fish will be moved from this tank to the next one.

Yesterday, there was a fish expo in my town, and I ended up bringing home a beautiful little Hypancistrus sp. (L262), about 5 cm in length. He (or she) hails from the Rio Tapajos, from what I've gathered, and is usually found near the banks, in and around rocks and (some) branches. So, this is what I will be going for.

This will not be a full-on biotope, as the plants will not necessarily be from South America, but I will still try to keep it biotope-adjacent. I will have some emersed plants, most likely Acorus variegata, and some on the branch as well (pothos, mostly).

I've already mocked up the hardscape, but I was waiting on an order of supports to put under the rocks before finalising everything. I finally received the supports this weekend, so will be able to work on the tank this week.

What I'm a bit unsure about is the water parameters. From what I've found, soft water is what would be best. So I will most likely use 100% RO water, with maybe a few leaves to soften the water. Then again, pH in the Tapajos seems to range from about 5-5,5 to about 7, so not sure if it will be necessary.
Temperature is the big question mark, though. I've read that these Hypancistrus need anywhere from 24 to 27°C, but I've also read that 26/27°C is the minimum. And when searching for info on this particular river, it seems that temps are closer to 27/28°C.

Any input is greatly appreciated !

Here's a few pics of the fish (in a quarantine tank) and the hardscape :

 

[Mike Wise]

The Tapajos is a clearwater river, especially the middle and upper reaches where this species is collected (near Itaituba). Based on this, your water will be fine but it seems that breeding has been successful at higher values. Read some of the breeding reports for water and temperature. A few degrees one way or the other shouldn't bother them.

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,

Yesterday, there was a fish expo in my town, and I ended up bringing home a beautiful little Hypancistrus sp. (L262), about 5 cm in length. He (or she) hails from the Rio Tapajos,

This is what PlanetCatfish says <"https://www.planetcatfish.com/common/species.php?species_id=1631">. I've grown out a couple of species, and they were very reclusive.

I'm not sure they are a good mix with Apistogramma spp. <"https://apistogramma.com/forum/threads/cacatuoides-with-l260.23717/#post-111167">.

I've read that these Hypancistrus need anywhere from 24 to 27°C, but I've also read that 26/27°C is the minimum. And when searching for info on this particular river, it seems that temps are closer to 27/28°C.

The warmer the water is the more difficult it is to retain a high level of oxygen saturation, and high oxygen levels are imperative for Hypancistrus spp..

cheers Darrel

 

[Yoannikko]

Thank you both for your replies !
Regarding temps, the PlanetCatfish description is the first one I read before purchasing this L262. But after reading a bit more, I've read more often than not that temps should be in the 26-30°C range, like on the sudamerikafans website. I had set the temperature at 24°C yesterday, but decided to raise it to 26°C today, just in case. But I won't go too much higher because the flow isn't too powerful in this QT tank.

And @dw1305, don't worry, I wasn't planning on putting this litte guy in with my Apisto. My A. borellii will stay in the Fluval Flex 57L (tank in my other topic), and this L262 will go into my Aqael 54L (the tank in the photos above) for the time being.

And concerning behavior, if they act like common Ancistrus, I have a pretty good idea of what that'll be. Right now it's very similar, as he stays glued to a surface (the filtre, mostly) for a majority of the day, and becomes a bit more active towards the end of the day, and after lights out. But my Ancistrus, once they got used to their surroundings, were also somewhat active during the day. I believe the fact that my lights were pretty dim also helped in this regard.

Last question, what would you suggest I feed it ? From what I've read, they are omnivores but lean more towards meaty foods than veggies. Though I've also read that juveniles might like a bit more greens than adults. I have algae wafers, as well as "meaty" wafers on hand, as well as a whole bunch of Corydoras tablets. And frozen artemia, though with the shrimp in the tank, I doubt he'll have much of a chance to get to them (I'll probably remove the shrimp this week btw).

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,

Last question, what would you suggest I feed it ?

A lot of people use Repashy Foods.

Mine got a mixture of live food (Grindal worms, Black worms, Earth worms, Tadpole Snails (but you have to break the shell open for them) and some frozen (Prawns or Mysis shrimp). I supplemented this with pellets (I'd use Fluval Bugbites now) and some veg (usually Capsicum Pepper). They also helped themselves to the Echinodorus leaves, until I added blanched Green (French) Bean, Courgette or Cucumber.

The only time I used to see them was if I crept up on the tank at night, so I'm not sure what they ate, but they grew out OK, so some of the above.

There were also Asellus aquaticus in the tank, and <"I assume these were eaten as well">.

cheers Darrel

 

[Yoannikko]

Hi Darrel,

Thanks for your recommendations on food ! I read about Repashy foods, but having a hard time finding bottom feeder specific ones in France ^^' I'll keep searching, maybe I'll get lucky.

I have plenty of bladder snails (i assume they are the same as Tadpole snails) in my other tanks, so this could be a possibility as well. As for worms, I'll have to look into it. I used to feed my Ancistrus some blanched zucchinis and raw cucumbers, so that is also a possibility for maybe one meal per week. As for the peppers, did you feed raw or blanch temp beforehand ?

Today, when I got home from work, I found the little guy on the substrate, so maybe he won't be too shy. Then again, there aren't many hiding places in this quarantine tank. Maybe it'll be a different story in the tank I'm putting together for him.
The only problem with the holding tank (apart from shrimp eating all the food) is the fact that the substrate is old aquasoil, which is very powdery and goes everywhere every time he moves around. I'll see if I can't put a top layer of sand when I move the shrimp out.

 

[Yoannikko]

Hello,
So I've been able to work a bit on the tank today, after eceiving the supports for my hardscape friday afternoon.
I glued most of the rocks together, so there wouldn't be any movement. The rocks wedged in the root didn't require any glue, as they are pretty solid.
I was finally able to use the sand that I purchased from Wio about a year ago ! It looks amazing, and I like all the little bits of botanicals in the sand. I still have some left (+ a few dried leaves) to place in the tank, but I realized that I did not have enough sand, so will have to order more this week. I'm planning on planting emersed plants in the back left corner, so the substrate needs to be deeper on that side.
I also have a few twigs that I plan on glueing to the root, to add more details. And finally, I'm also going to order some "pebble" versions of the rocks I used for even more detail.

Plants-wise, there will be some Acorus variegata in the back left side of the tank. I was also thinking of putting in a few pieces of java fern, as I just tore down a 30L tank that was filled with the thing. I realize it's not very "biotope", but I don't want to throw it away and I'm not going for a "true" biotope anyway, just the feel of a river in S.A.
What do you guys think ? Should I do it ? Will the plant like the stronger flow I plan on having ?

Here's a couple pics of today's work :

 

[Yoannikko]

Hello everyone,

So the project has moved forward since last month. I've finished the scape, filled the tank with water and added the plants.
And today I finally started working on my light stand. Now, it's very still a WIP, but it does at least give the idea of what the finished product would look like. I still need to reinforce the structure a bit and stain it (tested the staining on a spare piece, with a roller, didn't turn out great). And as for the light itself, I wanted to see how my Chihiros A-series would work, but I will probably go for one or two spotlights instead. I think it'll look better, and as it stands, the light itself is in my field of view when on the couch (not very fun, even blinding at times).

I've added a second pump (not running in the photos), as I find my JBL Cristalprofi e402 is simply not powerful enough in this instance.