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I'm with you djtj.....my LFS is very limited on what they have (they did say they would order whatever I wanted, but still) Nearly every fish I have from there is from somewhere is SE Asia. I LOVE my cherry barbs, harlequin rasboras, and both my gouramis......too bad the pleco and the platy had to be from another continent. I love them too though.

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~~Melissa~~
"Beauty is in the eye of the beer holder."

I have a S.A biotype full of tetras and the sort, but what realy interests me is an Australian river biotype I saw in a lfs, Full of large pebbles logs and large coldwater rainbowfish (From around my area, Just north of Brisbane.)
Eel tail cats and a bullrout.
It looked outstanding has anyone else seen them?

Even 'Malawi' and 'Tanganyika' aren't biotopes per se. Those lakes are too big to be just one biotope. You can sail an aircraft carrier on Lake Malawi and it'd have a fair amount of room to turn around - that's how big it is. Tanganyika too is a substantial body of water. Dive into any of them, and chances are you'll find that one part of the lake has a subtly different character from its immediate neighbour, and in some cases a very noticeable difference. Which is why people specialising in the Rift Lakes go to so much trouble to determine the provenance of their fishes vis-a-vis capture location etc., because among the Mbuna, for example, there are some species that have distinct population morphs, and getting your biotope aquarium right means making sure you don't have the wrong morph in your aquarium population ...

However, quite a few of us enjoy what may perhaps be better termed 'regional specialities'. While yet others will mix and match happily from across the globe where the species concerned allow this to be done in a harmonious fashion. Ultimately, what counts is [1] does it rock your boat, and [2] are your fish happy in your setup?

Having said that, biotope aquaria, if they rock your boat, can be fun too. Although in some cases a LOT more challenging to pull off successfully than a looser coupling of organisms not necessarily derived from the same narrow locale, partly because many of us have to rely on that happy and privileged band of foreign travellers to do our spadework for us, and partly because even when the spadework is done and the species inventories are in, getting all the right fish can be, with the vagaries of dealerships and their stocking, an interesting logistical puzzle to put it mildly!


Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

SA for me. Love those angels and tetras.

That just isn't a fair question

I love my Malawi, they are so nice and have such attitudes

But my "Amazon" is quite awesome as well

I can't really choose:%)

heidi

"I've got a great ambition to die of exhaustion rather than boredom." Thomas Carlyle

Of course SA and Amazon aren't actual biotopes. But, neither are Asian, West African, or most of the other ones listed here. In fact, the only true biotopes are mawali and tanginakia. But, as far as fish keeping goes, I would comsider SA a loose biotope.

"However, for those of us who have a fascination for recreating true biotopes, South America does have, I think you will admit, a LOT of options!"

Indeed. When you shy away from the staple Soth American community tank, you gain a real appreciation of the geographic diversity not only of South America, but of many aquatic environments.

Asian hillstream.

C'mon, who doesn't love hillies? They're so darn cute.

Joe Potato

I have an Asian and a shellie biotope that I like equally. They're both so different it's difficult to compare.

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There is water at the bottom of the ocean

Im all about the South American cichlids right now! But boy are they hard to fill out without running into problems of compatability! Very pretty and enjoyable, a different change from african cichlids

72 gallon bowfront:Tanganyikan Lake set up
75 gallon: A. Baenschi trio,Cyanotilapia Afra Cobwe(4), copadichromis trewavase, protomelas sp. tangerine tiger(breeding pair)

Well C_o_L, if we're going to be pedantic, yes, 'Amazon' or 'South American' isn't a biotope per se, rather a huge collection of biotopes that all happen to be joined together

But for those of us who aren't fortunate enough to go out and actually see these biotopes first hand, 'generic South American' makes a lot of people happy

I know my Panda Fun Palace™ is a LONG way away from being a biotope aquarium - Panda Corys and Lemon Tetras probably live 1,000 miles apart in reality - but the resulting aquarium looks the part to the untrained eye, and provides me with a very nice 'piece of river in the living room' illusion, even though I know that's precisely what it is

Plus, given how much my Pandas love rooting around in the Java Moss, I could hardly remove it and spoil their fun could I?

However, for those of us who have a fascination for recreating true biotopes, South America does have, I think you will admit, a LOT of options!


Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

I'm going with a South American bio-type for my 55 gallon soon. I'm completely obsessed with South American cichlids now and when I started the hobby it was Tetras I wanted to learn most about. I can't get enough of them. For some reason the african cichlids never really caught on with me. I also don't particularly like most Asian fish...except Bettas and a few Gouramis sich as the pygmy and dwarf...

Last edited by Tetra Fan at 03-Oct-2005 07:48

yeah cup is right, it is quite hard to get the fish needed for a west african tank. i'm slowly building my west african collection with synodontis' and later i'll add congo tetras (and hopefully some other more exotic african tetras) and kribs and /or blockheads.
The other option is to do an african oddball tank with bichirs, knives, elephantnose's and the like. west african fish really interest me
and here's a link if your interested

Last edited by synodontis at 03-Oct-2005 00:21

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Billy was a scientist, Billy is no more. For what he thought was H20, was H2SO4

SA

I'm planning a 5000 gal SA biotope (that's including the 2x 1500 gal main tanks (2'x2'x50'), the 1000 gal sump, and the 1000 gal fuge) that I want to build in like 15 years when I have money... current rough estimate - $100,000

What's everyone's favorite biotope for fish? Amazon? Mawali? Tanginakia?

Even though I have an Amazon biotope, my favorite would have to be an Indian one. Some dwarf puffers and Badis Badis. Glass catfish, dwarf loaches, danios of all kinds, and harley rasboras....

Last edited by djtj at 02-Oct-2005 15:40

"West African? That's new. I can only think of like five fish species off the top of my head. How do you make that work?"

That's because most w. african species (assuming we're talking about the riverine fishes), are rarely imported, save the run of the mill synos and blockheads, which is a shame, because there are plenty of exotic and very interesting fish dwelling in said ecosystem.

By the way, "South America" isn't a biotope, nor is "Amazon".

Last edited by Cup_of_Lifenoodles at 02-Oct-2005 22:26

you can do plenty of tanks with the malawi or tanganyika theme.
mbuna tank
peacock tank
Hap tank
Frontosa tank
shellies tank
tropheus (SP?) tank
tanganyika community tank

West African? That's new. I can only think of like five fish species off the top of my head. How do you make that work?

I really love Asian. The fish are as common as SA fish, but really not popular. Everybody loves neons and angelfish, but danios and rasboras are just as common. It gives you enough species to play around with, but it's a nice alternative to the mainstream Amazonian biotope.

Mawali and Tanginakia are awsome, but you really can not do too many tanks of that one theme. If you don't like African chichlids, your screwed. But, with Asian, you can pick from many different fish.

Malawi and Tanganyika are my favourite. can't decide which one.

They're just such cool fish.

west african is my pick

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Billy was a scientist, Billy is no more. For what he thought was H20, was H2SO4