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Also - There aren't themes for certain areas as all the other tanks are marine. I will submit a few ideas for consideration and costing but these ideas need to be fairly thoroughly worked out. Also the marine tank could be converted into a small scale mangrove system as we don't currently have a mangrove display.

Ah, I see. I recall seeing the exact tank on an ADA journal as well.

In itty bitty print under Babel's picture: "Freshwater Display Tank -Barnes and Nobel Inner Harbor Baltimore, MD. Estimated tank size 10618 litres, 2805 US gallons."

~Meow. Thus spoke the cat.~

mbu.

EDIT: babel, is that the barnes and nobles tank?

Last edited by Cup_of_Lifenoodles at 18-May-2005 21:18

hi guys, thanks for the replies.
There is only one tank that can be converted to freshwater but i will be putting forward at least two or three ideas for this tank. Also there is not alot of bottom space in the tank so species such as a freshwater stingray are out of the question. Also zebra plecos are illegal to import into australia.

I like the rainbow fish idea as many are native to Australia. I will definately put this forward as an option. So help me out with stocking. Archerfish would be great but i honestly don't think they would suit this tank. I'll post a pic of it next week.

I also like the clown loach tank as these guys are so active and eye catching. However would limited bottom space be a problem?

Cories could be added to the amazon biotope. Good idea. Knife fish and elephant nose are being considered. They are certainly quite different!

Again, limited bottom space would rule out the redtail catfish, although they do look great!

Tigerfish look great and could be a part of an asian biotope.

Thanks guys, keep the ideas comming.

If there are several aquaria to be populated, then ideas include the following (freshwater only):

[1] You guessed it - LOTS of Corydoras in a biotope: I'd love to see 250 Pandas frolicking away!

[2] Another SA biotope with the perennial Discus/Rummy/Cardinal mix, because the one that used to form part of the Liverpool Museum aquarium display was truly wondrous to behold;

[3] Big Rift Lake biotopes: one malawi biotope and one Tanganyikan ... I'd love to see Paracyprichromis nigripinnis in one of those!

[4] Mekong River biotope featuring Glass Eels and Pangasius catfishes;

[5] Giant sized 'hobby type' aquarium as suggested above;

[6] Big Rainbowfish display featuring some of the big Melanotaenia species in large shoals (40+ per species);

[7] Brackish water aquarium featuring the likes of Monodactylus sebae that tend to be a bit large for a home setup, together with Archer Fishes (and a facility whereby the public can bring flies for the Archers to 'knock off' on a 'gunnery range' of overhead twigs!);

[8] Freshwater stingrays (keep Shini happy! )

[9] A "Big Pim" aquarium featuring a redtail and one or two related Big Pim catfishes in enough space for them to grow properly, so that we can put photographs in the Profiles section and when someone comes along and asks "Can I keep a Redtailed Catfish in my home aquarium?" we can point to the photo and say "Got room for something THIS big?"

[10] Big collection of CA/SA Cichlid bruisers such as Guapotes and Black Belts cruising around like underwater prize fighters spoiling for a punch up ... 3,000 litres should be enough space for a decent display that will give them enough space to make internecine warfare much less likely ...

[11] Big Barb aquarium - Denisons' and Tinfoils all together should make a stupendous display!

[12] I'll also run with the 500 Tiger Barbs, because that too would look amazing!

[13] Fire Eels. Liverpool Muzseum had three in a truly huge aquarium (can't recall at this point whether it was the 1,000 gallon or 2,000 gallon setup - I know it was 5 feet tall) and in that kind of space, they could reach full size like the Liverpool ones did (believe me, a full sized Mastacembelus erythrotaenia is one impressive looking fish);

[14] BIG Dwarf Cichlid community featuring LOTS of Apsistogramma species all together - in 3,000 litres there should be enough space for about 200 Dwarf Cichlids no trouble;

[15] Altum Angels against a backdrop of Giant Vallis and some big Amazon Swords - WOW!

[16] Electric Eel ... Chester Zoo has one of these, and it's a big one too, I'd say it's a 5 foot specimen;

[17] Several big Moonlight and Snakeskin Gouramis together;

[18] Four Eyed Fish, Anableps anableps;

[19] BIG mixed killie tank featuring LOTS of Aphyosemion species - that would be a riot of colour, 500 or so killies in a huge tank!

[20] Assorted oddball tank featuring things such as Finescale Tigerfish, Coius microlepis, and Clown Knife Fish in a setup where they could grow properly (and again show everyone what they'd be taking on if they saw a juvenile Knife Fish at the stores).

I could think of LOTS more, but I'd be here all night


Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

Do something different. Everyone always suggest discus and tetras for these kind of tanks. SA tanks are nice but discus and tetras arn't the only cool fish in SA.

I think that would look really nice Misty, and it definitely makes a change from going to aquariums and only being able to see fish that you'll never be able to keep - ie. Red Tailed Catfish or the old Arapaima!!

As someone who is relatively new to the hobby I really love going to see the eye catching fish, but like it better when I think there is some hope of me actually being able to keep them (at least at some point!)

With that in mind I'd love to see some Royal Whiptail Catfish and some Zebra plecs. Archer fish are also particularly cool, I love seeing them shoot down insects! Also, this would give you an excuse for putting plants in which grow out of the tank. But this may not be feasible if the aquarium is not open top.


Mature Rainbowfish are also really nice and putting these in your tank might spurn interest in them as usually they don't sell so well in fish shops as the youngsters they sell aren't that brightly coloured yet. Two in particular which are very nice are the Lake Kutubu Rainbow and the Banded Rainbow, but I'd also love to see a Boeseman's Rainbow.

Two of the most beautiful fish I've seen though and ones I'd really like to see fully grown are the Black Ghost Knife Fish and the Elephant Nose ( which I am buying for my tank at home incidentally!) You could also consider some Freshwater Stingray, but I guess they may eat some of your smaller fish!

Hope at least some of this is helpful to you Misty

Abid

ps. make sure the hatchet fish are of the marble variety - they look much nicer.

Clown Loaches
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Ok thanks everyone for the ideas.
I think i will plan out an Amazon biotope for consideration, but will also be looking into other ideas at the same time. An amazon tank will have some strange looking fish, lots of brightly coloured fish, and some very beautiful fish all of different sizes. I figure this will appeal to lots of people.

As for the Amazon tank - i have some ideas on stocking, but please let me know what you think. As i still have to measure out the tank, i can't be more detailed about how many of each species, but we are looking at aprox 1000 - 2000 litres.

School of Discus
A few Angels

Large school cardinal tetras
smallish school of congo tetras
med size school rummy nose tetras
med size school diamond tetras
a few (maybe just 2) blind cave fish

Hatchetfish (not sure how many)
glass catfish (med size school)
sailfin pleco (probably only 1)
bolivian or german blue rams (probably 4)
bristlenosed catfish for algae (a few)

Driftwood
Plants - real
Plants - silk (in bottom areas of tank)
gravel substrate

ok so what other species would you love to see?
Too many species?
Any problems with compatability?
Thanks for the help

I have been to the san diego zoo, sea world, long beach and san fransico aquariums and have always wondered why they dont have more fresh water exhibites. I love seeing pacus and giant gouromis but I like active color too. I also like to see big mixed with small.

SA cichlid community would be cool with some severum, acaras, and eartheaters. I've been to the omaha zoo and seen the arapaimas they're freaking awesome. Supposedly they ate a large arowana. They also have a tank with huge giant gourmis and tinfoil barbs.

angles, discus, bala sharks, and a whole bunch of clown loaches, with neons, and planted.

EDIT** Like that picture that one rude dude who got banned used to post.

Last edited by victimizati0n at 16-May-2005 21:57

What would you love to see on display in a public aquarium? A few of the exhibits are due for a change and i'd like some input. The tanks are in the range of 2000 - 3000 L. One will definately be marine, the other may be converted to a freshwater system. Both are able to be heated. There is currently an excellent, large reef display with an array of corals and brightly coloured reef fish, so i would like some different suggestions. There is no freshwater tanks currently. Keep in mind these are big tanks and will need a few centrepiece species that really stand out. Thanks in advance for any help!!

thanks guys, you have really got me thinking!
the tank than can be converted to freshwater is a bit of a difficult one in terms of dimensions. I have yet to measure it up but its approximately 40 - 50 cm wide, and about 2m long and 1.5m tall. But i'll update you on that so i know exactly how many litres we're talking about. The other marine tank is larger, but i'll focus on the freshwater for now.
As it is only around 40 - 50cm wide it poses some problems. An arowana would be awesome but obviously it wouldn't be able to turn around. And obviously an arapaima is out of the question!!
The other issue is light penetration. An amazon tank looks great when heavily planted, but i wonder how much light would reach the bottom areas of the tank.
Also it makes aquascaping difficult - especially finding large pieces of driftwood that aren't more than 40cm wide at any point.
Currently it has fake rock and fake corals with small hardy marine fish - the corals and rock are pretty good fakes though.
So thats the major limitation on this tank - the aquascaping accompanying the biotope. Thanks for your help so far - i'm looking in to all of those suggestions. Keep them coming!

in that hole tank i would want to see one single male betta ONLY!!!

I always think to myself that it really would be great if the baltimore aquarium kept one of their tanks as an example of a hobby tank...just expanded. While sure it might be fun to look @the big fish they just dont seem to do anything. I know the red-tail catfish that they have they rescued from a company that had it and didnt know any better...he's actually one of my favorites, although that could be just because I'm one of the few people that will sit there for half an hour waiting till it's quiet enough that he'll come out and do a circle of the tank ...that and he makes the boring neons school for half a second .

Seeing what we keep on an even larger scale like the tank that the balt aquarium maintains @ the book store near by is better than some of the displays @the aquarium itself.

Freshwater Display Tank -Barnes and Nobel Inner Harbor Baltimore, MD. Estimated tank size 10618 litres, 2805 US gallons.

Amazon theme tanks are very common, in the states @least anyway . Seeing a large african cichlid set up or especially an asian theme tank would be beautiful! As well as give a chance for people to see the same fish that they're likely to end up going and buying in something more closely resembling their natural habitat.

^_^[hr width='40%']"Has someone taken your faith? It's real, the pain you feel.
The life, the love, You die to heal.
The hope that starts, The broken hearts...
I’ve got another confession my friend, I’m no fool.
I’m getting tired of starting again, Somewhere new."[/font]

"It's unfortunate that none of the aquaria are large enough for an Arapaima (at least, not a very big one). But an Arapaima would be frickin' awesome."


We have several arapaima gigas at the Omaha zoo. Truely awesome huge fish. I'd say 6 or so off of memory.


Empty chairs at empty tables, the room silent, forlorn.

Freshwater tank dragon eels, adult clown loaches, bala sharks, schools of rodwayi's tetras, tiger barbs, and rummynoses. A sand substrate with woody branches and outcroppings that give hiding places and tank focus, but you can still see the fish well. Think white sugar fine sand and huge branches of driftwood; almost like an underwater tree root system. Medium/large peaceful freshwater fish as the centerpices. All of the ones I listed are very active fish so they would do well in a public aquarium. Maybe a freshwater stingray.

Koi

Empty chairs at empty tables, the room silent, forlorn.

It's unfortunate that none of the aquaria are large enough for an Arapaima (at least, not a very big one). But an Arapaima would be frickin' awesome.

Anyway, does the public aquarium have any ideas in mind for the setups? I mean, I know at Baltimore they group them. The second floor is devoted to Maryland habitats, the third floor to showing other adaptations/habitats of fish from around the world, and the fourth is for the Amazonian River tank (it's a 51' tank or something like that and quite awesome).

Regardless, to get a well-rounded group of aquaria, you should probably have at least the following in addition to the already-existing reef:
1. Amazonian River set-up (you can either focus on all the little guys or the beasts of Amazon, both of which I've seen done; Baltimore has both!)
2. Mangrove paludarium (...well, I've never seen one in person, but it'd be sweet).
3. Rift Lake

Other interesting biotopes including the Congo River and any number of Asian freshwater habitats.

I'm interested in seeing how this turns out. It seems that all the big aquaria that I normally go to have many enormous set-ups, so having these smaller set-ups (relatively speaking) should be interesting...

Last edited by Shinigami at 16-May-2005 14:47

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The aquarist is one who must learn the ways of the biologist, the chemist, and the veterinarian.