Aquariums – Glass Boxes

Favourite aquariums: Aquaeden’s discus tank

I know very little about it and, whilst it is definitely in the ‘nature aquarium’ tradition rather than a representation of anything you might find whilst out walking in Brazil, I love this tank. It seems to be the work of Portugese LFS Aquaeden (http://aquaeden-shop.net/). The left side of this is what I have in mind for the second ‘zone’ of the long Middle Congo biotope tank I’m planning for my conservatory (more on this later), but with big emersed Anubias or other aroids instead of the Echinodorus and perhaps Crinum instead of the Vallis.

Favourite aquariums: Nanne de Vos’ Cameroon aquarium

A classic aquarium by Dutch aquarist Nanne de Vos. This massive 2100 litres (300 x 100 x 70 cm) tank was created in september 1997 to represent a bank of a small rivulet in the high plateau of Cameroon.

I love the sense of depth and the restraint in the design of both the hardscape and plants, which consist only of Anubias var. nana, normal Anubias barteri, a few African Lotus water lilies (Nymphaea sp.) and some floating plants.

The fish population is similarly restrained, particularly for such a large aquarium, consisting only of 5 Pelvicachromis taeniatus sp. moliwe (caught in wild) [2 male, rest female], 4 elephant nose fish, 2 Synodontis batesi, 13 african red eye tetras (Arnoldichthys spilopterus, presumably) and 60 Ladigesia roloffi.

Further detail of this tank can be found online at http://www.goddijn.com/aquarium/jnanne.htm

Favourite aquariums: Tom’s Bucket O’Mud

I’m not a massive fan of ‘nature aquariums’, but I am a huge fan of ‘natural aquariums’. For me the project known as ‘Bucket O’Mud’ by British aquarist Tom Black is one of the best on the web.

The shallow but wide tank gives an amazing sense of depth and, combined with the open top and emersed plant growth, leads you to experience the tank as a natural habitat – with hidden corners and depths to explore. The willingness to let the plants develop and find their own form and space in the tank also leads to a really natural feeling.

It has been extensively recorded, widely admired and highly influential on both the UKAPS and Seriously Fish forums (these are two of the best sites for serious freshwater fishkeepers and are well worth further exploration), and I would encourage you to make a cup of tea, settle in and read the full story on one or both of the following:

http://www.ukaps.org/forum/threads/toms-bucket-o-mud-the-end.14521/

http://www.seriouslyfish.com/forums/my-aquarium/toms-bucket-o-mud/

Naturalistic vs Nature aquariums

The ‘nature aquarium’ school of aquascaping pioneered by Takashi Amano has swept the globe and undoubtedly revolutionised the aquarium hobby.

However, within Amano’s work you can distinguish two quote separate threads – an earlier style that attempted to recreate above water landscapes and a later trend towards recreating natural underwater habitats. It is the first of these that has come to dominate most of the big ‘aquascaping’ competitions. In recent years it has tended towards the naff, with sand waterfalls and floating islands mimicking scenes from ‘Avatar’. Some of the highest ranked efforts in recent competitions are horribly artificial and more akin to putting little plastic men or houses in terrariums or the model railway hobby, and just as artificial as putting sunken treasure or ship wrecks in our tanks. Iwagumi often head too far in this direction for my tastes.

I’d like to see a move towards aquascapes that look and feel like real underwater environments. There is no reason that we can’t combine this with the appreciation for healthy plant growth, aesthetic principles and better design of tanks (optiwhite, rimless) and equipment that the nature aquarium craze has encouraged. It would mean a smaller selection of species, less orderly arrangements and saying goodbye to the horrible little brown balls of clay that have been widely adopted as substrate (at least, not as a top layer).

I think this style is gaining some ground amongst aquascapers – at least in Europe: Seee for example some of the featured journals on the UKAPS forum. Perhaps we need to recognise it with a new name – naturalistic vs nature aquariums?

A resource for African biotopes

The ecosystem and country search facility of Fishbase (www.fishbase.org) provides a fantastic starting point for identifying combinations of fish for biotope aquariums that I think many experienced aquarists are familiar with.

Identifying aquatic plants that are native to the same areas is much harder and seems to rely on hearsay on online aquarium forums as much as anything else. I just came across a great resource from the Senckenberg Museum in Frankfurt that lists aquatic plants in different parts of Africa as part of a wider guide to African plants. To filter for aquatic plants, you need to hit ‘Browse and Search’, scroll down to ‘Life Form’ under the heading ‘Habit’ and select ‘Hydrophyte’ (or ‘Halophyte’ if you are looking for brackish water or coastal species). Also helpful to untick the ‘Only search for species with pictures’ to get a fuller list. Not sure how complete the database is but provides a great starting point.

You can access the guide at http://www.westafricanplants.senckenberg.de/. You can also search for East Africa, Central Africa and Africa as a whole through the links on the homepage.

Favourite aquariums: Catfish and barbs from the Western Ghats of India

River habitats are probably the hardest habitat to replicate in the one aquarium. This design by B. Vergeheyen in Belgium is one of the best I’ve seen. The combination of big rocks and driftwood and the mixed shoal of silvery Sahaydria, Dawkinsia and Barilius barbs is great. Having a mammoth 270x90x70 cm tank also helps create a sense of scale. It is a loose biotope for Horabagrus catfish, but it would also make a fantastic home for a group of Etroplus canarensis.

You can see more on Planet Catfish or the creators YouTube page:

http://www.planetcatfish.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=36780&start=20
https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCqJOmX2lVZfkBcE-0M0OWMg

Emersed plants in aquariums

There has been a lot of recent interest in growing aquarium plants emersed, i.e. with their roots in water but the rest of the plant growing above the surface. Most of this interest has been either as a way of establishing aquarium plants before ‘flooding’, as small scale ‘wabi kusa’ displays or rather artificial looking ‘paludariums’ with plants growing in pots secured at or near the water surface. There are fewer examples of using this as part of permanent naturalistic aquarium displays, but this can be spectacular and have a more natural look than conventional planted aquariums. Most plants grown in aquariums naturally grow this way (hence the need for CO2 enrichment to successfully grow some of them submerged – they are adapted for the much higher CO2 concentration in air than in water), and we are more used to looking at natural fresh water habitats through marginal vegetation.

Diapteron

I’ve always liked killifish. They are small and colourful and have masses more personality than more commonly kept ‘little pretty fish’ like tetras, rasboras and livebearers. Over the years I’ve kept Nothobranchius rachovii, Aphyosemion gardneri, Chromaphyosemion bitaeniatum and Austrolebias nigripinnis – mostly somewhat unsuccessfully in rather inappropriate community aquariums. I did get eggs from the Chromaphyosemion, but could never raise the fry.

The 5 species and numerous local varieties of the genus Diapteron have always particularly caught my eye. They come from shaded rainforest streams with soft, cool water in a small area of Northern Gabon and nearby parts of the Congo. They are stunning tiny fish, fully grown at 1.5 inches long, and so would be quite at home in a small well planted tank. A great project for those with an RO machine or regular access to clean rainwater.

One day I will breed them!

The humphead eartheaters

The humphead eartheaters, or the ‘Geophagus‘ steindachneri group, have a special place in my affections. A pair of redhump eartheaters (‘Geophagus‘ steindachneri itself) shared a too small 30″ aquarium when I first got back into fishkeeping in rented flats after leaving university in the late 90s. They are beautiful and characterful fish – more outgoing and intelligent than many South American cichlids without the anti-social aggression of most Central American species.

The three species in the group are found North and West of the Andes in Panama, Colombia and Ecuador – quite distinct from the majority of South American aquarium fish from the Amazon and Orinoco basins to the East of the Andes. Like most geophagine cichlids they are adapted for sifting through sandy substrates to find food. Their natural habitat in open sandy-bottomed rivers and streams and the impact of their feeding behaviour on any rooted plants don’t lend themselves easily to exciting naturalistic aquarium design. However, they do share their native range with some interesting other fish that could form the basis for a great biotope aquarium, including emperor (Nematobrycon palmeri) and rainbow tetras (Nemtobrycon lacortei), giant whiptail catfish (Sturisoma), and the Blue Acara and Green Terror related cichlids that now form the genus Andinoacara.