Biotope Aquariums

by: Andrew Booth

In this article, we are going to go into setting up a good biotope aquarium. Before we start, it might be a good idea to learn what the word “biotope” means.
biotope · n. Ecology the region of a habitat associated with a particular ecological community.
So basically, it means we are trying to replicate a species home habitat. Now, it is impossible to replicate it exactly, because in the wild most species won't even meet another species at all, let alone be stuck in a rectangular box with 50 other fish and big ugly faces in the window staring at them but what we can do is try to replicate their water conditions, plants they would live in/eat and if they were to meet other fish, which species they might meet.
So lets look at some different biotopes we could make.

SOUTH AMERICAN BLACK-WATER

This is probably the most popular biotope because of its beauty and the endless variations in fish and plants.
Black-water ponds, creeks, and rivers originate in the rain-forest. In the slow-moving waters, acids are leeched from decaying vegetation creating tea-coloured water. These waters have almost no measurable water hardness and an acidic pH.

EQUIPMENT:
A good size tank would be anything over 150L as this would give you room for decent size shoals and the ever popular discus and/or angelfish. With a South American tank, the fish prefer slower water making the canister filter perfect for this type of set-up as it doesn't need such a high turnover rate to filter the tank properly.
You'll want enough lighting for the plants but not so much as to make the tank unnaturally bright. Co2 injection may also be desired for the plants

WATER:
pH: 6.0-6.5, Temperature 27-30˚C
NB: This pH can be achieved through peat filtration, the use of driftwood in the aquarium and/or through the use of carbon dioxide injection which is also very beneficial for live plants (would not use the latter in preference to others).

AQUASCAPING:
Furnish the tank with driftwood and a dark, fine gravel or sand substrate. If using standard fruit salad gravel, a trick I saw once was to mix some carbon in with the gravel making it look darker and more natural. A black tank background would also look good.

PLANTS:
Echinodorus sp. (sword plants) Heteranthera zosteraefolia (star grass), (pictured right) Cabomba

FISH:
Discus, angelfish,
dwarf cichlids,
tetras, hatchetfish, Corydoras, Farlowella, bristlenose, Loricariids.
As you can see, that leaves you a huge range to choose from. In a 150L you might choose to do;
10 rummy nose tetras
2 Bolivian rams, 6 hatchet fish
1 bristlenose
6 bronze corys
that would be a beautiful biotope aquarium that will look great anywhere.

SOUTHEAST ASIAN BLACK WATER

Another popular biotope consisting of mainly small, schooling fish.

EQUIPMENT:
Again, anything over 150L would be recommended with 1.2m being an optimum length. This tank would also benefit from a canister filter with a spray bar but a hang on back filter would also be fine. Lighting should be moderate for the plants but again, too much light may make this tank
look “fake”. Being another planted tank, co2 injection would also be a bonus.

WATER:
pH of 6.0 to 7.0 with a Carbonate Hardness of 4dCH and a total hardness of 8dH, temperature 25-28ºC

AQUASCAPING:
Again, we'll use a fine, dark gravel or sand. The carbon trick could also be used in this set-up. Driftwood and roots should be used with some pieces touching the surface. Round river rocks could also be used.

PLANTS:
Cryptocoryne wendtii,
Cryptocoryne nevillii,
Hygrophila polysperma,
Ceratopteris thalictroides,
Vallisneria,
Nuphar japonicum (N. lutea), as below

FISH:
Barbs, rasboras, cyprinids, loaches, gouramis.

In a 200L aquarium, you might try the following:
8 harlequin rasboras
8 zebra danios
3 zebra loaches
6 kuhli loaches
2 pearl gouramis
Of course there are many different combos you could use, that is just an example.

LAKE MALAWI

This biotope will have rocky decor and hard, alkaline water. These can look stunning if set up right and the fish are almost always bright and colourful. Because I don't keep these personally this will only be a very basic guideline.

EQUIPMENT:
You'll want a fairly large tank that has a decent footprint to allow room for you to build up your rock piles. A 190L (36x18x18) would be big enough but a 250L or bigger would of course, be better. You'll want a slightly faster flow rate than the previous 2 biotopes and a HOB filter like the AquaClear 500 will do a very good job of cleaning the tank. Lighting isn't so important and a single 10000k fluro should be enough.

WATER:
pH 7.8-8.5, Temperature 24 - 27˚C

AQUASCAPING:
As I said earlier, the decor should be rocky, with a sand substrate. Some good rocks are slate, river rocks and limestone can be used to buffer the water. Driftwood can be used in small amounts but too much will ruin it. I recommend just rocks.

PLANTS:
Plants aren't usually used in these biotopes, but if you’re willing to stretch the rules slightly, Java fern can be used.

FISH:
Lake Malawi cichlids (Mbuna, peacock cichlids, others), Synodontis.
I won’t attempt a set-up as I don't know enough about these fish to make one that will work.
These biotopes can look spectacular if done right, but I don't recommend them for a beginner aquarist.

AUSTRALIA/NEW GUINEA RIVER

Rainbow fish are beautiful fish, and deserve some recognition in this article. These fish mainly come from shallow, sandy rivers in New Guinea and Northern Australia.

EQUIPMENT:
You'll need a fairly large tank as most rainbow fish are large, active and schooling. I'm going to recommend the 55g aquarium for this biotope, but larger is of course, better. Water movement should be fairly high and a HOB, cannister or internal power filter can be used. Lighting should be bright.

WATER:
The water should be low to medium in Hardness with a pH between 6.5 and 7.0, A temperature of 75o (24 degrees C) is recommended as these fish don't like the warmer temperatures of most tropical fish.

AQUASCAPING:
Sand substrate is recommended, and rocks should be used as decoration. Plant the tank heavily to make the rainbow fish feel at home.

PLANTS:
Potamageton crispus
Najas tenuifolia
cryptocoryne wendtii
Spirodela oligorrhiza (not in NZ?)
Nymphoides indica

FISH:
Some species you could use in this biotope are;
Glossolepis incisus
- Red Rainbow fish
Melanotaenia affinis
- New Guinea Rainbow
Melanotaenia boesmani
- Boesman’s Rainbow
Glossolepis wanamensis
- Emerald rainbow
Melanotaenia goldiei
- Goldie River Rainbow
Melanotaenia lacustris
- Turquoise Rainbow
Melanotaenia splendida rubrostriata
- Red-Striped Rainbow


This is just a few of the many different biotopes you could make. If you are thinking of setting up a new aquarium, consider doing a biotope aquarium.