# 120 gallon Mexico river riparium



## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

last i was moving some stuff around in the 120G Mexico river biotope riparium.

here's a shot down into display from the top.










this one has a lot of _Cyperus_ in the background and semi-woody plants such as _Ludwigia peruensis_ in the midgorund. the _Ludwigia_ have flowered with many nice blooms. so have the _Wedelia trilobata_ (the pointy lobe-leafed plant on the left side.










i added a new plant, a _Xanthosoma_ 'Lime Zinger'. this plant will look really good for a while, but it might eventually grow too large for this enclosure. it has such pretty green satiny leaves.










i pulled the next plant out to make room for the _Xanthosoma_ taro. this is a _Cyperus_ 'Baby Tut' planted in a Small Hanging Planter.










look at the roots on that thing! you really can't go wrong with _Cyperus_--they are such vigorous growers. i wish, however, that i could find more shorter-statured selections. this one grows like mad with only moderate light and basic care, but it gets too tall--almost 30 inches in height.


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

here is what the whole display looks like.










this isn't the greatest picture i know, and it's from a couple of months ago. the plants have since grown in quite a bit. i hope to take some time and get a good picture soon.


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## Centromochlus (May 19, 2008)

Wow, very cool!

I'd love to have a setup like that, but i think my cats would just play in it. :icon_neut


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## cah925 (May 18, 2007)

I'm getting more and more interested in this type of display and I have a few questions for you.

1. What kind of light are you using for these displays?
2. How long does it take for a tank to mature like this one?
3. Do you use any kind of filter for the water?


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## Cool_Citrus (Mar 23, 2009)

very nice, any idea on what fish you might add?


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

the fish are already in there. i try to remember to drop a food wafer in so that they will swim to the front, but i forgot on this occassion. here' s what's in there:


Poeciliopsis turneri
Poecilia chica
Xenotaenia resolanae

i collected all of these in the Rio Purificacion in Jalisco.


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## Cool_Citrus (Mar 23, 2009)

cool maybe one day i'll go collecting fish, i live like 3 hours from the state of jalisco.


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## Honorable24 (Nov 16, 2008)

Nice! I want a riparium, but my parents won't let me:icon_frow


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## honor (Apr 8, 2008)

time to move out bro.


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## Superedwin (Jan 19, 2009)

Very nice tank, Such an amazing raparium and nicely planted...

^^ LOL he is to young to move out, so am I (he's my cousin)


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

cah925 said:


> I'm getting more and more interested in this type of display and I have a few questions for you.
> 
> 1. What kind of light are you using for these displays?


this depends on the kinds of plants in the display. this particular riparium has _pond marginals_, which grow best in an open-topped display with moderate to bright lighting. the fixture here is a Sunlight Supply Tek Light with 6 54 watt HO T5's. i don't use all six at once, but instead alternate between 2 and 4 lamps. so this 120G has either 108 watts or 216 watts of HO T5.

i have a couple of other projects involving crypts and _Anubias_, which i'm growing under _low_ light.


> 2. How long does it take for a tank to mature like this one?


this also depends upon plant selection. the picture above was taken in February, about two months after i planted it up. those plants are pretty fast growers and i used good-sized specimens.

that riparium looks better now, nice and full and with flowers every day. i mean to get some more pictures one of these days.



> 3. Do you use any kind of filter for the water?


this tank has a hole drilled through the floor on each end. these accept bulkhead fitting, which are connected to short standpipes which serve as intakes and returns. the intake is screened. this hardware is very well-hidden among the plants and hardscape. 

i have a different configuration for a riparium that i describe over here:

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/diy/85748-aquarium-stand-raw-industrial-style.html

that one uses a Fluval 205 canister filter, but i retrofitted the plumbing so that intake and return could reach down to the water level.

one could also use a submersible power filter, or a sponge filter for a small display.


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

Cool_Citrus said:


> cool maybe one day i'll go collecting fish, i live like 3 hours from the state of jalisco.


where in Mexico do you live. there are some really great places for fish collecting in Mexico. here's a neat Website about fish in Family Goodeidae, which are only found in Mexico.

Goodeids.com


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## Cool_Citrus (Mar 23, 2009)

hydrophyte said:


> where in Mexico do you live. there are some really great places for fish collecting in Mexico. here's a neat Website about fish in Family Goodeidae, which are only found in Mexico.
> 
> Goodeids.com


well i live in the state of Michoacan, in the capital of the state, which is Morelia (famous for the monarch butterflies) its like 3 hours WNW of Mexico city and 3 hours ESE of Guadalajara


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

there are a lot of goodeids in Michoacan. actually at the university there in Morelia they keep a bunch of them in one of the labs. 

i have a good friend from Uruapan. i have also hung out some in Morelia. it is such a beautiful city.

here is another site with information about livebearers in general but with a lot of information about Mexican fish.

http://livebearers.org/


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

i have _Xenotoca melanosoma_. i like goodeids a lot. they are my single favorite group of fish.


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## Cool_Citrus (Mar 23, 2009)

any particular site that you might recommend for going to collect fish?


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

i have only collected there in the Autlan, Jalisco area, but i know there are a lot of good sites in Michoacan. i would probably start with any place where there is water. those livebearers seem to be everywhere, although there are some places that are better than others. in many sites the native fish have declined a lot due to water shortage, introduced fish species and water contamination. please look into laws before you go out collecting or observing fish. some sites and fish species are protected in Mexico.

i need to run right now, but i'll go research in the livebearer literature and Web materials for some of the sites in Michoacan and post again later. i have some contacts in Mexico too who you might want to get in touch with if you really want to go look for fish.


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

wow. you have some awesome tanks :thumbsup:


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

clwatkins10 said:


> wow. you have some awesome tanks :thumbsup:


thanks, i know you have some nice work too. it takes a lot of effort to keep up with all of these aquariums. i wish i could say that i know what i'm doing. 

:fish::fish:


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

I tell you, this is some great advertising for your site!


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

Cool_Citrus said:


> any particular site that you might recommend for going to collect fish?


Cool Citrus

¿qué onda?

check this out:

http://home.clara.net/brachydibble/Morelia_2001-20021.htm

and here is the parent directory

http://home.clara.net/brachydibble/

i wish that they had kept working on this. they have so much important information on fish conservation in Mexico. a lot of the links from that page are dead.\ and it doesn't look like they have much else with it

i will look for other more current stuff.


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## Cool_Citrus (Mar 23, 2009)

thanks for the links will check them out :thumbsup:


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

Cool_Citrus said:


> thanks for the links will check them out :thumbsup:


well just let me know if you need any more information.

the fish in Family Goodeidae really are cool aquarium fish and their biology is so interesting.


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

here is the link to my Web journal about collecting in the Rio Ayuquila drainage in Jalisco.

A la Pesca


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## Cool_Citrus (Mar 23, 2009)

thanks for all the intrest you've shown to me and the links, although i havent plannned anything in the imminent future, its defently something i would love to do soon, sadly i havent come across any rivers, brooks or ravines near here the only bodies of waters i've seen are obviously lake patzcuaro to the south and lake cuitzeo to the north, granted i havent actually gone looking for them and i've only lived here for the past 6 months. but yeah thanks for the info, i knew mexico had various cyprinodontiformes but never really went in depth in searching which were native here, so now i'm all the more intrested, anyhow, i dont wanna ruin your thread with my inquiries


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

here is a bloom that was going today in the Mexico river tank--_Zephyranthes grandiflora_.










i didn't have my camera with me when i went to service this riparium, so i just brought the plant home for a studio shot.


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

i got this shot the other day while over servicing this tank.










i haven't been able to service this aquarium more than 1X/week, so the underwater area looks rather dreary, but the view down inside is cool.

here's is a similar view, but this picture is a montage made with five horizontal shots all stitched together.


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

i already have plenty of shots of this one, but i can never resist getting pictures of new _Zephyranthes macrosiphon_ when they appear.










compare with the other pik-flowered rain lily that i have, _Z. grandiflora_. it appears _macrosiphon_ is a more prolific bloomer, and its flowers are a deeper pink.


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

i have three different rain lily species in this tank, and they've all been blooming. i discovered yet another new bloom while over servicing the tank, this one from _Zephyranthes candida_.










this plant is a good grower and it seems happy under T5's, but this is only the third flower that I have gotten from this species in my tanks. _Z. macrosiphon_ is a much more prolific bloomer. i gave my rain lily bulbs a dormancy of several months this winter by removing them from displays and storing them on the cool basement floor. this treatment helps to encourage blooming. i hope to see more from this one, because these are really pretty blossoms.


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## mistergreen (Dec 9, 2006)

can you recommend a plant that will be in 10" of water but will grow completely emergent?

thanks.

cool little cyperus btw. I bought a dwarf last year but so far this year, it's no taller than a foot.. Maybe lack of nutrients stunted it.


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

oh that _Cyperus_ in that picture is really pretty tall--too big. i trim away the largest leaves to keep it at about 24" tall. this one is a cultiver 'Baby Tut'. it's not very "baby". i have found that _Cyperus _grow quite a bit bigger under lights than out in the sun. i wish i could find more small varities--most seem to grow to at least two feet tall. do you know which one you have?

do you mean that the plants you are interested in will be rooted at the bottom and then grow up out of the water? are you looking for something for an aquarium, or a container pond? there are a number of things used as pond plants that will grow like that, but most grow quite large and coarse. some examples include _Peltandra_, large _Sagitarria_, large _Echinodorus_ and _Pontederifolia_. some of the biggest _Echinodorus_ (e.g., _cordifolius_) used in aquariums might be trained to grow this way if first encouraged to grow tall emersed-form leaves, then dropped into deeper water.

i have another plant that will do this if it grows large enough, _Orontium aquaticum_. 










my specimen is growing in a hanging planter and it seems quite healthy. it is still getting bigger so i only have its crown about 5 inches below the water surface. it is a really attractive and different plant. i have some more about this one and some other plants of interest in a post about my 65G.

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/tank-journals-photo-album/85953-colectoritis-65-gallon-riparium-4.html#post863979

there are of coarse many other nice plants that can grow in deeper aquarium water as emergents if planted with hardware.


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## speedie408 (Jan 15, 2009)

I love your tanks man! Great inspiration! Nice cam skills as well.


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## mistergreen (Dec 9, 2006)

hydrophyte said:


> do you mean that the plants you are interested in will be rooted at the bottom and then grow up out of the water? are you looking for something for an aquarium, or a container pond?


yes, I'm interested in a plant that will grow out of my aquarium but the water depth is around 10". I'm thinking a reed plant of some sort. I might get away with using a cyperus?


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

speedie408 said:


> I love your tanks man! Great inspiration! Nice cam skills as well.


thanks very much! i wish that i knew better what i am doing and that i had some better flashes and other equipment. i always try to take lots and lots of pictures while varying camera settings and that way i sometimes end up with or two that look more or less OK.



mistergreen said:


> yes, I'm interested in a plant that will grow out of my aquarium but the water depth is around 10". I'm thinking a reed plant of some sort. I might get away with using a cyperus?


i can't think of much in addition to the things that i mention in that previous post that would grow like this and that would fit in an aquarium, and all of those plants get pretty big.

most pond/bog/marginal plants, even large ones, such as taros, will not tolerate having their crowns more than a couple-few inches below the water's surface. i have tried several different _Cyperus_ in aquariums and container ponds and these plants will only grow well with the surface of their pots slightly _above_ water--at least 1/2".

here is that picture with the 'Baby Tut' _Cyperus_ as the dominant background plant. the water in this tank is about 9" deep, but the plants are all held up at the water's surface with planter cups.










of course there are many aquarium stem plants (_Polygonum, Hygrophila, Limnophila_, etc.) that will grow as emergents if allowed to reach to the top of the aquarium, where they will switch growth form. but such growth is only supported by the limber underwater stems, and bound to flop over. although i have seen tanks like this that looked pretty cool


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## Gatekeeper (Feb 20, 2007)

mistergreen said:


> yes, I'm interested in a plant that will grow out of my aquarium but the water depth is around 10". I'm thinking a reed plant of some sort. I might get away with using a cyperus?


Most Hygrophila and Alternanthera will break the surface and keep on growing vertical. (Will even flower if healthy).

You can always go with Bamboo!

http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumapc/plantfinder/details.php?id=258


On the Right side....
Courtesy of Sergio Canabal (PT screenname SuRje1976)


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## speedie408 (Jan 15, 2009)

hydrophyte said:


> thanks very much! i wish that i knew better what i am doing and that i had some better flashes and other equipment. i always try to take lots and lots of pictures while varying camera settings and that way i sometimes end up with or two that look more or less OK.


For fish pics, it's very unlikely that anyone would be using a flash due to the glare caused by the glass tank. So I say a flash is unnecessary when taking fish fotos, but plants such as your emersed beauties... a nice flash would be beneficial as long as you're not shooting against glass. 

Keep track of your settings, and read the manual  What cam are you shooting with?


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

flash is important for getting good fish pictures. the way to get fish shots is to point remote flashes down into the tank from above, then shoot through the glass. unless you have really bright aquarium lighting, with no flash you generally have to slow the shutter so much that quick-moving fish end up blurred.

i have an Olympus somethingorother DSLR.


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

mistergreen said:


> yes, I'm interested in a plant that will grow out of my aquarium but the water depth is around 10". I'm thinking a reed plant of some sort. I might get away with using a cyperus?


you know a couple of other possibilites are _Cryptocoryne ciliata_ and any of the really big _Anubias_, such as _gigantea_ or _gracilis_. i have a couple of _ciliata_ that grew leaf petioles more that a foot long because i had them in lower light for a while. i have them in hanging planters, but hung way down below the water surface.

_ciliata_ have such long flower tubes that they might even be able to reach the limb up above water in such a setup. that would look cool.


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## speedie408 (Jan 15, 2009)

hydrophyte said:


> flash is important for getting good fish pictures. the way to get fish shots is to point remote flashes down into the tank from above, then shoot through the glass. unless you have really bright aquarium lighting, with no flash you generally have to slow the shutter so much that quick-moving fish end up blurred.
> 
> i have an Olympus somethingorother DSLR.


I'm saying if you already have good lighting and your fish are glowing, you won't need flash. Just need to stop down the apeture and up the ISO. With lower end DSLR's you'll sacrifice image quality due to higher noise levels

With DSLR's remote flashing will work, but I don't think your average Joe with a basic P&S cam will be able to do remote flash without a shoe hookup. 

I wish I had a remote flash. :icon_sad:


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## mistergreen (Dec 9, 2006)

thanks for the plant tips hydrophite and glenn.

Another option to get good lighting is bring in extra lights and focus on the tank. And when using non-remote flash but you have to angle your camera down so the light doesn't bounce back into the lens. Or put your lens right up against the tank glass.


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

right well i suppose that what i really mean is that to get really great fish pictures in aquariums consistently one would do best to use a remote flash. all of my setups are too dim for shooting very good pictures of fish. in addition to allowing a faster shutter and slower ISO, a flash can also create glare and shadows that serve to accentuate patterns, textures and shapes.

getting back on topic, here is a beautiful spot on Arroyo Tecolote, a small tributary stream of the Rio Purificacion near the town of Casimiro Castillo.










...i wish i were there now.


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

here is a quick update form last night. i have been able to visit this tank with more frequency, so it is looking better.










the pink rain lilies (_Zephyranthes macrosiphon_) have been blooming consistently. the fish are also looking good. i have a couple shots of fish and other views that i will post later.


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## Regloh (Jan 17, 2009)

That's very pretty!


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

thank you. i am working on Web formatting a FTS i hope to put it up soon.

here is another quick shot. like i said, there really are fish in there. here is a shot with all three species.










these are all F1 offspring of the fish that i collected in Mexico.


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## kyle3 (May 26, 2005)

love the fish they have a very delicate beauty. thanks for sharing!

cheers-K


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

thank you. these fish all mature out of their "delicate" beauty and develop more "flashy" looks as they grow up. 

here is a wild adult female _Poeciliopsis turneri_.


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

i just did a little more image formatting. here is a FTS.










this tank has been pretty low maintenance. for the last several months i have really only spent about 1/2 hour with it 1X/week. it did take me a couple of hours to get it into shape for this shot.

there really are fish in there, almost 30 of 'em.

this picture is actually a montage, made with a combination of two shots at two different shutter speeds. i copied and pasted the underwater area form a shot with a slower shutter. somehow for this tank in photographs the foliage always has more glare and the water always has more shadow than in real life.


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## mistergreen (Dec 9, 2006)

wow. that tank is really hitting its peak.
I've always wanted a natural sailfin molly. It's much prettier than the mutants being sold in the lfs.


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

mistergreen said:


> wow. that tank is really hitting its peak.
> I've always wanted a natural sailfin molly. It's much prettier than the mutants being sold in the lfs.


i can put you in touch with some contacts who can get you some if you might be interested. i will also have more of these mollies that i have, _P. butleri_ and _P. chica_, in a few months. if you give them plenty to eat and a nice habitat, these grow good-sized and color up pretty nice too. 

there aren't any sailfins in the area where i go to down in Mexico. sailfins would look really cool in a riparium setup. there are quite a few plants for this that are pretty authentic Southeast US/Mexico.


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## oldpunk78 (Nov 1, 2008)

hydrophyte said:


>


this has to be my favorite riparium from the ones you have shared with us so far. it just looks cool.


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

thanks very much. it is looking pretty good right now. i do need to work on getting the fish into the photographs. i need to grow them up bigger. they have been in the for more than six months, when i introduced them as small juveniles. they have stayed small because they only eat algae, except when i go to service the tank. they stay fat and healthy-looking eating algae, but it is so low-protein that they put on size very slowly. i am going to install an automatic feeder soon. i also mean to ask the people who work over in that office if they might drop food in there from time to time, so that the fish will associate people with reward, and swim around up near the front more.


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

perhaps many of you saw this already, but this setup was recently featured as *Tank of the Month* on AquaticPlantCentral.com. here is the link...

*APC Tank of the Month*


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## finfan (Jun 16, 2008)

congrats, definitely deserving


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## Superedwin (Jan 19, 2009)

Awesome and i agree, what an amazing display very unique. Congrats on the tank of the month!


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## Veloth (Jun 25, 2008)

Gorgeous setup. The over all lay is perfect, seeing this make me want to set one up.


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

thanks everybody! i had a lot of fun setting up this tank and it was an honor to receive the TOTM feature. thanks again also to APC.

the next time that i shoot pictures of this tank i will work on getting the fish into view--they are fat and colorful and look pretty nice too.


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## blackandyellow (Jul 1, 2009)

That riparium is awesome! At some point a couple of weeks ago I was think on creating a biotope tank from the Estacas River (in the state of Morelos, a 1hr drive from Mexico city). Many many years ago I collected several fish from the spring (mainly green swordtails, other types of poecilids I don´t remember and a couple of large silver tetra type fish). 

In the end I went commercial... but that´s a future project for setting a pond!


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

blackandyellow said:


> That riparium is awesome! At some point a couple of weeks ago I was think on creating a biotope tank from the Estacas River (in the state of Morelos, a 1hr drive from Mexico city). Many many years ago I collected several fish from the spring (mainly green swordtails, other types of poecilids I don´t remember and a couple of large silver tetra type fish).
> 
> In the end I went commercial... but that´s a future project for setting a pond!


that sounds really cool. do you know if the spring is still in very good shape and if the fish are still there? would be intriguing to see what kinds of natives are there. i hope that i can do some more collecting in Mexico sometime because there are some really great places and lots of cool fish. 
the cichlid that occurs down in that area that i have visited, _Cichlasoma istlanum_, would be a great one to acquire.

those tetras might have been _Astyanax fasciatus_, which are pretty common in a lot of places in Mexico. i tried to bring some of those back too, but they don't travel well and none of the specimens made it.


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## blackandyellow (Jul 1, 2009)

Haven´t been there in awhile but since the park is a spring and it´s considered a state park I would hope it still holds itself nice with fish and plants all over.

I didn´t see any cichlids that time, I think they are found more towards Chiapas and Veracruz (warmer waters).

I´m planning a trip to Estacas soon, so I will let you know what I find (and try to snatch some pictures with a friend´s underwater camera!)


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

i have a couple of quick pictures of a cool plant to put up. 

i don't have this one in the Mexico tank, but it has a nice shape and growth habit so i might stick it in there later. it is most certainly a wet habitat plant, so it should grow OK if it responds well to fluorescent lighting. here is the whole plant. "meadow beauty", _Rhexia virginica_ i just have it in a regular flower pot right now. i keep the potting media wet all the time.










this one is in Family Melastomataceae, which is more typical of tropical areas. i understand that most species occur in the New World Tropics. here's a better look at the blooms. Melastomataceae have these four-petaled flowers and _R. virginica_ has quite prominent anthers.










i remember seeing a number of different Melastomataceae out in the woods in Costa Rica and this one is similar, although it is more northern than most members of its family and actually occurs as far north as Wisconsin. this is another one of those plants that might be difficult to manage in a riparium display because it might demand a winter dormancy. it seems many of the nicest flowering marginals/emergents are temperate and not tropical. i got this one from a nursery Down South, so perhaps it will only have a shorter dormancy.


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## speedie408 (Jan 15, 2009)

I'm a little late but, great job on the post processing on that tank photo. Can't forget about the tank either. It's very inspirational man. I love how the flowers are offset and everything is just so... jungly. Berry NICE!


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

i have a number of nice flowering semi-woody shrubs and bulbs in this display. there is usually something in bloom whenever i go over there to service it. a lot of those nice flowering plants would be difficult to fit in a tank much smaller than this one.


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

Wow, this riparium is looking very awesome!


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

thanks very much. like i said, i don't currently have that _Rhexia_ in there, but i might try it out and see how it grows. a lot of those winter-dormant plants just start to whither away and drop their leaves around the beginning of September. but it's funny certain plants, even some things from the Northern US, can just keep on growing all winter long under lights and with warm temps


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## TheCryptKeeper (Mar 9, 2008)

damn that looks great! it is members like you that make the rest of us go broke trying!

Ken


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## Hoppy (Dec 24, 2005)

Torpedobarb said:


> damn that looks great! it is members like you that make the rest of us go broke trying!
> 
> Ken


Just find a big mirror, stand in front of it and practice, practice, practice: "Spare Change, Spare Change, ....."


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

actually i put this one together with the financial & material support of our local club and several area businesses. 

this link goes to the credits page:

http://entomology.wisc.edu/~dbiggs/sh-log/credits.html

it woulda' cleared me out purchasing that light, the tank and the cabinet.


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## art_t (Jun 8, 2008)

That is beautiful!!!


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

thanks very much.

i was just over servicing this tank tonight and noticing how leggy some plants have grown and how others are almost busting their planters with thick root stocks. i will probably do on a re-planting during the next couple of weeks. i should get some extra cuttings and divisions form that if anybody might like to get some of these plants.


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

ughhh, I'm considering setting one of these up, but I'm also setting up a 40 breeder reef and planning on a 60P with all the bells and whistles this christmas. 
What will I do?  lol


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

i have quite a few extra plants and i will have more on the way if you might want to get some riparium plants going. and it's easy to mail them off.


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## joshua_pope2001 (Jan 2, 2008)

Awesome looking tank.....I may just have to do one of thease


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

Hey I was over servicing this tank last night and I was so tickled to discover this...










These are spider lily (_Hymenocallis_) blooms. I have had this for a couple of years and it has only flowered a few times, but it's worth the wait. These will only last for a day or so.


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## legomaniac89 (Mar 16, 2008)

Wow those are beautiful!


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

Holy cow what an incredible flower! With things like that, why would someone _not_ want a riparium?


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## Hoppy (Dec 24, 2005)

The problem with reading this, and seeing that lily bloom, is that it makes me want to just rush my big riparium together without sufficient planning and time to do it well. I can't remember seeing something like this that made me want so badly to set up a regular planted tank. This is just a whole different adventure.

One advantage of being somewhat less than young, is that you physically can't throw one of these together nearly as fast as if you were much younger. Today all I got done on my project is installing 4 hinges. At this rate TPT will be celebrating its golden anniversary before I can post photos anything at all like yours.


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

Here is what the whole display is looking like right now...










I need to replant this tank. The foliage has gotten to be rather thin and ratty. I had a nice carpet of _Bacopa_ in there, but it became leggy after having grown for 6 months so I pulled it all out. This will be a fun opportunity to try some different plants. I think that I might shoot for having the semi-woody bushes as the dominant theme. I have a couple of other real nice taros that I can put in there too.

Here is another picture of the spider lily blooms...










They are so pretty they look like they are made of very fine tissue paper. I wonder what pollinates these in the wild(?). Large white flowers like this are often pollinated at night by big hawk moths (Sphingidae).


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

Hoppy said:


> The problem with reading this, and seeing that lily bloom, is that it makes me want to just rush my big riparium together without sufficient planning and time to do it well. I can't remember seeing something like this that made me want so badly to set up a regular planted tank. This is just a whole different adventure.
> 
> One advantage of being somewhat less than young, is that you physically can't throw one of these together nearly as fast as if you were much younger. Today all I got done on my project is installing 4 hinges. At this rate TPT will be celebrating its golden anniversary before I can post photos anything at all like yours.


I should see if I can send you one of these _Hymenocallis_ bulbs too if you like them. I think that I have five of them now. They are likely to go into dormancy soon, but if stored in a cool and dry spot for several months they will perk up again in later winter and start to grow new leaves. Then if they get plenty of light and ferts they might bloom again next year.

I wish I knew what the species/variety for this one is. The real common one that you find in the gardening trade is _H. liriosme_, but that one gets too big to use in a riparium. This other _Hymenocallis_ has leaves only about 10" tall, with a flower stalk that reaches up to about 18".


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## speedie408 (Jan 15, 2009)

Can you fly out to make me a tank like that? Seriously. 

Wicked spider lillies!


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

The tank looks amazing! I really like those floaters in there. Very nice


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

Thanks very much. I was lucky that I went over there when I did--a day later and the would have already started to whither and droop.


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## Hoppy (Dec 24, 2005)

hydrophyte said:


> I should see if I can send you one of these _Hymenocallis_ bulbs too if you like them. I think that I have five of them now. They are likely to go into dormancy soon, but if stored in a cool and dry spot for several months they will perk up again in later winter and start to grow new leaves. Then if they get plenty of light and ferts they might bloom again next year.
> 
> I wish I knew what the species/variety for this one is. The real common one that you find in the gardening trade is _H. liriosme_, but that one gets too big to use in a riparium. This other _Hymenocallis_ has leaves only about 10" tall, with a flower stalk that reaches up to about 18".


I would love to have one of those lily bulbs. When you say to store them dry and cool, does that mean, for example, on a shelf in a cool room, just sitting out in the open? How do you know when to plant them in a riparium?

That question is also a general one: if you are planting seasonal plants, which stop growing and turn brown in the fall, what do you do to get them growing again in the spring? Do you also store them dry, or just remove the planter and store the planted planter cup dry? This stuff may not be rocket science, but for me it might as well be.


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

The way that I overwintered these spider lilies last year was to just set the whole planter in a plastic tray on a chilly windowsill. I added water from time to time so that they would not became very dry, but I did let the planter gravel dry out between waterings. The bulbs just sat there until late February or so, when new green leaves started to grow up. That was when I put the planters back in the tank.


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

I haven't been back to this thread in some time. I have used a hands-off approach for this tank for the past several months. I did re-plant it and I have just been waiting for some of the stuff to grow to size before trying to better resolve the layout. Here is a quick shot from tonight.










The underwater area is a mess. The rocks are all just piled in a heap and the manzanita branches are laying on their sides in another heap. The plants are looking good though. I did have a theme in mind while replanting, and it goes something like this...


_Acorus gramineus_ in several planters as erect, grassy background plants
several different semi-woody flowering bushes (e.g., _Ruellia brittoniana, Ludwigia_ sp. _Hibiscus_) trained "bonsai style" and gorwing into midground.
a carpet of aquatic stems (mostly _Bacopa madagascariensis_) trained to grow across trellis rafts.
Now I just need to clean up the underwater portion and wait for the plants to grow in some more. I did shuffle some plants tonight too and I think I have a second picture to show what I did. It will take a while for this to grow in right and look super again. The _Bacopa_ needs more time to fill in the water surface.


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

Here is a second shot after some minor rescaping and some major gravel stirring.










This is something of an improvement. I removed a couple of plants that weren't really growing so well and I also better distributed the bushes. 

Now I just need to get back in there and fix the rocks and driftwood.


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## Hoppy (Dec 24, 2005)

Given your great results with that Bacopa, as a "ground cover", why couldn't you llnk 3 or so of the rafts together and have a 3X bigger "lawn"? I have always thought that the ability to link rafts, with the little fasteners on the ends offers lots of different possibilities. But, first I have to be able to grow the appropriate plants, something you have obviously mastered.


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

That was just what I did when the tank had the _Cyperus_ + _Bacopa_ theme last fall.










The _Bacopa_ covered the water over most of the back of the tank. It started out in just four planters, but I snapped more new rafts into place as it grew larger. I also had to stick a couple of extra rafts underneath the floating mat because it became heavy and started to swamp the existing rafts.


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## RipariumGuy (Aug 6, 2009)

How on the face of this earth, could I have missed this masterpiece! another great rip' Devin!


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

THanks Jake. That tank has been a lot of fun. It is roomy (24" front-to-back) so I have been able to try out some big and robust plants in there.


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## Hoppy (Dec 24, 2005)

hydrophyte said:


> That was just what I did when the tank had the _Cyperus_ + _Bacopa_ theme last fall.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


That really looks good! Of course my eyes immediately go to the blooms, so I notice the pink ones right away. But, then I see the lawn of Bacopa - spectacular!


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

It takes a little while for that _Bacopa_ to get going, but once it starts groing it covers pretty quick.

Here is another update from last night.










This is not much changed from the 1-19 update, but I had rearranged the hardscape some and also let the dust settle.

It will look good when the _Bacopa_ grows in to cover the planters some more.


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

The other night I got a bloom from one of my plants, Traub's spider lily (_Hymenocallis traubii_). I was so happy to see it open. This one is not currently growing in a riparium, but I did have it in the 120-gallon tank last year. I kept the bulbs dormant this winter and they began to grow right away when I potted them up in a terra cotta pot with clay gravel for growing in a container pond.

The foliage is only about 12" tall, so this plant has the right size and shape for growing in a riparium. The flower stalk grew somewhat taller, to about 15".


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## RipariumGuy (Aug 6, 2009)

That is a beautifle plant and flower Devin!


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

Thanks Jake. It has a wonderful floral aroma too. The white is amazingly bright. When I took the plant outside for that picture the other night it seemed to glow white in the moonlight.


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

Wow. What an amazing flower! I couldn't imagine growing one of those in a riparium inside. It must be something else


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## speedie408 (Jan 15, 2009)

Pure sex! You've always got the coolest looking flowers from these plants Hydro.


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

Here's the one that bloomed in the 120-gallon for comparison. This one is a different species, but I don't know which. The plant is about the same size, but the leaves are broader and a darker green. The flowers are bigger too.


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## Hoppy (Dec 24, 2005)

That spider lily is absolutely beautiful! And, it looks like it has multiple bulbs going now, with the extra greenery at the base.


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## legomaniac89 (Mar 16, 2008)

Sweet bloom Devin! The spider lily I got from you last fall is just now starting to pop up after almost 8 months of nothing. Now I'm really excited about it!


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

Yeah these are pretty great plants. The infrequency and short duration of the blooms makes it all the more rewarding when they do flower. I did not mention that they flower also has a wonderful floral aroma.

_H. traubii_ is one that I have seen more than once in online stores. It might be not too hard to find for sale, especially this time of year. I have gotten a number of bulb offsets from mine and this summer I will try to get the plant to keep growing and producing more new little bulbs.


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

Wow I haven't been back to this thread in a long time, but I have a quick photo update from last night.










I replanted the whole thing and it is still growing in. It will be a little while before it gets to be nice and full again. 

I also changed the fish stocking. I replaced the _Xenoataenia resolane_ with another goodeid, _Ilyodon furcidens_. The _I. furcidens_ are a better aquarium fish. They are nice and robust and never stocp swimming. I'll try to get a fish close up or two the next time that I am over there so you can see.


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## plantbrain (Dec 15, 2003)

Ya know, I just got back from collecting and speaking in Mexico, Monterrey, NL.

I'll post some pics of the fish and plants, pretty surprising.


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## Bree (Dec 17, 2010)

That is an amazing setup you have grown!


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

plantbrain said:


> Ya know, I just got back from collecting and speaking in Mexico, Monterrey, NL.
> 
> I'll post some pics of the fish and plants, pretty surprising.


That would be great to see pictures. I have never been up into that area.



Bree said:


> That is an amazing setup you have grown!


Right now it doesn't look like much. It will be better when the plants grow in some more.


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

There's not much new with this setup. The fish are looking real happy. I am trying to grow some of the new + more unusual + larger riparium plants in here now. The other day I was over there servicing the tank and I add a couple planters of this new palm that I am trying out, _Chamaedorea cataractarum_.


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