# Orinoco Flooded Forest Biotope Aquarium



## brwagur (Sep 26, 2015)

I'm planning a 40 gallon Rio Orinoco biotope for my next tank and would like some feedback.

So far, the stocking I'm thinking about is:
2 German Blue Rams
10 Red Phantom Tetra
10 Marbled Hatchetfish
15 Cardinal Tetra
5 Corydoras habrosus

Give or take a couple fish.
According to aqadvisor this only puts me at 75% stocking level, so I could take some suggestions on additional species.

I was planning on using a sand substrate, possibly with root tabs, and leaf litter.

I think I want to keep the lighting subdued with either Limnobium or Salvinia floating on top and Echinodorus and Brazilian Pennywort as the primary plants, should this work?

I want to use mopani stumps or something similar to simulate the submerged bases of tree trunks, are there any good online stores for sourcing wood like this? The only place that has had anything was Ebay.

Any guidance or suggestions are welcome


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## Argus (May 22, 2013)

Drs Foster & Smith have Mopani driftwood, but I don't think they have stumps. 

I've read in several places that a substrate grains size of 1-2mm is best for plants as it allows the right amount of water circulation, but doesn't trap food where corys can't get it. I like CaribSea Peace River Gravel, but it is expensive. It has rounded grains that are cory-friendly.

Most Echinodorus prefer or require bright light.


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## insane (Oct 11, 2015)

Argus said:


> Drs Foster & Smith have Mopani driftwood, but I don't think they have stumps..


They don't have stumps but the large size I got from them today is massive. About 20" x 13" x 4" to 5" thick. The large is about 3 times the size of the medium.


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## brwagur (Sep 26, 2015)

Argus said:


> Most Echinodorus prefer or require bright light.


According to a couple of sources I looked at, I though Echinodorus bleheri required between low and medium light :/

Do you have any suggestions for plants that would fit the biotope? I don't want the tank to be terribly heavily planted but I do want some vegetation.

Also, I have a 10 gallon Thai biotope that uses play sand from Home Depot and I really like the look of it. Great color and I like all the small gravel mixed into it. Since I don't plan on moving the plants around much, I'm thinking on making this new tank dirted and then cap that with the sand. That way I can also mix some peat into the dirt to help lower pH and overall it should be lower maintenance in the long run. I think that this would work, my only concern is being clumsy and punching holes in the cap with driftwood or something.


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## Diana (Jan 14, 2010)

For more fish, are Farlowellas from the Orinoco? I know they are SA. 
Otherwise, perhaps one of the Peckoltias (wood eating Loricariads) Some have really nice markings, and are not too big for this tank (quite a few may reach 3-4")

I would be cautious about combining Cories with Rams. 
Cories do not seem to understand about the territory that Rams claim, and may end up hurt or killed if the Rams are particularly territorial.


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## brwagur (Sep 26, 2015)

Diana said:


> For more fish, are Farlowellas from the Orinoco? I know they are SA.
> Otherwise, perhaps one of the Peckoltias (wood eating Loricariads) Some have really nice markings, and are not too big for this tank (quite a few may reach 3-4")
> 
> I would be cautious about combining Cories with Rams.
> Cories do not seem to understand about the territory that Rams claim, and may end up hurt or killed if the Rams are particularly territorial.


According to PlanetCatfish, Farlowella are native to the Orinoco! That would be a super neat addition!

One of the reasons I wanted Cories was that I wanted something that would forage through the leaf litter and be adorable, is there anything that would be a better replacement? or am I better off having the Rams as the only bottom feeder?


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## Diana (Jan 14, 2010)

I would actually select Cories and skip the Rams! But that is just me. 
If you want the Rams, then you could try the Cories, but be ready to remove them if the Rams get too pushy (if they start cleaning off their nest-rock, watch very carefully.


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## brwagur (Sep 26, 2015)

Diana said:


> I would actually select Cories and skip the Rams! But that is just me.
> If you want the Rams, then you could try the Cories, but be ready to remove them if the Rams get too pushy (if they start cleaning off their nest-rock, watch very carefully.


I was thinking about Rams because I wanted a centerpiece fish of some kind, something with a bit more flash and personality than a school of tetras. Given the biotope I though cichlids would be the best option. There are some other cichlids from the same habitat but they are generally too big and too aggressive. Would there be a better centerpiece fish or should I just do away with that idea all together?

EDIT: After doing some research, what about Dicrossus filamentosus or an Apistogramma from the habitat such as A. hoignei? My only concern is choosing a species that's impossible to find, as I'm having an issue trying to find some specific Betta species for my Thai tank and it's driving me insane!


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## sohankpatel (Jul 10, 2015)

brwagur said:


> I was thinking about Rams because I wanted a centerpiece fish of some kind, something with a bit more flash and personality than a school of tetras. Given the biotope I though cichlids would be the best option. There are some other cichlids from the same habitat but they are generally too big and too aggressive. Would there be a better centerpiece fish or should I just do away with that idea all together?
> 
> EDIT: After doing some research, what about Dicrossus filamentosus or an Apistogramma from the habitat such as A. hoignei? My only concern is choosing a species that's impossible to find, as I'm having an issue trying to find some specific Betta species for my Thai tank and it's driving me insane!


I was gonna say a kribensis, but i just remembered that they are from the congo river. Mine does fine with tetras, a dwarf gourami, cories and a couple flagfish. He does get a bit nasty around feeding time though.


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## Argus (May 22, 2013)

brwagur said:


> According to a couple of sources I looked at, I though Echinodorus bleheri required between low and medium light :/
> 
> Do you have any suggestions for plants that would fit the biotope? I don't want the tank to be terribly heavily planted but I do want some vegetation.


The _Encyclopedia of Aquarium Plants_ by Peter Hiscock lists bleheri as a bright light plant. 

I think the problem is that most plants from the Orinoco are bright-light plants. I couldn't find any low-light plants from that area.


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## brwagur (Sep 26, 2015)

Dang, I might have to fudge the biotope a little bit then as far as plants are concerned, because I really want to have some broadleaved plants in there :/ Honestly, though, if the plants will tolerate moderately low lighting (maybe around 2 WPG, even though that's a terrible rule of thumb) then that's fine, I don't need them to grow like crazy. What about spathiphyllum? I've found some articles about the aquatic vegetation of the upper Orinoco but they were all behind pay walls


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## Argus (May 22, 2013)

I think you should switch from trying to create an Orinoco biotope to just being inspired by the Rio Orinoco. Mopani driftwood is from Africa, so that isn't true to the Orinoco already. Look for low-light plants that resemble Orinoco plants, but don't worry about where they are actually from.


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## brwagur (Sep 26, 2015)

I suppose that's reasonable, but I would still want to stick to plants from South America.


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## Argus (May 22, 2013)

Bacopa caroliniana is a low-light plant from Central America. Most low-light plants I'm aware of are from Africa or Asia.


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## brwagur (Sep 26, 2015)

Hey, quick update because I actually decided to do this! Albeit with higher light (eventually) and a loser "biotope-ish" interpretation of the scape.

I've got a 50 gallon tank filled and cycling, substrate is sand over a mixture of topsoil and peat. I'm trying to emulate what I'd imagine a backwater/shallow area of the river to look like. The only plants in right now are some dwarf water lettuce and some jungle vals around the heater and filter intake.

As soon as I have the extra money (hopefully in the next month or so) I plan on getting the Finnex Planted 24/7

A couple of questions, still:

-Since the tank is only 18" deep, are there any sword varieties that will give me some nice volume without taking over the tank?

-My actual stocking is still up in the air, are there any larger cichlids from the region that could work in community tank this size? I was thinking on a pair of Festivum but I'm also thinking about sticking with just dwarf cichlids.


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## brwagur (Sep 26, 2015)

This is the current hardscape and plant layout.










The fish are just some guppies and mollies I'm using to cycle the tank.

I'm still trying to find some wood to put on the right side of the tank.

The only plants so far are the vallisneria there on the left, a water lily in front of that, and the floating water lettuce. Any advice on what other plants to get and where to put them? I'm planning on getting an echinodorus of stone kind and putting it in the rear right corner, other than that I'm not sure.


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## longgonedaddy (Dec 9, 2012)

brwagur said:


> -Since the tank is only 18" deep, are there any sword varieties that will give me some nice volume without taking over the tank.


Kleiner prinz and kleiner bar.


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## brwagur (Sep 26, 2015)

Thanks for the suggestions. I've already planted a regular Echinodorus grisebachii (amazonicus) in the rear right corner, which will probably get huge, but I might use klieiner prinz for a midground plant once I get more hardscape in because it's pretty gorgeous. I've also got a really sad looking echinodorus parviflorus that I rescued from Petco but I'm not sure if it's going to make it. I've also put some little purple cabomba cuttings in the back but I'm sure they won't do anything until I get my new light.


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