38-gallon Amazon River themed aquarium

jalora

jalora

New Fish
#1
May 4, 2007
8
0
0
Humboldt, CA
#1
I've had fish tanks off and on for years; usually little 10 or 20 gallon set-ups with phlorescent rocks and goldfish. This is my first attempt at setting up an aquarium the right way. I'm even going to try to stick to theme-appropriate species and plants.

Here's what we've got so far:



That's an empty tank with 60 pounds of CaribSea Tahitian Moon sand. It took forever for the water to clear, even after I rinsed the substrate about thirty times. I've got some nice hunks of driftwood soaking in a bucket, and I'm on the lookout for cool rocks.

If anyone has any suggestions for fish, let her fly. Remember, I'm trying to stick with an Amazon/South American theme.

Also: Anybody have a tip for taking photos of the tank? I've got a great digital camera, but that blurry, way too blue snap was the best I could make.
 

Katie217

Katie217

Superstar Fish
#2
Jul 15, 2006
2,494
5
0
Florida
#2
I have a Gold Severum in my 33gal, and one would look great in there :)
Allthough people say they will get to large...I still did it and I have the happiest Severum :)

If not, I'd do Angels personally, or some other "tall bodied" cichlid
 

burtoncb47

burtoncb47

Large Fish
#3
Nov 12, 2006
245
0
0
Southern CA
#3
ya like katie said a taller fish ....i also have 2 severums a gold and green i like my green better and think he would look great in an amazon themed tank....but the gold looks really good to like katie said...i would say discus but 38 is a tad bit small for them lol
 

TheFighterFish

TheFighterFish

Large Fish
#5
Feb 10, 2006
854
2
0
Bay Area, CA
#5
A little comment for a cool thread,

I'd scratch the silver dollar idea. They're relatively medium sized fish that school. In 38, it might take up all the space.

I like the angel idea. I'm not going to advise you as to how many angel you can keep (I don't know myself), but they would look great with smaller fish around them.

So these smaller fish, I can imagine rummynose tetras. Awesome little fish that act also as an indicator of water quality. Can you get any cooler than that?

Some other small fish you might want to take a look at are harlequin rasbora and fancy guppies.

Quick question. Why'd you pick the black sand?

Good luck with your ventures and keep us posted with pictures.
 

Pure

Pure

Elite Fish
#6
Nov 1, 2005
3,216
7
0
Jacksonville, FL
#6
Black sand makes the fish's colors stand out better, to the severum lovers. Severums are not SA fish, and just because your sev in a 33 is "happy" please don't suggest that anyone else should be stunting their fish, I can assure you if your's has been in that tank for any amount of time it is stunted.

Keep up the rock and wood look, one thing I find cool is grape vine, it resembles a lot of the roots that these fish in SA live in for protection. It does eventually rot, but mines doing good after one year, plecos also seem to love eating it.

As for fish....well study study study, find out what grabs your attention the most. I will offer my own powers of persuasion and say that no SA tank is complete without a plec. :D

PS you will want to soak the grape vine for at least a week, That stuff smells funky when being soaked, I even added extra carbon to the tank to help remove the smell. It will also need to be attached to slate as it doesn't like to sink. Make sure you use "deck screws" as all others will rust.

HTH
 

Fuzz16

Fuzz16

Superstar Fish
#7
Oct 20, 2006
1,918
3
0
Wellsville, KS
#7
angels are good ideas, and a couple angelfish with maybe a rummynose school, keeping in mind the angels might go for them and maybe eat them, maybe a livebearer to add darts of color and for the bottom corys or loaches, the smaller ones that is :)

were you thinking about trying plants as well?
 

CAPSLOCK

CAPSLOCK

Elite Fish
#8
Jul 19, 2004
3,682
33
48
39
Cape Cod
#8
Angels, cories (and/or a littler pleco), most types of tetra... would fit in the Amazon scheme. I think hatchets are Amazonian too (not sure). I'm not sure about loaches, but I think most of them are asian or some such.
 

VirgoWolf

VirgoWolf

Superstar Fish
#9
Feb 16, 2006
1,933
4
0
Michigan
#9
I'm with Pure, DEFINITLy needs a pleco. I'd say 1-2 angels, 1 smalish pleco, possibly a pair of rams or apistos, and 1 school of tetras of your choice.

With tetras, the hardest thing to do is pick only 1. In tanks this small, one larger school is much more impressive than a few tiny little schools, the fish seem happier, and with angels in the tank, they should school pretty tightly.
 

C

Cichlid-Man

MFT Staff
#10
Jul 9, 2003
8,866
14
38
38
Columbia, SC
www.youtube.com
#10
Severums are a SA fish Pure. ;) But agreed, skip the severum, they get to big.

Theres many pluses to an angel tank. They are pretty easy to care for, they are easy to get a hold of, and can be put into more of a community setting.

I'm thinking a couple angels with a school of a tetra, and a few cories for the bottem. Neon Tetras are an angel's natural prey, so i'd look for something a bit larger and durable then that.
 

James From Cali

James From Cali

Superstar Fish
#11
Aug 25, 2006
1,752
7
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Sacramento, California
profile.myspace.com
#11
Cichlid-Man said:
Neon Tetras are an angel's natural prey, so i'd look for something a bit larger and durable then that.
Click to expand...
Very true. Walmart kept them together and lets just say that the school was out of session.

I think with 2 Angels, Rubberlip Pleco, Black or White Skirt Tetras, and maybe 3 or 4 cories you should be fine for a Amazon Biotope. I would get some Brazilian Pennywort, Amazon Swords, Anacharis, HC, Bacopa Monnieri, Cambomba will be good plant choices.
 

Dan Steveo

Dan Steveo

Large Fish
#14
Apr 1, 2006
707
0
0
33
South England UK
#14
true comments. i happen to be a pleco addict. the bristlenose pleco is an SA plec i believe and it doesnt get to big. perfect for a 38. the idea of angels is good. i personally dont like them but theyere not too bad. they have evolved to living in reeds hence the laterally compressed body. so some reeds would look good. be sure to make the fish happy as well as yourself.

good luck with the tank and good plans= great success.
 

Dan Steveo

Dan Steveo

Large Fish
#15
Apr 1, 2006
707
0
0
33
South England UK
#15
James From Cali said:
IMO Cardinals are alot weaker. Usually because they are wild Caught. If you get Cardinals make sure they Captive Bred.
Click to expand...
the cardinals are better looking IMO and they are weaker. but they can still look good. im giving my 6 cardinals to my mum because im going for guppys...only a few (soon to be hundreds...lol maybe ill cut of his..... lol joking i could never harm a fish). well im going for a more advanced fishkeeping idea with compatibility and looks and cardinals just arent doing that for me....
 

C

Cichlid-Man

MFT Staff
#16
Jul 9, 2003
8,866
14
38
38
Columbia, SC
www.youtube.com
#16
James From Cali said:
IMO Cardinals are alot weaker. Usually because they are wild Caught. If you get Cardinals make sure they Captive Bred.
Click to expand...
Being wild makes them stronger! Like discus, the Wild has already culled out the weak ones. Thank god for natural selection.

Not sure on how your LFS keeps your cards but Cardinals are MUCH hardier then Neons for sure.
 

MOsborne05

MOsborne05

Superstar Fish
#17
Oct 3, 2005
1,584
3
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Gibsonburg, OH
#17
I agree with the angelfish idea, but I would suggest 2 or 3 instead of 1. I had one in my 38 gallon tank and he always seemed lonely without any other angels. You could also do a pair of apistos, tetras, pencilfish, zebra loaches or a fancy plec :)
 

big54bob

big54bob

Superstar Fish
#18
Dec 20, 2006
1,486
6
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On my office chair playing Runescape
#18
Well why not get a pair of kribs???? IMO just a SA tank pretty much sucks. My tank is an interresting because i have fish all over the world. A guppy and swordtail from CA plus white cloulds from asia and cories and otos from the amazon makes my tank pretty much Balla.
 

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