# W. African Biotope?



## Raul-7 (Feb 4, 2004)

I'm going to convert my 50g into a West African Biotope...I have a list of plants and fish that I will use, someone correct me if I'm wrong.
*Plants-*
Eleocharis parvula?
Bolbitis heudelotii
Anubias hastifolia
Anubias barteri v angustifolia
Anubias heterphylla
Anubias barteri v. 'Nana'
Anubias barteri v. 'Coffeefolia'

*Animals-*
Wild Kribs (pair)
7-8 Red Eye Target OR 5 Congo Tetras
African Butterfly (pair)?
1 Upside Down Catfish

Are there any shrimp that come from that area? If I go with the Congo Tetras would there be a high risk of plant damage?


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## tsunami (Jan 24, 2004)

If you go with congo tetras, you should see no plants damage with the types of plants you have chosen. That said, I don't know if Eleocharis parvulus would occur in West Africa, and it if did occur, would it exist in the type of biotope you are trying to recreate?

Are you trying to recreate a fast flowing stream? A shaded river bank in a slow flowing river? What area do you particularly want to recreate?

Here are some useful links and information:

Countries where each Anubias sp is found:

A. afzelii----------------------Senegal, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Mali
A. barteri, var. barteri--------SE Nigeria, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea
A. barteri, var. angustifolia--Guinea, Liberia, Gold Coast?, Cameroon
A. barteri, var. Caladiifolia---SE Nigeria, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea
A. barteri, var. nana-----------Cameroon
A. gilletii---------------------Nigeria, Cameroon, Gaboon, Congo, Zaire
A. gracilis---------------------Guinea, Sierra Leone
A. hastifolia-------------------Ghana, Togo(?), Nigeria, Cameroon, Zaire
A. heterophylla---------------Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Gaboon, Congo, Angola, Zaire.
A. pynaertii--------------------Cameroon, Gaboon, Congo, Zaire

Good biotope site:
http://www.mongabay.com/fish/biotope.htm

Carlos


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## Raul-7 (Feb 4, 2004)

Thanks Carlos, I did check out mongabay before I posted...I'm trying to recreate a West African River. I'm going to use an easy substrate this time, Laterite/Terralit covered with Play Sand; what do you think? Is the Upside Down Catfish a good choice?


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## tsunami (Jan 24, 2004)

I don't know if the laterite/terralit will really be necessary. West African biotope tanks don't tend to be very heavily planted. Why not just add Flourish tabs under target areas that will have plants.

The shrimp I know of that are found in West Africa are both relatives of the Singapore wood shrimp:

Atya camaruensis
Atya gabonensis

Some inspiration... a West African biotope by Nanne de Vos:










Carlos


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## Raul-7 (Feb 4, 2004)

I have a question..should a I get a pair of wild Kribs, or just have one of the parents wild? I want to have the best colors come out, as I am noticing most Kribs today aren't that colorful...could I "play with the boundries" and add a Red Tiger Lotus?


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## Phil Edwards (Jan 22, 2004)

Raul,

If I were doing that tank and going for accuracy, I'd get one species of Anubias, Bolbitis, and a Crinum or two. If you can get your hands on it, Tetra Press' "Dwarf Cichlids of West Africa" is the #1 resource for a biotope like this. There are some wonderful pictures of wild habitats and pretty detailed fish info as well. 

As far as growth habits of the plants, anubias is actually a fairly agressive plant and tends to take over entire rocks and logs if given the chance. I've seen some beautiful pictures of rocks with complete coverage from Anubias around the top with bolbitis at the water line. The two compliment eachother very well in aquarium culture as well. As far as the Crinum go, from what I've seen they tend to grow out farther in the water, away from the banks, where the flow's the best. 

If I were doing that tank, I'd set it up with a bank of rocks and wood on one side with Anubias and Bolbitis descending into the water like the picture of Nanne de Vos' tank. The other side would be gravel and rocks with a Crinum or two in the "main current" of the stream. If given the chance, it'll send up some gorgeous flower stalks too.

That's just my opinion, I could be wrong. 

Best,
Phil


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## Raul-7 (Feb 4, 2004)

Thank's Phil for the reply, if there's one Anubias I love it's got to be A. ‘Coffeefolia’..so I'll stick with that, maybe a little A.nana in the foreground; or no? Wild Kribs or no? But to tell you the truth, I'm going to save my 50g for something better, I'll probably end up using a 37g...


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## Phil Edwards (Jan 22, 2004)

I'd stick with the one species of Anubias and get domestic Kribs unless the wilds are the same price.


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