I'm fairly new to the aquarium hobby (since october last year), but I
quickly fell in love with the rainbowfish species.
I currently have M. boesemani, M. trifasciata and M. praecox. I also
have some Tateurndina occelicauda.
My tank is a heavily planted 240 liters (63 gallons) aquarium. And
even though I really love my current fishes, I'm thinking about
converting it to a true biotope for the Tateurndina occelicauda. At
the moment it's a mixed tank. I'm not sure it's feasible, but I want
to try. Therefor, I'm trying to gather as much information as
possible.
It is my understanding, that the P. connieae is found in the same
river as T. occelicauda. Am I correct? Futhermore, I have not found
any information on other possible tankmates. Perhaps some kind of
fresh water shrimps?
As for vegetation, I'm having an even harder time to find which plants
are found in the rivers near Popondetta. Does anyone have a clue?
Anyway, even when I find all this information, there will still be
some obstacles to overcome.
1. Are P. connieae available in Belgium (where I live)?
2. Are the plants I'd require available?
3. Will I find a nice new home for my other fish?
Why the change? Well, lately, I'm getting the feeling that the fish I
have are too big for my tank. All literature and advice I found said
my tank is big enough, but as I watch them grow, I feel like they
deserve more room. Since getting a bigger aquarium is no option for
me, I'm thinking of getting smaller fish.
For a fairly recent photo of my tank (july 2005), you can click this
link:
http://www.rainbowfish.info/public_images/04072005-1.jpg
Also an additional question. I'm having problems keeping my nitrate
levels low. This is influencing the health of my RBF (cotton-mouth,
etc.). I do not over-feed and do weekly water changes of 40L. Some
people suggest that I clean my filter sponges, but I'm afraid to do
that due to possible NO2 increases. Any suggestions?
I'll stop for now, because this is becoming quite a lot story ^_^.
Thanks for taking the time to read and respond.
Regards,
Gunther
PS: Would anyone be interested in providing me with pictures of their
RBF? I'm working on a website (currently only in Dutch though), and
still need photos for most RBF.
