Joined: Jan 25, 2005 Posts: 1557 Location: Chennai
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Posted: Mon Jan 03, 2011 9:46 am Post subject: Biotope- Concept and implementation!
I prefer calling them "Theme" tanks rather than Biotopes A biotope would require very specific water temperature, water movement and water chemistry, I guess
Cheers
I prefer calling them "Theme" tanks rather than Biotopes A biotope would require very specific water temperature, water movement and water chemistry, I guess
Cheers
Lawrence, about specific water temperature, movement and water chemistry.
All Biotopes will not need fiddling with all the three parameters and most importantly your geographical location plays a significant part.
Eg:
For the Gangamoola biotope,
1) I have a very strong flow. The rocks and power head act in directing the flow, creating strong currents and dead spots.
2) The Bangalore temperature keeps the water cool, which is another necessity of streams flowing in the Ghats. But mind, I have come across streams with thriving fish populations which was very warm, might be in excess of 35 degrees.
3) Coming to water Chemistry. You got me there. What might be the significant water chemistry difference between the different water bodies flowing through the Ghats and Deccan plateau? Any data? In its absence my opinion comes into play, and it says not much
But the same conditions above might not hold good for say someone from Europe, or the Americas or even northern India. For them to set up the Gangamoola Biotope they might have to significantly alter their water parameters.
So you get the Idea. A Biotope need not be very high tech with all the parameters fiddled, to be considered one.
Joined: Jan 25, 2005 Posts: 2927 Location: Bangalore
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Posted: Mon Jan 03, 2011 11:28 am Post subject: Re: Biotope tank
No problem, Lawrence.
This aquarium hobby is very subjective and individualistic
Biotope: Collected from a specific spot in a specific water body.
Habitat: Collected from various spots in the same water body.
Theme: Collected from various waterbody of a specific region. e.g: Western Ghats, India, Africa etc.
Joined: Aug 10, 2004 Posts: 881 Location: New Delhi-India
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Posted: Mon Jan 03, 2011 12:51 pm Post subject: Re: Biotope tank
Hi Avik,
A biotope tank should in all possibility try and reflect the actual conditions found in Nature in that Biotope.
So if you are planning a Biotope Tank for Sundarbans please try and get these basic facts and then plan the set-up. ( Assuming that the Fishes are all Wild Caught and that you have to undertake a Habitat Exploration and Study trip to measure these parameters)
1. Water Parameter -pH, Conductivity etc.
2. Brackish ?
3. Flow of Water ? - River - Lake
4. Substrate ?
5. Water Temperature ?
6. Air temperature ?
7. Water Plants ?
8. Other elements like Wood, Rocks, Algae (aufwuchs) etc.
9. Food Elements for the Fish ? Food cycle ?
Probably next would be to decide the fish that you may want to keep and numbers and special food requirements if any...
Once you have these basic facts then depending on the tank size the biotope can be planned and then made.
Please also understand as these are wild caught fishes there should be proper planned method to domesticate them including quarantine, de-worming etc etc.
Probably the biggest challenge is the Food and the Water Parameter aspect ...
Joined: Oct 28, 2004 Posts: 2450 Location: Salem, TN
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Posted: Mon Jan 03, 2011 9:44 pm Post subject: Re: Biotope tank
The most basic mistake most people do is try going too scientific and hence ending up underestimating the smart little fish that can adapt far better than what we can think of. We often talk about all sci-fi parameters but one basic mistake is, we assume that parameters are fixed in the wild.
Let me give a little example. In Kumaradhara, there was a rivulet with pebbles where water flow was almost washing my feet away and a few meters from it was a stagnant pool with accumulated leaves pumping in high doses of hydrogen sulphide and ahead of it was a sandy substrate with open waters and a few mts ahead was a total rocky rivulet again with fair enough flow. The stagnant water was a scorching 32C and the deeper parts were as low as 26 at the same time. I came across a school of canarensis that happily cruised through all of the above. Now how does one explain that?
When it comes to decor a fish for eg a Channa doesn't care if its a flower pot or a pvc pipe or piled up rocks or a drift wood. All it needs is a place to hide.
So the basic idea behind a biotope tank is purely for our sake. We find something in the wild and we go on replicating it. The little fish cares nothing about it until it gets what it can adapt with. I dont see how a fish could be happy when one replicates an exact xerox copy of a biotope and over time gets lazy on feeding and/or waterchanges.
The bottomline is, the setup/scaping is all for our eyes and show offs. All that the little fish need is, something in the range of what it can adapt with and what it has evolved for.
The bottomline is, the setup/scaping is all for our eyes and show offs. All that the little fish need is, something in the range of what it can adapt with and what it has evolved for.
Joined: Jun 29, 2003 Posts: 4263 Location: Chennai
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Posted: Mon Jan 03, 2011 11:14 pm Post subject: Re: Biotope tank
I differ with the Skirt Chaser. While you might not need to exactly match the biotope from which they come from, doing so would often give insights into how they behave in the wild.
If you want to see the sand sifting behavior of Earth Eaters, wouldn't you want to give them the fine sand to see their sifting behavior? While this doesn't matter for fishes which have been tank bred for long, it does matter quite a bit to Wild caught fishes which need specific requirements to be met to look their best.
If you want to see the sand sifting behavior of Earth Eaters, wouldn't you want to give them the fine sand to see their sifting behavior? While this doesn't matter for fishes which have been tank bred for long, it does matter quite a bit to Wild caught fishes which need specific requirements to be met to look their best.
Exactly my point Beetra when I said, giving them what they are evolved to. My loach tank has nothing but fine sand with some rocks/boulders here and there and half a dozen Nemacheilus settling with their micro-territories around a single rock burrowing like rabbits. Just to differ on the point that most of us assume parameters are static in the wild.
Posted: Tue Jan 04, 2011 12:13 am Post subject: Re: Biotope tank
For setting up a biotope tank you need to create similar conditions in which the fish is found in the wild. Hardscape, flora, fauna and water parameters included. You can gauge the water parameter of the collection spot and try to recreate it in your aquaria. Now a days people have started reading the internet, and have some prior experience of growing common plants in their tanks and are becoming aware of topics like biotope and making tanks with what and what not and naming it a biotope tank
Posted: Wed Jan 05, 2011 2:55 am Post subject: Re: Biotope tank
Hi "biotope" guys...
First of all a happy and healthy good year with lots of biotopes...
Now I have the feeling after browsing through this thread that some of you really do not understand the concept of a biotope, nor the meaning or the significaton of the word "Biotope", nor "Habitat", and "theme" could also better as demonstrated here to be interpreted just as a "name", simply because no one could ever do an
"African theme" (wherer 4000 differnet species live and almost everyone in a different niche); nor an
"Amazon theme" (where 6000 different species live and each one in a distinct environment); etc.
And I will not go here into what a real Biotope is or a Habitat is, I hve given over 50 lectures and seminars about this last year, and can give you one in India maybe some time this year. But the fact is, that it is by large mis-understood.
And just a few points:
- a biotope should have the assembalage of fishes which live together, and the decor be exactly (or very similar) for each one of the species living in that particular biotope. That is: The biotope must consist of the ground of one of its species, the rock(size) of the other, the correct root for the thrid, the (floating)plant for the fourth, shade portion for the fifth, etc., and
- even tank breed fish species should be in the correct biotope as it is still in their gene, even if F10 or more (I experienced this hundreds of times), it is not that a tank breed does not know anymore where it comes from - except mutants (ie Parrot cichlids, cripled lifebeareres, or gouramies, etc.)
The pictures I have seen of the scats and archer fiehs is a nice biotope, and a correct one, from what I saw.
You can see on my website several aquariums I decorated according to the biotope with the correct assembalage of fishes and the exact decor material for each. And you can see on the videos, that in most aquariums the fishes started to spawn within the same day of decoration... In the biotope with all the other species around of them.... because they felt "at home".
thank you Heiko Bleher for the explanation, you are an inspiration to people like us.
I just saw Heiko bleher's reply. He is definitely an inspiration. Let me go through his website and his definition of Biotopes, habitats and themes. As also his opinion of us not understanding a biotope needs to be verified, before being accepted as the truth!
This might take some time to refute him, since I am at work and I do not have the necessary material with me to post here.
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A biotope would require very specific water temperature, water movement and water chemistry, I guess
...I will start calling my theme tanks Biotopes now 
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