I made the purchase. I should 7 petricola on the way for Tuesday or Wednesday delivery. I'm pretty stoked.
Catfish for 30-gallon riparium
- Thread starter hydrophyte
- Start date
I have been pondering this setup some more. One variable that I have wondered about is additional fish selection. A few other ideas came to mind for fish to swim around in the mid-level/top-level of the tank. I wondered about rainbows, or West African tetras or some kind of barb. The best solution was right under my nose. I have colonies of several different livebearer species that originated from fish that I collected in Jalisco, Mexico during two different trips in 2007 and 2008. These are really great fish, but I have had them in these colony tanks for so long that I don't really think of them as display fish. However, they have beautiful appearances. I am likely to use this one, Poecilia chica as the main shoaling fish in addition to the group of S. petricola.
What a gorgeous fish! It doesn't have super bright colors, but it has that turquoise iridescence on its flanks as well as patches of metallic gold. The breeding males develop more vibrant turquoise coloration as well as dark black on their fin margins. I got that picture above at the same location where I collected beginnings of my colony in the Río Purificación near the town of La Huerta. I currently have about 40 of these--most are fry--in a 40 breeder. I think that I will pick out a group of about a dozen medium-sized individuals to form the school in this new tank.
This one, Poecilia butleri, is a second possibility, although I think that I am more inclined to use the P. chica.
P. butleri is also an appealing fish, but it is somewhat less colorful than P. chica. They grow larger, to about 4" long and have little flecks of iridescence of different colors. I shot that picture at an access point on the Río Ayquila near the town of Aguacate, although I collected my colony fish at another point further upstream.
What a gorgeous fish! It doesn't have super bright colors, but it has that turquoise iridescence on its flanks as well as patches of metallic gold. The breeding males develop more vibrant turquoise coloration as well as dark black on their fin margins. I got that picture above at the same location where I collected beginnings of my colony in the Río Purificación near the town of La Huerta. I currently have about 40 of these--most are fry--in a 40 breeder. I think that I will pick out a group of about a dozen medium-sized individuals to form the school in this new tank.
This one, Poecilia butleri, is a second possibility, although I think that I am more inclined to use the P. chica.
P. butleri is also an appealing fish, but it is somewhat less colorful than P. chica. They grow larger, to about 4" long and have little flecks of iridescence of different colors. I shot that picture at an access point on the Río Ayquila near the town of Aguacate, although I collected my colony fish at another point further upstream.
I made some room for the fish and for grow out of the plants that I will use in this setup. This setup is temporary, but it should be good enough while I pull together the tank, cabinet and other items for the more permanent display. This is an Aqueon 50-gallon tank.
While I get everything going in here I'll get the stand, tank and other stuff ready for the more permanent display. I plan to use a 40 breeder, which has the same footprint as the 50 (36" X 18"), but is two inches shorter, with the top plastic rim removed. Such a tank should be strong enough to hold water so long as I do not fill it all the way to the top.
While I get everything going in here I'll get the stand, tank and other stuff ready for the more permanent display. I plan to use a 40 breeder, which has the same footprint as the 50 (36" X 18"), but is two inches shorter, with the top plastic rim removed. Such a tank should be strong enough to hold water so long as I do not fill it all the way to the top.
I got a few more things into the tank the night before, and a few pictures.
The floating bag contains the group of P. chica. I don't know if I will keep these fish in there long-term, but I am going to try them out for a while and see how they look. I also introduced some stones and gravels. I have some more comments about those for later.
The floating bag contains the group of P. chica. I don't know if I will keep these fish in there long-term, but I am going to try them out for a while and see how they look. I also introduced some stones and gravels. I have some more comments about those for later.
