Got a 10g to play with.
- Thread starter Philosophos
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pipe dreams for sure, well not to bad so to say i have a contact person in africa he is pretty cool and a big timer in african cichlids and actually is what he keeps as well as discus a good friend of mine and has said to me several times when i can come to visit he will put me up in his spare bedroom when i do get the chance to visit that would be cool and i have a few friends here in our local fish club who shows an interest in going as well just have to get the money together is all, but africa is unstable in some regions thou with me in law enforcement i would feel naked without my firearm and defenseless, i dont trust my life in the hands of another country aye..
No. the pics I saw were pretty barren and just had some sticks along a semi-beachlike shoreline of what looked like dirt and small gravel. Brings up a good point though. I can walk along the shoreline at a few lakes around here and spend 1/4 miles strolling along shallow sloping sand and small gravel, and then just come up against a stretch that is all stoney from boulders down to fist sized rocks that goes for the next 1/4 to 1 mile. When the water is down, some swap out and become the opposite at the new shoreline, but overall it's the same all the way around the lake except the inlet where it is pretty much no deeper than 6 foot when the lake is full. There is is all small gravel or mud depending on the time of year. I wonder if these fish enhabit both types of terrain, or just one and if just one, which? Does that lake rise and fall like many north American lakes with the season? Without a few different shots of these fish in their native habitat(s) it's pretty impossible to set up such a truly and completely accurate biotope. Best of luck finding such pics though.
Julidochromis are rock dwelling fish, who need the outcroppings in order to spawn. Also a thin carpet of biofilm covers the rock and allow cichlids to live on a 100% herbivorous diet.
Here's data from an ecological survey of the lake's shorelines...most are rocky:
J. transcriptus have been found in Uvira, Congo (on the edge of the rocky and sand shoreline) and Gombe, Tanzania (just north of Kigoma, in the rocky area). Even in sandy shoreline areas Brichard noted that some had rock piles underneath the waterline, often stretching for miles.
Deep lakes such as Lake Tanganyika don't experience any seasonal turnovers, also because in the tropics there really are no seasons. Water in the lower depths are anoxic (without O2)
Here's data from an ecological survey of the lake's shorelines...most are rocky:
ftp://ftp.fao.org/fi/ltr/TD10.PDF
J. transcriptus have been found in Uvira, Congo (on the edge of the rocky and sand shoreline) and Gombe, Tanzania (just north of Kigoma, in the rocky area). Even in sandy shoreline areas Brichard noted that some had rock piles underneath the waterline, often stretching for miles.
Deep lakes such as Lake Tanganyika don't experience any seasonal turnovers, also because in the tropics there really are no seasons. Water in the lower depths are anoxic (without O2)
Philo I completely forgot about these..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wonYRF4e4sI&NR=1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6X_KD...eature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wqDVz...eature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aUykCGDyMFs&NR=1
an awesome documentary that hopefully gives you some ideas!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wonYRF4e4sI&NR=1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6X_KD...eature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wqDVz...eature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aUykCGDyMFs&NR=1
an awesome documentary that hopefully gives you some ideas!
Interesting thread...wish I could add something of real value. Most Tang tanks I have seen seem to have walls of craggy rock, creating outcroppings and hidey holes, reaching all the way to the surface. The substrate is usually sandy and strewn with pebbles.
I think getting something pleasing to your eye is the best bet. If you can find an underwater pic of an area you like, just try to mimic it.
I think getting something pleasing to your eye is the best bet. If you can find an underwater pic of an area you like, just try to mimic it.
Wow, this thread has taken off a bit since last night... I"m kind of surprised :thm:
And in advance, sorry for the big wall o' text. I don't know a better way to reply without OCD quoting.
Mindcrime, unfortunately I've lost my broad geological survey of the faults and littoral zone. I'm kind of crying a little inside... I NEEDED that map >.< The area around Kigoma bay just south of the park is VERY sandy, but all of this seems to turn in to a big rock wall once you get under the surge along the shores of Gombe national park. Since I don't have the map, the best I can do is direct you to:
"(1)John D. R. Bayona "Species Composition and Some Observations on the Littoral Fishes based on Bech-Seining in the Kigoma Region, Eastern Coast of Lake Tanganyika"(http://www.africa.kyoto-u.ac.jp/kiroku/asm_normal/abstracts/pdf/ASM%20%20Vol.12%20No.2%201991/John%20.%20D.%20R.%20BAYONA..pdf)"
His surveying area indicates rocky substrate at depths where he's dragging up Julidochromis sp. in the area of the park. The juli's seem to be pretty rock exclusive from what I've read... I'm guessing the rock surrounded by sand in the area is why J. Transcriptus "gombi" evolved in to its own variation.
Pittbull, if you come across that book, let me know. Even the title would be great; I can try to track it down. J. Transcriptus "gombi" definitely does the boulder thing from what I've got nailed down. I'm kind of toying with the concept of showing a transitional between boulder and sand, either just above or below the rock. The concept is that I can toss in some good buffering substrate, and at the same time get the opportunity to figure out another part of the lake. Whether I can do this is really going to depend on the depth that the rock begins/ends. And please do go on that fish and dive trip, maybe bring me back a few juvie's of the sp.
Don't worry about the locals with ak-47's, they're just for the really big flies.
Jpappy, "SHORELINE CLASSIFICATION OF LAKE TANGANYIKA BASED ON
THE RESULTS OF AN AERIAL FRAME SURVEY" is extremely handy. The documentary you linked is one I've watched just a couple days ago for the first time. I'm going to be picking it apart and trying to identify various types of fish shown to try and place where each shot is taken. I'm hoping something rocky will have a couple fish together that could only be placed to Gombe. Thank you for posting both; they're excellent resources. Unfortunately, the links you gave for J. Transcriptus being on the west side were a little off. The Gombi variety sits off Gombe national park; on the east side, though of course J Transcriptus as a whole are in a couple places around the lake. The 2nd link scares me... it has bent time and space to launch Tanzania and Burundi over to the west side of the lake, squarely on top of the DRC :eek3:
rbishop, a week or two ago I didn't know much about lake TK either. I knew that it was rocky in some places, sandy in others, some basics about the fish, water parameters, and that's about it. A few days of obsessing goes a long way. In my case, I want to precisely reproduce the area, and I think it can be done at the cost of some time spent reading and examining. Once I've got all the little bits nailed down of what is, I can try to gather the best elements (with some substitutes probably) to reproduce it. After that, then I can have the fun of idealizing it in to something artistic. This is what I love about aquaria; blending science and art.
And in advance, sorry for the big wall o' text. I don't know a better way to reply without OCD quoting.
Mindcrime, unfortunately I've lost my broad geological survey of the faults and littoral zone. I'm kind of crying a little inside... I NEEDED that map >.< The area around Kigoma bay just south of the park is VERY sandy, but all of this seems to turn in to a big rock wall once you get under the surge along the shores of Gombe national park. Since I don't have the map, the best I can do is direct you to:
"(1)John D. R. Bayona "Species Composition and Some Observations on the Littoral Fishes based on Bech-Seining in the Kigoma Region, Eastern Coast of Lake Tanganyika"(http://www.africa.kyoto-u.ac.jp/kiroku/asm_normal/abstracts/pdf/ASM%20%20Vol.12%20No.2%201991/John%20.%20D.%20R.%20BAYONA..pdf)"
His surveying area indicates rocky substrate at depths where he's dragging up Julidochromis sp. in the area of the park. The juli's seem to be pretty rock exclusive from what I've read... I'm guessing the rock surrounded by sand in the area is why J. Transcriptus "gombi" evolved in to its own variation.
Pittbull, if you come across that book, let me know. Even the title would be great; I can try to track it down. J. Transcriptus "gombi" definitely does the boulder thing from what I've got nailed down. I'm kind of toying with the concept of showing a transitional between boulder and sand, either just above or below the rock. The concept is that I can toss in some good buffering substrate, and at the same time get the opportunity to figure out another part of the lake. Whether I can do this is really going to depend on the depth that the rock begins/ends. And please do go on that fish and dive trip, maybe bring me back a few juvie's of the sp.
Don't worry about the locals with ak-47's, they're just for the really big flies.Jpappy, "SHORELINE CLASSIFICATION OF LAKE TANGANYIKA BASED ON
THE RESULTS OF AN AERIAL FRAME SURVEY" is extremely handy. The documentary you linked is one I've watched just a couple days ago for the first time. I'm going to be picking it apart and trying to identify various types of fish shown to try and place where each shot is taken. I'm hoping something rocky will have a couple fish together that could only be placed to Gombe. Thank you for posting both; they're excellent resources. Unfortunately, the links you gave for J. Transcriptus being on the west side were a little off. The Gombi variety sits off Gombe national park; on the east side, though of course J Transcriptus as a whole are in a couple places around the lake. The 2nd link scares me... it has bent time and space to launch Tanzania and Burundi over to the west side of the lake, squarely on top of the DRC :eek3:
rbishop, a week or two ago I didn't know much about lake TK either. I knew that it was rocky in some places, sandy in others, some basics about the fish, water parameters, and that's about it. A few days of obsessing goes a long way. In my case, I want to precisely reproduce the area, and I think it can be done at the cost of some time spent reading and examining. Once I've got all the little bits nailed down of what is, I can try to gather the best elements (with some substitutes probably) to reproduce it. After that, then I can have the fun of idealizing it in to something artistic. This is what I love about aquaria; blending science and art.
That's what got me confused as well...they are generally good sites for reference but it seems like someone either dropped the ball on that info or just made a typing error...
They're both good sites in general, and I've used both as a starting point to research info. I try not to think of them being generally reputable or disreputable while working on something though; it risks an argumentum ad vericundium.
On a side note, I think there needs to be a real dedicated biotope site with a heavy forum/user based content aspect. Not just one that reads a book and accepts it, but one that goes to journals and sources properly. Fish keeping has so many parts of science tied to it, and yet very often fish keeping sites fail to source anything.
