Dimensions 90 × 45 × 45 cm

Title Rain Forest

Volume 180L

Background Black Vinyl

Lighting 2x39w T5HO Radium 865, Osram 840

Filtration JBL e901 Greenline 900l/h , with JBL Tormec Activ, JBL Clearmec and Èquo - Stilla

Plants Amazon Frogbit (Limnobium Laevigatum)

Animals 2 - Apistogramma Bitaeniata sp. "Shishita" Wild Couple

40 - Nannostomus Marginatus

Materials 8kg - ADA Colorado Sand,
3 - Redmoor Wood Branches,
Oak and Terminalia Catappa Leafs

Additional Information This Biotope Aquarium was created to be the home of a wild Apistogramma Bitaeniata sp. "Shishita" couple.

Starting from here, a careful investigation was made about Rio Shishita Biotope, finding very useful information on the trip journal “Collecting in Pebas, Río Orosa and Río Shishita 2008” by Tom Christoffersen and Mike Wise.

In this particular biotope that I wanted to recreate I found that it should have a low water flow with very acidic and soft dark water, clear sand bottom, a lot of driftwood and fallen tree leafs, providing lot of burrows for the fish to hide and breed.

So for the layout I decided to use Redmoor Wood along with ADA Colorado Sand, Catappa and Oak Leafs to release Humic Acids that acidifies and tans the water.

I also use RO Water to soften the tap with a 75/25% witch gives me a 1º-2ºdGH and use turf pellets on the canister filter to acidify and reach a pH around 5.5-6

I chose the Limnobium Laevigatum because it is a native plant and is used to dim the lights and create an overall ambiance on the layout while providing shelter for the dither fish.

Also the Nannostomus Marginatus were chosen as they are one of the few smaller species that live along with Apistogramma Bitaeniata sp. “Shishita” and because of their small size and mouth, it makes them an ideal dither fish as they aren't an active fry predator

I also dose some dry salts on a daily basis to provide the plants with some nutrients and essential minerals for the fish well-being.