Sulawesi biotope questions

Ok, so I'm leaning towards turning my 100L tank into a Sulawesi biotope when I get rid of all my convict cichlid fry in, oh I don't know... two or three YEARS!!!

I'll be putting various Tylo snails and maybe 2-3 different shrimp types in it but I've a few questions...

Are there any other fauna suitable?

And what about flora (no butter jokes please!)? I know the lakes are alkaline and fairly bare of plants are there any that are geographically appropriate?

Should the tank be brightly lit as you would a rift lake tank or more subdued?

Any suggestions welcome

so this tank will only be shrimp ?

Mostly. I'd put fish in if they were appropriate to the biotope and there were only few of them

Has anyone set up a Sulawesi biotope?

I know sheag35 was looking into doing one, not sure did he set one up in the end, but he did loads of research on the subject.

I was going to do one but was finding it hard to get good quality Sulawesi shrimp. Dont think they travel well.

Stephen.

The trick with Sulawesi Shrimp appears to be soft alkaline Water.

H.

I'm pretty certain that's what i'm going to use my 100L tank for. I've been toying with other ideas and of all of them this is the one that has the right balance of challenge and enjoyment for me right now. Been looking at videos of the lakes on youtube and I really want to make something that look natural

I would suggest over filtration with a small external like a Fluval, Eheim etc, any drop in Water quality will result in dead Shrimp, Water changes must be of a temperature that has little or no variation in it, substrate should be crushed Coral mixed with a clean inert Sand and very little in the way of protein in the diet.

H.

Homer wrote:

The trick with Sulawesi Shrimp appears to be soft alkaline Water.

H.

most of the stuff I've been reading is talking about hard/alkaline... damn, if you're right it's going to be more of a challenge than I thought

LemonJelly wrote:

Homer wrote:

The trick with Sulawesi Shrimp appears to be soft alkaline Water.

H.

most of the stuff I've been reading is talking about hard/alkaline... damn, if you're right it's going to be more of a challenge than I thought

I have to agree with you, very conflicting info out there.

I think it depends upon which species you choose and the Lake they come from as different Lakes vary in ph kh gh etc.
H.

Taken from Here


Water Parameters

It is widely accepted that across the board the water parameters for all sulawesi shrimp are pretty similar. In general, warm, medium hardness and slightly alkaline.

pH 7.5 to low 8-ish
Temp 82 plus minus 4 degrees F
GH around 6


H.

Homer wrote:

I would suggest over filtration with a small external like a Fluval, Eheim etc, any drop in Water quality will result in dead Shrimp, Water changes must be of a temperature that has little or no variation in it, substrate should be crushed Coral mixed with a clean inert Sand and very little in the way of protein in the diet.

H.

It's running with an Eheim classic, so I'll just be putting a sponge over the outlet. I plan on using river gravel; it's mostly granite with some limestone pebbles thrown in and they seem to keep the pH in one of my other tanks up around 7.6 or higher and I'm considering running 2 heater in the tank, just to more evenly spread the heat

heres a few links i had from when i researched doing the same

www.plantedtank.net/forums/showthread.php?t=107239

www.guitarfish.org/2008/02/07/new-sulawesi-shrimp

www.ventralfins.com/freshwater_inverts_sulawesi.html

www.shrimpnow.com/forums/showthread.php/...and-Caridina-spinata

www.crustaforum.com/board/showthread.php...-shrimps-experiences

www.crustaforum.com/board/showthread.php...-shrimps-experiences

hope this helps you

Seamus

[/quote] I'm considering running 2 heater in the tank, just to more evenly spread the heat[/quote

A single submersible Heater should be sufficient if it is placed horizontally as close to the bottom of the Tank without touching the substrate as it would cause convection ensuring a good distribution of heat.

H.

Cheers sheag35. There's some info there I hadn't seen before. Definitely had given me ideas.

@Homer given that they need fairly warm water, do you think I should get a heater with higher wattage than I might otherwise? Just to be sure to be sure?

The higher wattage heater will keep your water temperature more stable, more power= faster heating.
Make sure you use a quality heaterstat, so you lessen the risk of overheating, in case the heater sticks in the "on" position.

Keep us informed about this project. Its something i would love to do. I have a 60l tank ready. If you know a good supplier of Sulawesi species let me know plzzzzzzzz !!

Stephen

Hicker12 wrote:

Keep us informed about this project. Its something i would love to do. I have a 60l tank ready. If you know a good supplier of Sulawesi species let me know plzzzzzzzz !!

Stephen

Will do

LemonJelly wrote:

Hicker12 wrote:

Keep us informed about this project. Its something i would love to do. I have a 60l tank ready. If you know a good supplier of Sulawesi species let me know plzzzzzzzz !!

Stephen

Will do

EASY talk to john in seahorse he will get them in for you no probs

General consensus is that you leave them in the LFS for a few weeks, if they are stull alive after that period of time, they should be past the critical point.

H.

Homer wrote:

General consensus is that you leave them in the LFS for a few weeks, if they are stull alive after that period of time, they should be past the critical point.

H.

Yeah, I definitely think it's going to be the softly softly approach when I get them. I'm thinking that i'm going to leave it about 6-8 weeks after I fill it and switch on the filter before I put any shrimp in. Not just to mature the filter but also to let the rocks and wood green up a bit

Smart man!

H.

Homer wrote:

Smart man!

H.

I posted a comment a good while ago of a way to increase important Algae and Bio film to feed fauna that required copious amounts of Algae or Biofilm, slot sheets of Glass into a container outdoors, divided by a method of your choice, remove as you would, frames from a Bee Hive and place in your Tank, remove when the Algae etc has diminished and replace on a cyclical basis.

Easy!

H.

Smart man

Sounds like a good idea, esp since I have a few unused window panes

LemonJelly wrote:

Smart man

Sounds like a good idea, esp since I have a few unused window panes

windows are just badly made tanks

How are ya getting on with this biotope?

Stephen

Done nothing so far except gather rocks. It'll be a while before I start it since there's 50 or so juvie convict cichlids living in it right now

LemonJelly wrote:

Done nothing so far except gather rocks. It'll be a while before I start it since there's 50 or so juvie convict cichlids living in it right now

Lol ok you have your hands full so.

Stephen

They're a great fish as long as you only have ONE of the f¥£&€rs