Tanganyika basin (aquarium hobby)
A Tanganyika basin is a special freshwater aquarium in the form of a biotope aquarium in which the conditions of a section of Lake Tanganyika in Africa are reproduced.
The habitat
There are basically two different biotopes in Lake Tanganyika. The rocky banks are home to most of the aquaristically interesting cichlids. But there are also extensive sandy bays. Aquatic plants are only found in the area of shallow bays, at greater depths, carpets of algae dominate.
The water values: The pH value is approx. 9.5, the carbonate hardness (KH) around 15 °, the total hardness (GH) around 10 °. The water temperatures are 23-28 ° C.
Implementation in the aquarium
Usable water values: The pH value should be around 8, it must not drop below 7.5. The total hardness (GH) should be 10–20 °, although higher values of up to 30 ° are usually well tolerated. The water temperature should be 24–26 ° C. The animals age faster at higher temperatures.
For the sand biotope, coarse sand is brought in as a subsoil and a few smaller stones to delimit the areas. The fish for this area include thread-mouth breeders and fish of the genera Callochromis , Ectodus , Enantiopus , Xenotilapia and the like. a. into consideration. These fish build nests in the sand.
The rock bank is often simulated by an aquarium back wall made of expanded polystyrene and possibly Portland cement. Hollow stone, slate, pebbles or the like are often used as stones. Coarse sand should be used as the substrate, as the inhabitants of the rocky bank also like to chew or dig through the sand. Fish in the rocky zone are Tropheus , Frontosa or fish of the genera Altolamprologus , Chalinochromis , Julidochromis , Lamprologus , Lepidiolamprologus , Neolamprologus and the like. a.
The snail cichlids, z. B. Lamprologus ocellatus or Lamprologus brevis . These bury empty snail shells of the Neothauma snail, which is often found in Lake Tanganyika, in the sand and then inhabit it as a place of refuge and spawning. The aquarist often uses the large snail shells of the Roman snail or the apple snail, which are cleaned before being introduced into the aquarium.
The fish of the genera Cyprichromis , Paracyprichromis or the Tanganyika light eye Lamprichthys tanganicanus live in shoals and occupy the middle to upper part of the aquarium. They are therefore well suited for socializing with cave dwellers or sand chichlids.
Green Tanganyika basin
Plants offer the same advantages in a Tanganyika basin as in any other basin, they improve the water quality and provide privacy for weaker fish. However, plants in a Tanganyika basin are a little more difficult to keep. For one thing, many cichlids are herbivores or at least cause "vandalism damage". On the other hand, algae in the Tanganyika basin are quite desirable or at least can hardly be successfully kept small because carbonic acid fertilization is prohibited. Nevertheless, hard plants, especially Java fern , Anubias and some Cryptocoryne can be kept. The leaves of these plants are also hard enough that you can wipe the algae growing on them between your fingers without destroying the leaf.
literature
- Hans W. Kothe: Natural community aquariums . Augustus Verlag, Munich 2000, ISBN 3-8043-7171-X .