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Northern
Flames
The
project of this little tank was materialized with a very peculiar
fish family in mind, a family that has really a lot of fans
but that is very difficult to find in the aquarium shops, the
Aphyosemion, also known as "Killy fish".
To
understand why I built the tank in this strange way, it is important
to know some data about these animals.
The
Aphyosemion is a tiny fish that lives in seasonal puddles. When the
rain season comes, many small stagnant puddles are formed in the
forest, and, another of nature's magic tricks, after a few days a
multitude of colourful fishes seems to appear from nowhere ! They
actually come from eggs laid there by Aphyosemion the season before.
After mating this fish lays the eggs down in the gravel (or mud) and
when the rain season ends, and the water of the puddle evaporates,
the eggs remain trapped in the dry mud for months. And when it rains
again, as a miracle, the eggs hatch and a new colony of Aphyosemion
starts a new life.
This
genus actually originates from Africa, and the design of the tank
doesn't imitate their natural habitat. The reason why I created a
kind of "Canadian look" for this tank, was to give to the
viewers the immediate feeling of a puddle in the forest, a
precarious micro environment that will last only for a short period
of time.
I
used a lot of Mangrove wood for the tank, because the stunning
colours of this fish need to stay in a dark environment in order to
"shine" as in nature. The root on the left side is the
same kind of root I used in the creation of "Pole Star"
and "In The Battlefield" tanks, but I painted in brown-red
with acrylic paint to maintain the darkness in the tank. Then I used
artificial replicas of tree branches for the underwater part (to
give the feeling of a flooded riverside with roots) while for the
upper part (to simulate the forest and cover the neon light) I chose
a red dominance that gives the tank a warm, autumn feeling.
Data:
Tank
: cm. 50 X 26 X 35
Temperature : 25 - 26° C.
Lights : 1 neon (fluorescent tube) 15 Watt for photosynthesis
(to achieve the bright red colour of the environment)
Mechanical parts: 1 Biological filter of 1 lt.,
1 pump 60 lt/h, 1 heater 30 Watt.
Plants: artificial reproduction of North American tree
branches.
Animals : Aphyosemion sp.
Chemistry : KH=0, pH=6.0, GH=0, NO2=0,
NO3=0.
Water change: every 2 weeks, 1/3 of the total with RO
water.
See
next
page
for more pictures of Northern
Flames tank. |
