Zambia, Northern, Sumbu
A 140-liter aquarium aiming to mimic a small bed of Neothauma tanganyicense shells amidst rocks, as found around Sumbu Island.
A 140-liter aquarium designed to mimic a small bed of Neothauma tanganyicense shells among rocks, as found around Sumbu Island, was set up exclusively to house a pair of Altolamprologus sp. “shell”. Irregularly shaped sandstone rocks form the base for a shell bed where the fish shelter and breed. The substrate has a large granulometric dispersion resulting from a mixture of sand from different beaches. The appropriate photoperiod allowed filamentous algae to cover the tops of the rocks.
The filtration system consists of a Sunsun Hw-403b UV external filter, 35w, 1400L/h.
The fish care starts with choosing the biotope aquarium culture. This BAM intends to go beyond aesthetic issues and is very concerned with the physicochemical conditions of water. In this way, it promotes the health of the fish.
Fish are fed once a day and in minimal amounts. NLS foods and Dr. Bassleer’s functional foods with vegetable extracts of garlic, açaí, and lapacho tree are used.
Fishes:
Water care is a fundamental requirement of this project. The Degens et al. and Tiercelin et al. works guided the physicochemical conditions in which water must be maintained. The cations Na+, K+, Mg2+, Ca2+ and the anions Cl- (chloride), SO4– (sulfate) and the carbonates (CO3– and HCO3-) were considered the macroelements, and the main values of the concentrations were reproduced in the aquarium. Appropriate amounts of sodium bicarbonate, sodium carbonate, magnesium chloride hexahydrate, calcium chloride dihydrate and anhydrous potassium sulfate were measured and solubilized in tap water. Dosing each of the chemical elements was the way to guarantee the concentrations found in nature, as industrialized products are unable to reproduce the elementary ratios, especially if we refer to the Ca and Mg ions, responsible for the hardness of the water. GH values hide the exact concentrations of these elements and may represent different summations of Ca and Mg concentrations. Controlling the Na+/K+ ratio promotes sperm motility, favoring reproduction within the system.
50L of water in the system is changed every two weeks. The partial water change is made with water previously treated with conditioners, added with salts and in thermal balance with the aquarium so that there are no considerable oscillations.
Ad Konings: A lot of effort was given to explain what salts were used to replicate the composition of Lake Tanganyika water but there was no mention of how much of each salt was added per liter aquarium water, so nobody can replicate the specific setup. If a company’s mixture of Tanganyika salts were used, it should have been mentioned with the dosis used.
Anton Lamboj: Not really reflecting the character of the natural situation.
