bam Demanding level

Tisza Lake, Great Hungarian Plain, Hungary

Sponsored by
Technology for water applications

Hungary, Great Hungarian Plain, Tisza

In the past I was lucky enough to visit the Ecocentre of Tisza Lake, where I could see the largest freshwater aquarium in Hungary, then I took part in a boat tour on the lake and its floodplain. The experience was really decisive for me, so I decided to make an aquarium that was a piece of the lake.

The Lake provides a very diverse habitat with open water, canals and floodplains. I chose a part near the coast, where the water is quite shallow, the bed is covered with silt, branches, and terrestrial plant parts, but also have an “open water” area with Ceratophyllum demersum, which plant is the most dominant in the lake.

This habitat provides an ideal place for one of our most colorful fish, the Bitterling (Rhodeus sericeus) which mainly prefers shallower water that are rich in hiding places.

Submitted by
Klementina Keresztes-André
Approved by
Francesco Denitto & Aleksey Malyshev
GPS
47.5638428, 20.6345558
Geographical region
Eastern Europe
Drainage Basin
Danube
River catchment
Tisza
Water body type
Lake
Water body name
Tisza Lake
Water body part
Pool
Water body course
Water body: tributary of
River
Tributary name
Tisza

Videos above and below water


Warning: Undefined variable $fish_parent in /home/biotopea/public_html/wp-content/themes/bap/content-bam.php on line 85

Warning: Undefined array key "additional_species" in /home/biotopea/public_html/wp-content/themes/bap/functions/bap-fields.php on line 349

Water Chemistry

Water information

Water type
fresh-water
Water color
Clear water
Water transparency
Medium
Concentration of sediments
High
Water temperature
22 °C
Water flow/curent
Slow

Chemical parameters

pH
7
Conductivity
GH
10 mg/l
dGH
KH
3 mg/l
dKH
Dissolved Oxygen
60 %

Aquarium information

Aquarium description

Set-up date
July, 2022
Aquarium decoration

The substrate was made from a mixture of sand and gravel, to which I added some driftwood and larger branches to imitate the fallen tree piecies. I made the sediment covering the soil from rotten tree and reed leaves and peat.

I tried to model the shallower part of the Lake where the reeds and open water meet. For this reason, I added reed stems and used Ceratophyllum demersum, which is the most common seaweed in the Lake.

Aquarium equipment
  • Filtration: Sicce Whale 500, 18 Watt, 1300 l/h
  • Lighting: Led reflectors – 2×20 Watt, 6500K
Fish care

The reeds and Ceratophyllum demersum alternation provides a great hiding place for shy Bitterlings. Their behavior is relaxed, they like to swim in the labyrinth-furnished aquarium. Fish often dig up the silt because they search for food so the water is sometimes cloudy.

The water is around 22°C, and the flow is slow because the Bitterlings don’t like the too fast waterflow. To keep them healthy and energetic I feed them live food like bloodworms, tubifex and Enchytraeus buchholzi.

Since they also need plant food, I replace this with algae-containing granules and scalded spinach.

Fishlist:

  • Rhodeus sericeus (Cyprinidae) – 8
  • Rutilus rutilus (Cyprinidae) – 1

Molluscs:

  • Corbicula fluminea (Cyrenidae) 5
Plant care

Since the Ceratophyllum demersum I have planted grow quite quickly, they require cutting every two or three weeks and after that I replant them. Organic materials dissolved in water bacause of the silt so they do not need liquid nutrient solution.

Aquatic plants:

  • Ceratophyllum demersum (Ceratophyllaceae)
  • Salvinia natans (Salviniaceae)
Water care

I usually change 20-30% of the water every two or three weeks taking care of the sediment on the substrate not to mix it up, otherwise the filter will absorb it. Aquarium water is cooled by air conditioner which is very important for these cold water fish especially in the summer heat.

Dimensions

Length
90 cm
Depth
45 cm
High
40 cm
Volume
158 L

Substrate in aquarium

Sand
Grey
Pebble/Gravel
None
Stone
None
Stone form
Silt/Mud
Black
Leaves
Few
Driftwood
Few
Submerged terrestrial vegetation
Yes

Bibliography

Comment by the expert

Francesco Denitto: Very nice aquarium set-up and extremely faithful to the natural biotope. Personally, I would not have added the specimen of Rutilus which, due to its large size it reaches as an adult, requires larger volumes to grow in captivity. I would suggest adding, i.e. some smaller species such as the sedentary gobies.

Aleksey Malyshev: The aquarium is designed as in nature. The only drawback is the combination of a clam and a roach (why one?). Newborn clams will be eaten.