Panda + Hillstream Loach and Other Rheophilic Fish Breeding Project

[cockroach]

I decided to get my game into the fast lane. I am going to try breed fish from fast flowing current habitats.
I plan to focus my initial energy on Panda Loaches, Yaoshania Pachychilus, of which I have 8 little guys at the moment. I will add an interesting hillstream loach to the project when I find a good species with a decent number available at an LFS or online.
I also have 4 stiphodon ornatus and 6 Sicyopterus Japonicus which will go into a tank together in the rack. I know they are amphidromous and will tinker and play and see if anything works.

What I have so far is:
A screw free 152cm (5'1") three tier rack
3 tanks measuring 150cm x 30cm x 30cm (5' x 1' x 1') with both ends drilled
a sump of about 45gal
and a pump. I may purchase a new pump with adjustable flow rate as I think seasonal variation in flow may play a part in the onset of breeding
3 x 4' LED lights for algae growth
Limitless river rocks and substrate from a source very similar to panda loach habitat

My plan is as follows:

• Each tank will be setup slightly differently to replicate a certain part of the river course.
• The top tier will have a deep sloping substrate to mimic a turbulent, rocky stream in a hillside where S. ornatus and S. japonicus are found. There will only be worn rocks and gravel covered in algae in the tank.
• The second tier will be set up like a well worn stream bed simulating panda loach habitat. This tank will be well worn, rounded river rocks from large to small covered in algae for grazing. I will use some gravel to transition rocks to a few small sand patches. The transition areas should also give any fry a safe place to hide and frolic.
• The bottom tier will be setup like a small pool found in a hillstream where sand has time to settle and a plant or two can grow. In this tank the sand will be piled into two mounds across the tank making water flow strongly across the top and slower in the dips. I will use less rocks and some well soaked driftwood with hardy plants attached.
• The sump feeds the top tank and water flows in one side and out the other of each tank giving a more unidirectional flow to better mimic an actual stream. Top tank drains into middle tank into bottom tank back to sump.

I am still looking at adding a handful of rheophilic fish that hang out in the water column like white clouds, rainbows etc. Suggestions would be great if anyone has.

The sump will container mechanical and biological filtration in the form of various sponges, floss and biomedia. The pump I want buy is contollable and I can turn down the flow arte considerably when feeding so frozen, prepared and live foods can be added. I'll cultivate white worms and daphnia and use bloodworms and frozen brine shrimp. These will be used as needed only. Main food source will be the aufwuchs on the rocks seeded from a local stream.

Here are pics of the rack and tanks.


This is how I want to scape the top "Rapids" tank


These are the fish going in there. A stiphodon ornatus male that is turning very black. The second pic is 3 of 6 sicyopterus japonicus with a female S. ornatus.


The pic below is a rough idea of how I want the middle tank to be scaped for the panda loaches. I will add a little more open flats for grazing and observation.


One of the panda loaches for this tank


I am receiving delivery of a new baby in early April so I really hope to finish this in the next 2 to 3 weeks. But we'll see.

 

[Belly up]

Nice write-up. I have had a hillstream tank for several years now and my Reticulated Loaches haves have spawned repeatedly. My set-up is not as complicated as yours. I built a river manifold (fifty gallon tank) with two up lifts and two 500gph powerheads on one end and two returns on the other. One mistake I made was too much sand and gravel. Over time it has settled and collected too much waste under the rocks.

I am not sure how much actual current you will have using a sump. I know the turn over will be good but unless you add a powerhead it wont have much force will it? These fish love to get right into the direct force of the pumps and it still amazes me how effortlessly they move in it and cling to the rocks.

One thing I did later was add Blue Ramshorn Snails. The tank is unheated of course so they grow very slowly and reproduction of the snails has been slow too. You may want to find a suitable snail to help maintain your set-up. The tanks temperature was 58f in my basement.

One other thing I want to mention is along the way I added a small danio thinking it would add to the tank. I ended up removing them after the loaches quit breeding. I think the danios were eating the eggs or fry even though they were a small species. I look forward to your progress with these tanks.

 

[Belly up]

Too late to edit my above post. Forget the snails. I didn`t realize they can eat fish eggs. I have not noticed an issue with it but people report it happens so best you just avoid them.

 

[cockroach]

The manifold I am using works like below:


Sorry it's in Chinese but I used this when I was ordering the tanks.
I will keep an eye on the snails as they are in most of my setups. If they get too big I will move them out of the breeding tanks to another tank. Thanks

The current should a somewhat natural current which is what I am looking for. However, also not sure yet how much force it will have. I am trying to keep this build with as few as possible pieces of equipment but with that too I will have to see. The pump I have my eye on is controllable from 3000~6000L/h. The danios were a thought for the top tank. I am not sure anything will go in the panda "riffle" tank as I want them to focus on breeding only.

I received my biomedia order today. The Supplier I use really packed it well. Not one damaged or broken. The measure 4cm x 15cm each. I ordered 60.



Nice and porous.

 

[cockroach]

Had a little time to work on the rack. Some more things I ordered have arrived. Will order the adjustable flow pump tonight.
This was a circulation pump for a later project, pH pen and the eggrate type panels I am using to create height and save on weight.


These are air hoses and screened PVC outlets for my guppy breeding project


Got the plumbing cut and fitted. Will glue it after the pump arrives. Next order of business is cleaning that sump out and getting a lot more rocks, gravel and sand.

 

[cockroach]

The pump I ordred online. It is a DC pump and adjustable from 3000L/h to 6000L/h.
It has 3 settings, the regular flow with 3000L/h difference divided into 10 "step ups".
the other two are more for marine or shorline simulation:
A 201 setting which seems to be two shorter bursts and a longer one
And a 301 setting which is more irregular.
Pump has been running for 3 weeks and I like it a lot. It is quiet and very well priced. Also, at max output it is only 40W.

 

[tlindsey]

The pump I ordred online. It is a DC pump and adjustable from 3000L/h to 6000L/h.
It has 3 settings, the regular flow with 3000L/h difference divided into 10 "step ups".
the other two are more for marine or shorline simulation:
A 201 setting which seems to be two shorter bursts and a longer one
And a 301 setting which is more irregular.
Pump has been running for 3 weeks and I like it a lot. It is quiet and very well priced. Also, at max output it is only 40W.
View attachment 1369850View attachment 1369851View attachment 1369852

Can't wait to see the finished project.

 

[cockroach]

Can't wait to see the finished project.

It's up and running and still in test phase but will update each step I took in making it. I am really happy with it.

 

[Hendre]

Looking forward to more pics!

 

[cockroach]

I was worried about weight, not only for the tank but when there are earthquakes, which is more often than I care for, a top heavy tank that long and thin is not great at balancing.
To overcome this, I built a structure on which to place the gravel and rocks that is hollow. I used black egg crate, cable ties and a plastic screen netting. To further remove weight, I added 5mm bioballs behind the structure to fill it in. In front of the structure I added a plastic modular floor or shelf covering which again took a lot of weight off through not needing as much gravel or rock.
I am happy with the result. Even though it looks heavy and filled with rock and gravel, there is in fact only about 1.5cm laying against the front glass and none at the back.

The highest part of the structure by the pump outlet


I made it step down to add gradient


The structure spans 2/3 of the tank length and 1/2 the width.


The bioballs added behind the structure


In front of the structure filled with the cut up plastic flooring to take up space. You can see in the side shot how narrow the fill of gravel is.



The rocks used. I looked for flatter rocks for the rapid tank. The idea was to create a rapid section by the outlet that ran flat on a down gradient to the overflow creating a large area for fish to graze and light to reach rock surface for max algal growth.


I am happy with the finished scape for now. I may tweak her and there a bit but the stiphie really seem to enjoy it. Especially the flats and the caves and crevices I created near the front of the tank to observe them when they go in and out.