South American habitat-- river types

RD.

Gold Tier VIP
MFK Member
May 9, 2007
13,452
13,425
3,360
65
Northwest Canada
No worries, but you can twist some arms in the background. ;)
 
  • Like
Reactions: tlindsey

tlindsey

Silver Tier VIP
MFK Member
Aug 6, 2011
24,121
25,459
1,660
Ohio
Good info, thanks Duane. Any chance you can get this made into a sticky? :)

Seems a LOT more relevant to sound husbandry of these fish than "what is the most aggressive SA/CA cichlid", that is still a sticky at the top of this folder.
Duane and few other knowledgeable members like yourself should have published books imo. Like I stated in a earlier post a wealth of info here. I was very green when I joined MFK. Thanks to you all I'm a much better aquarist.
 

RD.

Gold Tier VIP
MFK Member
May 9, 2007
13,452
13,425
3,360
65
Northwest Canada
Thanks, but I'm not worthy. lol But IMO threads like this are exactly what keeps MFK going above and beyond other social media circles. neutrino neutrino did a fantastic job putting this topic together, and the additional info just adds another layer of icing to the cake.
 

jjohnwm

Sausage Finger Spam Slayer
MFK Member
Mar 29, 2019
4,277
10,963
194
Manitoba, Canada
Outstanding thread!

What an incredible concept, i.e. promoting ideas that should be obvious to anyone applying common sense while simply looking at a map of the entire huge continent of South America...or Africa, or anywhere else...

It's always humorous to read about a new aquarist who has decided that a "biotope" is the way to go...and so they combine species from lowland jungle rivers, mountain streams, coastal brackish water and who-knows-what-else...and then say "Hey, look, everybody! I've got a South America biotope!" :uhoh:
 

neutrino

Goliath Tigerfish
MFK Member
Jan 22, 2013
2,449
2,791
179
Mid-Atlantic, US
Thanks, but I'm not worthy. lol But IMO threads like this are exactly what keeps MFK going above and beyond other social media circles. neutrino neutrino did a fantastic job putting this topic together, and the additional info just adds another layer of icing to the cake.
Not so sure about the "I'm not worthy" part. In any case you added some great posts to this thread. :)
 

duanes

MFK Moderators
Staff member
Moderator
MFK Member
Jun 7, 2007
21,548
27,512
2,910
Isla Taboga Panama via Milwaukee
To most advanced aquarists, the different water type regions, varying water parameters within large continents, like South America and Africa are well known, and many of these advanced fish keepers can deal with, because of their vast experience.
They are the choir, and hardly need preaching to, by me or anyone else. They have developed techniques that often go well beyond statistical norms, less experienced aquarists can't.

But.....
I don't believe we do noobs any favors , or even semi inexperienced aquarists any favors by espousing those abilities are something that they cannot easily achieve.
If a noob goes and spends $5 on an aquarium strain angel, and puts it in liquid rock, with a successful mbuna tank, that may be "arguably" OK for a minute.
But if that same noob thinks buying an Altum for $60 and tosses it into a hard water, high pH tank, and expect success, that rate may be less than 30% it will last a week.

We all saw the post by a noob thinking a 55 gal gal was being "bold" by cramming an oscar, and arowana, and a number or large cats in that tiny puddle of high pH, hard water.
To me, this is the type individual that represents the reality of who we are really trying to inform,.
And not being succinct enough with certain parameter norms and info that experienced aquarists can overcome, is not helpful .
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: SourAngelfish

RD.

Gold Tier VIP
MFK Member
May 9, 2007
13,452
13,425
3,360
65
Northwest Canada
I respectfully disagree. Of all the sites out there, this is the one place where serious hobbyists should be able to get no nonsense factual information. Since when was MFK a site designed for just entry level hobbyists?
 

Stanzzzz7

Silver Tier VIP
MFK Member
Sep 26, 2015
5,234
7,678
1,433
51
Uk
Good info, thanks Duane. Any chance you can get this made into a sticky? :)

Seems a LOT more relevant to sound husbandry of these fish than "what is the most aggressive SA/CA cichlid", that is still a sticky at the top of this folder.
Exactly. It’s posts like these that keep me coming back to MFK.
Great read and great info.
 
zoomed.com
hikariusa.com
aqaimports.com
Store