Wild Heckel Biotope

[Swedgin]

Finally this weekend I will be able to start work on my second major project, the Heckels.

After some research and some help on the forum it seems like my "Madeira" Heckels are in fact from the Abacaxis. The confusion according to Heiko Bleher comes from the fact that the Discus collected there must be transported over land to be then shipped from a city by the Madeira river (Nova Olinda). Makes perfect sense.
Some pics of the actual fish.

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The actual aquarium they will be housed in is currently occupied by 10 Stendker Discus, which will go to my wife's 90gal in her office at work. So there will be lots of cleaning going on this weekend, chlorine and Safe are my friends helping with that.

This is how the tank currently stands, it will be moved to another room to make space for the 325 greens tank.
The 3D background will not be used for the Heckels, I'll spray the back of the tank black or dark brown, with plastidip
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[Swedgin]

I have just started gathering some decoration material, I have decided on some roots and dried palm leaves, harvested from the garden today. Some require some more drying, but by the time the first lot needs to be replaced they'll be good to go. I wonder if I can use the pods, but I don't see why not

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It will be a very simple decoration, palm leaves, pool filter sand and Indian Almond leaves, roiboos to stain the water.
Lookibg forward to starting on this.

Filtration will be an exact replica of what is on the blues tank.

[Swedgin]

Got started today, Stendkers in temporary holding, tank to be cleaned out tomorrow. Still have to catch the cories and rummies.
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[Coffee1stLife2nd]

keep posting pics of the breakdown and setup. this looks like it will be awesome,,, interested in following this thread....

[William1]

Amazing. Way to go!

[Swedgin]

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Soaking in chlorine overnight, more cleaning tomorrow

[Swedgin]

So after all the other holding tanks have been moved out of the room (we called it the fish room already, it's actually our guest room), the Heckel tank is now a go again. Should be ready in a week at the latest.
So a slice of the Amazon for our guests in the future.

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[Swedgin]

More progress. Will find some nice palm fronds tomorrow.
The cover will have big slots in it to accommodate a lot of pothos plants to grow their roots into the tank, gonna be a jungle on top of it. Great for nitrates and kills the empty space above the aquarium.
More tomorrow

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[Swedgin]

Getting darker. Now just waiting for the glass cover to come. Went to pick it up today, they cut it wrong. Try again tomorrow.

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They're patiently waiting though. Can't wait to see them in this setup

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[Swedgin]

Just moved them all. One cory didn't make it, not sure what happened. I'm really excited though what the heckels look and feel like in there tomorrow.

[Phillydubs]

Very cool, patiently waiting! Sucks about the cory, wonder what happened

[Swedgin]

Here you go, still a little shy, but I only just put the plants on. They ate earlier today and should calm down by evening again.

Will have to play with the light and tannin saturation to see how I can get a good compromise between bringing their colors out and at the same time keep the tank as dark as possible.

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[Swedgin]

Feeding time, they love them blackworms.

They're really starting to come out of their shell in there, coloration is getting better again, too.

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[Jack L]

looks great!

[Swedgin]

Seems like I might have a pair forming, the 2 of them are claiming about a 1/3 of the tank in the right corner, time will tell

[Joe]

Awesome!!!

[woopaul5]

Love this tank!!! Makes me want to get some heckles in the future.

[Swedgin]

Still there, just nothing new to report
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[Pices]

This set up is like a discus fantasy tank. It’s like Disney for Discus! I’ll be watching this one.
Patty

[FischAutoTechGarten]

Is that Heckel aquarium constructed of tinted glass?

[Swedgin]

Is that Heckel aquarium constructed of tinted glass?

Haha, no. In post #8 you can see what it looked like before the humic acid.

[Teleman]

Love all three of your tanks. I have a special fondness for the Greens and have have a question for you about your canister filters. what materials are you putting in them and how often are you doing maintenance and changing the various items out. working on setting up a green tank and a blue tank and would always over filter rather than under filter them. also what are you using to check your ammonia , nitrate and nitrite levels with. What are you sitting your plants on to let the roots hang down into the water.
Regards and Thanks
Ken

[Swedgin]

Love all three of your tanks. I have a special fondness for the Greens and have have a question for you about your canister filters. what materials are you putting in them and how often are you doing maintenance and changing the various items out. working on setting up a green tank and a blue tank and would always over filter rather than under filter them. also what are you using to check your ammonia , nitrate and nitrite levels with. What are you sitting your plants on to let the roots hang down into the water.
Regards and Thanks
Ken

The canisters get rinsed every 4 to 5 weeks each, meaning a small water change weekly, rinsing one at a time.
Media are mostly pumice (same as Seachem Matrix, but generic, Matrix is ridiculously expensive) and your good old pot scrubbers, they gibe you an amazing surface area for little money. And regular filter floss which gets either rinsed or thrown out depending on condition.
The fluidized bed filters contain the silica sand they are delivered with, again awesome surface and self cleaning.

In the blue tank the plants sit on egg crates on the back bracing weighed down with rocks, and the heckels have custom made glass lids with slots specifically cut for the plants.

[Swedgin]

to test the parameters I use JBl (German brand), NH4, NO2, NO3, GH, KH, PH, SiO2.
Not sure if available in the US though.
I import most of my supplies from Germany, if I’m allowed to share the link on here I will, they ship worldwide

[Second Hand Pat]

to test the parameters I use JBl (German brand), NH4, NO2, NO3, GH, KH, PH, SiO2.
Not sure if available in the US though.
I import most of my supplies from Germany, if I’m allowed to share the link on here I will, they ship worldwide

Please do share the link Tobi :)
Pat

[Swedgin]

Please do share the link Tobi :)
Pat

www.aquaristikshop.com

They’ve got a huge range, ship with dhl at reasonable prices

[Teleman]

Thank you so much for the reply. your filter media is very logical and well thought out. inexpensive too, always a plus. The JBL test kits are available here in the states, I was looking at them 2 days ago. I am planning on using pothos for my plants as Florida really frowns on the ones you are using. Again thank you very much for the information and help. Looking forward to your continuing exploits with our favorite fish.
Regards
Ken

[Swedgin]

Thank you so much for the reply. your filter media is very logical and well thought out. inexpensive too, always a plus. The JBL test kits are available here in the states, I was looking at them 2 days ago. I am planning on using pothos for my plants as Florida really frowns on the ones you are using. Again thank you very much for the information and help. Looking forward to your continuing exploits with our favorite fish.
Regards
Ken

Thanks Ken.

To be fair I still have loads to learn and do so as I go along.
I have a new tank on the horizon (fingers crossed) for which I will not be using canisters, but will try to get a wet dry sump set up, actually using this 190 as the sump. We’ll see...

[Swedgin]

Quick Heckel snap

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[Swedgin]

A few more. Waterchange tomorrow, i.e. glass will be cleaned
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[Darren's Discus]

Set up looks awesome, Nice Heckels.

[Swedgin]

Set up looks awesome, Nice Heckels.

Cheers mate.

Looks like I’ve got a pair in there, just watched them when they didn’t know I was, which is usually impossible, and there was some proper shaking going on. Way back in the tank where there’s virtually no light, so if they lay I’ll probably not even see the eggs.

[Len]

I keep coming back to this thread. I really like the look of that tank. Great job.

[Swedgin]

I keep coming back to this thread. I really like the look of that tank. Great job.

Thank you very much Len.

Tonight will be dedicated to sitting as stealthily as possible for a few hours to see what’s going on in there. They just beg and fight when they know I’m there

[Swedgin]

Meh, the only insight I got is that I am feeding way too much red pigmented food. They look like I dipped them in carrot juice

[Second Hand Pat]

Cheers mate.

Looks like I’ve got a pair in there, just watched them when they didn’t know I was, which is usually impossible, and there was some proper shaking going on. Way back in the tank where there’s virtually no light, so if they lay I’ll probably not even see the eggs.

That would be cool if they spawn for you Tobi...successful Heckel breeding is the Holy Guild of wild discus breeding.

[Swedgin]

Sure would be cool. I’m hoping that once they are moved to the bigger tank and the new ones are added one of the blue moons pairs up with someone else. Another contemplation is to add the blue moons to the blues and see what happens there. But for now the plan is to keep all 3 species apart as they are now

[Swedgin]

We have received our shipment from Germany, amongst mostly blue and red there are 4 heckels, 2 blue moons. This is one of them. The picture does him no justice. This is only a couple hours in the tank after being boxed for about 40hrs. Bit of ammonia burn on the tail, but nothing extraordinary. Will be gone in no time

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[Swedgin]

Same fish again, standing more relaxed now. Should be able to snap some nice pics of the other 3 in the coming days. They are huge though, much bigger than my other ones

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[Swedgin]

Here’s the other blue moon, got lucky having him swim into the light like that. These 2 are absolutely stunning, surpassed all my expectations already. I’m so hoping one of them pairs up with something.
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[Pices]

Wow! I love that intense blue color in all of them. So perfect.
Patty

[nolefan]

If I could find blue moon heckles again I would do another wild tank .. yours are superb

[Swedgin]

Wow! I love that intense blue color in all of them. So perfect.
Patty


If I could find blue moon heckles again I would do another wild tank .. yours are superb


Yeah their blue coverage is crazy. When they don’t show any bars they look like some cobalt domestic, it’s that intense, especially on the second one pictured.

Can’t wait for them to move into the new tank and see what they are getting up to in there. 3d background should be done soon and then all 12 heckels will move into the 220. Shame I’ll have to hide the tank in the guest room, but apparently it’s “not ok to turn the living room into a fish room”.

These are the other 2 newbs, Nhamunda Blue Face. The second one is massive. Head shape is a bit off, but adds character

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[Swedgin]

Aquadecor just sent me pictures of the finished background, shipping on monday. I really like it. Nice and dark, should make the blue pop really well

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[Pices]

Beautiful!

[Swedgin]

The background arrived today. Not sure I’m impressed much yet. Out of water it does look quite artificial, more than I expected. I won’t be too quick to judge though and will wait until I see it in the tank to give a fair feedback. The design itself and the material quality is very nice though. With some stained water and the right lighting this might be great. We’ll know in a month or so when I’ll be able to get it set up.

[Jack L]

Looks good in the photo, if you let a little algea grow on it that will help

[Swedgin]

Finally got to move these yesterday. Water still cloudy, but doesn’t bother them. Begging and eating, all good

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[Paul Sabucchi]

That is another fantastic tank Toby and the fish look stunning.

[tacks]

Very, Very good Ed

[Second Hand Pat]

They look great Tobi :D Love the tank :D:D
Pat

[sanjay21]

They look stunning :)

They all look very healthy too ! loving that blue heckel.

[Swedgin]

Thanks all :)

Water and fish much more settled today. The blue moon is a proper camera hog, couldn’t get a shot without him if I wanted to.

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[Altum Nut]

Tobi...I have seen many wild tank biotope over the years but your tanks and Discus threads stand out as the best to date.
Keep up the great work and photos of your progress...it gives me inspiration to continue on with the hobby and sure it does the same for others.
Thumbs up my friend.

...Ralph

[Tshethar]

Tobi...I have seen many wild tank biotope over the years but your tanks and Discus threads stand out as the best to date.
Keep up the great work and photos of your progress...it gives me inspiration to continue on with the hobby and sure it does the same for others.
Thumbs up my friend.

...Ralph

+1

Couldn't agree more. Beautiful and encouraging to all of us. Love the tanks and it's great to see this kind of success with the wilds. Would love to vaguely approximate any one of your setups (on a smaller scale, out of necessity!), in whatever way might be possible at some point in the future. So nice.

--Bill

[Swedgin]

Tobi...I have seen many wild tank biotope over the years but your tanks and Discus threads stand out as the best to date.
Keep up the great work and photos of your progress...it gives me inspiration to continue on with the hobby and sure it does the same for others.
Thumbs up my friend.

...Ralph


+1

Couldn't agree more. Beautiful and encouraging to all of us. Love the tanks and it's great to see this kind of success with the wilds. Would love to vaguely approximate any one of your setups (on a smaller scale, out of necessity!), in whatever way might be possible at some point in the future. So nice.

--Bill

Thank you Ralph and Bill, appreciate the kind words.

I was lucky to have a slow phase at work when I set this and the bigger one up, so I could put some effort in.

[jimg]

Very Nice!

[Second Hand Pat]

Tobi, your heckels and tank look fantastic. Do you know the collection location of your heckels?
Pat

[Swedgin]

The last 4 I added are Nhamundas, the 8 old ones I’m not 100% sure. They were imported as Madeira Heckels, but there are none in the Madeira river.
After looking at countless photos of different fish from different locations I am quite sure they are Abacaxis. Which then would make sense why they are called Madeira, as all fish from the Abacaxis are transported through Nova Olinda, which is a City by the Madeira river.

[DiscusBR]

You tanks are breathtaking, incredibly well put together, and the Heckels are gorgeous. Just perfect. Keep posting updates, please.

[Kirbs]

Beautiful fish and tank! Where did you get the background?

[Swedgin]

You tanks are breathtaking, incredibly well put together, and the Heckels are gorgeous. Just perfect. Keep posting updates, please.

Right back at you, your Cuipeuas are some of the best I’ve seen.


Beautiful fish and tank! Where did you get the background?

Thanks Kirbs. The background is from Aquadecorbackgrounds.com

They do some really nice stuff.

Bit more brown in the water today, but DAMN YOU PLANTS CATCHING THE LIGHT LIKE THAT!
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Bit of a shame that I have to “hide” the tank in the guest room, but apparently I’m not allowed to turn the house into a fish shop.

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[Swedgin]

Guys, I want to add some tetras to this. I’m thinking black neons or cardinals. Not interested in rummy noses or lemon tetras this time round.

What do you think?

[Paul Sabucchi]

Nannostomus?

[Swedgin]

Not a bad idea, Paul. I see beckfordi quite regularly here, valid option. Thanks

[Paul Sabucchi]

Should be able to handle the temperature (mine do ok in summer), pity the realy colorful mortenthaleri males can fight with each other - but beckfordi or marginatus will be ok. Hatchetfish for the surface and Brochis splendens for the bottom?

[Swedgin]

Should be able to handle the temperature (mine do ok in summer), pity the realy colorful mortenthaleri males can fight with each other - but beckfordi or marginatus will be ok. Hatchetfish for the surface and Brochis splendens for the bottom?

Can’t make my mind up about the tetras. I’ll wait. Some Brochis would be epic, I’m keeping me eyes peeled in the shops here

[Swedgin]

One new Heckel arrival scheduled for end of Jan.

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[Swedgin]

Quick shot of this young fella.

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[Swedgin]

I’m thinking of shutting this tank down.
There’s nothing wrong with it and I love the fish and the way it looks, but it’s just too out of the way in the house to give it the time I want to.
And even though it’s the smallest of the 3, it takes the same effort to maintain as the others. It’s just too time consuming to look after 3 show tanks, trying to keep them looking as good as they can.

So basically I have 3 options:

Keep it

Get rid of the tank with the fish

Get rid of the tank and put the heckels into the 325 with the greens. This is currently my favored option, and I’m trying to picture what the 2 groups would look like together, but it’s difficult because I’m so used to having these homogeneous looking groups in each setup.

[fljones3]

If it’s out of the way, then you cannot enjoy it like you want. FWIW, it comes down whether you want to maintain the groups or mix. I probably would mix. I hate to get rid of discus once they are in my possession.

[Swedgin]

I don’t like it either, Frank. That’s why I’ve come up with the following solution. They will move in with the greens, the heckel tank will be my qt for the new arrivals. If I don’t like the heckels with the greens together I’ll just move them back to the current tank and reassess from there. Will be easier once all fish are here and ready to mingle to see what should end up where, when and why.

[Swedgin]

Heckels are in with the greens now, I think I can live with it. Thought it was going to look crowded, but not at all. 5 greens and 3 heckels arriving in a couple weeks, that should fill the tank out nicely. Pics in the greens thread tonight when ambient light is gone