For a long time I've had a real fascination with some of the freshwater fish of Africa's river systems, especially those in the Congo drainage basin. Unfortunately many fishkeepers focus on the well-known Rift Lake cichlids (hailing from Lakes Malawi, Tanganyika and Victoria), and overlook some of the other fascinating fishes Africa has to offer.

I've kept many species of African fish before (including many cichlids from the aforementioned Rift Lakes), but until recently I didn't have a large enough aquarium to have a proper go at an African river display. In June 2007 I purchased a Juwel Rio 240 aquarium and, at 121cm wide, it is certainly big enough for many of the species I wished to keep - this page explains how I set the display up.

Technical Specification

Dimensions:	121cm wide x 41cm deep x 55 cm tall.
Capacity:	Approximately 240 litres.
Filtration:	1 x Juwel internal filter system.
Heating:	1 x Juwel heater.
Lighting:	2 x 36w T8 tubes (both Interpet 'Triplus').

Decor and Construction

In addition to the usual decor of live plants, mopani wood and suitable pieces of rock I decided to give Juwel's 3D backgrounds a try. I've always found the bare back of an aquarium a real let-down when trying to create a natural looking aquascape, and the backing "posters" always look flat, garish and totally unrealistic. In other displays I've always managed to conceal the back of the display tank with dense plant growth or other decor (such as vertical 'tree roots' in my Paludarium), but I wanted to have some lower-growing plants in this display, so neither of these options were available to me. Despite some reservations about the high cost of these backgrounds and very visible joins between panels (is anyone at Juwel reading this?!), I decided to go for it...

The 3D background panels seem to be made of painted polystyrene (or something similar), and need to be cut carefully to size and siliconed to the bare back of the empty tank (having previously cleaned the glass to ensure there is no dust/debris). After allowing the silicone to "go off" for 48 hours I thoroughly cleaned the tank and 3D backgrounds to remove excess silicone and dust, before finally filling the tank, installing the substrate (silver sand), mopani wood and rocks.

For the plants I decided to try ordering mail order (which I've never done before) because of the increased availability of unusual plants, and cheaper initial cost. As far as possible I have stocked this tank with African plants (such as the Tiger Lotus waterlilies and Anubius), although I've unfortunately had to 'pad out' the tank with some non-African plants. The cost of stocking a 121cm tank exclusively with waterlillies and Anubius wasn't within my budget!

Fish and Plants Stocked

Fish / Animals Stocked	Quantity
Congo Tetras, Micralestes interruptus	8 (3 males and 5 females)
Butterflyfish, Pantodon buchholzi	2 (1 male and 1 female)
Peter's Elephantnose, Gnathonemus petersii	1
African Butterfly Cichlid, Anomalochromis thomasi	3 (1 male and 2 females)
Kribensis, Pelviachromis kribensis	To be added soon!

Plants Stocked

Java Fern, Microsorum pteropus

Broad-leaved Anubius, Anubias barteri var. Nana

Banana Plant, Nymphoides aquatica

Java Moss, Taxiphyllum barbieri

Floating Riccia, Riccia fluitans

Salvinia, Salvinia molesta

Feeding and Maintenance

The fish are given up to 5 small feeds daily - mainly with frozen bloodworm (which the Butterfly fish and Elephantnose require). I also feed frozen Artemia, as well as 'TetraMin' flake food, 'TetraPrima' granules, 'TetraMin' spirulina flakes and 'TetraMin Pro' crisp food. The Congo Tetras really enjoy these flake foods, and they seem to give these fish plenty of energy and stunning colouration.

I do not use any soluble plant fertilisers at all. Every few months I bury a few 'Aquarium Pharmaceuticals Root Tabs' in the substrate near the base of any of any plants that look like they could do with a 'boost'. The idea of these tablets is that they slowly release Iron near the root system of the plant, so that it is taken up gradually. They seem to work very well!

I carry out a 10% water change every week, to keep nitrates under control. Every other water change incorporates a filter sponge clean, using the water removed from the tank.

Pictures

Please click a thumbnail below to enlarge - image opens in a new window.