SA biotope

Yes you read right, South Africa not South America! And c'mon guys, why not? in fact I don't know why it hasn't been done before/more often. I mean, go take a snorkel and a mask and jump into one of the rivers in Cederburg, the aquatic fauna and flora you will see is beautiful! so why not an aquarium biotope? we do live right here after all.

THE PLAN

I'm going to do a South African biotope. I'm still deciding between two locations to recreate. The first is a Cedarburg clear or blackwater river, the second is one I have observed in a stream near Watervalboven (how do you spell it?).

The Cedarburg one has light (almost white) river sand as substrate. Beautiful rocks of different browns (gold, russet, mahogony, beige, oakre, deep brown, etc.) scattered about with a couple of dark tree roots sticking out of the substrate staining the water clear and golden. I'm not at all sure of the names are of the plants I saw, but there were a few growing submersed, but many more emersed. There may have been some egeria densa, ceratophyllum, Isolepis fluitans, potamogeton schweinfuthii and others, all the plants were at the riverbank, none in the middle of the river. As for fish, the only kind I properly obsereved somewhat resembled a cherry barb, but without red, it was about 10 - 15cm long and had a stripe running from from head to tail, much like the cherry barb's. I saw a few of these, all similarly sized some smaller than the one mentioned above, but I could not see any truly clearly, as they were mostly swimming away. This may be a commonly known fish by fishers, but i don't fish. I have no idea of what it is.

The second biotope is of the watervalboven area, I'm only interested because there is a resort nearby where my family rockclimbes, I suck so I go to the stream and explore the fauna and flora. I have not seen ANY fish, , but the plant life is WONDERFUL!!! such an assortment of (semi) aquatic mosses. I've found something identical to this starmoss (pic from ebay)
and many, many, many more! The substrate is dark brown, mostly high flow, rocky, mountain type stream with black (ish) rocks.

Any way, let me know what you think. I'll be checking out some Drakensburg streams soon too.

 

One major problem with recreating this..... (Been wanting to do it for YEARS!) - It's illegal to collect or keep any indigenous plants or fish species....

 

It's illegal to collect or keep any indigenous plants or fish species...

In Sif Africa ja tell that to rhino poachers,isn't fauna and flora so corrupt
And fat and corrupt

Hate to be a hypocrite but sqautters steel plunder trees and fish

Now is it that wrong for you to pick up a rock ,gravel before it is destroyed

 

One thing that majorly concerns and baffles me is that there is no mention of Smallmouth Yellowfish (Labeobarbus aeneus) or Largemouth Yellowfish (Labeobarbus kimberleyensis) on the BL. I mean of all the senseless species on the list why not a native species like Largemouth which used to be a threatend species.

 

@Good_Times - they use a "Blanket Ban" .... All indigenous species.... the ones that get listed in the BL are species that also occur outside of SA's borders....anything "inside" is BL.....

 

Okay thanx for clarifying,but they also occur in Namib, vis rivier.

 

I reckon it would be pointless to put them on the BL if they breed them commercially for reintroduction into wild water systems. They would then be breaking their own laws... Not that they have a handle on those laws but anyway you get my point

 

@fishygirl I have some of that growing in my garden by my pool I have been wanting to post and ask the question when the rain lets up I will take a pick and ask it is the same and can be used in aquariums I have loads you can come get some...