my hillstream viv journal

[Keith Wolcott]

Great photos! I really like the fourth from last picture of the frog peeking out.

[glenna]

that is an amazing and lovely habitat!
and really an accomplishment... I am sure you know that already, since you did all the work.
If I lived there, I think I would never go to work!

I LOVE the little blue legged frog!

I am a gardener AND a fish keeper, so this is GREAT stuff.
Please continue to post updates!
Oh, BTW, how long did it take to design and implement the whole project?

[wimvanvelzen]

Thank you both!

The initial idea was born around December 2007. Q1&2 2008 I built a first hill stream vivarium (somewhat smaller at 150x75cm; about the same height). The idea worked, but I learned quite a few things that should be done better. So September 2009 I started this new tank by preparing the room; Q1 2010 I built the actual tank and Q2 the interior. June 2010 I moved the plants and animals from the former tanks to this new one. So alltogether I spent a lot of time, but in a relatively small time frame.

[wimvanvelzen]

Last week I visited an aquatic plant dealer and bought some plants. Most of it seems to do nicely. I am especially happy with the Lagenandra thwaitesii (green) and L. meeboldii (red).
Here some pics of the new ones, of course with what was already there:

[wimvanvelzen]

After way too long another update! No animal pics this time, but mainly the planted scenery. I used the camera I normally use for landscape photography, giving a shallow depth of field in the tank.


For starters an overview of the tank as it is now (and yes, I have to do some gardening...)



Overview of the left side:



Overview of the corner:



Idem:




Overview of the right side:




some details:


Underneath the waterfall at the left hand side:



idem, right:







Ficus panama, back in the corner:



Pogostemon helferi, in the waterfall high on the right side:



idem, closer:







Fern on the large branch on the right side:



the same, close up



the same, even closer up




Begonia schultzei, close up


near the back window


Tillandsia sp.


the same within its surroundings

[wimvanvelzen]

This week I tried to get some animal portraits as well. I used the same landscape camera and a studio flash. Bit of weird toolbox for making images of a viv, but the results are quite interesting.
Dirt, wet windows and reflections are all very well visible. The details the macro lens uncover are fascinating.

On land: de Mannophryne trinitatis:






crop from same image:







In het water:

Just behind the glass an Atyopsis molluccensis; in close up the fan hands are very easy to see:





Nomorhamphus liemi, male:<br>


same species, female:<br>


same picture, crop:



hunting just under the surface:<br>



Rasbora kalochroma:<br />




Rhinogobius portraits - they are so cute!








Finally some Gastromyzon:
In the first there is also an Aphyosemion australe:

[ClownLoachSharky]

that is a beautiful setup. i like your hillstream loach too. how much flow do you have in that setup?

[wimvanvelzen]

Thanks!

The pumps add up to about 20,000 liter/hour (and a total amount of 800 liters), but that is of course nominal capacity. Compared to almost all fish tanks the flow is enormous, compared to nature it is only mild.

[Jim Powers]

That just gets better looking with each update!

[ClownLoachSharky]

agreed