# Costa Rica Essence



## pomi (Oct 13, 2009)

Hello everyone!

Recently, I've set up an CA cichlids theme tank. The fish in it are one pair of Sajica and one pair of Multispinosa. I'm using LED light for this set up, but I'm not very fond of it, so maybe I'll switch to spot lights in the future.

I wanted to make this layout very simple and easy to maintain, but also to look nice and natural. It's still a work in progress, but here are a few pics of it.

First day of setup, with LED lights and scared fish, hiding behind rocks:










Some shots of the male and female Sajica, using the flash:





































Yesterday I took a few more pics, using just sunlight, in order to give the pics a natural look and not seeming like a fishtank, but underwater pics in the wild.














































At last, a short video:






This is my first attempt at a CA tank, so advice and critics are welcome.


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## livingroomdiver (Oct 10, 2011)

Great lookin fish! I've got a pair of Multispinosa that are just kicking a case of ick. Can't wait till they get that amazing color back. Those Sajicas are beautiful too. Did you pick them up as adults?


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## Aquatic Aggression (Sep 26, 2011)

Amazing 8)


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## DFishFox (Sep 27, 2011)

Very elegant. I could fall asleep in front of this one.


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## Chubbs the Jellybean (Jun 16, 2009)

That male sajica is a beauty!


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## irondan (Nov 22, 2007)

beautiful aquascape and great fish. well done


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## cage623 (Feb 2, 2008)

I gotta say that I do really like your tank. I always seem to like the more natural and less busy looking tanks and I would say that you have achieved that.

Also I really think that you have some great looking fish. I have always really wanted some sajica but have never found them in this area and am not ready to pay what it would cost to get some shipped to me.


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## pomi (Oct 13, 2009)

Update:

The sajica are acting like they prepare to spawn soon. The male is digging under a rock and charges at the multispinosa.


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## pomi (Oct 13, 2009)

I took a short video of the behavior I mentioned above. Is it really what I'm guessing?


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## MonteSS (Dec 8, 2008)

Beautiful tank and fish. A large bodied Tertra school would look nice in there. I like cories too.

....Bill


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## pomi (Oct 13, 2009)

I wanted to add a school of small fish, but I also wanna keep this tank as a CA theme, so I'm asking if they are any tetras around Costa Rica region .


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## clgkag (Mar 22, 2008)

pomi said:


> I wanted to add a school of small fish, but I also wanna keep this tank as a CA theme, so I'm asking if they are any tetras around Costa Rica region .


You have to sort through it, but here is a good resource.
http://fish.mongabay.com/data/Costa_Rica.htm


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## pomi (Oct 13, 2009)

Here it is, what I found last night in the tank, when I got home.






:fish:


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## MonteSS (Dec 8, 2008)

Congratz. Beautiful pair and looks like they are doing a great job.

...Bill


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## pomi (Oct 13, 2009)

New arrangement.


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## livingroomdiver (Oct 10, 2011)

Now that's what I call a rock!  Is that there to help define the territories, or just aesthetics?


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## pomi (Oct 13, 2009)

The main purpose of this big rock is to define territories, that's why I chose to put it in the middle of the tank, but it had to look nice also, for the aesthetics.

Also, this rock is intended to break the line of sight of the hyper-aggressive sajica male, which terrorizes the female prior to spawning.


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## livingroomdiver (Oct 10, 2011)

The perfect marriage of function and fashion. It looks great, and should serve the intended purpose.


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## PaulineMi (Apr 3, 2008)

Your tank looks great and the fish are beauties. Do you run into any problems with bark being left on the submerged branches?


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## MonteSS (Dec 8, 2008)

Awesome.

...Bill


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## pomi (Oct 13, 2009)

My male sajica is growing up....


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## pomi (Oct 13, 2009)

My first Full HD video...


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## pomi (Oct 13, 2009)

The little buggers are growing fast...


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## Elijah (Mar 30, 2011)

Awesome set up and nice fish selection!


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## SEAN420 (Nov 24, 2011)

nice setup


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## pomi (Oct 13, 2009)

I switched back to warm light on this tank, so the fish's colors look a bit different now.

Here's the male:


Cryptoheros sajica


Cryptoheros sajica


Cryptoheros sajica

Maybe I will have some time to shoot the female also, cause she is looking quite good under the new lights.


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## CjCichlid (Sep 14, 2005)

Great looking fish and setup. I have a group of 7x Multispinosa growing out right now and am anxious for them to pair off.

I saw someone mentioned some type of Tetra school but your wanting to keep it biotope correct. There are not to many native CA Tetra species. Astyanax Tetras are found in CA but they are pretty hard to come by in the trade, not to mention they get relatively large. You could go with a trio (1x M, 2x F) of some sort of livebearer like Swordtails, as they are native to that area I believe. You would most likely want to try and find the "wild type" or I think there often called Green Swordtails.

I have a CA "themed" tank as well (not a true biotope), and went with a school of Buenos Aires Tetras. Although they are SA, they closely resemble the Astyanax Tetra species found in CA.


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## pomi (Oct 13, 2009)

A group of green swordtails will look very nice with the sajica pair, I believe. I'll go and research a bit, to see if their native to Costa Rica.

Thanks for the tip!

LE:

It seems they can be found from Mexico to north Honduras, but Costa Rica is down south, so that's a no go.

Darn, biotope tanks can be so restrictive sometimes


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## CjCichlid (Sep 14, 2005)

Ahh, I was afraid of that! This is exactly why I do not have a true biotope, it's to hard to keep accurate!

Here's a link to a list of freshwater fish species found in Costa Rica, maybe it will help...
http://fish.mongabay.com/data/Costa_Rica.htm

After glancing at that list, it looks like Shortfin Mollies are native. You should be able to find those pretty easily...


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## pomi (Oct 13, 2009)

Unfortunately, I don't like Mollies and other fish in that list are impossible to find in my region.

I forgot about my fav pic of the male Sajica, which shows some nice details:


Cryptoheros sajica


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## CjCichlid (Sep 14, 2005)

Again, great looking Sajica. I wish I could find some locally as I'd like a pair for myself!


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## pomi (Oct 13, 2009)

Here is the 3 inches female:


Cryptoheros sajica female


Cryptoheros sajica female


Cryptoheros sajica female


Cryptoheros sajica female


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