Different Types Of Aquarium
West Africa is lined with rivers and streams with an acid pH, and temperatures of up to 27°C. The
swampy areas disappear in the dry season, but the fish which frequent them have devised various
strategies to overcome this difficulty: some species, such as the killies, lay eggs which are able to resist
drought.
East Africa is characterized by the presence of large lakes, veritable inland seas, only with unsalted
water. The most important of these are, from north to south, Lake Victoria, Lake Tanganyika, and
Lake Malawi. They are mainly inhabited by fish from the Cichlid family, three quarters of which are
only found in this region.
Lake Victoria, which stretches over nearly 7,000 km2, with a maximum depth of 80 m, contains very
hard water which can reach a temperature of 26-27°C. Its fish represent a substantial source of
nutrition locally, although they have been in decline since the deliberate introduction of a carnivorous
predator, the Nile perch.
The lake most familiar to aquarists, Lake Tanganyika, is one of the biggest (31,900 km2, the second
largest in the world) and the deepest (a maximum of 1,400 m!). Only the first couple of hundred
meters contain fish, which are accustomed to its extremely hard water, a pH between 7.5 and 9.2,
and temperatures of up to 27°C. The clear, well-oxygenated surface waters house few plants, the
main vegetation being the carpet of algae covering the rocky areas. The species living there
sometimes form different population groups, quite close to each other, which can mainly be
distinguished by their color. Some fishes take refuge in the empty shells of Gastropods on the sandy
shores. This lake is also exploited by the locals as a source of food, but the Cichlids are actively bred
and exported all over the world.
This is also the case with Lake Malawi, at 26,000 km2 almost as large as Tanganyika, but not as deep
(700 m). Its water is slightly less calcareous and its temperatures range from 24 to 26°C. Some
species of Cichlids found there are nowadays known as Mbunas.
Tags: cichlid family, cichlids
February 17th, 2008 at 2:40 pm
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