Fast flowing stream on the south side mount Halimun, Indonesia

_st place in Biotope Aquarium Design Contest 2022

Volume of aquarium: 264 Liter

Dimensions of aquarium: 110x80x40 Cm (water is only 30 cm deep)

List of fishes: Sicyopterus microcephalus, Stiphodon elegans

List of plants: –

Description of Decorations and Substrate: Fine gray sand, black pebbles, round black river rocks,

Description of Equipment: Sakkai pro h 1000 36W LED, krisbow 25W spot lamp, wavemaker Hikari 24000L/H 25W
1 powerhead Kandila KD-2600-Z 2800L/H 35W, Powerhead Atman 860L/H 15W for upperhead sump filter,

Water Parameters: 27c – 29c, PH 7, TDS 150 ppm

Additional Info: I try to make the reality of the aquarium as close to nature as possible. Types of rock, sand and fish composition are highly considered in detail based on the topography of the biotope environment. My aquarium is placed on the terrace of a shady house facing east. Always exposed to the morning sun for 3 hours, the Sicydiine goby is a fish that likes to bask when looking for food, by rubbing its mouth against a rock. Morning sunlight provides good nutrition and grows moss. So far I have observed that they do not actually eat moss, but eat diatoms, microorganisms and a type of worm that grows attached to the surface of rocks in water exposed to sunlight.

As additional food, super food gel was given plus spirulina, tubifex worms, frozen blood worms, artemia, daphnia given alternately.

I use an overhead sump filter for easy maintenance and cleaning, the open filter system makes it easy to install a fan, to cool the water that passes through the bioceramic, this is very effective and the falling water facilitates the exchange of Oxygen.
Keeping Sicydiine fish must provide an aerator to increase oxygen levels in the water, additional aeration is more important than forced low temperatures.

Replacement of water every 3 day 20%,

Aquarium video:

Description of the Area Surrounding the Biotope: Aquarium biotope was created by referring to research from the LIPI scientific institute, as the main data, this article is attached and can be downloaded by anyone. In the article, the area referred to as “the south side of Mount Halimun” is the Cimaja and Cisukawayana rivers. These two rivers are close to each other, connected to each other by an irrigation system and flow into the Teluk Pelabuhan Ratu. Mount Halimun has a geological history known as the Bayah dome. This geological event isolated the river south of Mount Halimun, so it was not connected to other rivers on the island of Java. The isolated river area gives rise to the existence of goby fish species that fill the void of the ecological niche in the south of Mount Halimun.

The character of the river in the south of Mount Halimun is rocky, short and steep. I found some interesting habitats with different water parameters based on the topography of the area.

The biotope habitat in the topography of 100 MASL is a river with a width of 20 meters. Around the river is rice field.

Description of the underwater landscape of the biotope
The river in the 100MASL topographic area is shallow, the maximum depth is only 1 meter. the water discharge is sometimes a little but there are often sudden floods

Description of the Underwater Landscape of the Biotope: The river in the 100MASL topographic area is shallow, the maximum depth is only 1 meter. the water discharge is sometimes a little but there are often sudden floods

Description of the Habitat Parameters: Average temperature is 27 c, PH 7, TDS 120-200 ppm

List of Fishes and Invertebrates Occurring in the Nature Biotope: Sicyopterus microcephalus
Stiphodon elegans
Awaous grammepomus
Eleotris melanosoma
Gymnothorax polyumnodon
Osteochilus hasseltii
Anguilla bicolor
Puntius binotatus

List of Plants Found in the Nature Biotope: no water plants, only plants in the periphery zone which is dominated by coconut tree and shrubs

Threats to the Ecology of the Biotope: as written in the book Indo-Pacific Sicydiine Gobies, sicydiine habitat is determined by water parameters and topography. The isolated habitat south of Mount Halimun is a few habitats with the dominance of sicydiine gobies on the island of Java, therefore this habitat really needs to be preserved. several species of sicydiine gobies in this area are newly identified species such as Lentipes ikeae, Sicyopus rubicundus and the recently described Schismatogobius saurii. It is also necessary to investigate the types of sicydiine gobies in this area which are too far from their common habitats, such as Sicyopus zosterophorum and Stiphodon elegans, which may be new species.
There is one interesting fact, I made this biotope aquarium based on data from 20 years ago, too many changes, not all rivers south of Mount Halimun have sicydiine, some of the ecology of this river has been replaced by fish that are more commonly found in Java such as Nemacheilus sp, Puntius sp, Cyprinus carpio, Osteochilus hasseltii and Rasbora aprolaenia. This type of sicydiine will very easily lose competition, lose aggressively. Not everyone in Java is aware of the existence of the Sicydiine species, some are not aware of spreading invasive fish species that are dangerous to the ecology in the south of Mount Halimun.

Sources of Information:
https://e-journal.biologi.lipi.go.id/index.php/berita_biologi/article/view/1166/1040
https://e-journal.biologi.lipi.go.id/index.php/berita_biologi/article/download/1072/947
Banarescu P. 1990. Zoogeography of freshwaters. Vol I. General distribution and Dispersal of freshwater animals. AULA-Verlag, Wiesbaden
Keith, P., Lord, C., Maeda, K., 2015b. Indo-Pacific Sicydiine Gobies: Biodiversity, Life Traits and Conservation. Société française d’ichtyologie, Paris
Lor, Yer.2016.Understanding Species Diversity of the Amphidromus Indopacific Goby Genus Stiphodon. Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, Texas.
Lord, C., Lorion, J., Dettai, A., Watanabe, S., Tsukamoto, K., Cruaud, C., Keith, P., 2012. From endemism to widespread distribution: phylogeography of three amphidromous Sicyopterus species (Teleostei: Gobioidei: Sicydiinae). Mar. Biol. Prog. Ser. 455, 269–285.
Nurcahyadi W. 2000. Keanekaan Hayati Ikan di S.Cikaniki dan S. Cisukaway,ana, Taman Nasional Gunung Halimun. Skripsi Sarjana Perikanan, Fakultas Perikanan Institut Pertanian Bogor
Rachmatika I, DS Sjafei and W Nurchayadi. 2001. Fish fauna in Gunung Halimun National Park and the adjacent area. Berita Biologi 5 (6), 667 – 678