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Hello everyone.
I’m new here and I need some help.
I have a 100L tank with C. pygmaeus and 17/19 C. panda. This is a planted tank with extrafine amber sand (0,1-0,2mm), pH around 6,8; KH 3 and GH 7. Tempeture’s around 22°C in winter and 28°C in summer.
I’m transfering the panda in a 300L tank, but I would like to recreate a biotope one. I know these fishes haven’t ‘seen’ any Peruvian river in their whole life, but I think it would be great if I can achieve it.
I’ve been trying to collect information, but even if this is a popular fish in the hobby, I can’t find much.
What I’ve got:
1. They’ve been found in some unnamed creek near Panguana station, Yuyapichis river.
2. They’ve been also found in Rio Aguas Amarillas (can’t find anything about this though)
3. They live in clear or black, slightly acidic and not warm water.
What I wish to found more about?
I would like to recreate a black water system. What do I aim for? Are there floating plants (Limnobium, Pistia)?
What plant could be found near the river?
Where exactly could I point the location?
Thanks in advance if you can provide any information at all.

Welcome,
I have not collected in the Rio Pachitea, but have collected in other Andean piedmont rivers and they all share similar characteristics. In the rainy season they carry high volumes of water and become white water rivers due to the massive amounts of sediment coming down from the Andes. In the dry season they often run quite shallow and the water becomes clear. The substrate we ill be a combination of medium sized stones, gravel, and pockets of fine sand in the eddies. Some (few) aquatic and emersed plants can be found near the river banks in the dry season. Driftwood is not common, but large submerged trees can be found near the river bank occasionally where the river has eroded the bank causing the tree to collapse.
I am not aware of any black waters at these altitudes as the gradient is too steep for the water to remain in contact with vegetation for prolonged periods. Also, loose vegetation is regularly washed away. Even at the height of the dry season the rivers and their tributaries flow with constant current. The constant flow of water also keeps these rivers cooler in temperature than rivers in the Amazon basin proper.
For a river biotope I would use rounded river stones and a substrate of mixed gravel and sand. Be sure to add the stones first before the substrate to get a natural look. You could add floating plants to this set up.
For a small creek biotope you could build a background replicating the bank of a creek with exposed tree roots and roots from terrestrial plants. I would place a few smaller (fist sized) stones and then use a sand substrate.
Hope that helps.
-Shane

Thank you Shane, for your reply!
I really appreciate it.