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Well, I've just setup a South American blackwater biotope. The tank was going to house discus, but apparently young discus need a bare tank to thrive, they're rather delicate, I can't find any natural coloured or wild discus here...so I've decided against them.
Can anyone suggest a suitable fish community? Biotope correct of course
The tank is furnished with fine sand (golden-ish coloured), driftwood and leaf litter. No plants, not a-lot vegetation in blackwaters I'm told, and besides, I haven't had a-lot of luck with plants
The tank already houses some blackwater Ancistrus (either A. hoplogenys or A. sp cf. dolichopterus, not sure).
Thanks.

The tank dimensions are: 48"x18"x18"

This sounds precisely like the tank I am planning to set up! At the moment my blackwater tank (upper Rio Negro) has no plants, lots of treeroots, whitish sand, "teawater", oak leaves, oak branch hanging down into the water, and inhabitants are Dicrossus filamentosus (Checkerboards), Paracheirodon axelrodi (Cardinal neon) and Corydoras adolfoi.

In my papers for the next and larger blackwater tank I have noted some possible suggestions:

Upper Rio Negro/connection to Orinoco
Carnegiella marthae ssp marthae or similar
Megalamphodus sweglesi (Sweglesi tetra)
Nannobrycon spp
Hemmigrammus bleheri (tetra)
Poecilocharax weitzmani
Nannostomus wavrini (same habitat as Cardinalneon)
L-numbers! Many species from this area
Corydoras
C. melanistius (Orinoco)
C. duplicareus (Orinoco/Inirida)
C. ourastigma (Orinoco)
C. incolicana (upper Rio Negro, Sao Gabriel)
C. robustus (middle course R Negro)
C. schwartzii (------"--------)
C. amandajanea (R Negro)
C. adolfoi (upper R Negro)
C. nijsenii (branches upper R Negro. Blackwater?)
C. davidsandi (Rio miua system)
C. postazensis (Rio Negro)
Aspidoras pauciradiatus (Rio Negro)
Callichtys
Apistogramma
A. diplotaenia (Rio Negro/upper Orinoco)
A. elisabethae (Rio Uaupes)
A. gephyra (Rio Negro)
A. gibbiceps
A. meinkenii (Rio Uaupes area)
A. mendezii
A. paucisquamis
A. pertensis
A. vaupesi (Uaupes area)
A. hongsloi (upper Orinoco)
Taeniacara candidi (upper Rio Negro)
Pterophyllum altum (upper Rio Negro/Orinoco) might eat some of the other species listed..
Iguanodectes species (long silvery spectacular schooling fishes!)
There are Arowanas, Piranhas, Pacus, cichlids, catfishes.

young discus most certainly do not need a bare tank to thrive. That's bunk. It makes it easier to siphon waste and leftover food, but discus can be raised just as well in a tank with substrate, plants and other fish.

Sounds like a nice set up. I would keep the fish simple. For a dispaly tank you could add about 7-9 Corydoras burgessi or C. adolfoi, a couple of pretty Orinoco L numbers (Like L 200 or Leproacanthicus triactus), and about 20 cardinal tetras. That would be a very attractive show tank.
-Shane

spiny, Shane, thanks for the great suggestions! I'm more interested in the tank looking natural and interesting then seeing how many blackwater species I can cram into it. So keeping it simple sounds good.
Can anybody else give me another suggested list?
S.allen, I had assumed discus could be grown just as successfully in a furnished tank, theres no conveniently bare-bottomed rivers in nature! The discus experts told me not to try it because I would fail, and their whole attitude towards the subject soured me on getting discus.