Are you familiar with biotope aquatics? If not, you’re missing out on the most sophisticated aquatic discipline! A biotope aquarium recreates a natural habitat with its creatures and plants, but also the stones, the wood and the substrate. That may not sound complicated at all when a little light sand and a few snail shells can create a really authentic Lake Tanganyika biotope, with its shell dwellers (ostracophil). But the next step is the exciting part; how can you design a habitat like this so that it is not only natural, but is also really beautiful to look at and reflects the beauty of nature? What you do is you create a pleasing "tableau" using only the colours and motifs found in the original. And that’s not that easy. A lot of habitats look very similar: leaves on the ground, brown water, no plants and somewhere a flock of fish. But they’re not particularly attractive!
In the Biotop Aquarium Design Contest ( BADC 2017 ) aquarium owners from around the world compete for the title and create incredible masterpieces. These aquariums should be covered in this blog series:
Biotope Aquatics Part 1: South America, a Tributary of the Rio Negro near Barcelos
Biotope Aquatics Part 2: Mexico, Upper Candelaria River near the Sandbank
Biotope Aquatics Part 3: Southeast Asia, Vietnam: Tram Chim Melaleuca Forests, Dong Thap Province
