#176: 216L Biotope Aquascape Rio Olho d'água, the tributary of Rio da Prata river, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil

Li Nan Beijing, China

Comments

General Impression/Faithful Reproduction of Biotope:
The Rio Olho d'água is a very well known and documented place with a lot of available video and photography. This biotope is lacking in fish diversity and density especially in the confined and dark undercut bank sections where the small fish find refuge from the open water predators the habitat is known for.

Accuracy of Plants and Animals for the Biotope:
See comment above regarding fish density/diversity.

Accuracy of Hardscape:
This is a good reproduction of the hardscape of the edge of this type of stream.

Condition:
The water in Rio Olho d'água is crystal clear because the source of the water is spring fed. There should be no cloudiness or tannin in the water.
— Ted Judy
You have developed such a beautiful natural habitat for your fish but then you feature a man-made long finned fish in one of your photos! I probably would not have even noticed him had you not pointed him out to me!
— Karen Randall

Aquascape Details

Dimensions 60 × 60 × 60 cm
Title Rio Olho d'água, the tributary of Rio da Prata river, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil
Volume 216L
Background Background board
Lighting Kessil Tuna Sun 360x 90w LED, Spectrum 6,000K to 9,000K
Filtration EHEIM 600 classic external filter (1000 L/H)
Plants There are no plants except for some algae in the place I described.
Animals Hyphessobrycon eques
Materials When I accidentally saw a photo of Rio Olho d'água taken by Tai Strietman on Facebook, I was deeply touched by the underwater landscape. An idea came up, I want to make a biotope aquarium to restore the habitat to give my fish a perfect home.
All the elements used in my aquarium, including branches and fallen leaves, were derived from natural collection. I chose white fine sand as the substrates and put some limestones inside which are consistent with the habitat to maintain the similar water quality. I used big branches to build the skeleton and placed some small branches and leaves on the top.
Sunlight shines into the aquarium from the gap between the upper layer branches and leaves and onto the algae on the ground. There are a lot of shelters in the aquarium for fish to hide and enough open space for fish to play. As time goes by, the leaves and roots will slowly rot and disappear after a few months, which is a microcosm of the ecological cycle of nature.
Additional Information change 1/4 water each week

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