Biotope Aquariums
- James
- May 16, 2017
- 2 min read
Most people in this hobby tend to keep mind aquariums of their favourite plants and fish. Very few people actually keep biotope aquariums. You may be asking what a biotope aquarium is? let me tell you, a biotope aquarium can be defined as an aquarium that is set-up to simulate a natural habitat. The fish, plants, water chemistry, and furnishings are similar to those that can be found in a specific natural setting.
Therefore if you keep your beloved Kribensis cichlids with neon tetras or angel fish then you are keeping a mixd aquarium. A biotope aquarium would be when you are concentrating on a specific river, region or continent. It can be difficult to stimulate a perfect habitat with a good mix of fish, plants and hardscape. In Photo Credit my opinion one of the most beautiful biotopes is the African river biotope.
Photo credit: Definite Aquascape
To see a video of the above tank click here
Not only is there a great range of fish such as Congo tetras and elephant nose fish but there is a great selection of easy to car for plants such as Anubias and Red Tiger Lotus. There are lots of different places you can find out about the origins of plant and fish species but there is not a great deal of information about hardscape.
In my opinion the best thing to do with hardscape is not mix too much. For example if you use a certain type of driftwood then make sure you stick to that and use other pieces of the same type of driftwood and the same with the rocks. Obviously this is not a rule and I would always recommend to make an aquarium the way YOU want it because you are the person that will see it every day.
There is a huge selection of biotopes you can create with different fish, plant and hardscape combinations and I would strongly recommend doing some research into individual biotopes before you make your decision. The benefits of a biotope aquarium are incredible and the behaviours you see from your fish are nothing like you will have experienced before.
There are a lot of useful websites that you can use to help you set up your biotope aquarium. Below is a list of websites we have discovered that can help inspire you to the perfect biotope aquarium.
BIOTOPE AQUARIUM- www.biotope-aquarium.info This website is a competition site but has pictures of lots of different biotopes that can help get the creative juices flowing.
PRACTICAL FISHKEEPING- www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk PFK is another great website that has numerous tutorials for African, Amazonian and even Taiwanese Biotope Aquariums.
DEFINITE AQUASCAPE.TV- www.youtube.com/definiteaquascapetv.com This YouTube channel is amazing for Biotope aquariums and even did some video footage of from the aquarium competition listed above.
We hope you have taken some inspiration away from this article and look into designing your own biotope aquarium. I would love to see some pictures of your own or even some of the inspiration for biotope aquariums you love.
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