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Biotope Aquariums: Nature Under Glass

First a disclaimer: I’m not recommending you do or don’t help fund this. I am just talking about the type of tank, and the idea.

The type of tank is a biotope. That is most certainly my favorite kind of tank. What is it? The idea is simple. I like to describe it this way: if you could take a chunk out of a river or lake or stream or even a forest and capture everything in that chuck just as it was in the wild, that is a biotope. It’s a wonderful bit of that single environment captured in a glass box. It’s not just fish but the rock, the sand, the plants, the shrimp, and sometimes even the insects. I’ve even seen them that go so far as to have plants that grow up out of the water and house lizards or frogs in them. Once I saw one that had a green vine snake in it. That species of snake is a piscivore so it actually would feed on the fish in the aquarium part of the tank. Amazing!

Visit http://biotope-aquarium.info/info/what-is-a-biotope-aquarium/ to learn more about this image and biotopes.
Visit http://biotope-aquarium.info/info/what-is-a-biotope-aquarium/ to learn more about this image and biotopes.

I’ve done a couple of these over the years. But only a couple. The reason is, as you might expect, they are difficult. Much easier with a reef tank though. But they really shine when they are planted freshwater tanks. If you are looking for an easier one, then a lake cichlid tank would be the one to start with. But an Amazon river tank is incredible. You can even try this idea with your local habitat. Go to your local stream and match that environment in a tank.

So that’s what a biotope is. What is the idea behind this app?

It’s a pretty good idea and it tackles one of the most difficult things about keeping a biotope. It helps you to find, by location, just what fish, plants, animals, etc. you would need to make a biotope of a certain kind.

If you did decide to donate the web site explains, “The funds we receive will go to build the first international platform ever to promote the BIOTOPE AQUARIUM and habitats of the world.” It will contain guidelines on how, lists of fish and plants, water parameters for each habitat, GPS data on the locations, and more.

The first international multimedia platform 100% dedicated to aquatic biotopes

Source: BIOTOPE AQUARIUM Project

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