Sumatra swamp
The 26th place in the qualifying stage of the Biotope Aquarium Design Contest 2015
Russia. Elena Mazurek
Volume: 140 L
List of fishes: Trichogaster leeri, Pangio semicincta
List of plants: Microsorum pteropus, Cryptocoryne sp., Hygrophila corymbosa, Vesicularia sp., Nymphaea sp.
Biotope description: Pearl gourami is one of the most popular and beautiful fish at the aquarium, but information on their habitats are scarce, and it is not surprising. One of the places where they can be found is the swamps of Sumatra, which are difficult to study and occupy a large area of the island. Continuous peat swamps connected by slowly flowing rivers and streams, where the water is usually painted in a dark brown color due to the large amount of dissolved humic acids. The bottom is covered with driftwood, branches and fallen leaves, the water is acidic, pH can drop to 4,0-3,0, sometimes there is rich aquatic vegetation there. In the aquarium the wetland part of the stream is shown with lots of driftwood, dense vegetation and slow flow, these are the places preferred by pearl gourami. Pangio semicincta can be neighbors in such a biotope.
In my opinion, it is one of the best entries in this category. Picky people say that it is an ordinary planted aquarium. But this is how a swamp looks, where there is a lot of plants, in its technical implementation. The fish is colorful, they do not hide (especially loaches), the photograph is of high quality. In short, it is pleasure to look. My recommendation to the author is to replace the sand with boiled peat. It is a swamp, after all.