Arrollo Santa Maria, desviación del río Cazones, en el estado de Veracruz, México

_th place in Biotope Aquarium Design Contest 2020

Volume: 90 L
Dimensions: 67x35x40 cm
List of fishes: Astyanax Mexicanus, Melanoide Tuberculata
List of plants: Heteranthera dubia, Najas Guadalupensis, Ludwigia Repens, Tradescantia Fluminensis, Ruellia Simplex
Description of decorations: The substrate of the biotope is somewhat earthy or sandy accompanied by mostly oval-shaped rocks, like a combination of lowland soil with sand and rocks.
Description of equipment: Homemade canister type filter with an OceanAqua 300L / H impulse pump, Led T8 6500k lamp lighting, 2200 Lumens
Water parameters: Temperature is 29 °, pH is 7.5, gH is 8
Additional info: Water changes every 2 weeks of 40%, filling with conditioned water

INFORMATION ABOUT BIOTOPE

Description of the area surrounding the biotope: The Cazones River is a short river in Mexico from the side of the Gulf of Mexico. It originates from the springs of the Sierra Madre Oriental in the state of Hidalgo and crosses the mountainous region of the north of the state of Puebla on its way to the coastal plains of the state of Veracruz, finally flowing into the waters of the Gulf of Mexico. This system provides the drinking water system of the Veracruz city of Poza Rica de Hidalgo.
Description of the underwater landscape of the biotope: The stream passes through a sand-earth substrate of a grayish-brown tone and there are also stones with an oval shape with gray tones, the stream is surrounded by a forest for which there are many trees almost in contact with the water, and branches, leaves, trunks or roots are found at the bottom.
Description of the parameters of the habitat: The water is transparent, the temperature is usually around 26 ° C, but in summer it reaches 29 °, its pH is around 7-8 depending on the season
List of fishes and invertebrates occurring in the nature biotope: Astyanax mexicanus, poeciliopsis Gracilis, Thorichthys Meeki, Gambusia affinis, Cambarellus Montezumae, Melanoide Tuberculata
List of plants found in the nature biotope: Heteranthera dubia, Najas Guadalupensis, Ludwigia Repens, Tradescantia Fluminensis, Ruellia Simplex, Hydrocotyle Verticillata
Threats to the ecology: The objective of the aquarium is for people who are not familiar with aquatic life to realize the natural beauty of the environment, and the damage caused by overfishing pollution and removal of organisms, as is the case of the cambarellus montezumae that although now it is very popular in aquariums, before it was very common to see it in any river or stream in the area and in recent years there have been very few sightings of it, we have been looking just to see If it still lives in our rivers but it has not been seen, let’s hope that with these aquariums people will see how important it is to take care of bodies of water and in the not too distant future to see Cambarellus montezumae abundantly and wildly again. (I did not introduce it to the biotope because I could not find the sale here).
Sources of information:

https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astyanax_mexicanus
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red-rimmed_melania
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heteranthera_dubia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ludwigia_repens
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Najas_guadalupensis
https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cambarellus_montezumae
https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gambusia_affinis
https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poeciliopsis_gracilis
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrocotyle_verticillata
https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tradescantia_fluminensis
https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruellia_simplex
Mexican Aquatic Plants a contribution to the Flore de Mexico, volume1 monocots, Antonio Lot, Rosalinda Medina Lemos, Fernando Chiang
https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/R%C3%ADo_Cazones
file: /// C: /Users/kiara/Downloads/BasanesCobosPaulina.pdf
file: /// C: / Users / kiara / Downloads / dcfichero_articulo% 20 (2) .pdf
And I did the exploration myself to see the biotope and its inhabitants in more detail.

Comments of the members of the jury of Biotope Aquarium Design Contest 2020