Caño Yarina creek, Rio Pacaya, Peru

The 43rd place in the qualifying stage of the Biotope Aquarium Design Contest 2015

 Greece. Vasilis Athanasopoulos-Feredinos

Volume: 180 L
List of fishes: Serrasalmus sanchezi
List of plants: Pistia stratiotes
Biotope description: The aquarium was set up based on a biotope of Caño Yarina a tributary of the Río Pacaya located close to the confluence of the ríos Marañon and Ucayali in Peru, represents a typical biotope. The main channel is around 100 m wide although the surrounding terrain is inundated for the majority of the year with a short period of low water between July and September with flooded forest comprising 85% of the area. Where there is open water, around 40% of it is covered by “floating meadows” consisting of rafts of macrophytes which tend to form most thickly around lake and stream margins. The conditions in Caño Yarina are typical of Amazonian whitewaters with dissolved sediment reducing visibility and the water stained darker during the high water period due to decomposing organic materials. Plant species involved in the formation of floating meadows mostly include Polygonium sp., Pistia stratiotes, Eichhornia crassipes, Paspalum sp. and an unidentified leguminous species, with others including unidentified members of the genera Azolla, Neptunia, Ludwigia, Salvinia, Utricularia and Echinochloeta.