Coastal zone of Musa river in the Safia valley, Papua – New Guinea
The 24th place in the qualifying stage of the Biotope Aquarium Design Contest 2014
Belarus. Yriy Shamkalovich
Volume: 40 L
List of fishes: Tateurndina occellicauda
List of plants: Blyxa novoguineensis, Microsorum pteropus, Ammania multiflora
Biotope description: It is a small river in Safia valley in the eastern part of island with slow current and clear water. It is a bottom. Temperature is 24-28°C; pH is about 7.0; hardness 90-180 ppm.
This was my 4th place, as it was done very well, very similar to what I encountered in this biotope when I found Ps. furcatus here (which should have been added), TOGETHER with Tateurndina ocellicauda, and also a Melanotaenia sp. Therefore the description is very poor, otherwise very good.
The title more properly should be Marginal Zone or Shoreline, but we get the idea. There is little information in the description. This biotope evokes a spot near the bank where driftwood and palm fronds have snagged on the rocks and thickets of marginal plants have grown in the area sheltered from the current – and quite successfully. The arrangement of stones is true to nature, half buried in the gravel and providing support for the bank to slope up towards the back. The orientation of the palm frond and driftwood indicates the direction of the current and gives a sense of unidirectional movement. Gravel and stones are the right size, colour, and shape for a river. The fish are biotope-correct and seem well-acclimated. The tank looks very new however, since it has not had time to mature with algae and so on on the stones and wood.