Eastern part of the Amazon, Brazil, Para

100th place in Biotope Aquarium Design Contest 2017

 Ukraine. Denis Vdovichenko

Volume: 140 L
Dimensions: 80x50x35 cm
List of fishes: Hyphessobrycon serpae, Pterophyllum scalare (blue angel, smoky scalare), Corydoras aeneus
List of plants: Echinodorus amazonicus, Echinodorus tenellus, Cabomba aquatica, Myriophyllum aquaticum
Description of decorations: Mangrove driftwood, branches and leaves, large river yellow sand
Description of equipment: AquaEl Fan 2 Plus internal filter up to 450 l/h, LED lights 2 x 10W, 1x30W 6500K
Water parameters: Temperature 24°C, pH 6.7, GH 9

Description of the area surrounding the biotope: It is a river in South America. It is formed by the confluence of the Maranion and Ucayali rivers. The basin of the Amazon River is more than 7 million square kilometers. In the Amazon there are from 2500 to 4000 species of fish. It is also a kingdom, they are more than 1500 species there. Amazon is the longest after the Nile River in the world, starts in Peru, continues its journey through the lowlands of Peru and Brazil and falls under the equator into the Atlantic Ocean. Amazon has more than 200 tributaries, of which 100 are navigable. The depth of the Amazon at its delta is about 100 meters, and after 3 thousand kilometers it exceeds 20 meters, which allows sea vessels to pass through all of Brazil and get to Peru.

Description of the underwater landscape of the biotope: The bottom of the Amazon always remains smooth and uniform. The substrate consists of yellowish river sand. The river passes through the jungle, in the water there are many branches and driftwood.

Description of the parameters of the habitat: The waters of the Amazon are usually called “white” because of the huge amount of mud carried by the river, the water becomes very cloudy, opaque and seems light. In fact, the Amazon is jungle and swamps that stretches parallel to the equator, therefore, throughout the lowlands, the climatic conditions are the same. The temperature here is high and stable. The whole year it is 25-28°C. Even at night the temperature almost never falls below 20°C.

List of fishes: Hyphessobrycon serpae, Pterophyllum scalare, Corydoras aeneus

List of plants: Echinodorus amazonicus, Echinodorus tenellus, Cabomba aquatica, Myriophyllum aquaticum

Threats to the ecology: The aquarium was set up to draw public attention to the problem of deforestation around the Amazon. Brazil has 47.8% of the total amount of tropical forests cut down on the Earth between 2000 and 2005. Annually in the country the forest disappears on the area of 26 thousand square meters. In this case, the forests retreat mainly in the Brazilian states of Para and Mato Grosso. Tropical forests, where more than 50% of the Earth’s species live, previously covered 14% of the planet, and now it is only 6%. If the trend continues, from 36 to 58% of the 15 thousand species of Amazonian trees will go into the category of endangered. Into the category of endangered also economically important species  can get (for example, Brazil nuts and palm acai), and valuable tree species. This will lead to serious consequences: many species of fish, animals and plants will die, including those that are not yet discovered.

Sources of information: https://geographyofrussia.com/amazonka/https://geographyofrussia.com/amazonka/; https://www.gismeteo.ru/news/sobytiya/16846-vyrubka-lesov-amazonii-postavila-bioraznoobrazie-pod-ugrozu/; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6BGH2LFr5zc&t=2485s