Small pond in Indochina
The 21th place in the qualifying stage of the Biotope Aquarium Design Contest 2013
Russia. Alexei Kovalyov
Volume: 100 L
List of fishes: Macropodus spechti, Macropodus sp.
List of plants: Nymphaea rubra, Cryptocoryne ciliata, Cryptocoryne sp., Limnophila sessiliflora
Biotope description: Somewhere on the Indochina Peninsula in the lost pond, forgotten by everyone, there was a family of Macropodus spechti (Concolor). Who made this pond, no one remembered, was it excavated by order of the local tradesman to decorate the estate, or was it a part of a large lake. By local standards dim sun lit pond, Nymphaea rubra grew slowly, young Cryptocoryne ciliata and other Cryptocorynes were a little closer to the shore. The life in the pond was peaceful and slow, but one day a young Concolor female saw people with strange instruments on the banks of the pond. One person wore a large black hat. She hid in Limnophila sessiliflora, whose dissected leave tops almost reached the surface of the water, and watched…
Alexei gave a very nice poem-like description but for too far from a real biotope and without precise location, therefore and because of the missing other species I could not give so many points.
This tank is actually one of the best here. I know it doesn’t look like one, but in my opinion it is. That’s because of the bottom – full of dirt, and this is exactly how it looks like underwater. I can’t stop myself from thinking that Alexei just uprooted some plants, and let all the dirt lay on the bottom, instead of sucking it out with the hose. However, even though it doesn’t look particularly attractive from the aesthetic point of view, it is the most natural looking bottom in this contest!
Nice effort, looks natural but these fishes needed some hiding places, the best option for this would be the surface plants.