Thandwe creek Rakhine, Myanmar

_st place in Biotope Aquarium Design Contest 2022

Volume of aquarium: 110

Dimensions of aquarium: 90 x 30 x40

List of fishes: Channa Pulcra and Lymnaea stagnalis

List of plants: Vallisneria, Cryptocoryne sp. , Lemna minor, Stenochlaena palustris (For plants above water)

Description of Decorations and Substrate: Aquarium decoration : Roots, wood, leaves, twigs, stones and sand.
Sand : Black
Pebble/Gravel : Mixed
Stone : Mixed
Stone form : Roundish
Silt/Mud : Black
Leaves : Many
Driftwood : Many
Submerged terrestrial vegetation : Yes

Description of Equipment: Set-up date : August 2020
Aquarium decoration : Roots, wood, leaves, twigs, stones and sand.
Aquarium equipment : Canister Filter Fluval FX4, DIY lamp 50Watt.

Fish care
Fishes:
Channa pulcra (2)
Lymnaea stagnalis (4)
Feed daily (crickets, maggots, worms).

Plant care
Plants:
50 Vallisneria sp.,
30 Lemna minor
10 Cryptocoryne sp. (Fisch. ex Wydler).
Liquid fertilizer every three days.

Water care : 20% of water change once week.

Water Parameters: Water temperature : 25 °C

CHEMICAL PARAMETERS
pH : 7
Conductivity :-
GH : –
KH : –
Dissolved Oxygen : 80 %

Additional Info: The aquarium that I designed this time is the habitat of Channa Pulcra, where this fish can only be found in Myanmar. It was the exoticism of this fish that made me want to take the channa pulcra habitat theme, I took the biotope of the Thandwe tributary in Rakhine in Myanmar. Which is where is the native habitat of Channa pulcra, It is a medium-sized river flowing slowly in the former Arakan State on the west coast of Myanmar bordered by Chin State (to the north) and to the east by divisions called Magway, Bago and Ayeyarwady, with the Gulf of Bengal in the West and the Chittagong division of Bangladesh in the northwest. From the north stretches mountainous terrain which is very south across the State when it rains often, valleys lined with creeks, lakes and vast paddy fields, coconut and oil palm plantations. Very few fish are known from this part of Myanmar. Snakeheads do not live in deep habitats, the water is mostly clear, but after heavy rains everything is cloudy. The ground is often littered with leaves and gravel, black and white stones in some areas.

Hope it inspires you all to create an Aquarium design for your favorite Channa.

GPS : 18.4884491, 94.4516678

Aquarium video:

Description of the Area Surrounding the Biotope: The aquarium was set up based on a biotope of Thandwe creek of Rakhine in Myanmar. This is a slowly running medium size creek in the formerly Arakan State on Myanmars western coast bordered by Chin State (in the north) and in the east by the so called divisions Magway, Bago and Ayeyarwady, by the Bay of Bengal in the West and the Chittagong divison of Bangladesh in the northwest. From the north runs a very mountains region south across the State were it rains often, the valleys are filled with creeks, lakes and immense rice fields, coco and palm plantations. Very few fishes are known from this part of Myanmar. The snakeheads live not in deep habitats, the water is mostly clear, but after a heavy rain all is turbid. The ground is often leaf-litter and gravel, black and white stones in some areas.

Description of the Underwater Landscape of the Biotope: Sand : Black
Pebble/Gravel : Mixed
Stone : Mixed
Stone form : Roundish
Silt/Mud : Black
Leaves : Many
Driftwood : Many
Submerged terrestrial vegetation : Yes

WATER INFORMATION
Water type : Fresh water
Water color : Clear water
Water transparency : Medium
Concentration of sediments : Medium
Water temperature :25 °C
Water flow/curent : Strong

Description of the Habitat Parameters: Water temperature : 25 °C

CHEMICAL PARAMETERS
pH : 7
Conductivity :-
GH : –
KH : –
Dissolved Oxygen : 80 %

List of Fishes and Invertebrates Occurring in the Nature Biotope: Channa Pulcra, Lymnaea stagnalis and others

List of Plants Found in the Nature Biotope: Vallisneria, Cryptocoryne sp. , Lemna minor, Stenochlaena palustris (For plants above water) and others.

Threats to the Ecology of the Biotope: Currently, the location of rachine in Myanmar is widely used as oil palm plantations, which makes the habitat of the fish there very threatened, in the past Channa pulcra was very easy to find in this place, but now it is necessary to walk along the river in the forest to meet this channa pulcra.

We hope that the local government can act so that oil palm plantations do not expand so that living creatures there are not threatened, and the Myanmar people should be proud because only where they can find channa pulcra.

Hopefully with this event so that local people can get information that the fish in their location are very beautiful and can be applied in their home aquariums. So that many want to cultivate ornamental fish so that they can improve the economy of the local community. because at this time the fish there are only for consumption, not as ornamental fish.

Sources of Information:
1.http://biotope-aquarium.info/aquariums/thandwe-creek-rakhine-myanmar-390-l/
2. https://cefishessentials.com/blog/heikos-thandwe-creek-channa-biotope/
3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Channa_pulchra
4.(Jurnal)https://ij-aquaticbiology.com/index.php/ijab/article/view/273
5.(PDF) https://www.senckenberg.de/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/05_vertebrate_zoology_68_2_lalramliana_et_al_165-175.pdf