Flooded Forest floor, Kapuas River drainage. West Kalimantan, Borneo

_th place in Biotope Aquarium Design Contest 2020

Volume: 50 litres
Dimensions: 90 x 25 x 23 cm
List of fishes: Sphaerichthys vaillanti, Betta Brownorum
List of plants: Only grasses and moss that hangs in the water.
Description of decorations: Leaf litter, decomposing twigs, peat, peat moss and sand.
Description of equipment: Oase FiltoSmart Thermo 100.
Water parameters: Temperature 25c, PH 4.7, 50 TDS.
Additional info: I keep acrylic lids on my tanks for the majority of the time for humidity and keep the water level low to stop jumpy Bettas. Small water changes twice a week part RO, part tap to maintain consistent PH. My filters have thermostat heaters built in.

INFORMATION ABOUT BIOTOPE

Description of the area surrounding the biotope: The Kapuas River drainage west of Danau Sentarum lake, near to the border of Sarawak. Forest is cleared for palm oil plantations, these fish don’t have long left.
Description of the underwater landscape of the biotope: These small streams trickle through the forest all year round to the river and some to the lake Danau.
Description of the parameters of the habitat: Water is always stained brown from decomposing leaves and wood. PH is always low with minimal dissolved solids.
List of fishes and invertebrates occurring in the nature biotope: Rasbora, Parosphromenus, Clarias teijsmanni and Monopterus albus.
List of plants found in the nature biotope: Generally none in the jungle/forest. Down river you would find lots of Cryptocoryne and Bucephalandra.
Threats to the ecology: I only breed these fish because these fish are in immediate danger. Borneo’s wildlife has been under threat (extinction) for many years, stop buying Palm Oil!
Sources of information:

1. https://www.seriouslyfish.com/
2. https://junglemikey.blogspot.com/
3. https://www.youtube.com/user/DiscoveryPlanetuk