Lago Grande do Curuai, state of Para, Brazil
29th place in Biotope Aquarium Design Contest 2019
Greece. Christos Nikolakoulis
Volume: 840 L
Dimensions: 185x65x70 cm
List of fishes: Symphysodon aequifasciatus, Nannostoma trifasciata, Mesaonauta festivum, Hemigrammus bellottii, Gasteropelecus sp., Rineloricaria parva, Otocinclus affinis, Biotodoma cupido
List of plants: –
Description of decorations: Lot of branches and wood similar to those found in the natural biotope. The overall decoration is very dense but also very simple,being consisted of leaf litter, rocks and fine sand recreating the natural environment
Description of equipment: 2x2000lt/h aquanova external filters, 2x300W titanium heaters (controlled by schego), LED Malibu S (150cm light unit) . Reverse osmosis system
Water parameters: 29°C, ph 5,9 and conductivity 30mS
Additional info: 2 x waterchanges (50%) every week from Reverse osmosis water system with adittion of seachem discus trace
INFORMATION ABOUT BIOTOPE
Description of the area surrounding the biotope: The watershed of Lago Grande do Curuai is a floodplain region subject to the floods of the Amazon River, located in the state of Pará, near the cities of Óbidos and Santarém. Around Lago Grande do Curuai it is sparsely populated, with 10 inhabitants per square kilometer Tropical monsoon climate prevails in the area. The average annual temperature in the neighborhood is 23 ° C . The warmest month is September, when the average temperature is 28 ° C, and the coldest is March, with 22 ° C. The average annual rainfall is 2 485 millimeters. The driest month is March, with 418 mm of precipitation on average , and the driest is September, with 47 mm of precipitation. Surrounding area has very dense forest appearance,according with bunches of dead terrestial plants and stands of Caladium Spp. .The rest of the habitat is partially decorated with Eichornia and Azolla species as well as Pistia Stratiotes also,providing great cover for the discus to dwell under and get protected .
Description of the underwater landscape of the biotope: The underwater landscape consists of ,greatly stacked branches of all sizes ,partly submerged tree roots/trunks,stones that have become algae growing spots etc. The bottom is sandy as with the most regions of the map,with an excellent bedding made of leaf litter dead plants and roots and wood filings. On the surface a few aquatic plants such as pistia stratiotes,eichornia grassipes ,salvinia auriculata ,azolla sp provide cover from the sunlight ,and also great hiding spots with their roots.Water clarity depends on the habitat spot and goes from very clear to really turbid.
Description of the parameters of the habitat: PH 5.8 ~ 6.25 conduct. 22ìS/cm daytime temp: 28.5°C to 30°C
List of fishes and invertebrates occurring in the nature biotope: Symphysodon Sp., Mesaonauta festivum, Ηemigrammus bellotti (and other hemigrammus sp.) crenicichla marmorata, Νannostoma trifasciata, Gasteropelecus sternicla, Rineloricaria parva, Otocinclus affinis, Leporinus fasciatus, chilodus punctatus, Apistogramma sp., Satanoperca jurupari, Heros efasciatus
List of plants found in the nature biotope: Pistia stratiotes eichornia grassipes , salvinia auriculata, azolla filiculoides, caladium bicolor ,utricularia foliosa ,ficus sp. ,Virola spp,
Threats to the ecology: For most of human history, deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon was primarily the product of subsistence farmers who cut down trees to produce crops for their families and local consumption. But in the later part of the 20th century, that began to change, with an increasing proportion of deforestation driven by industrial activities and large-scale agriculture. The aquarium was set up to attract public attention to the problem of this deforestation !! Stop destroying the Amazon!!!
Sources of information:
BOOKS:
Heiko Bleher’s DISCUS book VOL 1
Heiko Bleher’s BIOTOPES book
WEB:
http://www.scielo.br/scielo.
https://news.mongabay.com/