BIOTOPE AQUARIUM Project

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BIOTOPE AQUARIUM Project 1st International citizen science project dedicated to aquatic biodiversity and habitat research

🌿 BAC2026 – 3rd PLACE | SOUTHERN, WESTERN & CENTRAL ASIA 🇮🇳🏆 Seetha River, Udupi, Karnataka, India💧 Demanding Level🤝 Spo...
14/10/2026

🌿 BAC2026 – 3rd PLACE | SOUTHERN, WESTERN & CENTRAL ASIA 🇮🇳

🏆 Seetha River, Udupi, Karnataka, India
💧 Demanding Level
🤝 Sponsored by JBL

This 495-liter Biotope Aquarium recreates a rocky, calm hill-stream habitat of the Seetha (Sita) River in Karnataka, part of the Western Ghats — one of the world’s important regions for freshwater biodiversity.

The aquarium focuses on the remarkable coexistence of different native fish species, each occupying its own ecological niche within the stream environment. Rocks, driftwood, coconut stems, fallen leaves and other botanical materials recreate the complex structure of the natural habitat, providing shelter, feeding areas and refuge for juveniles and fry.

🐟 Fish:
Dawkinsia apsara
Dawkinsia filamentosa
Barilius ardens
Devario malabaricus
Pristolepis marginata
Pethia setnai
Garra mullya
Haludaria fasciata

🦐 Crustacean:
Macrobrachium lamarrei

🌿 Aquatic plants:
Vallisneria sp.
Blyxa aubertii
Lagenandra toxicaria

💧 Clear freshwater · 28°C · strong current · 90% dissolved oxygen

The combination of flowing water, rocky substrate, botanical debris and aquatic vegetation creates a living representation of a tropical hill-stream ecosystem and highlights the extraordinary diversity of freshwater life found in the Western Ghats.

Congratulations to Shubbam Bhaalke for this detailed biotope recreation of the Seetha River!

🔎 BAM – Biotope Aquarium Map:
https://biotopeaquariumproject.com/bam/seetha-river-udupi-karnataka-india-sbhaalke/

📍 BIN – Biotope Information Network:
https://biotopeaquariumproject.com/bin/seetha-river-udupi-karnataka-india-sbhaalke/

🤝 Sponsored by .de:
https://www.jbl.de/

🌍 BAC2026 – Explore. Create. Discover.

🌿 BAC2026 – 3rd PLACE | EAST ASIA 🇹🇼🏆 Wugoushui Stream, Donggang River Basin, Pingtung, Taiwan💧 Demanding Level🤝 Sponsor...
11/10/2026

🌿 BAC2026 – 3rd PLACE | EAST ASIA 🇹🇼

🏆 Wugoushui Stream, Donggang River Basin, Pingtung, Taiwan
💧 Demanding Level
🤝 Sponsored by NIXO

This 162-liter Biotope Aquarium recreates a lowland spring-fed stream habitat in southern Taiwan, focusing on the natural structure of a winding stream, gravel banks, stones, and the transition between land and water.

One of its most distinctive features is the bottom-up spring simulation: water enters beneath the substrate, representing groundwater emerging from a natural spring and flowing through a U-shaped stream channel. Different current zones, gravel banks and irregular stones recreate the varied microhabitats of the original stream.

The project also has an important conservation focus on the native Pingtung Limnophila (Limnophila pingtungensis nom. nud.). During field surveys, only a single small individual was recorded in the original habitat, highlighting the importance of preserving suitable conditions for this native plant.

🐟 Fish:
Rhinogobius macromaculatus
Barbodes semifasciolatus
Cobitis sinensis

🌿 Aquatic plants:
Limnophila pingtungensis
Vallisneria natans

🌱 Wetland plants:
Kyllinga nemoralis
Equisetum ramosissimum

💧 Clear freshwater · 24°C · pH 7.8 · strong current

Congratulations to Kuo-Ching Chen for this fascinating reconstruction of a spring-fed stream ecosystem and for highlighting the conservation value of a unique native plant from Pingtung.

🔎 BAM – Biotope Aquarium Map:
https://biotopeaquariumproject.com/bam/wugoushui-stream-donggang-river-basin-pingtung-taiwan-kcchen/

📍 BIN – Biotope Information Network:
https://biotopeaquariumproject.com/bin/wugoushui-stream-donggang-river-basin-pingtung-taiwan-kcchen/

🤝 Sponsored by NIXO:
https://nixofish.com/en_index.html

🌍 BAC2026 – Explore. Create. Discover.

L🌿 BAC2026 – 3rd PLACE | AFRICA 🇹🇿🏆 Cape Kabogo, Lake Tanganyika, Tanzania💧 Beginner-friendly Level🤝 Sponsored by AQUAEL...
07/10/2026

L🌿 BAC2026 – 3rd PLACE | AFRICA 🇹🇿

🏆 Cape Kabogo, Lake Tanganyika, Tanzania
💧 Beginner-friendly Level
🤝 Sponsored by AQUAEL

This 162-liter Biotope Aquarium recreates a dynamic shoreline habitat of Cape Kabogo, Lake Tanganyika, with a particular focus on the fascinating territorial and breeding behaviour of Lamprologus callipterus. 🐟

The aquarium features a striking transition between a large rock formation and a field of smaller rubble, reflecting the rocky shoreline of Lake Tanganyika. A sandy depression at the centre contains a dense bed of authentic Neothauma tanganyicense shells.

🐚 The shell bed is the behavioural focal point of the aquarium. A large male Lamprologus callipterus continuously rearranges the shells to establish and maintain his breeding territory, while females and Telmatochromis vittatus move among the rocks, crevices and shell bed.

The combination of rocks, sand and shells creates distinct territories, shelters and ecological niches, allowing the inhabitants to display natural habitat use and territorial behaviour.

🐟 Fish:
Lamprologus callipterus
Telmatochromis vittatus

💧 Water:
26°C • pH 8.0 • Clear water • Slow flow

👏 Congratulations to Rens van Duren for this fascinating recreation of a Lake Tanganyika microhabitat!

🔎 Discover the BAM:
https://biotopeaquariumproject.com/bam/cape-kabogo-lake-tanganyika-tanzania-rvduren/

📍 Explore the BIN:
https://biotopeaquariumproject.com/bin/cape-kabogo-lake-tanganyika-tanzania-rvduren/

🤝 Sponsored by
https://www.aquael.com/

🌎 BAC2026 – Explore. Create. Discover.

🌿 BAC2026 – 3rd PLACE | EUROPE 🇮🇹🏆 Travagliola Farm, Onsola Creek, Tuscany, Italy💧 Demanding Level🤝 Sponsored by Dohse A...
04/10/2026

🌿 BAC2026 – 3rd PLACE | EUROPE 🇮🇹

🏆 Travagliola Farm, Onsola Creek, Tuscany, Italy
💧 Demanding Level
🤝 Sponsored by Dohse Aquaristik News

A spectacular 420-liter Biotope Aquarium recreating a summer pool of the Onsola Torrent, in the Val d’Orcia, Tuscany, Italy. 🇮🇹

The aquarium is based on field observations and recreates the natural structure of the stream with limestone pebbles, gravel, sand, fine sediments and willow roots. The contrasting areas of shaded riverbank and open streambed reflect the natural processes of erosion, water movement and sediment deposition.

🌿 Native vegetation plays an important role in the recreation, including Ceratophyllum demersum, Potamogeton nodosus and Mentha aquatica. Strong surface agitation reproduces the oxygen-rich conditions of the flowing stream and contributes to the dynamic character of the habitat.

🐟 Fish:
Padogobius nigricans – 5
Alburnus arborella – 25

🦪 Mollusc:
Physa fontinalis – 10

The large aquarium allows the habitat to be represented as a real cross-section of the stream, with different ecological niches, shelters and areas shaped by current dynamics.

👏 Congratulations to Pawel Lukasz Kocik for this detailed recreation of a Mediterranean freshwater habitat!

🔎 Discover the BAM:
https://biotopeaquariumproject.com/bam/travagliola-farm-onsola-creek-tuscany-italy-plkocik/

📍 Explore the BIN:
https://biotopeaquariumproject.com/bin/travagliola-farm-onsola-creek-tuscany-italy-plkocik/

🤝 Sponsored by Dohse Aquaristik News
https://dohse-aquaristik.com/EN

🌎 BAC2026 – Explore. Create. Discover.

🌿 BAC2026 RESULTS ARE COMING TO THE WEEKEND AQUARIST! 🌿We are delighted to share that the BAC2026 results will be featur...
03/10/2026

🌿 BAC2026 RESULTS ARE COMING TO THE WEEKEND AQUARIST! 🌿

We are delighted to share that the BAC2026 results will be featured in the upcoming issue of The Weekend Aquarist, India! 🇮🇳

🏆 8 Categories – 24 Winners

The issue will be released soon and will feature the results of the 7th Biotope Aquarium Contest, celebrating the aquarists who explored, documented and recreated aquatic biotopes from different parts of the world.

📖 Want to read the full issue?

The digital edition will be available on Magzter — subscribe and don't miss it!

A big thank you to Amar and The Weekend Aquarist for supporting BAC and helping us bring biotope aquariums and aquatic biodiversity to a wider international audience. 🌍💧

Congratulations once again to all BAC2026 winners and participants!

Explore. Discover. Recreate.

👉 Follow and tag on Instagram and Facebook.

🌿 BAC2026 – 3rd PLACE | SOUTH AMERICA 🇻🇪🏆 Rio Siapa, Rio Casiquiare tributary, Venezuela💧 Demanding Level🤝 Sponsored by ...
30/09/2026

🌿 BAC2026 – 3rd PLACE | SOUTH AMERICA 🇻🇪

🏆 Rio Siapa, Rio Casiquiare tributary, Venezuela
💧 Demanding Level
🤝 Sponsored by SICCE

A remarkable 280-liter Biotope Aquarium recreating a slow-flowing forest stream near the confluence of the Rio Siapa, a tributary of the Casiquiare Canal in Venezuela.

The Casiquiare is particularly fascinating because it connects the Amazon and Orinoco river basins, creating an important natural corridor for the dispersal of aquatic life between these two major South American systems. 🌎🐟

The aquarium recreates the tangled structure of a forest stream, with an undercut riverbank, exposed roots, branches, driftwood and abundant leaf litter. Partial shade and slow-moving water create a complex environment with numerous areas for shelter, exploration and natural behaviour.

🐟 Fish species represented include:
Nannostomus eques
Nannostomus marginatus
Carnegiella strigata
Apistogramma uaupesi
Poecilocharax weitzmani
Paracheirodon axelrodi
Copella nattereri

🌿 Aquatic plants:
Mayaca fluviatilis
Echinodorus horizontalis
Salvinia minima
Hydrocharis laevigata

The judges highlighted the aquarium’s excellent habitat diversity, territorial structure and ecological niches, together with its highly functional and natural appearance.

👏 Congratulations to Logan Judd for this outstanding representation of a South American aquatic habitat!

🔎 Discover the BAM:
https://biotopeaquariumproject.com/bam/rio-siapa-rio-casiquiare-tributary-venezuela-ljudd/

📍 Explore the BIN:
https://biotopeaquariumproject.com/bin/rio-siapa-rio-casiquiare-tributary-venezuela-ljudd/

🤝 Sponsored by SICCE
https://www.sicce.com/en/

🌎 BAC2026 – Explore. Create. Discover.

🌎 BAC2026 – 3rd Place | CENTRAL AMERICA 🇲🇽🏆 Spring near Balneario de Almoloya, Jalisco, México🥉 3rd Place – Central Amer...
27/09/2026

🌎 BAC2026 – 3rd Place | CENTRAL AMERICA 🇲🇽

🏆 Spring near Balneario de Almoloya, Jalisco, México
🥉 3rd Place – Central America
🌿 Beginner-friendly Level

Sponsored by BIOTOPE AQUARIUM Project

This 118-litre biotope aquarium recreates an unnamed spring near Balneario de Almoloya, La Estancia de Ayones, Jalisco, Mexico — a habitat where the endangered Goodeid Xenotoca doadrioi occurs naturally.

The spring is characterized by clear, cool water, sand, pebbles, mud and organic matter, with large stones, roots and sparse aquatic vegetation along its margins.

The aquarium recreates these features through a carefully structured combination of river basalt, pebbles, sand, mud, driftwood and fine roots. The rock formations provide sheltered spaces where the fish can explore, forage and reproduce, while floating plants create shade and additional refuge.

🐟 Fish
Xenotoca doadrioi – 5

🌿 Aquatic plants
Pistia stratiotes – 7
Salvinia minima – 13

🌡️ Natural habitat temperature: 22°C
💧 Water flow: slow
📏 Aquarium volume: 118 L
📍 San Juanito de Escobedo, Jalisco, Mexico

Beyond the recreation itself, this aquarium draws attention to a little-known and threatened freshwater ecosystem and to the conservation of Xenotoca doadrioi and its natural habitat.

The entry was submitted by Roberto Villalobos and approved by Michael Köck and Jairo Arroyave.

🔎 Discover the complete Biotope Aquarium:
https://biotopeaquariumproject.com/bam/spring-near-balneario-de-almoloya-jalisco-mexico-rvillalobos/

🌿 Discover the original biotope – BIN:
https://biotopeaquariumproject.com/bin/unnamed-spring-near-balneario-de-almoloya-mexico-jsulc/

🌎 BAC2026 – 8 Categories • 24 Winners

👏 Congratulations to Roberto Villalobos for bringing this remarkable Mexican spring habitat and its endangered native fish into the aquarium.

🌎 BAC2026 – 3rd Place | NORTH AMERICA 🇺🇸🏆 Cabin John Creek, Potomac River, Maryland, USA🥉 3rd Place – North America🌿 Dem...
24/09/2026

🌎 BAC2026 – 3rd Place | NORTH AMERICA 🇺🇸

🏆 Cabin John Creek, Potomac River, Maryland, USA
🥉 3rd Place – North America
🌿 Demanding Level

Sponsored by Fluval

A childhood memory became the inspiration for this remarkable biotope aquarium.

Ryan Wright spent many hot summer days exploring the cool waters of Cabin John Creek, searching for shiners and turning over rocks to discover salamanders. For BAC2026, he chose to recreate one of the small tributary habitats connected to the Potomac River — including the muddy, often vertical stream banks, eroded hollows and exposed roots that provide shelter for fish.

What makes this biotope particularly interesting is that Ryan did not recreate an idealized historical version of the habitat. Instead, he aimed to represent the creek as it exists today, including the visible influence of human settlement.

The aquarium incorporates natural rocks and wood collected around the stream, native algae and biofilm, and even small examples of human-made debris that have become part of the creek environment.

🐟 Fish
Etheostoma olmstedi
Rhinichthys atratulus
Notropis amoenus
Gambusia holbrooki

🌿 Aquatic vegetation
Callitriche stagnalis

🪨 75-litre aquarium
📍 Montgomery County, Maryland, USA
🌊 Cabin John Creek → Potomac River

This entry is a great example of how a Biotope Aquarium can document a real aquatic habitat, including both its natural characteristics and the effects of human activity.

🔎 Discover the complete Biotope Aquarium and its scientific documentation:
https://biotopeaquariumproject.com/bam/cabin-john-creek-potomac-river-maryland-usa-rwright/

📍 Discover the corresponding BIN:
https://biotopeaquariumproject.com/bin/cabin-john-creek-potomac-river-maryland-usa-rwright/

👏 Congratulations to Ryan Wright for this detailed recreation of a real Maryland stream habitat!

And thank you to Fluval for supporting the BAC2026.

🏆 BAC2026 – 8 Categories • 24 Winners
🌎 Real habitats. Real species. Real data.

🎉🏆 BAC2026 WINNERS ARE HERE! 🌿🐟The results of the 7th edition of the BIOTOPE AQUARIUM Contest are now officially online!...
19/09/2026

🎉🏆 BAC2026 WINNERS ARE HERE! 🌿🐟

The results of the 7th edition of the BIOTOPE AQUARIUM Contest are now officially online!

After months of research, field documentation, aquarium building and expert evaluation, we are proud to announce the BAC2026 final ranking.

🌎 8 categories • 24 winners • participants from around the world

The BAC is not about aquascaping. It is about discovering real aquatic habitats, documenting BIOTOPES IN NATURE (BIN), and recreating them as BIOTOPE AQUARIUM MODELS (BAM) — combining observation, scientific information and responsible aquarium practice.

🙏 A huge THANK YOU to all BAC2026 participants and to our international jury for their work, expertise and commitment.

And a very special thank you to our BAC2026 sponsors, whose support made this edition possible:

🐠 Fluval
🔬 JBL
🇯🇵 NIXO
💧 SICCE
🌿 Dohse Aquaristik News
🐟 AQUAEL

Your support helps us continue developing the BIOTOPE AQUARIUM Project and promoting the study, documentation and conservation of aquatic biodiversity through citizen science and education. 🌎💧

🏆 BAC2026 FINAL RANKING

Discover all 24 winners, scores and expert evaluations:

👉 https://biotopeaquariumproject.com/bac2026-ranking/

🌱 BAC2027 — SAVE THE DATE!

The next BAC edition is already coming:

📅 20 May 2027 — Submissions open
📅 20 June 2027 — Submissions close

Explore. Create. Discover.

See you at BAC2027! 🌿🐠

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