Petra Bašić (Croatia): I'm honored that for the third year in a row I'm part of this amazing contest. I want to congratulate the contestants and organizers for their hard work. Contest like this truly promote aquaristics in healthy way, pushing people to focus more on ecology, exploration and creativity. Few biotopes have some mistakes, so instead commenting top three in each category, I optioned to comment those and maybe help for future contests. Quality of biotopes is increasing each year and I belive this time really small details will decide who will be winner.

Jeremy Gay (Great Britain): I’m thrilled to have been asked once again to judge this contest in 2015. With so many aquascaping contests around the world it is refreshing to see one dedicated to biotopes. Biotopes are after all the best way to keep any aquarium fish. By making them feel at home, we will hopefully see the fish behave more naturally, display better colours and be more likely to breed.

Alexey Malyshev (Russia): The entries submitted to this contest differ from the past years by more serious approach of participants. The entries with fish and plants from all over the world in the same aquarium are almost gone. There are no entries with indefinite titles like Orinoco River, without specifying a particular place. Despite the fact that almost all entries are well decorated (it is understood that the authors did their best), there were a lot of mistakes in them. I shall mention the most common ones. 1. In some entries there are too many organic matter in form of leaves, driftwood and branches. Of course, in the nature there are such parts of water bodies, but we have a biotope contest here and besides simulating specific biotope, it should function for a long time. When an author recreates a part of a water body with organic matter, it is possible to show it in aquarium by putting on the bottom a small amount of leaves and twigs. And they should be put beautifully and not in a mess. With this approach such elements of the scape like cans and car tires will be used soon. Such biotopes do exist in nature. And if the author still decided to use pile of leaves and twigs, then do not put oak leaves and alder branches with cones into the aquarium representing South America. Pick something similar. 2. Above water part of biotope is used too much. This year, the jury was instructed to evaluate only underwater part. It is strange that many participants ignore it. Aquaterrarium will always look better than aquarium, and it's not fair. Underwater part is more difficult to set up. 3. Aquatic organisms. In some aquaria there are fishes that are never found together in nature. This is especially true concerning Lake Tanganyika. It is not because of the fact that some species live on the rocks, and others on the sand (although it is because of it, too), but because of the geographical area where fish species live in the lake. 4. Quality of the photo and the inability to see declared fish on the submitted photos. They are simply not there. Photos of poor quality and the lack of fish mentioned in description on the photos cause significantly lower points (I gave less). How can I evaluate a biotope aquarium, if I can not see who lives in it? One of the most important criteria is the fish and other inhabitants of a biotope. I think I cannot. However, this year's entries were of much higher quality. Thanks to Unitex Company Group - the organizer of the contest, and to all participants.

Ivan Mikolji (Venezuela): I have to congratulate everybody in the 2015 Biotope Aquarium Design Contest. This is my third year judging this event and it never seems to stop amazing me. Year after year the contestants bring in fresh new concepts and ideas into the aquarium hobby. The organizers make a great job organizing and coordinating the event. This is the way to go. Growing as a community is the most important part of a hobby. This is what you all do by participating and contributing to this event. I salute you all. As a River Explorer/Aquarist, I know how difficult it is to create a natural looking biotope aquarium. In the contest there are some very complex tanks and some that are extremely minimal. They all have their charm and sometimes the simplest one is the best. My belief is that even though you are recreating a specific habitat in an aquarium, at the end, it will always be an aquarium. What I mean by this is that it does have to conserve some sort of aesthetic charm to it. In nature there are some habitats which look like someone dumped a bucket of leaves and sticks in them. Dumping a bucket of leaves and sticks in your aquarium will recreate the biotope but will not be aesthetically pleasing. I believe there has to be a balance between creating and recreating. Another important aspect to be aware of in biotope aquariums is that in the wild things are not “clean”. I have spent years swimming in all sorts of rivers and let me tell you, there is always algae growth, periphyton covers everything including live plants and even live animals like on turtle shells. Silt and other debris cover the river bottom, etc. When you see a biotope aquarium that seems like everything has been boiled, brushed and polished, it does not look natural. The same happens when you say you are recreating a white water river and then your aquarium has clear water. Again, I do not expect the water to look like a cappuccino coffee but I do expect to see some amount of dissolved particles in the water. For example, if you recreate the Guaviare River in Colombia which is a white water river I do not expect to see clean silica sand in the bottom. Silty Rivers usually have a bit of silt in the bottom, right? Scientific names are super important to me. If you take the time and have the passion to recreate a habitat, you should put some time into having the scientific names up to date or at least spelled correctly. If you are not sure of the scientific name, write the common name, but please check your spelling. Last but not least is “locating” your biotope aquarium correctly. The concept of a biotope aquarium is to recreate a specific habitat of a specific geographical location. Naming your biotope aquarium “South American River” and adding Killifish from Argentina, Apistogramma from Peru, and brackish water guppies from Venezuela in my opinion does not create a biotope aquarium it creates a continent aquarium. Be specific! If your goal is a Nile River biotope aquarium then add silt in it and make it a bit “muddy”. If you want it to have clear water, be specific and say “Mutuku Creek, Sudan, which is a clear water creek that drains directly into the Nile River in Southern Sudan near the town of Juba”, but then, be sure the place really exists.

Michael Salter (Canada): I have really enjoyed reviewing this years entries and have been very impressed with several of them. Some people are beginning to take this seriously as the blend of art and science that it is, and produce scenes that are virtually indistinguishable from underwater camerawork in nature. The concept of what a Biotope is seems to have been much better understood in general this year as well, and there were very few that missed the mark. I must confess I was slightly disappointed that there were not more West African Biotopes though, perhaps next year I will need to disqualify myself as a judge and enter one myself!

Paul Talbot (Australia): I am very happy with the results of the competition! Great job everyone!

COMMENTS TO THE ENTRIES

North America

1. Rio San Lucas, sub-basin of the Atoyac River in San Lorenzo Cacaotepec, Oaxaca, México

Petra Bašić (Croatia): This aquarium truly represents authentic river bank. Plants growing on the edge are adding depth to well balanced underwater part. For final touch I would add just little bit of dead plant material or fine sand between rocks.

Jeremy Gay (Great Britain): And the Atoyac River looked incredibly realistic and like a natural scene. Three very tempting biotopes!

Piotr Kierzkowski (Poland): Very good bottom - carefully designed, naturally looking "mess". Stones of various sizes placed in a more or less random style, yet in a very aesthetic way. Very good example of how the space of the aquarium should be used - underwater you can't see the back wall, which is concealed behind the stones, and there is plenty of space for fishes to swim in the foreground. This makes very good, natural impression. In my opinion this might be the best aquarium of this year's edition of the contest.

André Longarço (Brazil): Very nice work, but unfortunately I cannot evaluate the aerial portion. If I could, this layout would be a great candidate of the title of this contest.

Alexey Malyshev (Russia): Undoubtedly, this entry deserved to win the 1st place. It is obvious that the author not once has seen this biotope with his own eyes. Everything is very harmonious. There is nothing unnecessary here. Fish feel fine. Bravo.

Michael Salter (Canada): The thoughtfulness of this biotope arrangement is incredible. Much research has gone into it, and firsthand experience – there is a story behind it, and a purpose to educate. Every detail has been considered, even down to the species and growth pattern of the marginal vegetation, the color and texture of the rockwork and sand, and the verdant appearance of the shoreline. It truly evokes the wild state of the waterway with its “patterned chaos”. Nothing looks staged here, and it has a maturity to it so it also does not look thrown together. This Oaxacan biotope is exploding with life and variety. Not only are the correct species used for the biotope, but there is a diverse mix just as would be found in nature. Set ups like this raise the level of biotope to a living work of art.

2. Mixteco River, Camotlan, Huajuapan de Leon Oaxaca, Mexico

Jeremy Gay (Great Britain): My three favourites in this category were the Mexican ones, with the Mixteco biotope scoring highest for me as it looked the most like a natural underwater scene, and a slice of nature.

Piotr Kierzkowski (Poland): In this tank the back wall is clearly visible, but because of the rich 3D structure made of driftwood, filling the tank, the back wall does not dominate the composition as it does in other tanks. The driftwood looks very natural - it doesn't have any branches ended with flat surfaces (where the driftwood was cut with the saw), which are typical for commercially available pieces of wood.

André Longarço (Brazil): Probably the most beautiful biotope from Mexico. I like the natural atmosphere of the driftwood and rocks. The fishes are well balanced with the layout and the colours remind me the natural environment. Even without explicit flow movement, the layout shows these movements by itself. Very nice work, congratulations.

Alexey Malyshev (Russia): The difference with "They lived in Rio Teuchitlan. River Teuchitlan, Jalisco, western Mexico" is only one point. The decor is excellent. But it would be better to move the composition with the driftwood to the left to the glass. It is not very clear what kind of cross section of the river it is.

Michael Salter (Canada): The aquascape is very pleasing to the eye, and has all the correct materials from nature. Likewise the species are biotope correct. However, I cannot help but feel a sense of stylized hardscape from this biotope. The artful arrangement of stones and branches is an abstraction of nature rather than a faithful representation of it. As such, it is just a bit too “neat and clean” to seem real. As a kind of fantasy version of nature though, it is certainly beautiful.

3. They lived in Rio Teuchitlan. River Teuchitlan, Jalisco, western Mexico

Petra Bašić (Croatia): Another Mexico biotope! I love algae covered stones! Showing local biotopes and teaching people how important it is to protect them is very praiseworthy. Keep up the good work!

Jeremy Gay (Great Britain): I loved the Ameca River Teuchitlan biotope (it made me want to set one up!)

Piotr Kierzkowski (Poland): Another tank with very good bottom, composed of stones and pebbles of various sizes. Algae growing on some of the stones add a lot to the natural feel, yet still the tank looks very clean.

Alexey Malyshev (Russia): I put this entry on the 2nd palce. Here everything also looks realistic and natural. It would be nice to add fine sand. This is just a recommendation.

Michael Salter (Canada): Bright and natural, this is an accurate representation of a transitional zone between the banks and more open water areas – as reflected in the algal growth on the cobbles in the open areas. The appearance is quite natural and the fish species occur together in nature. Attention has been paid to recreate the shoreline as well with tangled roots and twigs with floating plants lodged among them. Also, the mix of substrate is done correctly with varying sizes of smooth pebbles and sand grains.

5. Mississippi Delta

Petra Bašić (Croatia): Unfortunately here we are missing some basic "biotope-scape" elements. Vallisneria is not planted densely enough to give illusion of thick marsh. Rock and wood are not arranged like in nature and aquarium equipment is visible on photo. I wonder what kind of fish are those on right side of aquarium.

Eurasia

1. River Grza, Upper wellspring, Serbia

Piotr Kierzkowski (Poland): Lots of detail, I particularly like the very fine and complex texture of the large driftwood. Light makes some interesting contrasts on the driftwood, with parts quite well illuminated, and parts remaining in the shadow. There could be a little bit of mud on the stones - but anyways, the whole composition looks very good. It has some "Petra Del Basic-ish" touch to it, especially the patches of moss - I wonder if she is the designer of this tank.

Alexey Malyshev (Russia): When looking at this entry a comparison with the artist who paints the landscape comes to mind. Everything is very realistic, but there is a significant mistake: Pseudorasbora and Phoxinus always make schools. You can never never see this fish alone. When setting up any biotope aquarium this rule should be taken for granted: schooling fish should be kept only in groups.

2. Sundarbans Biotope: Matla Mudflats

Petra Bašić (Croatia): As I also experiment with unusual marine aquariums, I find this setup very interesting. It doesn't look like a 200 liters aquarium, decoration is placed very good and in combination with right light, it looks very natural.

Jeremy Gay (Great Britain): So often mangrove biotopes are done badly but the Sundarbans biotope looks incredibly realistic and a very suitable home for its inhabitants in more ways than one.

André Longarço (Brazil): Represent a mangrove is very important to spread the preservation concept to everyone. I liked the atmosphere and mostly the plants. I just miss more fishes or some crustaceans.

3. Barito river basin, Borneo

Piotr Kierzkowski (Poland): The bottom is perfect here. It is best visible on photo number 2 - lots of debris, small twigs and leaves, and all this is covered with very natural looking mud - yet it doesn't look dirty and untidy. The cryptocoryne in the back part of photo 2, with some leaves also covered with a bit of mud, looks exactly as such plants growing on the bottom look in the wild.

Michael Salter (Canada): An absolutely gorgeous biotope arrangement. Having the plants growing out from between the fallen leaves, sticks, and roots gives the scene a very organic feel. It looks like a sheltered catchment behind a tree root near the shore where different types of leaves and debris have collected, including seeds, which have germinated and grown in this protected alcove. The lighting creates an illusion of the roots and plants looming out of the darkness, so there is an excellent sense of depth. The sloping substrate from front to back adds to this. Finally the mass of glowing feathery plants at the top softens and diffuses the lighting, a nice touch. The inhabitants looks very comfortable and blend right in among the leaf litter and foreground foliage. They have been fooled successfully!

4. Thandwe creek – Rakhine, Myanmar

Petra Bašić (Croatia): True piece of Nature. You have managed to create authentic creek biotope, with every tiny root in correct place to experience wilderness in your home. Congratulations.

André Longarço (Brazil): Great biotope!!! I loved the second picture, because I could feel the great depth sense and the majesty of this layout. Healthy fishes and well chosen.

Alexey Malyshev (Russia): It is a very realistic entry, but the marginal area is too large, which is more suitable for a river. If the marginal area was smaller, there would be more space to make the biotope even more interesting.

Michael Salter (Canada): Great cross-section of a creek bank, although there is not much depth to it. The muddy-looking fine roots tangled up with the muddy-looking rocks of the shore are very authentic. So too are the Pistia trapped among the roots at water’s margin. There is a nice, steep slope from right to left and the roots follow this contour as they would in nature. It is telling that the Botia and Channa are comfortable enough to swim out in the open, knowing they have instant hiding spots among the roots and stones.

5. Lake Matano of South Sulawesi, Indonesia

Alexey Malyshev (Russia): I put this entry on the 2nd place, despite the apparently poor setup (only lava). But some marginal areas of the lake look exactly so. My recommendation to the author is to place a number of empty shells (it can be pieces) of native clams into the aquarium.

6. Small pond in the Leningrad region, Ozereshno village

Alexey Malyshev (Russia): I would like to underline this entry. It is one of two entries of the contest where there is no fish. It may seem strange that the water biotope can be without fish. How can it be? It can. There are such biotopes, where fishes cannot survive, only invertebrates, for example. In the aquarium a spawning behavior of newts can be seen. In the long term, of course, the community in this aquarium will not last long, but in nature it does. Only the bottom needs much work. It should be muddy or consist of soil. White sand, of course, is not for the pond of this latitude.

Michael Salter (Canada): This is actually one of my favorites. It is a simply a great little biotope, with great realism – even though it contains no fish! The partially emersed marginal plants, duckweed, and aquatic moss all occur as they would in the wild. Having newts, leeches, and dragonfly larvae as the inhabitants is unique and biotope correct, though obviously the inclusion of the latter two is unsustainable for any length of time. The effect is a real slice of genuine nature, cut from the edge of a pond, and accentuated by the slope towards the marginal zone and the dead leaves from temperate trees. As testament to how well done it is, the newt did actually breed.

7. Small river in Jambi province, Sumatra

Petra Bašić (Croatia): You can feel the slow flow of this small river. Shape and size of aquarium is perfect for Betta and looks like they are enjoying it.

Jeremy Gay (Great Britain): The Sumatran chocolate gourami biotope is lovely, and demonstrates perfectly that so many small fish naturally live in shallow water, where the water is calmer, cover can be dashed into and there are fewer predators. A lovely tank.

8. Red stream in Khao Yai National Park, Thailand

Jeremy Gay (Great Britain): The Red Stream Thailand biotope looks like something set up at the stream side, with materials actually from the river, and the fish freshly caught. Would look good in a zoo display.

9. Sumatra swamp

Alexey Malyshev (Russia): In my opinion, it is one of the best entries in this category. Picky people say that it is an ordinary planted aquarium. But this is how a swamp looks, where there is a lot of plants, in its technical implementation. The fish is colorful, they do not hide (especially loaches), the photograph is of high quality. In short, it is pleasure to look. My recommendation to the author is to replace the sand with boiled peat. It is a swamp, after all.

11. Heart of Borneo swamp

Piotr Kierzkowski (Poland): Very nice, rich 3D-structured composition, providing the fishes with lots and lots nooks and crannies to explore. I also like that the water is so clear, even though it is stained with tannins and humic acids. Very interesting and complex layout!

13. Java ferns and Oryzias javanicus

André Longarço (Brazil): Great depth impression in small tank. I love the natural atmosphere, but unfortunately I couldn't see the Javanese Ricefish. The absence of fishes cost some precious points.

Australia & Oceania

1. Backwater of Urunga creek

Jeremy Gay (Great Britain): The backwater of Urunga Creek biotope is brave, and daring, and illustrates perfectly that it is, and should be portrayed as, a shallow water biotope.

Piotr Kierzkowski (Poland): This is a very good, natural looking layout, both underwater and above water. However, it looks to be made only for the purpose of taking the picture - the volume of the water is too small for the fishes to live in for a longer time, not mentioning putting the filtration inlet and outlet. Maybe there is a filtration - but it's not visible, and the designer doesn't mention anything about it.

André Longarço (Brazil): I liked the minimalist atmosphere of this layout. The macro view was very well chosen. It was a pity not to be able to analyze the external part of layout.

Alexey Malyshev (Russia): Despite the fact that I had to evaluate only underwater part of the total score in all categories gave me this job in second place. Subject brook no doubt interesting in any category. Since at the same distance interval (eg, 100 meters) stream, river or lake shoreline, stream in a variety of biotope areas (landscape pictures) will be richer, which makes it possible to experiment with drawing. Wish author - pay more attention to design underwater. You can use a short, but long aquarium.

Michael Salter (Canada): An extremely detailed and authentic piece of work. Even down to the placement of fallen leaves, the arrangement is artful without looking artificial. It appears as of those rare scenes one finds in nature that is beautifully balanced and yet must have come about by natural processes!  The slight coating of algae on the stones, the tiny plants peeking out from the rockwork, the dead leaves strewn above and below the waterline, and the blurred shoreline boundary are all thoughtfully done. Having the ferns and sticks extending into the water from above is brilliant. All the fish are schooling protectively as they would in nature. The overall impression is of stumbling upon a magical little forest stream and finding to your delight that there are tiny fish and plants living in their own self-contained little world there.

2. Calm bay of small tributary of Mamberamo River

Jeremy Gay (Great Britain): The Mamberamo River biotope is one of my favourites in the whole competition, combining terrestrial palm leaves with biotope specific fish to make a stunning aquarium scene. Very nice indeed and one I like to replicate.

Michael Salter (Canada): Palm fronds and marginal grasses enhance the realism of being along the shore in this representation of a sheltered spot along the river. The sandy floor looks a bit too clean though, as one might expect more leaves and debris. Likewise, the driftwood is a bit too neat and clean, too strategically placed. However, the fish seem at home and are behaving as they would in the wild.

3. Forest stream near Popondetta. Papua New Guinea

Jeremy Gay (Great Britain): The Popondetta biotope will appeal to those with small tanks and small budgets, with a biotope which is easy to plant and décor, and rewarding colours and breeding behaviour from the Peacock gobies.

Piotr Kierzkowski (Poland): I ranked this tank first place, because in my opinion it provides the best living conditions for the fish, comparing to other tanks (Backwater of Urunga creek - too small volume of water, Calm bay of small tributary of Mamberamo River - dead plants will start to rot very soon, fouling the water), and / or it looks in the most natural way (Stream which flows into Lake Sentani and Unnamed Stream, in Utikini Baru, Timika. West Papua, Indonesia do not). Besides, there is something interesting in an idea of "House for Gobies". It is easy to imagine a pair of gobies, swimming along the bottom of the stream and looking for a place to settle down, and when they saw this small part with two fragments of driftwood, they decided: "This is it! We can live here!" It's just my imagination, of course, but if the layout triggers such stories, then it means it's a good layout. The composition looks slightly random, so to say, but hey - this is how it looks in the wild, isn't it?

Alexey Malyshev (Russia): I put this entry on the 1st place. When you look at the overall panorama, it seems that the volume of the aquarium is 80-100 liters, not 20. A small biotope aquarium is harder to set up than the aquarium of medium size. Also in this entry I liked biotope details (i.e., mechanics). Every detail (branch, leaf) is in its place. The only thing that is not clear is the location. Is it transverse or longitudinal section of the stream?

Michael Salter (Canada): A simple but very pleasant forest stream biotope, but unfortunately without much depth. This is due to the lack of any sloping effect, or layering of layout materials from side to side or back to front. Also the very bright background seems a bit artificial. Otherwise though, the dead fern leaves are a very nice touch and the dense stands of plants give it a sense of lushness. The gobies certainly are showing off and displaying their instinctual behavior, and appear to be healthy and vigorous.

4. Stream which flows into Lake Sentani

Piotr Kierzkowski (Poland): In my opinion, the bottom of the tank is much too flat for a stream. It is clearly visible that the stones were put ON the bottom - whereas they should be composed INTO the bottom, like in Rio San Lucas, sub-basin of the Atoyac River in San Lorenzo Cacaotepec, Oaxaca, México in North America category. Besides, the driftwood on the left side, in the foreground, has a flat end, probably a sign of being cut with the saw. I know such fragments can also be found in the wild, but in my opinion it doesn't look good. And a tip for the photographer - for the photo, try to illuminate only the foreground part of the tank, so the back wall would not be visible so much.

André Longarço (Brazil): Great harmony and balance. I liked the driftwood and the fishes, but in my opinion, the woods are too much arranged. A little mess would be welcome.