What a biotope aquarium is
A biotope aquarium recreates a specific place: a blackwater creek in the Amazon, a forest stream in Borneo, a West African river. Plants, hardscape, substrate and fish all come from the same region, and the layout follows how that habitat really looks, which is often sparser than a planted show tank.
The rules the planner checks
- Every plant from the chosen region. The planner tells you which ones are not.
- Sand or fine gravel, not aqua soil.
- Hardscape that fits: roots and wood for South America, wood and river stones for Southeast Asia, stone for Africa.
- Natural, not over-planted.
Three starting points
South America: sword plants, pygmy chain sword, Amazon frogbit and plenty of root wood, for tetras, pencilfish and dwarf cichlids. Southeast Asia: cryptocorynes, Java fern, bucephalandra on river stones and rotala, for rasboras, gouramis and loaches. Africa: anubias and African water fern on stone, crinum and tiger lotus, for African tetras, killifish and dwarf cichlids. Use the stocking calculator to check the fish together.
Other styles
- Nature aquascape planner
- Iwagumi aquascape planner
- Dutch aquascape planner
- Jungle aquascape planner
- Low-tech aquascape planner
New to the styles? Read Iwagumi vs Nature vs Dutch, or start from the main aquascape planner.
Questions
Do biotope aquariums have to be sparsely planted?
Many real habitats are, especially blackwater streams, so a sparse layout is often more accurate. Planted biotopes are fine when every plant is from the region.
What substrate should a biotope use?
Usually natural sand or fine gravel. Aqua soil is a horticultural product and is not found in the wild.
The aquascape planner is in beta. If something looks wrong or you would like a plant added, tell us.