Biotopes in Russia

Biotope aquariums are gaining a growing following among aquarium enthusiasts, as demonstrated once again by the fourth edition of JBL's Biotope Aquarium Design Contest. The final was staged at the Zoosphere fair in St. Petersburg. The show, which is the biggest pet industry exhibition in Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), brought together around 250 exhibitors from 21 countries as well as 2 500 specialists from 100 cities in the Russian Federation and 16 countries on an exhibition area of 20 000 m². Organised jointly with the Zooshow fair, it attracted 30 000 visitors in all. These took advantage among other things of the extensive range of specialist presentations that were organised during the fair in additional seminar rooms. The stands of the aquatics companies at Zoosphere were also a major attraction. The companies Dennerle, Sera and JBL were in attendance from Germany, with JBL's Biotope Aquarium Design Contest providing one of the biggest highlights of the fair. Live-scapes the crème de la crème The eastern European JBL Biotope Aquarium Design Contest became an established feature of the scene in 2011. Aquascapers and aquarists who specialise in biotope aquariums (the reproduction of habitats) are called upon to test their skills in this highly demanding competition. According to information from the organiser JBL, the results of the last few years have shown that this competition has virtually developed into a world championship, even if it is aimed at eastern Europe. World-class entries have emerged from Turkey in particular and have been very highly rated internationally. In the first round, all contestants had to submit a photograph of their biotope aquarium. Those selected as finalists were then able to compete live against their peers in St. Petersburg and convince the public and the jury, on which JBL marketing director Heiko Blessin and ichthyologist Heiko Bleher were the only German jurors, of their aquascaping skills. To guarantee equality of opportunity, contestants could select the biotope category themselves (North America, South America, Eurasia, Africa, Australia-Oceania). The special attraction and demanding aspect of biotope aquariums lies in the choice of design elements and species suited to the habitat that is being reproduced. These elements must also be arranged in a visually attractive manner, stresses JBL.