Instructions

Registration

In order to participate in this professional biotope competition you need to register your user profile first. Please submit your shipping address and phone number to send the winner prizes and diplomas. Then follow the instructions below.

BIOTOPE IN NATURE and BIOTOPE AQUARIUM MODEL

To participate in the BIOTOPE AQUARIUM Contest you have to fill out 2 forms in ENGLISH:

• BIOTOPE IN NATURE is your personal and/or online research on the original biotope (BIN video guide)
• BIOTOPE AQUARIUM MODEL is your personal recreation of the original biotope (BAM video guide)

Which biotope data are required?

You have to supply the following data by filling in 2 forms:

• BIOTOPE IN NATURE: name of the biotope, introduction text, location, photo/video, inhabitants, aquatic vegetation, water chemistry, substrate in Nature, aquatic biotope, environment, bibliography/sitography.
• BIOTOPE AQUARIUM MODEL: title of the biotope aquarium, introduction text, location, photo/video, inhabitants, aquatic vegetation, water chemistry, aquarium information, substrate in aquarium, bibliography/sitography.

To allow a faster compilation and processing of the data, the forms are subdivided in topics. Provide the most complete and accurate information you can. This will be useful also to the biotope community in the end!

Have a look at the example

To have an idea about the required biotope information you can check here:

• BIOTOPE IN NATURE – Eubenangee Swamp National Park North Qld Australia
• BIOTOPE AQUARIUM MODEL – Eubenangee Swamp National Park North Qld Australia

Name your BIN correctly

BIN title: Name and type of the water body, and its location.

BIN description: Introduce your biotope. Briefly describe some interesting historical and ecological facts regarding the location, its flora and fauna.

Location

GPS: Insert the GPS data of your biotope if your research is based on your personal explorations. Otherwise, check the publications your BIN is based on or contact the author/expert for the GPS data. The BAP Map can be helpful to you. Note that it is good to have GPS data, but it is not mandatory.

Once you have supplied the form with the GPS data, your biotopes will appear on the BAP Map.

Insert the names and options from the drop-down menu to identify your location: Country, Geographical region, State/Region, Department/Municipality/Province, Drainage Basin, River catchment, Water body type, Water body name, Water body part, Water body: tributary of, Tributary name.

Media

Photos above water; Photos below water; Videos: Use file sharing platforms such as Myairbridge or Wetransfer to upload files up to 2 GB and copy the link in the form windows below accordingly.

The photos/videos of the natural biotope are an important visual support that help us understand the habitat. But their quality (Internet research) does not influence the final vote.

You can supply BAC with up to 5 well-defined images in high resolution. The images must be clear, unmodified (not be processed by way of trimming, reversal and retouching) and in horizontal format. If possible, respect the technical requirements: 2400px large, JPG/JPEG format.

Name your photo/video files following the example below:

bin-nameofthewaterbody-location(province/region/basin)-country-number-©name.format

• Example Photo: bin-riojufaris-rionegro-brazil-1-rperez.jpg
• Example Video: bin-riojufaris-rionegro-brazil-2-rperez.mp4

Aquatic life

Aquatic inhabitants: Add the scientific family, genus, and species names (in Latin) of the fishes, amphibians, reptiles, crustaceans, and molluscs living in your biotope in Nature by clicking on “Add aquatic inhabitant”.

Aquatic vegetation: Add the scientific family, genus, and species names (in Latin) of the plants and mosses growing in your biotope in Nature by clicking on “Add aquatic vegetation”.

To check the names up to date, you can use Eschmeyers Catatog of Fishes and Plants of the World Online.

Water properties

Water type; Water colour; Water transparency; Concentration of sediments; Water temperature; Water flow/current type: Select the water properties of the biotope from the drop-down menu.

Chemical parameters

pH; Conductivity; GH; KH; Dissolved Oxygen: Insert the data on the chemical parameters measured in the biotope.

Aquatic Biotope

The date of collection; Collecting area; Water depth; Air temperature; Sunlight: Insert the data related to the collecting event.

Substrate in nature

Sand; Pebble/Gravel; Stone; Silt/Mud; Leaves; Driftwood; Submerged terrestrial vegetation: Select from the drop-down menu the substrate types in the natural biotope.

Environment

Environment; Riparian zone; Terrestrial vegetation; Surrounding area; Underwater landscape; Threats to ecology: Describe the area above and below water. Describe the factors endangering this biotope.

Information sources

• Bibliography: List of the publications used to work on your biotope data.
• Sitography: List of the online sources used to work on your biotope data.

Note: The biotope references are an important information source and will be checked by the BAC International Jury.

Note on evaluation

BAC Judges evaluate the participant’s entry only. The BAM based on BIN by other authors will get an evaluation and rating on the biotope aquarium only.

Name your BAM correctly

BAM title: Name and type of the water body and its location.

BAM description: Introduce your biotope aquarium. Briefly describe the motivation for your composition choice and its most interesting features.

Location

GPS: Copy the GPS data of your BIOTOPE IN NATURE you just entered in the previous form. Note, it is good to have GPS data, but it is not mandatory.

Once you filled in the form with the GPS data, your biotopes will appear on the BAP Map.

Country, Geographical region, State/Region, Department/Municipality/Province, Drainage Basin, River catchment, Water body type, Water body name, Water body part, Water body: tributary of, Tributary name: Insert the names and options from the drop-down menu to identify your location. Use the data from the BIOTOPE IN NATURE form.

Media

Photos above water; Photos below water; Videos: Use the file sharing platforms such as Myairbridge or Wetransfer to upload files up to 2 GB and copy the link in the windows below accordingly.

The photos/videos of the biotope aquarium are the only visual support to evaluate your work. You must accompany your entry with:

• 5 well-defined images in high resolution: 1 photo of the tank and 4 photos showing the aquarium inhabitants.
• The images must be clear (in focus), unmodified, and not overexposed.
• The aquarium photo must be frontal, horizontal, uncropped (not be processed by way of trimming, reversal and retouching), and with all 4 edges of the front glass must be visible.
• Technical requirements, if possible: 2400px in size, JPG/JPEG.
• Make sure the aquarium walls are clean and the equipment hidden (temporarily removed).
• The Jury will evaluate only the underwater part of the aquarium. The part above water can only affect the overall impression.
• The organizers can re-crop your photo if it does not meet the specified conditions.

Some advice: Try to get shots showing the natural behaviour of your inhabitants, such as courtship, schooling, and parenting.

Name the photo/video files by following our instructions: bam-nameofthewaterbody-location(province/region/basin)-country-number-©name.format

• Example Photo: bam-riojufaris-rionegro-brazil-1-rperez.jpg
• Example Video: bam-riojufaris-rionegro-brazil-2-rperez.mp4

Aquatic life

Aquatic inhabitants: Add the scientific family, genus, and species names of the fishes, amphibians, reptiles, crustaceans, and molluscs living in your aquarium by clicking on “Add aquatic inhabitant”.

Aquatic vegetation: Add the scientific family, genus, and species names of the plants and mosses decorating your aquarium by clicking on “Add aquatic vegetation”.

To check the names up to date, you can use Eschmeyers Catatog of Fishes and Plants of the World Online for plants.

Check out the list of the websites useful for aquatic research.

Water properties

Water type; Water color; Water transparency; Concentration of sediments; Water temperature; Water flow/current type: Select the properties of the water in the biotope aquarium from the drop-down menu.

Chemical parameters

pH; Conductivity; GH; KH; Dissolved Oxygen: Insert the data on chemical parameters you keep in the biotope aquarium.

Aquarium dimensions

Length; Depth; High; Volume: Insert the measurements of the tank.

Aquarium description

Aquarium decoration: Describe the composition and your choices in making your set-up look like a natural biotope. Try to answer the following questions:
– Why did you choose certain species for your BAM? How do they behave in your aquarium?
– Why your choices were limited to that particular number of species?
– Which species would you like to add to your aquarium and why?
– What kind of interactions/behavioral changes would you expect?
– Reasons why certain species on your list (fish/plants) are not added to your aquarium?

Aquarium equipment: Describe your aquarium equipment.

Fish care: Describe your actions to keep the fish healthy and active.

Plant care: Describe you actions to keep the plants thriving.

Water care: Describe your maintenance routine in detail.

Substrate in the aquarium

Sand; Pebble/Gravel; Stone; Silt/Mud; Leaves; Driftwood; Submerged terrestrial vegetation: Select from the drop-down menu the substrate in your biotope aquarium.

Information sources

• Bibliography: List of the publications used to work on your biotope data.
• Sitography: List of the online sources used to work on your biotope data.

Note: The biotope references are an important information source. Their quality will be checked by the BAC International Jury.

How to fill out the form “BIOTOPE IN NATURE”? Watch our video guide!

How to fill out the form “BIOTOPE AQUARIUM Model”? Watch our video guide!