BIOTOPE: A biotope is an area of uniform environmental (physical) conditions providing habitat(s) for a specific
assemblage of plants and animals. Used in this sense, "
biotope" is really synonymous with the term “ecosystem”. However, some ecologists would limit the term to encompassing only physical environmental factors; essentially meaning: the habitat of a community of organisms. Thus, a species has a certain habitat, but the group of species that share an ecosystem with that species, share a biotope. Just as a habitat is the place where a species is found, so a biotope is the place where a specific biological community is found.
BIOTOPE AQUARIUM:
The term "biotope" is also used in the aquarium fish hobby to describe an aquarium setup that tries to simulate the natural habitat of specific fishes. The idea is to replicate conditions and species of fishes and plants that represent a particular real-world biotope.
WHY BIOTOPE? There are many good reasons for setting up an aquarium that tries to simulate the natural habitat of fishes. The foremost is probably from an ecological viewpoint. With the destruction of the tropical rain-forests worldwide it is important to preserve the native surroundings of our fish before they disappear forever.
Tropical fish interacting in their natural waters are completely different than the community set up we are all use to. This leads to the second reason, with all the advances in aquatic technology maintaining such a tank is now easier than ever and obtaining the proper species whether fish or plants is usually not difficult either.
Another reason is just for the challenge. Most of us at one time or another get bored and start to look for something new, why not try a Biotope?
So let’s look at some different biotopes we could make shall we..?