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| title | chunk | source | category | tags | date_saved | instance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aquascaping | 2/3 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aquascaping | reference | science, encyclopedia | 2026-05-05T09:00:44.858225+00:00 | kb-cron |
Some hobbyists also refer to a "jungle" (or "wild jungle") style, separate from either the Dutch or nature styles, and incorporating some of the features of them both. The plants are left to assume a natural, untrimmed look. Jungle style aquascapes usually have little or no visible hardscape material, as well as limited open space. Bold, coarser leaf shapes, such as Echinodorus bleheri, are used to provide a wild, untamed appearance. Unlike nature style, the jungle style does not follow clean lines, or employ fine textures. A jungle canopy effect can be obtained using combinations of darker substrates, tall plants growing up to the surface, and floating plants that block light, offering a dappled lighting effect. Other plants used in jungle style aquascapes include Microsorum pteropus, Bolbitis heudelotii, Vallisneria americana, Crinum species, Aponogeton species, Echinodorus species, Sagittaria subulata, Hygrophila pinnatifida, Anubias species, and Limnobium laevigatum.
=== Biotopes ===
The styles above often combine plant and animal species based on the desired visual impact without regard to geographic origin. Instead, Biotope aquariums are designed to replicate a particular aquatic habitat at a particular geographic location, not necessarily to provide a gardenlike display. Plants and fish need not be present, but if they are, they must match what would be found in nature in the habitat being represented. The gravel, hardscape, and chemical composition of the water must also represent the habitat desired. By including only organisms that naturally exist together, biotopes can be used to study ecological interactions in a relatively natural setting. For instance, blackwater biotope aquariums mimic a blackwater watercourse, pond, or swamp. Blackwater aquariums resemble the native environment of many popular aquarium fish. The chemical composition of blackwater rivers in the Amazon rainforest is often used as a reference. They contain recalcitrant (slow-decaying) organics like driftwood, leaf litter, and pinecones. These organics release tannins, humics and fulvics, which darken and acidify the water. The water is also soft water, low in dissolved minerals. There is evidence that tannins have anti-fungal properties and can boost fish immune systems. This environment is less stressful and more conducive to natural behavior and breeding. Blackwater aquaria may not contain plants; if they do, they use plants that thrive in the low light levels caused by the dark water. Some aquarists may decrease artificial lighting further to mimic the dark conditions fish are accustomed to. A water pump may be added to help with water flow, similar to the conditions of a slow-moving river.
=== Paludariums ===
A paludarium is an aquarium that combines water and land inside the same environment. These designs can represent habitats including tropical rainforests, jungles, riverbanks, bogs, or even the beach. In a paludarium, part of the aquarium is underwater, and part is above water. Substrate is built up so that some "land" regions are raised above the waterline, and the tank is only partially filled with water. This allows plants, such as Cyperus alternifolius and Spathiphyllum wallisii, as well as various Anubias and some bromeliads, to grow emersed, with their roots underwater but their tops in the air, as well as completely submersed. In some configurations, plants that float on the surface of the water, such as Eichhornia crassipes and Pistia stratiotes, can be displayed to full advantage. Unlike other aquarium setups, paludariums are particularly well-suited to keeping amphibians. A riparium is a paludarium that imitates a riparian area, the bank of a watercourse. The plants are often in floating pots attached to the rear wall. It may be left open, with the plants growing out of the tank.
=== Saltwater reefs ===
Dutch and nature style aquascapes are traditionally freshwater systems. In contrast, relatively few ornamental plants can be grown in a saltwater aquarium. Saltwater aquascaping typically centers, instead, on mimicking a reef. An arrangement of live rock forms the main structure of this aquascape, and it is populated by corals and other marine invertebrates as well as coralline algae and macroalgae, which together serve much the same aesthetic role as freshwater plants. Lighting plays a particularly significant role in the reef aquascape. Many corals, as well as tridacnid clams, contain symbiotic fluorescent algae-like dinoflagellates called zooxanthellae. By providing intense lighting supplemented in the ultraviolet wavelengths, reef aquarists not only support the health of these invertebrates, but also elicit particularly bright colors emitted by the fluorescent microorganisms.
== Techniques ==