1) What is a biotope?
Technically speaking, a biotope is defined as the habitat together with its recurring associated community of species, operating together at a particular scale. (Connor et al., 1997). It is an environment where specific plants and animals live uniformly. Though it is often associated with the term ‘habitat’ in several English speaking country, there is a marginal difference between these two terms. Whereas a biotope means a uniform environment where different species coexist naturally, a habitat suggests a suitable environment for a particular species.
2) What is a biotope aquarium?
As evident from the definition of biotope, a biotope aquarium means an aquarium which reflects an aquatic eco system of a certain area where a community of fish, plants and invertebrates live naturally together. It replicates the habitat, water parameters and living species of a certain area.
3) What is Indian “Biotope Aquarium Contest 2023”?
“Indian Biotope Aquarium Contest 2023” (IBAC) is a biotope aquarium contest organised by Pirates’ Den. As the title itself suggests, this contest will consist of fresh water biotopes of Indian subcontinent which at present geo-politically includes seven countries – India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan and Maldives. In its inaugural year IBAC will aim to highlight the variety and richness of the natural biotope of Indian subcontinent.
4) Can I participate in this contest?
Surely you can if you are a proud owner of a subcontinental biotope aquarium. IBAC happily welcomes all biotope enthusiasts around the globe to showcase their Indian Subcontinental biotope in this contest.
5) What are the rules and regulations of this contest?
In this competition there are certain rules and regulations that are need to be followed.
A) Short Biotope Title – this title must include visual characteristics, name and exact location of the biotope and the name of the state and country.
Example -Periyar River, Kerala, India
B) Description of the biotope – This must include
i. Physical description of the biotope, stones, driftwood, depth, soil and if required, exact geographical location.
ii. Water parameters like hardness, acidity, temperature etc.
iii. List of common aquatic flora and fauna living in the biotope which includes all
types of plants, fishes, invertebrate etc. If there is any outside description of the biotope like hanging tree branch or hanging rock, this description must include that also.
iv. Short description of the ecological value of the biotope, whether this biotope is endangered or not, how this biotope is related to the life of other animals, men etc.
C) Description of the tank –
i. The size of the tank and its water volume. *
ii. Water parameters. *
Like TDS, pH, Temperature, Salinity (if any) and any additional details you want to
provide.
iii. Substrate. *
iv. Filtration system and flow. *
v. Light. (Type & Photoperiod) *
vi. List of the names of flora and fauna in the tank including their common and
scientific (if possible) names. *
vii. Tank maintenance Routine.
viii. Details of Fertilizer used & dosing schedule (If any).
ix. Details of the hardscape. *
x. Age of the tank set-up. *
xi. References.
D) What one should avoid – Genetically modified, dyed, short body or a manmade hybrid species not to be allowed in the entry tanks. Fake plants, coloured gravel or artificial décor will not be allowed. Protected species under WPA 1972. will not be allowed.
6) When can the submission be done?
The entries will be tentatively taken from June to July 2023. Exact date will be announced in the Group, so please do keep an eye on the announcement section of the ‘Pirates Den’ group.
7) How can upload my tank photos and videos to participate in the competition?
At first an acknowledgement form must be filled up by the interested candidates where
he/she has to give his/her personal details and contacts. After this.
A) 6-7 High Resolution Pictures should be submitted : 1 Full tank shot, 2 side view shots, 1 top
view shot, 2-3 shots of the aquarium inhabitants.
B) Along with these photos, another photo must be uploaded for Authorship Confirmation.
Write your name, IBAC 2023 in a piece of paper and stick the sheet on the frontal glass and
upload with the previous 6 pictures.
Note: The Authorship Confirmation will not be published publicly by the organisers
C) Images must be in focus, unmodified, and not overexposed.
D) Organisers can re-crop the photo if it fails to miss the required criteria.
E) Technical Requirements –
i) Size of the image- Maximum 35 MB (Total).
(JPG/JPEG format)
ii) Size of the video –
a) Maximum 2 minutes and minimum 1 minute in length.
b) Maximum 2 GB in size. (MP4 format)
F) Make sure the frontal glass is clean and all the equipments are hidden (removed) before
taking pictures.
G) Use file sharing platforms such as GoogleDrive/DropBox or any other to share pictures and
videos.
Special advice: Try to capture moments of natural behaviour of the inhabitants (like
aggression, feeding), spawning behavior, parenting, school, etc.
8) How will the entries be evaluated?
The expert judges’ panel of Pirates Den will include personnel who has earned their fame for their utmost knowledge on natural biotopes and contribution in conserving those. They will evaluate the entries according to their merits and detailing. Their decision will be final and unquestionable. There will be first, second and third winner according to the judges’ choice. Apart from that there will be special category of ‘People’s Choice Award’ which will be decided
on the people’s vote. Along with that each and every participant will get a digital certificate for their participation in IBAC.