Aquascaping aesthetics and nature come together in Tai Strietman’s latest Pantanal creation. And even better, he shows how you can make one too.
TAI STRIETMAN Freshwater biologist Tai is author of the upcoming book Aquatic Habitats—Aquariums Inspired by Nature.
IT IS NO secret that a favourite habitat of mine is the submerged meadows of the Pantanal wetlands of Brazil, which lie within the Paraguay River basin. My friend Dr. Fernando Carvalho is one of the authorities of the ichthyofauna of this vast river basin and the wetlands within it. He writes: “The Paraguay River, approximately 2700 km in length from headwaters to mouth, is part of the Rio de la Plata system, along with the Paraná and Uruguay rivers. Its higher reaches, named the Upper Paraguay River, houses the largest floodplain on the planet, the Pantanal.
“With about 350 species of fish, the Upper Paraguay River basin shares with its neighbouring basins (Guaporé, Tapajós, Tocantins-Araguaia, and Paraná) a unique ichthyofauna. This is because the hydrographic divide between the Paraguay River basin and the others is relatively low, on average below 500m above sea level, especially within the upper Paraná basin. Historically, this facilitated the sharing of fauna between the headwaters of the basins.
“Due to the wide availability of habitat and high biological productivity, especially in the floodplain which forms the Pantanal, animal and plant populations are very abundant, including fishes. There are huge shoals, of all species and sizes which are in sync with the flood pulse (flood and drought cycle) of the Pantanal, especially migratory fishes.
“The gentle geographical relief, with stretches that decrease at 2cm per kilometre, allows for a slow but constant flow of water from north to south, which transforms the landscape in different seasons. While the headwaters are full at the end of the year, the lower portion, close to the confluence of the Paraguay River with the Apa River, will receive greater volumes of water in the middle of the year.”
During my second visit to the Pantanal in 2016, I got to see a fish which most aquarists will be familiar with. On an overcast day, with heavy clouds hanging low above me, I explored the edges of a flooded meadow in the drizzling rain. Along the margins grew stands of Bacopa australis, Helanthium tenellum and Mayaca sp., while on the other side of a track, in a meadow covered in only a few centimetres of water, s
