Today, 30th April 2017, the Brunei Biotope Group embarked on another exploration trip, this time to the Bukit Karamunting (Karamunting hill), a public hiking locale connected to several other hiking trails in the area; it is situated in Subok Village. Accompanying me on this short trip was my friend and
This aquarium simulates a riverbank in a small stream of the Nilwala basin at an elevation of around 200m above sea level. At this elevation Pethia nigrofasciata and the Cherry Barb Puntius titteya can be found together, they are endemic to the wet zone in south western Sri Lanka and inhabit
The Rio Araçá is an affluent of the Demini River, which is a tributary of the Rio Negro. The Araçá is a 390 km long blackwater river originating high up on the Serra Tapirapeco Mountain in the forests of the Guianas and flows through the Serra do Araçá, a state
Last week I flew over to the beautiful Mediterranean island of Malta as an invited guest to speak at the “Journey into an Aquarium” seminar which took place at the National Aquarium Malta. This event was organised by Andy Bugeja of Aqualine Malta, the Maltese distribution agent for Naturekind Advanced
The Rio Meta is a whitewater western side tributary of the Rio Orinoco which traverses through eastern Colombia. It’s source originates in the Cordillera Oriental (also known as the Eastern Ranges), the most sizeable branch of the Colombian Andes. It travels right across the region of Orinoquia and Los Llanos Orientales (the Eastern Plains) where it forms
This biotope aquarium simulates the transitional zone between the edge and the deeper parts of a permanent billabong near Nimrod creek in the Wenlock river basin. A billabong is more commonly known as an oxbow lake and is formed when the path of a creek or river changes, leaving the
Almost five years ago, artist and river explorer Ivan Mikolji uploaded a video to the infamous video sharing site Youtube which would change the direction of the aquarium hobby forever, sparking a new wave of interest in nature and natural aquarium fishkeeping. To an outsider, a non-fish-keeper, the “Wild Aquarium”
It is the middle of the dry season in the Western Ghats; I am here in the mountains of southern India at 3000ft above sea level on the border of two states, Tamil Nadu and Kerala and I am surrounded by dense jungle. The temperature during the day is not
In what feels like a lifetime ago, my hobby and science curiosity began by the sight of a little catfish rolling its eye. Soon to be known as a Corydoras, this catfish caught my interest as it was making its whiskered way around inside a friend’s aquarium. As a boy,
The origin of the Demerara River is comprised in majority by the confluencing of the Kuruduni, Kuruabaru and the Mauri Rivers and lays in the rainforests of the Makari Mountains in the “Upper Demerara-Berbice” region of eastern Guyana. It acts as the dividing line for the regions of “Essequibo islands-West
I have been underwater in the same spot for more than an hour, over 500 images taken in the 3 square meters in front of me. I am in Mikolji-land or what Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi calls “The Flow.” I start to hear a faint noise which breaks the underwater silence, I
This weekend I had the pleasure and honour of been invited to Melksham by the aquatic chain store Maidenhead Aquatics to take part in the Wiltshire Plecos & Catfish Study Group gathering. The events are held at different times throughout the year in the aim of bringing fishkeeping enthusiasts of
This past weekend I had the distinct privilege to be invited to speak at the British Cichlid Association summer convention at the Brittania Hotel in Wigan. I was also asked to do one of my biotope aquarium workshops which teach fish keepers how to recreate a natural aquatic habitat in
This weekend I was invited once again over to Melksham by Maidenhead Aquatics to demonstrate another authentic biotope aquarium set-up. On my last visit here I showed how to recreate the Rio Atabapo during the high water season and this time after consulting with the Maidenhead team about what options we
On 17th February 2017, a 3 member team from the Brunei Biotope Group including myself set off on a journey into the jungles of Labi (located in South East of Belait District in Brunei Darussalam) in search of a tall waterfall known to locals as Wasai Belulok situated along the
