November 01, 2016

Inspiration from the source...wild blackwater habitats of the Rio Negro imaged by Mike Tuccinardi..

Our obsession with blackwater environments is steeped in a multitude of factors, not the least of which is that these are compelling, highly unique environments, with a diverse assemblage of fishes perfectly adapted to thrive in their dark, acidic waters-soem 700-plus species and growing! The dark color of the water comes from humic acid, due to an incomplete breakdown of phenol-containing leaves, branches, and other botanical materials which fall into the water from surrounding vegetation.

In our mind, no more prototypical blackwater environment exists than the Rio Negro. It's an astonishingly large body of water. According to Wikipedia, The Rio Negro "...is the largest left tributary of the Amazon, the largest blackwater river in the world, and one of the world's ten largest rivers in average discharge."

And for the hobbyist, this amazing river offers a huge diversity of inspiring habitats to replicate within the confines of an aquarium. It's no secret to fans of Tannin that this region of the Amazon has inspired many of our aquariums, as well as the collection of botanicals that we have curated to replicate it's unique ecology and aesthetic.

Our friend, noted author, aquarist and Amazonian traveler Mike Tuccinardi, shared some amazing images that he took on a recent trip to the Rio Negro, highlighting some of the amazing details of this fantastic ecosystem that any "tint lover" will end up drooling over! In particular, the photos highlight the fascinating leaf litter zones found in this area, and some of the familiar fishes that live amongst it.

In the above pic, you can see the degree of leaf coverage that is common in these waters. Field studies have indicated that depth the litter bed can range from as shallow as a few inches to several meters, which is affected by time of year, weather, current, and other factors.

For an aquarist looking to replicate this zone in the aquarium, you can see the possibilities that exist here! A healthy coverage of various leaves, such as Catappa, Guava, Magnolia, Jackfruit, etc. can combine to create a remarkably realistic litter zone, from both a functional and aesthetic standpoint.

The deeper the depth of the litter bed, the greater the impact on water chemistry in a closed system, so you'll have to take this into account when creating your own leaf litter zone aquarium, but we have seen no real long-term maintenance and stability issues with significant amounts of leaf litter present.

Like many other ideas in aquarium keeping, the concept of using leaves to manipulate the environmental parameters is not entirely new. Hobbyists have been utilizing Catappa and other leaves in Asia for many years, and more recently in Europe and the West. However, it's a recent development that we're looking beyond just the "Catappa leaves can help lower the pH" feature. We're now looking at leaf litter in the aquarium because it creates an interesting aesthetic and supports other ecological benefits, such as supplemental food production, shelter, and spawning area for a wide variety of fishes. Further, we're gaining a real, science-supported understanding of how humic substances can provide important-perhaps even essential- health benefits for tropical fishes.

Of course, we're also in love with the aesthetics of blackwater and leaves...so much so that we have devoted a large amount of our energies to sourcing, curating, and making a number of quality leaf types available to the aquarium community for a variety of applications. And we're always pushing the concept of blackwater, botanical-influenced aquarium as an alternative to the more popular "traditional-style natural aquariums which dominate the aquatic media of late.

When we take inspiration from nature, the opportunities for creating amazing aquariums are numerous. This image from Mike gives you a sense of how the seemingly random, natural aggregation of botanical materials, leaves, plants, and even wood (tree trunks) is an aesthetic experience as compelling as any "iwagumni-style" aquascape, with the added benefits of creating a truly natural chemical/physical environment for the subject fishes that mimics closely the waters they hail from.

What's really interesting to me when looking at these photos is just how closely we can mimc the appearance AND ecological function if we study and execute our subject well. And even more interesting is how what happens in our botanical-influenced aquariums tracks what happens in nature.

For example, the decomposition of leaves and botanicals, occurrence of biofilms, and even the occasional appearance of an algal matrix are perfectly natural, essential harmless, and most certainly beneficial to the ecology and inhabitants of our properly-managed aquariums!

Another benefit of examining the incredible natural environment of the Rio Negro is evident in Mike's picture of the substrate itself. You can see that it's not exclusively sand, in the traditional sense...Rather, it's a mix of a number of botanical materials in a matrix of different sizes.

This is another area that we've talked about here in "The Tint" for some time- modeling alternative natural substrates in the aquarium. Much can be learned- and enjoyed from examining this element more closely. Materials, like our "Fundo Tropical" and others can help mimic not only the aesthetics, but the ecological benefits that are derived from this type of composition. Further experimentation and research will reveal still more materials which can be utilized in this application, and the future is wide open for research into this area!

And that really brings us to what, in my opinion, is the most exciting part about the bontaical/blackwater "renaissance" we find ourselves in: The opportunities for incredible experimentation and meaningful breakthroughs by virtually any aquarist who takes the journey are very real and very important. And some of the aquariums that we are seeing, such as the awesome tank by Tai Streitman shown below, are blurring the lines between the natural environment and the captive ecosystems that we love so much.

With a close look at nature for inspiration, and the extraordinary talents of you- the modern aquarist- the field is wide open for innovation and creative expression...not to mention, a greater understanding of the precious natural environment of the Rio Negro and other natural resources, which we must protect for future generations to enjoy. By creating representations of this unique ecosystem in our home aquariums, we're helping introduce many to a world that they may have only seen glimpses of, and helping push the boundaries of art and aquarium science at the same time.

Not to shabby, eh?

Until next time. Stay inspired. Stay experimental. Stay creative. Stay hungry for knowledge.

And stay wet!

Scott Fellman

Tannin Aquatics