Few set ups truly elicit fascination and marvel quite like those done in a biotope fashion. A biotope refers to an area of uniform environmental conditions which provides a specific niche for a particular set of organisms. Because aquarists are spoilt for choice with a plethora of livestock being offered from all over the world, few are able to resist the temptation of mixing species and thus are unable to truly recreate a biotope style display in the strictest sense of the word.
To fully take in the definition of the term and recreate a habitat that matches exactly like that of nature is something that can be breathtaking when done well. A Red Sea biotope with corals and fish that are only found in the area is something that I’ve been wanting to recreate at home for a long time, but can never find the discipline to keep within the list of acceptable organisms to purchase.
最近在旅行期间，我们设法快速访问了Steinhart Aquarium加利福尼亚Academy of Science，我们偶然发现了最美丽，最真实的形成生物管展示的地方之一。Steinhart的加勒比海生物管道是您期望在野外看到的那种生活的美丽代表。
在我学院本身和斯坦哈特水族馆t is enthralling, with many things to see and explore. Rainforest domes, fossil displays and earthquake simulation rooms are just some of the many exhibits that the public can enjoy. The academy is also home to one of the most extensive ichthyological collections, which Dr. Luiz Rocha is currently curating. We of course got to see the collection, and everything else in the public access area, but really it was this reef display that kept drawing us back.
There is a huge difference between a successful biotope display, and one with all the components but doesn’t quite look the part. Of course one could throw in a couple of Queen Angelfish, a couple Caribbean corals and call it a “biotope”, but that’s not the point.
The point is how do you execute something so nicely and accurately that even for someone like me, a citizen of the Pacific all my life, can say “Hey, that Caribbean style set up is truly wonderful and realistic.”. I’ve never been diving in the Caribbean, and I certainly have never seen what it looks like in person, but I think it’s safe to say this comes pretty close.
我认为，除了现实主义之外，这个展示真正最美妙的是一切都如此奇妙地放置在内。它已经成熟，已经形成了整个生命和呼吸的东西，而不是用粘带和珊瑚胶拼在一起的东西。
Gorgonians，Palythoa，，，，ricordea，，，，the various LPS and especially theMillieporaare all big and robust. We didn’t find anything out of place here, no three digit pricedAcropora，没有珊瑚不属于加勒比海。我们在这里拍摄的各种鱼的每张照片都有背景，主要包括这些珊瑚，这使看起来非常逼真的照片几乎就像是在野外拍摄的一样。
No Caribbean biotope would be complete without the presence of the Atlantic angelfish trifecta, which of course comprises of the Queen Angelfish, the Rock Beauty and the French Angelfish. Now I’m going to be very honest here.Holacanthus只是不为我做。我喜欢神仙鱼，但是Holacanthusis my least favourite in the family.
It would come across as an absolute surprise then when I started realising that I couldn’t take my eye off the stunning Queen Angelfish on display here. I was telling Matt Wandell who takes care of this aquarium at Steinhart, how people were going to view me as a damning hypocrite for singing such songs of praise. In fact it’s funny, but I spent an inordinate amount of time just squatting in front of this display all day long sending text messages proclaiming my new love forHolacanthus ciliaris。That is a fact.
What’s more unbelievable is the variety of fish here. Yes we see a queen angel and blue chromis and royal grammas, but this display has a few very unorthodox additions that would come as a huge surprise to anyone who knows their fishes well. Public aquariums tend not to allocate budget for rare and expensive fish, so you’d be hard pressed finding any of your thousand dollar aquarium darlings in such places. Clarions and bandits? Unless they were a donation, don’t get your hopes up.
In this display however, we found three rarities that you’d least expect to see anywhere. Owning one in your home aquarium is difficult enough, so image our absolute delight in finding them here.
在公共水族馆中看到稀有鱼是一个巨大的好处，Golden Hamletpictured above is a real treasure. Of all the呼吸症物种，H. gummiguttais arguably the most beautiful. The Golden Hamlet is a rich chrome yellow overall with a very striking black snout laced in metallic blue. The colour combination is very simple but highly attractive and eye catching.
In Asia, namely Japan,H. gummiguttais an uncommon offering and something that can be obtained with relative ease. In continental America however, the Golden Hamlet is rare and highly prized. Like all members of呼吸症，，，，H. gummiguttais a simultaneous hermaphrodite, which means it possesses both male and female sex organs. To spawn successfully, any two individuals are needed.
当然，如果您记得我们earlier postin 2013 and connected it with Matt Wandell who works at Steinhart, then you’d be correct in that this is that same fish, now all grown up and so luxuriously coloured.
Another rarity of this region that is on display here is预后aya，，，，the Bank Butterflyfish. This fish shares its aquarium home with another member of the预后genus, the more common and sombreP. aculeatus。Unlike the latter,P. ayais found in deep waters from 50-200m (160-650ft) and is a relatively expensive offering.
尽管在如此深度发现P. aya令人惊讶的是耐寒，很容易接受水族馆食品。尽管在冷的黑礁中发现，有时在低至19C（66F）的温度下发现，蝴蝶鱼可以轻松适应并承受正常的礁石水族馆的温度和照明，因此该个人及其住房系统就是这样。新万博苹果
预后ayahas a wonderful story behind its name. The butterflyfish was first discovered in 1880 when it was first seen from the regurgitated stomach contents of a snapper. The snapper, then known asLutjanus aya随后被用来命名未知蝴蝶鱼，新万博苹果预后aya。Ironically,Lutjanus aya现在不再使用，并且是初级的同义词Lutjanus campechianus。The story goes, a grouper spat up a butterflyfish, which was then named after the grouper, which sadly now has a different name.
Gonioplectrus hispanus，西班牙国旗是另一个深水稀有性，在这里展出。这条鱼可以在水中发现比预后aya，，，，and is by far way more expensive and rare compared to the former.G. hispanusis the sole representative of its genus, and is a rarely seen grouper of the Caribbean and other parts of the Atlantic.
The Spanish Flag is horizontally striped in yellow and purple, with a single red spot on the anal fin. This fish is spectacularly coloured and bears very superficial resemblance in terms of its colour scheme to the PacificCephalopholis polleni。This individual at Steinhart is still small, and the species gets more colourful with age.
除了共同的票价和稀有性外，这种多样化的生物群也是一些异常奇怪的家园。克里奥尔人wrasse是该属的大且不寻常的唇克莱皮蒂斯。The Creole wrasse is common in the wild, and can often be seen in large schools. However it is very uncommon in the trade mainly due to its size and appearance.
A single individual swims in the Caribbean biotope here at Steinhart, and is often seen mingling with another wonderful oddity, the Boga (Inermia vittata), which we did not manage to get photos of.
另一个共享此坦克的不常见的拉布里德是Halichoeres Maculipinna。This beautiful species grows to a moderately acceptable size and is a beautiful species found in the Caribbean. Like all otherHalichoeres，，，，it requires a sandy substrate to bury in at night, and we only managed to get a quick glimpse of this fish in the afternoon before it retired for the day during the evening.
如果您有机会访问该学院，那么您必须快速参观Steinhart水族馆。除了成为公共水族馆中美国的黄金标准之一之外，我现在仍在考虑的一家精彩的加勒比海生物管道。这也是您可以看到的地方预后aya，，，，Gonioplectrus hispanusas well as呼吸症gummiguttawithout having to shell out the dough and end your marriage in a divorce.
I’m going to go ahead and end this post off with another shameless promo of my new found love forHolacanthus ciliaris。非常感谢Matt Wandell，Richard Ross，Charles Delbeek和Luiz Rocha博士的酒店学院。特别感谢马特·旺德尔（Matt Wandell）用这种融合风味的印度启发的术语怪兽为我毁了我的披萨。有关其他鱼以及女王女王的更多照片，请查看下面的迷你画廊！
