Lower Rio Usumacinta sidearm, Mexico, by David Nørholm (Denmark)

Assessed by: Juan Miguel Artigas Azas (Cichlid Room Companion) and Jairo Arroyave (UNAM)

David says: “Close to the riverbank, on a small sidearm to the Rio Usumacinta, surrounded by dense jungle, you find this beautiful little spot. I have tried to recreate this underwater landscape with a combination of driftwood, branches, roots, leaves, pebbles and river stones. I have also tried to recreate the sporadic aquatic vegetation that characterises areas like this.

“I have dreamt of making a Central American biotope for quite a long time, and when I suddenly got the chance to buy some beautiful wildtype Poecilia velifera, I knew this was the time.

Most of the branches and driftwood are locally collected, just as the stones, with the exception of the large river stone to the left. This is an artificial module which is used as a filter for the aquarium — perfectly hidden.”