Ciclidos del Rift Argentina
Primera web dedicada Ãntegramente a los ciclidos del gran Valle del Rift africano en Argentina
Interview with Mert Aykuta - Turkey
Hi Mert thank you for giving us this interview.
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Tell us a little of your early on this activity.
That age started to maintain ornamental fish and how it was that you started with African cichlids?
I have been keeping the ornamental fishes since l was twelve years old.I know mostly people start to this hobby by keeping Gold Fishes but l started by keeping African chiclids. My first fishes was Labidochromis caeruleus, this was the time when l fell in love with African Chiclids. Because the African Chiclids are very quick fishes, colorfuls and are using all areas in the aquarium. Also the females are good mother for their babies, this is a good reason to keep them.
We know you're a lover of the M'buna of Lake Malawi.
What are the species that you like, and which keep?
Actually l like every fishes and every biotopes (River systems, Lakes biotopes, Creek biotopes) There are many wetlands and fish species in the world. l think every species and underwater habitats are very beautiful. They are lncomparably.
My first biotope tank belonged to Lake Tanganyika's habitat.
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For now, l am keeping M'buna Chiclids of Lake Malawi and a lover of M'bunas, lt is obvius. I like every species that l said before, Haplos, Aulonocaras, M'bunas but l like also making design as l like keeping fishes. Therefore l keep the M'bunas. Haplos needs to big sandy areas. We can not use many rocks like that lf we keep Haplos in our tanks. Except this, Mbuna's feeding from the rocks which covered the algea. This mean, If the algeas grow in our tanks, the fishes eat algeas and will have natural behavior as like nature. There is a good reason to keep M'bunas.
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what tank size you think that it should be suitable for this group of cichlids and why?
I think the tank sizes should be more than 300 liters for M'bunas because they are fast fishes and like realy swimming.
Also they are regionalist fishes therefore they needs big rocks to appropriate. You should keep them as big groups (lt should not be so much crowd for your aquariums. For example; 12-15 big or 20-25 dwarf M'bunas like Pseudotropheus demasoni
are enough for 300lt tank). It will distract of fishes and be more peaceful.
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Something that characterizes your aquariums is the aquascaping that you perform them.
Tell us about your experience in this branch of activity.
How so you plan when you get your hands on?
First time when I decided to create a biotope tank in my hobby life, It was 2012. I have read many articles for can create correct biotope.l have researched every underwater habitats to have fine informations about habitats which l want to simulate lt. There was not many information in Internet but I continued and tried to find in every times. At last, I could find some but they were not enough for me, for I can bring closer it to the nature and create a design with wonderfull wiev because l am a perfectionist man. I worked for earn experiance and bring it more close to the nature. Then l have shared my experiance with my friends and showed they how can create correct biotopes.
The work that we do is not Aquascape. The Biotope and aquascape are two different things. We can say Hardscape for Biotope. The design and rules of design are most lmportant things for Aquascaping but the most important things in biotope is naturalness. Design is also important for Biotope Hardscaping but not much naturalness. The Biotopes must be so close to real nature-underwater, nature-like and while you doing this, you must make it with excellent view.
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The skills are more important for Aquascape than Biotope because we needs informations about habitats first than skills.
The Biotope is realy complicated concept. Everyone suppose to this concept about only skills and design but it is not.
If you want to create biotope, you must know completely specific area that you will do. Which fishes living there? Which plants belong there? If It is a river systems, you must know that It is fast or slow flowing water.Then, If you got the every information about the underwater you must use those and you must also use perspective and golden rate while you was making design and creating biotope.
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What is the equipment used in general for the aquarium?
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Filtration: 2×Tetra Tec Ex 1200 (For mechanical and biological filtration.)
Design: 500kg Natural Rock and 50kg Reefs Sand (This mean a lot of areas for nitrification-bacterias)
Feed: AlgeaCirculation: Seio m1100 wave pump ( It is realy important to fish growth and mechanical filtration)
Stage Lightning: 4x30watt Sylvania Aquastar 38watt Philips 865 for general lightning and 2x80 watt 6500 led projectors for local lightning made by me.
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Something that you put into practice and is very little seen at least for us and many fans,
is the way in which you feeding your fishes.
Talk to us about this.
Is it possible to have a auto sustainable Aquarium?
Yes, It is possible to feed the fishes with only natural algeas. If we don't use use the roid foods we have always clear waters and fine water parameters. It is became to the system automatically.
What other aquariums you keep?
I have only one aquarium now and It is enough big also more than enough. l haven't so much time for interesting another.
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You participate in the competitions whit Heiko Bleher.
But, tell us any anecdotes you've had while with him.
He and his family are the big people who discovered the many ornemental fishes and plants in the river systems actually
in Amazon. He is very well informed man and knows so much things about the underwater habitats. Therefore he has realy good anectodes about lt. He said everytime " the location of the biotope must be precise, not ‘Amazon’, nor ‘Brazil’, ‘South America’ or just ‘Coastal’, ‘River theme’ or ‘Somewhere’... It must be spesific area like "Shores of Malebo Pool (cross section near Kinshasa), old Zaire" and It must create as like real underwater in there. lt must exactly has a fine description about wetland area and underwater habitat. They are the most important things that l can say to you. If you do not find any information about the habitats that you want to create it, you can buy a Bleher's Biotope. It is really informative book and has so much specific location which Heiko Bleher discovered them.
How you see the hobby in your country and how you think that it is globally?
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We are a small group also family who we do good works and interested in Biotopes. Most people in Turkey want to seek profit from the hobby. It is so shame for me. My friends Fatih Bolat and Gökay YaÄŸar have a opened facebook group called "Biyotop Akvaryum Tasarımı Türkiye" and as we show the Biotopes to the people in there , we have changed something in our Country This was beneficial to develop the hobby. In the later years we attend the International Biotope Contest.
The last year my friend Timur TekbaÅŸ got 4 degree in International Biotope Design Contest. This year l devoloped that degree in International Biotope Design Contest which was ordered in Milano by Heiko Bleher. l was 2 in the world.
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More Mert's aquariums
Mert Aykuta specializes in the assembly of biotopes. Participates worldwide in competitions organized by Heiko Bleher in which to achieved podium positions within their aquariums.
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M'buna lover of Lake Malawi, tells us their experiences and tells us about his fantastic aquarium, "M'bunas Deep Reefs"
LOWER NIGER RIVER – NIGERIA
Aquarium winning 2nd place in the International Biotope Design Contest 2016 in Milan, Italy
Thank you very much for your time Mert and for giving us your experience in this interview.
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I am realy glad to answer your questions in this interview.
l hope that lt will be useful for you and your visitors.
Best Regards
Mert Aykuta
"Mbunas Deep Reefs"
Mert's Old Lake Tanganyika biotope aquarium of Kigoma zone.