Saturday, September 8, 2007

From the Amazon River...

The Amazon has been described as is the “greatest river in the world”. Scientists have discovered only a small percentage of the millions of species of plants and animals that live in the rain forests in the Amazon River basin.

Located in South America right at the equator, the Amazon River drains the entire northern half of the South American continent. All the tropical rains that deluge the great rainforests of “Amazonia” are carried to the ocean through the thousands of tributaries which feed the Amazon.

More water flows into the ocean from the Amazon River than the combined output of the Mississippi, the Nile, and the Yangtze rivers. Of all the river waters flowing into the world’s oceans, one fifth of that water comes from the Amazon.

Amazon River Rocks

The Amazon River drains a massive area of land – 40% of the South American continent. Over eons of time, massive quantities of silt particles built up around the River basin. The shale and clay that line the river are generally shades of gray or brown and become textured as a result of the cutting action of the river’s currents.

These single colored rock structures provide a dramatic contrast to the spectacularly colored fish which occur in the Amazon. Aquarium backgrounds which recreate the actual rock structures seen in the Amazon River have become popular with many Amazon Aquarium owners.

These backgrounds recreate with great accuracy the natural environments in which the fish live. It is essential to obtain aquarium ornaments and decorations specifically made of materials that will never dissolve or affect the purity of the aquarium water.

Amazon River Water

Because of the massive amounts of rainwater that flow through the Amazon, the water contains very few minerals. The tap water coming from the faucets in most aquarists homes contains too many dissolved minerals for the fish that naturally live in Amazon River water.

Many fish from the Amazon River basin do better and are much more likely to breed in aquariums with water that is a mixture of tap water and water that has passed through a Reverse Osmosis (R/O) filter which is the most economical way to remove almost all of the minerals from tap water.