Dream Tropical/Amazon BioDome/Habitat

I started this thread as a request by @Luis. We had a little chat and decided that we need some kind of zoo/aquarium/botanical garden in South Africa.

Imagine we had unlimited funding and the resources to create the worlds best conservation center for smaller animal species.

What would you like to see in South Africa?

I am imagining a massive building which is divided into several habitats which exist around the world. We could create huge Paludariums with plants and animals(reptiles or frogs, maybe insects but nothing too big) from different countries. As you walk from on section to another it must be like walking across the world. Everything about each habitat must resemble the natural one, from rocks, to climate, to currents, and species obviously. Conservation of endangered species would be another function of the project, what rare species could we breed?

How many biomes/habitats would we include? One from each continent? One for each major freshwater system?

 

@Reedfish - I remember that display. I think it was just outside the zoo as part of the reptile park?

 

There are many zoos that I know of in South Africa. My friend and I were discussing it today, especially how many zoos and animals centres there are around the Gauteng area.

As far as aquariums go, there are a few nice ones. The thing is, though, that most such facilities focus on local animals, and their conservation and education of local species to the public are the main concerns. As such, Two Oceans features pretty much exclusively South African fish (even their freshwater exhibits are SA only - exotic species are only those which are invasive in South Africa); uShaka Marine World has nearly entirely SA only species (although I've spotted one or two exotics around).

But @Reedfish is right - there are other displays at Pretoria. They have a host of giant Asian, South American and Central African species, coupled with a few local species of importance. It is a small aquarium, though.

 

@Reedfish - I think they should get a few of our smaller fish (great whites!) at the Cape Town Aquarium although we have been having problems with the "Sharks" lately! :laugh:

 

In fact, they should create a huge underwater display in the basin outside. That would be cool!

 

lol, ok , lets get back on Track here, imagine Money is no Object, just imagination.....
what could we do in SA, to mimic a Dream/Tropical Amazon BioDome/Habitat ??
the skies the limit here, ideas ppl .....

lets start with a coupla Hectares an reprocuce a Tropical river ( call it the SAmazon ) .....

 

maybe The Planted Tank Guys could help us out ?!? @Seanj

we want a cross section of this!!

 

Pretty much this, although it depends where about in the Amazon you are - it is 6400 kilometers of river, after all.

 

hehehe, lets do about a KM or so!!
will that b enough space for everyones ideas ???

 

Oky but seriously though why hasn't Ushaka done a amazon biotope type tank, I think in terms of their climate they would be perfect to attempt something like this. They can just maybe install a couple of solar heaters to keep the temp a bit higher.

 

I wonder what the largest inland coral reef is? Imagine diving in the ocean in Jhb :five:
Freshwater doesn't get nearly as much attention as SW though in general... It would be great to get a team of Botanists, Zoologists, Architects, and Engineers together and design something truly unique. It would be a great Eco-Tourism attraction! I wonder how much something like that would cost though. Have you guys seen the Aquarium at Hartbeespoort Dam?

 

Well to be honest I never even knew that there were FW Aquariums until TASA, but I remember a long time ago on some TV show they showed a aquarium with some LM Yellowfish and the water was pretty murky and one of the fish had a huge patch of fungus on the side, looked like it had an anemone on it's side.

Anyway I think this was the one at harties.

If it was, I hope they improved their care.

 

@Good_Times Yeah I went there last year to have a look and was really disappointed!! They had such amazing fish and the enclosures had so much potential but they were all bare and bland. The water was clear in the majority of the tanks so I think they must have pretty good filtration but really they put no effort into aesthetics. I find it extremely sad that someone spent so much money on that place but then didn't think to create biotopes which make the fish more attractive to visitors.

Check this out: http://www.sa-venues.com/things-to-do/northwest/hartbeespoort-dam-aquarium/ "Freshwater and tropical fish" um... can anyone see whats wrong with this sentence :stupido2:

 

Largest Inland Aquarium I could find is the Beijing Aquarium. "Beijing Aquarium, the world's largest inland aquarium, is located on the north bank of the Chang River within the Beijing Zoo. It covers 120,000 square meters with a construction area of 42,000 square meters and integrates marine animals watching, scientific education and entertainment into a whole body.Beijing Aquarium is a magnificent architecture shaped like a huge conch shell parking itself on the beach of the Beijing Zoo embraced by green trees and clusters of beautiful flowers. It has the world's advanced life support system that uses artificial salt water totaling as much as 18,000 tons. The seven exhibition halls in the building were designed delicately to encompass seven topics with the purpose of "cultivating the people, educating students, and protecting ecological environment" and they are " Rainforest Adventure" , "Tidal Encounter" , "wonders of coral reefs" , "Shark Wharf" (opened in October, 2006), "rare Chinese sturgeon hall" , "whales and globefish gulf" , and "Marine Mammal Pavilion" . Thousands of marine species can be found in the aquarium with tens of thousands of them on exhibition or being raised there. By showing these varied collections of species to visitors and introducing precious endangered animals, as well as presenting excellent marine animals shows and conducting various science education activities, Beijing Aquarium helps to educate the people on the knowledge about aquatic creatures, learn of oceanic tales, and foster their awareness of the conservation and protection of environment. The tourists can be cultivated and benefited from the visiting experience and become more conscious of "love marine animals and protect the earth of our home"."

 

http://www.nationalzoo.com.au/aquarium_page.htm This one in Australia sounds pretty amazing too.

Aqua Planet- South Korea

 

http://members.virtualtourist.com/m/tt/69811/