Re: [AGA Contest] Re: more biotopes

["roger" <roger@spinn.net>]

I can't see qualifying judges for the biotope category either.  That is part
of the problem.

I took some time this morning and went through all of the biotope entries in
all of the past contests.  I have a few observations.

The category is not "biotopes", it is "Biotope/Natural aquarium."  In reading
the aquarists description it is sometimes possible to tell whether they intend
the entry to be a biotope or whether they intend it to be a natural aquarium.
 It isn't always possible to tell and surely those two things are not the same. 
 

Among all the entries in all the contests there are a handfull of actual
biotopes, and most of those are rift lake rocky slope biotopes.  There are
very few "Natural tanks."  I imagine we could argue about what does and does
not constitute a natural tank.  One thing I suspect we could agree on is that
CO2-injected tanks are probably not natural.

There are a few non-biotope/non-natural tanks that were entered that were
probably entered as a mistake.  One in particular comes to mind because it was
entered by someone who's native language is not English and who may have
interpreted "natural aquarium" to be equivalent to Amano's "nature aquarium."
 Other tanks -- as Karen pointed out a few times -- are theme tanks, but not
biotopes.  Most aren't even close to being either a biotope or a natural tank.
 In some cases the aquarists' description leads one to believe that they
conceived of a theme tank but simply failed to carry through; usually they
include fish or plants that are not only from different biotopes but very
often from entirely different continents.

Based on judges' comments most of the judges are quick to recognize when a
tank mixes fish and plants from different regions and some judges appreciate
the difference between a biotope and a regional theme.  I'm not sure that all
judges used that information in the same way.

Do the rules spell out any requirements for a "Biotope/Natural aquarium?"  If
not then I suggest that they should.  Judges probably also need some guidance
on how to rate a tank that is clearly not a biotope or a natural aquarium, but
is entered in that category.

I can't see having Erik triage the incoming applications to see if they
qualify.  I also wouldn't want to be the judge that disqualifies an entry for
not fitting the description.  On the other hand I also wouldn't want to award
a prize to a tank in the "biotope/natural tank" category if it isn't really
anything but an aquatic garden with mediocre aquascaping.

As a judge I felt like the category was a burden that contributed little to
the contest.


Roger Miller

On Wed, 21 Apr 2004 08:38:14 -0700 (PDT), S. Hieber wrote
> This is what I thought went on (of course, I had the
> advantage of reading the mail recently ;-) ). But I can't
> imagine how all this subjective stuff could be codified
> much less then the code appropriately altered to address
> biotopical judges.
> 
> Maybe purported biotope entries should have to pass a
> screen -- someone that decides merely if the entry is
> reasonably representative of a specific biotope. If so, it
> goes into the biotope cat, if not then the contestant can
> opt to enter it in a size cat or withdraw. But that sounds
> complicated, especially for only a half dozen entries. And
> the rules for all the other cats aren't any more formal,
> are they?
> 
> I guess I appreciate the underlying issue, that there is a
> technical issue of accuracy in addition to aesthetic
> evaluation, but I don't see enough reason to drop biotopes
> or handle them significantly diff -- at least not yet.
> 
> If we had a few hundred entries, it might make sense to
> divide up into specific kinds of biotopes (Rio Negro, Rio
> Grande, Lake Malawi, etc). But the looser general term
> "Biotope" seems fitting enough at present.
> 
> sh
> 
> --- Erik Olson <erik@thekrib.com> wrote:
> > On Wed, 21 Apr 2004, S. Hieber wrote:
> > 
> > > How do we qualify judges for any aspects of the
> > contest?
> > 
> > Excellent question.  Here's what *I* use to qualify a
> > judge. . .
> 
> =====
> -  -   -   -   -   -   -   -
> Erik Olson annouces AGA 2004 Annual Aquascaping Awards
> at the annual Convention Nov 12, 13 & 14; 
> Details & Registration at www.aquatic-gardeners.org  & www.gwapa.org
> 
>       
>               
> __________________________________
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