Great exhibition Śląski Weekend Akwarystyczny

Over the weekend, we had the opportunity to attend an interesting Polish aquaristic event in Zabrze, near Krakow. Polish aquarists organized the XII Silesian Aquaristic Weekend for the twelfth time. It was an exhibition of various types of aquariums and it was evident that their preparation was masterfully handled. I must say that I felt very comfortable in the presence of my colleagues from Poland and although there were some linguistic specifics dividing us, the atmosphere was clearly about understanding and a similar, if not the same, perception of aquaristics.

All day Saturday there were lectures on the following topics:

• guppies
• diseases of aquarium fish
• insects in the nutrition of aquarium fish

and on Sunday continued with:

• demonstration of setting up a plant aquarium
• cichlids in nature

In addition to the very nicely furnished aquariums, I had the honor to personally meet some of the authors of these aquariums. Sometimes these were also authors of aquaristic books, which I would have gladly taken home, if they were not in Polish. I was somewhat relieved when it was confirmed that Czech and Polish are not so distant after all and we could communicate without using English.

In moments when I could just sit and observe the visitors, it was clear that it was a successful event. The children were entertained, their parents explained what they saw, and then there was a corner where the children could paint their experiences. Exhibitors were continually enthusiastic about all visitors and gladly engaged in discussions. At the end of the day, the results were announced for the best exhibited aquariums in their category. Many exhibitors took turns on the stage, receiving diplomas and sponsorship gifts. I checked the award results at random and could only agree.

Among the beautiful exhibits were aquariums with, for example:

• Acarichthys heckelii albino
• Trichopodus leerii wild
• Geophagus iporangensis
• Guianacara dacrya along with Moenkhausia collettii
• Betta splendens from a company that specializes in fighters and arranged the aquariums so well that they appeared cozy and the fighters adjusted to each other and showed their beautiful colors. When they just relaxed from flaring and needed to pose for the photographer, the exhibitor arranged the proper posing with a simple trick with a stick.
• Lamprologus multifasciatus with typical shells, which they definitely did not want to give up and their heads peeked out as if they were some kind of toys
• Xiphophorus hellerii from Mexico
• Amatitlania nanolutea - an endemic from Panama
• A very nice biotope with Symphysodon haraldi, also known as Discus Blue Diamond. A school of young fish visibly enjoyed the masterfully created biotope from an exceptional breeder and author of a book about discus, Andrzej Nowicki. Unfortunately for me, it was not possible to photograph the fish well because they enjoyed the pleasant dimness of their natural environment most of the time.

I was a bit sorry that I had reserved only Saturday for this event, because I would have liked to stay on Sunday as well, but nothing could be done. The plan was the plan.

It was great that we had the opportunity to present the ForAquarist portal and I was pleased with the interest the app received. I am very grateful to Adam Molin for translating and interpreting my presentation and to the organizers for enabling us to perform this presentation in Poland.

Do not miss the beautiful aquaristic weekend in sunny Poland next year.