Aquaman's treasures: Retired engineer reimagines aquariums
German novelist Herman Hesse mentions in his book Siddhartha that the secret of the river is that there is no such thing as time. There can be several narratives to this extract, like the illusion of time, being in the present and enlightenment. The most interesting interpretation would be the interconnectedness of all beings and experiences in a natural flow—this is the philosophy that is reflected in all of Basil James’ artistic paludarium installations.
James, an ex-NRI from Kuwait, has a piscine passion. Referred to as Fish Uncle, he is more than your friendly neighbourhood aquarium builder. Now in his late 50s, James believes there should be an organic connection with the water, the fish, the plants, and the substrate to form an ecosystem rather than putting together random elements and calling it an aquarium. So he prefers to call what he makes “ecoriums” or biotopes. One such creation is the Tropical Rainforest.
Commissioned by a corporate client, it is a massive trapezoid structure that homes a living replica of the Amazonian wetland. James recreated the tropical microclimate by setting similar temperatures, lighting, humidity, water chemistry and substrates. “There are several devices like pH metre and automated lighting systems that help achieve this,” he says.
It was when he was working and living in Kuwait, that his interest in fish and aqua system began. His kids wanted pets and fish seemed to be the best option in an apartment. This former electrical engineer recalls, “These are the only pets that do not complain. So I felt they deserve more love and care.” On his return from Kuwait post-retirement, he dedicated his time to this art completely.
His Tanganyika biotope is inspired by one of the oldest and deepest lakes in the world, Lake Tanganyika in Tanzania. It was formed by tectonic movements and is isolated from other waterbodies. This causes the lake to have a certain creation of specific microclimate and the water has unique physio-chemical properties. James replicated the same conditions in a micro-ecosystem using hard, alkaline water.
On extensive research he learnt that the rocks similar to the ones found at Tanganikyan Lake were found in East Asia. He sourced them through aquarium accessories traders and aquarists from Indonesia, Thailand and Singapore. The stones were then placed on a base of fine sand creating natural nooks and crevices for the fish to play around.
Now, a professional aquarist in Thiruvananthapuram. James believes in creating paludariums where water, flora and fauna thrive as a single system and the fish feel at home. Every creation is a living art installation, from nano-paludariums that home tiny fish to gigantic systems that adorn an entire wall. It’s a fishy tale of gigantic proportions.