The Fairmont Hotel ( formerly known as the Hotel Newfoundland )  did a special Bermuda Promotion from the 6th to the 16th of August 2004. They wanted an aquarium to be set up near the Bona Vista Restaurant that would help with that promotion.

Ideally a Saltwater Aquarium would have been best, but a saltwater tank is finicky to set up and get running properly, is expensive, and for such a short time I decided to do a freshwater tank and make it look more marine if at all possible.

So I used Australian Rainbow Fish ( Glossipus incisus ) as the fish. They are a brilliant red colour with gold flecks and a distinctive shape. I used Giant Valisneria  along the back of the tank to create a wall of "kelp", and a large and beautiful hunk of coral in the centre of the tank which was spotlighted from below to accent it and help create the illusion of a marine tank. I removed the top of the aquarium completely and used some live tropical plants to ring the top of the tank, rooting them in the sand inside the aquarium..

The photos below really do not do this set-up any justice at all, but at least you can get the idea of it.

Everyone who saw it was impressed, and many of the staff of the Hotel voiced their desire for the aquarium to remain even after the Bermuda Promotion was over.