The Tint

I ponder stuff... There are millions of aquarium hobbyists worldwide. And hundreds and thousands of aquariums...countless millions of fishes are produced, collected and sold each year. WHO has them all? Where do they go? I can't help but wonder!

Oh yeah, it’s time to talk more about brackish water aquariums and the fascinating wild habitats they can replicate. It’s time once again to look at brackish differently. It’s time to push further on the call we first made to you back in 2017 for our re-imagined interpretation of brackish. Let’s throw it out there and get back at it!

A little quick hit today. A few thoughts for those of you pushing the limits of what we do in the hobby with your bold ideas and experiments…

Our botanical method aquariums are what we like to call “biotope-inspired” systems. Aquariums that represent on a functional- and perhaps an aesthetic level- wild habitats from which our fishes come. And that’s a pretty amazing thing in and of itself, isn’t it?

I talk a lot about creating functional and sustainable ecologies within our aquariums. I admittedly spend FAR less time talking about the fishes which reside in them. Let’s focus on this fishes for a minute…

Well, I did it again: I brought up the discussion about what the possible benefits might be to “repatriating” captive bred fishes to the environmental conditions of their wild habitats…an interesting, compelling topic- and you wanted to hear more of my thoughts on the subject. Here’s more!

I’m not a militant biotope aquarium enthusiast, however, obsessed with matching every twig, rock, and leaf in my tank to the wild aquatic habitat I’m trying to represent. Rather, I’m “biotope inspired”- obsessed with creating aquariums which replicate the function and form of unedited Nature. I think that it’s an interesting approach for many of us…

Every once in a while a get a- well- a “bug up my a- - and have to plead with like minded aquarium people to do stuff! Here’s an idea for you entrepreneur types. It’s something that’s literally been “bugging me” for years about aquarium foods.. who’s gonna act on this?

It’s a lot of fun to get some new fishes to add to your collection, isn’t it? Except, if you’re like me- you’re thinking about the tasks that lay ahead- acclimation, feeding, quarantine, etc. The stuff we need to do; the stuff that causes just a little stress for everyone involved, right?

A lot of you ask to hear some story’s about the early days and ideas behind Tannin Aquatics and the botanical method aquarium movement as we know it now. So, here’s one about the origins of our products and their names, and how a decision to be more accurate ranked among one of the best we’ve made!

If you’ve been in the aquarium hobby long enough, there may come a time when you just aren’t “feeling it” any more; when, for whatever reason, it’s healthy to step aside and take a little break. Or, there are some things you can do to stay in the game.. here are a few recommendations from an aquarist who’s been there myself…

Sometimes, when I work with newer hobbyists, I’m reminded of some of the errors and mistakes in judgement I’ve made in the hobby over the years. Here’s a recanting of a tale from my youth of a painful- yet valuable- mistake and the lessons it taught me.

The third part in an occasional series about how I establish my own botanical method tanks. A look at the first steps, including practical and philosophical approaches. Hopefully, you glean a few bits of knowledge from this one!

Aquatic plants. My old nemesis. Until very recently, they’re the one part of the aquarium hobby that never really resonated with me. Yet, so many of you ask about planted botanical method tanks and tinted water that I just HAD to talk about them again! Let’s talk about them from a philosophical, practical, and “ecology first” perspective. Let’s discuss the oft-misunderstood teachings of Amano and...

As the botanical method aquarium movement evolves, we’re starting to develop “best practices”, ideas, processes, and classifications that help us communicate within our growing community. Let’s discuss my simple system for classifying botanical materials, and how they influence the chemical, physical, and ecological parameters of our tanks. It’s an exciting time, and everyone can contribute to thi...

I love fish breeders. The employ mad skills, create great systems, and do awesome things, all in efforts to control the process. I can’t help but wonder if just doing what we do- creating environmentally focused natural aquariums- can accomplish some of the same things…with a little luck thrown in?

Occasionally, we all need reassurances. Affirmations that this weird approach to aquariums is somehow the right move. The hobby in general doesn’t always understand or even appreciate what we do. That’s what this little segment is all about. A sort of reminder that the practices which we engage in are useful, interesting, and game changing on many ways…if we’re bold enough to keep going.

There are lots of fishes which are abundant in the wild; yet, which for some reason, we seldom if ever see in aquariums. Yet, these enigmatic fishes keep us searching, hopeful that one day they’ll show up “accidentally” at the LFS. Perhaps some have more common “analogs…” perhaps others, we’ll simply have to keep dreaming of. Here are a few of my “dream fishes”…

Rain is literally the “bearer of life.” And what happens in the wild habitats of our fishes when it rains is compelling and fascinating… and absolutely reproducible in our aquariums! A few quick thoughts on rain…

We’ve talked about deploying what I call “radical patience” with our aquariums for years… but the idea makes sense! Waiting a bit longer to add fishes to our botanical method aquariums can yield real, tangible benefits. We’re developing little ecosystems in our tanks, so why not do it in a way that yields the best possible benefits for the fishes we keep? Let’s talk about some strategies to deploy...

Aquatic habitats in Nature go through profound seasonal changes. The fishes which reside within them have adapted to these changes- altering their spawning and feeding habits to take advantage of the resources available to them at different times of the year. What is there to be gained by replicating seasonal changes in our aquariums- in essence- “operating” them? Let’s talk about it!

The concept of “food webs” is an elegant and fascinating ecological construct- one which we’ve talked about a lot over the years. I think that botanical method aquariums are ideally suited to foster and maintain food webs- if we let them occur. Let’s talk a bit more about the idea!

…’cause you know… we love fishes.. so let’s design our next tank around them!

Algae. The word conjures up nightmares of “ruined” aquariums in the mind of lots of hobbyists. Yet, to the enlightened botanical method or blackwater aquarium lover, it’s not much of a consideration. We don’t see all that much algae in our tanks, do we? Why is this, and what are the “drivers” of this absence of excessive algae in our tanks?

The startup phase of a botanical method aquarium- or ANY aquarium, for that matter- is an amazing time when we can celebrate and embrace the assembly of an ecological system. It’s so much more than an “ugly” or “annoying” phase that aquariums go through on the route to becoming something “great.” Rather, it’s the foundational part where our little ecosystems establish themselves naturally. We need...