STEM PLANTS BUNDLE SALE - Over 75 plants - 15 Species for $59! Limited Time OFFER so HURRY! father-fish-aquarium.myshopify.com/ For Special Soil Supplements, Plants, FIsh & Merch in your country: fatherfish.fish/
Because new ,young people in the hobby today have been brain washed into thing differently . Most information is geared around selling crap you don’t truly need.
I should have never listened to those Fish keeping facebook groups, they yelled at me when I asked about taking substrate from outside, saying "are you crazy? you'll kill all of your fish!" Thanks for spreading the good, and true word about fish
Ironically we are lied to about everything. What's good for us humans, what's good for our pets, our true history, about medicine, about food, about education (indoctrination)......even about the place we all live..........it's all for control and profit. Once the scales are removed......there is no putting them back on. :)
I setup my Fish Tank to be best resemble your dirt tank style and with the 2 inch sand. I bought the plants for you and this was maybe two months ago. I have about 24 small fish with a few shrimps and it is thriving very well. I haven't done any water changes after I added the plants to the tank. Thank you for this method, the tank is strong and doing well and my daughter and parent love it!
@@VIBES3093 It's totally normal (and desired). It means your tank is healthy. If the front glass gets too dirthy for your own enjoyment, just wipe it. 😉 I do this once a week while i'm gardening to maintain the aesthetics of the tank.
the industrial aquarium complex hates this man, he better look out for the fishstapo. I love your channel and information, it is helping me transform my aquarium into a much more natural and healthy waterscape.
Start small and humble. Get a big container and put a bunch of gunk from the local waters and observe. Fishkeeping is noble endeavor requiring patience and a good number of failures. Thanks to father fish we may avoid a few dozen of those "errors." ❤
It's taken me 3yrs to get my tank established to the point of no water changes...I add due to evaporation but that's it and my water quality is perfect...no chemicals just biology...after watching your videos I could have achieved that faster by putting a mud layer first...I just have sand but now a thicker new layer over the original sand...my plants and fish have never been happier.
My fish are doing just fine and by the looks of things Father fishes fish and tanks look beautiful so definitely not taking your words of discouragement Marcie or however ya say that...thanks for your concern
I'm glad that it seems like I'm on the right path when it comes to fishkeeping. I went from somebody who bought all the products and tried to do too many things, to somebody who tries to do less and instead mimic nature as best I can with very heavy planting and lots of inverts and things like that, i've had way more success keeping the fish happy this way.
I'm so glad I found this channel. Thank you sir. Preach. I've been keeping fish for 40 years and this is the truth. Funny how the fish are always happier in green and "funky" tanks.
I just found your videos. Glad I did. I tried to create a natural tank a few years ago that had no filter. I based it on your concept. My substrate came from a local river. The plants from the same water source, same as the fish and other live stock. Given I am in australia I even had my own fresh water muscle bed as my only filtration. Had trouble trying to balance the habitat. Glad I’ve finally found someone who has a proven 20+ year old tank that proves the method. Thankyou for a little validation of the concept. I think that the main thing I missed out on was the implementation on leaf litter to the system. Your a legend. The next tank I do is going the be an with foot long tank based on a natural system. Thankyou for the encouragement. It hasn’t been said in vain.
@@FatherFish Dear Sir, Your videos are wonderful. There are so many kind of sands like Black, white, river , sea sand etc. Which sand do you suggest for substrate . Thanks, Yash
I purchased some of your cuttings , planted them in a 29 gallon and within a week of 24hr lighting they have strong root shoots so now I can adjust to an 8hr off time at night Slowly been adding fish of community style Been making my own compost for years as my base , found a bag of sand that’s got multiple layers to it , found a sweet log in the river and have been collecting jars with muck and snails ! Snail hunting at night 😆 this is fun !!
This is why I love planted heavily aquariums and trying not to do any water changes, unless I am doing some trimming in the tank. Now I am trying to add outside plants above the aquarium to take out any ammonia that may spike up. Less water changes the better.
I love your wisdom Father Fish.... was so worried about my 'new' bathtub fish pond.... looked at all the chemicals etc.... never had any problems with our various types of fish without all the things you can buy now! 13 year br3ak from fish keeping had me worried for a while. Hasten to add... I rehomed 5 fish a month ago for my bath.... I now have HUNDREDS of baby fish.... something is right! Keep up the good work, Best wishes from Somerset England
I've discovered this channel 2 weeks ago and I'm amazed by this content! Thanks for all this content! I'll set a new aquarium soon and I'll try to apply these technics to it. I'm from Brazil and I'm in the hobby about 12 years.
I have always made "Resurrection" jars simply to watch the copepods, snails, insect larvae, and other life out of curiosity. I like to compare the difference in life between different streams and at different times of year. I finally got up the courage to add a jar to my 30g platy tank, mud and all. I suddenly got the largest explosion of platy fry I have ever seen. I have at least 15 fry and the adults aren't even trying to eat them. Before they used to immediately eat most of them, and it was rare to see more than 1-2 live to grow bigger at one time. I think its because the fry are living safely off the microfauna introduced by the stream water I collected. I will definitely be listening to your future advice father fish.
Father Fish, I have watched almost a quarter of your videos and I haven’t come across a video of how to keep African Cichlid tank clean. I will keep watching and following you. Thank you
"Too clean (pure) the water has no fish living there" Ts’ai Ken T’an compiled by Hong Zicheng during the time of the Ming Dynasty (1368 to 1644) in China.
Sir, Can I put plant fertilizers in tanks as some plants need them. Or should I avoid fertilizers and go with reduced plant growth? Please suggest. Thanks
Thanks 👍 father fish !! So helpful ... Glad someone is actually encouraging NATURAL setups. I have never "cycled" a tank. The only thing I do, is eliminate about 50% of algae on the glass and change 50% of my water once every 10 days, feed every 2nd day ... And whenever I can, I collect / rinse / introduce aquatic plants from my area. And for ICK, I put half a clove or garlic in the water for 3-4 days, and I gets rid of it. Never had a problem.
Going to local park with a lake tomorrow to get a little pond scum. Will use to add more diversity to the bio life.. Maybe a table spoon per 10 gal tank? My tanks (5) are thriving with lots of plants, but looking to improve stability by biodiversity. All are less than 6 months old. Used play sand and lava rocks in a cull tub. Smelled bad.. couple weeks and water changes and it now seems to be stabilizing with reduced smell.
When people ask me how often do i clean my sump system i simply dont. Even the sponges in my sump get a quick clean once every 6 months. Nitrates are zero like ammonia and a constant ph 7.6 ish. Dont try to fix which isnt broken. Its all down to having a nice flow going through the ceramic rings and bio balls which are in net bags piled up in each section. This man Father Fish has fantastic knowledge and experience. ❤
Father Fish… I have planaria and hydra. I have six ten gallon tanks and 3 of them have these parasites. I added endlers but they didn’t eat hydra. This may be an awesome video for you
I've built a few aquatic ecosystems based on your common sense approach to keeping animals and they are the healthiest of my several set ups. Thanks for the conventional wisdom and general know-how
How hardy are fish. I keep large fish mostly bluegill, catfish and big goldfish in my outdoor ponds. One evening I was checking on everything before bed time. One of my channel cats (about 6 lbs) had for some reason jumped out of the 470 gallon tank he was in. Laying on the ground, skin dry to the touch, dirt and sticks stuck to him. I figured he was dead but when I picked it up he moved. I put him in the tank, he started breathing. Next day he was fine. Another time a large pleco bailed out of the 75 I had him in onto my office carpet. Again dry to the touch, hair stuck to him, etc. He was alive I have no idea how long he was that way. Back in the tank, for months he has white markings where his skin literally died back. He lived, recovered, out grew the tank and was given to a fellow hobbyest. Now both are catfish and they do have more ability to survive out of the water and I am sure both were near the point of no return but if that doesn't say fish are tough I don't know what does.
Thanks a lot Father Fish for shareing this information. You are absolutely right. I have experienced it myself. I hope that many more aquarium people will see this light and manage to escape out of the grasp of the commercial fish industry.
so thankful i saw your posts. Ive shared in groups on facebook. thankyou for videos and explaining perfectly. Its basically common sense..just not that common...lolz.. Now I want to do this to the 10 tanks full for 2yrs now. I will be wanting to fix asap.will take photos and video of before an after.
I read a great article on how bacteria pose stress on a fish's immune system. Free floating bacteria counts should be kept low for good fish health (in an aquarium). They can then build up their immune systems better. I installed a AA 3w Green Killing Machine UVC device in my 30 gallon not to kill algae, but to keep bacteria counts low.
I'm pretty new to the hobby, maybe about two months in. I started with a small tank, impulse bought and overstocked, my wife wanted all the fake neon plants, neon gravel and glofish. Well, it ended in disaster, and our first bunch of fish died. The gravel is still in the tank, and we have one Betta and a rubber lip pleco in that tank now, and so far so good. I have also added two more tanks I'm now keeping, and did it my way (after doing a bunch of homework), with sand substrate, LOTS of live plants, and I've only lost one neon tetra since then, which I believe was due to stress and it maybe just being a weaker fish seeing all of my other ones are doing fine, fat and happy is the term I use lol. I use root tabs to get my plant roots nutrients, as I didn't buy a substrate intended for plants. I just found your channel yesterday, and I think I'm gonna experiment with getting rid of the gravel in our Betta tank, and giving your advice a try and using some elements from nature, and being in South Florida surrounded by swampland everywhere, it shouldn't be hard to find. I'm really glad I found your channel Father Fish, and will be returning frequently for more words of wisdom. Thank you sir.
Love the message! Couldn't agree more… coming across your videos 2 years ago opened my eyes to a different way. I have fallen in love with the microfauna! Thanks!
Good point here in Florida there are rain dit😢full of fish with plants and muck on the bottom. Only water change is from a heavy rain. Temperature can easily reach 90 degrees go figure 😯
The other day I was surprised to find dirth and flies in my salad before I remembered it was totally normal. All salads that mother bought when I was young needed to be washed. I remember she was puting it in a socket and sending me outside and swirl it around 😊 to get it dry. We where slowly but surely told that nature is filthy (not only in the fish business but everywhere). It hapenned so sneakily ... Did you notice that commercial bread don't rot anymore? Two freaking months in the fridge and not a single blue spot on there...that's not an improvement, it's totally scary. It's not even alive anymore, and they want me to eat this ?!🤬 Schools now tell the joung that they should stop wasting water ... HOW IN HELL can you waste water? It's a cycle. It goes back into the lake CLEAN and you drink it again ! Had to explain to my 7 year old son that water doesn't just disapear in the drain and that he's probably drinking dinosaur's piss. Can you only blame the industry tho ? We the consumers are the ones that asked everything to become more and more clean and convenient in the first place... But every action has a reaction. Now we're all sick.
Thank you sir..your msg & information help me lot these and I remembered you said water is like gold how long we keep it unchanged it's really turn as previously..
Father fish i put peaces of dead wood from a tree in my tank its called sekelboss wood and my tank water got brown and it smell like the wood is that good
My cousin had an under gravel and a cannister filter in Chicago. He kept a piranha that literally only ate live fish without EVER changing the water. The fish died of old age, zero problems. All he did was add water when it would evaporate. He did once and a while clean the gravel.
Been running my 33 gallon tank for just over 2 years I clean the filter every 3 months and do a 15% water change every 3 weeks I never add chemicals but I can never grow any plants ,if I go down my local pond and pick up a bucketful of goodness will this help my problem?
Hi FF! From watching your videos I want to change my tank. I have cold water fish. Can I transfer my fish into a natural environment as you suggest or do I need to do it gradually? Many thanks in advance!
Hello father fish. I want to get my 125 set up right from the start. What kind of dirt should I get as a substrate? Can I get it at Home Depot ? Everything online is extremely expensive. Also do you have a sand recommendation ?
Dear Father fish, I watched this video again. I have a dilemma on my hands.😅 I started a 51L tank before I found you on UA-cam a little more than a month ago. I missed the most important part. The correct foundation of the tank. Mud and sand correct substrates! I put in around 3inch of natural Australian river gravel. I haven’t touched the substrate since day one. I have put pond mud and sand in my back filter. Normally I would rip everything out and start over no question asked but now I had my 1st Cherry shrimp colony on its way 10+ female berried now. They can be relocated no problems but I have All the new born babies (100+) in tank now 0.1-0.5mm will be lost 😢. I have added dead leafs too Mud, sand, wood and leafs from local water source all worked wonders!! but it’s it enough? What to do Father fish? Please advise Thank you very much in advance for your time. Warmest regards Wing 🇦🇺
This is simple to fix. Simply add sand to the substrate until the sand isabout 2" deep. If you like the look of the gravel save some to dress the sand.
Totally love the insight I’ve watched so may videos on first time pet keeping and nothing I mean nothing I’ve really understood until I’ve watched your videos thank you so much❤
I'm a firm believer in everything NATURAL. I even homestead to raise my own food and medicine. (Because big pharma almost killed me several times as a youth) I'm struggling a little bit with my first dirted tank though. I setup my 90 gal dirted tank....2 inches of dirt best I could according to FF recipe......added 2-3 inches of pool filter sand.....added about 10 live plants, and added 10 cherry shrimp. The plants all "melted" and the shrimp slowly died. Waited about a week and added 20 more live plants as almost all the first round died, and added 10 more cherry shrimp. The plants this time are struggling but not fully dying. The shrimp are still slowly dying but not as fast as first time and not all of them yet. Any advice for me? Is this just the normal process waiting for everything to balance? Am I doing something wrong? Should I do anything more? God bless anyone that reads this and super appreciate any help!
Your formula is not right. The dirt is maxed out at 2" For that amount you need a minimum of 4" of sand. When you plant do not push the roots into the soil, just one inch into the sand. Let the roots find nutrition. That will keep t hem from melting. The shrimp should do better with the additional sand. Try to locate duckweed, forg bit, anacharis or other fast growing plant. You need something that will reduce the nitrates. Guppy grass or hornwort are good. Join us on DISCORD where we can provide more help.
@@FatherFish thank you so much for seeing my message and replying. I saw in one of your videos to not plant too deep down, only half way through the sand and tried to, but do think I planted too deep. (Especially with only 2-3 inches of sand and not 4 inches or little more). Only other question though, why do even my "floating plants" die as well? Does the plants that melt and shrimp that die....cause too big of nitrate/ammonia spikes? Because does seem like everything does "ok" at first.....but then it kinda goes downhill over 1-2 weeks until everything is dead. *I have well water that is 8.2 pH Incase that helps *My tank is also not "cycled yet" *My daughter's 29 gallon with just 1/2 inch fluval stratum, 1/2 inch sand, 1/2 inch of gravel is doing amazing lol. But she did start very slow with just 1 fish, then week later 1 more fish, then week later 1 more ect. (I just setup everything in 1 day. Dirt, sand, plants, shrimp)
@@mikeb4824 The dirt is escaping into the water column. That is creating excess nutrients that break down causing ammonia spikes. Doubling you sand cap will resolve that problem.
I had Discus with a few tiny white spots in the tail (i suspect it was ick) I monitored them daily. The spots did not increase. One day they were all gone. The temperature was around 29°C / 84°F I also stopped doing water changes to keep the water temperature as consistent as possible. It was around that time i stopped doing water changes all together (i have a lot of plant growth) and the Discus fish have never looked happier in my care. Even the spawning behavior has increased without doing water changes to "encourage" them to spawn
I have followed your advice and love the tank. But I am still wondering, the fish poop will decompose and filter through the sand, so then I do not not have to clean it ever?
Substratul adânc este esențial în sistemele de recif. Adunați material din mare dintr-un sistem construit pe materiale marine. Nisip foarte adânc acoperit cu cultură vie din rocă vie, macroalge și nisip cultivat.
Heck of a point about how a clean start leads to a monoculture with the microbiome, and I don’t think it takes much to introduce a natural culture, like an effin teaspoon from a pond could do it. I have been keeping fish for a good 35 years or so, and I must admit that at one point in time I sterilized rocks with boiling water, ha ha.
Sir, in my locality there is a pond where there are different kinds of fish. Especially telapia, rice fish etc. There are certain types of aquatic plants aswell. Small round leaved floating plants cover the surface. The water is a bit greenish in texture. Can I add this water and floating plants in my betta tank? I am a bit confused as some local people use this pond to wash their clothes, utensils and also to bathe. Kindly advise. Regards.
Collect water, plants and some leaf mulch from the pond and put it in a jar. Watch it carefully for a month. Add some tiny rice fish. You will learn about life in old water. When you are ready introduce your betta to this water.
Hi FF how do you keep your cichlids without water change as plants and soil can’t go into the tank ? will love to stop doing my weekly water change routine Thanks
This man is addressing one of the most important problems in modern day fishkeeping, it's so much deeper and bigger than I can explain here, not just in the private sector, but the suppliers of marine and freshwater ornamentals, the fish vets, aquarists in zoo's and aquariums and various experts around the world would need to consider this to bridge the gap in our knowledge... Everything we know about fish is wrong. The way we treat disease, use hormones for breeding. Its unnatural and unnatural is wrong!
Amazing knowledge, thank you. I'm still weary of trying it out, maybe on my next aquarium. But i'm curious can this process of naturalization of an aquarium be made to an already setted up tank somehow?
Hi Father fish...i am from Malta and you? I have a question for you. I have a 1 meter aquarium with 500 fry mollies aged two months and less. The water every 4 days becomes yellowish although i have an external filter. I cant remove some of them because i dont have space. I want to sell them when they are big enough. Can you give me some tips pls?
I have another question regarding the setup of substrate in a new tank...... would it be beneficial to add a layer of leaves between the bottom mud and the top sand layer ? If so, would fresh leaves that have not begun to decompose be more beneficial than decomposing leaves from the lake or stream ?
Thank you for another great lesson! My only regret is not finding you sooner (I was the one asking about keeping Oscars using your substrate method on live chat last night)! I used to live in Lauderdale, now in North Florida, and would love to come down to visit, and pick your brain!
I love you father fish.. great tutorial.. its a shame hobbyist are still keeping there fish in a sterile environment.but ‘really’ you have the blame the big box stores convincing them to purchase their chemicals ..and yes there fish end up unhappy and dying 😢it’s simply keeping like a small pond basically with its little ecosystem evolving within it..lets keep pushing a natural aquarium..make fish great again ❤thx father fish 🎉
Great value information ☺️ It means, water change should not be made all the time. I have seen some tiny worm like creature on the substrate aquarium I never feed the fishes with worm !! So what are those things??
@@FatherFish Thank you for your reply. I had to study microbiology as part of my Nursing degree, absolutely loved the course and excelled in the lab portion of the course. But outside of a basic understanding of micro-organisms that came with the course most of the focus was on his they impact human health, I acknowledge the experience difference and the time invested in what you do... I am still a little curious about the subject. Given our rate of travel we have probably cross populated most of the globe a couple times over, but looking at micro-organisms that cause human illnesses there are/were some disparities between continents, and even regions within the continents. I am looking at establishing a tank for an axolotl in particular, as part of an indoor aquaponics herb garden. In the research that I have been doing there has been a lot of reference to their large bio-load and sensitivity to ammonia,nitrates, nitrites, chlorine etc. I have long suspected that it was possible to start a self sustaining ecosystem in an aquarium, I had never really dug into it until recently. Almost the entire population of axolotl owners/hobbyists/breeders pitch the sterile tank philosophy for a wide variety of reasons. Most common is the axolotls intolerance to stress, impaction, and even propensity to sit on and crush plants. Because most (if not all) of them are no where near what you are doing for your tanks they do not even get near the subject of micro-organisms, with the exception of fungal infections. I just want to be sure that I am not going to inadvertently kill an axolotl because of the bacteria I have in the area I live in...
@@FatherFish I'm a firm believer in everything NATURAL. I even homestead to raise my own food and medicine. (Because big pharma almost killed me several times as a youth) I'm struggling a little bit with my first dirted tank though. I setup my 90 gal dirted tank....2 inches of dirt (best I could according to FF recipe)......added 2-3 inches of pool filter sand.....added about 10 live plants, and added 10 cherry shrimp. The plants all "melted" and the shrimp slowly died. Waited about a week and added 20 more live plants as almost all the first round died, and added 10 more cherry shrimp. The plants this time are struggling but not fully dying. The shrimp are still slowly dying but not as fast as first time and not all of them yet. Any advice for me? Is this just the normal process waiting for everything to balance? Am I doing something wrong? Should I do anything more? God bless anyone that reads this and super appreciate any help!
Another great video! Are there any disadvantages to keeping a dirtied tank? I mean if you disturb the substrate through the sand will you have to start all over again? Also, what are the fish to avoid buying to stop them digging? Just a thought I had in my mind. Thanks so much
It is possible to mess up anything. It is difficult not to do something. You must NOT mess it up. That is the rule. Big fish can be a problem. DEEEP sand is the best advice.
@@FatherFish Thanks I'm slowly getting there. I will go for a dirtied tank for sure being about 5 feet with a couple of sponge filters and a Seacam Fluval 110 hanging On The Back filter.
I also recommend getting some tannins into the water as that is a natural against infections in fish and shrimp. I did organic gardening and made Powersoil and let it cooked in plastic garbage cans for a year before use. Lots of organics including fruit bat guano. Would wet with rain water. The bio life turns raw organics into something the plant can actually take up.
If these big box 📦 stores cared about the fish 🐟 and the hobby you would be on a wide screen 📺 television I think ultimately the big box storage would make more money because the people in the hobby would stay for many years of quite possibly a lifetime
Hey Boss! LOVE your channel. Your tanks rock. You have got it going on. I have a new vid coming out this week about water changes. You are gonna be shocked. Wait for it. Thanks for stopping by. You are teaching the truth. Keep it going.
Should I leave a dead leaf in my 55 heavily planted tank? Full of live plants, but every blue moon a dead leaf floats about. Should I remove or leave in. In your opinion @fatherfish.
@Father Fish Well hello there sir! I really appreciate the answer! Will do I bet the plants will love that. I'll give it a try next time! Thank you have a great day!
I have put in my pipe and smoked it quite often. You can't take fish from one pond and put it in another, so how can you do this with your fish tanks ?
My sisters teach Biology. They have their students get jars of mud and pond water and watch it over the school year. What would happen if I took a jar from. My sisters class and added it to my new tank that I have had since December. I have been adding chemicals at each water change. I have not lost a fish yet. I did lose some shrimp on their first water change. :(
So the plastic plants plants are bad for the tank and the fush? So if the beneficial bacteria is not in the water,or is it? What dies the beneficial bacteria for the tank grow on???
@@CLifemusic It is worse than that. Pollutants overwhelm beneficial bacteria in gravel systems. Gravel vacuuming is absolutely critical to reduce the likelihood of system crash.
STEM PLANTS BUNDLE SALE - Over 75 plants - 15 Species for $59! Limited Time OFFER so HURRY!
father-fish-aquarium.myshopify.com/
For Special Soil Supplements, Plants, FIsh & Merch in your country:
fatherfish.fish/
How does he not have millions of subscribers. So much information. Absolutely loved this video! Keep up the great work.
Have not understood the algorythm. Getting better. TY Catherine.
Cuz cory mcrelroy has a monopoly on yt fish content.
Because new ,young people in the hobby today have been brain washed into thing differently .
Most information is geared around selling crap you don’t truly need.
@@orandachildren1051No he doesn't!
bc others say the methods dont work and people believe that without trying it themselves
I should have never listened to those Fish keeping facebook groups, they yelled at me when I asked about taking substrate from outside, saying "are you crazy? you'll kill all of your fish!"
Thanks for spreading the good, and true word about fish
Never listen to a viewpoint based on attitude. It should always be based on experience.
Ironically we are lied to about everything. What's good for us humans, what's good for our pets, our true history, about medicine, about food, about education (indoctrination)......even about the place we all live..........it's all for control and profit. Once the scales are removed......there is no putting them back on. :)
I setup my Fish Tank to be best resemble your dirt tank style and with the 2 inch sand. I bought the plants for you and this was maybe two months ago. I have about 24 small fish with a few shrimps and it is thriving very well. I haven't done any water changes after I added the plants to the tank. Thank you for this method, the tank is strong and doing well and my daughter and parent love it!
The truth will set you free.
And we are all about freedom sammy!
Hi father fish any tips for the clear shiny film on the surface of my tank also took some good ideas from your channel
@@VIBES3093
It's totally normal (and desired). It means your tank is healthy.
If the front glass gets too dirthy for your own enjoyment, just wipe it. 😉
I do this once a week while i'm gardening to maintain the aesthetics of the tank.
the industrial aquarium complex hates this man, he better look out for the fishstapo.
I love your channel and information, it is helping me transform my aquarium into a much more natural and healthy waterscape.
BRAVO PlanetaryDweeb!
Start small and humble. Get a big container and put a bunch of gunk from the local waters and observe. Fishkeeping is noble endeavor requiring patience and a good number of failures. Thanks to father fish we may avoid a few dozen of those "errors." ❤
It's taken me 3yrs to get my tank established to the point of no water changes...I add due to evaporation but that's it and my water quality is perfect...no chemicals just biology...after watching your videos I could have achieved that faster by putting a mud layer first...I just have sand but now a thicker new layer over the original sand...my plants and fish have never been happier.
Perfect. You got there in the long run.It is called progression. Look for the vid Stiles!
Perfect though is a much overused word.
@@mauricematla8379 yeah people usually say that right before stating their fish died.
My fish are doing just fine and by the looks of things Father fishes fish and tanks look beautiful so definitely not taking your words of discouragement Marcie or however ya say that...thanks for your concern
@@stilesslosson7403 Discouragement ? Are you feeling OK ?
I'm glad that it seems like I'm on the right path when it comes to fishkeeping. I went from somebody who bought all the products and tried to do too many things, to somebody who tries to do less and instead mimic nature as best I can with very heavy planting and lots of inverts and things like that, i've had way more success keeping the fish happy this way.
Well said Kieran! Happy to have you on board.
I'm so glad I found this channel. Thank you sir. Preach. I've been keeping fish for 40 years and this is the truth. Funny how the fish are always happier in green and "funky" tanks.
Funny indeed David. A natural environment is not pristine or manicured but it is amazing.
I'm so thankful for you Father Fish! I love your videos. My tank has been doing amazing since I set it up 5 months ago using your philosophy 😊❤
I just found your videos. Glad I did. I tried to create a natural tank a few years ago that had no filter. I based it on your concept. My substrate came from a local river. The plants from the same water source, same as the fish and other live stock. Given I am in australia I even had my own fresh water muscle bed as my only filtration. Had trouble trying to balance the habitat.
Glad I’ve finally found someone who has a proven 20+ year old tank that proves the method. Thankyou for a little validation of the concept. I think that the main thing I missed out on was the implementation on leaf litter to the system. Your a legend. The next tank I do is going the be an with foot long tank based on a natural system. Thankyou for the encouragement. It hasn’t been said in vain.
Another amazing video! 😊 I’m glad I found the Father Fish way!
Awesome! Thank you Luke! I am glad too!
@@FatherFish Dear Sir, Your videos are wonderful. There are so many kind of sands like Black, white, river , sea sand etc. Which sand do you suggest for substrate . Thanks, Yash
I purchased some of your cuttings , planted them in a 29 gallon and within a week of 24hr lighting they have strong root shoots so now I can adjust to an 8hr off time at night
Slowly been adding fish of community style
Been making my own compost for years as my base , found a bag of sand that’s got multiple layers to it , found a sweet log in the river and have been collecting jars with muck and snails ! Snail hunting at night 😆 this is fun !!
This is why I love planted heavily aquariums and trying not to do any water changes, unless I am doing some trimming in the tank. Now I am trying to add outside plants above the aquarium to take out any ammonia that may spike up. Less water changes the better.
You are gonna love the nexst viewo Dana. NO water changes, ever!
I love your wisdom Father Fish.... was so worried about my 'new' bathtub fish pond.... looked at all the chemicals etc.... never had any problems with our various types of fish without all the things you can buy now! 13 year br3ak from fish keeping had me worried for a while.
Hasten to add... I rehomed 5 fish a month ago for my bath.... I now have HUNDREDS of baby fish.... something is right! Keep up the good work,
Best wishes from Somerset England
I've discovered this channel 2 weeks ago and I'm amazed by this content!
Thanks for all this content!
I'll set a new aquarium soon and I'll try to apply these technics to it.
I'm from Brazil and I'm in the hobby about 12 years.
That's the most beautiful, honest, true, from-the-heart talk I've ever seen. Thank you :)
I have always made "Resurrection" jars simply to watch the copepods, snails, insect larvae, and other life out of curiosity. I like to compare the difference in life between different streams and at different times of year. I finally got up the courage to add a jar to my 30g platy tank, mud and all. I suddenly got the largest explosion of platy fry I have ever seen. I have at least 15 fry and the adults aren't even trying to eat them. Before they used to immediately eat most of them, and it was rare to see more than 1-2 live to grow bigger at one time. I think its because the fry are living safely off the microfauna introduced by the stream water I collected. I will definitely be listening to your future advice father fish.
Outstanding Грязный Гриб
Father Fish, I have watched almost a quarter of your videos and I haven’t come across a video of how to keep African Cichlid tank clean. I will keep watching and following you. Thank you
Deep sand bed, at least 4"
"Too clean (pure) the water has no fish living there" Ts’ai Ken T’an compiled by Hong Zicheng during the time of the Ming Dynasty (1368 to 1644) in China.
Excellent. Thank you!
This is spot on, this should be the first video in a playlist for beginners to the hobby.
You are probably right. First principles are critical.
Sir, Can I put plant fertilizers in tanks as some plants need them. Or should I avoid fertilizers and go with reduced plant growth? Please suggest. Thanks
Neither. A sand cap on substrate creates an anaerobic layer filled with nutrients.
Thanks 👍 father fish !! So helpful ...
Glad someone is actually encouraging NATURAL setups. I have never "cycled" a tank. The only thing I do, is eliminate about 50% of algae on the glass and change 50% of my water once every 10 days, feed every 2nd day ...
And whenever I can, I collect / rinse / introduce aquatic plants from my area.
And for ICK, I put half a clove or garlic in the water for 3-4 days, and I gets rid of it.
Never had a problem.
Simple, natural, basic - that is the secret to success.
I only have a saltwater aquarium, but your channel has a lot of wisdom that applies to all aquariums! Thank you 😊
Absolutely Deewee. The deep substrate was started by reef enthusiasts.
Going to local park with a lake tomorrow to get a little pond scum. Will use to add more diversity to the bio life..
Maybe a table spoon per 10 gal tank? My tanks (5) are thriving with lots of plants, but looking to improve stability by biodiversity. All are less than 6 months old.
Used play sand and lava rocks in a cull tub. Smelled bad.. couple weeks and water changes and it now seems to be stabilizing with reduced smell.
Sounds great!
When people ask me how often do i clean my sump system i simply dont. Even the sponges in my sump get a quick clean once every 6 months. Nitrates are zero like ammonia and a constant ph 7.6 ish.
Dont try to fix which isnt broken.
Its all down to having a nice flow going through the ceramic rings and bio balls which are in net bags piled up in each section.
This man Father Fish has fantastic knowledge and experience. ❤
You go Trevor.
Father Fish… I have planaria and hydra. I have six ten gallon tanks and 3 of them have these parasites. I added endlers but they didn’t eat hydra. This may be an awesome video for you
Try a larger fish, gouramies are good pest eaters. Bettas will eat hydra.
🙏🏻 Thank You!
There are some glass planaria traps you can buy online
I've built a few aquatic ecosystems based on your common sense approach to keeping animals and they are the healthiest of my several set ups. Thanks for the conventional wisdom and general know-how
Very much appreciate your testimony Severed Vibrations.
Thanks Father fish for another powerful lesson! That a massive Megalodon Shark Tooth necklace!!!!! 😮❤❤❤
You are very welcome Wing
I wonder if you can apply these concepts to Discuss fishes. Everyone talks about having presten clean 4:40 water. Any thoughts?
yep because this system is clean of pathogens
How hardy are fish. I keep large fish mostly bluegill, catfish and big goldfish in my outdoor ponds. One evening I was checking on everything before bed time. One of my channel cats (about 6 lbs) had for some reason jumped out of the 470 gallon tank he was in. Laying on the ground, skin dry to the touch, dirt and sticks stuck to him. I figured he was dead but when I picked it up he moved. I put him in the tank, he started breathing. Next day he was fine.
Another time a large pleco bailed out of the 75 I had him in onto my office carpet. Again dry to the touch, hair stuck to him, etc. He was alive I have no idea how long he was that way. Back in the tank, for months he has white markings where his skin literally died back. He lived, recovered, out grew the tank and was given to a fellow hobbyest.
Now both are catfish and they do have more ability to survive out of the water and I am sure both were near the point of no return but if that doesn't say fish are tough I don't know what does.
fish are very hardy animals, almost perfect.
Thanks a lot Father Fish for shareing this information. You are absolutely right. I have experienced it myself. I hope that many more aquarium people will see this light and manage to escape out of the grasp of the commercial fish industry.
so thankful i saw your posts. Ive shared in groups on facebook. thankyou for videos and explaining perfectly. Its basically common sense..just not that common...lolz.. Now I want to do this to the 10 tanks full for 2yrs now. I will be wanting to fix asap.will take photos and video of before an after.
Great. Please post your pics at the Father Fish Shoal. discord.gg/G4fkAE6qNw
Hi father i have received this week in the post your soil supplement from Scotland will be setting up a tank in the week all the best from England.
Wonderful
Definitely wise words,,
I have been doing natural tanks for decades, flawlessly
Excellent!
I read a great article on how bacteria pose stress on a fish's immune system. Free floating bacteria counts should be kept low for good fish health (in an aquarium). They can then build up their immune systems better. I installed a AA 3w Green Killing Machine UVC device in my 30 gallon not to kill algae, but to keep bacteria counts low.
Great advice…and lesson on natural environment.
I'm pretty new to the hobby, maybe about two months in. I started with a small tank, impulse bought and overstocked, my wife wanted all the fake neon plants, neon gravel and glofish. Well, it ended in disaster, and our first bunch of fish died. The gravel is still in the tank, and we have one Betta and a rubber lip pleco in that tank now, and so far so good. I have also added two more tanks I'm now keeping, and did it my way (after doing a bunch of homework), with sand substrate, LOTS of live plants, and I've only lost one neon tetra since then, which I believe was due to stress and it maybe just being a weaker fish seeing all of my other ones are doing fine, fat and happy is the term I use lol. I use root tabs to get my plant roots nutrients, as I didn't buy a substrate intended for plants. I just found your channel yesterday, and I think I'm gonna experiment with getting rid of the gravel in our Betta tank, and giving your advice a try and using some elements from nature, and being in South Florida surrounded by swampland everywhere, it shouldn't be hard to find. I'm really glad I found your channel Father Fish, and will be returning frequently for more words of wisdom. Thank you sir.
Terrific Clayton. FL is a great place to find the makings!
This is so very very true.
Indeed Mad Bren!
Love the message! Couldn't agree more… coming across your videos 2 years ago opened my eyes to a different way. I have fallen in love with the microfauna! Thanks!
Wonderful Phillip. Join us on DISCORD and share some pics and experience.
Good point here in Florida there are rain dit😢full of fish with plants and muck on the bottom. Only water change is from a heavy rain. Temperature can easily reach 90 degrees go figure 😯
Yep. Gotta love it!
So after adding sand and natural weed etc should i still use a pump filter or just leave it be? Thanks
A small pump will help with circulation
The other day I was surprised to find dirth and flies in my salad before I remembered it was totally normal.
All salads that mother bought when I was young needed to be washed. I remember she was puting it in a socket and sending me outside and swirl it around 😊 to get it dry.
We where slowly but surely told that nature is filthy (not only in the fish business but everywhere).
It hapenned so sneakily ...
Did you notice that commercial bread don't rot anymore?
Two freaking months in the fridge and not a single blue spot on there...that's not an improvement, it's totally scary. It's not even alive anymore, and they want me to eat this ?!🤬
Schools now tell the joung that they should stop wasting water ... HOW IN HELL can you waste water? It's a cycle. It goes back into the lake CLEAN and you drink it again !
Had to explain to my 7 year old son that water doesn't just disapear in the drain and that he's probably drinking dinosaur's piss.
Can you only blame the industry tho ?
We the consumers are the ones that asked everything to become more and more clean and convenient in the first place...
But every action has a reaction. Now we're all sick.
I appreciate your insight, much respect, shout out from New Britain CT!
Much appreciated
Thank you sir..your msg & information help me lot these and I remembered you said water is like gold how long we keep it unchanged it's really turn as previously..
Yes.
Father fish i put peaces of dead wood from a tree in my tank its called sekelboss wood and my tank water got brown and it smell like the wood is that good
FF..I bought your soil supplements 😍. Would your Pond mix be a good additional soil supplement to add to my soil mix?? Thank you FF🐟🐡
Yes, absolutely Kathleeen.
Ok. Is the pond mix on Get Gills?. ..I am in Canada?🇨🇦
@@kathleenbronson9849 It is not. You can order it on father.fish I will ship to you
My cousin had an under gravel and a cannister filter in Chicago. He kept a piranha that literally only ate live fish without EVER changing the water. The fish died of old age, zero problems. All he did was add water when it would evaporate. He did once and a while clean the gravel.
Old timers did this.
Been running my 33 gallon tank for just over 2 years I clean the filter every 3 months and do a 15% water change every 3 weeks I never add chemicals but I can never grow any plants ,if I go down my local pond and pick up a bucketful of goodness will this help my problem?
It will certainly help. Your substrate may be the issue. Ck out the convo here on Father Fish Shoal: discord.gg/GdakStEjAy
Hi FF!
From watching your videos I want to change my tank. I have cold water fish. Can I transfer my fish into a natural environment as you suggest or do I need to do it gradually? Many thanks in advance!
They will adapt instantly to a deep substrate living system. Be sure the parameters are close
cuando frio donde vives se puede poner calentador
Hello father fish. I want to get my 125 set up right from the start. What kind of dirt should I get as a substrate? Can I get it at Home Depot ? Everything online is extremely expensive. Also do you have a sand recommendation ?
I have published countless videos on that subject. It is much more involved than one type of soil.
newbie here looking forward to seeing more videos , i dont know how ive not come across you before . anyway just subbed .
What a great video . Bless you Father Fish. I will be watching your videos from here on out. I’m so glad I saw this.
Glad you enjoyed it Ebike.
Dear Father fish,
I watched this video again. I have a dilemma on my hands.😅
I started a 51L tank before I found you on UA-cam a little more than a month ago. I missed the most important part. The correct foundation of the tank. Mud and sand correct substrates! I put in around 3inch of natural Australian river gravel. I haven’t touched the substrate since day one.
I have put pond mud and sand in my back filter. Normally I would rip everything out and start over no question asked but now I had my 1st Cherry shrimp colony on its way 10+ female berried now. They can be relocated no problems but I have All the new born babies (100+) in tank now 0.1-0.5mm will be lost 😢.
I have added dead leafs too
Mud, sand, wood and leafs from local water source all worked wonders!! but it’s it enough?
What to do Father fish?
Please advise
Thank you very much in advance for your time.
Warmest regards
Wing 🇦🇺
This is simple to fix. Simply add sand to the substrate until the sand isabout 2" deep. If you like the look of the gravel save some to dress the sand.
@@FatherFish thank you Father fish!!!!! 🤩❤️🥰 done!!!!
Thank you, Father Fish, for helping me keep my fish alive 🙏 and being lazy while at it! 😅
So interesting and your a lovely guy but just putting the temp
Up high in your fish won’t make the Ick all die will it ? X
Yep. It sure will. It makes the parasite go dormant, after 4 days it dies for lack of a host.
Sir, what is your suggestion regarding CO2 diffusion in planted tanks? Is it really necessary? Without CO2 can good growth of plants be achieved?
A deep substrate system is a CO2 factory, creating vast amounts of CO2, critical for plant growth
@@FatherFish Thanks
Great information father fish I couldn’t agree more. A clean tank is not a healthy tank.. Mother Nature knows best🙂 like #700 thank you.
Well said Pelham
Another great video. Father Fish you are awesome. What happens if you don’t have a clean river or stream near by.
It is probably cleaner than you think. Are there fish in it, plants? If it is healthy enough to support fish and plants it is fine.
I have check some farther out in country but in urban living our stream if we have any are polluted unfortunately.
What do you think about putting 💯 percent silver or gold bar in the tank
They are both inert. Simply increases the value of the system.
@@FatherFish I went to a waterfall in Big Sur today and brought home some stone and leaves
Good point 👍
Glad you think so!
Do you use straight tap water? Or are you “treating it”?
straight up. Currently on well water.
Totally love the insight I’ve watched so may videos on first time pet keeping and nothing I mean nothing I’ve really understood until I’ve watched your videos thank you so much❤
Great to hear YoungTropical
what obout wareer changes after fish tank setting ? Still is much amonia there ...
If necessary. More plants will reduce ammonia
I'm a firm believer in everything NATURAL. I even homestead to raise my own food and medicine. (Because big pharma almost killed me several times as a youth)
I'm struggling a little bit with my first dirted tank though.
I setup my 90 gal dirted tank....2 inches of dirt best I could according to FF recipe......added 2-3 inches of pool filter sand.....added about 10 live plants, and added 10 cherry shrimp.
The plants all "melted" and the shrimp slowly died.
Waited about a week and added 20 more live plants as almost all the first round died, and added 10 more cherry shrimp. The plants this time are struggling but not fully dying. The shrimp are still slowly dying but not as fast as first time and not all of them yet.
Any advice for me? Is this just the normal process waiting for everything to balance? Am I doing something wrong? Should I do anything more?
God bless anyone that reads this and super appreciate any help!
Your formula is not right. The dirt is maxed out at 2" For that amount you need a minimum of 4" of sand. When you plant do not push the roots into the soil, just one inch into the sand. Let the roots find nutrition. That will keep t hem from melting. The shrimp should do better with the additional sand. Try to locate duckweed, forg bit, anacharis or other fast growing plant. You need something that will reduce the nitrates. Guppy grass or hornwort are good.
Join us on DISCORD where we can provide more help.
@@FatherFish thank you so much for seeing my message and replying. I saw in one of your videos to not plant too deep down, only half way through the sand and tried to, but do think I planted too deep. (Especially with only 2-3 inches of sand and not 4 inches or little more). Only other question though, why do even my "floating plants" die as well?
Does the plants that melt and shrimp that die....cause too big of nitrate/ammonia spikes? Because does seem like everything does "ok" at first.....but then it kinda goes downhill over 1-2 weeks until everything is dead.
*I have well water that is 8.2 pH Incase that helps
*My tank is also not "cycled yet"
*My daughter's 29 gallon with just 1/2 inch fluval stratum, 1/2 inch sand, 1/2 inch of gravel is doing amazing lol. But she did start very slow with just 1 fish, then week later 1 more fish, then week later 1 more ect. (I just setup everything in 1 day. Dirt, sand, plants, shrimp)
@@mikeb4824 The dirt is escaping into the water column. That is creating excess nutrients that break down causing ammonia spikes. Doubling you sand cap will resolve that problem.
@@FatherFish thank you so much! Will make those corrections. :)
How do I join you guys on discord?
@@mikeb4824 You will find the link in the description of any recent video. Here is a short term one that you can use today. discord.gg/4SKy9pyY
I had Discus with a few tiny white spots in the tail (i suspect it was ick) I monitored them daily. The spots did not increase. One day they were all gone. The temperature was around 29°C / 84°F
I also stopped doing water changes to keep the water temperature as consistent as possible. It was around that time i stopped doing water changes all together (i have a lot of plant growth) and the Discus fish have never looked happier in my care.
Even the spawning behavior has increased without doing water changes to "encourage" them to spawn
Bravo!
I have followed your advice and love the tank. But I am still wondering, the fish poop will decompose and filter through the sand, so then I do not not have to clean it ever?
Correct, also dead plant leaves.
@@FatherFish thank you for sharing your wisdom!
Salutari din România
Faci o treabă minunată și te felicit, aș dori o părere legată de substratul unui acvariu marin, cum ar trebui să fie?
Multumesc
Substratul adânc este esențial în sistemele de recif. Adunați material din mare dintr-un sistem construit pe materiale marine. Nisip foarte adânc acoperit cu cultură vie din rocă vie, macroalge și nisip cultivat.
Heck of a point about how a clean start leads to a monoculture with the microbiome, and I don’t think it takes much to introduce a natural culture, like an effin teaspoon from a pond could do it. I have been keeping fish for a good 35 years or so, and I must admit that at one point in time I sterilized rocks with boiling water, ha ha.
The best thing about this hobby is learning to do everything better. Self improvement and the process of the tank are the joy of fishkeeping.
Sir, in my locality there is a pond where there are different kinds of fish. Especially telapia, rice fish etc. There are certain types of aquatic plants aswell. Small round leaved floating plants cover the surface. The water is a bit greenish in texture. Can I add this water and floating plants in my betta tank? I am a bit confused as some local people use this pond to wash their clothes, utensils and also to bathe. Kindly advise. Regards.
Collect water, plants and some leaf mulch from the pond and put it in a jar. Watch it carefully for a month. Add some tiny rice fish. You will learn about life in old water. When you are ready introduce your betta to this water.
Hi FF how do you keep your cichlids without water change as plants and soil can’t go into the tank ? will love to stop doing my weekly water change routine Thanks
Plants and deep substrate need to be part of the tank.
This man is addressing one of the most important problems in modern day fishkeeping, it's so much deeper and bigger than I can explain here, not just in the private sector, but the suppliers of marine and freshwater ornamentals, the fish vets, aquarists in zoo's and aquariums and various experts around the world would need to consider this to bridge the gap in our knowledge... Everything we know about fish is wrong. The way we treat disease, use hormones for breeding. Its unnatural and unnatural is wrong!
Bernard. We need your passion and insight. Please join us on DISCORD (link is in the description) we can fight this war united.
This is great information you are so right there is nothing like natural place
So true Crystal! Nice to hear f rom you.
Do you have many videos on fresh water fish or is this for salt water fish only?
Go to my channel. 1500 videos. ALL fresh water.
Excellent video 👍👍
Thank you 👍 Rego.
i've actually had to use Fish mox once or twice (amoxicillin aka penicillin) for some sick outside cats. never had to use it on my fish. lol
Amazing knowledge, thank you. I'm still weary of trying it out, maybe on my next aquarium. But i'm curious can this process of naturalization of an aquarium be made to an already setted up tank somehow?
Yes you can! Simply pour 2" of sand on top of your gravel.
Great video.. listen to him
You Sir, are an absolute hoot. Thanks for the lesson, you have a new subscriber.
Hi Father fish...i am from Malta and you? I have a question for you. I have a 1 meter aquarium with 500 fry mollies aged two months and less. The water every 4 days becomes yellowish although i have an external filter. I cant remove some of them because i dont have space. I want to sell them when they are big enough. Can you give me some tips pls?
add 3 inches of sand. Feed vegetables.
What can i feed vegetables?? I have mollies ...guppies and swordtails
Thank you for all your help!!
You are so welcome!
I have another question regarding the setup of substrate in a new tank...... would it be beneficial to add a layer of leaves between the bottom mud and the top sand layer ? If so, would fresh leaves that have not begun to decompose be more beneficial than decomposing leaves from the lake or stream ?
Yes. It will help the humic layer develop more richly.
Well said, I love your videos keep them up Thank you so much. JD
T Y Joe!
Subscribed. Awesome channel. 👍🙏
Welcome aboard Jasaba
@@FatherFish thank you.👍🙏
Thank you for another great lesson! My only regret is not finding you sooner (I was the one asking about keeping Oscars using your substrate method on live chat last night)! I used to live in Lauderdale, now in North Florida, and would love to come down to visit, and pick your brain!
Would love to have you visit but I am living in Maryland now with family.
I love you father fish.. great tutorial.. its a shame hobbyist are still keeping there fish in a sterile environment.but ‘really’ you have the blame the big box stores convincing them to purchase their chemicals ..and yes there fish end up unhappy and dying 😢it’s simply keeping like a small pond basically with its little ecosystem evolving within it..lets keep pushing a natural aquarium..make fish great again ❤thx father fish 🎉
Appreciate you Ryan!
Great value information ☺️
It means, water change should not be made all the time.
I have seen some tiny worm like creature on the substrate aquarium
I never feed the fishes with worm !!
So what are those things??
They are either segmented detritus worms or they are nematodes. Both are fully aquatic.
Just wondering if you have ever had a conflict between the native microflora and exotic aquatic animals?
no. microflora is global
@@FatherFish Thank you for your reply. I had to study microbiology as part of my Nursing degree, absolutely loved the course and excelled in the lab portion of the course. But outside of a basic understanding of micro-organisms that came with the course most of the focus was on his they impact human health, I acknowledge the experience difference and the time invested in what you do... I am still a little curious about the subject. Given our rate of travel we have probably cross populated most of the globe a couple times over, but looking at micro-organisms that cause human illnesses there are/were some disparities between continents, and even regions within the continents.
I am looking at establishing a tank for an axolotl in particular, as part of an indoor aquaponics herb garden. In the research that I have been doing there has been a lot of reference to their large bio-load and sensitivity to ammonia,nitrates, nitrites, chlorine etc. I have long suspected that it was possible to start a self sustaining ecosystem in an aquarium, I had never really dug into it until recently. Almost the entire population of axolotl owners/hobbyists/breeders pitch the sterile tank philosophy for a wide variety of reasons. Most common is the axolotls intolerance to stress, impaction, and even propensity to sit on and crush plants.
Because most (if not all) of them are no where near what you are doing for your tanks they do not even get near the subject of micro-organisms, with the exception of fungal infections.
I just want to be sure that I am not going to inadvertently kill an axolotl because of the bacteria I have in the area I live in...
my tanks are all walstad style substrate but i have small filters to keep the water moving all my tanks are doing fantastic
Excellent Thomas.
@@FatherFish I'm a firm believer in everything NATURAL. I even homestead to raise my own food and medicine. (Because big pharma almost killed me several times as a youth)
I'm struggling a little bit with my first dirted tank though.
I setup my 90 gal dirted tank....2 inches of dirt (best I could according to FF recipe)......added 2-3 inches of pool filter sand.....added about 10 live plants, and added 10 cherry shrimp.
The plants all "melted" and the shrimp slowly died.
Waited about a week and added 20 more live plants as almost all the first round died, and added 10 more cherry shrimp. The plants this time are struggling but not fully dying. The shrimp are still slowly dying but not as fast as first time and not all of them yet.
Any advice for me? Is this just the normal process waiting for everything to balance? Am I doing something wrong? Should I do anything more?
God bless anyone that reads this and super appreciate any help!
Another great video! Are there any disadvantages to keeping a dirtied tank? I mean if you disturb the substrate through the sand will you have to start all over again? Also, what are the fish to avoid buying to stop them digging? Just a thought I had in my mind. Thanks so much
It is possible to mess up anything. It is difficult not to do something. You must NOT mess it up. That is the rule. Big fish can be a problem. DEEEP sand is the best advice.
@@FatherFish Thanks I'm slowly getting there. I will go for a dirtied tank for sure being about 5 feet with a couple of sponge filters and a Seacam Fluval 110 hanging On The Back filter.
Great video Father Fish! I bought some pond culture off your website and I cant wait for it to arrive and spread through all my tanks!
Awesome! Thank you! Get back to me when it arrives, please Chris.
@@FatherFish will do Father Fish
I also recommend getting some tannins into the water as that is a natural against infections in fish and shrimp.
I did organic gardening and made Powersoil and let it cooked in plastic garbage cans for a year before use. Lots of organics including fruit bat guano. Would wet with rain water. The bio life turns raw organics into something the plant can actually take up.
If these big box 📦 stores cared about the fish 🐟 and the hobby you would be on a wide screen 📺 television I think ultimately the big box storage would make more money because the people in the hobby would stay for many years of quite possibly a lifetime
Playing your educational videos entire time the store is open
Great video. I made a video similar to this topic yesterday. Fish keepers just need to Use nature to your advantage.
Hey Boss! LOVE your channel. Your tanks rock. You have got it going on. I have a new vid coming out this week about water changes. You are gonna be shocked. Wait for it. Thanks for stopping by. You are teaching the truth. Keep it going.
I been using sand or aqua soil and live plants and it naturally stay clean.
Thanks for sharing. Good job Larry.
Should I leave a dead leaf in my 55 heavily planted tank? Full of live plants, but every blue moon a dead leaf floats about. Should I remove or leave in. In your opinion @fatherfish.
I've heard different opinions but I'm very interested in yours personally!
leave leaves, and everything else. If a fish dies push it into the sand. Let no good thing go to waste.
@Father Fish Well hello there sir! I really appreciate the answer! Will do I bet the plants will love that. I'll give it a try next time! Thank you have a great day!
I have put in my pipe and smoked it quite often. You can't take fish from one pond and put it in another, so how can you do this with your fish tanks ?
Typically the water in your tanks is basically all the same.
@@FatherFish thanks you rock
My sisters teach Biology. They have their students get jars of mud and pond water and watch it over the school year. What would happen if I took a jar from. My sisters class and added it to my new tank that I have had since December. I have been adding chemicals at each water change. I have not lost a fish yet. I did lose some shrimp on their first water change. :(
The chemicals might be a problem.
I can guarantee you will have a massive headache on your hands and a murky, ruined aquarium... but hey, try it out and see!
So what water can we use to top off the evaporated?
the same water used to fill the tank.
So the plastic plants plants are bad for the tank and the fush? So if the beneficial bacteria is not in the water,or is it?
What dies the beneficial bacteria for the tank grow on???
Plastic plants are of no value to the tank or the fish. Bacteria grow on waste.
@Father Fish wow ok,so when you clean or vacuum the gravel to get the excess waste and uneaten food out wouldn't that remove the beneficial bacteria?
@@CLifemusic It is worse than that. Pollutants overwhelm beneficial bacteria in gravel systems. Gravel vacuuming is absolutely critical to reduce the likelihood of system crash.