Achieve Stunning Success With A Natural Aquarium - Guaranteed!

“Achieve Stunning Success With A Natural Aquarium - Guaranteed!" This video details an extraordinary learning experience. To set up a Father Fish aquarium begin by creating a dirted aquarium bed using Father Fish’s soil mixture. This provides nutrients for plants. Next cap the soil with 2" of sand. THIS IS CRITICAL! Sand protects the soil from leeching into the water.
Now, place driftwood and rocks for hiding spots and decoration in the aquarium.
When adding water place a bowl or plastic bag on the sand so it does not get disturbed. Finally, choose plants such as stem plants which are fast growing and able to feed in a new system.
Fish prefer a natural aquarium. Your aquarium operates best when all of these elements are present. Planted aquariums are not just for advanced hobbyists. Dive into the deep substrate system and discover how easy it is!
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FATHER FISH is an advocate for natural aquariums. His research over 25 years provides a wealth of information about the creation and maintenance of natural aquariums.
On this channel you will find scientific research as well as personal testimonials by countless hobbyists who have applied the Father Fish System and are enjoying its amazing benefits.
THE FATHER FISH SHOAL on Discord is a wonderful way to meet and make new fishy friends as well as get the help you need.
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#fatherfish #naturalaquarium #plantedaquarium #dirtedtank #deepsubstratetank #deepsubstrate #fishkeeping #fishtank #fishtube #foodweb #balancedaquarium #dirtedtank #deepsubstrate

[@MDFishTanks]

Thank you for the compliment Father Fish. Our substrate methods are not too dissimilar as well. I like to create a tank that looks for presentable to the masses from the front panel, so I always keep it very shallow at the front, but after that, it's nice and deep, full of nutrients and capped with sand. This is also a good way of creating the illusion of a "snapshot" of nature as you don't see a layer of nutrients if you go underwater. I also agree with you about nature being random (to a degree) in it's placement and it's something I'm trying to be more conscious of when scaping (ironically thinking about trying to be more random 😂).

[@debojyotidas5913]

You two should do something together.

[@FatherFish]

Some of Amano's last work was deliberately random. He said he began to appreciate the unique quality of random placement in the natural world. I am increasingly aware of the importance for me to learn the skills you have developed.

[@brandhark7935]

@@FatherFish ⁠MD and FF in a cross-over series? I don’t think the planted tank world could handle such incredible content.

[@aquariumsatbptv3350]

Before I discover FatherFish I have long an avid viewers of MD because of his beautiful and very neat/clean and amazing aquarium creations. A collaboration of MD and FF will be a great experience to many hobbyist like me. It's a dream team together I guess.

[@lucasjeansonne2680]

Can you do a video about the red belted goby (sicyopus zosterophorus) i have searched and searched and searched. There is pretty much 0 info on these. I get them for free along with neon gobys in the same spot in a river near my house. Pls it would be a huge huge help. Thanks

[@budte]

I once had to paint hallways, stairs, bedroom and lounge of the sweetest elderly lady who lived on her own. She'd been the first UK woman to get a phd in midwifery in an era when that was quite something for a woman. I visited her to talk colours. She said she was 'a pink girl', walls, wood, the lot, but was worried what others would think including her brother who lived quite a long way away. It would have been a travesty had she not ended the final years of her life surrounded by the colour that pleased her. I convinced her and we painted the lot pink, lol. The same with aquariums, there is no one else to please.

[@mwu0120]

I can’t explain like the way Father fish explains, but ever since I added sand to cap the existing gravels, nitrates changed from the awful RED to BROWN to YELLOW. You know what I mean when I say RED. I was never able to move beyond RED. I haven’t changed water for at least a month, I just add aged water to top up due to evaporation. If this can sustain, I would be so happy. My fish are happy and have coloured up. OMG!!! thank you Father Fish. I’m so happy.

[@lucschoonen]

same for me, my fish have so much color since I throw in random stuff I find in nature.

[@Mommy_Aquatics]

“I really don’t know what that accomplished” 🤣 I feel the same way when I aquascape a tank lol! It looks great FF 😊

[@piotrlistwan8116]

Same here 🤣

[@tpmunizz]

06:00 - Me, channeling my inner Picasso in the fish tank, only to realize I've majestically failed at aquascaping for a whole hour.

[@FatherFish]

Me too. I go for the jungle look.

[@leleo5019]

Love the humility

[@jawsbushaxen4179]

I would suggest 2 things for the aquascape.. 1. Apply the golden ratio when placing the hardscape. 2. The centerpiece driftwood may do better when used upside down, anchored or driven into the sand, with heavy glued plants/moss to make it look like a tree.

[@Mrsboncouer]

Ohhh...I gotta do that!

[@johnjwedrall4290]

I like the Father Fish way of Fish keeping ❤😊👍 that tank looks naturally nice.

[@reginaldgreen3560]

Father Fish 😊 is open and honest, so refreshing.....

[@debiyounce3210]

I am new to your channel and my son who goes by Rope Sander created two amazing father fish style tanks in our home. I am in love with this. And this particular video is so funny and your sense of humor is just delightful. I think you aqua scape just fine. LOL He ordered several bundles of your plants and I am in aquarium heaven.

[@FatherFish]

Welcome aboard! Give your son my best wishes. We look forward to seeing his tanks on Show and Tell Wed evening

[@nathanturner8266]

I take what you say!!!! And MD ..and I agree it's a night and day difference.... he has everything.. but I have made a hell of a tank with your input and his eye

[@FatherFish]

betcha it is!. He is an excellent aquarist with a different approach than mine. We have much in common however.

[@glennk.7348]

I love how FF throws gunk into the tank and it’s the best thing ever for the health of the tank! Imagine GreenAqua dumping gunk in their new scape! 🤣 I like FF’s natural approach. Many aquascapers are more making art pieces (which is also nice) rather than bits of nature. But the hobby is big enough for all approaches! And I enjoy them all. 🙂

[@jharris3354]

As far as art goes, when I worked in a paint and sip class, customers the age of FF were our favorites and did the coolest work. They would come in saying art wasnt their thing but were also fearless, unburdened by perfectionism and fear of judgement, which allowed them to be creative and play. The funny thing is they never appreciated the final product as much as we did. I think there is something very cool about a natural, wild scape that wasnt fussed over at all.

[@FatherFish]

Thank you for the delightful insight.

[@sum1434]

Just found this ! Father Fish you made a good job of the tank, it looks fantastic. I need to find the updates now. The scarlet plant is beautiful, I'd love some of that.

[@vxxen6020]

ive always tried to make aquariums as natural as possible with wood and plant filters to try and mimic their living conditions as natural as possible since nothing beats mother nature

[@akshraandbhavyacreations4926]

Thanks father fish for sharing your knowledge with us

[@petraperunika2247]

Thank you father Fish❤ greetings from Austria 😊

[@stephanies9689]

Lowes sells landscaping rocks, some of them are rocks commonly found in aquascaping, at dramatically cheaper prices than you would typically find in aquarium shops irl or online.

[@GrowingGardenKnowledge]

Do you think the all purpose sand is safe to use also?

[@stephanies9689]

@@GrowingGardenKnowledge Play sand is dusty, so it requires a lot of washing, blasting sand is fairly popular too. Just rinse the sand out and you're fine. Reactivity isn't a significant concern as long as you're not trying to breed soft water species or buying very sensitive wild caught fish and the rest is esthetic, it's not going to physicality damage the fish. Personally, I really like pool sand. It doesn't compact like more angular grains and it's less dusty than average. Careful of color though, white shows algae and poop faster in addition to intensifying the light

[@GrowingGardenKnowledge]

@@stephanies9689 thank you so much for sharing so much information! I really appreciate you taking the time to help 🙏🙌

[@littlep1004]

That's what I did just through everything in lol now it looks brilliant yours looks great ff ❤

[@Lindisfarne666]

Thanks for teaching me that Nature Knows Best, even in the fish tank

[@darylcavanagh3977]

I love both MD and FF Set up.my deep substrate with Aquatic pond soil and colombo nutribase. Been running around 3 weeks now. Thrilled with results so far.

[@seahyongsen5670]

I like its natural way it looks. Soon to establish out on a smaller tank scale.😊

[@mr.brightside8491]

Wow great video thumbs up

[@juliamartin1962]

thanks father fish. ive been scared to commit to aquascaping a tank. but now in gonna try it. you give me confidence

[@omkarsatpute3609]

I would like to see if MD Fish Tanks to make a Planted tank for father fish at his place both working together it would be a masterclass setup and a video

[@valpoutre5600]

Super explanatory!!!

[@bradsmithstudios8881]

I enjoyed this video. It was informative, fun to watch, non confrontational. You defended your style without disparaging others methodologies and even applauded another creator. To me that enriches the community. I’ve been critical of this channel in the past, not because the information is invalid, but because the negative attitude toward other styles of fish keeping is off putting. Deep substrate setups are just one of many valid styles.

[@FatherFish]

I appreciate that!

[@ursanbear]

Always a treat.

[@nishanz]

Beautiful setup father 🙏🏼 will be waiting for the update on this tank

[@rmn8818]

Thank you father fish

[@WakashanWoodsAnimalHabitat]

Love your kind of aquascaping and aquaculture! It’s more fun that way - lots of good surprises and newfound knowledge! Great video of the build!

[@PsychoPlantLady]

Thank you Father Fish. I can’t wait to see how it looks in a week! 😊

[@FatherFish]

Me too!

[@zackmorisco1854]

i really had fun watching you aquascape!

[@LadeanaWhite]

Bravo ff! You did good….wasn’t that fun? I love it😁☮❤🐠🦐🪴

[@UwUImShio]

Thank you Father Fish, thanks to you my two goldfish and mystery snail are healthier than ever, and my tank and water quality is so so much better. Even tho my tank has the "jungle look", I feel that the animals are much happier than before

[@DashDrones]

Happy Friday Father Fish 🙏

[@VictoriaLeeCreates]

Keep up the good work. I live watching u🩵🩵🩵

[@tamerkesenkas1645]

The aquascaping was a necessary thing to address. In "ecology style" aquariums it's harder to scape. 2 factors lead to this. First, the ecosystem rules what thrives and what doesn't in your aquarium, you can't just visually match stuff according to your liking. Secondly and more importantly, negative space! We always end up with jungle style scapes because we need so much plants to lessen water changes. Negative space is even more important than what you fill your picture with. Even if you manage to get some negative space, some bare sand, it's hard to keep it clean and manicured. My solution is to; 1¬add riparium and floating plants so they have the aerial advantage and lessen the need for underwater plants. 2¬use strong lights. Don't inhibit algae growth but remove it as it does. 3¬go heavy on your cleaning crew, algae eaters, detritus worms, shrimp, snails, especially something that likes digging and turning your sand (only the very top layer) 4¬understock If we combine these principles we regain some of the flexibility of high tech-frequent water change systems. We let other factors handle our stability so the main portion of the tank is low maintenance AND ALSO we are free to scape it however we want. I hope this helps someone

[@suewestby824]

Love this!😊

[@richmoser1621]

Watching FF do tanks gives me Bob Ross vibes😊

[@mahmoudbamarni3803]

🎉nice work

[@nickjp4152]

Although you don't consider yourself a aquascaper I do the naturalist look is the most beautiful aqua scape in the hobby although I do agree md aquatics does some neat stuff but ecosystems are another level of beauty

[@zachmondrala8614]

Wow, I didn't think about that, with around the 13 mark. With the nutrients, I will do that this year, just grab a big bucket, but nature inside let it sit, then put in my tank. Sweet, thank you for this video

[@jennifermartin506]

Use FF dirted method and take from MD. You will have a amazing tank.

[@lehappydog]

You are the best Father 🐠🤟

[@straightouttacornwall]

Awesome video as always Mr Fish :)

[@vasage9455]

Loved this video! the part on the carpeting plants intrigued me, how long do you Think a ff tank would need until the carpeting plants would work?

[@lisadouglas2963]

I’m glad you did this video. Haha I just put my tank together and felt really disheartened. It looks like a mess. Lots of leaves and moss I got from the creek. A lot of muck came with it. So waiting for the filter to do its thing. I feel so much better after watching this. Thanks Father Fish. (Although I feel like calling you Santa Clause). Presents all year round.

[@davidshultz4654]

Love your entire aquarium keeping concept. Can you recommend what kind of sand as i don't have access to beach sand? Tks Sir

[@FatherFish]

Pool filter sand from Lowe’s or Home Depot

[@davidshultz4654]

@@FatherFish thanks to FF for all of your valuable information. You're the Man~

[@fungitorix]

Regarding your videos, your deep substrate system is important to us who follow you. As far as design is concerned, it can be learned as well. My favorite channel is "Green Aqua". Yes, they build Hi Tech aquariums, but that's a side issue in this case. But if anyone knows how to design an aquascape, they are among the top.

[@fungitorix]

www.youtube.com/@GreenAquaShop/videos

[@joeo8396]

Look great father fish. Slimming down ain't easy. My tank is one month old and doing great. It's so easy!

[@FatherFish]

That's awesome

[@nickwiseman7770]

Do you ever do maintenance on your sponge filters or do you usually just leave them alone? I love this concept of the naturalist aquarium it’s very exciting and something I’m excited to try for sure!!! Thanks for the fantastic video Father fish! 🐠

[@FatherFish]

I usually rinse the sponge after about a year.

[@mshayden091]

Looks lovely father fish alot better than the one I did in my tank yesterday 😂

[@FatherFish]

Mine cannot possibly be better than yours. You are being kind. Thank you for your nice sentiment but I know better. lol

[@vblackwell3347]

WOW, FF, modesty becomes you, but you know what your forte is - and YOU rule there. 😊

[@scourge2bunnies]

Thank you for starting this series creating a tank from the beginning. I have learned so much from your videos! If you have time, could you please speak a little about growing emersed plants with their roots in the aquarium water as part of the ecosystem? The other thing I’ve been struggling with is surface biofilm. How much does it damage gas exchange, and should I use a skimmer to remove it, or will my ecosystem eventually cause it to disappear?

[@FatherFish]

biofilm is not a hindrance to o2 exchange. It is a form of algae . add more plants andit should go away.

[@paulbjork5976]

Pond mud with sand cap. Keep adding plants as the weak plants die off they provide fertilizer for the substrate . Nature provides everything from local water sources

[@peaoat3608]

All fancy aquascapers should try the Willy Nilly Method.

[@samharrison3994]

Lets be honest, being level headed and unbiased.. Everything that is natural is aesthetically pleasing. In its rawest ORIGINAL form untouched by man, there is no natural formation that doesnt bring peace to the soul and the eyes. really think about it, from the purist coral reef to the grass lands that bison use to roam to the pine forests in Scandinavia. So how is it that nature perfected everything to our eyes.

[@FatherFish]

Really excellent observation

[@dojinsanae5266]

You popped in my youtube feed, and everything that you say in your videos makes a lot of sense. Im still learning in the fish hobby, and i have a few questions. I have an established fish tank 1 betta, 8 tetras, and 3 albino cory catfish. i wanted to know if i could add soil on top of my sand or just leave it alone as i don't have soil in my tank and in your videos soil is beneficial for the growth of the plants. Would having just sand in my 20 gallon tank be enough for my plants as well as my fish?

[@FatherFish]

Adding sopil through the water willbe very messy. Better off building a food web that will provide nutrients and microfauna. Join us in the Shoal to learn how. Goto www.fatherfish.fish and click on the DISCORD banner at the top.

[@justthefactslibrarian3935]

I'm hoping that the father fish method changes my goldfish's life. He's 13 and he gets very upset when I do water changes. I'd like for him to have a nice jungle that cleans itself.

[@AMD1]

I have been wanting to get back into aquariums again and want to give the father fish method a try this time around. I was thinking of a Betta and some shrimp in a 5 gallon hex for the kitchen. Do you have experience or success with box filters in your aquarium?

[@FatherFish]

No

[@michaelbelanger8246]

I love your channel Fox, it is insightful and accurate, but also weigh the cons of adding the outdoors to your aquarium; tape worms, flukes, protazoan, copopod, like lernea but also molds, bacteria, fungus, that are latent, could cause illness in immune compromised peeps, always but always take precaution; wear gloves and always wash hands ; as Herbert Axelrod said, the one precaution you don't take is the one that could catch you! Nice scape by the way..

[@FatherFish]

You’re right, always be aware of what you put into your tank. Those things won’t harm your tank.

[@weirdscience6820]

I don't know who it was I asked whether deep substrate works without plants because it should logically reduce nitrates without them if the idea was valid. Year long tests run by a site called aquariumscience without plants showed the deep substrate failed, unfortunately (but I do have a question about their testing too). Had the test gone on for a few years would it really make any difference? Obviously, an abundance of plants in nutrient rich soil and a sparse fish population can have a marked effect on nitrate reduction so how can you measure that the deep substrate itself is working wonders?, which essentially is how you come across in all the talk of deep substrate.

[@ThermicLight]

Hello FatherFish Thanks to your videos I've bought my first fish tank. Out of curiously would you recommend putting the soil in nylon mesh so it doesn't blend with the sand so much?

[@FatherFish]

No, it will be fine

[@jrunagerj]

I have a shallow 10 gallon tank that's only 10 inches tall. I think I'm going to try a sloped substrate where I put a little dirt at the front about half an inch or less and grade it up to about 1-1.5 inches at the back and cover it all with sand up to about 3-3.5 inches at the back

[@urmaker]

My shipment from your store came in today. I am hoping I set it up right. :p. Got all but the sand from you. Went this morning and got a jar of dead debri from the lake and it is in a window. I took over the fish tank at work and have it looking crisp and clean, but it is gravel with plastic plants and decorations. I think everyone will enjoy a more natural tank. Thanks so much for your videos! We are all excited to see it when it is thriving! Can I mix some of the gravel that has some of the brown hue (after a while in the tank)? That way the sand has nutrients? I am talking a small amount. Just to help seed growth of the plants.

[@FatherFish]

If you have gravel in the tank, you can put sand directly on top; no need to add dirted mixture. Best option is to remove gravel and do dirted mixture then sand cap. But only if you were planning to empty the tank. If at all possible do not use gravel!

[@bd1a210]

As far as the deep sand beds. Can we put an undergravem filter over rhe soil and then cap everything up with sand?

[@FatherFish]

No

[@Mrsboncouer]

I would love to get a tour of the behind the secene area!!

[@FatherFish]

One day.

[@mariotroiano8271]

Hi, I have set up a 400l Tank for my Sternotheus odoratus, filled only with 200l of water. I really don't like the barren landscape, because you cannot plant a lot of rooting plants in there (beacuause the turtle likes to dig). Any idea to achieve a jungle look for me and my turtle, too?

[@FatherFish]

start with 4-6 inches of sand. Add floating plants, gupppy grass, hornwort, and some sword plants.

[@DoodsandGussie]

I watch both FF and MD. I also watch Aquapros and fishtory. Well, FF and fishtory looks like father and son hahahaha. Aquascaping and aquarium life that can sustain on their own with low tech is hard to achieve. All these guys provide information and ideas on how we can set up our thanks but the one goal for me is cycled thank with LOW TECH and can sustain aquarium life years and years to come and that is the FF Method.

[@FatherFish]

I very much appreciate your support as do my friends at Fishtory, Aquapros, and MD.

[@BC-uu6iz]

how can we replicate the soil ingredients? As you just revealed the addition of " secret dust" tks

[@FatherFish]

The formula is listed in the Shoal. The product is available at our store. GOTO www.fatherfish.fish for all the links.

[@TurtleAddict]

Tipical father fish total mess 😂 work's for me 👍

[@ballbagchris6920]

I know you make your own soil but do you have a recommendation out of the organic ones available at Lowe’s and Home Depot? Would the Kellogg’s organic garden soil be ok?

[@FatherFish]

I buy all of my ingredients at Lowes and Amazon. The formulas are listed in the Shoal. GOTO www.fatherfish.fish for links.

[@ballbagchris6920]

@@FatherFish thanks

[@budte]

Can products in the supplemented soil base leech upwards through the two inch sand cap and ultimately be a cause of elevated nitrates in the water?

[@FatherFish]

no. Nitrates are your friend.

[@jessesalzman5571]

Can I do the father fish substrate method if I plan on stocking the tank with cichlids that dig?

[@FatherFish]

Use sand

[@jessesalzman5571]

Can I still do the 1" of mud at the bottom? Do I maybe need to go deeper with the sand? Thanks

[@FatherFish]

Do only sand

[@jessesalzman5571]

Thank you

[@rayamajhids659]

Dear Father fish , I started outdoor aquarium (fountain) in ur model. Dirt tank ( dirt and sand ) as a substrate. Then I planted it quite heavily. Its been three to four days and the water looks yellowish hazy. I am a new hobbyist and watching ur video extensively. Trouble is this hazy water problem is worrying me. Should I change the water 30 to 40 percent. Should i let the plants grow more ? I haven’t put any fish as of yet. Should i wait for 10 more days? A little clueless here. I dont have a filtration system as i want to keep it as natural as possible. But I have a motor that pulls the water up creating a fountain effect . Should i make a diy filter there with lava rocks and sand. Something from you will be highly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

[@FatherFish]

You are doing right things, patience.

[@rustyshackleford6092]

Father Fish: when it comes to sand, is there a preferred range of grain sizes that are better than another? Very fine sand to very course sand (almost fine gravel) for example. There are so many "sands" on the market.

[@FatherFish]

Sand.02mm - 1.2mm gran size is best

[@dollybird6290]

What are the PH levels like in these tanks? Doesn't PH fall over time?

[@FatherFish]

That’s why I have buffers in my supplement

[@dollybird6290]

@@FatherFish Thanks

[@ThisIzMadness]

Hey Father Fish! I recently discovered my 20 gallon tall aquarium has been infected with callamanus red worms. I’ve been trying to use your system of setting up a tank but somehow these critters got in and now all my fish are slowly dying off. Do I need to start all over? Any advice?

[@FatherFish]

Your problem is not the worms

[@ThisIzMadness]

lack of good parasites that would eat those worms? had seen your resurrection jar video@@FatherFish

[@Good13man]

If you're using CA, you can't pass CA through the water column and expect it to work when it gets to the target item. CA reacts far too fast! You'd need to glue outside of the water column to have any chance of effective adhesion.

[@businessraptor127]

I feel like I just learned a spell from a wizard and I'm frightened of my new confusing powers...

[@thebigalex5011]

I have a question. I’ve been trying to make a fish tank like yours for a while and I keep failing and keeping my water clear. And getting my plant life to grow from seed. Do you have any suggestions?.

[@FatherFish]

Buy plants not seeds

[@FarizMammadov-qw8rc]

Hello Father fish. Iam continiue with your method. I have some problems I feeding some more last days. Now in my aquarium have algea on plants. Plants just die now :/. I have inside aquarium shrimps and pleco. Iam just wait and no feeding. What I can do? Do I change some water?

[@FatherFish]

just wait for it to clear.

[@Cindy-ng6sx]

I want to buy your plant bundle but just want to know as a new person to all this , do you explain for each plant if you plant in the soil or if it needs to be attached to a rock or object.

[@FatherFish]

The bundle is all stem plants.

[@jonanon8193]

What glue do you use?

[@FatherFish]

any of the ethyl 2-cyanoacetates

[@mr.con-man3617]

What is the best kind of sand to use? Is play sand ok?

[@FatherFish]

any sand is ok if it is inert. Play sand is very dusty. Use it dry and conver with water CAREFULLY.

[@mr.con-man3617]

Thank you for your help@@FatherFish

[@angelikazak1392]

Father Fish ,need advice.4 weeks ago i set up my tank but 2 days ago i notice every now and than there are single large bubble coming from substrate.is this ok or something wrong. I wet soil ,work water into it and left it for 24 h before cupping with washed sand

[@FatherFish]

It is normal anitrogen being released into the atmosphere

[@angelikazak1392]

Thank you!!!

[@wernehrbriceno3346]

father fish can I use silica sand? Or does it have to be exclusively from the river?

[@FatherFish]

Silica is perfect. ANY sand is perfect.

[@wernehrbriceno3346]

@@FatherFish thank you so much

[@annepettit3855]

Hey, no mistakes, just happy accidents…works for Mother Nature 😊

[@davidmcdonald-hunt6506]

Are air pockets in substrate bad?

[@FatherFish]

They will go away soon

[@davidmcdonald-hunt6506]

That's reassuring, I thought maybe my sand layer is too deep, but the water should still drain down into the soil

[@SarumanDeWhite]

What’s the first step that was done to have those microfauna swimming about? I need to know! They were there even before FF dumped the leaf mulch, you could see them swimming around as FF was planting the red plant! Thanks :)

[@FatherFish]

Spore from microfauna are in the air we breath and they are universal, encompassing the globe. The food web resurrection jar simply insures a rich and balanced culture.

[@SarumanDeWhite]

@@FatherFish but my one month old FF tank doesn’t have those microfauna floaties. I got dead leaves and mulch inside too. That’s why I asked, hmmm…

[@litoloco4fish]

Hello Sr!! I just started my own Aquarium as you suggested..I added plants Day after...then I added one tiny fish...I'm checking ammonia levels and they are through the roof even after 1 month..I have maybe 10 plants in this 5 gallon...I seeded it with an existing air sponge filter....how long before I see ammonia levels come down...am I doing something wrong? 1 inch soil and 2.5 to 3 inches sand...light left 6 hours a day now after a month but at 1st I ran them 20 hours a day ...ammonia is high...the little fish is fine...thank you sr...many blessings

[@FatherFish]

More plants

[@litoloco4fish]

@FatherFish thank you sr I'll try and fit a few more in there...👍🏼

[@cainereece2047]

Hi father fish,I have a clown loach that is very thin and very tired,not eating,I can't see any ich,his fellow loach n other tank mates are healthy n lively.Is there anything you could recommend too help my loach please,cheers.

[@FatherFish]

Join us in the SHOAL to diagnose his condition

[@JULi3T16]

Hey Father Fish! Thank you for this video, your content is always so interesting, I'm so glad you exist on here. ♥ Anyways, hope this is not annoying, but I have a few questions, as I'm still learning since I've only been in the hobby for a few years now. If anyone can help, feel free to do so 🙂 I made the mistake and put only gravel as a substrate into two of my aquariums (one's got 65 Liters, some endler-guppies and three remaining amano shrimp living in it, the water is _never_ cloudy, water quality is always good, gonna de-install that tank in a few weeks tho. BUT the other one is 120 Liters big, has endler-guppies, three antenna catfish, 2-4 pangio kuhlii & two pelvicachromis pulcher living in there), and it's been like that for years. I only ever top up water and feed the animals in the tank, the parameters are always pretty good when I test them, but could be a lil bit better. The fish are constantly producing offspring, in all of the tanks. But the water in the bigger tank is always pretty cloudy, more fish, more 'dirt', and obviously just gravel isn't gonna be doing the job of keeping nutrients bound to the substrate, in the long run. But I'm sure I would destroy the whole bit of a system by fully swapping out the gravel with sand So, would it be enough to just put sand into the aquarium, on top of the gravel so the sand can fall through to the bottom? If yes, what size of sand should I use to put into the gravel, really fine sand, or would sand the size 0,8 to 1,6 mm do the trick? What are you guys experiences on what works best? Will putting sand on top of gravel help at all or do I ultimately have to eventually set up the tank all over again, just without gravel? (Sorry if I don't make any sense, english isn't my mothertounge.) Also got three typhlonectes natans, they've grown so much the last few weeks, they're going to be getting a bigger tank soon, and with that I will put sand in there from the very beginning. Not gonna make that mistake again, thank you Father Fish ♥

[@FatherFish]

You really need the Shoal. Join our merry band of aquarists solving fishy problems every day. Find the link at www.fatherfish.fish

[@JULi3T16]

@@FatherFish Thank you so much FF! 🐠✨️

[@JULi3T16]

@@FatherFish the link won't open 🫠🙈

[@FatherFish]

My error. Its discord.gg/father-fish-shoal

[@JULi3T16]

@@FatherFish don't worry, thank you so much! ✨️🐠☀️🤍

[@sc4816]

Make a video on lights

[@FatherFish]

ok

[@rudytheduck4776]

What are those little critters in the clip at the end of the video?

[@FatherFish]

Someone else noticed that. Plant particles and some macrofauna from the wet mulch.

[@rudytheduck4776]

@@FatherFish Cool, thanks! I wonder what specific one they are, they seem like theyre swimming

[@DrPriiime]

What’s in the soil. I’m to far to order and is it ok for a betta or a pea puffer. I only have 5 gallon tank

[@FatherFish]

Join my discord and they can help you there discord.gg/father-fish-shoal

[@pchykins6680]

how to i make my plants grow faster? I had a bad experience on "liquid fertilizers" - promoted too much algae growth - so those are not an option.

[@FatherFish]

More light

[@pchykins6680]

@@FatherFish thank you...by the way, I'm very happy with my aquarium now! Thanks Father Fish!

[@neutronshiva2498]

That yellow rock looks like bee wax😂

[@alfredogonzalez2857]

Father Fish. Please answer this question. I want to try this method but the only mud I'm able to get is mud from an estuary near the sea. Will that mud work for my fresh water tank?

[@FatherFish]

No it has salt in it

[@alfredogonzalez2857]

That was I thought. Thank you

[@elfpuncher]

Are carpet plants and moss sufficient to maintain a FF ecosystem?

[@FatherFish]

Due to sand cap some carpet plants do not do well. Moss does well as it is on hardscape

[@elfpuncher]

@@FatherFish good to know, thank you! How do you feel about using some aquasoil about a half inch under the area of sand that I'd want to put carpet plants? Or is there another way to adjust the substrate so it would be better for a carpet?