RETHINK EVERYTHING YOU KNOW ABOUT AQUARIUMS CYCLES, FILTERS, Water Changes & Fishkeeping

[@seanmehonoshen9440]

You are mistaken about plants not using ammonium. Experiment have shown that plant species native to acid waters can get up to 85 percent of their nitrogen from ammonium in the water through their leaves, as opposed to hard water plants that get 75 - 85 percent from nitrates. Which makes logical sense if you think about it.

[@Fishtory]

Okay true but plants have to be exposednto 1 part per million or less to avoid toxicity in their xylem and face osmotic collapse. They have to metabolize or bond free ammonium to a glutimate immediately to metabolize the nitrogen off it in the form of nitrates, if we are being technical. It's playing with fire unless in very low concentrations... that it unless theres been new work published on blackwater plants, i haven't read... if so, please refer me and ill definitely pin a comment. I do appreciate your accuracy and accertion here.

[@seanmehonoshen9440]

@@Fishtory ah, not quite? Ammonia (NH3) is indeed bonded to glutamate, forming glutamine, which requires ATP and is therefore rate limited by the available energy (and phosphorus I guess). Nitrates can be reduced through additional pathways to ammonia and then to glutamine, if that’s what you meant? No, I haven’t seen anything that suggests blackwater plants can absorb more nitrogen total, just that they are able to preferentially take up ammonium (NH4) over nitrate (NO3). I am not aware of what level of free ammonia is toxic to plants, but I would assume that, like animals, in an acidic environment they would be better able to tolerate higher total ammonia, and 1ppm seems low. But I have nothing to back that up with.

[@Fishtory]

@@seanmehonoshen9440 well lets pin this comment then, i appreciate your input

[@jgefaell]

I caught this right away. Also the notion that nitrates convert to ammonia. My understanding is that they convert to nitrites.

[@tauncfester3022]

So, years ago, I was inspired by the Booths articles in Aquarium Fish Magazine, their High-tech planted aquarium series from '92 to '95. It's largely based on the Dupla cabled heated substrates with most of the present day attention to properly balanced macro and micro plant ferts.they also started injecting CO2 and changed their water a little less water. I was younger and not so well off so I emulated their tanks on a smaller scale and this was long before LED lighting. Fluorescent and Mercury Vapor phosphorescent HP 175 watt bulbs Was growing a Lot of plants. More than the LFS could take in trade.

[@FishForThought]

yo i'm just happy to be in the thumbnail LOL I've been leaning more and more towards this way of the fishkeeping hobby as I grow older. Most of my advice is geared towards beginners and new hobbyists, so that's why I tend to keep it more 'standard' and 'easy' (cycle, filter, water change, etc), but over time I want to shift slowly towards pushing this type of attitude towards my new hobbyist viewers. I've already made several videos about my own no water change tanks and filterless tanks, but it's hard when the tanks I roast on Fish Tank Review don't even have live plants. If those tanks have no functioning ecosystem, best we can do is some scheduled water changes for now. Unfortunately many people who have 5 goldfish and 3 angelfish in a 10 gal with pink gravel aren't really interested in creating a planted tank.

[@Fishtory]

You know i love your content, and just had to "poke the bear" and include my thumbnail. The audience we each have overlaps a little, but probably not a huge amount. You are really good at quick...funny, well edited, multimedia type stuff that anyone can access and probably skew towards beginners as you said. Where as I have some pretty opinionated and obsessed biologists and ichthyologists who are always waiting for the "yeah, but...in this one case that happens every 10th leap year, that's not always true!". I love my subs and community, and they push me to cite sources and i try to keep half of my content acedemic or like a lecture from school basically, so the channel has grown slowly, but with some pretty amazingly hardcore fish and plant keepers, which im flattered by. But i realized... "filterless" is sort of a dumb concept unless you are in a constantly renewing system of overflows and have no cycle. Electric filtration is what we really mean. And i want to coin a term for that like "static filtration", or "no tech filtration"... but its really tricky to fit terms into small amounts of characters. By the way.... id absolutely love to collaborate or have you on the channel some time if you have time and or an interest! [e-mail] Cheers my friend, thanks for coming by.

[@wheelbite9]

The Secret Fish Living In Your Thought

[@laurabustos6560]

Chris!!! 😉👏👏👏✌️

[@claudeclawsonne4510]

The Pink Gravel Set are basically lazy most of them, so I sell it as the easiest way to keep fish. Nobody likes water changes so i point out you don't really have to do water changes with planted tanks, just pinch back a few stems and top the tank up and then you can go back to your video games or Hollywood gossip or whatever.

[@stephm482]

I love both your channels, have learned so much in my first year of fish keeping 🥹 as Chris would say, “keep up the good work“ educating us 🎉

[@claudeclawsonne4510]

Currently (and Alexander I know you know what this is like,) I'm chronically ill AND getting old and I'm miserable a lot of the time, so what I want from my tanks is maximum soothing with a minimum of work. I can only stand up and work about ten minutes before I need to go to bed for a couple days and recuperate from that ten minute's work, so currently I keep tanks with capped soil in the bottom and a ton of plants and mostly natural light and a light bio-load. No noise-makers, lights only on tanks that don't get natural light. I only top things up when there's been enough evaporation things are starting to look ugly and then I use RO. So the lowest of low maintenance with maximum sitting and staring at the fishes shrimp and snails. Soothing. I just got one of my 55g. tanks up and running again after being down almost 20 years. This'll probably be the last time I set up a big aquarium since in the past I could get one started in a couple hours but this one took me nearly 6 months to get going. I'm not quite where I can toss any fish in, but it won't be long now. I just need the plants to multiply a little more. I love learning new things from all of you and you especially Fishstory man, you have enriched my life and the lives of all the little critters living with me. We are all of us indebted to you.

[@seannunes2041]

As a child growing up in the Caribbean Island of Trinidad, I have kept fish caught from the local canal or stream in any available container that would hold water outside under the carport. Used aquatic plants pulled from the stream, no actual real filters. Either the rain will change the water for me, or I will change the water with stale water that was kept in barrels. So, just from this, I know there are many ways to keep fish, and hence, I enjoy you, LRB, and Father Fish because you all get it and provide these perspectives to others.

[@Fishtory]

Thank you for sharing and joining us!

[@bradsuarez2683]

My problem with father fish is that he makes it seem as though there is only one RIGHT way to keep fish. However many people keep perfectly healthy discus and African chiclids with minimal plants/substrate. That being said Rowley is the worst Prime Minister of all time!!

[@Fishtory]

@Brad Suarez i think he will conceed that filtration is fine... but i agree that his presentation is very biased to the point of sometimes making it seem like high tech or standard aquariums are a scam ...which theyre not...but there are products and people associated with them that are. I get along with ff and we are friends, however politics and sensitive issues mean he and i are basically opposites lol

[@awollsd]

@@Fishtory yeah i was going to mention this as well, in his vids he says sensational things often "NEVER change your water" "NEVER remove anything from your tank" things like that... but if you read his replies he's more about "it depends on the tank" kind of sucks, the vids are sensationalize to get the clicks for youtube and most ppl don't bother reading comments so don't see the more reasonable responses but if you do read the comments or have the sense to remove the sensationalization from the info in the vids they are pretty good for info on that type of stuff.

[@James_Hande]

@@awollsd Don't forget that he also preaches not to feed your fish even though he fed the fish in his store. 🤔

[@AndrewFishman]

The one thing I know I know is that more I know the more there is to know. 40 years and counting of fish keeping has taught me that as soon as you know it all, you find out you don't know enough.

[@Fishtory]

Agreed. So true with so many aspects of life!

[@sydefect]

I've been a aquarium hobbyist for almost 30 years now and channels like this have brought my skill levels to an exciting place I've learned far more in the last 5 years than ever before thanks to all the info !!!

[@Fishtory]

Im honored and also in the same place as you. Undoubtedly youtube and the internet has allowed me to grow more in the last 5 years than i did in 30 prior

[@royoakes1250]

The most unbiased description of filtration three aquarium thank you for this brief summary

[@Fishtory]

Sure thing...a brief half and hour hehe

[@siempreseagull2]

8:00 the understanding that all these filters exist without a 'filter' is pure gold.

[@Fishtory]

It was like an apple hitting me in the head ...Newton style lol 😆

[@ladsI3]

I think there are so many ways of running and setting up an aquarium and if it works awesome. But i think the main thing that new people to the hobby don't understand is that all aquarium's take a long time to become established and matured and during that time sometimes things can get a bit messy but stick to it and the aquarium will settle down and become much more stable. Great video

[@Fishtory]

I totally agree. You make a good point and i would add, the hobby and a lot of stores sell you additives for everything under the sun...and if i could sell a product it would be an bottle with "time" written on the side and nothing in it lol

[@francinedufresne7514]

@@Fishtory 100% agree...patience is golden in fishkeeping...golden lol

[@andicarson1339]

Yes! Yes! Yes! I have tried saying this for years! What I come across is our society has been "trained" to do as your told and suppressed the valuable skill of thinking things through. Too much of what is in the hobby is because companies wanted to make a profit. Sorry, I could get lost on a rant about the topic way too easily! I am a believer in: Try it and see, then learn from it to move forward. Bad things that happen are tools of knowledge. They help people to understand why somethings aren't done a certain way. Anyway, Thank-you!

[@Fishtory]

Well put. Thanks 😊

[@diamdante]

One thing I will note, however, is that doing a no-fish cycle with plants and a thick substrate layer drastically cuts down on the amount of water changes you have to do that the start, which is great for saving water and thus $. If you can be patient for 6 weeks and even more patient in adding the fish a few at a time, you're pretty much in the clear

[@Fishtory]

Agreed ( well unless you have 30 extra planted tanks you can steal plants from hehe)

[@treasuringpricelesstime5962]

Hello. So, I’m doing what you mentioned, but how often should I fertilize my plants since there’s no fish or live creatures? Thanks

[@brixen0623]

​@treasuringpricelesstime5962 I don't fertilize at the start of the cycling. The ammonia breakdown is essentially fertilizer for them already. I wait until I see the cycle is about complete before I start to dose ferts. Don't know if it's correct or not tbh but it's worked for me so far.

[@mk_cichlids]

I've always done fish in cycles. I just do frequent water changes at the beginning to avoid ammonia build up until the tank is more established. People definitely make a bigger deal out of it than necessary. Of course, running established filter media is a better way to start, but you can do it without.

[@Fishtory]

Sure. Works for me also

[@Andreas-gh6is]

I normally don't do this because I want the biology to take hold first. Less about nitrification, more about everything else.

[@BirdwellingtonAmalgamation]

I've set tanks up this way for 15+ years. Lots of plants, deep substrate, frequent water changes. Works great for me.

[@herbeenc8042]

Me too!!!!!.

[@dazedneptune]

Thanks Alex for keeping our minds open. In the beginning of my fishkeeping journey I was obsessed with doing things right and making everything pretty. But my laziness has opened me up to experimenting more lol. I only have a 5 gallon tank right now but it’s been a good journey to see what does and doesn’t work. As long as the one betta fish is healthy, it’s the survival of the fittest for the plants and invertebrates. I’m not too precious about keeping things the same anymore. After all, nature changes all the time 😁

[@lauravictoriatanks]

Such a great topic! I have a friend getting her first tank and she's really scared of doing the "wrong" things. Will definitely share this video with her! There's so much nuance to fishkeeping.

[@Fishtory]

Just tell her to not add chemicals and more variables to a tank unless things are going absolutely critically wrong...like deaths time and patience will solve 80% of issues

[@MandyJane123700]

I think one of the biggest mistakes new fishkeepers make is getting the wrong fish. Either the wrong combination of fish, or fish that will grow too large for the tank. Like, fish stores will gladly just sell you a common pleco for your 20 gallon, but those fish get over a foot long, so you can imagine how miserable it will be.

[@lauravictoriatanks]

@@Fishtory I'll pass this on to her, thank you!

[@lauravictoriatanks]

@@MandyJane123700 Good point! I fell for the common pleco trap as a kid and still feel guilty about it. It seems like a lot of people still get caught by marketing tactics, like a 3 gallon glofish tank with a picture of a giant school of skirt tetras on the box. It really helps to have resources like this channel to pass on to new fishkeepers!

[@maharanigladys]

​@@Fishtoryi wanna add biofilter (like bioring ect) in my hang on filter (bonus when i buy 1 set aquarium).. For my small tank (20x20x25) shrimp and little fish.. Is it oke? So no have deep subtrate in this tank is oke? I wanna make sure... Coz this my first tank, my first aquascape tank to, and my first little fish and shrimp🙈😅🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@agnediciuniene9861]

That is why I like your channel the most. No dogmas. Evidence based. No judgement.

[@dismayer666]

I have an aquarium with discus fish. One day I cleaned my canister filter and forgot to tunt it on. Then we were gone for 3 days. The aquarium had an automatic feeder, but no filter. There is a lot of substrate and the tank is heavily planted. After 3 days I saw that my filter was off all that time, but the water looked all right. I did water tests - all came up OK, and meanwhile my discus laid some eggs. Afer that and some additional research I'm not so obsessed with filters, BUT ... well the answer for this "but" is your video :) thanks!

[@Fishtory]

Always nice to know that your tank has redundancies for failure of tech hehe

[@someguy3167]

If you are using plants as your main filter, I would recommend looking up what plants prefer ammonia. Not all plants prefer ammonia, but most do. If you look up PLANTS versus FILTERS By Diana Walstad, you can see a list of the main plants that you would encounter that prefer Nitrates over Ammonia. If you are relaying on plants you want to avoid a floating plant like duckweed, that would prefer Nitrate, and instead use a plant like Frogbit, that prefers Ammonia. You can use both, but the duckweed will be less effective without nitrifying bacteria.

[@Fishtory]

Great advice! Also for water column feeders considered "Easy plants" that may not want nitrates until theyre at a fairly stressfully high level.

[@awollsd]

@@Fishtory but, would this matter so much as the substrate, hardscape, and even plant surface would still be providing surface area for nitrifying bacteria to convert the ammonia so even the plants that feed more off nitrates would be fine?

[@severedvibrations1211]

Father Fish has imparted much wisdom amongst the younger keepers

[@DonnyBenfield]

Thank you for this video Alex. I loved it. So many need to listen to this.

[@Fishtory]

Thank you very much and you are so welcome! 😊

[@zacharnold6350]

I've kept up with a lot of the fish drama that's been going on in the past few weeks and I think you said it best. I hope more see this video and i agree

[@Fishtory]

Thank you kindly. It cracks me up that its seen as drama...but such is youtube haha

[@ChaplainReece]

I need to learn how to add scourge, and stuff like that to my tank

[@Fishtory]

I have a lot of videos on "seasoning a tank" as well as cycling your micro-biome and micro flora and fauna

[@ChaplainReece]

@@Fishtory thanks bro. I’ll look. I meant to say Scuds*

[@davidsteele2969]

Thanks!

[@Fishtory]

Thank YOU

[@davidsteele2969]

No lie, I don't remember typing thanks, but I stand by the comment and say thanks again! This was a phenomenal video and helped me connect a lot of dots as I get deeper into this hobby :)

[@Butterflies-are-free]

💕 I can’t even tell you how helpful your videos have been! I’m just a complete newbie. Of course I started with shrimp BEFORE I learned anything and already have done a lot wrong (though my shrimp are hanging in there with me 💜), but your information has been amazing. I’ve watched other channels about raising shrimp and yours is the BEST! 🌟 thank you so much! 💕

[@Fishtory]

You are so welcome! Glad to hear it! Get info from all over, of course, but try and find some things you know are the truth in their info, before even assuming the new info is true haha. Best wishes and I'm glad to welcome you to the channel

[@Boogerboys1990]

Father fish is the best methond for me. I love the natural look. My tanks smell great. My fish are breading my electric bill is low. The water is "aged" and very healthy. Deep substrate for life. Balanced aquariums are the only way to go.

[@Fishtory]

I like that way...for large fish it doesnt always work, for high tech or really sensitive plants it doesnt work..but 90% of the hobby could stand to use it.

[@Boogerboys1990]

@FISHTORY! (Secret History Living in Your Aquarium) Yes, i agree.I've done it successfully with large cichlids but the smaller fish it's excellent

[@claudeclawsonne4510]

Dunno. It all made sense to me. Been keeping fish since the seventies and been through more kinds of fish, aquariums and methods of keeping fish than I can count. I come out in hives when people say 'yo can't do that' and have kept fat, sassy goldfish in planted tanks--one of which lived to...think it was fifteen, and to no one's surprise my next big experiment was going to be keeping multiple male and female bettas in my hundred gallon shallow tank that's six foot long--but you guys beat me to it!!! So now I know exactly how to go about setting that up so it'll be successful-thanks a bunch!

[@Tronex333]

You're absolutely right. Imo, your channel is tied between best and also underrated fish keeping channels on youtube. For me I'm a fish breeder specializing in apistogrammas and people online and everywhere say 20 gallons for a pair; howvr, I've kept and been keeping them in 10 gallons with so much more success without any water changes.

[@Fishtory]

Ive found the same to be true with breeding apistos also! Thank you very kindly for your words.

[@Tronex333]

@@Fishtory thank you for your amazing content and keeping the community educated. Though we may not all share the same perspectives, you help diversify the perspectives of many

[@pauladonis3445]

I’ve got a pair of Cockatoos in a 40l tank plus around 50 fry right now, they’re all in there for around 4-5 months now, water changes are done whenever I feel like it but I have to mention that the tank is full of botanicals and the only filtration used is a very small HOB filter. It’s time to rehome some of the fry as they can now be sexed but I just wanted to say this to show that what’s said online about space requirements is not always a rule, if you know what you’re doing you can keep fish happily in smaller tanks.

[@Fishtory]

@@pauladonis3445 100% nice work

[@Tronex333]

@@pauladonis3445 ye i hella agree. over the two months ive been getting so good at breeding apistos like 150 babies a week and breeding new species and stuff and it's all about the tank setup and how u handle and treat the fish

[@ZaneofAustin]

I always appreciate people that are willing to compensate. In this case, admitting that there are multiple ways to do the same thing, but clarifying why "the standard" is standard, but not the only way. I agree talking to my brother even, he's gotten quite confused about my explanations, for instance, why green water is "imbalanced" but not "unhealthy" Nature is complicated but i think it's important that even if we do follow the industry standard ABCs of fish keeping, that doesn't make it the right way. Lets be honest, nothing about the tank you're setting up is "natural" unless you are building a pond on your ranch to keep 3 or 4 species of fish, a box of water in your room doesn't have nearly the self righting capacity that nature does outside. But at the same time that doesn't mean natural is the only way, or the best way either, it's just a different way. And i think that brings me to my main point, is that the industry *COUGHCOUGHWATERCONDITIONERCOUGHCOUGH* wants you to think there is a right or wrong to form a reliance, the truth is water conditioner works, but if you already have a tank running, that has been running, all your "water conditioner" is also in that tank, and the bacteria and stuff multiplies out. The hobby has turned to profit over science, imo. While I am all for jumping aboard the shrimp breeding craze, i'd love a tank of cherries, especially at these prices. I just feel like corporate greed is seeping it's way into the hobby, in the form of "right/wrong" I also love the challenge of making a "natural" tank, i love nature, and i love replicating it. that's why i have a fish tank, but i've spent thousands of hours researching online, and taken years to do it. So if you just want a fish, then you can't go wrong with the tried and mostly true. But the biggest culprit is someone who convinces others that there is only one way, that all other methods are wrong, and you are a bad owner/fish keeper for doing it any different. These are the people that don't really care about the fish. They care about profit, and what makes profit, and anyone that can make them profit. And even good fish store, want you to use the same methods they do, so hopefully you can come back, they can undercut your fish value, and make even more money. ironic that "bad fish keepers" who want to mimic nature, avoid water changes/natural filtration, are somehow the boogie man for giving the fish a home

[@Fishtory]

Very well said. Thank you

[@MandyJane123700]

About 4 yrs ago my brother gave me his 20 gallon with one mistreated cichlid (idk what kind it was maybe a type of acara). I didn't know anything about keeping fish! The cycle, bioflitration and all that was a mystery. Now I've got 3 tanks, about to have an outdoor pond, and thanks to watching many different experienced fishkeepers, I think I have a pretty good understanding of how to maintain the water quality, and some of the different ways of doing it. This year I set up my first deep substrate planted tank, and that is a whole new learning experience. I do think sometimes the video titles could be misleading for the people looking for an easy way out of doing water changes and tank maintenance. I watched lots of those "no filter" "no water changes" videos, but I watched the whole video, and know they had lots of plants in their filterless no water change tanks. I learned a lot from those kinds of videos, but I guess the titles are clickbait. One thing I thought was true but isn't - you need to replace filter media based on the instructions on the box. Now I use that stuff until it obviously has no more use left in it. I also used to think it all needed to be kept very clean, so I was throwing out all that good bacteria. lol

[@Fishtory]

Right? That sort of marketing makes people believe things that in the large scheme of things, can hurt our fish as well. I wish i had known that 20 years ago, before spending 10 years using cartridges, that i didnt need to lol

[@cristiansofake7854]

This is so good i need to rewatch

[@Fishtory]

Why, thank you very kindly. Im humbled by your comments

[@TixPham]

Yes sir ! "Live simply, so the things around us can simply live" is one of my life quotes. You've nailed it on the head. Wisdom comes from experience and you sir have lived. Your understanding is mind blowing

[@Fishtory]

Thats kind of you to say. And I love your quote ....consider it stollen lol! Cheers

[@TixPham]

@@Fishtory you give me fish history I give you life quotes that relate to life and fishkeeping. Sounds like a fair trade to me. Stay safe and keep spreading the knowledge my guy 💪

[@Mark-im6pm]

Great lesson. Thank you! Bunch of good knowledge about stuff I don't know

[@ppinable]

I have a ph of 6.0 out of the tap. I live in the southern USA. I recently learned that the ammonia in my tank was never amonia to begin with, it was ammonium! All that stress and doing huge water changes with buckets. And my fish were never stressed, never gasping at the top or bottom sitting. And I didn't understand it. Thanks for spreading awareness of the different ways tanks behave!

[@Fishtory]

Glad you sorted that out. It can be extremely frustrating and confusing, for sure! Take care

[@reneeturcottecicigoi9435]

This is by far the best video I have ever watched on fish keeping. I consider myself to be a lazy fish keeper, meaning I hate doing water changes, so I’m going to have to be doing some research now into setting my tanks up like yours. Much thanks for this information 😊

[@AndrewFishman]

Neglect is actually code among fishkeepers for carefully setup and controlled deterioration of water conditions to achieve a balance. It does not mean no work.

[@fishrob]

Great video as usual Alex, I agree with literally all you've had to say and your perspective on it is very worthwhile. I kept bettas in vase's in highschool (graduated 2014) and slowly but surely got more interested in the fish's happiness as i've grown older, getting a 4 gallon tank with tiny hob filter for him. Around summer 2021, I was at petsmart and saw a tub of "buce sp." near the bettas, and decided to finally take the plunge and I glued it to his fake log decoration/cave in his tank. I haven't looked back since, and I noticed an immediate change in not only my water quality, but the fish who would rest on its leaves now having a comfy place to do so. Ever since that day, I've been fascinated with planted aquariums, and keeping fish in actual tanks that they are actually happy in. This hobby is truly amazing. I now have in addition to my betta with a ton of plants, a 10g endler colony (sponge filters deep sand), a 15g fluval flex with RCS and Bororas, and now my first actual "community tank/breeding display"... a 40breeder nano/dwarf fish aquarium with deep terrain, lots of rocks, wood, between the two being many caves with a pair of apistos as the centerpiece fish with 12 red pencils and a pair of true SAE juveniles. WITH 3 new 10g's (spongefilter barebottoms) inside the tank stands bottom shelf for fry and learning to breed egg scattering fish, but I'm getting sidetracked... The other channels, while very useful to me as I am a daily consumer of their content, doesn't necessarily resonate with me the way your channel does. I remember first seeing your channel when trying to find a video about all the little micro-life crawling around in the substrate, little worms, etc. Nobody had quite the same explanations with actual examples of whats going on in their own tanks like you have. It kinda felt like everything on the other channels was just super basic blog info where YOUR content was nitty-gritty.... like "with a microscope" nitty-gritty. That's honestly what I particularity needed and I don't know where my hobby would be without your content. The truth is, I helped you acquire the @fishtory tag not only because your channel deserves it, but because I wanted to put time into my area of expertise (IT) to help you kind of in the same way your content has helped me. I'm eternally grateful for the unique way you can present nature/scientific perspectives and information in simple ways. I'm sure my fish would be too if they were to be capable of understanding the internet, lmao. This video was great, and I really think you did clear the air about what has been being tossed around youtube in recent weeks. I think the point of the larger channels is valid aswell, but more for people who aren't completely enthralled in the tanks the way some of us are. Not doing water changes also requires patience with the ecosystem you have built, which most people are losing as the years go by it seems. Most people want a bottle of stuff to fix their tank or medications when it isn't called for/improperly diagnosed. I've been following the philosophy "be the fish" that I heard a breeder in some video saying while he was being interviewed, maybe even from your channel cant remember.... and that has not steered me wrong in any way shape or form. If you make the fish happy, they will breed and act natural... Ultimately displaying their true "wild" behavior and instincts, which is the closest thing they can have to "purpose". Like a dog playing fetch, or a cat protecting your home from mice. That's the end of my drawn out fish keeping story, lol. 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗶𝗳 𝗜 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗮 𝘃𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗼 𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗮 𝗿𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁... 𝗶𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲𝗻'𝘁 𝗮𝗹𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘆 𝗰𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝘁. 𝗜'𝗺 𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗜 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗸 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝗹𝗼𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗜 𝘀𝗮𝘆 𝗮 𝘃𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗼 𝗹𝗮𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗰𝘆𝗰𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗸𝘀 𝘄𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗯𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗺𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲. 𝗜'𝗱 𝗯𝗲 𝗮𝗯𝘀𝗼𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗸𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗬𝗲𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗰𝘆𝗰𝗹𝗲, 𝗖𝗮𝗿𝗯𝗼𝗻 𝗰𝘆𝗰𝗹𝗲, 𝗲𝘁𝗰. 𝗠𝗮𝘆𝗯𝗲 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗼𝘄 𝗶𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗲𝗻 𝗰𝘆𝗰𝗹𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗶𝘁 𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗹𝘂𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝘆𝗽𝗲 𝘃𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗼, 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘄𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝗯𝗲𝘀𝘁. Please keep changing the hobby for the better with your content as you have done for me. This is truly a magical little community you have built of like-minded individuals.

[@Fishtory]

Well first off, thank you so very much- yet again! Your help was and is very appreciated. Also your support is humbling and i am so grateful and honored to have the support of an intelligent and kind fishkeeper like yourself. I think you are 100% correct about the cycles video...ill work on planning that out and hopefully get something going soon. Thank you for everything my man! Have an amazing upcoming weekend Rob.

[@James_Hande]

Thanks for sharing and bringing light to the fact there's more going on in our aquariums than people think Alex. Here's a recent situation I've had, possibly one for the books. Setting the stage: My tap water parameters; TDS = 106, GH = 0, KH = 0, pH = 6.8. I'm only utilizing four 10G, four 20G and one 75G tanks (half of my rack system) housing my juvenile angel fish. Each 10G houses around 20 1" - 1 1/2", each 20G houses 1 1/2" - 2", 75G has about 20 3" size fish. All of the tanks are bare, they only have suction cup double sponge filters, a heater and homemade glass lids. Situation/problem: About six months ago the filters stopped bubbling. I removed all the sponge filters cleaning them in tap water. I took apart the Jehmco linear piston pump and cleaned it. Still no air so I removed and cleaned all the stainless steel valves which were plugged up solid. Then my health took a turn for the worst and I never set everything back up. Since then all 5 pieces of the glass grew brown and green algae. The water evaporated to half the tanks. The pH dropped from 6.8 to 6.6 how can that be with zero KH? The ammonia spiked higher than the test kit can test for. No ill effects with the fish, no gill or fin burn. My wife has been feeding them every day. Oop's no ill effects... I lied, sorry, their growth slowed way down compared to when I did 50% water changes every couple of days. What most so called experts say: You must cycle your tank before adding fish. I never cycled a tank since the early sixties "before" adding fish. You need plenty of filtration and NEVER rinse the media in chlorinated tap water. Humm... I only use(d) filters to "polish" the water and "always" rinsed in tap water. You need KH to stabilize the pH. Really, I have a stable pH with zero KH. Ammonia kills fish. Yes but it depends on you pH. With a pH 6.8 or lower ammonia becomes ammonium which is way less toxic. You need gravel, sand or a filter to handle the beneficial bacteria to keep the tank cycled. Since the early sixties I've had hundreds of bare breeding/grow out tanks. You can't grow plants in gravel. Been there done that just fine. You can't grow plants in sand. Been there done that just fine. You need "aqua soil" to grow plants. Why? I never needed to. The nutrients deplete in roughly a year and then you need to add root tabs if your bio load didn't re-fertilize the substrate. You can't grow plants with an UGF. Been there done that just fine. UGF's are nasty dirty. Not if you know how to do tank maintenance. The best filter I ran for decades. The recent debate of to do water changes vs no water changes really gets me. Sorry but I think it's really about people wanting to be lazy. How can we learn to not clean the kitty litter box? I can install a doggie door so I don't have to take the dog out to go potty. Yeah but what about the yard full of poop? There's more to keeping the nitrates low. What about fish released hormones? What about fungus and bad bacteria building up? How many natural bodies of water never get some kind of water change? How many natural bodies of water have a high stocking level as we keep in our glass boxes? Just a few things to think about!

[@Fishtory]

100%.... and thats the note i started on by saying... we will never truly recreate an ecosystem in a tiny box...we can approximate it and try and mitigate the issues that arrise in the process. But fish hormones is a great example of something i use to trigger spawning in secondary tanks oncr corys or angels spawn in my main tank.... take 5 gallons of their water and often times tank #2 will have fish spawning suddenyl

[@Muppet92954]

Good video, makes ya think. And gives me flashbacks to the confusion I had as a kid on we had to learn the hard way first lol

[@Ingu.z]

Wow what a great video Alex. Three things. 1) I really want to thank you for this one. You promote cooperation in the hobby, and increasing scientifically literate information and discussion. Routine and convention is a method, and explanations of them generally are scientifically illiterate but has proof of working in practice (Adam Ragusea proves this in cooking). This video helps improve quality of life for fish in the long run. 💪🐠 2) I did a bit of sourdough a year ago and looked up how it works. Essentially, you swap and replenish 50% flour and water every day for anything between 1-3 months (some argue from experience it takes between 6-36 months for a properly mature culture). Point being, this will create an enviroment as low in pH as 3.5 in which beneficial fungus will break down fiber, starch, carbs/sugar, together with bacteria that produce lactic acid which keep harmful and toxic-producing fungus and bacteria from establishing. This makes it safe for humans to eat the fermented food, which also creates more bioavailable nutrients for us (thanks, fungus). Would be interesting to see if this could be integrated into an aquarium "cycle" somewhere. Lactic acid seems beneficial to fish as well. 3) I love the looks of the cichlid tank, it looks a lot like their natural habitat where plants are few and far betwwen, but the rock reefs are absolutely covered in algae. I think you could keep building on it, but perhaps add more rocks and scrape the front glass instead.

[@Fishtory]

Yes 100% on all you said hah 👏 I will say lactic acid is okay in small amounts, but tannins and tannic, humic, galic and carbonic acid are the ones that seem to benefit fish the most...if they evolved in blackwater.

[@migueleespinosa2632]

This is what I believe after 55yrs as a fish keeper in a nut shell. The front glass of an aquarium should be as crystal clear as possible to view the aquarium and its life. The back of the tank glass can be a growth center of algae for the health of the ecosystem. If appearances in the aquascape algae is detrimental to the look you want, you can spot light areas more hidden by rocks and driftwood for algae growth for natural filtering and food source, especially the corners. I like a lot of water movement, so instead of just using WaveMaker or powerheads I use filters for additional mechincal filtering and biological support. The addition increase in cost is trivial to the benefits. So I always recommend filters. Plants are another given necessity to me. Floating plants and emerse plant should be foundational to starting an aquarium. Choice of fish, community, Cichlids African South or Central American will determine the direction if the aquascaping and eco system you have to set up and support. It is foolish to believe one method covers all species. I really enjoy your channel and the descriptive scientific nature of your explanations. We learn together.

[@Bogwedgle]

I have a 40 gallon breeder set up like this, your channel really was what inspired me to do it. It has been running for a year now with nothing but heat, light and a little food, it is currently occupied by definitely in excess of 500 various cherry shrimp, a hundred or so snails, a half dozen pygmy cories 3 kuhli loaches, 20 chilli rasboras, uncountable tubifex, scuds, amphipods, cyclops, water mites, a thriving globular springtail colony living on the surface. I'm pretty sure there are pea clams living in there. All the plants are doing excellently. It has an almost ludicrously dense carpet of dwarf sag to the point I'm not even sure how some plants are getting any light. I haven't seen a single even minor swing in water parameters even when I do extensive maintenance on the plants or accidentally disturb the substrate. Algae bloomed to cover the hardscape in the first couple weeks and then never again. Everything just compensates for everything else, it's what has always fascinated me about closed ecosystems. I'm basically doubling the number of fish in there next week because I'm so comfortable with how resilient it has been. The water quality was so good and food so abundant that in december 4 damselflies emerged from it that had apparently been living off my shrimp for months without me even noticing, it was supporting several predators as large as anything else in there if not larger by accident.

[@Fishtory]

Very awesome! Bice work

[@Bogwedgle]

@@Fishtory Of course, having tempted fate and expecting to add more fish today, suddenly nitrites, because why not I guess.

[@Scaperoot79]

Thank you for all the info. I'm still pretty new (9 months) to planted tanks, so I have a lot to learn. I think what hindered me most at the start was that my introduction to the hobby came through IAPLC and MD Fish Tanks videos. I was so intimidated that I nearly gave up every time I had an algae outbreak or my fish died. From doing huge weekly water changes to buying all sorts of chemicals to keep things 'in check', I was exhausted and burnt out. Your channel and a few others, plus experience, have brought me back to earth lol. I think most channels I follow try to keep things uniform, so their followers don't get confused. I think Cory offers advice based on his experience and what customers share that has been successful. That's where discernment comes in where we decide what works best for us. Keep doing what you do! BTW, is the Aquarium Guys podcast cancelled?

[@Fishtory]

Thank you. . . Aquarium guys have a fish store to run, a young baby on his hands and more, so im guessing its a break.

[@jasonstouder]

you are important to this thing. you remind us to take all our knowledge, take a step to the side, and see if it all still applies. I've been at aquarium building for about 4 months. i learned to look at the aquarium as a whole instead of a comfortable place for fish. i have 3 healthy 10 gallons that have algae on the walls, plants with a few dying leaves, and happy fish , snails and shrimp.

[@Fishtory]

Right on! Thank you for the kind comment as well. Best of luck

[@metasymphony]

I’ve now learned more from your channel than was covered in my environmental science degree - to be fair I didn’t specialise in aquatic ecosystems. Your various tank setups and understanding of what needs to be tweaked and when is so impressive. I’m using some similar methods to your lasagna tanks, and have confused multiple LFS employees with my test strips and water samples 😅

[@fakemosh5696]

Awesome video. There’s so much to learn. Got me wondering about Zamzam water and it’s usage in a fish tank

[@Fishtory]

Right on!

[@angiebear8727]

Half the fun in fish keeping for me is learning about and trying different ways to keep them.

[@waltheraquarium7396]

Hi! You always inspired me to look at my tanks more as a little eco system instead of ‘just a beautiful living picture’. Although I think it can always be a combination. It has made me less ‘anxious’ about algae for example. Thanks for that! Walther p.s. but those 3 fish in a vase ;) give them a little bigger vase. It’s working. The filtration works etc. But so tiny space 😅

[@Russells-Watertower-Aquatics]

Very well said! I’m totally with you in the fact that I need to experiment and see what works for me. Everything about me and my situation may be different. I appreciate you working too help everyone understand that instead of drawing hard lines, even worse running with things without taking any responsibility for the education, development or the outcome. With experience trial and error I can make just about anything work in my tank but that’s not always the best thing for me in my situation. There are a lot of good people openly sharing what they have learned by experimenting, through hard work and a lot of time. Even when I don’t agree with their methods, there is almost always some thing I can learn from what they’re doing. One of the best ways to learn and grow is to respect learn from and be thankful for those that do things different.

[@Fishtory]

Wondful way of summarizing how i also feel! Thank you

[@curtism1741]

Hey Alex, Great video I keep Reptiles, amphibians,bugs and fish. I think research is key to being able to be the caretakers of these animals that we keep. 👊✊👊

[@Fishtory]

100% thank you

[@AlohaAloha808]

18:45 so in a tank like this, without plant roots the waste will just build up in the substrate to the point where it just leeches back out into the water column for the algae to deal with? In these cases would the fancy goldfish tanks that use green carpet algae be a good method to explore, as the waste will fall onto algae on the bottom of the tank immediately?.

[@gwdavidson065]

I agree with you I haven't cycled an aquarium in 30 + years

[@randlben]

Can I use jute for filtration? I see you’re using wool sponning moss at 17:27 in the video.

[@Fishtory]

Sure

[@louroboros]

Hobbies tend to be crowded with strongly-held opinions and sparse on actual experience and concrete knowledge. The folks with more experience may have their way of doing things but understand that there are many ways to be successful in the hobby. I live in SF and my visit to Ocean Aquarium (actually all freshwater tanks) opened my eyes to the world of anoxic/anaerobic filtration as every tank in the shop is zero water change. Corey (huge on water changes!) has featured the shop at least a couple times on his channel and he often says it’s his favorite shop in the US. Really goes to show the pros know there are many ways to do things and they respect folks that take a different approach. It’s really all about your priorities and budget, and to a degree even your taste.

[@Fishtory]

100%

[@ericnoak3320]

Absolutely stunning! Thanks!

[@indigocrayon520]

I have a mix of filtered and filterless tanks. Some critters, like my bamboo shrimp, they need that water current for feeding.

[@Fishtory]

Same with me as well. I think that's the most fun... and the most diversity of projects in the fishroom

[@Les-OZZYTHEOSCAR]

In february of this year, I created a larger pond in my garden for .my three goldfish i had in a smaller pond. It is around 9ft by 8 ft and around 3ft deep. On the bottom I have put a sand and gravel mix of around 4 inches then have rock, pebbles and boulders throughout. Plants in pots, and plants loose in the water. I run a pond pump which just circulates the water but with no filtering. After the last three months algae is naturally around the sides but other than that it is crystal clear and my now 12 fish are all doing well and spawning. Nitrate and nitrite are not showing at all , and I only feed sparingly and occasionally. As you say, no man made filtering device at all, just surface areas and nature.

[@Fishtory]

Awesome. I want to do something similar also!

[@BrianGay57]

New sub and new foster parent of two fish. I was going to ask how you can afford to keep fish on an archaeologists salary, then you mentioned your wife and it made more sense. 😜 I worked “as” an archaeologist (no degree) for several years back in the ‘80s. Started at an excavation (41WM235) and then did survey work for a few years. Anyway, I enjoy your videos. I’m trying to educate myself as much as possible, so that I can do right by the fish. Thanks for the help getting up to speed.

[@Fishtory]

Thanks for the sub! Welcome 🙏 🤗. I got the degree but only did 4 years of field work lol. But I did work or volunteer with native tribes and work with cultural anthro and history off and on the last 17 years while being a graphic designer, taxonomic illustrator and tattoo artist floating around the US my whole adult life hehe. Welcome, don't be a stranger. Live streams are usually Tuesday and Friday at 430 pacific time ( LA) 730PM East Coast (NYC) time as long as my health permits. Have a great day! - Alex

[@BrianGay57]

@@Fishtory I really appreciate the warm welcome!

[@Justanopinionnooffense]

I feel the water in fish tanks should have surface movement, however little - in my case I have found that no surface movement produces mosquitoes and where I live there are no mosquitoes on general.

[@Fishtory]

I do think that is preferable also. Ill turn on the ceiling fan, even

[@markfigueroa2549]

Thanks for another great video. I think it's important to remind people that there is more than one way to keep aquariums and it can be fun to explore them. I have a handful of tanks of different sizes and filtration strategies and they all work well as evidenced by healthy, long-lived fish. I really only keep fish that originate in soft, black water (for the most part) environs. Because of this, I remineralize R/O water to add Gh, but do not add Kh. People always caution that I run the risk of having a ph crash with virtually no carbonate hardness, but nothing like that has happened in the 7 years I've been keeping my tanks this way. I'd love to get your take on the subject. Maybe a future video on whether ph crash is a myth.

[@Fishtory]

Oh its not a myth... ive had swings down to 3 or 4...but the minerality of any aquasoil or even mulm will protect you from it usually... short of putting fresh 0 tds water in a sterile tank or very new tank- it doesnt occur very frequently from the emails and trouble shooting queries i get by the dozens daily for 5 years now. So youre probably safe

[@vikkirountoit497]

I had one pH crash in my 75g many years ago which I am lucky to have caught testing the tank the day before leaving for 2 week vaca, Was the lightest planted tank at that time of my 7 tanks. Now I always plant heavy and add crushed coral. My water is on the softer side.

[@stilettoninja]

So I actually am trying a method of not using sand and just gravel over a bag of aqua soil and akadama for a no filter bowl. Originally I did soil and gravel and aquasoil cap and it was successful and always read zero on ammonia, nitrates and nitrites. It had shrimp and guppies. I’m wondering what your thoughts are on just gravel capping instead of sand, I’ve read that sand capping can be bad because detritus and mulm can’t reach deeper into the substrate, where with gravel it is able to travel down and form a nutrient layer.

[@Fishtory]

I think itll work fine over time. Once the tank is cycled it will be fine. Sand can indeed block or concentrate mulm and debris, but any digging fish, snails or crustaceans will usually render all that void as they slowly dig over time.

[@stuffedlittlehouse-nhanhon6843]

May I ask you where you learn all of that?

[@Fishtory]

Years and years of asking smart people and reading their research and papers, along with trial and error of my own 30 tanks

[@yarihercules]

I LOVED THIS VIDEO! THANK YOU FOR SHARING!

[@SifiFan]

I'm new. 8 months in the Hobbie with neocaridina shrimp and a few fish. Having great success with exploding populations. Actually a little worried about so many shrimp. Have a variety of tanks. Have a bucket outside catching rain water, growing algae and little bugs. Have seeded all my tanks with water from the bucket. Lots of little critters flicking around.

[@Fishtory]

Awesome! Congrats 👏 shrimp produce miniscule bioloads, so they may over populate socially but probably wont cause an issue with water...youll notice cannibalism if it gets too over populated.

[@FishCapadesProductions]

Thanks Alex ❤ I had great success doing fish in cycles for both tanks just tested daily at the beginning and sat on them like a mother hen. No losses. have yet to try " filterless" though definitely still learning 😅 I need to learn about true black water tanks I mean I have quite the stash of botanicals 😅 like I said much much to learn. Thank you for challenging us to dig deeper 🙏 ❤🙏 ❤

[@Fishtory]

Awesome Mel! Ill call you soon, i promise lol 😆

[@FishCapadesProductions]

@@Fishtory you mean you haven't forgot about little old me? Lol ❤️ 💙 💜 jk I know your a busy guy great content as always

[@Sinserg]

This is great advice! I am also interested in trying stuff by myself, I went the slow moving plenum way a year ago and I am completely pleased with it, I was worried about my plants but honestly they don't seem to care, I want to try one of those filterless aquariums one day!

[@Fishtory]

Right on. I did the UGF and plenum a few years ago, and compared it to the same size tank wnd set up load, and it i couldnt honestly tell much of a difference. So i sort of wonder how much the plenum doing beyond the tank just filterlessly having a biological filter on surfaces

[@Sinserg]

@@Fishtory What makes me like my plenums the most, is the absence of cyanobacteria, I actually transfer some from my previous setup into my plenum tank and it died and it hasn't come back.

[@ebenoid6643]

I didnt cycle mine and added a ton of plants and store bought beneficial bacteria. Its clear, the fish are great, its been a month not one nitrite or nitrate spike. I havent done a change only top offs. I check the parameters daily. And im just under the 1” per gallon rule lol

[@Fishtory]

Technically..... you DID cycle it haha. Thats my point in this video partially. Nature or bottled bacteria ...take your pick

[@johnjwedrall4290]

Thank you , I've learned quite a lot from this video. 😊

[@Fishtory]

I am increadibly pleased to hear that. Thank you

[@johnjwedrall4290]

@@Fishtory you're welcome.

[@laurabustos6560]

I've been struck down w a horribly long migraine for like 4 days! But the good news is, I come back online and find Alex has been literally churning out the content!! There's like at least 3 new vids and one, or more streams I've missed! Binge time🎉 got my tea, took my meds, feed my fish, I'm ready!! 😆✌️

[@Fishtory]

So sorry to hear that you are dealing with all that unpleasantness. Thanks for coming by and tuning in, though.

[@treasuringpricelesstime5962]

Hello. Long long term migraine sufferer here. I avoided neurologist/ meds for years, and finally got tired of living in pain, and recently was given Qulipta. It has been 2 months and I had one migraine. Previously I had them multiple times per week. Hope this helps you.

[@laurabustos6560]

@@treasuringpricelesstime5962 I'm glad you found the right meds! It's a long term struggle and I won't list what all I've been prescribed because it would be a novel! Right now what seems to work is Botox, occipital nerve blocks in summer, emgality injection and nurtec tabs when I get the dread beginnings of a migraine to stop the progress. It's horrible we have to go through so much just to live a relatively livable life and be productive! I wish you well and hope your days are as pain free as possible. ✌️

[@321tms2]

this was sooooo perfect

[@Fishtory]

Thank you. Im glad it sat well with you also!

[@MadlesMakesVideos]

These videos are always so informative and helpful👍

[@Fishtory]

So glad you think so. Cheers

[@Aaron-oe4yr]

With aquaponics simple IBC setup which is popular teaches you, it's just a balance between number of fish and number of plants. All you need to do is top up the water. It's all about balance.

[@MEros-kf9fh]

Truly one of the coolest videos I've ever seen, I really like your open mind, your way of seeing the hobby. I immediately subscribe to your channel, thanks for sharing your great experience and knowledge. Many compliments and a cordial greeting from an old Italian aquarist.

[@Fishtory]

Whoa. Thank you so very much. Im honored and humbled by your words. Have a great weekend

[@discordiacreates6669]

Nice video and yeah, also depends on the fish ya wanna keep, like i have exactly one tank running on a sump and it's for river fish, except one issue with river fish is the power isn't always reliable, transformer occasionally blows, and I lost almost all of my minnows after a couple hours without power. Every other tank though has been going fine so I've decided to bring in the big guns and invest in amazon swords even though they get too big for literally any other tank I own (yes, imo even my 29gal tanks are too big for most sword species) because they are fine with the filtration, though require more oxygen levels. No tank is truly filterless though if it's been up for longer then a week and I have been transitioning to sponge filters from hobs, but mostly because I just like sponge filters, though I'm still working on a mechanical filter free fry and possibly shrimp tank, just gotta get all that good green surface area and convince my snails not to eat it all right away lol. "Pest" snails are the best free clean up crew 💙 Keep taking care Alex, and keep challenging the norms and questioning the whys of this hobby, I love your more scientific and ecological approach to fishkeeping

[@Fishtory]

Thank you for sharing and sharing a likeminded approach! We will not dilute the truth fot convience any longer! Haha

[@discordiacreates6669]

@@Fishtory yes of course, the truth must be spread! That and planted tanks that are heavily biofiltered just look way better and what fishkeeper doesn't want a gorgeous tank worthy of showing off? Promoting healthy and happy ecosystems within tanks also promotes better looking tanks and I'm all for that, and the science as well of course, biology was the best class in school imo and I consider this channel an elective class lmao so thanks for always helping me further my knowledge of the natural world

[@JTCT371]

I always would set up tanks and add fish the same day, and test daily for the nitrogen process. It always worked and I never suffered losses. Now I have my first planted tank. PH is acidic, and fluctuates due to frequent partial changes to dilute. I have noticed in those fluctuations that Ammonia does not register under 6.5. My plants are doing well...(marked growth daily, no CO2) and I've realized that they themselves are natural filters. Thankyou Alexander, I appreciate your knowledge and ability to keep things simple in your explanations. Im happy I can listen and follow all the points you're making. Have a great day.

[@Fishtory]

My pleasure! Enjoy

[@JTCT371]

@@Fishtory you do the same. Be safe in all you do.

[@jillbastow8590]

Recently found and been following your page, appreciate your help and knowledge. Just got back into this hobby after many years. Learning to do natural, dirted, planted tanks and sponge filters too. Quickly Learning to love and appreciate these "pest" snails and other life that look alarming. I currently have 7 tanks set up just in my bedroom, from a gallon pickle jar to a 15 gallon high. One tank on my bathroom counter and one in another room, a couple tanks waiting set up! We're hooked 😉🤣

[@Fishtory]

Oh awesome! And welcome welcome 🙏

[@SS3paranormal]

Great video and you've explained this well. I've always done fish in cycles and check water parameters frequently and done water changes if needed, if a new tank set up. I have deep substrate and heavily planted tanks with snails and shrimp. I don't do wayer changes anymore as nit needed, just top up but I still always keep check on my water still. The last year I've got my partner in to keeping fish and been teaching him. He's on his 3rd tank now which is 100 gallons lol. We cultivate live foods and he's Learning now on how the aquarium feeds the fish and sustains itself.

[@Fishtory]

Epic! Sounds a lot like the way i enjoy keeping my tanks :)

[@kinglyzard]

How do I build a food web in an old school aquarium with plain Chattahoochie gravel as a substrate?

[@Fishtory]

Well i would suggest looking into scuds and seed shrimp as your base level creatures, then perhaps some snails and using wild or culled grade shrimp/ grass shrimp is another great food source... then on top of that when in doubt, get some fish that have lots of babies if you need to feed bigger fish... ie guppies or gouramis (they have like 200 tiny babies and its a snack for the whole tank every few weeks). So all that, along with some valisanaria or stargrass that will chain spread across the gravel...and just stop gravel vaccuuming if you do it. The plants will thank you.

[@stevenho3091]

i like this guy's approach to aquariums and like he said, he isn't throwing shade ( guess to asian like me means he isn't saying others are wrong or his method is right ) but i guess its individual lifestyle, expectations and commitment level to the hobby. Some might want a tip top aquarium look, investing in all the high end specs stuff from ada, co2 etc while some might want a less " hands on tank" ecospheres and such. Some might be mainstream type relying on filters etc and good lightings etc but others could be exploring ways like him. I am not a pro but end of the day i guess as long fishes are happy and healthy, any set ups could work. There's more than 1 road to success and everyone's story could be different. @Alexander thanks for sharing again, appreciate your sharing

[@Fishtory]

Thank you very kindly and welcome to the community here and channel. Im humbled and grateful for your writing and comments. Cheers

[@Magic-komplexDe]

Thank you so much for all the knowledge you are imparting here, I already learned so much from watching your videos and I wish, there were more channels like yours! I have four tanks at the moment and they all run without electrical filtration, they are all doing great. just one tank has a problem, since I turned the electrical filtration off, the water is quite murky for a few weeks now. The water parameters are stable and the fish are doing fine, it just looks awful. One of my other tanks also had this problem in the beginning, but the water became clear after a few weeks. Do you maybe have any idea, what might cause this and how to fix it faster?

[@johnnybest6386]

I agree with yah....

[@Fishtory]

Hmmm id need to know the hardness tds, kh and gh plus substrate and fish/plant load... but its either particulate mater from substrate or decore.... or it's a single cell bacteria/organism blooming or dying and clouding things...usually just leaving it alone for a month is the best move Honestly. Good luck

[@Magic-komplexDe]

@@Fishtory Thank you for your reply! :) Well, the ph is about 7, kh is 4 and gh is 6. There are 11 boraras brigitae, 8 corydoras habrosus and 6 corydoras pygmaeus living in there, together with loads of neocaridina shrimp and snails. Substrate is pure sand, but the layer is only about 3 cm thick, maybe this is not enough? I have a thicker substrate in my other tanks and also some dirt beneath the sand (as you mentioned from the walstad-method).

[@Fishtory]

@MagicKomplex could be calcite and bacteria that metabolize your gh or even silicates if you used sand thats not 100% quartz ... and those cellular skeletons are little diatoms that make the water cloudy for a few weeks

[@Magic-komplexDe]

@@Fishtory Thank you, that's a possibility I never thought of. I honestly don't know if the sand is pure quartz. Could it help if I try to get the ph down or should I just wait?

[@caewalker9276]

You're new teeth look great Alexander. Thanks, I haven't "cycled an aquarium in years. I just stuff my tanks with plants, swap out a sponge from a established aquarium and NEVER put in a lot of fish. It's worked out for ME. After 10 years I still haven't learnt 1%of the hobby.

[@AndrewFishman]

Lol, after 40 years, all I have learnt is how little I know, and I worked with fish as a career.

[@Fishtory]

Same

[@digitalPisces818]

Love your channel! Thanks for all the detailed info!

[@Fishtory]

You are so welcome!

[@gq_aquatics]

Great video bro, great information here!!!! Keep these videos coming.

[@Fishtory]

Thanks! Will do!

[@rolandoyuson9236]

Thanks for such a broad information,learn a lot from you and father fish...

[@Fishtory]

My pleasure

[@tinynina76]

Agreed! Thank you! I've been thinking about methods of various other people as I have been getting back into the hobby. And, there is so much more info going around than I knew about just 10-15 years ago when I kept fish.

[@Fishtory]

It gets tribal quickly lol

[@matthewsmith22]

So interesting to think about. I think Alex touched on it when he said redundancy. I run a UGF and sponges on my main tank. I've had mixed success filterless. I ran a filterless bowl for a while, I found the window of when it looked good was narrow for me. Probably my fault for using stem plants. I've just uploaded a picture on my community page if anyone wants a look

[@Fishtory]

Actually stem plants are great...but you need to make sure the light is strong enough to have them out compete the algae...so short hours of light on really fast stem growth...then blackout...because dim light still grows algae. I have some videos on "can low light cause algae" you may find helpful

[@anthonyhendricks7377]

Great video!!! I never really thought about it being different kinda of filtration based on objects. Now I'm wondering about over filtration? I have 1 inch of enriched soil, 2 to 3 inches of sand as my substrate. Decaying whatever from my local creeks. Plants both tropical, and from local water sources. Floating plants like duck weed, water crest, water lettuce. Lastly a on top 3 layer sump . Over filtration ( if it's possible)? 🤔

[@Fishtory]

I wouldn't worry about that. It's just extra safety in the long run, in case 2 or 3 fish were to die and spike ammonia suddenly. That being said, If you just want a challenge or to test your skills as a fish keeper, then you may want to play with "filterless" tanks. But research it thoroughly first

[@ASMRkiddo]

Brilliant video thanks!

[@Fishtory]

You are so welcome 🙏 have a great week

[@kandicerotten802]

❤ u have so much gratitude and honest info!!!

[@Fishtory]

I appreciate that you think so. I really love the hobby, and the science invovled. I just want the community to embrace a diversity of fishkeeping styles, as long as the fish are healthy. Cheers

[@hardybryan]

I've been running anoxic for about a year and a half after using 'traditional' filtration for 30+ years. On my largest tanks, I combine it with pothos and peace lilies or 'bog filtration' by planting the BCBs in the sumps and growing a bunch of plants out of the tanks and overflows. I am immensely impressed and will not set up another tank without a plenum.

[@Fishtory]

Right on. I bet if you turned the bcb stuff off, itd still be balanced too...so redundancy in filtration is still there and interesting to me... now we gotta work on acesssing the sequestered ammonia ions and using them again... maybe its as simple as burrying the bcbs, i dunno

[@awollsd]

everyone that has a tank or is thinking of getting one, needs to watch this TWICE and read through some of the comments. i see sooooooooooooooo many comments or vids talking about "you have to X" or "if you don't Y then death..."

[@Fishtory]

Ill go ahead and agree lol 😆 because sharing is caring. Thank you

[@NiallMurphyphotography]

thanks Alex. Don't always comment but find your video's forever helpful. Must be 4 years now I've been watching. Keep up the good work mate 🙏

[@Fishtory]

Thank you kindly. Have a gday

[@kurtbrutting5118]

Once again you nailed it!

[@Fishtory]

Thank you

[@peaoat3608]

There is a "cycle your tank for months" advocate on YT. I can't remember who it was. His description of "fish in cycling" was that "some folks put fish in the tank right away as a sacrifice in order to speed up the balancing process". I was in the hobby for only a few weeks. I've made mistakes but none of them had anything to do with fish in cycling. I finally set up my tank correctly and my "sacrificial fish" are feeling great on day 10. I can even observe some mating behavior. In short: yeah... there is a lot of misinformation on YT.

[@Fishtory]

I agree that either way works...but id rather risk losing a guppy than wait lol

[@raycooper2287]

Hello, Alex,.. I believe the saying is there's more than one way to obtain an aquarium. I started one way, and now 7 years in I'm doing it differently, I get the same outcome both ways ,and have learned a few others from you and other KZbin channels. I now add water with hose and add water conditioner just before I turn it on, I add alkaline buffer, salt, seachem stability every water change., I've put hard water fish in soft water aquarium, visa versa., mollies and platy for example. More than 1 way , to enjoy this hobby.

[@Fishtory]

Awesome examples, thank you Ray!

[@ryanrogers8211]

What a cool Rhino 🦏 painting in the background 😊

[@Fishtory]

Thanks i used to have an art gallery studio space in Seattle, but these days i dont paint much anymore, its youtube- full speed ahead

[@casperjohansson7499]

Do you have any cool list of reading materials? Im a huge reading nerd but currently on soil microbial communities haven't got that deep into the aquatic yet

[@Fishtory]

Oh boy... yes. I hate to pull this, but the community tab... and if you scroll back a bit, theres research papers and bibliographies for "fishtory" audio episodes ...180 some, and i shared the info on that toppic in several ways. My subscribers of 1.99 get access to any research thats new that im citing in videos. And tangential info as well. But honestly I hate pulling that, and its a lot to look through, email me at the [e-mail] and i can send you some reading lists if you like, and more to the point... send you a link to my 12 favorite research platforms for academic and government archived data/research around the world.

[@ashenwalls3558]

I can't believe I used to think algae was bad for aquariums, or meant they were dirty. Since switching from gravel and a white knuckle grip to letting my tank work for me, things have been much more enjoyable.

[@Fishtory]

"Jusy let go, mother nature will provide ... dood"

[@Wendy-ir6ww]

I'm one of those "I need to do at least a 1000 hours of research before I try hammering in a nail" sorts of people, so as my goal overall, in about 30 tanks/indoor ponds, is to do a full merging of aquaponics & aquaculture, including breeding/culturing everything along that food chain - protozoa to daphnia& scuds to minnows to bluegill & bass- I'm aware that filterless tanks/ponds are impossible but do have avoiding plastic sponge filters & similarly filterfloss as a goal set, over a microplastics concern in eating with pvc for hormonal issues with the fish long-term. The plastics use seem to be a standard in both aquaponics and fish keeping/aquarium/aquaculture, so standard breaking by adding complexity I definitely agree is a need for me. I also know that my building the tanks will take at least 6 months, more likely 18 months, especially the largest set of 3, so the idea of going fairly slow isn't bothersome but rather an added benefit.

[@Fishtory]

So i keep many tanks with only plants and substrate as filtration... usually i just advice either water changes OR airstones/powerheads for O2 and CO2 exchange and nutrient dispersal.... although i kept one tank 18 months, no electricity, no feeding, only distilled water top offs from evaporation. Its in my "filterless vase/fish bowl " series

[@Wendy-ir6ww]

@@Fishtory sounds like I may use airstones in the winter & water changes in the summer & spring for the smallest (under 100 gallon) tanks in my setup, and keep the rest steadily on electricity. Midsize tanks being more questionable... Getting a solar charging backup power supply for the setup at large, because even as those smaller tanks for the aquaculture part are small enough, for me to reuse the water in my outdoor gardens in the spring & summer easily, the tanks for the aquaponics part will be over 2,000 gallons & as such will need a full array of filters for the stocking density of the fish, beyond just movement through the plants & the fish.

[@1Kent]

I got two male and two female endler guppies in the mail November 4th 2022. Both of the males were doa, one of the females was pregnant, had the first two babies in Dec and is still having babies. 😳

[@Fishtory]

Yes. She can have babies for 6 to 7 spawns using sperm from mating with just one male. One day.

[@1Kent]

@@Fishtory thanks for answering, no one else was able to tell me.

[@unseen370]

Hearing the details about acidic systems makes a lot of sense vis a vis my oldest tank. It's a10gal that sits around 6.2ph and it's been rock solid stable without an electric filter for 2+ years. The submerged plants are thriving, and the floating plants are hanging on slowly growing out over the surface, and it barely lit (6 total LED diodes). My two cents has always been to keep it simple. Many plants, few fish. There's a hundred ways to build a good tank, but those two rules have kept my systems healthy. IMO the biggest problem with the hobby is and always has been the big-box pet stores. They've got no incentive to encourage good husbandry because someone who comes in for new fish once a month to replace their dead ones is far more profitable than someone who buys 5 fish once and doesn't come back for a year. If your business is built on selling the animals as cheap as possible, there's no way to make a profit off this hobby without encouraging poor husbandry. Animals will spawn in a good tank, and plants will multiply, so if you know how to keep them healthy there's no reason to go back to the store. And this poor education being the norm is the real reason that so many people who really know what they're doing stick to teaching people the 'best practice' rules of thumb. When the average person is working from net negative fishkeeping knowledge, it's safest to teach them the more bulletproof methods and not bring up the hundred other ways to do it.

[@Fishtory]

Very exellent points. I couldn't agree more. Thank you for sharing.

[@AndrewFishman]

Firstly, congratulations. Sounds like you have a nice balanced system. "Many plants, few fish." a wonderful philosophy that does not work at the extremes. Many African Cichlids for example you use many fish, few plants and overfilter to heck. Blackwater is few plants, some fish and pray. 🙃 The reasons for this are many and varied, from plants not doing well in either very alkaline, hard water or soft, acid water to fish making a planting into a salad smorgasbord (looking at you Mbuna). Sure, there are exceptions like anubias and Java fern, but most plants do best between 6 and about 7.5 - 7.8. The reason to stock Mbuna and Peacocks in high numbers is to spread the hate. These fish tend to be nasty, so often, if kept in low numbers, one becomes dominant and will bully, harass and kill all others in the tank. Does not work so well with Central Americans as they get much bigger and just eat those they don't play well with. Plants are problematic as they are often shredded, whether through malice of being eaten depends on species and temper. Mbuna destroy plantings with their diggings regardless of whether they eat them. The Tanganyikan dwarfs love some plants, until they cover them with substrate. Silver Dollars and Goldfish are a couple of others that spring to mind when it comes to plant loving fish. As in, they love them to eat them. Also big and messy. So, deep gravel beds and some filtration is a must. Blackwater is a whole different beastie, with no mineral buffer and relying on organic buffering. Water changes are the danger zone. pH swing into the higher ranges can unlock a lot of ammonia from the ammonium. As the pH is so low, there might be a bit of this as the bacterial and other microbe activity is suppressed. This is the puddle I like to play in. I am saying this, not to contradict you at all, what you are doing is working well and you should be proud of your accomplishments, many never make it that far. I am merely illustrating the different chains of thought that HAVE TO go into planning a successful aquarium that runs as it should with minimal input and few problems. There are many approaches and none is right or wrong. There are some that don't mix well (dirt and undergravel filter for example) and others that fit like hand in glove. The more we know, from our own and other's experiences, the more equipped we are to handle challenges as they are thrown at us!

[@DEXTER-TV-series]

Is it possible to have the barbs at winter without heater ??

[@mercedeswarrenash5929]

I’ve set up the majority of my tanks with a dual system. Deep substrate (often dirted) and lower flow hob or sponge filtrated. I’ve kept a tank or two for 12 years. I didn’t truly catch MTS until being sidelined physically & was exposed to Foo & the amazing video from Aquarium Co-op when he visited the shop in San Francisco where I was able to see that I could keep many more tanks if the system was set up right. Have I made mistakes…. Surely! Have I grown in knowledge as well as intuition to promote the health and flourishing of my wet pets??? Indubitably!

[@Fishtory]

That's actually my favorite setup as well... (maybe canisters if i was made of money lol) but yes the visit Cory made to Ocean about 5 or 6 years ago was what stopped my water changes in everything other than medicated tanks or tanks im simulating spawning in. Have a lovely weekend!

[@timothygarrow]

I saw a video that said filterless tanks were possible and I immediately killed a fish my buddy that I had for a year. Then I felt he couldn’t die in vain the research went on day and night. All nighters. I bought some plants that had molluskicide a bunch of shrimp and the shrimp died. I bought different substrates and plants the plants died I bought fertilizer. Eventually I got to the end of the line I did daily water changes and I kept my fish alive. I have a question for you sir. Because I appreciate your frankness. I love the way you present this material and the obvious effort you put in. Here’s my question: can I remove ammonia from the water? Like if I do a water change can I clean the dirty water so I can recycle it back into the tank? I found out I have too many fish in my tank.

[@Fishtory]

So, there are processes that will remove ammonia. However the presence of ammonia, means one of several things: you do not have enough surface area within and on your filter media...either it hasnt caught up, due to time- or it cant keep up even though its trying to. Or you may have a source of ammonia spiking suddenly...like a dead fish or substrate with too much fertalizer. But to get rid of ammonia you can use seachem prime or safe product lines... Dechlorinators- or let bacteria turn it into nitrites then nitrates... short of that youd need a very pricey distillation or RODI filter to remove it...but youll waste at least half your water in that filtering process.