The Secret to Creating A Micro Biome & Food Web of Diverse Microorganisms. Aquarium Ecosystem.

[@diamdante]

The high quality of your stuff would be good enough, the rate that you pump out these information-dense videos is shocking. There's no doubt in my mind that this is THE aquarium channel to watch

[@Fishtory]

Well i am honored to read this, and I work as hard as i can, trying to put 40 to 60 hours into the research, filming, outlines, editing and responding/interacting with viewers. So it means a great deal to me, to know that you can tell the difference between the large budget channels vs mine haha. Have a great weekend

[@Tipman2OOO]

Right it's internet gold for me!

[@MattyP650]

Agreed 100%

[@LostLeftyLimb]

💯 dude.

[@markfranklin8831]

It's really one of the best out there 💯💗✌️👍

[@matthewoneill6181]

nicely done! I heard once "never criticize someone for mispronouncing a word, because it means they read it"

[@Fishtory]

Haha love it

[@FatherFish]

excellent review Alex. This is a fundamental piece of work.

[@Fishtory]

Glad you think so too! Cheers

[@missouririverrats3010]

Father fish! So cool seeing you comment on other great videos! Thank you both so much! Both major inspirations to my return to the hobby. Cheers 🍻

[@cellardoor2197]

Brother this is why I love your channel. Right in line with how I approach tanks. I dont want a perfect tank I have to constantly maintain. I want a interesting little self running world in a box I get to observe from the outside.

[@Fishtory]

Amen. And thank you kindly

[@bl0pez772]

Thank you so much for this. This gave me SO much inspiration! I feel lucky to live in Oregon, because I have tons of healthy bodies of water that I can access. I went to a local creek (a part of a local river) and collected some decaying leaves/mulm/organic matter and some water, and brought it home. I got a big rubber stock tank to make into a "pond". I recently did an overhaul on my main tank, and switched the gravel substrate to a dirted substrate. I used the old gravel to fill the bottom of the tub that sits outside. I actually tested the water from the creek out of curiosity prior to using anything I collected from it. I tested for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, pH, kh, gh, and copper. I used some of the mulm/water I got and put it into a jar so I could observe it. So far, I've seen various species of copepods/daphnia, seed shrimp, scuds, water mites, water beetles, ramshorn snails, bladder snails, and some nematodes. I went to a local pond shop and bought a water lily (came with free frog eggs, filamentous algae, and more snails!). The shop owner was even nice enough to give me a few gallons of green water for free to put in there. Now, I have a whole miniature ecosystem in there and it's doing amazing! Sorry for the boring essay, but I'm incredibly excited about this. I'm so thankful to have gotten this project idea from you. Thank you for everything you do.

[@Zenmatrixx]

Your fish are telling you they need more space. Yes I'm a fish whisperer!

[@Someoneonthisplanet1979]

it baffles me that you have been the only one commenting on this in the year after it's been uploaded. The fish are living in healthy water, just no too much of it.

[@SissypheanCatboy]

@@Someoneonthisplanet1979 probably because fish don't care about anything, so long as their basic needs are met. The fish are able to move freely and orient themselves easily, their water is perfect quality, and they're adequately fed. Some fish _do_ need lots of space to quickly swim around, but plecos and angelfish couldn't care less.

[@littlewigglemonster7691]

So smart yet hasn't figured that out some how

[@ryu-ken]

Do these types of fish tanks smell?

[@berenicehickey9755]

Of course not!​@@ryu-ken

[@AbdullahAzrael]

I'm a huge biology and it's very refreshing to find an aquarius that actually knows what they're talking about.

[@Fishtory]

@@AbdullahAzrael why thank you so very much! I try my best

[@killabeez321]

Biggest biology I ever did see

[@MacTechG4]

Your channel and tank philosophy are right in line with mine, I’ve been keeping aquaria for 40+ years, and have tried all different ‘tech’ levels, there’s just something about the simple balanced tank with basic lighting, deep sand substrate, heavy planting, low bio load and a simple sponge filter is just so appealing and natural It’s a similar philosophy as ‘Father Fish’ but without all the unnecessary and illogical religious bullshit which has no place in an aquarium keeping channel. Yes, I know FF is a religious ‘father’ and he does overall do a good job of keeping the two subjects separate, and I appreciate that, but with your channel, I know it’s going to be just the facts on aquaria and no illogical extraneous tangents, and I appreciate that even more :)

[@plantagominor722]

real talk over here - I feel the same about Father Fish. Such good pointers and teaching, mixed in with... general weird old man stuff

[@endur5nce]

I really appreciate you Alex getting this out there, you and Father Fish are sharing how to have wonderfully healthy aquariums naturally 🐠

[@joannc147]

BRILLIANT! I just sat thru a college biology class by watching this thoughtful and progressive video. I left a storage tub on my deck last spring and summer. Rainwater accumulated and things started growing in there. Tree frogs were attracted to my deck for the 1st time in my 10 years in this house. So, tadpoles appeared. My chickens loved to drink out of this container (forget the fresh water bowl!) and had access to nibbling on the tadpoles. Deck biome, lol! Oddly enough, I have containers of standing water and no mosquitos here. I’m totally onboard with the balance-of-nature systems. I had an aquarium years ago and OH, you are tempting me back again! It’s a wonderful hobby. Continued good fortune with this channel,. You’ve got LOTS of great info to share!

[@sugar-sammich]

I think you are the perfect example of "If you do what you love.." I smiled when you took us to your backyard because it wasn't unlike my backyard growing up, except we only had mosquito and tadpoles, and the occasional snake. I am always eager to hear what you have to share with us for the sole purpose of creating the most ideal environment for our aquatic animals. Your love of aquatic husbandry is contagious and we are lucky you aren't stingy with your talents or knowledge.

[@Fishtory]

That is so kind of you to write. Thank you! Nature is my vice hehe

[@evergreenpsyche]

Your Silky looks just like our cat Matcha 😊 My wife surprised me with a betta fish for my birthday last week....never raised a fish before but I am a total nature freak so right away all the sterile tank / fake decorations started to trigger me and also the thought of weekly water changes and adding chemicals to the tank etc. So the past week i've been traveling the interwebs from wormhole to wormhole, came to you from the Father Fish comment section and feel like I found home, thanks for doing this! Just cleaned out a 15 gallon tank, setting up a substrate, found some river plants, gonna buy some more and a handful of tank mates. Your videos have made the deeper knowledge so accessible and reassured me this is possible and inspired me with your thick ass foliage. You're a good human being! My heart thanks you!

[@Fishtory]

Aww thank you. And thanks for caring for the nature in our world. I value father fish greatly, Lou is a friend, but we have a few disagreements, just that i think you can do things 3 or 4 "correct" ways...but i prefer the way he leans towards also. :) best of luck my friend!

[@evergreenpsyche]

@@Fishtory I understand and feel similarly, hence why your work resonates with me. FFish seems like a great guy but I dont want to be too narrow in my thinking, plus you actually explore the details and science of these natural ways of fishkeeping which is more my jive. Grateful for you both!

[@arman_2215]

It makes me feel super happy to know that there are people out there that truly are progressives for this hobby. This information is so valuable and needed. Everytime I go into my LFS I feel like I need to teach them something 😂

[@Fishtory]

Lol just remember that there is no right way to keep fish....but a few wrong ways

[@RyanStonedonCanadianGaming]

Some major stores pay their employees to lie to make a sale.

[@nathan-d8]

I can't talk to the employees at my LFS about anything, really. A few years ago there was one guy that I could talk to. But now it's like I feel dumber after I talk to any of them.

[@missyflutter5562]

@@FishtoryI’ve heard someone say there’s fish keeping and then there’s fish abuse 😂😅

[@agnediciuniene9861]

I love a little ecosystem I created for my cpd's tank. I started by adding moss, some aquarium plants. Then I added snail eggs and fish eggs. When my fry hatched and I started feedinf them infusoria. I bought some life daphnia to feed the adults and decided to put some in fry tank. They started breeding there. My fry grew, I probably overfed some and started noticing detrite worms. I also got a lot of daphnia. And my baby snails grew. Now my fry reached the size where they hunt for baby daphnia and small worms. I had to spend 2 days in the hospital and couldn't feed the tank. But all my fry survived and grew. 😊 Tank also looks spectacular. Full of life. Daphnia, fry, snails, copepods. Everywhere you look, something is alive and moving. I still feed infusoria, microworms and some artemia.

[@Fishtory]

👏 amazing.

[@Click771]

How do the daphnia survived in the fry tank? I mean what they were eating? Infisoria? Thanks

[@agnediciuniene9861]

@@Click771 infusoria

[@nathanfortin8192]

Thank you for sharing your knowledge and experience.

[@Fishtory]

So nice of you! Thank you

[@BrianNewvine]

Thanks! Teacher in a highschool here and aquaryist. I've been breeding White Clouds in my classroom for a year. These tips will bring my tank to the needed next level.

[@Fishtory]

So glad to hear it! Thats really amazing of you to do. Im sure the students love seeing the process. I highly recomend doing kribs or some dwarf cichlid with parental care too! Kids go wild for that... or guppies and mixing colors or traits with punnett square predictions as an asignment

[@DavidMXXIV]

"I'm just throwin something out there!" Bro, you're awesome, so intelligent and thoughtful. I'm learning so much

[@Matthew-ix1sd]

The amount of knowledge, context and understanding you bring is astounding.. I've learned so much and my tanks have never looked better.

[@Fishtory]

This comment truly makes my week. Thank you so very much. Im honored to know the channel is of use to you. Happy fish keeping

[@sharonkaczorowski8690]

Took a really bad fall last night…had intended to order my tank this month. Set off every pain causing illness I have and badly bruised my hip joint, top of my head and my hands. I may not be commenting for a a while. And I will put my tank off at least a month,maybe two, depending on how I heal. Fee;ing frustrated, upset, disappointed and generally cranky. Hope you are well! Pollen count is already off the chart up here in Delaware.

[@Fishtory]

Im so sorry to read this! Hang in there... rest up and keep your chin up. Ill be here doing my thing when you're ready to get back to it. Best wishes to you

[@ssinssg]

Watching now, great info. My oldest tank has been up for 10 years. It's gone through many iterations and always interesting to see its changes. Now it's got 3 Iberian crested newts, some guppies, and tons of cherry shrimp.

[@Fishtory]

Whoa! What a mix of critters. Cool

[@EuroGupper]

I dare say in the tropics you won't need to inoculate your tanks. Keep the window open year round, open enough that birds and other big prey can't enter so that the wind can transfer everything into your tank Or put the tank outside for a spell and put mesh on it with decent openings on top of it so that the smaller stuff can enter the tank and the bigger stuff can't

[@Fishtory]

100% this is correct

[@Mockthenerd]

I live in the tropics. Have darn damselfly nymphs in my tank. No idea how they got there as everything from plants to substrate I grow and make myself. Clearly stuff just flies into my tanks while my windows are open.

[@tara_james-bosch]

When starting a new tank, I always add a bit of tank water from each of my healthy established aquariums to try and build the microbiome, so far so good!

[@Fishtory]

Great plan! I do too!

[@stevengraham8841]

Apparently that doesn't work I've been told

[@Fishtory]

@stevengraham8841 it helps most definitely. There is a bit of controversy since many people assume the bacteria... nitrosoma and nitrobactcilis only live on filter media. However, they live on any surface... and some are floating around at any given time. Something less than 5% of the nitrogen conversion bacteria is in your water collumn compared with 95% on surfaces and media. That 5% will colonize the new tank's surfaces though... and usually we wait for the bacteria to just "appear" from thin air and cycle our tanks within 4 or 5 weeks. Well even 5% of the bacteria...heck, even 1% of the bacteria, still equals millions of tiny cells...and they double every 9 to 12 hours, growing exponentially. So water from an existing, cycled tank skips a week or two of the intial bacteria colonization

[@garysoutar451]

40yrs and never failed.. fill a tank no matter what size and have it running for 24hrs with a new filter going,then take a filter from a running fish tank and squeeze all that dirty water out that filter and then let that tank clear over 24 hours,then you can start putting fish in. Never failed me Yet.

[@robertsteffler9184]

I don't even have an aquarium and I really enjoy watching your material.

[@Fishtory]

Awww awesome! Thanks. That makes my day! Welcome

[@Yolaana]

I've kept tanks some years now, always wanted tanks like yours, but mine wont thrive. I hope I can achieve this with my tanks. Thank you for sharing your knowledge. As a microbiologist myself I was always afraid of introducing pests/diseases. Time to see the good things of these useful microbes instead of being afraid.

[@Fishtory]

Its always possible, but remember our fish come from pretty gnarly little mud holes and tannic creeks, puddles and silty rivers... undoubtly to their microbiome and immunesystems, it is everyday normal stuff, where as the pet trade, fish stores and holding facilities are the super spreader, bad Pathogen havens

[@Yolaana]

@@Fishtory you're totally right. Never thought about it in this way. Thank you!

[@treason0990]

Looks like the neighborhood mosquito breeder… lmao 18:39

[@FatherFish]

Excellent, Alex. This is the story that must be told.

[@Fishtory]

Most the folks in the comments seem to be mentioning you :) i think nature is winning out, slowly but surely. Congrats on that viral video you created last week as well! People want to / are finally ready to hear your message.

[@FatherFish]

@@Fishtory We are together in this Alex. Without your input I could not be as far along. With Lucas we 3 are changing the hobby.

[@zeb33369]

Well as a new sub to both of you, I'm grateful for the knowledge share..I've kept and bred turtles the past 24 yrs but only just got into aquatic plants and set my 5ft tank up again for some angels..wish I'd seen the dirted set ups before but at some point I'll break it down and redo, had to laugh when I saw your faux barrel tubs as I just bought 4 identical ones and set the first two up yesterday for some plants..much love and thanks to you both for sharing your extensive understandings, from Australia🙏 🇦🇺🦘🐨 I have 5 tanks in my loungeroom rn, 2 for giant bettas 2 for hatchlings, and the 5ft.. oh plus the outside turtle tank so in total..looking for future tanks online..I'm in the grips of MTS 😲..and loving it 😁 may I ask which channel Lucas is?

[@truthseekertree]

You taught me much information. And as a teacher, I had to pay you something for this. Thanks!

[@Fishtory]

Thank you so very kindly

[@TylerLarbes]

Thank God!!! FINALLLLLYYYY!!!! I have spent probably 20hrs over the past month looking for some sort of list... -Microorganisms, Macroorganisms, invertebrates, Crustaceans, Arthropods, Copeopods, Larvae, Insects, Etc.... That should be used to create a lasting food chain in an aquarium. I have been collecting organisms for weeks but I'm a novice and don't want an eco-crash. This is the first video or literature that even comes close!!! Thank you!!

[@Fishtory]

It wont crash, but if you want to sustain the fish with insects and orgsnisms in the tank, youll need a creature that eats algae or a plants/algae as your bottom trophic level. So then the fish that eat insects or mid sized aquatic life, cant over harvest their foods...its a tall order if you want many fish, so most folks feed the fish some essential nutrients at least

[@Click771]

@@Fishtorydi you have a video on how to start that without having the fish harvesting all the live food? Thanks mate

[@ForProfit-x100]

You are like a young Father Fish! Great content

[@Fishtory]

Haha yeah he and i starting publicly discussing the more natural ways of keeping fish, about 4 years ago. We have about 50 to 100 old streams together on his old daily morning show :)

[@mikefrost1312]

Protect this man at all costs!!! Golden information

[@Fishtory]

Haha thats very kind of you to say

[@potatoesorsomething]

I have a 20 gal with a ton of plants and I never gravel vac anymore. Ive got way a bunch of plants to utilize the extra waste and nutrients. Happy to finally reach that point!

[@Fishtory]

Awesome to hear!

[@Wendigosh]

The more i watch of your videos the more im convinced your are the best aquarium channel on YT... 💯

[@Fishtory]

Wow, thank you!

[@darylcavanagh3977]

Wow love this. Discovering a new world of fish and planted tanks. Wish I saw it 8 months when i started. Ive got into microbiome of the human gut recently as i suffer from IBS and a few intolerances. Natural is definitely thecway forward

[@Fishtory]

I hope you feel better soon!

[@zachrohr4712]

I love/hate when u make a video I have to watch like 9 times to understand lol

[@Fishtory]

Lol my bad/good?

[@pkendlers]

This is what natural fish keeping is all about. :)

[@Fishtory]

Amen

[@johnnybest6386]

I never get tired of watching this

[@Aquariumike]

your knowledge is contagious, amazing how far is extend, thanks for sharing!

[@Fishtory]

So nice of you to say. I'm glad to hear it

[@donedeal8385]

As a lifelong fisherman and aquarist, I wholly agree.

[@pyleaquatics]

Very cool. Thanks for educating others on this method of creating a complete ecosystem.

[@jesshouse529]

I have been looking for an aquarium channel like this. Right on.

[@Fishtory]

Welcome to the channel! There are 1200+ old videos here also, and weekly new content. KZbin will not get the hint you want educational content unless you watch a few back to back every now and then...sunscribing sadly doesnt work alone these days. But i hope you enjoy anything you watch and have a great week!

[@laurabustos6560]

Super interesting title. I'm sure this video is going to blow my mind! Thanks for all your hard work putting out such awesome content. And for being THE go to for finding info on giving my critters their best life possible!! 🙏✌️

[@Fishtory]

ThanK YOU for watching, commenting and supporting what i create

[@laurabustos6560]

@@Fishtory I just wish I was at an expendable income lvl that I could monetarily support the channel. You are literally my fish info walking encyclopedia! I appreciate your wisdom so much!!🙏

[@VolCanixWorx]

Commenting for algorithm! This is one of the best "organic" fish keeping channels I've encountered. I just came into the fish world with 2 fry texas shiners and a tadpole 😂😂 i want to keep their environment as close to natural and functional as possible and the information gained here is worth its weight in gold, frfr. Thanks so much!

[@Fishtory]

Welcome aboard! And thank you

[@rimibchatterjee]

I think it’s this channel for the why, and Serpadesign for the how.

[@Fishtory]

I'm honored! I'd love to work with Tanner some day. Maybe if enough people mention it to him lol 😆 thanks for watching !

[@zim93boy]

I've been doing this with water from a pond nearby. That's how I was able to source scuds. I haven't been able to get any blackworms tho. But definitely agree the more nature is in the tank the more it takes care of itself. Another great vid!

[@Fishtory]

That is awesome!

[@mikefrost1312]

Same ! I'm lucky enough to live in the mountains & have all kinds of little turtle ponds and streams that flow around the property. Black worms are something I haven't been able to find wild either, but I assume I'm just missing them, theyve GOTTA be there somewhere lol

[@RaptorRockDrakeJesus]

Been sourcing scuds and water lice for about a few weeks now. Unfortunately my fish keep eating them so I'm trying to get a population going in one of my 10 gallons, I'm still hesitant to use actual pond water since I don't want leeches, hydras or flatworms. But at the same time I really want copepds, water daphina, worms etc. I do have detritus worms in my filters tho, have no clue how.

[@Fishtory]

@RaptorJeSus scuds like hanging out at the water surface especially around floating plants ...and in darkness

[@anthonyhendricks7377]

Fantastic video!!! So very informative. Thank you so much for sharing.

[@Fishtory]

Glad it was helpful!

[@cheers2023]

I'm all for plants, but the bigger fish need more swimming room.

[@kngharv]

How do you deal with mosquitos? Would your method work if I put a screen on top of these outdoor buckets (to prevent mosquitos laying eggs in it)?

[@davidlowe3031]

Thankyou so much for you time and excellent advice 🙏🏻👍🏻

[@lauravictoriatanks]

Another amazing and informative video! Thank you for sharing your methods! Ecosystem tanks are so much easier to maintain and fascinating to watch 🙂

[@Fishtory]

Thanks for watching!

[@Impious85]

I was wondering what the best way to get started would be when you're beginning from scratch and can't use material from an existing tank... I should have known that if I kept watching your videos I'd get the answer eventually. Excellent material as always!

[@megyockey5730]

I love this! ❤ I have followed father fish and he preaches this kinds of biodiversity with dirted tanks. I want to try this next with a nano/Pico planted setup with just shrimp

[@Fishtory]

Go for it! And tell Lou I say" hello friend!"

[@itzame2127]

Watching father fish made the algorithm bless me with your channel, thanks so mucho for this information packed video, you got a new sub :D

[@Fishtory]

Welcome aboard! :) and thanks to Lou haha 😄

[@billsmith1998]

This has really filled in the gaps on my knowledge. I was about to start a new tank this month and was ordering supplies. this has certainly helped give a different untalked about perspective. too many people have these spotless tanks terrified of algae. I want natural

[@Fishtory]

I agree

[@robertswain5704]

“Over here is Fresh Neptune (Joe Namath) rockin the shag tubs”

[@Fishtory]

Hahaha you caught that eh?

[@mikefike4863]

Well said and explained. Alot of info enjoyed it!

[@johnnybest6386]

Replaying back to back

[@tomcrossan8263]

What a great informative video. Confirms my 'experience" in over feeding, excess cleaning and fiddling with the tanks. Now I feed less, minimal cleaning and leave the tanks alone and worry less about algae. Otherwise you become a slave to the tanks. Since I started this process I have had only 2 fish die in my Cichlid tanks in the last 12 months and these were from fish aggression.

[@Fishtory]

100% :)

[@amazingaquaticsandexotics3030]

certainly important for an aquatic ecosystem. grab a jar of muddy water from a pond, river, lake or stream and leave it for a month. the life inside will be mindblowing

[@dottydarling01]

Thank you! The general takeaway I got was: let there be standing water outside! We have a big mosquito problem where I live, would covering with a fine mesh still work? Something fine enough to prevent mosquitoes but not much else.

[@Lisa.Sparkman]

Lots of fish enjoy eating mosquito larvae you just have to keep it harvested so they don't actually hatch out

[@severedvibrations1211]

Setting up another 10g and hoping to get a deep substrate, dirty, and really push a living environment. Thanks for your work. Always earning those upward thumbs!

[@Fishtory]

Good luck! And thank you

[@Kday-tm8dj]

Nice! Crazy how you got sticklebacks in there too.

[@Fishtory]

They had babies in the tub i guess haha

[@blueshirtification]

If you have insectivore fish as I do it certainly doesn't hurt to farm the mosquito larvae. I would just go out with a net and scoop them into a jar full of aquarium water and use a pipette to feed them to my Betta, CPDs, and panda corys. Watching them hunt their food is so satisfying. If you never let them get to the stage of hatching out it reduces the mosquito population because they would otherwise successfully lay their eggs elsewhere. It does demand daily attention though or the mosquitos will win out. It never occurred to me to also harvest the algae and microfauna as well so great video.

[@Fishtory]

I do that very same thing...but didnt want to advocate it for everyone...i have a whole fish room and can feed 10 or 20 to each tank and know nothing will ever mature. Great point though!

[@jonisolis9645]

@@Fishtory so that is how you deal with the mosquito larvae that show up in the tubs?

[@animablo]

Wow that's great for a natural aquarium

[@Fishtory]

Thank you

[@juancastaner2576]

Thank you for all the info. If i put tubs out now how long with it take for thing to develop? So do i just grab leaves from outside and put them in the tub? I live in Massachusetts so we are just in the beginning of spring. 😊

[@Fishtory]

I mean 1 year is best... even a few weeks will give you some results. Beware of mosquitos in the spring and summer ... either net them out, or make sure your feeding them to fish that will hunt em down within 3 days

[@MandyJane123700]

I've only had a planted tank set up since January. I've got dirt under a deep sand substrate and I can already see it starting to stratify. It's all so interesting to watch! Now I am really wanting to start an outdoor pond, something like 200 or 300 gallons. I still need to watch your previous video, where I think you're talking about that sort of thing.

[@Fishtory]

Definitely! The whole creation of an ecosystem and biotope is part art, part science, part luck and all love

[@MandyJane123700]

@@Fishtory I went from not really knowing anything at all about keeping fish, to becoming a fish nerd. Well, I'm almost a fish nerd. I've still got a lot to learn. I appreciate all the information you put out there for all of us. I have a little group of fish keepers I follow, and I particularly love the more natural way. Before I was only using gravel and hobs, now I've got dirt, sand, and tons of plants and am learning from you and Father Fish about the tiny creatures that make a tank a real ecosystem.

[@yahya_176]

​@@MandyJane123700can you help me by telling steps from beginning to end of seting up a tank like father fish. I always get confuse with sand and dirt and gravel..... Please can you elaborate by step 1 and 2. Please I want to setup an microbiome aquarium so it can thrive on its own and healthy fishes.

[@MandyJane123700]

@@yahya_176 Hey, well I am not an expert, but I can tell you how I did it. If you already have the tank, you need to start with a shopping list. I used Aquascape Pond Plant potting soil for the dirt layer, but I wish I had used the proper supplements in it. So you should look into making yours better from the start. I should have put more long term nutrients in the soil, like calcium, magnesium and iron. Anyway, you put about an inch of dirt in the bottom, and then cover it with a couple inches of sand. I used quartz pool filter sand (and rinsed it first). After that it's up to you what kinds of decorations, and plants to use. Just research the plants. Definitely research the fish, because you don't want fish that will eat each other, or get too big for your tank.

[@yahya_176]

@@MandyJane123700 you're an expert man❤. Thank you soo much for explaining this. If I didn't ask you this literally I'm gonna ruin my aquarium. Thanks alot. Btw how can I get these supplement that you mentioned? Sorry for any disturbance but I need someone to whom I can talk about, otherwise I know I'm gonna ruin it.

[@johnnybest6386]

After work i tune in to ur channels till i fall asleep and wake up still hearing ur voice i love all and every single contents of u

[@Fishtory]

Aww thanks so much 🙏

[@berenicehickey9755]

This channel is the absolute BEST!!!!!

[@Fishtory]

I'm so glad you think so! I try! Welcome 🙏 officially if I hadnt said it before

[@PrecioustheMovie1]

I’ve been keeping fish with this method for a couple years now. I’ve been keeping 5 little phoenix Rasbora in a 20 gallon tank for over a year now. I have never fed them. The only thing that goes into my tank is light.

[@chloewindebank6059]

I've recently just got back into having a tank and have never done much of a planted tank before as I used to have axolotls. I've been researching loads and I love your videos! So informative and you're really encouraging my new fixation 😅 this video in particular is exactly what I've been looking for. Thank you so much for the amount of work and detail you put into these videos.

[@Fishtory]

No worries 👍 enjoy the "got to catch em all" phase of the hobby haha :)

[@karenthegoodtwin6908]

Love this information. Ty 😊

[@Fishtory]

You are so welcome!

[@Everstranger]

Silky is so sweet!

[@caesarg88]

Definitely shows you do your research. As always great content

[@Fishtory]

Thank you kindly

[@pauldiffenderfer]

Awesome report! thank you for your work Sir

[@Fishtory]

My pleasure!

[@Jumajaju811]

Question... When cutting back some plants to make more room for the fish , should you take the cuttings out? Or let them fall to the bottom to decay?

[@Fishtory]

I take most out... many plants will shed and provide plenty of organic material on their own in most my tanks

[@Sue.5776]

Thank you again for your valuable insight.

[@Fishtory]

Of course. Thanks for watching

[@asmoothcrimnl]

Amazing vid! I was in reefing for 15 years for exactly this reason. People wanted to show me their prize sps, and I wanted to see their worms.amphipods, and skeleton shrimp. Lol, way too much work involved with salt. I've been trying paludariums but decided a nice low-tech guppy/shrimp tank sounded good. Had no idea you could get the reef dsb critters in fresh. Your tubs are great! I've been non-stop with KZbin vids for a couple of weeks now. I was pretty excited to start a "natural" tank. Now I'm STOKED! I can't wait to see what I can evolve. Thanks! :)

[@Fishtory]

Right on! Best of luck to you, my friend!

[@sharonkaczorowski8690]

Good reminder I need to prepare my sone to collect some dirt and mud from the creek behind his house and give the fellow who cuts the lawn instructions to collect leaves and rain water! We’ve been here 20 years so all the surface pesticide in the lawn should be gone.. previous owner was a chemical nut about the lawn. My lawn, as I tell my neighbor who is similar to him in that way, is all natural - natural Delaware weeds!

[@Fishtory]

Right on!

[@FishCapadesProductions]

Wooo! ❤ been awaiting this! Thanks for another amazing video Alex! ❤️

[@Fishtory]

Glad to hear it! Thank you kindly 🙏

[@lupri-jr9dg]

great video, do you add BTI to prevent mosquitos from growing in your buckets?

[@Fishtory]

I don't but that's a good idea for buggy parts of the world/country

[@jerrymoore2416]

How do u keek all that life from just getting stuck in the filter. I have a sump the tank over flows and then it's just pumped back up would all that life just end up in the sump or would it b a mix

[@Fishtory]

Bacteria and microorganisms may live in the sump more...but itll spread throughout the whole system to some degree.

[@heaven7360]

Thanks for all your information!

[@Fishtory]

My pleasure!

[@goblinhammer8335]

Thanks for hitting on my favorite part of having a tank!

[@Fishtory]

Meee too

[@adkgaladkgal1799]

So interesting ,thank you --for invaluable information.

[@Fishtory]

Glad it was helpful!

[@russelayers5802]

First of all, I watch your videos all the time! My question is, I put put a Rubbermaid Trash with about 15 gallons of water. I put in some oak leaves, few sticks, matrix on the bottom, and a few pieces of sponge from a old Fluval canister filter. It’s been out for about a month. I live in NJ so the water is cold. Right now the tannins have turned the water extremely dark. Should I just leave it alone? I feel better using my own leaves that taking them from our local lake that is filled with geese. I plan on letting it sit until the spring when the water warms to harvest leaves for my aquarium. Hope I’m doing it correctly.

[@Fishtory]

I think you're on the right path, my friend!

[@Peter-rf7xv]

this was a very informative video and opened up my eyes to a different way of keeping an aquarium!

[@Fishtory]

Glad to hear it. 🙏 thanks for stopping by :)

[@vamosascape]

Hey bro, really cool. We need to promote natural sustainability in this hobby

[@Fishtory]

Definitely. Thank you

[@rummynose100]

You'd información is outstanding, to bad I don't have a back yard. I have three aquariums, a 55 gal, a 30 gal indoor pond and a 3 gal. Jug with no filtration. My problem is on the jug I have to replace the water weekly, using water from the 55. The water turns cloudy, I believe from the flake food, I pinch a very small amount,and feed once a day. I initiated the jug as follows: garden gravel mixed with peat moss, I also added crushed plant food, my next layer, natural sand. The plants are thriving, I have to prune them often. I have a Betta, 2 Celestial Danios, 1 dither guppy, 1 Pand Coydora, a baby Khuli Ĺoach ànd snails. My question is : should I continue replacing water, or bite the bullet and hopefully the ecosystem will correct itself? What say you Alex!

[@Fishtory]

Id add an airstone or keep doing water changes on that specific case... you can try changing less and less water, but if you do that, an airstone or little pond pump just to move O2 into the water is ideal. It may be able to handle only top offs, but i dont want to steer you wrong

[@rummynose100]

Thank you for the reply; I'll keep doing small water changes for now; an air pump is correct; my drawback is the size of the jar, which is too small.

[@gordonissocoollike]

Absolutely brilliantly explained. Thank you. I’m in Scotland. And just thinking with the energy crisis. I need a simpler more natural aquarium

[@TheHudsonValleyWanderer]

That tank is awesome. Thanks for the information.

[@razorramon3256]

I was thinking about letting an Indian almond leaf sit in one of those buckets then transferring that over to my planted 10gal do you think that's a good way of transferring infusoria and other things like fungi slowly?

[@Fishtory]

You'll need some green vegetative matter for infusoria... so take tank water with the microbes in it, fill a bucket.. add an almond leaf...if you want the cloudy and algae like micro-foods the add a piece of brocoli, or lettuce and leave the whole thing to deteriorate for a few days in 75 to 85 degree heat like sun tea. It'll be full of life and tannins after that...strain it and yes, it's a great additive :)

[@razorramon3256]

@Fishtory haven't felt this excited since I got my shrimp to breed hehe thanks

[@jessejakubiak1837]

Great information especially in the final outside section of the video

[@Fishtory]

Glad you liked it

[@NeoVeritas7]

Brilliant work.

[@Fishtory]

Why thank you

[@nathanielreichert4638]

Wow, you are like the secret protege/prince/son of father fish

[@Fishtory]

Lol yeah i started youtube about 3 years prior to him, but hes been preaching the same methods for a few decades, so when i met him and he started up a channel, it was like fate. For a year or so we were both on one another's channels a whole lot.

[@steveherje4025]

Thanks!

[@Fishtory]

Hey there. Thank you so kindly. It is very appreciated, never expected at all. But thank you. Have a great finish to the week!

[@ryanschroeder8263]

Great information in this video.

[@Fishtory]

Glad you think so!

[@Webzcraft]

I appreciate the understanding of nature you have! This is a great introduction for people to understand the aquarium hobby and world!

[@Fishtory]

So nice of you

[@georgeballentine1045]

Great information

[@Fishtory]

Glad you think so!

[@indiana146]

I used to have a 125ltr trtropical tank but it would b e to difficult to mange for me to set up and manage now so I'm gonna set up one of these next yr I'll watch up and read up 1st thanks

[@Fishtory]

Enjoy and welcome 🙏

[@andicarson1339]

❤❤❤ I love this! Thank-you! ❤❤❤

[@jeffkane4391]

Great information as always sir 😊

[@Fishtory]

Thanks for watching Jeff!