The Tint

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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