Today, we open up the email and answer a few reader/listener questions on the “Urban Igapo!”

Yeah, stuff breaks down in our tanks.. and if we don’t engage in a mad scramble to remove it, amazing benefits accrue...

Yeah, time for another plea for you to keep the hobby’s most underrated, under-appreciated fishes- The Barbs!

Accepting the inevitable change which occurs to our carefully planned and executed aquariums over time requires us to think more deeply... to contemplate... to embrace the ephemeral and the ever changing...the very essence of the much-discussed philosophy of wabi-sabi. The “philosophy of transience...”

It’s amazing to see those little random areas in our tanks where “stuff” accumulates. The forces which affect the distribution of botanical materials in our aquariums are worth considering- and valuing- for the randomness they bring.

Sometimes, we have to take a chance with our aquarium work. It’s scary, but it’s how we move forward.. it involves risk. Are you up for it?

With all of the cool stuff going on in the hobby, we sometimes have to push further- to try new things or ideas. Sometimes it means forgoing the criticism, the attacks- the “regurgitation” of outmoded generalizations- when Pershing our vision. It takes courage.

An exciting time in the life of our botanical-filled aquariums is when those first biofilms make their appearance. We call this time “The Bloom”- and it’s time for celebration!

Yeah, it’s time once again to discuss the idea of making mental shifts. We as hobbyists need to do things a bit differently; we need to understand how what we do is as impactful on Nature as She is on us...

Buttress roots are large, dynamic features which serve to protect trees in the flooded forests we love so much. Let’s look at them a bit more closely, and consider how they can work in our aquariums as well!