These is something about brackish water aquariums that I just can’t pull myself away from. Maybe it’s the salt? Perhaps it’s the Mangroves! Likely, it’s the “ecosystem” approach- the botanical-style brackish water aquarium. An idea who’s time has come!

We in the aquarium hobby glorify the perfect. The polished. The finished. We’re seemingly afraid to share anything which doesn’t meet some preconceived notions of how a tank is supposed to be. What a shame.

Don’t call me am aquascaper! Maybe I’m Nature’s “interpreter” or something. But I’m definitely not an “aquascaper” in the “traditional sense!”

We can and should question the way things are done in the hobby...and why they are done that way. We can explore what Nature does. Understand Her. However, we should never try to “outsmart” Her. We can’t. And that’s okay.

Yeah, even the most basic maintenance processes in botanical-style aquariums have natural analogs- and require accompanying mental shifts that help us see things a bit differently.

Yes, once I get started on some fish geeky tangent, I seldom give up. Back in 2019, I shared with you my obsession about finding a livebearer which is naturally found in blackwater. We had a few candidates, but not much else. Fast forward to 2021, and we may have found our fish!! Prepare to geek out!

I don’t know about you, but I never tire of finding out those fish I placed in my botanical style aquarium just happened to spawn. Nothing intentional- just the by product of giving them the best possible conditions!

Yeah, once again, I’m compelled to talk about the many unique alternatives that you have for aquarium substrates. There are some amazing functional and aesthetic alternatives.. we just need to make some mental shifts to embrace them!

The idea of leaves in our aquariums is no longer an alien concept to most hobbyists. However, there are so many questions about there use, how long they last underwater, etc. let’s chat about it just a bit!

Why not examine a different aquatic habitat as a subject for a unique aquarium? Enter the morichal, a fascinating and remarkably diverse habitat, where you’ll find some of our fave aquarium fishes?