The idea of food production taking place within our botanical-style aquariums is irresistible to me. Our dishes can readily assimilate materials like biofilms, fungi, and detritus into their diets- and it all starts with leaves and botanicals!

Today we’re joined by author, traveler, importer and all-around fish geek, Mike Tuccinardi! Mikes images, videos and writings are well known to readers of Amazonas magazine and “The Tint!” Today, he joins myself and Johnny Ciotti for almost 90 mins of pure fire on all sorts of fish-geek topics!!🔥

As we delve further into the idea of representing flooded forests and grasslands in our aquariums, we need not be discouraged because we can’t find the EXACT species found there. Yes, we can utilize analogs, terrestrial and aquatic- to fill the role in our aquatic displays! Let’s talk about a few possibilities!

It’s the little things that we as aquarists can take so much joy in. Another “tank side chat” with Scott and Johnny. Raw, engaging, and thought-provoking!

As our practices of the botanical-style aquarium evolve, it’s important to take an approach that gives us more than just a superficial understanding of our game.. an approach that lets us appreciate the balances found in Nature- the subtle nuances and complexity processes...These are the keys to a more successful botanical-style aquarium...

There’s nothing cooler than finding inspiration for your aquariums, wether it’s from a fellow hobbyists work, your own past work... or Nature itself.

There’s never been a better time to get a bit radical in our aquarium work. In this special episode, Tannin’s creative director, aquarist Johnny Ciotti joins me for a lively discussion on pushing the boundaries of our work!

Every once in a while, it’s nice to give a little love to the “tools of the trade”- in this case, one of our most popular botanicals, the Cariniana pod!

The management of a botanical-style aquarium is not all that different than any other type of aquarium. Oh, sure, we embrace some different processes and aesthetics, but the management of the aquarium is the same as any other, on a fundamental level...right?

Let’s think about underwater “topography”, current, and structure in the context of aquarium work... today, the briefest of looks at two unique natural features which deserve more attention as aquarium subjects!