You can’t always have what you want in this hobby- despite your ability to pay for it. A little lesson from my aquarium industry past…

As aquarists, we really tend to hyper focus on a few things in our aquariums- we know what’s “normal” for them. And we often freak out at any deviation from what we consider “normal.” It’s a mixed bag of emotions- and something that we should think about more closely now and then

As we dove deeper and deeper into the world of botanical method aquariums, it’s more important to understand a little more about the botanicals themselves, and what it is about them which influences the environments they’re found in…

The tiny Otocinculus catfish is an outstanding consumer of algae. Yet, it’s much more of a fish than just a “utility player.” Unfortunately, it’s been relegated to this unfair role for many years. Too many years- with the unnecessary loss of too many of these fishes in aquariums. Let’s rethink this one…

Oh yeah, it’s time to talk more about brackish water aquariums and the fascinating wild habitats they can replicate. It’s time once again to look at brackish differently. It’s time to push further on the call we first made to you back in 2017 for our re-imagined interpretation of brackish. Let’s throw it out there and get back at it!

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!