thE TINT

the art and science of botanical method aquarium keeping.

  • EDITING.

    Yes, I’m sort of riffing off of the topic of “Continuity” that I touched on the other day. Why? Well, continuity and change, and the way you embrace both define your hobby experience. And it’s important to understand what your motivations and inspirations are in this hobby, and kind of important to have some insight…

  • CONTINUITY.

    Like many of you, I occasionally get…well- bored- with some of my aquariums. You know the feeling: You’re just kind of tired of the same thing, and you have a limited number of aquariums to work with, so you make that tough decision to break it down and start over with something new. It’s part…

  • LEAF LITTER: THE BASIS FOR EVERYTHING?

    Of all of the botanical materials that we employ in our aquariums, none are more common, well-studied, or simply ubiquitous in aquatic habitats than leaves. In Nature, leaf litter zones comprise one of the richest and most diverse biotopes in the tropical aquatic ecosystem, yet they are seldom replicated in the aquarium. Now, more so…

  • MIND GAMES AND MENTAL SHIFTS: THE AQUARIUM IS “THE FILTER.”

    Here’s a big thought about our botanical-method aquariums: The aquarium-or, more specifically- the botanical materials which comprise the botanical-method aquarium “infrastructure” acts as a biological “filter system.”  In other words, the botanical materials present in our systems provide enormous surface area upon which beneficial bacterial biofilms and fungal growths can colonize. These life forms utilize the organic compounds present in the…

  • AT THE INCEPTION…

    In·cep·tion /inˈsepSH(ə)n/ noun- The establishment or starting point of an institution or activity. I’ve had a lot of requests lately to discuss how I start up our botanical method aquariums. Now sure, I’ve covered this topic before over the years; yet, as our practices have evolved, so has our understanding about why we do things the way…

  • MUD, KILLIES, AND MENTAL SHIFTS…AGAIN!

    If you haven’t figured it out by now, I’m kind of partial to unusual aquatic habitats. I’m sort of obsessed with weird environmental niches that we may have not only overlooked- but perhaps not even considered before. And perhaps one of the easiest to overlook is the idea of a mud hole. You heard me. A mud…

  • SUBSTRATES: SAND, ROCKS, AND THE “STUFF ON THE BOTTOM”

    Substrates. Yes, we’ve hit on this topic before. Quite recently, in fact. And yes, I’m totally obsessed with it. And yes, it needs to be stressed more and more. I’m desperate to get it through to you! SO let’s talk ab out it again, lol! Substrates are more than a “set and forget” thing. They’re…

  • FROM ABOVE…

    If you had to ask me about the “prototype” for the botanical method aquarium, it would have to be the flooded blackwater forests of Amazonia, the igapo. Perhaps nowhere else is the relationship between terrestrial and aquatic environments so vividly demonstrated than in these unique ecosystems.  The concept of allochthonous inputs, which are materials arriving into a habitat…

  • WHAT MOVES STUFF…

    One of the things that drives most hobbyists crazy is when “stuff” gets blown around, covered or moved about in the aquarium. It can be because of strong current, the activity of fishes, or simply being overgrown by plants. I understand the annoyance that many hobbyists feel; I recall this same aggravating feeling in many…

  • THE WONDER OF FOOD WEBS…

    Yeah, I’m continuing my theme of late, discussing the idea that botanical method aquariums are not only amazing homes for our fishes- they present an amazing “platform” for food production for their inhabitants. Another of those ideas that, although a bit arcane to the rest of the hobby, are fundamental to our work in our…