thE TINT

the art and science of botanical method aquarium keeping.

  • ALL HAIL THE FUNGI!

    As botanical method aquarium enthusiasts, by our very nature, we’re into some crazy stuff that the rest of the hobby has, like zero interest in! We’re likely the only fish geeks you’ll encounter who constantly sing the praises of biofilms and fungi huh?  Fungi. Yeah, those guys. They’re all over our botanical- method aquariums, regardless of how we…

  • WHERE THE FOOD COMES FROM…

    If you’ve followed me for any length of time, you’re well aware that I’m not just pushing you to play with natural, botanical-method aquariums only for the pretty aesthetics. I mean, yeah, they look awesome, but there is so much more to it than that. We are unapologetically obsessed with the function of these aquariums and the wild habitats…

  • The SEARCH FOR BLACKWATER LIVEBEARERS : PART 3

    I just shared with you my desire to find a livebearing fish species which is commonly found in a blackwater habitat. It’s been an interesting saga, filled with twist and turns, punctuated by my lack of recent direct, personal experience with wild livebearers, yet, buoyed by findings from research papers and ideas from fellow hobbyists.…

  • BLACKWATER LIVEBEARERS? THE SEARCH CONTINUES…

    Do you ever get going on some tangent in the hobby, and just keep researching something that you either have a “hunch” about- or just become flat-out obsessed with? Well, I have just such a strange obsession going on. It has to do with livebearing fishes. Specifically, ones from blackwater habitats. Yeah, I have no…

  • MY SEARCH FOR BLACKWATER LIVEBEARERS…A TWISTED SAGA! (PART 1)

    Everyone likes a good story. Everyone has one of those fishes that, for whatever reason, capture their imagination, right? Well, I was doing just fine until one day, in conversation, my friend and I were talking about biofilms and the occasional algae tufts that you find on wood, pods and leaves in a botanical-influenced aquarium,…

  • DOES THAT “BLACKWATER AQUARIUM” ACTUALLY CONTAIN “BLACKWATER?”

    We interrupt our blissful ignorance for a cold whack upside the head… Do we have something wrong here?  Seemingly out of nowhere, the idea of creating a deep, dark, mysterious “blackwater aquarium” utilizing botanical materials has become a sort of “thing.” Now, in all fairness, hobbyists have been experimenting with blackwater aquariums for decades. Yet, I wonder if…

  • THE ART OF TRANSITIONING A BOTANICAL METHOD AQUARIUM: CASE STUDY.

    One of the best things about a botanical-method aquairum is that it is a dynamic, evolving, and, well -“flexible” environment to work with. By its very nature, the botanical-method aquarium changes- and can be changed– with relatively little effort on our part, while still embracing natural processes. Case in point: A little tank I created…

  • Meeting Nature HALFWAY…

    The garden suggests there might be a place where we can meet Nature halfway.”-Michael Pollan It’s long been suggested that an aquarium is sort of like a garden, right? And, to a certain extent it is. Of course, we can also allow our tanks to evolve on a more-or-less “random” path than the word “garden” implies… Perhaps…

  • HERE’S MUD IN YOUR…TANK?

    One of the things I like about the approach that we are taking to natural-style aquariums is a willingness to look at things a bit differently; to occasionally push the boundaries back on what is considered “normal” practice and the “tried and true.” We’ve talked so often about the need to make “mental shifts” and…

  • EVOLVING THE “SPACE BETWEEN:” THE BOTANICAL METHOD BRACKISH WATER AQUARIUM

    A FEW YEARS AGO, I spent a lot of time playing with brackish water aquairums. My approach was, well- different than the typical pristine white sand and spotless version that we see portrayed from time to time. Rather, my goal was to model the brackish water ecosystem, replete with mangroves, decomposing leaf litter, and rich…