I think the most appealing aspect of the "Father Fish Method" is the alure of having a balanced, self-sustaining ecosystem pretty early into the process of setting up a tank, without having to let it sit for several weeks or a month to cycle. Personally my main tank was set up using a similar method. I found a local private pond and scooped some mud from near the bank (cuz I'm not about walking out waist deep into a remote, muddy, slimy pond), put some of that on the bottom of my tank and layered a mix of sand and gravel on top. The idea is that by putting the mud in there it introduces a lot of the beneficial bacteria and nutrients that are already present out in nature and uses that to jumpstart the tank. My experience was a bit shaky at first but ultimately has worked out pretty well. I did see an outbreak of columnaris pretty early on (it subsided pretty soon after it appeared), and there was a big nitrite spike around day 3 or 4 which unfortunately took out a few fish. I think that was a result of overfeeding on my part.

@Oakleafaquatics

5 ай бұрын

Yeah I definitely, agree, there are definitely some big benefits to setting up a tank in that style, glad you had success with it eventually!

@Jacksprat265

Ай бұрын

I too had to tweak it, but a few years in…I’m finally seeing the maturity set in

@DelkaSable

Ай бұрын

don't blame yourself because of overfeeding. Initially rich setup does not mean it became balanced mature tank. And don't forget that when you put mud/bio matter into the tank, initially not balanced tank, you can expect breakouts of literally anything imaginable. And because the tank is not balanced, there are no large bacterial and other types of buffers for fast consumation of any breakouts of what ever it can be (from ammonia to copper, chemicals, etc.). IMHO. I hope, author of the video can comment on this as well.

Check out his newer videos, for fish keepers not ready to jump all in on grabbing substrate from a pond in nature, he recommends more or less using a walstad style except instead of capping with gravel he exclusively recommends capping with sand. Hopefully this helps! Great video and awesometank!

don't recall him ever saying to pour mud into the aquarium, doesn't make sense he always talks about the sand cap to block all the mud cheers

Thank you, good video.

Very intellectual spoken well done

@Oakleafaquatics

5 ай бұрын

Thank you very much! I worked hard on this!😁

Good luck with your hand. I hope your doctors provide the care you need

@Oakleafaquatics

5 ай бұрын

Thanks so much

I have a planted tank about 4 weeks in. I have some fish added that are doing well, but when I introduce new fish they die within a few days, I don’t test the water. And had a case of ick but it is gone. What could be the problem?

Thank you for the video. I is very interesting, informative, and concise. After watching, I agree that putting mud in the aquarium is very risky. I think it also adds way too many uncontrolled variables. Mud from one spot might be very different than mud just on the other side of the pond, or different than the same mud three months later. So even if you do have great success by adding mud, it might be hard replicate because you don't know what aspects of the mud were helpful. The point about parasites is a major concern as well. For this reason, I wouldn't even consider trying this with fish in the aquarium. At some point, I might try this method, but only if its a couple months before I add fish. I think that would kill most of the fish parasites.

@Oakleafaquatics

5 ай бұрын

I completely agree! Although it would be great to have this web of life in an aquarium, if it was sourced from an uncontrolled environment, it would be very difficult to truly isolate the different species to make it successful!

I keep getting dropsy with traditional sterile tank method.. im goin father fish.

@Oakleafaquatics

4 ай бұрын

what type of fish are they that are getting sick?

@jawsbushaxen4179

4 ай бұрын

Bettas. Breeding show bettas in a smaller scale will have lesser chance for show grade specimens, usually abt 1 or 2 per batch. None if its a new cross. And the more u try to care for the best ones by means of sterile method, the more likely they get dropsy.. so imma go father fish. Its manageable for small scale breeding.

Interesting video. You have a beautiful fishtank Do you put dry or wet leaves in your tank? Are they from your yard or surroundings?

@Oakleafaquatics

5 ай бұрын

Hey thanks! The oak leaves I get are from my neighborhood! I put them in dry. I usually harvest a lot of leaves in the fall on a few walks and then store them in the cabinet underneath my tank, I throw a few in about once a month! They release some tannins but they fade with a water change and the fish like the tannins an leaves so I don’t stress about it

@toriechuntraruk3611

5 ай бұрын

Thanks for the info!

@mattbatcher802

5 ай бұрын

1 wet leaf from nature and the critters should be able to use dry leaves once they break down

@toriechuntraruk3611

5 ай бұрын

Thank you!

not to mention the risk of introducing fish tb, which is both incredibly contagious to fish AND humans and not to mention how hard it is to sterilize your equipment once a outbreak of it occurs? yeah id rather play it safe.

@Oakleafaquatics

5 ай бұрын

That’s a good point too! I kind of thought of that after I posted the video. Struggling with pathogens in an aquarium, and with all the equipment is definitely a challenge. Everyone deals with at some point. And you’re right it’s quite difficult to eradicate!

Some fish keepers...I'm gone create a piece of nature in my living room 😍, only to be absolutely terrified about anything that come from nature. 😱Very strange...🤔 And on the topic of...but, but, but diseases, omg, omg. I for example, don't have the space for a quaratine tank. I have two 35 gallons heavily planted tanks tanks started 4 years ago. In all that time, i never put any chemicals in the water, and my only defence against desease was and is, carefull scrutiny of new fish added and buying only from trusted local sources (local because the water parameters will be pretty much the same like what I have on my tap water). Issues I've encounter in those 4 years? Some planaria "outbreak " that my resident angel fish took care off, and some Ich instances, about once every 1.5 -2 years, that I treated with my heater. 😉 So, on the topic of bringing disease in tanks, from my experience, I consider that while one should try to avoid as much as posible adding already sick fish to the tank, adding as much biodiversity as posible in a healthy tank is not gone bring about the "disease apocalypse" that some fear. And the more biodiversity a tank have, the healthier it is. But, by all means, if your tank is an empty sterile cage, full of chemicals...boil everything, even new fish...half joking, but in that case, yeah, fear everything...

@Oakleafaquatics

5 ай бұрын

If you have had no diseases in any of your tanks for four years I commend you. Thats awesome!!! honestly you're probably a better fish keeper than me! Were you using the father fish method in these tanks? I think a lot of new fish keepers might watch his videos and not fully understand the risk that they are taking, especially if they do the process incorrectly! And let's face it when starting out in fishkeeping/aquascaping, early success is important to prevent from becoming discouraged and abandoning the hobby!

@ragnos28

5 ай бұрын

@@Oakleafaquatics I wrote a comprehensive answer, but it just disappear, and now I can't get it back. ☹Maybe you can recover it from your email notifications? Among other things, I said that Father fish is not saying, for example...just go to the pond near a gas station, in the middle of your polluted town, take a bucket of mud and drop it in your tank, all will be fine. He is advising that the biological materials are to be collected from an area as far from pollution sources as posible. Also, he does not say...if your tank have few (if any) plants, is overstock and have an inch of blue gravel, just throw away your external filters, go natural. His clips are to be watched comprehensively, not just read the titles and watch maybe a minute of two of the video. Because, if not, a beginner might, literally, take the mud bucket and drop it in the tank. As for the topic of early succes....I say that beginners should learn to keep plants, learn about substrate, prior to trying to keep fish. And learn that the dirty and unappealing "thing" on the bottom of the tank (substrate) and the boring "weed" that grows from it, are actually essential to keep those colorful and vibrant fish, healthy and happy. And never fear nature, nature is everywere, on your hands, in your mouth, in a glass of water that you drink...it is literally everywhere.

Let’s just shorten father fish with opinions. 40 years of experience out the door with this guys thoughts.

You lie about father fish dumping mud in the tank. The mud is put in the tank then capped with deep sand substrate. Dont think ill sub here.

He is controversial but not because of his methodology of planted aquariums - many are appalled by his staunchly Rightist political views. And after my seeing him berate others just to have his opinions uncontested, I no longer subscribe to nor do I continue to follow him. That is not the hallmark of an open-minded and objective, let alone truly Scientific mind. That aside, compared to other low-tech styles such as the Walstad method, his tanks aren't exactly aesthetically pleasing; in spite of FF's critique of Walstad. Look carefully at many of his tanks and symptoms of plant nutrient deficiencies will become apparent. Hey, I'm just stating the obvious, here. For so much rhetoric on his part, his tanks are just not cutting it.

@Oakleafaquatics

5 ай бұрын

Yeah I mean, I get that he's really going for "natural style" tanks as opposed to a more decorative aquascaped tank. But for me I like a mix of both, especially in a display tank! Aesthetics and nature!

@Z4U3398

5 ай бұрын

@@Oakleafaquatics Then, look no further than the Walstad method. No strict rules. No cult-like adherence to a singular method. No murky water. And no need for weird 3~4 inches deep layer of substrate. You can have it your way with the Walstad method but not with the FF method, tbh.

@SamCoulthurst

3 ай бұрын

What's the alternative to create a food web? You didn't cover that and seems to be important to offer an alternative

@Z4U3398

3 ай бұрын

@@SamCoulthurst A "food web" within the limited confines of an aquarium that can sustain long-term nutrition for fishes & other tank inhabitants, you meant? Like... really?

@SamCoulthurst

3 ай бұрын

Your sentence is so bad I really can't understand you. It's clear you are putting me down but as to why, it's not clear at all. I've asked the video maker what is his alternative to making a food web like the one father fish promotes. One without the risks he dislikes. If you reply, please control your sentences. Thanks.