Biologist here! The marketing ploys of the aquarium industry is clearly what drives the flood of misinformation regarding the nitrogen cycle. There is a nitrogen cycle but it occurs on the scale of biomes, which include rivers, forests, entire ecosystems and weather systems. We cannot fit the entire nitrogen cycle into our little fish tanks. The most we can hope for is to capture a small cascade of the processes. Fortunately, the life that drives the nitrogen cycle is microscopic so it's possible to capture enough complexity in our tanks to create our little windows into nature and the more complexity we get into our tanks the more beautiful they are.

@FatherFish

9 ай бұрын

Absolutely fabulous statement! The micro reflects the macro. This deserves to be emblazoned across the channel. PLEASE. Join us on the Father Fish Shoal. Your wisdom must be shared. discord.gg/G4fkAE6qNw

@deathproofduck6897

9 ай бұрын

@@FatherFish Another point I enjoy pondering that really puts everything into context... We can divide life on Earth into two broad groups; vertebrate life (fish, birds, lizards, mammals, humans) and non-vertebrate life (plants, fungus, insects, worms, snails, jellyfish, bacteria). If all vertebrate life died tomorrow non-vertebrate life would be just fine, if all non-vertebrate life died tomorrow all vertebrate would soon die as well.

@lemonstrudel4595

7 ай бұрын

While it's true the entire scope of the nitrogen cycle is nearly impossible to capture in the planted aquarium, simply saying the nitrogen cycle as a concept is a "myth" is a little disingenuous, especially to beginners who are trying to learn complex biology as a hobby. That's basically telling someone that well-established science is a lie. It's true there should be a conversation about why the planted aquarium hobby has certain "rules" in place, and that "rules" should be challenged as new information is spread. We would get no where as a society is we did not learn new things and change our understanding. But...simply stating a well known biological process is a "myth", and then filling in a small portion of a different theory as the "truth", is going to cause a lot of heartache for people who don't see the full picture, and have no grasp on the entire situation. There are people who will take this information with little to no caution, apply it incorrectly, and have a bad time (dead fish and plants). Having certain "rules" in place, especially for the beginner, is meant to be a safety precaution and not an iron-clad law.

@deathproofduck6897

7 ай бұрын

@@lemonstrudel4595 You probably need to read my original post again. Nowhere did I say the nitrogen cycle is a myth.

@AsimovVibes

6 ай бұрын

​@deathproofduck6897 fellow is referring to the title of the video which father fish reiterates multiple times for example at 0:46

Years ago I used to work at an aquarium wholesaler. The owner gave me great advice: "Stop fussing with your tank. When it's warm enough, go to your local pond and grab a handful of muck/leaves/rocks and a few snails. Do this and most of your tank woes will resolve themselves." Once I did that, within a few weeks, almost all of my problems went away. I even took some live plants from that same pond (Cooks Pond in Worcester Mass.) All I had was 3-4" sand and a big HOB. I never replaced the filters, just shook them out and replaced them. I kept spares in a jar with tank water. I'm sure I had the random critter. I even had an explosion of hydra. But it all settled out. That tank setup ran flawlessly for 10 years until I got married and moved. I did the same thing with my 110g tank and my triple 10-gallon hydroponic setup. I have no detectable ammonia and don't test for anything else. These tanks have dead leaves and small branches in them.

@FatherFish

Жыл бұрын

Nature solves these tank problems tens of millions of years ago and has only been perfecting them ever since. What makes any hobbyinst think they can do it better?

@ursanbear

Жыл бұрын

@@FatherFish indeed. Best aquarium advice I was given.

@rrahbit

8 ай бұрын

hi .. greenfield here .. !

@matthew_thefallen

4 ай бұрын

You were lucky the pond wasn't polluted 💀🥲

@danielw3447

2 ай бұрын

I heard FF say in another video that if you put leaves in your tank from local water source that you should dry them first. Is that an absolute must? I mean wouldn't that kill of the things I need living on the leaves/sticks?

This man has single handedly made me love fishkeeping 400% more than I did when I was cleaning my tank every week or 2. Now I'm excited to add new plants and decaying matter from my local streams ponds and rivers

@mr.octopus6972

7 ай бұрын

The industry (not only the one for pets but also food and many more) has slowly convinced people that nature is dirthy. It's the opposite that is true. Chemicals and sterility are the real danger. No wonder why we're all sick !

“All life lives on life that is dead.” Almost spiritual in its truth 😮

FATHER FISH you have changed my entire view point in aquarium hobby. I was in a habit to take all necessary "PRECAUTIONS" the other KZreadrs in the fish hobby used to REPEAT CONSTANTLY and FOR THE FIRST TIME I got an ENTIRELY OPPOSITE ADVICE and found it THE MOST SCIENTIFIC AND LOGICAL of all. Now on won't be repeating my old mistakes....ITS SAYS BETTER LATE THAN NEVER...well THANK YOU FATHER FISH - FROM INDIA

Thank you for tackling perhaps the most complex and simple subject. The types of dead materials promote different environmental reactions. I boil Indian almond leaves and use the tea periodically for house plants as a kind of sanitizer. Killing competitive fungus and stimulating roots can save a plant - even from their own root rot. Hammering in "bacteria live on surfaces" feels so right. I'm collecting wood from a river for an Axolotl this week. Stay golden, Father!

@FatherFish

Жыл бұрын

Perfect redlightrobot. Thank you for your support.

Thank you Father Fish for your abundance of knowledge. About a month ago I set up my first FF aquarium as an experiment. I used dirt from my own wildlife pond. Life exploded inside my little 30 l tank and I had to thin some of the plants out today. 😅 I brought a male betta home today, and as soon as i released him into the tank the guy started devouring my "ecosystem" 😂 it's lovely to see a fish hunting out natural food. Ive now started a new 70l FF tank today too and I'm so excited to add my Corys into it tomorrow. Thank you so much once again. Warm wishes from Devon, UK 😊

It's really crazy to think all the things I have being doing with tanks like getting driftwood, rocks and botanicals like dead leaves from my local river side trail that allll the other tank videos I watch tell me is wrong and will make my tank dirty and bad from my shrimpeys and fish is actually the healthy way! It's amazing, thank you father fish ❤

@FatherFish

Жыл бұрын

I am flummoxed as to why there is such strong opposition to doing what is clearly most beneficial to maintaining healthy, living aquariums. Thank you Holly for your astute observation.

@denijacob-uw3on

Жыл бұрын

can v get the sand from the ocean?

@denijacob-uw3on

Жыл бұрын

Can the sea plants grow in the fish tank ?

@denijacob-uw3on

Жыл бұрын

I mean can v grow plants in the river water or bore water in home which v got from the sea water?

@FatherFish

Жыл бұрын

@@denijacob-uw3on They are referred to as macro algae. The general classification is calerpa. Yes, they are wonderful in salt water aquariums. their colors, shapes, easy growth, and ability to maintain a balance in the system make them valuable for beautiful salt water systems.

Recently introduced to your channel, wish it was years ago. Thanks for sharing accurate information. I couldn't possibly keep the tanks I have based on mainstream product driven information. Thanks for doing what you do, obviously exceptionally well for decades.

@FatherFish

Жыл бұрын

Welcome aboard Yak.

I lost fish after fish trying to follow traditional methods. When I finally stopped cleaning and doing water replacements and conditioning and all that other stuff, the aquarium became much less of a hassle and the number of fish being lost diminished. You are going to lose fish...they die because living things die. But when I started bringing rotifers and amphipods and aquatic worms and other small life into the tank it became healthier and the fish were happier. I generally start by putting a small bit of pond or river mud in the aquarium to give it a starter culture of microbes and small life forms as well as a few dead leaves and maybe a small piece of rotting wood. Live plants are necessary because they will replenish the detritus as it is consumed, and their roots will in turn consume the waste that filters through the substrate. A well balanced aquarium should not need regular maintenance to be healthy. If you're having to change water in your aquarium its because you keep killing off the stuff your aquarium needs to be healthy. But people want this fish or that fish and they don't want all the other stuff that the fish need to be healthy and happy so they fight to keep it alive even though the system they've set up is not what you would ever find a fish in naturally. A natural pond does not remove and replace water. It adds more water to replace what evaporated. And the fish are happy. The purpose of doing a water change is to remove harmful toxins that could kill fish. Those toxins never reach dangerous levels if the substrate includes the bacteria and root systems that digest it.

@FatherFish

Жыл бұрын

You absolutely MUST change your name tag. This post is not worthless drive. It is one of the very best explanations of the natural process I have read. Thank you for your clarity and understanding. Please join us on the FATHER FISH SHOAL on Discord. We would be most edified by your friendship. discord.gg/sgeQSduS

@Stuff_And_Things

Жыл бұрын

@@FatherFish I had been considering it for a few weeks after some of the responses I've received. Done. Thanks.

@judokid5147

10 күн бұрын

That's very awesome and enlightening. Do you have a step-by-step method listed down somewhere please? Also do you have suggestions for those who do not have access to a pond or natural water bodies? Will some dead leaves / dirt from a park etc. be equally or to some degree beneficial? or not really because it has to be decaying under aquatic conditions by aquatic microbes?

I found father fish profoundly relatable. Touched me in a bigger way than intended. You earned my subscription! KZread works in wild ways.

@FatherFish

Жыл бұрын

Thank you val. YT is indeed wild.

@sirsurf13

2 ай бұрын

me too!

Oh heck Father Fish, despite my best efforts to maintain a natural aquarium, you always manage to give me one more thing to consider, and you do it with a twinkle in your eyes. Have a great day😉👍

@FatherFish

Жыл бұрын

You can do it alpaca!

@calvinflynn7387

Жыл бұрын

So true😉🤣🤩😁Mary Paige

Adding fish gradually is super important. Rings true every single time.

@FatherFish

Жыл бұрын

Yes! Starting right away.

I will give a few words of advice from my own personal experience and past mistakes: be very careful of introducing materials from natural water sources into your aquarium as this can introduce parasites and even predators into the aquarium. I made the mistake of introducing some plant material from a local lake into my aquarium and for two years my fish and shrimp would mysteriously dissappear. I found out that I had introduced a dragonfly larva into the tank and it was eating my fish unseen for two years until it transformed into its adult form and I found it hatching on the water surface. So my recommendation is to use an old filter from a well established tank and just place it on the substrate of the new tank to introduce the required biological colonies into your new tank.

@FatherFish

Жыл бұрын

lol Dragonfly are very large. Surprised you did not see it. Do not be afraid of nature. There are more pathogens in a clean tank than in a natural one.

@rdred8693

Жыл бұрын

That is amazing though! They're supposed to be apex predators.

@FatherFish

Жыл бұрын

@@rdred8693 Hardly apex. Any fish bigger than 2 inches can devour them

@sarahbreisch4750

Жыл бұрын

@@FatherFish I'd leave it alone, ha ha. Aquatic insect larvae are scary

@FatherFish

Жыл бұрын

@Ricardo Good question. We are doing that now. A research team is working on this and other concerns at our FATHER FISH SHOAL on Discord. discord.gg/2PB236za

When I got started in the hobby back in the mid 80s all I did was add water, filters and fish pretty much at the same time and all the fish thrived and several species had babies and a couple species multiple times. I never heard of cycling a tank until fairly recently in the 2000s when I started keeping African Cichlids. I even kept fish together that the experts said couldn't be.

@FatherFish

Жыл бұрын

You are a fish whisperer Methodical!

@Methodical2

Жыл бұрын

@@FatherFish Good one. Never thought about that.😀

@tsdobbi

Жыл бұрын

" I even kept fish together that the experts said couldn't be." I mean, they are basing that on experience. Sometimes you can get lucky, but if you don't want to risk the health of your animals don't do it. I've kept turtles for years. I do not co-habitate them because they are territorial creatures. That in nature will "tolerate" eachother in certain scenarios. However, in closed spaces territorial behavior in an enclosed space can end up deadly. I've seen way to many horror stories and images of the end result of co-habitating turtles. Limbs and heads bitten off. Same species, different species, doesn't matter. How long they've been "fine" living together doesn't matter either. I just saw a post on reddit the other day, these people had their turtles living together for 10 years with no issues, then one of their turtles killed their other turtle.

@fernandomonramos1129

6 ай бұрын

That’s very nice I saw my grama back home with a filter that dose not even look the size for the aquarium and had 3 gold fish and never died and she never used booster or water conditioner never existed back home Cuba now I don’t remember if she used plants did u use plants

Thank you so much ❤ Sorry for my English. Finally i found someone who thinks like me. I was just a litle girl, 7 year old igot my first aquarium. And i but almost everything i could in it from the lake. And i did so in many years. And my fish was the most colourful and breeding all the time. Then i get older and stop having aquariums. And you know... i started again a few years later. And i start listen to the experts and forgot all of my own experience. And l hav so much struggle i almost giv upp. Then i start to think. What's is natural, what's needed And now my tanks are so much beautiful and so much less work. Thank you again❤ Im not a crazy fish women 😂 Love from Sweden ❤

And yet in literally every mainstream book, paper or website column about aquarium hobby, one of the first sentences you can read are like "don´t put anything from nature into your aquarium". Not gonna lie, at first I felt little bit hesitant about your war against hobbyist money factories which aims to sell as much useless products as possible but now I can see their roots are deep in aquarists society. But you have used a very powerfull weapon and that is telling people for free, that they don´t have to spend a ton of money on their favorite hobby. I am amazed how much knowledge you have given us, just because you want to. Best regards, from one of yours first spectators ! :)

@FatherFish

Жыл бұрын

Thank you D&M. Your support from day one has been a blessing. All we really can do is shine a light to guide those lost in the dark away from the dragons. lol

I love videos that shake up those "Everybody knows..." that are just accepted without evaluation. You're making a strong case for the "seasoned" or "mature" tank. Laura made an interesting suggestion which contradicts what bacteria-in-a-bottle will tell us, which is to add their product to the water and add fish immediately which makes sense since we need to feed that bacteria with the waste produced by fish. Great job getting us fish keeping to think. Thanks.

@FatherFish

Жыл бұрын

Thank you Ben. You were one of the first major Fish Tubers to give my system a try. I very much appreciate your approach to the hobby.

@migueleespinosa2632

Жыл бұрын

@Ben , great to see you on another channel. It will always be about a seasoned tank and sharing the bio with other tanks. Still tackling reducing nitrates as my ultimate goal.

@FatherFish

Жыл бұрын

@@migueleespinosa2632 Good to see you here Miguel. More plants will reduce nitrates.

@migueleespinosa2632

Жыл бұрын

@@FatherFish working on it. I have been getting good results with floating and emersed plants in my mostly 120g African Cichlid tank. The fish have torn up any other plant I've put in the tank. 3in aragonite sand bed is doing good 5yrs going. God bless.

@FatherFish

Жыл бұрын

@@migueleespinosa2632 Excellent Miguel. Send us some pics please.

Father Fish, I've set up a large fish bowl, with a lot of sand like you suggested and some soil as base. The plants are thriving and so are the fish. I also have Neocardinia shrimp which are almost three years of age in the set up! a very long life for these little guys. Thank you for sharing your knowledge!

@FatherFish

Жыл бұрын

That is awesome! lil Anubia.

Just got back into the hobby, set up my new 37gal tank with sand substrate, aeration, an hob filter, and plants, and added fish the same night. I know, thats "bad", but the fish have thrived and are doing GREAT! We do have well water, so no chlorine, and we had a little 10 gallon I took the filter out of and ran in the new tank for a while.

Definitely a fan of using added material from a working filter; that works fast and expands to the rest of the filter medium quickly if there are fish in the water to contribute ammonia. So true that life needs death to survive; so adding some old dead leaves and twigs always helps bring balance and life to the set up. Great video

@FatherFish

Жыл бұрын

Thank you Jon. Once you get it, you got it!

@jeebuzcrust

Жыл бұрын

So... a fan of cycling the tank lol

I wish EVERYONE, in fishkeeping listened to your videos . Bless you Father fish ❤️

@FatherFish

Жыл бұрын

I appreciate that Pam. Bless you.

Thank you father fish. Love your videos. It clearly makes sense. I have a healthy tank because I did not follow the advice of the “experts” at the fish shop. That cycling idea was all theirs and I did not listen. I added some stream materials and threw fish in and boom. I’ve had many enjoyable sits watching my tank and learning from videos like yours. I appreciate your videos.. again!! THANK YOU!!!

Even before learning everything I have about fish keeping for the decade I have been, I have believed that the key to establishing a healthy tank was to genuinely make it as natural as possible and to add fish very gradually. Then let nature do the rest. Nature didn't dump thousands of fish into a stream at once. It was was done gradually by them breeding. Same with your tank. Take your time in colonising your tank!

@FatherFish

Жыл бұрын

ABSOLUTELY! And start day one!

@StormCaller5

Жыл бұрын

@@FatherFish YES!!!

@thomasturbato7021

Жыл бұрын

ye lol welcome in 2020 murica...

@blackandgreyedout8337

Жыл бұрын

Nature didn't do anything Nature is a false god like zeus. God does ALL God created ALL CREATURES. So there is no nature or mother nature

@StormCaller5

Жыл бұрын

@@blackandgreyedout8337 OK... God didn't dump thousands of fish into a stream at once. It was done gradually by them breeding. Happy now? 🌒🌕🌘

Just using a simple test kit every day, you can watch the progress of the Nitrogen cycle. Ammonia-Nitrite-Nitrate-denitrification Once you get a well balanced tank like Father Fish says, you really don't need to worry, the system will self correct.

@FatherFish

Жыл бұрын

Hi Michael. Nice to hear from you.

@MichaelClark-uw7ex

Жыл бұрын

@@FatherFish Hey Fish Daddy, I've been busy, since retiring I'm busier than I was raising 5 kids and working full time.

@USMC-CPL-0311

11 ай бұрын

Father fish says there's no such thing as the nitrogen cycle and nitrifying bacteria. Didn't you watch the video?

@MichaelClark-uw7ex

11 ай бұрын

@@USMC-CPL-0311 That's not what he said at all. Also he agrees with me, see the heart under my post from the fish daddy himself? I've been in the hobby nearly as long as he has, since the 1960s, I'm confident I know what I'm talking about.

Excellent video. I think nowadays we don’t really mean a cycle. In the hobby to cycle a tank we kinda mean to let the ecosystem stabilize and balance itself before adding fish. Even when we add organic material from an existing tank we still give it time to settle and balance. What we don’t want is our precious expensive fish to be part of the balancing act of spiking parameters and risk losing them in the process due to stress or sickness.

@FatherFish

Жыл бұрын

Fair enough. The system we have derived achieves balance and stability immediately.

@wonder777warrior6

Жыл бұрын

How would you stabilize something that’s not there? That’s why he said dead matter is essential to starting a proper cycle right? I have a feeling that the QuickStart we use have some dead matter and if not they die and feed on each other?

@FatherFish

Жыл бұрын

@@wonder777warrior6 That's it!

I got back into the hobby and did pretty much what you are saying. Everyone asks how I have such nice plants. My aquarium is thriving after four months. I leave dead plant matter in the tank. My plants are off the PetSmart marked down plants. Never lost a plant yet

@FatherFish

Жыл бұрын

You are an aquatic master, Possum Bayou. Come join us on Discord. We would love to talk with you. discord.gg/YJ63RaVH ​

@desmondjohnson412

Жыл бұрын

I do the same. I get the marked down “dying” plants and they flourish in my tanks

I love you Father Fish you are an amazing person and a true inspiration. You are truthful and realistic thank you for everything you do for us all hope you have an amazing new years

@FatherFish

Жыл бұрын

Bless you my dear AquaGarcenZen. You are my inspiration. Together we will bring peace and tranquility to this sweet hobby.

Great advice Father Fish. When I setup a new tank, and don't already have another established tank around, I asked a fish store for a handful of gravel from one of their established (and of course healthy/thriving) tanks. I simply spread that handful across my new tank substrate. That seeds my gravel base will trillions of diverse bacteria; tremendously speeds up the process. Of course still to bring tank population up slowly over time, giving bacteria time to multiply and spread throughout tank and filtration mediums.

@FatherFish

Жыл бұрын

By adding sand to the top of your gravel you will see a new growth of life in your tank.

I like the easy no nonsense approach. Nice video

@FatherFish

Жыл бұрын

Glad you liked it laowhy86!

@K-Aquatic

Жыл бұрын

of all the places I didn't expect to see Laowhy posting..... I'm a waiguoren in Shandong, just started my first aquarium and freaking out because the store owner forced 30 shrimp on me to add to the tank immediately 😂

Thanks to Padre Pez I am going to describe my new way of keeping newly bought cory cats. After I come back from the shop I put them in a bare clear plastic tub (light stocking levels) in my local water (acclimatising slowly of course). No filter, no pump, no substrate, nothing except a heater. I go to my outside pond, grab some of the detritus ooze at the bottom and chuck it in the tank. They are happy as a pig in mud and you can almost see their relief! The water gets so murky I can sometimes not see them for a few hours, but it always clears. The dirtier the tank the more they seem to love it. Lots of worms and other things in there I cannot see. I keep them there until I work out what to do with them. Sometimes for weeks. Feed them twice a week as per FF advice. Change about 10-20% of the water once a week as it is not a large tub. Occassionally I will remove a dragonfly nymph I find. Works a treat. Thanks Padre Pez. They look happy. So much easier than how I used to do it. If it wasn’t for the father, I would never have dreamed of adding the green/black gunk from the bottom of a pond to a fish tank. Genius.

@FatherFish

7 ай бұрын

wonderful

@thesolaraquarium

7 ай бұрын

@@FatherFish the irony is that the only time I lost a fish with this way was after a 50% water change. The very thing we are told keeps our fish safe, killed one. Fish seem to hate major water changes so I never go beyond 20% now, preferrably 10%. I am wary of water changes now and keep them to a minimum. As I don’t measure anything it is just a precaution and it is a small tub of water. I have gone several weeks without a water change and they do not seem stressed by it. Whatever is in that muck seems sufficient to keep them alive. I have kept some almost a year like that adding a bit more occassionaly. I should point out that the detritus does not come from a fish pond or it would have already been picked over. It comes out of a water trough, which is something anyone can do if they leave a bucket of water outside for months, replacing the water that evaporates, rain will do alot of that. It is just all the stuff that falls in, insects, bits of tree etc.. RE: the dangers of major water changes. The industry is basically telling us that our aquariums are nasty little bog holes filled with fish poop and decaying plants that need to be flushed down the toilet and replaced with sanitised tap water…lol. I am starting to think that water changes are as risky as that first time you bring a fish home and acclimatise it. Need to be approached with caution. It is not a case of do not do it. It is simply be mindful of the stress on your fish. A little bit is no doubt OK. Alot is risky. IMO I see some push back on your videos. People are so aftaid to put nature from outside in a tank. I think there are more nasties to be found in your average fish tank than can be found in the wild.

@thesolaraquarium

7 ай бұрын

If you want to have a laugh go to that planted tank forum - the moderator who thinks he is a professor of biology. Have not looked at it for 2 years. He is telling all the newbies now that KZread videos are not to be trusted and are part of the ‘purveyors of psuedoscience’. You are getting particular mention, notoriaty. Seems he is getting some fight back over there from newbies who aren’t buying it. This guy seems to be unhinged and on some sort of crusade. I think that forum is becoming more obsolete every day. Videos tell alot more than words. The future is this site and other video sites imo.

Media from established tanks is the go to. My black skirts have gone thru the fish in method but I kept them VERY comfortable they were fine! Next upgrade, their 40 gal, I took filter sponge and just squished it into the tank one night. Covered it with mulm and whatever else 😂 added 4 tetras, 2 more each day till my ten. Never even SAW AMMONIA/NITRITE only nitrates and very suitable amounts. I was shooketh! I couldn’t believe it was so easy, no quick start no fritz no extra mumbo jumbo (just plants rooted and floaters for a canopy). This process WORKS and it’s so easy! ❤️ i do it this way every time now just my sand, plants, maybe some wood and filter media squished out.

Im so glad someone else understands how aquariums actually work and not the bad parroted advice from all the big fish youtubers. Everyone looks at me crazy when i say i dont do regular water changes and i dont clean my canister filter ever. Havent lost a fish in over a year and i have a very beautiful planted 40 gallon aquarium that I barely have to do anything other than occasional plant trim for aesthetic reasons. This is also why neon tetras and other black water fish get a bad rap. Its not ph or ammonia but rather bacteria in the water that kills these fish.

@FatherFish

Жыл бұрын

Thank you Josh. Please join us at FATHER FISH SHOAL on Discord. Would love you to show us your tank. discord.gg/szj4Gzfm

@giftofthewild6665

Жыл бұрын

Heh. I went filterless for over a year in my planted tanks. People really lost their sh1t over that 😅

Hey father fish, I found your channel and it was very informative. I look forward to adapting my tanks to your method. My question would be have you tried using an under ground filter with your deep substrate method? I have watched some videos by another long time expert on fish keeping and he uses the Ugf with bcb bags. I was just wondering if it would be good to combine the two methods or would the ugf affect the deep substrate method?

@FatherFish

Жыл бұрын

No it does not work. The deep substrate does not operate with O2 infusion or flow. It depends on stasis with movement accomplished by the environment itself.

I agree with you, the most important thing is to take used filter media and used substrate, even plants and wood that has been in another established environment. A new tank can "cycle" for weeks without balancing itself when you keep everything clean and make it hard for microfauna to establish. The most important thing: establish the tank gradually.

@FatherFish

Жыл бұрын

The tank will establish itself if given everything it needs to do so.

@Just_Lurking8

Жыл бұрын

Hi, what if you get media/ substrate from a tank that had sick fish, that symptoms had not been shown yet ?

My Stock Pond was created with this same formula! The water is always crystal clear. The plants are exploding in growth, and the fish are even spawning. I have not fed them in almost a month. Great video as usual!

@jual-rakid

9 ай бұрын

I plan on building a water reservoir tank for all my smaller tanks, im gonna make it a natural tank with mulch and sand, I hope it solve problems I have

I teach Marine Ecology at HS level, we have been working on building a saltwater aquarium as part of the course....well actually it is the course this semester, we have lots of support, but I was getting overwhelmed with the amount of technology and building of the system, then I stumbled on the Walstad method, led me to MD Fish Tanks (an artist himself), then to you!!! I love the times we live in! Anyone who says otherwise is out of their minds!

Informative and easily understood video, thank you😊

@FatherFish

Жыл бұрын

Glad it was helpful!

Hello! I am a newish keeper (about a year in) and I have been learning so much from you. Thank you!

@FatherFish

Жыл бұрын

You are so welcome Midnight Crypt Worx !

Love this, so informative. I have a tank that's 10 years old started with dirt on the bottom about 2", then added 4 " of 3/4" gravel. Having trouble keeping rooted plants in it. Should I add sand over the gravel to allow better rooting? My tank is heavily planted and I also have black alge in it, any suggestion will be appreciated

@FatherFish

11 ай бұрын

Your tank sound wonderful. YES! Add an inch or more of sand. It will sift into the gravel and make a wonderful difference.

nice video father fish!! very educational and I learnt a lot , thanks for making this

@FatherFish

Жыл бұрын

Thqnk you naffo.

Yes, Thank you.I understand more. Is there any worry of parasites or critters from getting rocks or dead leaves from the lake? Could I grab a plant while I'm at it? I live in the woods so do the leaves have to come from the lake or are the leaves under the snow ok? Thanks again, Happy New Year

@FatherFish

Жыл бұрын

Leaves from the lake will have a full panoply of life. Where there is tremendous diversity there is a balance that protects the little fish from dangerous beasties. Nature provides heroes to destroy the villain's. There is safety and protection in the wild leaves from the lake.

@adkgaladkgal1799

Жыл бұрын

@@FatherFish Thank you, I will wait until the ice melts and get the leaves from the river, Best wishes

Every time I've watched a nitrogen cycle video, they have never rung true for me. This makes way more sense

@FatherFish

Жыл бұрын

Yes John. It is already happening!

Are you saying no need for waterchanges & seachem prime dechlorinator? I worry nitrates would get to dangerous levels so I do a 20% wc when they test high. I use springwater & seachem prime to remove any chlorine. Am I doing it all wrong?

@FatherFish

11 ай бұрын

Nitrates are not toxic. Springwater does not contain chlorine. Free chlorine will gas off automatically if you let it sit for an hour or if you spray it into the tank.

@michellelovesanimals2237

11 ай бұрын

@@FatherFish thankyou for your reply. Looks like I am sticking to your channel vs. Facebook groups who say nitrates are toxic in high levels.

Great Information Father Fish!!

@FatherFish

Жыл бұрын

Much appreciated My Hobby.

I want to try adding some pond muck and detritus to my newer tanks, but I'm scared if I get water from around where I live it might have chemical pollutants. any advice on the best places to gather materials??

@FatherFish

Жыл бұрын

Where ever fish are swimming.

Preach! I've started a larger tank right off the water & plants from the smaller 1. I just moved all the plants, gravel, and water from my 45 gal into my 75gal, used the same filter media in the smaller hob in the larger hob, then added the additional 30 gallons. I didn't lose not 1 fish! Not 1. Added some more females 2 days, then in 40 days saw fry.

@FatherFish

Жыл бұрын

Put a couple of inches of sand on top of that gravel missmiller. You will be delighted with the result.

Ive always wanted to keep fish, since I was little my grandpa would have a small fishtank Andoni would watch it all day. Now I keep a multitude of fish ina heavily planted tank at University! Your tips saved me a lot of money

@FatherFish

Жыл бұрын

That's awesome Iliyn. Best wishes for your studies. Work hard, but not on your aquarium. Let it be a source of peace and comfort to you.

Very informative video!.. Great sharing 👍

@FatherFish

Жыл бұрын

Thank you Amit.

Please could you make a video on how to properly acclimatize a fish? i've had some recent problems with doing this with large south american cichlids, i turn the lights off, do as advised from the fish shop some are fine but i've found 2 recently as soon as they are realised they show signs of swim bladder, they sink to the bottom of the tank and after a few days they pass. I don't no what i'm doing wrong, i add water slowly, i let them sit in the bag in the tank for at least 20 minutes before i start to slowly add water from the tank into the bag. I try to keep it as stress free as i can. This tank i had added them to i set up with your method around 4/5 months ago and tank is doing well. Any info highly appreciated, thanks!

Can you explain what an api test kit is monitoring when you test and the ammonia nitrite nitrate goes through its peaks and settles?

@FatherFish

Жыл бұрын

If your tank is set up as a Father Fish deep substrate these tests are not usually helpful. Join us on FATHER FISH SHOAL at Discord to learn more about testing. discord.gg/2PB236za

I do not tend an aquarium right now but plan on starting a new , much larger tank next year . Something that I started doing seemed to help. Local tapwater here is tasty. A friend that also was into fish recommended cutting water changes by 25% . Also without adding any dechlorinator . I would fill 2 one gallon jugs of tap water and place 2 airstones in the bottom for 12-24hrs instead. I was amazed by the chlorine smell surrounding the kitchen when I would come home. My fish seemed to be healthier and the water less cloudy . Do you think it is my wishful thinking or it actually works ? Thank you

@FatherFish

Жыл бұрын

Chlorine gasses off very quickly. I use chlorinated water directly in myt tanks with no problems. Chloramine is a different matter.When used it prevents chlorine from gassing off, thereby insuring this toxin and the equally dangerous ammonia toxin are injested into the gut by a drinker. The effect of this is tragic for gut bacteria. A dechlorinator is necessary to break the molecule and release both gasses. I sell a packet of sodium thiosulphate crystals, sufficient for 2000gallons for $20. at www.father.fish

Cycling may be a myth or not depending on what cycling means for you. We can play on words and procrastinate all day talking about the same thing. For me cycling just means that things will ajust to their new environment. Some plants will thrive some won't, some will find a better place in the tank by themselves. Fish will learn their place, new behaviors and how to feed. Snails will breed as food is available. Some algaes will love to grow in your tank some won't. Depending on your feeding habits, the cleaning crew and microfauna will also adjust and find whether or not it is safe to reproduce and how much. When everything settles and I don't have to immerse my hands in the tank 3 times a day to fix something, then, *for me*, it's "cycled". I had fish in there on day 2 but "cycling" took 40+ days.

@FatherFish

7 ай бұрын

works for me.

5:58 bing bing have your discord set to DO NOT DISTURB mode and you dont have any notification sounds when youre streaming ;) Another great video Father Fish! I really enjoy how we are setting the bar for standards here nice and high and I look forward to contributing more!! :D

@FatherFish

Жыл бұрын

Thanks for the tips! I will click the DND!

@awollsd

Жыл бұрын

@@FatherFish haha yeah i kept checking my discord all through the video lol... "wait is that my discord or in the vid" lol anyway great video sill. idk why i haven't heard of your channel before, i have been watching aquarium vids for years and this is first time YT suggested one of your vids and never see it in my searches.. but i'll certainly be going back and watching MANY more so thanks for posting them :)

@FatherFish

Жыл бұрын

@@awollsd lol I have become deaf to the audio signal and anyway cannot turn it off. Happy the algorithm found you. I have been fighting with it. This time we got a breakthrough. Now if we can only duplicate our effort we will reach more. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE mention Father Fish in your fishy circles. Sharing is good. And in return we welcome you into the FF shoal, a gentle, friendly place where miracles are our daily fare.

Hi father fish i just came across you channel and love it.i have brown algie on my rocks and i keep cleaning it weekly,do i leave it on rocks and glass back of tank or remove it as you say you need life in your tank👍👍👍👍

@FatherFish

Жыл бұрын

Add more plants to compete with the algae.

Hey Father Fish…..good to see you again.I used to live in Sarasota.You use to collect fish near Bradenton.Im in Jacksonville.

@FatherFish

Жыл бұрын

Hello Michael. I spent many years collecting all over SW Fl. Am now in Maryland, back home. Enjoy Jacksonville. Excellent collecting around you.

Hello sir, this is a great video. Thank you for providing this information.

@FatherFish

Жыл бұрын

Thank you KM> Your YT channel is amazing.

@madebykm

Жыл бұрын

@@FatherFish Thank you 😊

Hello, Father Fish! I am so grateful for this channel. As I have mentioned before (I think) I am new to the hobby. I'll be setting up my aquarium soon, but was wondering: A friend of mine has a 2 year old pond (with gold fish) in his backyard. In reference to what you said about gathering material from a lake or pond...would material from my friend's pond work? Thank you!!

@FatherFish

8 ай бұрын

perfect!

I used to keep fish twenty years ago or more. I never heard of cycling and sure never did so. My fish where fine . Lived for years, no illness, nothing. I only stopped keeping them after having my son.

@FatherFish

Жыл бұрын

Hi Kiki. Time to start again. Let us help you set up a wonderful natural aquarium. Join us on DISCORD for all the help you need. discord.gg/YJ63RaVH

Can I ask a question: Do you have any experience keep uaru cichlids in planted tanks as soon as I put anything green in, they tear it apart and eat it. I have tried krips, amazon swords, and valis they eat it all. Even the dried leaves I put in they eat it any tips ? Thank you love your channel.

@FatherFish

3 ай бұрын

Perhaps you can place a large amount of plants in the tank all at once. Or the cichlids were raised in a bare tank and will tear up and eat anything.

yep, this definitely makes way more sense than all the other cycling BS I've been researching.

I thought this video was very good overall. I do the same thing when starting a new aquarium (take filter media and plants form one of my established tanks) and then SLOWLY add fish. What this video glossed over is that you cannot just add a little bit of established filter media and a few twigs and instantly heavily stock a tank. It takes time to build up the processes that break down waste products from the fish (organic nitrogen to ammonia to nitrite to nitrate) and you will have high ammonia and/or nitrite if your rush things and you will likely heavily stress and/or kill your fish. Over the course of a few weeks you can add more and more fish to the tank as the filtration/tank is able to handle it but I feel this video missed this part of the equation. Also, pH is very key in this process as a few ppm of ammonia at a pH of 7 will not hurt the fish but at a pH in the low 8s could prove to be VERY toxic to the fish and kill them.

@FatherFish

Жыл бұрын

If you follow my videos on you Tube and teaching at FATHER FISH SHOAL on Discord you will see that I teach a slow and gradual approach. Can't say it all in one video. What I ask my students to avoid is spending their mental and emotional energy following the results of tests. It is much more important to study the tank and understand what is happening. It is a simple matter to see problems as they emerge. No need to fret over a point or two on a scale.

@BriansRCStuff

Жыл бұрын

@@FatherFish Fair enough - thanks for the response and keep up the good work! With people like you there will be a lot less fish living in horrible conditions and dying for no good reason.

Just set up a new tank. I can go to the local pond and get some rocks, leaves etc..but it’s winter here. Will it still work if the temp is around the freezing mark?

@FatherFish

5 ай бұрын

yes

Blessed Day Father 🙏 and thank you for this 🤗

@FatherFish

Жыл бұрын

Thank you Jar un. God Bless you.

I breed fancy guppies mostly and also shrimp and some of the newer varieties of coloured snails and I have some rasboras and various other fish in tanks and outside in tubs and ponds. I am in Australia where winters are cool but not freezing for most of the year it is above 12c the healthiest biggest most robust lively fish I have and all are doing well but I can see that the 200L tub I have outside in semi shade that gets a tonne ofvarious leaf fall flower head drops and no filter just lots of floating plants like hyacinth and also lillies does the best. It is filthy. It has not had a water change in over a year just rain top off. It is always loaded with fry and the colours on the fish are amazing. It has a heater that stops it getting too cold when we aproach winter and thats it. I have done experiments with unheated vs heated some strains like having a heater on all the time some don't and some it makes no difference but I dont have my heaters set high I also feel if fish can thermoregulate themselves they do better. I never did bother with the 'cycle' it seemed to not make sense to me what you say is what I have been doing for years. I take rotted leaves and green coated rocks from a pond and put them in a new tank with a big chunk of plants and away it goes.

@FatherFish

Жыл бұрын

Sarah you are my kinda woman. Trusting nature is all about loving the land and the living creatures. Nature truly does it all best!

Bravo, nice video😄👍 Tell them all that there IS a fuss free way of aquarium keeping. I had many people in the past comment on my tanks when picking up shrimp and how clean the tanks look. They automatically assume it must be hard work to maintain, but the truth is: it's the opposite😉 Mulm and dead leaves are the brown gold, that's why I hoarded many bags full last fall. I should have enough to last until next fall. Store them dry though, they decay further when being wet. My plants look so nice and dense with the dirt layer and I add an occassional small amount of fertilizer for the mosses and epiphyte plants. Less is more✌

@FatherFish

Жыл бұрын

Yes Titia. Your exquisite aquarium is fully natural and one I always enjoy. Fuss free! That is a perfect description of our system.

Experts say fancy goldfish & colour widow tetra aka the glow fish can't live together but mine is living peacefully😊.

@FatherFish

9 ай бұрын

Silly experts.

Hello Father fish, I’m your new fan! I happen to do some of the things mentioned in this video. I always take used media filter for new tank. I want to know what you think about scuds. Btw sorry for my English

I agreed. I started out with no idea on aquarium hobbies. The fish i started out with are alive and doing well without cycling the tank

@FatherFish

Жыл бұрын

Nice to hear from you DarkPaladin.

@darkpaladinlanceramessesii5719

Жыл бұрын

@@FatherFish I do believe everything take time. I didn't add any more fish. Till i got a handle on thing. I didn't do it right away. I gave my aquarium time to settle and added lives plants slowly and new fish slowly as well. I didn't rush anything

@FatherFish

Жыл бұрын

@@darkpaladinlanceramessesii5719 Perfect. Patience

Thank you so much for the information

@FatherFish

Жыл бұрын

So nice of you

Do you recommend throwing in a few Almond leaves? I’ve done this once before and it breaks down in a few weeks. I would imagine the decay is good for the bacteria to live? I also hear it has good health properties for the fish? Can you speak on your experience? Thank you for this video, wish I found you sooner but glad I did.

@FatherFish

Жыл бұрын

We are preparing a scientific paper on the importance and types of leaves useful in aquariums. They are the source of the life cycle in nearly all fresh water environments. Yes, that critical.

Thank you Fish Santa! You changed my entire future. I just set up a 20 gallon with several Paradise Gouramis. (They love the dead leaves!) Also, I have a 40 Breeder with Goldfish, Koi, and Golden Dojo Loaches…but I created it before I knew a lot of your secrets. QUESTION: Should I recreate the aquarium? I’m gonna be in Europe and Hawaii for 2 months this summer, so I will be away from my Aquariums. Any recommendations?

@FatherFish

Жыл бұрын

try to establish a food web now and it will support your fish while you are gone. Wonderful trip. ENJOY!

Definitely use sponges gravel plants anything from an already established tank or pond preferably a known source because you don't want anything contaminated with chemicals or dangerous pathogens.. With that you can start a tank immediately with fish I always use a sponge filter from another established tank. Within no time the tank will Cycle yes I said cycle lol or become established with beneficial bacteria but it cannot handle a full bio load immediately so go slowly.. You need it to grow and multiply and cover everything and surfaces with high oxygen and low oxygen places provided for anaerobic and aerobic bacteria. This is what everybody is referring to as cycle. And this is what breaks down the nitrogen cycle not a tank cycle LOL tanks establish.. So aerobic bacterias work on ammonia and nitrites and if you're fortunate to grow anaerobic bacteria it really helps with the nitrates and this helps cut back on water changes, and plants help of course too.. Deep sand beds or dense filter media slows the water flow and promotes the perfect atmosphere for anaerobic bacteria. Saltwater is much slower process but basically the same...

@FatherFish

Жыл бұрын

Glad to see you are on board Ian. Getting all of the moving parts in the tank at the beginning is key to building a healthy environment. Diversity must be brought into the system. It cannot get there any other way. Contamination and pathogens are the bogeymen of salesmen selling toxins. In a well diversified system they simply are not a problem. Nature knows how to deal with monsters. Give her the tools and she will do the job.

@slidersway2592

11 ай бұрын

He hasn't seen the video on nitrates yet😁

When I set up a new tank, I either use some of the old gravel and transfer it to the new tank and or I squeeze some of the poop from a more established sponge and dump it into the new tank. I do add a little bit of quick start just for extra measures along with live plants. After an hour or so, I place my fish into it. No problems.

@FatherFish

Жыл бұрын

Correct. If you are careful about feeding there will be no problem. Try our deep dirted with food web in a 10 gal. You'll love it.

Just found your channel Father Fish, thank you!

@FatherFish

Жыл бұрын

Happ to have you on board, Insolent Stickleback. I want me some stickebacks.

Father Fish, whats your take on Kevin Novak anoxic filtration? Or does this anoxic process already goes on in the deep substrate?

@FatherFish

Жыл бұрын

I do not pump water through my substrate, not even slowly. The plenum system begins to work when the pump is turned off and the riser tubes are removed. Then it becomes a natural substrate.

I live next to a large river. When I set up a new tank I go to the river and scoop up some sand, gravel and water and dump that in the new tank. It's gonna end up there anyway, right? Sometimes I doubt myself and wonder if I'm introducing something bad, but I do it anyway.

STEM PLANTS BUNDLE SALE - Over 75 plants - 15 Species for $59! Limited Time OFFER so HURRY! father-fish-aquarium.myshopify.com/ For Special Soil Supplements, Plants, FIsh & Merch in your country: fatherfish.fish/

Us people sometimes use language that does not quite discribe what we mean but still roughly gets it across. For somebody new to all this the word cycle is a very rough scetch of what is happening and is probably a lot easier to roughly understand then talking about thousands of procceses many of wich we likely never will fully understand.... The most important thing i feel is to vieuw it as a ever ungoing proces in wich our role is to monitor it best we can and facilitate.... Or so at least is my personal opinion. My grandfather is the one that infected me with the bug and yes he gave me my first (i still have it) real aquarium and all but besides his experience and encouragement gave me some of the material from one of his filters. Though it is almost falling apart by now i keep it in there still as a reminder. All life thrives on dead life. A nice way of putting it but then some life must thrives of liveless stuff. But THAT is another topic all together.

@FatherFish

Жыл бұрын

Very thoughtful. Nice hearing from you. I appreciate your viewpoint.

Wow. What a breath of fresh air to learn this info, it is simpler and makes absolute sense. Could you advise what the best base of the tank you recommend?

I enjoyed this video lots of wisdom for fish keepers

@FatherFish

Жыл бұрын

Thank you Rego. Happy to see you.

Hey Father Fish just thought I'd stop in and say hello. I totally agree with what you are saying!

@FatherFish

Жыл бұрын

Hi Alan. Happy to hear from you. Come bisit us at FATHER FISH SHOAL DISCORD. discord.gg/sgeQSduS

Do you know what! Your channel and this video has heavily inspired me. But also answered a major question in my aquarium setups. The information you provided made so much sense and how I have been allowing plants to die in my aquarium and decay, I noticed other sources of plant life have grown back to life, and the fish are doing much better. This has been due to little time being around. Its also improved the health of others in the aquarium too. Before I use to worry on removing dead plants because of for some reason my mind consisting it would affect the cycle... But this has given me such a better insight to our hobby. Will be doing some further reafing on this! I have subscribed! Have a wonderful new year.

@FatherFish

Жыл бұрын

Delightful! These AHA! moments are rare and they are precious. In a moment of inspiration all of the pieces that have been entangled in a jumble, sort themselves and we see a picture clearly. I look forward to more such moments we can share as we grow in our understanding of the miracle of nature.

I’m new to the hobby, less than a year, and I’m really worried because one of my bettas just developed a horrible case of fungus. I’m attempting to treat him in a quarantine tank now, and I’m left wondering why this happened. I’ve had the ten gallon with the betta set up for about three months now. I started with a layer of fluval stratum, then an inch or two of gravel on top. Added some boiled driftwood, some Java fern, anubias, Java moss, and a bunch of floating plants. Then I added some bottled bacteria, the betta, and cycled for a month with daily water changes. After that, I did weekly 10% water changes, adding cattappa leaves with each one. Checked ammonia occasionally but didn’t read anything. Had lots of brown algae problems. Two months of that, brings me up to now, with my very sick fish. What did I do wrong? How can I make the tank safe for my betta? Do I need to do larger water changes, add more plants, or vacuum my gravel? This has happened before, I lost my first betta to similar issues. It’s so discouraging, I feel like I can’t keep fish alive…

@FatherFish

Жыл бұрын

Katie, Please join us on the FATHER FISH SHOAL Discord channel. We will be able to talk with you and spend the time you need. Basically you have been faithfully following bad advice. We stand ready to help you. discord.gg/sgeQSduS

@ejsampana426

Жыл бұрын

Where did you get your materials from? Like the driftwood, ferns, leaves, etc.? Most aquarium fish available on pet shops today are bred in indoor farms. They, and their predecessors, were not exposed to nature and did not develop immunity from certain diseases and pathogens. So they tend to suffer heavily when exposed to infections. If you got those materials from nature, it is possible that the fungus infection came from one of them. Unfortunately, your betta wasn't ready to fight against it. You said you boiled the driftwood before putting it in the aquarium, but the inner part of the wood doesn't really get too hot (woods have low thermal conductivity) and so the fungus could have survived inside it. And how about the plants? You didn't mention that you quarantined them before putting in the aquarium.

@FatherFish

Жыл бұрын

@@ejsampana426You misunderstand the way pathogens work. The fungus is a natural part of any biological system. It effects dead matter, not living. Fungus cannot kill anything but bacteria can. The fish became susceptible to bacterial infection by losing its outer slime coat, thus losing its natural protection. This can happen in a number of ways: injury, sudden temperature change, stress, severe water conditions, and more. Once the bacteria begin to attack the fish's vulnerable outer layer fungus can set in. These kinds of microbes are found universally, in every environment. They are literally in the air we breath. In point of fact the very best was to overcome these pathogens is to bring a rich and diverse culture of material into the tank from the wild. Nature provides both protectors and antidotes to pathogens that restrict their ability to affect fish.

When starting a new tank always run with live plants, driftwood, bio media in HOB filter with a partial undergravel filter, run for 2 days then add first group of fish with bottled bacteria as directed, 40 + year doing this and never had a fail

@FatherFish

Жыл бұрын

Amazing how fish survive almost anything. Certainly your basic skills are effective. You are not overfeeding and you are paying attention to your fish's behavior. Try adding some natural material from a creek. You will be amazed!

Thinking very strongly about doing the FF method, but have some questions regarding this and other videos. I take it as it being safe to use rocks, twigs, etc from outdoors, but does this take into account pollutants? I have a creek running through my backyard, which used to be my grandfather's farm land and there is a lot of oil, grease, and rust from his old equipment leeching into the water. Sure, there are hundreds of other water sources where one could collect the materials, but in my mind, there's always the risk of introducing lethal (to fish) pollutants to the aquarium.

@FatherFish

Жыл бұрын

The only pollutants that remain long term are those being constantly replenished. Rust is not a pollutant. Oil is. The best way to know if the water is safe is to study the life in it. Are there fish, frogs, turtles, microscopic life, algae, plants?

Great video!

@FatherFish

Жыл бұрын

Glad you enjoyed it Aquatic Snail Shop.

Water question. I'm about to set up a 40 gallon. My tap water is hard and chlorinated, but potable and clean. How should I prepare it for the tank? Is it ever a good idea to use fast running water from a local source? I know a stream that's so clean I'd drink it.

@FatherFish

Жыл бұрын

Either is good. Decide where you want to haul water from routinely and go from there. I LOVE natural water and would maintain a 40 gal trash can of water for use.

@sarahbreisch4750

Жыл бұрын

@@FatherFish Grantham, NH it is!

Thank you ! I'm brand new to fish keeping and I have 3 smaller tanks set up with a Betta fish in each (started off just being pets for my kids ) then I started trying to learn more and do things properly. Well, I just can't understand most of it !!! The whole cycle thing just goes right over my head. FINNALLY I found a chanel I can understand. I really want to get a 4 gal tank and start an ecosystem with all real plants for my newest guy but all the info out there gets so co fusing. I'm going to go to the lake near by grab some rocks and twigs and do just that. Put it in with my water , I have to order some live plants first. But THANK YOU for making this whole process less intimidating. My only question is the dirt ... Do I need to get the soil from the lake and cook in in oven like iv seen in other videos and cover that with gravel ?????

@FatherFish

Жыл бұрын

Please do not sterilize your aquarium! In order for nature to thrive it must survive. Look forward to seeing your progress, everything else looks great. Never put it in the oven!

@erinjoy5625

Жыл бұрын

@@FatherFish great thank-you. I thought it was weird to do so , just didn't make sence. Thanks again

I have never cycled a thank before and I have kept fish for years , I only learned about such a thing recently from KZread videos.

@FatherFish

Жыл бұрын

Funny isn't it shuma. The funniest is these "cycled" tanks are good for about 3 months until they need major overhaul. My tank sitting next to me is 20 years, never had a water change, never disturbed the substrate, almost never feed, fish spawn and plants thrive. It is nature, sitting there doing its lovely thing.

What a cool video full of information. I settle up a nano reef tank and I'm waiting for 24 days to see any ugly phase steps. Should I wait more and wait till the end of that phase or am I able to add fish?

@FatherFish

Жыл бұрын

Did you set up your tank with a deep substrate? If you did you can add some fish now.

@egeislekel7403

Жыл бұрын

@@FatherFish Actually no. I set it up with live sand and cured rocks. I prepared the water with ro and salt. It's the 24th day today and it looks like the first week. There is no algae growth.

@FatherFish

Жыл бұрын

@@egeislekel7403 Add some fish

Not related to what your video is about but I have a question. I have a 4×2×2 aquarium with 20 africans in it which is great but my main question is in your opinion can snails, cone snails that is raise my nitrate level in the abundance that there is... pests imo. I actually want them gone.. any suggestions?

@FatherFish

Жыл бұрын

cone snails are consuming the waste that would otherwise foul your tank. Think balance, That will reduce their number.

Name of the game when building any healthy living system whether it be an aquarium, terrarium, vivarium etc is doing things gradually. That’s my biggest takeaway from this. Take your time and do things gradually, adding a few small fish at a time versus adding a whole school of fish in day two make all the difference!

@FatherFish

Жыл бұрын

Yes. Absolutely true.

Quick question. Im currently doing a fishless cycle in a 55g. Adding ammonium chloride to keep the ammonia up between 3-5ppm. Would it be safe to add plants? Or does ammonia hurt plants? Im dying to order some beautiful plants but a little gun shy as I dont want them dying and wasting money. Id truly appreciate your opinion. Ty

@FatherFish

Жыл бұрын

Plants consume ammonia. Adding fish provides ammonia.

@high_fructose_corn_syrup

Жыл бұрын

@Father Fish oh i thought the plants only helped with nitrate. Great to know, thank you so much 😊

I've heard that some of these "Bacteria Starters" are sometimes only sugar water and others must be dead by sitting on a shelf for so long. Either way they will eventually grow whatever else breaks down the ammonia, as they become the food source which is digested to produce the ammonia, which in turn is consumed... These starters have always sounded like snake oil to me. Pond snails are a great to introduce early to an aquarium as they are very robust. All the best everyone.

@FatherFish

Жыл бұрын

You nailed it Ivancho. The most common bacteria are in those bottles. Of the thousand and more bacteria and hundreds of fungus that exist in a tablespoon of mud from a local creek, only 2 or 3 are in that silly bottle. And you are correct. If you fill the bottle with water from the tap it will contain the bacteria in those bottles you can buy. Hmm. Wonder if that is how they fill them. I love pond snails.

@voluntaryismistheanswer

Жыл бұрын

Careful of pond snails, I brought a fluke in once and it was sadly on my scarlet badis forever - any place the cycle with birds can continue (they'll die off without birds eventually, but in the meantime, you're stuck, and you may not want flukes on your pretty little fish- I didn't).

@FatherFish

Жыл бұрын

@@voluntaryismistheanswer flukes are easily removed with tweezers. Be sure to put a spot on antibacterial ointment on the wound

Thank you for this information father fish

@FatherFish

Жыл бұрын

Happy to have you aboard Cat. Visit DISCORD for the time of your fishy life!

I was a beginner 2 years ago. I got the tip to add some local plants. I first had a algea bloom, I accidentally introduced bladder snails and the population exploded. I did nothing about it and trusted experts to let the system fix itself. It is now an aquarium without any water changes, with barely any algea, 0 dead fish and no bladder snails, only 1 purposely introduced nerite. I also had a shrimp explosion, but also that population is now settled. I only clean my very simple in aquarium filter. I have a string feeling the filter is not even needed.

@FatherFish

Жыл бұрын

sounds wonderful.

So, you're doing a fish-in cycle? Its pretty common to use existing hardscape from a previous or other tank or use filter media from an already established tank. This wil start the cycle. And cycle is just a word the hobby uses to say establish the system. Not nessecarily something that is cyclical (but some things are)

@FatherFish

Жыл бұрын

The most important message is "you do not have to wait 6 months (or 6 days) to put fish in your tank. Thank you for the visit Tijn. Hang around a bit. Let's be friends.

@aquatictints760

Жыл бұрын

Nope you don’t have to wait 6 days or 6 months. Because when you put an established filter into your new tank, YOURE USING CYCLED MEDIA, so you can put fish in right away. Your tank is cycled- the bacteria have just been transferred to a new tank.

@FatherFish

Жыл бұрын

@@aquatictints760 Precisely! Gathering material from a well established tank insures a diversity of microfauna. Bringing culture in from nature also insures this diversity.

Great video Father Fish I'm still having some problems with my internet and social media. So I'm on Calvin's phone. I'm extremely excited about the views that you got on this, this is the magic of Father fish that the world needs to know! I hope you're having a wonderful and blessed day and as always thank you for teaching us!

@calvinflynn7387

Жыл бұрын

Mary Paige

@FatherFish

Жыл бұрын

Thank you Mary. You are an important part of that magic. Can't wait to get you on discord. You will love it.

@calvinflynn7387

Жыл бұрын

@@FatherFish I'm hoping I'll be there in the next day or two I believe my daughter has set me up some new accounts she had to change emails and the phone number for me so I could get verification so I can log in to all my social media again! I look forward to it!

@FatherFish

Жыл бұрын

@@calvinflynn7387 Look forward to talking with yu. Much is happening

I am afraid of taking something from the river, rivers are not always clean, it includes parasites and other threats to my tank life, what is the process of getting rid of it?

@FatherFish

8 ай бұрын

The process is overwhelming the bad with the good. Diversity is the key.