The practicality of our developing ecology

As I ease back into the world of Tannin and botanical method aquariums, I think it's important to hit on some of the foundational philosophies, ideas, and "truths" that form the basis of our approach once again.

As I've reiterated time and again lately, upon my return from my self-imposed "sabbatical", I noticed a creeping, slowly-evolving "dumbing down" of what we do, placing higher emphasis on aesthetics than function in the popular social media.

Too many hobbyists have worked too hard for too long to research, understand, and develop this approach to allow it to become a "style of aquascaping", or to simply lose sight of what really drives these types of tanks...Nature.

Not goofy-sounding botanicals, "influencers", or entertaining YouTube videos. Not even our brand or the brands of my industry "besties" ( BWUK and Betta Botanicals).

We get that.

You need to, as well.

Although I'm the first person to tell you to enjoy the hobby how you want to, I'm also going to be the first guy to (metaphorically) "whack the hobby upside its head" when the situation dicates. As long as I'm cognitively functional and breathing, I'll continue to push out "the boring stuff" as required to keep this a methodology, not a Tok Tok trend, meme, or otherwise bubbly social media splash.

Yeah, I sort of pledged to myself a while back that, for every one of these dumbed down exercises in vapidity which I encounter on social media, I'm going to counter with something deeper, more informative, and more instructive... So, based on the current state of things, I'll be really f--king busy for the foreseeable future!

Honestly, the hobby doesn't have to be childish, vapid, and trendy to be fascinating and fun. It never did, and it doesn't have to be now. Nor does it need to be boring, snobby, or exclusive to be fun and cool. There IS a middle ground between some of the garbage that prevails in the hobby, and the boring stereotype of a bunch of old timers sitting around chugging beers, lamenting about how the hobby used to be cool when everyone had to build their own tanks and collect their own Daphnia and Tubifex worms

I think the recent audience numbers of "The Tint" podcast bare this out...They're really growing! There seems to be a "hunger" for more fundamental, deeper information on botanical-method aquariums.

That's super encouraging!

At it's core, what we do is about ecology. Or, rather, the development of an ecological system within our aquariums.

The development of an ecology based on botanical materials is foundational to the successful function of our aquariums- even if it looks a bit "unusual" to many! If we embark on a botanical-method aquarium journey with the mindset that we're helping to encourage the development of an ecological system in our tank, not just a "cool aquascape", the whole thing is that much better.

And guess what?

When you work with Nature to foster such an ecosystem, the cool aesthetics almost always follow...

There is something truly remarkable about natural processes playing out in our own aquariums, as they have done for eons in the wild.

Remember, it's all part of the game with a botanical-influenced aquarium. Understanding, accepting, and celebrating the process of an ecological system "sorting itself out" in our tanks is all part of that "mental shift" towards accepting and appreciating a more truly natural-functioning - and natural-looking- aquarium.

The "price of admission", if you will- along with the tinted water, decomposing leaves, etc., the metaphorical "dues" you pay, which ultimately go hand-in-hand with the envious "ohhs and ahhs" of other hobbyists who admire your established aquarium when they see it for the first time.

We ask everyone who plays in the botanical-method aquairum world to be open-minded about accepting all sorts of unusual things. Things which, in our previous hobby experience freaked us out to no end!

It's a lot to ask, I'm sure. I mean, the idea of embracing an aquarium which looks and functions in a manner which is essentially contrary to virtually everything you've been brought up to believe in the hobby requires a certain leap of faith, doesn't it?

Yes, it's about aesthetics...but it's more about the beautiful function of botanical materials and soils which influence the chemical environment of the aquarium- just like they do in Nature.

There are aesthetic factors that you need to embrace to really appreciate what we do. They require fundamental shifts in our thinking about what is "cool" and "acceptable" in the aquarium hobby.

Of all the mental shifts asked of those who play in this arena, accepting the formation of biofilms is likely the biggest "ask" of all! Their very appearance- although indicative of a properly functioning ecosystem, simply looks like something that we as hobbyists should loathe.

This is a completely natural occurrence; bacteria and other microorganisms taking advantage of a perfect substrate upon which to grow and reproduce, just like in the wild. Freshly added botanicals offer a "mother load"of organic material for these biofilms to propagate, and that's occasionally what happens - just like in Nature.

Biofilms on decomposing leaves are pretty much the foundation for the food webs in rivers and streams throughout the world. They are of fundamental importance to aquatic life.

Fungi tend to colonize wood and botanical materials, because they offer them a lot of surface area to thrive and live out their life cycle. And cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin- the major components of wood and botanical materials- are degraded by fungi which posses enzymes that can digest these materials!

Fungi are regarded by biologists to be the dominant organisms associated with decaying leaves in streams, so this gives you some idea as to why we see them in our aquariums, right?

Yup.

In aquarium work, we see fungal colonization on wood and leaves all the time. Most hobbyists will look on in sheer horror if they saw this extensive amount of fungal growth on their carefully selected, artistically arranged wood pieces! Yet, it's one of the most common, elegant, and beneficial processes that occurs in Nature!

When we start one of these aquariums, I think that it's important that we go in with the understanding that Nature gets to do a lot of the "work"- if we let Her.

Let me finish by clarifying a few things.

I suppose my "attack on vapidity" sounds judgmental, hard, egotistical, and perhaps envious to some. Lest you think that it is, I beg to differ. Rather, I think it's just really important to have a greater understanding than our current state of culture deems necessary. You're NOT to damn "busy" to learn more about the hobby you love. You're NOT intellectually incapable. You're NOT supposed to be a pHd, or held to dogmatic thinking- even mine.

However, you, me- everyone- we ALL have a responsibility- to the hobby, the fishes we love, and to Nature Herself. A responsibility to take care of each other, the hobby, and the natural world.

And that starts with understanding what we do on a deeper level than a few dozen characters, a meme, or a cute, flashy video short can ever hope to convey.

From a "hobby culture" standpoint, we need to have a good understanding of what we talk about. And we need to ditch the pretentiousness. No one owns the damn title of "botanical method aquarium characteristics" or whatever.

Sure, some people might understand more about specific topics than others do, but their obligation at that point is to share, encourage, and mentor others- not to be a pretentious loudmouth bully. And not to keep dumbing stuff down in the belief that doing so will "reach a wider audience."

Reach people by teaching people everything...not just by sugar coating a few select topics that make a good video short.

Full stop.

So, if I'm a bit wound up at times about this stuff, it's really because I care about it so much..and I do care about you and your enjoyment of this amazing hobby.

Stay curious. Stay educated. Stay inspired. Stay gracious. Stay creative. Stay smart...

And Stay Wet.

Scott Fellman

Tannin Aquatics