August 17, 2019

The underwater "garden": Meeting Nature halfway...

Our art is truly one where we set the stage, and Nature does most of the "heavy lifting", right?

We work in tandem with her to create a collaboration of at and science...

"The garden suggests there might be a place where we can meet nature halfway."-Michael Pollan

An aquarium is very much a "garden" of sorts, isn't it? It's a well-worn analogy, yes. But fitting for what we do.

And I'm not simply referring just to a well- managed, planted system, either. To me, the "garden" part is that it's a little microcosm of nature, although not necessarily a perfectly manicured, high-concept, "ratio-correct" planted aquarium design. Reef tanks, botanical-style tanks, African cichlid tanks, etc. There are a lot of these kinds of concepts.

Each one has something in common: An acceptance and appreciation for a variety of life forms- plant and animal- working together to create a closed ecosystem. Each life form a valued component of a greater whole...much like a "garden", indeed.

As we're progressing in the art and science of more natural, botanical-style aquariums (blackwater and otherwise), we are seeing so many hobbyists are accepting and utilizing various elements of Nature in their aquascapes, and not over-thinking it.

Okay, I'm getting a bit philosophical again today. I know, I do it a lot. Yet, perhaps, it's good for us to look at what we do in the hobby in a more introspective light.

One of the things I find "liberating" about the natural blackwater, botanical-style aquarium is that it teaches us to accept our aquariums where they are- and to look at nature as it is- not necessarily as we idealize it. As we have reiterated many times, the idea of putting terrestrial botanical materials into water creates not only varying environmental conditions, but an evolving aesthetic as well.

When you accept that seed pods, leaves, and other botanical materials begin to soften, change shape, accrue biofilms and even a patina of algae- the idea of "meeting nature halfway" makes perfect sense, doesn't it? You're not stressing about the imperfections, the random patches of biofilm, the bits of leaves that might be present in the substrate.

Sure, there may be a fine line between "sloppy" and "natural" (and for many, the idea of stuff breaking down in any fashion IS "sloppy")- but the idea of accepting this stuff as part of the overall closed ecosystem we've created is liberating.

It's liberating because we are not allowing ourselves to fall into the trap of other people's guidelines and "rules" about what goes where, or how many there should be, etc. Now, there is nothing wrong with a concept, or even a "design" for an aquascape- I think that's really important. However, where I think it's critical to our success is the point where we lay out a basic idea, bringing our sense of design to it- and then let nature "fill it in" a bit.

You select the materials you like, arrange them in an attractive "hardscape" that you like, and then accept that nature will "modify" them as she sees fit. By NOT allowing ourselves the "luxury" of freaking out every time a leaf is out of place, or a spot of algae appears on a piece of wood, we are learning to work WITH nature, rather than push against her.

When you look at those amazing pictures of the natural habitats we love so much, you're literally bombarded with the "imperfection" and randomness that is nature. Yet, in all of the "clutter" of an igapo flooded forest, for example, there is a quiet elegance to it. There is a sense that everything is there for a reason- and not simply because it looks good. It IS perfect. Can't we bring this sense to our aquariums? I think we can...simply by meeting nature halfway.

I was thinking about this the other day while reminiscing about my favorite home blackwater aquarium from a couple of years back. There was just "something" about that tank...Ever had an aquarium like that? I couldn't exactly put my finger on what I loved she much about it...Everything just sort of came together beautifully and naturally.

Specifically, I was recalling the accumulation of biofilm and gasp- algae!- that would appear on parts of the mangrove branches which formed the foundation of my 'scape. The "patina" the water had...And rather than be repulsed and have this urge to reach for the algae scraper or siphon hose, I consistently found the look to be utterly tranquil, natural-looking, and beautiful in that random way which only nature can create.

I look back incredibly fondly on that tank!

What's more, seeing fishes like Nanostomus eques and Dicrossus filamentosus picking contentedly at the biocover between feedings made me realize that what bothers many of us aquarists is of no consequence whatsoever to our fishes. Rather, they accept it as a part of their world which has been with them from day one. They utilize it as a feeding ground. A place that they are naturally drawn to, engaging in ingrained behaviors that are a result of eons of evolution.

And I thought to myself, "How strange is it that we spend some much concern, time, money, and effort trying to eradicate some of the very things which our fishes have embraced for eternity?" And further, I couldn't help but consider what audacity we have as humans to feel the need to "edit" nature to fit our own aesthetic "sensibilities!"

Now, I realize that there are many who will take issue with my thinking. Many who would suggest that I am the one who's being dogmatic, and that it's open for us to enjoy our aquariums how we choose. And of course, I'm 100% in agreement with that! Never said it isn't. Do YOU. You no doubt envision "beautiful" I na different way than I do...and that's okay.

However, what I find interesting is that, in many decades of aquarium keeping, we have been "counseled"- even chastised- by our community to keep aquariums free from visible algae, to remove any and all detritus, and to arrange and manicure plants in such a way as to embrace specific "design principles"- all the while spurning the very processes- and the aesthetics- of what nature actually does underwater.

It's just sort of a "dichotomy of inconsistency", IMHO.

Not necessarily "bad"- or "good"- just...interesting.

Like, it seems to me that we've worked so hard to create some idealized, "clean" version of nature, that we've ended up in some cases creating the incorrect impression to many that nature is this perfectly ordered "fantasy world" that we've concocted. I think we need to be a bit more careful in how we present our work to the non-hobbyist crowd.

Again, it's my skewed opinion, but I think it's a valid point.

To me, the art of aquascaping is not only creating the wonderful designs which so many hobbyists do- it's also the ability to convey the wonder of how nature really is. Granted, in the end, we're trying to recreate our own, scaled-down version of The Amazon in a glass box- but the idea of re-creating- both aesthetically, and perhaps functionally- a "slice of the bottom", as they say- is incredibly alluring.

And never possible to do it more realistically than it is today.

Sure, we can't get every functional detail down- every component of a food web- every biochemical interaction...the specific materials found in a typical habitat- we interpret- but we can certainly go further, and continue to look at nature as it is, and employ a sense of "acceptance"- and randomness-in our work.