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I feel the need to chime in here. When I first got into this hobby I wanted to learn as much as I could and like many others used TH-cam to do that and what I discovered was shocking. The majority went on about the dangers of Nitrates, the importance of weekly water changes of 30 -50%, the importance of vacuuming your substrate, the importance of fertilizers for your plants and so on. Then I stumbled across father fish and he was saying the exact opposite of what almost everyone else is saying. So instead of dismissing what father fish was saying I did a deep dive into what he was saying and started to find that what he is saying is kinda making sense to me so I really started to dive deep, so much so that I adopted father fishes way of doing things. What I found out was that Father Fish was absolutely right, all the problems I was having started to fade away and my tank and the life in it started to thrive. When people see my tank their first reaction is wow what an awesome looking tank. I stopped doing water changes, I stopped worrying about Nitrates (you don't want to get me going about the whole Nitrate fiasco) and I stopped cleaning my tank. The tank is pristine, Nitrates are not harming my fish, the water is not going bad because I stopped changing water and you would think I spend a lot of time cleaning the tank because it's so clean looking when I don't clean it at all. I struggled with the advice of many others, it wasn't until I adopted Father Fish's way of thinking that my tank started to thrive. Now I get to enjoy the beauty of my tank instead of fighting the tank. Giving Father fish the benefit of the doubt was the best thing I ever did in this hobby, not only that father fish backs what he says up with expert researchers who have also been right and know what they are talking about. If your new to this hobby do yourself a huge favor and be open minded, it would serve you well to listen to what this man has to say. Best part is it won't cost you a dime you just have to spend the time to listen and learn. Father Fish has taught me to enjoy my hobby and to let go of some of the fears I had. I owe my success and a huge Thank You to Father Fish. If you come across someone who says father fish doesn't know what he is talking about then that's the person you should not take any advice from because they don't know what they are talking about. Cheers!
True but I have hard water and after getting away from frequent changes I found out my snails were dieing. No calcium left in the tank. I keep rainbows and religiously changed my water for years without incident. Then the city water changed and all he'll broke lose. Got a carbon filter system and the problems went away. If I go too long fish start having problems.
The dude has a 20+ year old tank, a tank whose inhabitants never have to be fed by him and the water inside gets 10% water change once a year....i think he knows how to make a healthy tank. Bravo sir!
His type of tank is not for me. Dark cloudy water too many plants. I dont get what the big deal about doing a water change is, but I dont like the old water heavy tannin look. So im happy to take 10 minutes every couple weeks to change water.
Watched literally thousands of channels for thousands of hours about the hobby, and Father Fish has gave me literally EVERYTHING that I need to be successful in 3 VIDEOS! Just wow!
Hi Father Fish! I wanted to tell you a story. I am 26. 9 years ago when I met my girlfriend I already was in love with aquariums. So I shared it with her and placed an aquarium in her room at her parents house 😂 big layer of sand, bunch of plants and a good amount of fish too. But since then we were always at my house. So she was not home most of the time. My own aquariums at my house always had issues. Crazy algae all over the place, plants didn’t grow, cyanobacteria etc. Tried everything and bought everything the sellers offered me. Did waterchanges. But it never really worked out as it should have. But the tank of my girlfriend at her parents home, that tank was crazy. The plants were growing very well, the water was clear, no algae to see, the fish were happy and even spawned. But no one ever touched that tank. Only feed sometimes. We never knew how?? But now you’ve learned me why. Back at that time I wondered if it was because of not touching it. But apparently all those brainwashed people who told me to use this and that chemical, or to do waterchanges more often or use gravel instead of sand cause sand will get rotten over time, they didn’t know anything. Thanks you father fish. You are like a grandpa to me I never had. And also the dad I never had to share this hobby with ❤
I was very pro-plastic and pro-glow tank for a long time, and it costed me a lot of failure and innocent fish lives. I grew frustrated as I didnt know why my fish kept dying, and I came across Father Fish. I'm glad I did. I have been tuning into FF videos over the past month, and his advice has fixed my fish tank. My water was unhealthy, polluted, and was a death trap for fish - unbenounced to me. Since tearing down my tank, replacing the gravel with sand, and fake pink plastic plants with real breathing plants, I have fixed all the errors I was making, and finally have a healthy suitable home for my fish. My PH is finally stable. My KH is finally buffering out water acidity, my nitrate levels are finally in check, and most importantly, my new fish are fucking thriving in this natural, beautiful tank. Thank you for the help, FF.
I’ve been thinking about getting a fish tank again after 20 years of not having them, but I remembered how much work it was to do water changes, and how hard it was to keep the water clean, and all the tests for all the different levels of whatever, and I really wanted plants, but I remembered needing a CO2 injection system… So I decided to come on TH-cam and see what developments there have been in the hobby. Well thank you, Algorithm, for suggesting Father Fish right away!! I was so worried I wouldn’t be able to have anything because of the start-up and maintenance costs (I work a minimum wage job) but I see now it will probably be possible for me. And instead of being a ton of time and effort, it sounds like it will be easy! I never would’ve thought my dream of a planted tank would be so simple. Thank you, Father Fish!
I feel sick that I have been deceived for so many years. How many more precious years could I have gotten out of my fish family had I adhered to these teachings. The lesson is MUCH MUCH appreciated Sensei.
As a disabled person who can only maintain this hobby by having low maintenance aquariums, I am so grateful to have invested so much of my own time into researching complex micro-organisms and the multi-facetted ecosystems that make up a healthy, primarily self-sufficient aquarium. It's always nice to hear you speak so passionately on this subject, as it bolsters my belief in myself to enjoy this hobby and succeed. Thank you for sharing your experience and insight and adding to the resources available for those who benefit from such knowledge.
I spent so much money being a silly dumb girl in the beginning listening to those and followimg them, went back to stores and they sold me more useless trash and giving me wrong advise on purpose, years later. I have thrown away all those useless trash and go inside the stores, buy my essentials of hardscape and soil and sand and plants and bye bye! My few tanks do great and I never lost any fish or shrimps by letting them do what they do
@@juli8vdberg562Amazing!! it's brilliant that you realised, took me a while too! It's so nice to know that our fish and shrimp are happy and letting nature do it's thing..
@@DashDrones exactly so… I now teach my students and friends as patients - people with trauma - to set up aquascapes and Iwagumi and in doing so which is way more therapeutic than anyone could ever imagine - that the entire basic of it means to go low key; low tech low cost low light low animals - a good nutrition powerhouse of a substrate and easiest plants, rocks and wood - small water changes and an all-in liquid fertiliser and low light plants and no trouble throwing in fish and shrimp or snails; all these sissy sassy boy videos on how to set up an Iwagumi or whatever is a bunch of commercial nonsense .. serves them well but not us!
@@juli8vdberg562well done and well said! They think their way serves them well but it clearly doesn't. Animal happiness and wellbeing is key along with our peace and happiness too. It's common sense but most are blinded by commercialism..
@@DashDrones this is why I no longer follow many of these, like certain Brits and Americans; but luckily the EU regulations writes that if they breach codes of conduct online like promoting or being sponsored by any store or brand or whatever and no longer mentioned on their content as we watch that they are breaching law since July last year and must be reported, so in France or Netherlands or Germany they have been toning it down since and are less crazy selling profiles and also breeding fish or anything without any licenses and selling online without paying taxes, is punishable
We live in a society based around making money. Setting up a natural tank doesn’t cost much money. Leaves, rocks, wood and dirt are free if you get them from a stream or pond. That’s what I did. My tanks have come alive! I used to do weekly water changes and fight with my tank almost every day. Now I just sit back to watch the life explode in my tanks. I love the hobby more than I ever have thanks to Father Fish. Please keep delivering your wonderful videos on Discord and TH-cam and we will keep on listening and learning. Thank you FF.
The very least I could do is thank you for all you do. It’s been 2 1/2 years now since I set up my 75 gallon using your method and it is truly balanced and teeming with life. While the computer has given us access to vast amounts of information unfortunately it has made it easier to be disrespectful to anyone whose opinion differs. Your response to the negativity and bullying was handled in the way you always take. Head on,factual,and respectful. So lucky to count you as a true mentor.
Wow. My eyes have been opened. This approach makes TOTAL sense and all of a sudden the aisle after aisle in the big box pet stores seem like just another scam. Which they are. Creating problems then selling the so called solutions to the problems the original chemicals caused. Thank you for sharing this wisdom and approach with the world. Be well everyone ☺️🍃
I work as a cashier at one of those big box pet stores, and I’ve started recommending Father Fish’s channel to the customers buying fish. 😬 Might not be good for business, but it’ll make the customers happier!
I had a few tanks but gave up the hobby over twenty years ago. About six months ago, I was going to create a new tank so read a book which made everything so complex, I decided it was too much work. A few weeks ago, I found this channel and cannot wait to set up an eco system aquarium. Thank you Father Fish for passing on your knowledge and igniting my interest in this wonderful hobby 😀
You will find that once you get it going that it will be a lot less work than you think. Yes it was little bit of work in the beginning but now I do very little. I add top up once a day and change a small piece of filter pad. Oh and I feed every other day, that's it. I just enjoy the tank and keep an eye on things. Good luck and welcome back to the hobby!
Good luck! It will not be easy, there is no magic, it will anyway go through all the cycles aquarium must go through. You will have to solve problems and learn a lot, that's is what this hobby is for... if you think you can do it without learning, it's wrong. As every individual Eco-system, each aquarium is different, only common rules are the same. One plant can thrive other can die, algae booms will happen for sure. It is not just put some soil, sand over top, plants and tree leafs and all will go fine. You must understand the processes that are happening in your aquarium, and learning and trying to understand this is best part of the hobby. It is learning nature... And most importantly patience... in natural aquarium all things go slowly.
Just stumbled onto The Good Father's channel... and my head is spinning! After nearly 20 years of struggling to keep tanks clean, nitrate-free, crystal clear, and free of algae using as many of the techniques and equipment from the modern Aquarium Industrial Complex that I could afford, I gave up. I couldn't keep a tank healthy for more than six or eight months. And I "knew what I was doing." Thanks Father Fish! I cannot wait to try again!
I started my first small tank following your instructions. It’s only a 5 gallon tank and it is 💯 doing wonderfully! Thank you so much! Happy fish, happy water, happy plants! 🌱 🐠
I set up my first aquarium 1 year ago and followed this guys advice. Haven't changed any water , never checked PH , never added any chemicals , just added lost water from evaporation and cleaned filters and fed the fish twice a week - PERFECT , thanks Father Fish
This is absolutely refreshing to hear. I've been keeping fish for 32 years in tanks and ponds. Koi, goldfish, tropicals and natives. Any time I've gone against the grain on water changes I get berated. The hobby and industry makes money by selling people chemical and filtration fixes. By telling people to change so much water that their tanks/ponds are in a constant state of turmoil. I refer to these types of tanks as "sterile systems." They never allow a true self sustaining eco system to establish.
i got into the hobby 11 years ago when i was 14 and being young i absorbed so much knowledge from youtube that the typical aquatic creator would preach. the info i was receiving as to keeping an aquarium never seemed to work for me. everything i did yielded different results than what i was watching on youtube. i took a 5 year break from the hobby due to being stationed overseas and recently got back into it 2 years ago. i went back to my old ways of fish keeping and i wasn’t having success like i wanted, so i abandoned the “Fish keeping Purist mindset” and started keeping fish differently and i have been very successful since. I have basically let my tanks just exist(i do have to babysit my Tanganyikan tank more than the others since its newer) and i haven’t had any issues. I’m really glad i found your content as it’s definitely showed me that i’m not wrong, i was just getting bad info and that my more natural approach is actually better for the animals. People often forget that aquariums are their own complete ecosystems and don’t always need our intervention to survive. Love the content it’s not all about how much money is being spent on a build, setup or a super rare fish, It’s about the hobby and I’m learning more every video. Thanks!
My grandfather passed on two years ago and I still miss him terribly; he was the only grandfather I know since my other grandfather passed way before my parents even met. Just hearing you sign off with "love you all, bye" hit me surprisingly hard. Thank you, FF.
I have been unsuccessful two times, losing all my fish while trying to maintain a sterile environment for the fish. I felt bad with cloudy water, so the next thing I did was change the water. I only replaced 30% of it, but within the next two days, all the fish were dead. I've just subscribed and will try to follow this; it makes much more sense.
You should have done a 100% water change. Whatever was in that water was still in there when you only did a 30% water change. What you should have done was clean out the whole ttank and start fresh to make sure the tank does not get cloudy again. And if you don't have any established water from another tank to use, I'd suggest getting those quick start bottles and use it once to cycle the tank and start it up again.
This man has changed my life and my aquarium for the better, and forever. He speaks common sense and truth. The aquarist industry is vested in you buying and re-buying chemicals and additives while selling the false premise on what's a healthy aquarium. Yes, this info is for fresh water tanks. But this method works wonders. All I have to do is top off my tank every 10-12 days. I use 5 gallon buckets of tap with a capful of Prime to take out the chlorine/chlorine. My plants are healthier. My fish, more energetic, and the tank just looks better. Thank you Father Fish
Wow! I had aquariums in my teens. Then in my 20's I got a 55 gallon. Always did plastic plants, water changes etc. I swore I would never never get an aquarium again. Now I am about to retire and am contemplating getting back into it. After watching numerous videos of aquarium care, I had decided I didn't want the hassle to keep a tank, even if I have time. After watching this video, I am once again thinking I will give it a try this way. It all makes so much sense.
I discovered your method by accident. I have been keeping fish my whole life. my tanks would last 1 year then everything would die. One day I was hiking in the jungle (I live in Hawaii). I noticed that the river soil looked like ada soil. The pools here are full of prawns and fish all year around. My brother decided to go get some soil and take it home. We set up a tank and then abandoned it. I maintained my tanks like crazy but the algae never stopped. But then it hit me his tank was amazing. He never changed the water never only topped it off. From that point on I've never had a tank crash. My tank only has a small pump feeding a waterfall.
I have a 23gal tank, fully planted and botanical tank it’s a self sustaining ecosystem. I haven’t done a water change in months but the tank is so clean and healthy and my fish are thriving. Just goes to show what happens when you let Mother Nature take her course.
What do you do when you need to add water? Also, do you have a filter? I just started watching FF and I really like this way of going about a fish tank. I am about to get a 55 gallon tank and will be mimicking FF's way of having a self sustaining tank. I don't know if to get a filter.
Father Fish is the reason why my tanks are a success. I have been in this channel since it started. I am so proud to see how much this channel has grown. From 100 member to 54K!!! Amazing!!!
I AM BLOWN AWAY! And very excited to use this method! It makes complete sense. As someone who has spent a lot of time outdoors, I have seen crystal clear pools, vernal pools, tiny puddles of water in a tree trunks, THRIVING with life! I even came across a vernal pool with little brown freshwater clams in it! It was in spring & it was in a tire track (power line maintenance) in the mud on a mountain! While exploring an abandoned, dilapidated house I found a trash can filled with water.( and some trash, lot's of leaf litter) it had a beautiful green moss that grew under & outside of the water. (I actually took some home & added it to my paludarium tank, where it is thriving) That trash barrel was teeming with life! Little crustaceans, etc. I plan on following Father Fish's advice. No more partial water changes? Healthy thriving fish & plants? I'm in!
@@FatherFish going to the local river today today to gather some MUD, sand & leaves to transform a 6 gallon betta tank. I am moving soon & will set up ALL my tanks with your recommendations. Very excited about this. THANK YOU!!
I've seen a lot of people bagging out your videos because they take one piece of information out of context. No waterchanges only works when you have a balanced ecosystem so they would be right in complaining that you have to do them if they don't have enough plants and feed their fish heavily and often but they don't take all of the information that you share on-board with a holistic approach. In summation, after watching your videos and listening to the information, it just makes sense what you are saying. I fully support your vision and mission to inform people and improve the hobby and fishkeeping experience, and I thank you for that. Keep doing what you're doing and remember, the truth is often surrounded by much controversy.
As a person with a plastic tank and plastic plants this makes total sense...I will take this to heart...i have 1 fish...and it is a nightmare at this point...I'm Glas I found your channel...I provide quality information on Appliance repair...and this is quality information on keeping fish..I love the channel thank you for your service
I am sooo glad someone is saying this. If you have set your tank up correctly, it becomes it's own ecosystem. In 5 years I've never changed my water. People are doing these 70% water changes all at one time, then they wonder why their tank has crashed.
I've been following father fish for over a year, everything he sais is true, recreating nature in a glass box is the answer never had an issue with my tank since adopting his methods
I get slapped by other retailers and product manufacturers just for advocating a natural methodology for setting up and maintaining aquariums. There are no arguments against facts. big hug my friend
I wasted so much money & energy on buying those unnecessary chemicals in the name of fertilisers and water changes last few years! Now i understood no money and hardwork needed to maintain a beautiful natural tank! Thank you Father Fish! 🙏
I had the same issue years ago. I spent a lot of time reading and trying things out. Spent a fortune on test equipment and half my life on water quality and nutrients etc. The freshwater side of the community was so toxic every forum I went to had nothing but problems. So I left and got my own podcast. Never looked back. Was the best thing I ever did. You must have control of your own channel to prevent censorship by the idealists. That was years ago now. I don't keep fish anymore. In the end, I came to the same conclusion you seem to have. Nutrients are not the enemy. They are part of the ecosystem and keeping plants will take care of it :D
I found your channel through watching Alexander Williamson's channel The Secret History Living In Your Aquarium and I'm so glad I did. Had a heart transplant and was told I couldn't keep fish because I could catch something like tuberculosis from doing water changes. I'm getting back in the game now! I'd heard a little about this but never tried it. After watching jar ecosystems, LRB, Alex's channel and now your's I'm convinced I can do this. Thank you! I'm so much happier with fish in my house! I appreciate the work you do!
I'm 60 years old and have been keeping fish pretty much my entire life. Found the Walstead method about 10 years ago and between that and Father Fish I have fallen in love with fish keeping all over again after tiring of doing constant water changes as I thought I had to do.
@@FatherFish Exactly, the secret to life is learning to relax. There is nothing more relaxing that sitting watching my tanks so why let them stress me out to begin with? Fish keeping doesn't have to be stressful and in fact should not be stressful.
I love your way of fish keeping because I love nature ❤. I have five tanks. My oldest son came home for a visit and was shining the flashlight on his phone at the bottom of my biggest tank. "Mom you have worms in there!!!", he said. I said, "Do I look at your garden and tell you you have worms?".... 😊😂😂
LOL! The first time I found them in my fish pond outside, I thought " yuck !" Then I remembered "Oh yea nature's way of feeding them." ps. I was standing in the pond at the time, cleaning the filter set in a bucket.
I love the tank hobby, but got burned out only two years after starting out. I bought all this expensive equipment, did water changes every two weeks, kept all the chemicals in check with testing the water every two days, fed my fishes only living food and not too much and still I couldn't maintain a healthy biosphere. My plants just won't stop withering away, so what was left were naked roots, rocks, one sad anubias nana and the fishes (and a lot os snails). In the end I gave up and gave all the equipment away. You, sir, just motivated me to try again with a much more natural approach. Probably without fish, but hopefully with a lush green landscape to enjoy looking at. Thank you very much for sharing your knowledge here
Someone left there 2.5 plastic bow tank in an apartment with nice substrate, an air pump much too large, filter and said they no longer needed this tank because the goldfish died. I had a cry for that goldfish because it’s owner was too ignorant to take the time to do ANY kind of research. Another pet peeve is Pet Smart selling tanks and fish together before the tank is cycled. Happened to me because I also was ignorant. I’ve been in the hobby for 2 years and I’m still learning. I’ve also decided I hate the plastic and now am adding plants. Your tanks are beautiful. I will watch more. Thank you 😊
After 50 years of being obsessed with this hobby, I'm loving being a new fan of your channel, sir! That's always so much to still learn, and I enjoy smiling at listening to fellow old-timers bring back things we were mostly all doing back in the 1970's, and the wisdom of the day was about stability and balance.
You Go!!!!!!!! Preach that truth!!!!! Love the message. You never stop learning, at 72 yrs old and never had an aquarium I was given the responsibility of keeping my 5-year-old granddaughter's 25-cent feeder fish alive she won at a school fair. Well, 4 years later and 3 tank size upgrades our beloved Cupcake is going in a Father Fish dirted tank. Cupcake is 9 inches long now and here's hoping her many more years to come.
I don't understand all the hype from other channels all of a sudden, your information has always been clear about how exactly to create a natural setup without water changes. Thank you for all you wealth of knowledge and wisdom as to how to connect with your aquarium and all the life it contains!
Thank you Sr., for spending the time to teach this new generation the simple ways of the aquarium world! This new generation has been scammed with so much plastic aquarium things sold!!!! To represent nature is the key!! REPRESENT NATURE is what we need to do. We sure can't REPRODUCE, but to try to represent is to get the NATURAL EQUILIBRIUM for the natural system to work. Biodiversity in the system will complete a cycle much needed for the body of water. The best aquariums in this world are the ones left alone after that balance is reached! MORE BIOLOGY AND LESS TECHNOLOGY!!! Nitrates and phosphates are "food"! Listen to this old man. Much respect for this channel. Thanks for sharing, Sr.!!!! 🙏
I’ve learned so much from you in the pass 2 days. I gave up keeping fish years ago because of all the money it cost and labor. Water changes, ph chemicals and all kinds of other crap. I’ve always wanted to go natural and everything you’ve said has been 100 accurate and makes complete sense. I definitely use to over feed and over chemical.
I'm so happy that I found Father fish. My tank has never been healthier, my fish has never been happier and it kept me in the hobby and now I'm not constantly changing water and spending hours on hours taking care of my tank. Now I spend my time watching my tank thanks again and keep up the great work!
I was loosing fish pretty regularly and was about to get out of the hobby. I was dumping chemicals all the time trying to get the tank to live with zero effect. Then I came accross Father fish, I went to a river, dug up mud ftom the bottom, then found a sand bar along that river and gathered sand. I didn't wash the sand, never took the bits of debris out of the sand, and placed the mud 3" deep in aquarium and topped with 2" sand. Once the sand settled down in about 4 days, I put in my fish and plants, and incredibly I could tell how much happier my fish were. I have tossed out those expensive chemicals and use a air driven sponge filter. My fish are having babies, my tank is crystal clear, the water does not smell like fish, in fact its pretty much scent free. Im so happy I found Father Fish, YOU MUST DO THIS FOLKS! It actually works, no chemicals needed EVER! Thank You Father Fish, you made this hobby soo much more enjoyable.......Cheers
I recently upgraded my tank. Did everything like I initially learned it and afterwards started to research, if i did it right (ya know - the adhd way). I saw so many videos and got so scared, because apparently everything i did was wrong. Until I saw Ff again and he reminded me, that i am doing everything right. Dirt, Sand, Water, Light, Fish, Plants and that's all you need. Feeding once a week, no water changes, heavily planted, low tech, ecosystem. Reminded me why I got into the hobby in the first time. Father Fish, you're making this so easy and calm. I could listen to your advice all the time and appreciate your videos so much! Thank you.
Love this guy! Ever since i started watching his videos I stop doing water changes, added more live plants and its been 8 months since I did a water change in my 75gal and 35gal tanks...I just top the tanks off evry now and then...
May I ask if you had to start over from the base of the tank, adding in potting soil and decomposing leaves? I want to understand if it's an already established tank without dirt, but with aqua soil etc. (no gravel) what is the way to go?
These other TH-camrs get popular by jumping on whatever topic has gotten views recently on TH-cam just ignore them father fish and keep on creating these great videos . Cheers
Veterinarian here. I’m new to this hobby, but I’m absolutely fascinated by this channel. It makes so much sense. As a veterinarian I see on a daily basis what it means to health of our pets when the environment is out of balance.
Nature is the right way and you are a naturalist preaching the word to all in how to keep an aquatic living being alive. I hate commercialism and plastic decorations( seasonal and all year around) !!! I can't stand plastic plants who , unlike real plants , will never bloom ,clean our air , and grow . I think some people are falling for a commercialized industry and not using their brain to decipher if this ( buying dead gravel and plastic plants and painted ceramic stuff which may be toxic ) is what ....if they were a fish ..... would like. NO ! You are an important messenger for life.
I just wanted to leave my 2 cents here as well. My 20gal with plants was doing rather well & I did my 20% or so water change like I have had drilled into me to do to keep my water from going south so-to-speak. I lost a few of my fish and my plants are now withering as well as having algae run amok. Which is fine, I have shrimp. I decided to really start watching and listening to your videos & I have come to the conclusion that you have covered in this video & have decided to let nature do it's thing! As for your way of keeping fish? I am on board & am thankful to have found your channel. I was skeptical at first (which was about 3 weeks ago?) ... anyway, off to get some dead leaves from my oak in the backyard. Be blessed and ty!
keeping fish should be a relaxing stress relieving hobby. Many have made it quite the opposite. Have a Betta 10gal heavily planted. No filter, and I've never had a healthier Betta fish before. I've always stressed on my paramaters. It's relieving when you realize nature knows what the hell to do.
Im liking this dude, He is old school like my mom was. She never did water changes with her 55 gal or her koi pond outside. She used plants and snails. Shit looked amazing.
Hello Father Fish, My mother always preached to me basically the same principles of aquarium care you do. 3 years ago bought a 10 gallon tank, water heater, air pump style filter and some bags of sand. Took a trip to the everglades that is near to me. Scooped up some mud, dead leaves and 10 gallons of water. Set up the tank, 24 hours later I bought a bunch of live plants. one week later after poking the sand with a stick I added shrimps, rainbow tetras, and some guppies. I have a tank full of life that's never had one single water change. All I do is add one gallon of water of target brand drinking water a month and give away baby fish and shrimp so they wont over run my tank. Also I have only fed my fish maybe a handful of times in 3 years. Fully self sustained aquarium Thank you father fish, Alex
This channel has been refreshing and vindicating; I used to do frequent water changes and always struggled maintaining a tank. Through happy accidents that are entirely too long to type out, I have several different substrate layers, the ones at the bottom being pitch black. I have as many live plants as possible, nothing plastic in the tank, and I fortunately live in an area where the water isn't soft. My fish have been alive and well for 8 years, and I never do water changes. They're nearing the end of their lifespan, so I've cultivated their eggs (they breed regularly) and have 10 healthy fry growing rapidly. I don't use charcoal filters, only mechanical and biological, and really more for surface agitation than anything. My plants are huge, my fish are healthy, and snails galore - its wonderful watching it taking care of itself. The only chemical I use is seachem prime to dechlorinate - I add a bit to a gallon jug, and then fill it up, let it sit for a few minutes and then top off my tank. I was worried about not changing the water 2-3 years ago, and then surprised how month after month, I saw no signs of distress or a failing tank. It was a little anxiety inducing in the beginning to watch my tank flourish in an environment that, according to almost everything I've read, shouldn't be possible. I do water testing and I have zero nitrites, zero amonia, and just a bunch of nitrates (100-150ppm). The only thing I ever adjust is if I start to develop hair algae, but that's been corrected by changing the the blue/red spectrum of light on my aquarium light and reducing my feeding a little - after a week or two it goes away. This comment has gone on too long and I'm sure my thoughts seem disjointed (this was going to be a one or two sentence comment), but I just wanted to thank you for your videos - its given me confidence and reassurance with how my tank is maintained.
Your the only reason I haven’t thrown in the towel. When it comes to my new hobby. Keeping up with the water changes and the all the different and expensive things, I’m told I need to buy. I watched your video stating to cap off the gravel and add plants. Just did that last week. I love the idea of a natural tank. The old way takes the fun out of the whole experience. Which at one time brought so much happiness and excitement. Slowly but surely I’m changing my tank over… I’m still testing the water to keeping an eye on everything as it slowly transitions.
I love hearing you preach not changing your water all the time and not siphoning the gravel once a month stuff. I have always maintained my planted tanks for years on end without doing massive water changes weekly or monthly and never siphoning the substrate. I only add new water when the tank evaporates too much. And my tanks have thrived. The Plants grow and spread my fish get fat are healthy snd start making babies. My friends always ask me how much time I must spend taking care of my tanks. Lol. The only time I spend is cutting back over grown plants or planting growth in a difficult section. I still use a filter but I also don’t change the media once a month. Depending on how much silt has been stirred up my filters can last 6 months or more before I start changing them out.
I'm stumped here, I've never spoken anything but high praise about you and in my video I stated you're absolutely correct. Maybe you're not talking about me here, I don't know.
I think he referred to the Kaveman clown that called Father Fish lazy and allowed mockery and disrespect in his comments. You said it right imo. Maybe it's best to just distance your name from the whole issue?
I referred to you as reasonable and thoughtful. What triggered you to be so distraught? The beginning of your vid sounded like you were going to blast me. You did not. You said that was intended as humor. Sorry, I do not know you well enough to understand your sense of humor.
I love this way of fish keeping. Haven't done a water change in months since first watching Father Fish, just top off the tank every once in a while. My fish have never looked happier. And they seem to live longer too
I've been keeping fish tropical and marine and I've never seen anybody do a video that talks and explains it in easy to understand and so much sense I love this guy well done Father Fish thank you
I’ve been in this for awhile and I’ve had failures and total Wipeouts and then I learned about your videos I tried your techniques and I’ve been thriving ever since
Father Fish, your words resonate deeply with me. First time here & I subscribed! I also set up a natural 170 gallon koi pond a few months ago. I based its’ setup ALL on nature & guess what…? 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite, & 3-5 ppm of nitrate. I have dirt, river rock, leaves, lily’s, hornwort, purple cabomba, water lettuce, & water hyacinth! I have a spillway for oxygen exchange & my water is crystal clear. Fish are healthy & happy… Chemicals are not the way to go! Mimic nature!!! Mimic Father Fish. Stay strong. ❤ Don’t pay any mind to the haters or trolls, no matter how big! They’re probably working in tandem with the chemical companies. 🧐
This is the second father fish video that I watched today. I am getting into this hobby, and I actually got a 5gal tank to begin my journey. I watched countless videos on youtube, and every other video was basically suggesting the same things which to buy a bunch of chemicals, filters, filter media, etc. to make a tank stable for fish. What Father Fish has told, it made 100% sense to me. The power of nature is far greater than anything that humans can create to mimick nature. Im so glad to relearn nature through father fish. Thank You.
Thanks man I have been telling this to alot of people but they see me as a young kid who dosent know anything. I love fishes I have been in this hobby for 8 years. I started when I was 10.my father taught me everything before he died
I have completely switched to the father fish way of fishkeeping. I mean at least im trying lol. I have never been happier and my tank has never looked better. It has re invigorated my love for this hobby and i cant thank the man enough. I have learned so much and everyday i feel like i learn a little bit more. Thank you again
I started this hobby, and by simple common sense, I applied Father Fish's advice. Now that I look at it, I find no flaws in his logic, and it makes a lot of sense. I just started watching this channel and realized that there are these two perspectives on how aquariums should be, and there is definitely a balance between the two, but that balance involves more natural processes than technological ones. Excellent channel. Between Father Fish and SerpaDesign, you have all the knowledge needed for the art and care of aquariums and vivariums. Greetings and good vibes from CDMX
“My word!”, I love this man! When I first got into the hobby, I went artificial which lasted all of a couple days. As Father Fish said, common sense. I rushed into it but quickly realized my mistakes & did what I should have done from day 1, researched. A year later, all my original fish survived & I now have 4 aquariums running (1 gallon low tech with hitchhiker snails, 29 Betta community, 55 community & 75 goldfish/dojo loach), all of which are natural & healthy with very little maintenance. Well more with the goldfish because they eat EVERYTHING I put in there including everything they’re supposedly not fond of but point being, we need more people spreading this message. “This is the way”. Keep it up OG, triple OG!
I started keeping fish in the late 70s when I was a kid. It is funny all the advice I got from the fish stores. Some people said you have to do partial water changes (back then it was more like of 10% of the water each week or daily partial water changes for Discus). An old Scottish shop owner told me never change any of the water. He said. "the older the water; the better". In any case, it is funny to see how things go full circle.
Thank You Father Fish. My eyes have been opened, I see the light. A good diet and sand base , lots of plants, and some good lake water, oh , and no more water changes. 🙂
Everything revolves around nature!!! It's true and that is the miracle that so many people spend their whole lives looking for in so many things and religions, when in reality it has always been before our eyes. Sando Os Lecture on Resilience. 👏🏼 Greetings from Mexico The Father Fish
I’m sooo grateful for coming across this gentleman’s TH-cam channel. He’s definitely brought me into the light! They way he’s explaining how to set up an mini ecosystem in a fish tank makes soo much sense! Thank you Father Fish!
I have learned that the palaudarium Style, low stocked and a ton of terrestrial plants that like to grow wet roots is the most stable enviroment that you can create. But its very important to always top up with reverse osmosis water!! Like nature does with the rain. I had 3 years with no water change and my fish are spwaning in the 5th generation now!
I believe this 100% I noticed that anytime I lost a fish it was after a water change. I could see them stress after in my planted tanks. So one tank a neglected for a few months, no water changes and no problems. Now on my second tank I'm slowly doing the same thing and the fish are doing great. I don't even have the dirt or dead leaves just heavily planted so I don't know why it's working but it is!
This is the best channel by far on how to have a successful aquarium! I have Lake Seminole in my back yard here in South Georgia and, I go down to the shore and get plants, snails, water, the dreded algae, (lol), dead wet leaves, branches, drift wood and plop all of that stuff right into the tank. And by far this is the most successful beautiful tank that I have. I have 2- 55 gallons, one with African Cichlids and the other the community fish and that is the one I have Lake Seminole in, lol. The community fish love it when I drop in sand and the little critters, they are on a hunting spree and are so happy. Thank you Father Fish for all of your wisdom! I'd be lost without you, listening to all of those other guys. 😊 Much ❤❤❤ from the South.. ❤
I always shied away from the frequent water changes, hoping to have a reasonable eco-system in the tank. However with the tank inevitably becoming over populated the balance was gone, and nitrate levels do climb eventually. Our outdoor pond has very low levels so I would take some tank water out and replace it with pond water, often putting the tank water in the pond. Of course aquarist shops don't agree with this practice and would rather sell me a random selection of chemicals. With plenty of plants growing I think our tank has some stability from nature, better to work with it than against it. Thank you for the videos.
This is awesome! I do monthly, not weekly water changes, don't own a test kit, & have seed shrimp that feed my bumblebee gobies! The only hassle is that my municipal water is pretty lousy & I have to pay $1.25/5 gal. at a drinking water filling station. My tap water is so hard, it rivals the crusty mineral buildup of a saltwater tank! I'll top off with it, but try to keep it at a minimum. This is so cool that someone is as hands off as I am!
@@FatherFish I couldn't afford sand, so I opted for "plant gravel" but I think I'm going to carefully start adding some sand on top after a thorough rinsing. My plants have been struggling I think due the hardness & I wish that I would've watched some of your DYI soil/substrate videos beforehand! I may just be stuck with floaters & epiphyte-types like Java ferns/moss, Anubias, & buces (not yet tried). Rooted stems & grasses just seem to disintegrate on me. I've got a challenging size: 40 gal TALL with a 20 × 22" footprint, a strong current & 5-6" plant gravel substrate. I'd like to avoid CO2 & artificial fertilizer. Advice welcomed! 🙏🏼
@@firewoman7722 Collect wild sands from a creek bed ot the sea. Cap with 2". It is amazing how that alone promotes plant growth. Join uws on the Father fish Shoal for more conversation in depth. discord.gg/BjgATHB2
I've only seen the KGTropicals video, but I feel like they were very reasonable, they said they agreed with your methods, just warned people to actually watch the video and understand it rather than just read the title. Can't wait to implement some of your practices in my tank
I stopped changing the water from my tanks for several months now because i was too busy with my university and to my surprise the plants and animals have flourished and look so much more vibrant.
Thank you Father Fish for what you do for the fish community. I'm lucky that I found your channel and thank you for helping us fish keepers on how to setup and how to take care of a natural tank. 👊
@fatherfish i was kept up at night by the motor on my old fishtank so i changed over to a natural planted setup of dirt sealed by lava rocks with no motor and the plants and fish are happy and ive been sleeping better. Its only 6 litres or roughly 2 gallons and every test ive done theres absolutely no dangerous levels of pollutants in the water and its ph never shifts. You're absolutely correct
I just found this channel. I'm starting to finally make my dream come true and creating my own aquarium so I'm doing some research, I'm searching for inspiration so I started to watch some videos. And from this video I learned that apparently there are people arguing who is right on how to keep your aquarium healthy. Are there people really bullying someone, because they are maintaining their aquarium differently? Why do they care so much? If you are not agreeing what Father Fish is saying, just don't take his advice - problem solved! If you do not trust that his advice works, try it yourself. If it won't work for you, just don't do it. But why argue with people when their aquariums are healthy but maintained differently? I think this is not how a hobby community should work. I enjoy your videos and will take at least some of your advice. Thanks!
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I feel the need to chime in here. When I first got into this hobby I wanted to learn as much as I could and like many others used TH-cam to do that and what I discovered was shocking. The majority went on about the dangers of Nitrates, the importance of weekly water changes of 30 -50%, the importance of vacuuming your substrate, the importance of fertilizers for your plants and so on. Then I stumbled across father fish and he was saying the exact opposite of what almost everyone else is saying. So instead of dismissing what father fish was saying I did a deep dive into what he was saying and started to find that what he is saying is kinda making sense to me so I really started to dive deep, so much so that I adopted father fishes way of doing things. What I found out was that Father Fish was absolutely right, all the problems I was having started to fade away and my tank and the life in it started to thrive. When people see my tank their first reaction is wow what an awesome looking tank. I stopped doing water changes, I stopped worrying about Nitrates (you don't want to get me going about the whole Nitrate fiasco) and I stopped cleaning my tank. The tank is pristine, Nitrates are not harming my fish, the water is not going bad because I stopped changing water and you would think I spend a lot of time cleaning the tank because it's so clean looking when I don't clean it at all. I struggled with the advice of many others, it wasn't until I adopted Father Fish's way of thinking that my tank started to thrive. Now I get to enjoy the beauty of my tank instead of fighting the tank. Giving Father fish the benefit of the doubt was the best thing I ever did in this hobby, not only that father fish backs what he says up with expert researchers who have also been right and know what they are talking about. If your new to this hobby do yourself a huge favor and be open minded, it would serve you well to listen to what this man has to say. Best part is it won't cost you a dime you just have to spend the time to listen and learn. Father Fish has taught me to enjoy my hobby and to let go of some of the fears I had. I owe my success and a huge Thank You to Father Fish. If you come across someone who says father fish doesn't know what he is talking about then that's the person you should not take any advice from because they don't know what they are talking about. Cheers!
You go Kosys. Thank you for the beautiful statement.
@@FatherFish
No, Thank You sir, I'm just saying it like it is.
I don't even know where I would be without FF. ❤
@@Gracie-ln4ic
I hear ya, you and me both. He is a wealth of information and a great asset to the hobby, no doubt.
True but I have hard water and after getting away from frequent changes I found out my snails were dieing. No calcium left in the tank. I keep rainbows and religiously changed my water for years without incident. Then the city water changed and all he'll broke lose. Got a carbon filter system and the problems went away. If I go too long fish start having problems.
The dude has a 20+ year old tank, a tank whose inhabitants never have to be fed by him and the water inside gets 10% water change once a year....i think he knows how to make a healthy tank. Bravo sir!
I 100% agree with you Matthew the guy is special
His type of tank is not for me. Dark cloudy water too many plants. I dont get what the big deal about doing a water change is, but I dont like the old water heavy tannin look. So im happy to take 10 minutes every couple weeks to change water.
I love the old timers. In a world full of basically fake everything, they are genuine, honest and truthful. It's refreshing.
It's because they still have REAL experience in this fake world.
Noam Chomsky on fish tanks.
Watched literally thousands of channels for thousands of hours about the hobby, and Father Fish has gave me literally EVERYTHING that I need to be successful in 3 VIDEOS! Just wow!
Impressive!
Hi Father Fish! I wanted to tell you a story. I am 26. 9 years ago when I met my girlfriend I already was in love with aquariums. So I shared it with her and placed an aquarium in her room at her parents house 😂 big layer of sand, bunch of plants and a good amount of fish too. But since then we were always at my house. So she was not home most of the time. My own aquariums at my house always had issues. Crazy algae all over the place, plants didn’t grow, cyanobacteria etc. Tried everything and bought everything the sellers offered me. Did waterchanges. But it never really worked out as it should have. But the tank of my girlfriend at her parents home, that tank was crazy. The plants were growing very well, the water was clear, no algae to see, the fish were happy and even spawned. But no one ever touched that tank. Only feed sometimes. We never knew how?? But now you’ve learned me why. Back at that time I wondered if it was because of not touching it. But apparently all those brainwashed people who told me to use this and that chemical, or to do waterchanges more often or use gravel instead of sand cause sand will get rotten over time, they didn’t know anything. Thanks you father fish. You are like a grandpa to me I never had. And also the dad I never had to share this hobby with ❤
Well said brother!
I was very pro-plastic and pro-glow tank for a long time, and it costed me a lot of failure and innocent fish lives. I grew frustrated as I didnt know why my fish kept dying, and I came across Father Fish.
I'm glad I did.
I have been tuning into FF videos over the past month, and his advice has fixed my fish tank. My water was unhealthy, polluted, and was a death trap for fish - unbenounced to me. Since tearing down my tank, replacing the gravel with sand, and fake pink plastic plants with real breathing plants, I have fixed all the errors I was making, and finally have a healthy suitable home for my fish.
My PH is finally stable. My KH is finally buffering out water acidity, my nitrate levels are finally in check, and most importantly, my new fish are fucking thriving in this natural, beautiful tank.
Thank you for the help, FF.
I hope and pray Father Fish is mentoring someone in order to keep this channel to continue with his teachings. This man is legendary.
I’ve been thinking about getting a fish tank again after 20 years of not having them, but I remembered how much work it was to do water changes, and how hard it was to keep the water clean, and all the tests for all the different levels of whatever, and I really wanted plants, but I remembered needing a CO2 injection system… So I decided to come on TH-cam and see what developments there have been in the hobby. Well thank you, Algorithm, for suggesting Father Fish right away!! I was so worried I wouldn’t be able to have anything because of the start-up and maintenance costs (I work a minimum wage job) but I see now it will probably be possible for me. And instead of being a ton of time and effort, it sounds like it will be easy! I never would’ve thought my dream of a planted tank would be so simple. Thank you, Father Fish!
I feel sick that I have been deceived for so many years. How many more precious years could I have gotten out of my fish family had I adhered to these teachings. The lesson is MUCH MUCH appreciated Sensei.
As a disabled person who can only maintain this hobby by having low maintenance aquariums, I am so grateful to have invested so much of my own time into researching complex micro-organisms and the multi-facetted ecosystems that make up a healthy, primarily self-sufficient aquarium. It's always nice to hear you speak so passionately on this subject, as it bolsters my belief in myself to enjoy this hobby and succeed. Thank you for sharing your experience and insight and adding to the resources available for those who benefit from such knowledge.
"You might as well have plastic fish!" I feel personally attacked. But it was very convincing. Good information
Nature is rejected by these other TH-camrs because they're sponsored by food, medicine and aquarium supply companies. It's hilarious 😂
I spent so much money being a silly dumb girl in the beginning listening to those and followimg them, went back to stores and they sold me more useless trash and giving me wrong advise on purpose, years later. I have thrown away all those useless trash and go inside the stores, buy my essentials of hardscape and soil and sand and plants and bye bye! My few tanks do great and I never lost any fish or shrimps by letting them do what they do
@@juli8vdberg562Amazing!! it's brilliant that you realised, took me a while too! It's so nice to know that our fish and shrimp are happy and letting nature do it's thing..
@@DashDrones exactly so… I now teach my students and friends as patients - people with trauma - to set up aquascapes and Iwagumi and in doing so which is way more therapeutic than anyone could ever imagine - that the entire basic of it means to go low key; low tech low cost low light low animals - a good nutrition powerhouse of a substrate and easiest plants, rocks and wood - small water changes and an all-in liquid fertiliser and low light plants and no trouble throwing in fish and shrimp or snails; all these sissy sassy boy videos on how to set up an Iwagumi or whatever is a bunch of commercial nonsense .. serves them well but not us!
@@juli8vdberg562well done and well said! They think their way serves them well but it clearly doesn't. Animal happiness and wellbeing is key along with our peace and happiness too. It's common sense but most are blinded by commercialism..
@@DashDrones this is why I no longer follow many of these, like certain Brits and Americans; but luckily the EU regulations writes that if they breach codes of conduct online like promoting or being sponsored by any store or brand or whatever and no longer mentioned on their content as we watch that they are breaching law since July last year and must be reported, so in France or Netherlands or Germany they have been toning it down since and are less crazy selling profiles and also breeding fish or anything without any licenses and selling online without paying taxes, is punishable
We live in a society based around making money. Setting up a natural tank doesn’t cost much money. Leaves, rocks, wood and dirt are free if you get them from a stream or pond. That’s what I did. My tanks have come alive! I used to do weekly water changes and fight with my tank almost every day. Now I just sit back to watch the life explode in my tanks. I love the hobby more than I ever have thanks to Father Fish. Please keep delivering your wonderful videos on Discord and TH-cam and we will keep on listening and learning. Thank you FF.
Thank you Dave.
The very least I could do is thank you for all you do. It’s been 2 1/2 years now since I set up my 75 gallon using your method and it is truly balanced and teeming with life. While the computer has given us access to vast amounts of information unfortunately it has made it easier to be disrespectful to anyone whose opinion differs. Your response to the negativity and bullying was handled in the way you always take. Head on,factual,and respectful. So lucky to count you as a true mentor.
Thank you Ken. You honor me.
@@FatherFish so what about cleaning it how alot of people hoover the bottom do you do any thing like that thanks
i can tell you with the upmost security..no no messing with the substrate if you have a dirted deep substrate planted tank
@@micknufc5011
Wow. My eyes have been opened. This approach makes TOTAL sense and all of a sudden the aisle after aisle in the big box pet stores seem like just another scam. Which they are. Creating problems then selling the so called solutions to the problems the original chemicals caused.
Thank you for sharing this wisdom and approach with the world. Be well everyone ☺️🍃
I work as a cashier at one of those big box pet stores, and I’ve started recommending Father Fish’s channel to the customers buying fish. 😬 Might not be good for business, but it’ll make the customers happier!
I had a few tanks but gave up the hobby over twenty years ago. About six months ago, I was going to create a new tank so read a book which made everything so complex, I decided it was too much work.
A few weeks ago, I found this channel and cannot wait to set up an eco system aquarium.
Thank you Father Fish for passing on your knowledge and igniting my interest in this wonderful hobby 😀
Well good luck!
You will find that once you get it going that it will be a lot less work than you think. Yes it was little bit of work in the beginning but now I do very little. I add top up once a day and change a small piece of filter pad. Oh and I feed every other day, that's it. I just enjoy the tank and keep an eye on things. Good luck and welcome back to the hobby!
You can do it! It's not as hard as other aquarists make it out to be...
Good luck! It will not be easy, there is no magic, it will anyway go through all the cycles aquarium must go through. You will have to solve problems and learn a lot, that's is what this hobby is for... if you think you can do it without learning, it's wrong. As every individual Eco-system, each aquarium is different, only common rules are the same. One plant can thrive other can die, algae booms will happen for sure. It is not just put some soil, sand over top, plants and tree leafs and all will go fine. You must understand the processes that are happening in your aquarium, and learning and trying to understand this is best part of the hobby. It is learning nature... And most importantly patience... in natural aquarium all things go slowly.
@kosys5338 u do water changes
Best video I’ve seen in years. You nailed this. Everyone trying to improve nature. Can’t be done. Live in peace. I love you all.
Just stumbled onto The Good Father's channel... and my head is spinning!
After nearly 20 years of struggling to keep tanks clean, nitrate-free, crystal clear, and free of algae using as many of the techniques and equipment from the modern Aquarium Industrial Complex that I could afford, I gave up. I couldn't keep a tank healthy for more than six or eight months. And I "knew what I was doing."
Thanks Father Fish! I cannot wait to try again!
Your heart will be filled with joy.
Could you please come back with an update?
@@bigmonke3348 will do!
I did my first ever tank with the FF method and it's been a month since I set it and watched it.Didn't do any cleaning, or did I water change
I started my first small tank following your instructions. It’s only a 5 gallon tank and it is 💯 doing wonderfully! Thank you so much! Happy fish, happy water, happy plants! 🌱 🐠
I set up my first aquarium 1 year ago and followed this guys advice.
Haven't changed any water , never checked PH , never added any chemicals , just added lost water from evaporation and cleaned filters and fed the fish twice a week - PERFECT , thanks Father Fish
Thanks for sharing
This was the answer to my problems I haven't done a water change in two months and my 50 gallon has never been better. Thanks for the knowledge!
Preach brother! I have a 125 gal with just a powerhead for circulation. I've had it for 5 years and I barely ever do water changes.
This is absolutely refreshing to hear. I've been keeping fish for 32 years in tanks and ponds. Koi, goldfish, tropicals and natives. Any time I've gone against the grain on water changes I get berated. The hobby and industry makes money by selling people chemical and filtration fixes. By telling people to change so much water that their tanks/ponds are in a constant state of turmoil. I refer to these types of tanks as "sterile systems." They never allow a true self sustaining eco system to establish.
i got into the hobby 11 years ago when i was 14 and being young i absorbed so much knowledge from youtube that the typical aquatic creator would preach. the info i was receiving as to keeping an aquarium never seemed to work for me. everything i did yielded different results than what i was watching on youtube. i took a 5 year break from the hobby due to being stationed overseas and recently got back into it 2 years ago. i went back to my old ways of fish keeping and i wasn’t having success like i wanted, so i abandoned the “Fish keeping Purist mindset” and started keeping fish differently and i have been very successful since. I have basically let my tanks just exist(i do have to babysit my Tanganyikan tank more than the others since its newer) and i haven’t had any issues. I’m really glad i found your content as it’s definitely showed me that i’m not wrong, i was just getting bad info and that my more natural approach is actually better for the animals. People often forget that aquariums are their own complete ecosystems and don’t always need our intervention to survive. Love the content it’s not all about how much money is being spent on a build, setup or a super rare fish, It’s about the hobby and I’m learning more every video. Thanks!
My grandfather passed on two years ago and I still miss him terribly; he was the only grandfather I know since my other grandfather passed way before my parents even met. Just hearing you sign off with "love you all, bye" hit me surprisingly hard. Thank you, FF.
I have been unsuccessful two times, losing all my fish while trying to maintain a sterile environment for the fish. I felt bad with cloudy water, so the next thing I did was change the water. I only replaced 30% of it, but within the next two days, all the fish were dead. I've just subscribed and will try to follow this; it makes much more sense.
You should have done a 100% water change. Whatever was in that water was still in there when you only did a 30% water change. What you should have done was clean out the whole ttank and start fresh to make sure the tank does not get cloudy again. And if you don't have any established water from another tank to use, I'd suggest getting those quick start bottles and use it once to cycle the tank and start it up again.
no you are dead wrong
@@jbmjbm323
This man has changed my life and my aquarium for the better, and forever. He speaks common sense and truth. The aquarist industry is vested in you buying and re-buying chemicals and additives while selling the false premise on what's a healthy aquarium. Yes, this info is for fresh water tanks. But this method works wonders. All I have to do is top off my tank every 10-12 days. I use 5 gallon buckets of tap with a capful of Prime to take out the chlorine/chlorine. My plants are healthier. My fish, more energetic, and the tank just looks better.
Thank you Father Fish
pure vitamin C works well for me as a chlorine remover
Wow! I had aquariums in my teens. Then in my 20's I got a 55 gallon. Always did plastic plants, water changes etc. I swore I would never never get an aquarium again. Now I am about to retire and am contemplating getting back into it. After watching numerous videos of aquarium care, I had decided I didn't want the hassle to keep a tank, even if I have time. After watching this video, I am once again thinking I will give it a try this way. It all makes so much sense.
go for it
If you don't want the hassle of keeping an aquarium, maybe you should try sedoku or crossword puzzles instead.
@@DeeGee-mv6eq You literally didn’t read his comment.
@@DeeGee-mv6eq go kick rocks 🪨
It's great to see someone finally teaching what I've been saying for 30 yrs! Thank you!
I discovered your method by accident. I have been keeping fish my whole life. my tanks would last 1 year then everything would die. One day I was hiking in the jungle (I live in Hawaii). I noticed that the river soil looked like ada soil. The pools here are full of prawns and fish all year around. My brother decided to go get some soil and take it home. We set up a tank and then abandoned it. I maintained my tanks like crazy but the algae never stopped. But then it hit me his tank was amazing. He never changed the water never only topped it off. From that point on I've never had a tank crash. My tank only has a small pump feeding a waterfall.
I will never visit Hawaii because I will never leave if I do.
I have a 23gal tank, fully planted and botanical tank it’s a self sustaining ecosystem. I haven’t done a water change in months but the tank is so clean and healthy and my fish are thriving. Just goes to show what happens when you let Mother Nature take her course.
What do you do when you need to add water? Also, do you have a filter? I just started watching FF and I really like this way of going about a fish tank. I am about to get a 55 gallon tank and will be mimicking FF's way of having a self sustaining tank. I don't know if to get a filter.
Sponge filter is all you need according to FF.
Father Fish is the reason why my tanks are a success. I have been in this channel since it started. I am so proud to see how much this channel has grown. From 100 member to 54K!!! Amazing!!!
I AM BLOWN AWAY! And very excited to use this method! It makes complete sense. As someone who has spent a lot of time outdoors, I have seen crystal clear pools, vernal pools, tiny
puddles of water in a tree trunks, THRIVING with life! I even came across a vernal pool with little brown freshwater clams in it! It was in spring & it was in a tire track (power line maintenance) in the mud on a mountain! While exploring an abandoned, dilapidated house I found a trash can filled with water.( and some trash, lot's of leaf litter) it had a beautiful green moss that grew under & outside of the water. (I actually took some home & added it to my paludarium tank, where it is thriving) That trash barrel was teeming with life! Little crustaceans, etc.
I plan on following Father Fish's advice. No more partial water changes? Healthy thriving fish & plants? I'm in!
You have to see it to believe it. NICE!
@@FatherFish going to the local river today today to gather some MUD, sand & leaves to transform a 6 gallon betta tank. I am moving soon & will set up ALL my tanks with your recommendations. Very excited about this. THANK YOU!!
@@laurabilger8910 Sounds wonderful. Post some pics on the Father fish Shoal discord.gg/vQJvcQge
I've seen a lot of people bagging out your videos because they take one piece of information out of context.
No waterchanges only works when you have a balanced ecosystem so they would be right in complaining that you have to do them if they don't have enough plants and feed their fish heavily and often but they don't take all of the information that you share on-board with a holistic approach.
In summation, after watching your videos and listening to the information, it just makes sense what you are saying.
I fully support your vision and mission to inform people and improve the hobby and fishkeeping experience, and I thank you for that.
Keep doing what you're doing and remember, the truth is often surrounded by much controversy.
Thank you Caleb.
As a person with a plastic tank and plastic plants this makes total sense...I will take this to heart...i have 1 fish...and it is a nightmare at this point...I'm Glas I found your channel...I provide quality information on Appliance repair...and this is quality information on keeping fish..I love the channel thank you for your service
I am sooo glad someone is saying this. If you have set your tank up correctly, it becomes it's own ecosystem. In 5 years I've never changed my water. People are doing these 70% water changes all at one time, then they wonder why their tank has crashed.
I've been following father fish for over a year, everything he sais is true, recreating nature in a glass box is the answer never had an issue with my tank since adopting his methods
I get slapped by other retailers and product manufacturers just for advocating a natural methodology for setting up and maintaining aquariums. There are no arguments against facts. big hug my friend
Yes Alberto. We must teach the retailers the money is not in product. It is in fish and plants.
exactly...❤️
I wasted so much money & energy on buying those unnecessary chemicals in the name of fertilisers and water changes last few years! Now i understood no money and hardwork needed to maintain a beautiful natural tank! Thank you Father Fish! 🙏
I had the same issue years ago. I spent a lot of time reading and trying things out. Spent a fortune on test equipment and half my life on water quality and nutrients etc. The freshwater side of the community was so toxic every forum I went to had nothing but problems. So I left and got my own podcast. Never looked back. Was the best thing I ever did. You must have control of your own channel to prevent censorship by the idealists. That was years ago now. I don't keep fish anymore. In the end, I came to the same conclusion you seem to have. Nutrients are not the enemy. They are part of the ecosystem and keeping plants will take care of it :D
Thassit!
I found your channel through watching Alexander Williamson's channel The Secret History Living In Your Aquarium and I'm so glad I did.
Had a heart transplant and was told I couldn't keep fish because I could catch something like tuberculosis from doing water changes.
I'm getting back in the game now! I'd heard a little about this but never tried it. After watching jar ecosystems, LRB, Alex's channel and now your's I'm convinced I can do this. Thank you! I'm so much happier with fish in my house! I appreciate the work you do!
2 great men. Happy to be in their company.
I'm 60 years old and have been keeping fish pretty much my entire life. Found the Walstead method about 10 years ago and between that and Father Fish I have fallen in love with fish keeping all over again after tiring of doing constant water changes as I thought I had to do.
Thanks for sharing Tejas. This is an old man's hobby, done best with a mint julep in one hand and a fish net in the other.
@@FatherFish Exactly, the secret to life is learning to relax. There is nothing more relaxing that sitting watching my tanks so why let them stress me out to begin with? Fish keeping doesn't have to be stressful and in fact should not be stressful.
@@redarmysoja”The secret to life and a learning how to relax” so true!!
I love your way of fish keeping because I love nature ❤. I have five tanks. My oldest son came home for a visit and was shining the flashlight on his phone at the bottom of my biggest tank. "Mom you have worms in there!!!", he said. I said, "Do I look at your garden and tell you you have worms?".... 😊😂😂
EXCELLENT my dear!!
ITS allive 😅 bei proud in your Aquarium they are good live food for your fish
LOL! The first time I found them in my fish pond outside, I thought " yuck !" Then I remembered "Oh yea nature's way of feeding them." ps. I was standing in the pond at the time, cleaning the filter set in a bucket.
I love the tank hobby, but got burned out only two years after starting out. I bought all this expensive equipment, did water changes every two weeks, kept all the chemicals in check with testing the water every two days, fed my fishes only living food and not too much and still I couldn't maintain a healthy biosphere. My plants just won't stop withering away, so what was left were naked roots, rocks, one sad anubias nana and the fishes (and a lot os snails). In the end I gave up and gave all the equipment away.
You, sir, just motivated me to try again with a much more natural approach. Probably without fish, but hopefully with a lush green landscape to enjoy looking at.
Thank you very much for sharing your knowledge here
the plants need fish just like the fish need plants.
Someone left there 2.5 plastic bow tank in an apartment with nice substrate, an air pump much too large, filter and said they no longer needed this tank because the goldfish died. I had a cry for that goldfish because it’s owner was too ignorant to take the time to do ANY kind of research. Another pet peeve is Pet Smart selling tanks and fish together before the tank is cycled. Happened to me because I also was ignorant. I’ve been in the hobby for 2 years and I’m still learning. I’ve also decided I hate the plastic and now am adding plants. Your tanks are beautiful. I will watch more. Thank you 😊
Welcome Trena
After 50 years of being obsessed with this hobby, I'm loving being a new fan of your channel, sir! That's always so much to still learn, and I enjoy smiling at listening to fellow old-timers bring back things we were mostly all doing back in the 1970's, and the wisdom of the day was about stability and balance.
More elderly need to share their knowledge of the old ways online for us youngings to get our hands on, if anything happens to tech we are lost
You Go!!!!!!!! Preach that truth!!!!! Love the message. You never stop learning, at 72 yrs old and never had an aquarium I was given the responsibility of keeping my 5-year-old granddaughter's 25-cent feeder fish alive she won at a school fair. Well, 4 years later and 3 tank size upgrades our beloved Cupcake is going in a Father Fish dirted tank. Cupcake is 9 inches long now and here's hoping her many more years to come.
Goldfish can live to be 100. lol. Look forward to the pics of cupcake's new digs.
@@FatherFish goldfish can live to 100??.. I'm starting to think you're half goldfish pappa 😍😂
I don't understand all the hype from other channels all of a sudden, your information has always been clear about how exactly to create a natural setup without water changes. Thank you for all you wealth of knowledge and wisdom as to how to connect with your aquarium and all the life it contains!
Correct Joao
Thank you Sr., for spending the time to teach this new generation the simple ways of the aquarium world! This new generation has been scammed with so much plastic aquarium things sold!!!! To represent nature is the key!! REPRESENT NATURE is what we need to do. We sure can't REPRODUCE, but to try to represent is to get the NATURAL EQUILIBRIUM for the natural system to work. Biodiversity in the system will complete a cycle much needed for the body of water. The best aquariums in this world are the ones left alone after that balance is reached! MORE BIOLOGY AND LESS TECHNOLOGY!!!
Nitrates and phosphates are "food"!
Listen to this old man. Much respect for this channel. Thanks for sharing, Sr.!!!! 🙏
New subscriber here.....
A million thanks po LOLO (grandfather)
Very inspiring.....
We can never go wrong with Nature........
saving people from being lost in this hobby is exactly what you are doing!!!
I’ve learned so much from you in the pass 2 days. I gave up keeping fish years ago because of all the money it cost and labor. Water changes, ph chemicals and all kinds of other crap. I’ve always wanted to go natural and everything you’ve said has been 100 accurate and makes complete sense. I definitely use to over feed and over chemical.
I'm so happy that I found Father fish. My tank has never been healthier, my fish has never been happier and it kept me in the hobby and now I'm not constantly changing water and spending hours on hours taking care of my tank. Now I spend my time watching my tank thanks again and keep up the great work!
A refined fish keeper is a meditative monk, learning the secrets of creation!
I was loosing fish pretty regularly and was about to get out of the hobby. I was dumping chemicals all the time trying to get the tank to live with zero effect.
Then I came accross Father fish, I went to a river, dug up mud ftom the bottom, then found a sand bar along that river and gathered sand. I didn't wash the sand, never took the bits of debris out of the sand, and placed the mud 3" deep in aquarium and topped with 2" sand.
Once the sand settled down in about 4 days, I put in my fish and plants, and incredibly I could tell how much happier my fish were. I have tossed out those expensive chemicals and use a air driven sponge filter. My fish are having babies, my tank is crystal clear, the water does not smell like fish, in fact its pretty much scent free.
Im so happy I found Father Fish, YOU MUST DO THIS FOLKS! It actually works, no chemicals needed EVER!
Thank You Father Fish, you made this hobby soo much more enjoyable.......Cheers
I recently upgraded my tank. Did everything like I initially learned it and afterwards started to research, if i did it right (ya know - the adhd way). I saw so many videos and got so scared, because apparently everything i did was wrong. Until I saw Ff again and he reminded me, that i am doing everything right. Dirt, Sand, Water, Light, Fish, Plants and that's all you need. Feeding once a week, no water changes, heavily planted, low tech, ecosystem. Reminded me why I got into the hobby in the first time.
Father Fish, you're making this so easy and calm. I could listen to your advice all the time and appreciate your videos so much! Thank you.
Father fish you are a force of nature. Thank you for your great content! I totally agree, long live mulmy goodness! ❤
Love this guy! Ever since i started watching his videos I stop doing water changes, added more live plants and its been 8 months since I did a water change in my 75gal and 35gal tanks...I just top the tanks off evry now and then...
May I ask if you had to start over from the base of the tank, adding in potting soil and decomposing leaves? I want to understand if it's an already established tank without dirt, but with aqua soil etc. (no gravel) what is the way to go?
These other TH-camrs get popular by jumping on whatever topic has gotten views recently on TH-cam just ignore them father fish and keep on creating these great videos . Cheers
Veterinarian here. I’m new to this hobby, but I’m absolutely fascinated by this channel. It makes so much sense. As a veterinarian I see on a daily basis what it means to health of our pets when the environment is out of balance.
Nature is the right way and you are a naturalist preaching the word to all in how to keep an aquatic living being alive. I hate commercialism and plastic decorations( seasonal and all year around) !!! I can't stand plastic plants who , unlike real plants , will never bloom ,clean our air , and grow . I think some people are falling for a commercialized industry and not using their brain to decipher if this ( buying dead gravel and plastic plants and painted ceramic stuff which may be toxic ) is what ....if they were a fish ..... would like. NO ! You are an important messenger for life.
I just wanted to leave my 2 cents here as well. My 20gal with plants was doing rather well & I did my 20% or so water change like I have had drilled into me to do to keep my water from going south so-to-speak. I lost a few of my fish and my plants are now withering as well as having algae run amok. Which is fine, I have shrimp. I decided to really start watching and listening to your videos & I have come to the conclusion that you have covered in this video & have decided to let nature do it's thing! As for your way of keeping fish? I am on board & am thankful to have found your channel. I was skeptical at first (which was about 3 weeks ago?) ... anyway, off to get some dead leaves from my oak in the backyard. Be blessed and ty!
Appreciate you Nomad
keeping fish should be a relaxing stress relieving hobby. Many have made it quite the opposite. Have a Betta 10gal heavily planted. No filter, and I've never had a healthier Betta fish before. I've always stressed on my paramaters. It's relieving when you realize nature knows what the hell to do.
TONS OF RESPECT FATHER FISH! YOU ARE THE GUY TH-cam HAS BEEN WAITING FOR. COMMON SENSE FINALLY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Salutations Gregory!
Im liking this dude, He is old school like my mom was. She never did water changes with her 55 gal or her koi pond outside. She used plants and snails. Shit looked amazing.
Hello Father Fish, My mother always preached to me basically the same principles of aquarium care you do. 3 years ago bought a 10 gallon tank, water heater, air pump style filter and some bags of sand. Took a trip to the everglades that is near to me. Scooped up some mud, dead leaves and 10 gallons of water. Set up the tank, 24 hours later I bought a bunch of live plants. one week later after poking the sand with a stick I added shrimps, rainbow tetras, and some guppies. I have a tank full of life that's never had one single water change. All I do is add one gallon of water of target brand drinking water a month and give away baby fish and shrimp so they wont over run my tank. Also I have only fed my fish maybe a handful of times in 3 years. Fully self sustained aquarium Thank you father fish, Alex
This channel has been refreshing and vindicating; I used to do frequent water changes and always struggled maintaining a tank. Through happy accidents that are entirely too long to type out, I have several different substrate layers, the ones at the bottom being pitch black. I have as many live plants as possible, nothing plastic in the tank, and I fortunately live in an area where the water isn't soft. My fish have been alive and well for 8 years, and I never do water changes. They're nearing the end of their lifespan, so I've cultivated their eggs (they breed regularly) and have 10 healthy fry growing rapidly. I don't use charcoal filters, only mechanical and biological, and really more for surface agitation than anything. My plants are huge, my fish are healthy, and snails galore - its wonderful watching it taking care of itself.
The only chemical I use is seachem prime to dechlorinate - I add a bit to a gallon jug, and then fill it up, let it sit for a few minutes and then top off my tank.
I was worried about not changing the water 2-3 years ago, and then surprised how month after month, I saw no signs of distress or a failing tank. It was a little anxiety inducing in the beginning to watch my tank flourish in an environment that, according to almost everything I've read, shouldn't be possible. I do water testing and I have zero nitrites, zero amonia, and just a bunch of nitrates (100-150ppm).
The only thing I ever adjust is if I start to develop hair algae, but that's been corrected by changing the the blue/red spectrum of light on my aquarium light and reducing my feeding a little - after a week or two it goes away. This comment has gone on too long and I'm sure my thoughts seem disjointed (this was going to be a one or two sentence comment), but I just wanted to thank you for your videos - its given me confidence and reassurance with how my tank is maintained.
Excellent. You have learned through practice.
Your the only reason I haven’t thrown in the towel. When it comes to my new hobby. Keeping up with the water changes and the all the different and expensive things, I’m told I need to buy. I watched your video stating to cap off the gravel and add plants. Just did that last week. I love the idea of a natural tank. The old way takes the fun out of the whole experience. Which at one time brought so much happiness and excitement. Slowly but surely I’m changing my tank over… I’m still testing the water to keeping an eye on everything as it slowly transitions.
Bravo Saneathis
I've been operating my tanks the same way as you do and everything is better than it's ever been.
Excellent!
I love hearing you preach not changing your water all the time and not siphoning the gravel once a month stuff. I have always maintained my planted tanks for years on end without doing massive water changes weekly or monthly and never siphoning the substrate. I only add new water when the tank evaporates too much. And my tanks have thrived. The Plants grow and spread my fish get fat are healthy snd start making babies. My friends always ask me how much time I must spend taking care of my tanks. Lol. The only time I spend is cutting back over grown plants or planting growth in a difficult section. I still use a filter but I also don’t change the media once a month. Depending on how much silt has been stirred up my filters can last 6 months or more before I start changing them out.
You are responding to the needs of the tank, not forcing a rigid dogma on it.
I'm stumped here, I've never spoken anything but high praise about you and in my video I stated you're absolutely correct. Maybe you're not talking about me here, I don't know.
I think he referred to the Kaveman clown that called Father Fish lazy and allowed mockery and disrespect in his comments. You said it right imo. Maybe it's best to just distance your name from the whole issue?
I referred to you as reasonable and thoughtful. What triggered you to be so distraught? The beginning of your vid sounded like you were going to blast me. You did not. You said that was intended as humor. Sorry, I do not know you well enough to understand your sense of humor.
I love this way of fish keeping. Haven't done a water change in months since first watching Father Fish, just top off the tank every once in a while. My fish have never looked happier. And they seem to live longer too
When you top off, do you put any chemicals to treat the water? or do you top off with a certain type of water?
@@victorvalderrama1167I have the same question
I've been keeping fish tropical and marine and I've never seen anybody do a video that talks and explains it in easy to understand and so much sense I love this guy well done Father Fish thank you
Thanks Lyndon
I’ve been in this for awhile and I’ve had failures and total
Wipeouts and then I learned about your videos I tried your techniques and I’ve been thriving ever since
Delighted to hear it Renlys
Father Fish, your words resonate deeply with me. First time here & I subscribed! I also set up a natural 170 gallon koi pond a few months ago. I based its’ setup ALL on nature & guess what…? 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite, & 3-5 ppm of nitrate. I have dirt, river rock, leaves, lily’s, hornwort, purple cabomba, water lettuce, & water hyacinth! I have a spillway for oxygen exchange & my water is crystal clear. Fish are healthy & happy… Chemicals are not the way to go! Mimic nature!!! Mimic Father Fish. Stay strong. ❤ Don’t pay any mind to the haters or trolls, no matter how big! They’re probably working in tandem with the chemical companies. 🧐
We stand strong Pickleguru
This is the second father fish video that I watched today. I am getting into this hobby, and I actually got a 5gal tank to begin my journey. I watched countless videos on youtube, and every other video was basically suggesting the same things which to buy a bunch of chemicals, filters, filter media, etc. to make a tank stable for fish. What Father Fish has told, it made 100% sense to me. The power of nature is far greater than anything that humans can create to mimick nature. Im so glad to relearn nature through father fish. Thank You.
Thanks man I have been telling this to alot of people but they see me as a young kid who dosent know anything. I love fishes I have been in this hobby for 8 years. I started when I was 10.my father taught me everything before he died
I have completely switched to the father fish way of fishkeeping. I mean at least im trying lol. I have never been happier and my tank has never looked better. It has re invigorated my love for this hobby and i cant thank the man enough. I have learned so much and everyday i feel like i learn a little bit more. Thank you again
I thought I've learned it all but Father Fish keeps me inspired! A pleasure to listen to him!
I started this hobby, and by simple common sense, I applied Father Fish's advice. Now that I look at it, I find no flaws in his logic, and it makes a lot of sense. I just started watching this channel and realized that there are these two perspectives on how aquariums should be, and there is definitely a balance between the two, but that balance involves more natural processes than technological ones. Excellent channel. Between Father Fish and SerpaDesign, you have all the knowledge needed for the art and care of aquariums and vivariums. Greetings and good vibes from CDMX
I love this video! your methods have proven to me that I don't have to change my aquarium water every time I turn around. Love you too!
“My word!”, I love this man!
When I first got into the hobby, I went artificial which lasted all of a couple days. As Father Fish said, common sense. I rushed into it but quickly realized my mistakes & did what I should have done from day 1, researched. A year later, all my original fish survived & I now have 4 aquariums running (1 gallon low tech with hitchhiker snails, 29 Betta community, 55 community & 75 goldfish/dojo loach), all of which are natural & healthy with very little maintenance. Well more with the goldfish because they eat EVERYTHING I put in there including everything they’re supposedly not fond of but point being, we need more people spreading this message. “This is the way”.
Keep it up OG, triple OG!
Thank you Peratus.
I started keeping fish in the late 70s when I was a kid. It is funny all the advice I got from the fish stores. Some people said you have to do partial water changes (back then it was more like of 10% of the water each week or daily partial water changes for Discus). An old Scottish shop owner told me never change any of the water. He said. "the older the water; the better". In any case, it is funny to see how things go full circle.
Father Fish all I am going to say you are a class act one of the best
You are very kind Cory.
Thank You Father Fish. My eyes have been opened, I see the light. A good diet and sand base , lots of plants, and some good lake water, oh , and no more water changes. 🙂
Everything revolves around nature!!! It's true and that is the miracle that so many people spend their whole lives looking for in so many things and religions, when in reality it has always been before our eyes. Sando Os Lecture on Resilience. 👏🏼 Greetings from Mexico The Father Fish
I’m sooo grateful for coming across this gentleman’s TH-cam channel. He’s definitely brought me into the light! They way he’s explaining how to set up an mini ecosystem in a fish tank makes soo much sense! Thank you Father Fish!
WOW! same message, with some incredible editing...finally has an impact. So well done. Happy to see you thriving, FF. Keep spreading the word.
Thanks Thomasin. Yep! Samee message. Prettier package
I have learned that the palaudarium Style, low stocked and a ton of terrestrial plants that like to grow wet roots is the most stable enviroment that you can create. But its very important to always top up with reverse osmosis water!! Like nature does with the rain. I had 3 years with no water change and my fish are spwaning in the 5th generation now!
I believe this 100% I noticed that anytime I lost a fish it was after a water change. I could see them stress after in my planted tanks. So one tank a neglected for a few months, no water changes and no problems. Now on my second tank I'm slowly doing the same thing and the fish are doing great. I don't even have the dirt or dead leaves just heavily planted so I don't know why it's working but it is!
This is the best channel by far on how to have a successful aquarium! I have Lake Seminole in my back yard here in South Georgia and, I go down to the shore and get plants, snails, water, the dreded algae, (lol), dead wet leaves, branches, drift wood and plop all of that stuff right into the tank. And by far this is the most successful beautiful tank that I have. I have 2- 55 gallons, one with African Cichlids and the other the community fish and that is the one I have Lake Seminole in, lol. The community fish love it when I drop in sand and the little critters, they are on a hunting spree and are so happy. Thank you Father Fish for all of your wisdom! I'd be lost without you, listening to all of those other guys. 😊 Much ❤❤❤ from the South.. ❤
And I am very new to the hobby, like 2 months new! So glad I found you FF!
Start adding the same material to the cichlid tank. they will enjoy it too. If your sand in that tank is less than 3" add more of that too.
I always shied away from the frequent water changes, hoping to have a reasonable eco-system in the tank. However with the tank inevitably becoming over populated the balance was gone, and nitrate levels do climb eventually. Our outdoor pond has very low levels so I would take some tank water out and replace it with pond water, often putting the tank water in the pond. Of course aquarist shops don't agree with this practice and would rather sell me a random selection of chemicals. With plenty of plants growing I think our tank has some stability from nature, better to work with it than against it. Thank you for the videos.
good plan. I like it.
This is awesome! I do monthly, not weekly water changes, don't own a test kit, & have seed shrimp that feed my bumblebee gobies! The only hassle is that my municipal water is pretty lousy & I have to pay $1.25/5 gal. at a drinking water filling station. My tap water is so hard, it rivals the crusty mineral buildup of a saltwater tank! I'll top off with it, but try to keep it at a minimum. This is so cool that someone is as hands off as I am!
You may not need to do reg water changes if you have adequate plants and a deep substrate of sand.
@@FatherFish I couldn't afford sand, so I opted for "plant gravel" but I think I'm going to carefully start adding some sand on top after a thorough rinsing. My plants have been struggling I think due the hardness & I wish that I would've watched some of your DYI soil/substrate videos beforehand! I may just be stuck with floaters & epiphyte-types like Java ferns/moss, Anubias, & buces (not yet tried). Rooted stems & grasses just seem to disintegrate on me. I've got a challenging size: 40 gal TALL with a 20 × 22" footprint, a strong current & 5-6" plant gravel substrate. I'd like to avoid CO2 & artificial fertilizer. Advice welcomed! 🙏🏼
@@firewoman7722 Collect wild sands from a creek bed ot the sea.
Cap with 2". It is amazing how that alone promotes plant growth. Join uws on the Father fish Shoal for more conversation in depth. discord.gg/BjgATHB2
I've only seen the KGTropicals video, but I feel like they were very reasonable, they said they agreed with your methods, just warned people to actually watch the video and understand it rather than just read the title. Can't wait to implement some of your practices in my tank
Yes. I agree. Although he did not start with that attitude.
@@ericp_ski You can try hornwort.
Your method brought me back into fish keeping. Now I have a super healthy natural tank with happy fish, snails, shrimp and plants. Thank you.
I stopped changing the water from my tanks for several months now because i was too busy with my university and to my surprise the plants and animals have flourished and look so much more vibrant.
Thank you Father Fish for what you do for the fish community. I'm lucky that I found your channel and thank you for helping us fish keepers on how to setup and how to take care of a natural tank. 👊
I appreciate that Steve.
There will always be haters, don't mind them. Those who are curious and "want to", got everything they need, here on your channel.
Thanks Elli. Good advice.
@fatherfish i was kept up at night by the motor on my old fishtank so i changed over to a natural planted setup of dirt sealed by lava rocks with no motor and the plants and fish are happy and ive been sleeping better.
Its only 6 litres or roughly 2 gallons and every test ive done theres absolutely no dangerous levels of pollutants in the water and its ph never shifts.
You're absolutely correct
I just found this channel. I'm starting to finally make my dream come true and creating my own aquarium so I'm doing some research, I'm searching for inspiration so I started to watch some videos. And from this video I learned that apparently there are people arguing who is right on how to keep your aquarium healthy. Are there people really bullying someone, because they are maintaining their aquarium differently? Why do they care so much? If you are not agreeing what Father Fish is saying, just don't take his advice - problem solved! If you do not trust that his advice works, try it yourself. If it won't work for you, just don't do it. But why argue with people when their aquariums are healthy but maintained differently? I think this is not how a hobby community should work.
I enjoy your videos and will take at least some of your advice. Thanks!
lol! Take the best and leave the rest.