Gathering: Create a tank for critters

A new phenomenon is appearing in the world of fishkeeping: the "creature" aquarium, without fish.
Forget filters and heaters, abandon the test kits and costly devices.
A fascinating and hypnotic aquatic world awaits you!

The bet on extreme simplicity...

What if fishkeeping could become simple and inexpensive?
What if anyone could, without deep knowledge or technical complications, have a small space of aquatic nature, a little wild world in their flat or house?
This is what followers of "fishless" fishkeeping are discovering.

- "I started ten years ago practicing low-tech fishkeeping. Quite quickly, upon discovering this new approach, one realises that the presence of fish is not essential, and even complicates everything."

Indeed, aquatic creatures and plants can offer a magnificent and calming spectacle. And this with far less upkeep than a classic aquarium with fish and often heavy equipment.
For some, this also answers ethical questions or convictions.

- "I was uneasy with the notion of captivity. I think we will never be able to offer fish a sufficient volume. Whereas small aquatic creatures live in very little space, even in nature!"

Many aquatic plants absolutely do not need heating to grow and become splendid. They only need a good light source. Lighting is therefore important, but most aquariums sold commercially now have LED lights that are perfectly sufficient.
So forget heating, filters, air pumps and their famous diffusers, CO2 injectors, etc.
A few simple fast-growing plants will be enough to create your little aquatic garden and consume nitrogen and other elements from the metabolism of the aquarium’s inhabitants. Moreover, these wastes are far fewer without fish, which are much more polluting than a few daphnia and a band of aquatic worms!

A rich and varied fauna in just a few litres!

The absence of voracious fish will then allow the little world of our ponds to settle in. You can introduce the splendid Blackworms, ostracods of different species, daphnia, some water lice and the snails of your choice… And all this little world will coexist without ever causing problems!


Over the months, some creatures will become more numerous at the expense of others. For example, your Blackworms will multiply in the sand, offering the spectacle of their fascinating dance, while the daphnia will become more discreet. Then, without knowing why, it will be the daphnia’s turn to proliferate, awaiting the ostracods. The water lice will amuse you with their behaviour and gait. You will see pairs form, females carrying their eggs on their bellies…
And all this without a sound, without "machinery", without technology. Just tap water left to rest for a few days. Not even the famous "cycling" which here happens naturally, gently and safely.

And the volume? Very small aquariums are enough. A worm’s playground is not vast and a single grain of sand is huge in its eyes! Three plants are a forest for it and a water louse will rarely bump against the limits of its micro-territory! A single litre of water is already a gigantic world for a small ostracod!


In short. Without taking anything away from the traditional aquarium that stands in our living rooms, the creature aquarium, so conducive to meditation and daydreaming, now takes a (very small) place in our homes.

To learn more: the blog article (with video)
My meditation aquarium (on Mattier’s blog)