Create a critter aquarium
A new phenomenon is emerging in the world of aquaristics: the "creepy-crawly" aquarium, without fish.
Forget filters and heating, abandon the test case and the expensive devices.
A fascinating and hypnotic aquatic world awaits you!
The bet on extreme simplicity...
And if fishkeeping could become simple and inexpensive?
And if everyone could, without advanced knowledge or technical complications, have a small aquatic nature space, a little wild world in their apartment or house?
"This is what the followers of "fishless" aquaristics discover."
- "I started practicing low-tech aquaristics ten years ago. Quite quickly, upon discovering this new approach, one realizes that the presence of fish is not essential, and even that it complicates everything."
Indeed, aquatic creatures and plants can offer a magnificent and soothing spectacle. And this requires infinitely less maintenance than what a traditional aquarium with fish and often heavy equipment demands.
For some, this also answers ethical questions or convictions.
- "I was uncomfortable with the notion of captivity. I think we can never provide fish with a sufficient volume. While small aquatic creatures live in very little space, even in nature!"
Many aquatic plants do not need heating at all to grow and become beautiful. They only require a good source of light. Lighting is therefore important, but most commercially available aquariums now come with perfectly adequate LED lighting.
So forget about the heater, the filter, the air pump and its famous diffuser, the CO2 injectors, etc.
A few simple fast-growing plants will be enough to create your little aquatic garden and to consume the nitrogen and other elements resulting from the metabolism of the aquarium's inhabitants. Moreover, these waste products are infinitely fewer in the absence of fish, which are much more polluting than a few daphnia and a bunch of aquatic worms!
A rich and varied fauna in just a few liters!
"The absence of fish will then allow the small world of our ponds to settle in. You can introduce the superb Blackworm, 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!"
As the months go by, certain creatures will become more numerous at the expense of others. For example, your Blackworm will multiply in the sand, offering the spectacle of their fascinating dance, while the daphnia will become more discreet. Then, for reasons unknown, it will be the turn of the daphnia to proliferate, while waiting for the ostracods. The water lice will entertain you with their behavior and gait. You will see couples forming, the females carrying their eggs on their bellies…
And all this without noise, without "machinery", without technology. Just tap water left to rest for a few days, not even needing the famous "cycling" that happens naturally, gently and safely.
And the volume? Very small aquariums are sufficient. A worm's playground is not immense, and a simple grain of sand is enormous in its eyes! Three plants are a forest to it, and a water louse will rarely bump against the limits of its micro-territory! A simple liter of water is already a gigantic world for a small ostracod!
In short. Without taking anything away from the traditional aquarium that reigns in our living rooms, the critter aquarium, so conducive to meditation and daydreaming, now takes a (very small) place in our homes.
To learn more: the blog post (with video)
My meditation aquarium (on Mattier's blog)