The phenomenon of fishless aquariums

The concept of fishless aquariums would have seemed quite strange, and even paradoxical, just a few years ago.

But more and more enthusiasts are now turning to this passion.

Of course, awareness of animal welfare plays a role in this evolution.

 

 

There is also a critique of the fish trade, the ethics of which can be questioned: imported fish with inevitable mortality during transport, poorly regulated farms set up in Eastern Europe, or worse, the harvesting of wild fish from the natural environment, additional mortality at points of sale...

 

 

But many aquarists also discover, over the years, the charm of fishless aquariums.

'The absence of fish is often the condition for establishing a true stable aquatic ecosystem. Where, in nature, there is generally less than one fish per cubic meter of water (1000 liters!), the density in an aquarium is much higher and changes everything. Our fish spend their days inspecting every square centimeter of their aquarium, making it impossible for micro-fauna to establish. The biological cycle is therefore disrupted by the omnipresence of these little hungry predators!'

 

 

Without fish, it becomes possible to focus on microfauna and plants, which together establish a complete and stable cycle. The critters (daphnia, worms, hydras, water lice, ostracods, etc.) feed on bacteria and waste, their droppings nourish the plants, whose dead leaves will feed the bacteria, and the cycle is complete...

The closed circuit is practically possible.

You then have an aquarium without chores! No need for a filter or aerator, heating is generally unnecessary, no fish to feed, plants grow on their own thanks to the light, and the critters proliferate at their own pace.

 

 

"An aquatic garden, with its only lighting, softened and colored by the plants, is a magnificent spectacle. Just as hypnotic and soothing as an aquarium with fish."

One meditates silently and serenely there, the spectacle changes according to the growth of this or that plant, and the magnifying glass placed nearby allows one to indulge in the fascinating life of the little creatures that live there. The jerky swimming of daphnia, the hypnotic dance of Blackworm, the water lice forming their couples, the gatherings of ostracods on the slightest dead leaf...

 

 

No need for a large volume, in which a fish will always seem captive: sixty liters is an immense world for such a small water louse, and even more for a stationary plant!

Plants produce the oxygen that insects breathe, then consume the CO2 they exhale, to make oxygen again. The loop is complete.

 

 

The light is the only engine of this small silent world, independent of you for the most part.

And so exemplary for teaching children what nature is!

 

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Photo credit: Laila from Pixabay