botanicals

I like a good mix of botanicals...I really do. And of course, we offer a big variety of them! However, one of the things I realized is that it's never great to have your tank filled with too many different botanicals. Why? Well, while it's true that in nature, on first examination, you'll see...

It's kind of fun to try different concepts in our aquaria, isn't it? One of the best thing about working with you- our fellow hobbyists and customers- is that we get hear all about the cool ideas you're working on in your aquariums. One of the questions that we receive more often than you'd...

Have you ever noticed how parts of the tropical fish industry are filled with "vagueness", and overgeneralization about the usefulness and effectiveness of various products at solving a variety of problems? We get these kids of questions a lot; What do I mean? Well, the kinds of questions...

The coolest thing about being a relative newcomer to the freshwater "Big Leagues" is that you get to meet some of the cool people who are very highly regarded in that arena. This past weekend, I was privileged to speak at a conference that had a rare mix of freshwater and reef speakers, and got...

Apart from, "What are your favorite botanicals?", the question we receive the most here at Tannin Aquatics is, "How many do I need for my ___ gallon aquarium?" And you'll just love my answer: I don't know. Seriously. It depends. And I'm not trying to be evasive or noncommittal here. The...

So what happens after you place your botanicals into your aquarium? I mean, what can you expect? Well, a few things. First of all, if you've properly prepared them as per our "Aquatic Botanical Preparation" page, you'll expect them to pretty much sink right to the bottom. All good. (click to...

Wouldn't it be cool to provide your Tetras, dwarf cichlids, barbs, and other South Ameircan, Southeast Asian, and West African fishes with a more natural, relaxed representation of the physical environments from where they originate? One which can not only foster effective spawning, but can...

Have you played around with our aquatic botanicals yet? We're pleased to say that more and more adventurous and creative hobbyists are creating aquariums with diverse selections of natural materials for unique and memorable displays. If you haven't experimented with these botanicals, and have...

Well, I think the succinct and (if I say so myself) somewhat snappy title worked pretty well...got you here, right? Actually, today's piece has some pretty serious undertones, as the title implies. Yet, you don't need to freak out or anything. We're simply going to discuss a few of the finer...

Okay, let's be honest...even as unabashed cichlid lovers, we still can appreciate a good shrimp display, right? A lot of people as us about our aquatic botanicals and which ones work with shrimp, so I thought, "What a great idea for a blog...?" (click to read more)

As aquatic botanicals set in our systems, we like to say that they recruit "biofilm" on their exposed surfaces over time...And as the softer botanicals, like leaves, break down and decompose, forming a matrix of organic matter, they play host to a diverse assemblage of life forms. (click to read...

I was having a discussion with a customer a few days back, and we were talking about how long some of these aquatic botanicals will last in the aquarium environment. It's a good question, and a great topic for discussion! Almost the minute you submerge an aquatic botanical, it begins to...