"Habitat enrichment" redoux...

[Tannin Aquatics]

 

The other day, I performed my weekly water change on the 50 gallon aquarium in our office. As part of the routine, I take a soft-bristled brush to the surfaces of my botanicals which might occasionally develop a slight build up of algae. Interestingly, I find myself doing this less and less as the months go on in a given aquarium. Based on my experience with botanical-themed systems, the blooms of biofilms and algae that one might encounter early on tend to dissipate after a couple of months, only making sporadic, transitory appearances, if that.

Anyways, I noticed a bit of algae on a "Terra Sorrindo" pod that I've had in the aquarium since its inception last November, and I reached for the piece and removed it from the water to give it a gentle scrub-down...and the 'Sorrindo promptly disintegrated in my hands! Another botanical did it's job, gradually releasing tannins and humic substances over the months, until finally decomposing back into its constituent parts. The essence of what we call "habitat enrichment"- imparting beneficial substances and materials to the overall environment- in this case, the aforementioned tannins, humic substances, and ultimately, its inert outer shell. Fishes foraged upon it surfaces, shrimp consumed its lignin-rich tissues, and microorganisms flourished on its matrix of interstitial surfaces.

The end of this botanical's "service" life was symbolic, in a way, of what takes place in our aquariums: Fungi, bacteria algae...indeed, the water itself all conspire to erode, degrade, and ultimately, decompose these materials...a real cycle of life. As I continued with my weekly maintenance, I siphoned out a few stray pieces of broken-down leaves and added some new, colorful ones (one of my favorite things!), which is sort of like "re-scaping" the aquarium every week. (click to read more)