Ammonia is never a concern in a heavily planted tank. It is absorbed directly by the aquatic plants. Father Fish follows nature, not science. There is no scientific method for setting up a fish tank. There are only merchants selling products with scientific explanations for their importance. Ammonia shows up in our fish tanks because of a build-up of waste and nutrients in an aquarium. This waste causes what is known as the Nitrogen Cycle because ammonia build-up. In a planted aquarium there is no nitrogen cycle. So listen as Father Fish explains the importance of a planted tank and that indeed, Ammonia is plant food! Ammonia is your friend!
Lou Foxwell adopted the role of Father Fish many years ago when he opened a tropical fish store as a retirement business. Prior to this, he served as a missionary for 25 years, following in his father's footsteps by ministering to a congregation of deaf worshipers. Lou fondly recalls his grandmother in Berlin, Germany, who inspired his love for fish keeping as a child. As a founder and original board member of the National Aquarium, Lou played a significant role in its development, serving as chair of the Community Relations Committee and participating in hiring the first Director of the Aquarium. With extensive experience across nearly every level of the fish industry, Father Fish offers a wealth of knowledge and products, including plants, soil supplements, and more, to enhance your aquarium experience.
All clips and images are used for illustration purposes only.
Other fish. Fish keeping before products.
So why are you worried about ammonia? Why do you think, why do you think ammonia is the most
serious problem you can have? Why do you wait days and weeks and months for your tank to uh
for the nitrate, what is it even called? I don't even know. For the nitrate cycle to be created.
What is that? It's all meaningless. It's all gibberish. It has nothing to do with setting
up a natural normal fish tank. If your tank has a substrate in it that is able to support plants
and it has plants in it from the first minute you set it up, then ammonia is not an issue.
Plants eat ammonia directly. They consume it. It is a nutrient for plants. Fish pee in the water,
release ammonia, the plants gobble it up. That's what they grow on. That's what they live on.
That's their food. That's what the cycle is, you see. The cycle occurs naturally. It occurs
normally if you have the pieces in place to make it possible. Now if you're going to have a bare
sterile tank that you pour chemicals into to keep any kind of bacteria from growing,
if you're going to have a bare bottom, nothing in it at all, no plants, nothing,
just some kind of a UV filter that kills everything as soon as it hits the UV tube,
then yeah, you're going to need to do some other stuff because you're creating a completely
unnatural, completely synthetic environment that practically will kill your fish.
May not do it day one, but it will do it because it's not able to function,
not able to function at all. It sits there and it gets bad. It goes foul. That's why you have
to keep changing water in these tanks because you're creating pollution. You're polluting your
tank and then changing the water so you overcome the pollution you're creating. What kind of sense
does that make? Really? How is that a smart thing to do? Then pour chemicals in to get rid of the
pollution. My God, people, really, my God, my God did not make nature that way. He did not create
an environment in which some kind of chemical sterilizer needs to be introduced on a routine
basis to keep things from crashing and burning. It's not the way nature works. If you're going to
keep fish in a tank, then you have to follow the laws of nature and not the laws of science.
You see, science, how can I put this gently? Science is a prostitute. Science is used by
everybody who's trying to sell something as a way to convince you that what they're trying to
sell you is something you really need. It's utter nonsense. You don't need any of it. Don't follow
the science. There is no science. There is no scientific method to set up and maintain a fish
tank. There are people selling products that justify the use of these products with scientific
jargon. They talk a good game, but it's got nothing to do with maintaining a normal fish tank.
If you want to keep your fish alive, put an inch of dirt in the bottom, put two inches of sand on
top, fill it with water, fill it with plants, turn on a filter, set up a heater, and put fish in it.
And you won't have any problems. Trust me on this. Do it. We will help you. We will hold you by the
finger and walk you down the path. Join us. Join us and learn how to do aquariums the natural way,
the way the fish like it. Bless you all. Bye for now.
For you.
