PART 33: THE JUDGMENT!

<< Previous It is absolutely easy to imagine and understand that every method of fish keeping is not for everyone. The choice of a particular method is usually based on a philosophy and a goal. It is about how I look at it and what I want to achieve. No method, like most of the things in life, is perfect. Every method of fish keeping has its own set of advantages and limitations. And, the DPM Natural Method is no exception. I have talked enough about the strengths and benefits of this method of Fish Keeping. It is, probably, the right time to throw a little light on the limitations of this new natural method. One may like the DPM Natural Method for its massive set of advantages.

However, I would NOT choose this natural method:

1. If I do not like natural methods of Fish Keeping, in general.

2. If my Fish Keeping hobby is more about working on my Aquarium(s) | Fish Tank (s) | Fishbowl (s) than enjoying my Aquarium(s) | Fish Tank (s) | Fishbowl (s) and Fishes. That is, I would like to keep working on my Aquarium continuously and I do not really mind if I do not get adequate amount of time to sit back and relax while enjoying (watching) my Aquarium (s) and Fishes. I just want to work and I do not care whether or not I get sufficient opportunity to enjoy the results of my work! I believe, this hobby is all about just changing water and cleaning the aquarium!

3. If I really do not care if a few my fishes die because of improper water conditions and care. I just love to visit the Pet Shop | Aquarium Shop again and get new fishes to compensate for my loss. I just do not care if I lose a couple of fishes as long as I can just visit the Pet Store | Aquarium Shop to get a few new fishes for my aquarium. Change is the essence of life, I truly believe.

4. If my fish live really long, it becomes uninteresting and monotonous for me. I cannot look at the same set of fishes every day!

5. If am absolutely more concerned about how my Aquarium LOOKS than how my fishes FEEL about their little environment inside my Aquarium. I do not care much if it feels good or bad to my fishes. But, at the end of the day, my Aquarium MUST look magnificent.

6. If I believe, an Aquarium is really not a little ecosystem. It is just a piece of functional furniture for home decoration.

7. If I really do not care whether my Aquarium is natural, silent, energy-efficient, low-tech, low-light and low maintenance. I just love to see as many instruments | gadgets attached to my Aquarium as possible to make it LOOK really high-tech and modern! I just want it to be the talk of the town. Owner’s pride and neighbors’ envy!

8. If I believe in “what you see is what you get”! If I do not see air bubbles coming out of an air-stone in my aquarium, I do not believe that the water is sufficiently oxygenated!

9. If I love an aquarium that produces a lot of sound. That is just soothing music to my ears.

10. If I believe that existence of a miniature ecosystem in an aquarium is next to impossible.

11. If I think, natural way of doing things or lettings things happen are the most ineffective and inappropriate ways of accomplishing specific goals.

12. If I do not believe that a truly sustainable Fish Keeping method is a possibility.

13. If I believe that the more money I spend on my aquarium, the better it feels to its inhabitants!

14. If I am really not interested in watching how fishes behave in a near-natural environment.

15. If I do not like smaller fishes in my aquarium and I just like relatively bigger fishes.

16. If I do not mind catching my fishes as many times as required. Because, I think, catching those little guys is never a stressful affair for them!

17. If I believe, without a plant (or more) to care for, an Aquarium is incomplete.

18. If I believe, an aquarium cannot remain in a good state without a mechanical or other kind of artificial filtration system.

19. If I think, an aquarium without a heater is not a real possibility. And, if I know that my room-temperature is too low to be easily described as too cold for any practical purpose (heater-less Aquarium).

20. If it is not possible on my part to expose my Aquarium to a little direct | indirect sunlight to promote Green Algae growth.

21. If I believe complete water change and a full aquarium cleanup is really a MUST for my Aquarium.

22. If I believe frequent water changes is the only way to go!

23. If I think cleaning my Aquarium has to be a really a big deal.

24. If I cannot tolerate a certain degree of Green Algae growth in my Aquarium and the resultant graceful natural look.

25. If I do not like the fact that I need NOT buy | maintain | repair | replace the following ever: Filter, Air Stone, Power Head, Air Pump and Heater.

26. If I do not like the way a DPM Type Natural Fishbowl | Aquarium helps a pregnant fish | Fish Fry | Fish Eggs.

27. If I do not like the No-Plastic philosophy of DPM Natural Method.

28. If I like my fish to eat only when I want them to eat and not when they want to eat.

29. If I do not care about the water quality becoming bad because of uneaten food-residue in my Aquarium.

30. If I do not like the fact that DPM Natural Method absolutely makes it easy and quick to move over to another method of Fish Keeping, in case I decide to do so.

31. If I think the nutritional value of Green Algae is more fiction than fact.

Well, that’s quite a long list. And, I hope, that makes the picture really clear. DPM Natural Method is neither a product nor a service that I am trying to sell. And, that’s exactly why, I have all the liberty at my disposal to critically analyze this natural method of Fish Keeping. My goal is to spread awareness to make our lives and the lives of our fishes better. I hope, I have done the job reasonably well. Please feel free to ask a question, in case you have one, on this method. Let us take a quick look at a few interesting discussions | questions (and the answers to those questions) about the DPM Natural Method next. NEXT >>  << Previous

PART 33: THE JUDGMENT! by Debi Prasad Mahapatra is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

PART 32: STEPS IN DPM’S WATER RESTORATION METHOD!

<< Previous Q U E S T I O N: What are the steps involved in DPM’s Water Restoration Method?

A N S W E R:  This procedure is performed in iterations | cycles | sets of steps. Following are the steps involved in the first iteration of this this procedure.

Step 1. Just wipe clean the algae on the walls, if any, with a little piece of cloth | algae scrubber suitable for aquarium-use. There is no need to take the fishes out of the Fishbowl I Aquarium. There is no need to take the substrate or anything else out of the DPM Type Natural Fishbowl I Aquarium for cleaning.

Step 2. Gently stir the water well for a minute using your hand. The flow so generated, by stirring the water, releases the Fish-waste | Mulm locked within and under the layers of substrate.

Step 3. With the clean pipe | hose | siphon, drain 50% of the water and collect that water in the bucket. Theoretically, close to 40% of the total Fish-waste | Mulm volume goes out of the Fishbowl | Aquarium, with the outgoing water. If the bucket is relatively smaller for this purpose, you may consider draining a smaller percentage of water volume from the Fishbowl | Aquarium into the bucket.

Step 4. Inspect the water collected in the bucket for presence of Fishes | Fish Fry | Babies | Eggs. If you find any of those in the bucket, put that back into your aquarium | fishbowl.

Step 5. [Case-A] In case, it was already time for a water change and the water quality was checked and found bad before this procedure, throw the water, so collected in the bucket, away. You do not need that water any more. Fill the bucket with the same volume of suitable water already prepared for this procedure.

[Case-B] In case, it was NOT already time for a water change and the water quality was checked and found GOOD before this procedure, do NOT throw the water, so collected in the bucket, away. And, this step (Step 5) is not required to be performed, in this case.

Step 6. Let the water transferred to the bucket sit for some time (Around 20 minutes!). That will allow a substantial portion of the Mulm | Fish-Waste to settle down at the bottom of the bucket. The more time you allow for the Mulm | Fish-Waste to settle down, the lesser the number of iterations of this procedure you will need to perform. 

In case of [Case-A] of Step 5, you do not have to wait at all in the very First Iteration of this procedure. For, in that case, it is the fresh and clean water you have with no Mulm | Fish-Waste in it.

Step 7. Once a large portion of the Mulm | Fish-Waste settles down at the bottom of the bucket, carefully transfer the relatively clean-looking portion of water from the bucket to your Aquarium | Fishbowl without disturbing the Mulm | Fish-Waste that has settled down at the bottom of the bucket.

It is usually easy to achieve this by placing the bucket at a higher level than the Aquarium | Fishbowl and then using the pipe to transfer the water from the bucket while taking care not to let the receiving-end of the pipe reach the area | level | depth of the bucket where the Mulm | Fish-Waste has settled down. 

You can induce the flow of water from the bucket to your Aquarium | Fishbowl by following the steps mentioned below and letting gravity run the show. You do not need a pump or other motorized device for this purpose.

Step 7-I. Fill the pipe with the water from your Aquarium | Fishbowl.

Step 7-II. Keep both the ends of the pipe closed with your fingertips.

Step 7-III. Take your fingertip off the receiving end of the pipe while you gently place the receiving end of the pipe in the bucket. When you do this, take care to place the receiving end of the pipe at the upper level of the water in the bucket. That way, it does not get a chance to suck in the Mulm | Fish-Waste that has settled down at the bottom of the bucket. Take care not to allow the receiving end of the pipe to come out of the water.

Step 7-IV. Place the other end of the pipe in your Aquarium | Fishbowl and release your finger. Because the bucket is placed at higher level than your Aquarium | Fishbowl, the water flow gets started and continues.

Step 7-V. Monitor the level of the water in the bucket. Take care to gently readjust the position of the receiving end of the pipe in such a way that it does not get a chance to suck in any air to disrupt and stop the flow. You need to keep gently readjusting the position of the receiving end of the pipe along with the diminishing level of water in the bucket.

Step 7-VI. When the water level in the bucket drops to a level where it is not possible to continue the flow | transfer without disturbing | sucking in the Mulm | Fish-Waste that has settled down at the bottom of the bucket, stop the flow by taking the receiving end of the pipe gently out of the water in the bucket.

This is the end of our first iteration of this procedure (DPM’s Water Restoration Method) and we have already transferred a good volume of Mulm | Fish-Waste from the Fishbowl | Aquarium to the bucket. We may repeat Step 1 through Step 7 over the next iterations till we reach the desired state.

Here is the DPM’s Water Restoration Method explained in the form of a set of equations. Each of the subsequent Iterations yields you a smaller result compared to the result of the previous Iteration! However, each of the iterations absolutely takes you closer to your goal. That is what the set of equations illustrate. So, it is efficient for you to get done with the procedure in the least possible number of Iterations. 

Xn = Initial Volume of Mulm in the Aquarium | Fishbowl at the beginning of an Iteration, 
Yn = Volume of Mulm transferred to Bucket through water-change in an Iteration [Yield], 
Zn = Volume of Mulm remaining in the Aquarium | Fishbowl at the end of an Iteration

Iteration 1: X1 - Y1 = Z1 

Where, (X1 = Z1 + Y1)

Iteration 2: X2 - Y2 = Z2 

Where, (X2 = Z2 + Y2), (X2 < X1), (Y2 < Y1)

Iteration 3: X3 - Y3 = Z3 

Where, (X3 = Z3 + Y3), (X3 < X2), (Y3 < Y2)

Iteration n: Xn - Yn = Zn 

Where, (Xn = Zn + Yn), (X(n) < X(n-1)), (Zn ≠ 0), (Xn = (X1 - (Y1 + Y2 + Y3+ …+ Yn))), (Y(n) < Y(n-1))

This method | procedure may seem | sound complicated. However, you realize that it is really a simple and easy to perform procedure only when you actually do it. And, it is not really a lot when you do this once in a year or more | longer! This procedure tries to help your fishes by giving them the feel-at-home feeling (by keeping the water quality | parameters relatively stable in an absolutely natural way) when you try to get rid of the Mulm | Fish-Waste from your Fishbowl | Aquarium. Let us talk about something really interesting on DPM Natural Method next. NEXT >>  << Previous

PART 32: STEPS IN DPM’S WATER RESTORATION METHOD! by Debi Prasad Mahapatra is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

PART 31: DPM’S WATER RESTORATION METHOD!

<< Previous You may use DPM’s Water Restoration Method when you want to get the Mulm | Detritus out of your DPM Type Natural Aquarium | Fishbowl. Mulm | Detritus is the organic debris that builds up in and on the aquarium substrate. Mulm usually constitutes of fish-waste and uneaten portions of food. In a DPM Type Natural Fishbowl | Aquarium, Mulm has an important role to play. It supports the growth of Green Algae and colonies of beneficial bacteria that help maintain the quality of the water in your Aquarium | Fishbowl. However, there could be cases in which you may want to get rid of a small or substantial part of the Mulm volume in your Fishbowl | Aquarium.

DPM’s Water Restoration Method is generally used in the following cases:

A. If and when you want to switch over to another method of Fish-Keeping in which Mulm has no role to play.

B. You do it as a part of your Annual Maintenance and Cleanup Routine.

C. If and when the volume of Mulm far exceeds the desired and required level | quantity.

D. When Mulm starts to impact the appearance of your Fishbowl | Aquarium.

Q U E S T I O N: What is the distinct advantage of DPM’s Water Restoration Method?

A N S W E R: DPM’s Water Restoration Method is a technique of changing water in which you get rid of a substantial volume of Mulm without actually changing a proportionate substantial volume of water. That results in relatively less variance in how the water feels to your fishes after the restoration is done. In the context of DPM Natural Method, actually changing a huge portion of water is never a good idea, in general, unless it is absolutely required. For, in case of a huge water change, the water feels very different to your fishes. And, that may lead to stress in your fishes.

In nature, in case of a natural lake or pond, a huge water change does not usually happen, anyway. During the rainy season, a water change may happen. But, that is a gradual process in which the water change happens gradually. The process does not change the water parameters suddenly substantially. That is what we try to achieve through DPM’s Water Restoration Method when it becomes absolutely required to get rid of the Mulm in your Fishbowl | Aquarium. In case of DPM’s Water Restoration Method, your fishes do not experience a sudden substantial change in the water parameters (quality).

Q U E S T I O N: What do you need to perform the procedure involved in DPM’s Water Restoration Method?

A N S W E R: You just need:

1. A clean Hose | Pipe | Siphon (Common Names: Clear Flexible PVC Hose, Clear PVC Pipe, Transparent PVC Soft Tube, Clear Flexible PVC Tubing, Transparent Flexible PVC Tubing)

2. A bucket (or any large vertical container) suitable for aquarium use. The bigger the bucket, the quicker you will be able to perform this procedure.

3. Appropriate volume of suitable water. That is around 50% of the volume of water that exists in your aquarium | fishbowl. The water must not contain any trace of chlorine, chloramine, any chemical, detergent, soap and oil. This third element (Water) is not required in case it is NOT already time for a water-change and the quality of the water in the Aquarium | Fishbowl is checked and found GOOD!

4. A little piece of cloth | algae scrubber suitable for aquarium-use.

Let us talk about the steps involved in performing this procedure (DPM’s Water Restoration Method) next. NEXT >>  << Previous

PART 31: DPM’S WATER RESTORATION METHOD! by Debi Prasad Mahapatra is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

PART 30: A LITTLE MORE ON MAINTENANCE!

<< Previous Q U E S T I O N: What to do when ALGAE GROWTH goes beyond the required level?

A N S W E R: Described below is how to address this problem.

In case of excessive algae growth, which is not good for the fishes, the water of your DPM Type Natural Fishbowl I Aquarium turns green and you can hardly see the fishes. To address the problem, take the following three steps:

STEP 1. Clean walls on the inside of the Fishbowl | Fish Tank

STEP 2. Change 50% of water

STEP 3. Drastically reduce Fishbowl's | Fish Tank's exposure to light.

If the problem persists, repeat STEP 2 once in every 3 days until the problem is gone.

Q U E S T I O N: How about lighting?

A N S W E R: Here is the information about this aspect stated below:

You may use a low wattage (5 to 15 watts) electric light-bulb to see your fish or show your fish. If the Fishbowl | Fish Tank is exposed to many hours (more than 8 hours) of indirect sunlight, the electric light-bulb really becomes optional. It is ideal to offer 12 hours of darkness and 12 hours of light to your fishes to make the case resemble that of nature. When the electric light-bulb is switched on, it increases the temperature of the air surrounding it. The hot air goes up and cooler fresh air comes in to fill the vacuum. That's how the electric light-bulb triggers air-circulation. This process also helps, increasing the level of oxygen in the Fishbowl | Aquarium.

PLEASE do ask a question if you have one on DPM Natural Method | DPM Type Natural Fishbowl | DPM Type Natural Aquarium. Thank you for your time and interest. I wish you all the very best. Happy Fish Keeping! Here is something interesting next. NEXT >>  << Previous

PART 30: A LITTLE MORE ON MAINTENANCE! by Debi Prasad Mahapatra is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

PART 29: WHY ALGAE?

<< Previous Q U E S T I O N: WHY ALGAE ARE SO IMPORTANT AND SPECIAL?

A N S W E R: The following aspects make Algae so special:

Algae saved our planet by transforming our atmosphere to oxygen, allowing life to exist. Algae saved us again by providing the Earth's first food. Early Earth supported neither living creatures nor food. About 3.7 billion years ago, no life existed because the Earth's surface was too hot and there was no oxygen. The Earth's atmosphere was composed of a blanket of deadly and heat trapping CO2 and methane gas. As per Fossil records, a tiny plant emerged in the primordial soup and did an extraordinary thing. The plant absorbed the sun's energy and used a chemical reaction, photosynthesis, to split a CO2 and a water molecule.

The tiny plant converted the carbon atom into a high-energy green plant bond, a hydrocarbon, by taking two hydrogen atoms from H2O and released the oxygen molecule to the atmosphere. Algae had begun its work to change the atmosphere.

Algae are good indicators of the atrophic status of a water body, that is, the degree of pollution and nutrients in that water. A lake dominated by green algae has relatively "clean" oligotrophic water. Green Algae do not produce substances that are toxic to animals. Green algae are a very normal and naturally positive component of the aquatic arena that benefits overall water quality and aquatic life.

Algae systematically collected solar energy, sequestered carbon atoms and released oxygen. Moving at the incredibly slow rate of one tiny molecule at a time, algae transformed the harsh carbon dioxide atmosphere that could not sustain life to an oxygen atmosphere that supported life. Algae took another 3 billion years to create sufficient oxygen to support other forms of life because land plants evolved from algae only about 500 million years ago.

Algae's atmospheric transformation enabled the development of other water plants, fish, insects, land plants, amphibians, reptiles and eventually land animals. Even though microalgae are the tiniest plants on our planet, each day algae create 70% of the atmospheric oxygen, more than all the forest and fields combined!

Many of the earliest plants and water creatures depended on algae as a food source. Algae serve as nutritious food for everything from the tiniest phytoplankton to the largest mammal on earth, the great blue whale, because the plant offers an excellent set of proteins, minerals and vitamins. Every day, while algae captures CO2 and releases pure oxygen, the green biomass supplies food for 100 times more organisms than any other food source on Earth.

Algae use plentiful and often surplus inputs, including sunshine, CO2, Fish Waste and water. Algae photosynthesis strips CO2 and nutrients from the surrounding water and produces plant biomass made up of various forms of lipids (oils), protein and carbohydrates. The process releases considerable pure oxygen to the atmosphere.

Now, it must be clear how the water in a DPM Type Natural Fishbowl I Aquarium is adequately oxygenated even without the use of Air Stones and Air Pumps. Let’s talk a little more on Maintenance and Lighting in case of a DPM Type Natural Fishbowl | Aquarium next. NEXT >>  << Previous

PART 29: WHY ALGAE? by Debi Prasad Mahapatra is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

PART 28: MAINTENANCE!

<< Previous Q U E S T I O N: How about maintenance of a DPM Type Natural Fishbowl I Aquarium?

A N S W E R: Important aspects of DPM Type Natural Fishbowl I Aquarium maintenance are noted below.

ALGAE ON THE WALLS: 

Maintaining a DPM Type Natural Fishbowl I Aquarium is pretty simple. You may consider scrubbing (wiping) the Green Algae that grows on the inside of the walls, once in 10 days. You may use a piece of cloth, appropriate for use inside an aquarium, to clean (wipe) the algae off the walls. It should not take you more than 15 minutes in case of a Fish Tank and 5 minutes in case of a Fishbowl. Do NOT touch the substrate and the algae on the substrate. While cleaning the walls inside, you are not required to clean anything else. Do not worry about the look of the water just after the algae-cleaning is done. The dust settles down really fast (usually, within a day). However, you may choose to clean 40% of the surface gravel, without disturbing the remaining 60% of the surface-substrate, to enhance the appearance of your DPM Type Fishbowl | Aquarium.

You may clean the algae off the walls more or less frequently based on how quickly the algae comes back on the inside of your walls. You may control the exposure to sunlight to control algae growth. You may reduce the length of light-exposure to reduce or slowdown algae growth. The platies, discussed in one of the previous section in the context of the DPM Type Fishbowl, love to eat algae. Other type of food is given to them only once in every 4 days, for the sake of variety and nutrition. So, certain amount of algae is always maintained on the surface of the substrate and the glass vase. The fishes feast on Green Algae as and when they want.

CHANGING WATER:

You may use an appropriate and clean pipe | hose | siphon (Common Names: Clear Flexible PVC Hose, Clear PVC Pipe, Transparent PVC Soft Tube, Clear Flexible PVC Tubing, Transparent Flexible PVC Tubing) to change water. While you use the pipe, you may keep the receiving end closer to the substrate. So that, the fish-waste locked within and under the substrate gets sucked into the pipe and goes out of the Fishbowl | Fish Tank. Do not worry about the rest of the fish-waste. That is going to be useful for the algae and the colonies of helpful bacteria. While changing water, take care not to suck in Fishes, Fish Babies and Fish Eggs. Collect the water in a clean bucket. In case something that should not have gone out of the Fishbowl | Aquarium is found in the bucket, you have an option to put that back into the place it came from!

DPM Natural Method is all about comfort and convenience. Just a 30% water change once in every TWO WEEKS is sufficient, in case of a DPM Type Natural Fishbowl (Recommended Capacity - 15 Liters). Just a 30% water change once in every TWO MONTHS, in case of a DPM Type Natural Aquarium (Recommended Capacity - 60 Liters or more), is sufficient. Add water, periodically, to your DPM Type Natural Fishbowl | Aquarium to compensate for the amount of water lost due to evaporation. Take care to add water in such a way that the flow | current of the incoming water does not disturb the fish-waste sitting locked underneath the substrate. If you could do that, you do not have to wait for the “dust to settle down”!

CLEANING THE FISHBOWL | AQUARIUM:

It is really easy to clean a DPM Type Natural Fishbowl I Aquarium. The procedure to clean a DPM Type Natural Fishbowl I Aquarium is known as "STIR-CLEANING". There is no need to take the fishes out of the Fishbowl I Aquarium. There is no need to take the substrate or anything else out of the DPM Type Natural Fishbowl I Aquarium for cleaning. Just clean the algae on the walls, as described under "ALGAE ON THE WALLS", stated above. Then, gently stir the water well for a minute using your hand.

The flow so generated, by stirring the water, releases the fish-waste locked within and under the layers of substrate. Then, with a  clean pipe | hose | siphon, drain 60% of the water. Theoretically, close to 50% of the total Fish-waste volume goes out of the Fishbowl, with the outgoing water. The remaining 50% volume of waste remains to play its role in supporting the growth of helpful bacteria-colonies and helping growth of algae. The helpful bacteria-colony plays a wonderful role in maintaining the water-parameters. And, that is why exactly, one would never find the water in a DPM Type Natural Fishbowl I Aquarium smelling foul. Is not that so good a deal?

Once in 15 days, you may gently wipe the outside of the Fishbowl | Aquarium with a piece of wet cloth to remove the dust and dirt, if any, accumulated on the outer surface of the Fishbowl | Aquarium. Do NOT use the very piece of cloth that you use to clean the INSIDE of the Aquarium | Fishbowl wall (s). Instead, use ANOTHER piece of cloth to clean the OUTSIDE of the Aquarium | Fishbowl wall (s). "STIR-CLEANING" performed once in TWO MONTHS is enough to maintain a DPM Type Natural Fishbowl (Recommended Capacity - 15 Liters) in a good state and " STIR-CLEANING" performed once in EIGHT MONTHS is enough to maintain a DPM Type Natural Aquarium (Recommended Capacity - 60 Liters or more) in a good state. Does that sound good enough?

As you understand here, algae play a very important role in a DPM Type Natural Fishbowl I Aquarium. What is so special about Algae and why algae have been chosen to play a role in the DPM Natural Method? Let's discuss about what is so special about algae next. NEXT >>  << Previous

PART 28: MAINTENANCE! by Debi Prasad Mahapatra is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

PART 27: THE DESIGN!

<< Previous SIGNIFICANCE OF THIS (DPM Type Natural Fishbowl | Aquarium) DESIGN | ARRANGEMENT | ARCHITECTURE:

I. Fish waste falls into and remains locked in the bottom-most layer of the substrate in the Fishbowl | Aquarium.

II. There are hundreds of narrow tunnels and thousands of tiny caves for the fishes to hide inside. And, that is a very important factor.

III. Fish eggs fall into and remain secured in the layers of substrate.

IV. Fish Babies | Fry can hide and protect themselves. The layer of smaller Glass Marbles is specifically useful for this purpose.

V. The section of substrate, which is never touched and disturbed, serves the purpose of providing a surface for the beneficial bacteria to build colonies.

VI. The glass vase works as the deepest area of the Fishbowl | Aquarium. Any fish that wants to enjoy the pressure of depth visits the glass vase. More importantly, the glass vase works as the dining area of the Fishbowl | Aquarium. Appropriate food is directly dropped into the glass vase and fishes visit the glass vase to enjoy their food. It offers two advantages. No food portion falls into the substrate and get locked in there. That helps maintaining the quality of the water. No food goes waste and the fishes get an opportunity to enjoy every portion of the food given to them. Any good quality Sinking Pellet Fish Food is ideal for this purpose. Food may be directly dropped or a Blunt-nosed thumb splinter forceps may be used to place the food precisely in the glass vase.

Steps, pertaining to setting up a DPM Type Natural Fishbowl | Aquarium, are continued here:
Step 9. Add water to the arrangement without disturbing anything. Fill the Fishbowl | Fish Tank just enough to leave the top 10% of the container for air to occupy.

Step 10. Do whatever is required to get done with the light-bulb and its connection.

Step 11. Expose the Fishbowl | Aquarium to indirect sunlight for as long as a span possible every day. Expose the Fishbowl | Aquarium, if possible, to 'direct' sunlight for 15 minutes every day. It ideally should, still, not alter the temperature of the water to a large extent. After the direct exposure to sunlight, if you touch the outer surface of the Fishbowl | Aquarium, it should feel colder than the atmosphere around you. Continue with this routine for the next 7 days.

Step 12. Get two small female healthy platies and introduce them to the Fishbowl | Fish Tank. Feed them once in a day. Continue with the sunlight-exposure routine over the next 15 days.

Step 13. If everything goes fine and the platies do well, introduce two more small healthy platies - one male and one female. You may consider, if you want to play it really safe, keeping the two new platies in isolation to ensure that they are not sick before introducing them to your Fishbowl | Fish Tank in question. Continue with the sunlight-exposure routine over the next 15 days.

Step 14. By now, you should ideally see some Green Algae in your Fishbowl | Aquarium. If that is the case, that is good and you are on the right track. Many kinds of fishes, as well as platies, like to enjoy Green Algae as their food. It has been more than 5 weeks and you have 4 platies doing fine in your Fishbowl | Fish Tank. Now, if it is a Fishbowl, with a gross capacity of 15 Litres or more, you may or may not consider adding another small young and healthy female platy. 5 are good and 4 are better, if you want to make a choice.

If it is a Fish Tank, you may consider adding a few more platies or other compatible fishes. There should be 3 females for each male platy. Ideally, you may decide on the final count based on the volume of water in your Aquarium. Each fish is going to require around 4 litres of water. So, if it is a 40-litre fish tank, you may have 10 fishes in total. Slightly modify your sunlight-exposure routine to limit direct exposure to sunlight to just 3 minutes. Keep feeding your fish once every day during the process of establishing a DPM Type Natural Fishbowl | Aquarium!

Now, you are all set with your DPM Type Natural Fishbowl I Aquarium. Let's talk abou the maintenance aspects of a DPM Type Natural Fishbowl | Aquarium next. NEXT >>  << Previous

PART 27: THE DESIGN! by Debi Prasad Mahapatra is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

PART 26: SETTING UP A DPM TYPE NATURAL FISHBOWL | AQUARIUM!

<< Previous HOW TO SET A DPM TYPE NATURAL FISHBOWL | AQUARIUM UP?

Q U E S T I O N: What do you need?

A N S W E R: To set up a DPM Type Natural Fishbowl | Aquarium, you need the following:

1. A Fishbowl or Fish Tank

2. Enough regular-sized (½ inch or 1.25 cm) Glass Marbles to cover the floor area of the Fishbowl or Fish Tank. The marbles-substrate must at least be 1.5 Inches deep.

3. Enough natural smooth-edged aquarium gravel (Size: 1 Inch) of your choice to cover the floor area of the Fishbowl or Fish Tank. The gravel-substrate must be at least 1.5 Inches deep. Natural white aquarium-gravel has been used in the DPM Type Natural Fishbowl mentioned in one of the previous sections.

4. Enough smaller Glass Marbles to cover 15% of the floor area of the Fishbowl or Fish Tank. The marbles-substrate must, at least, be 1.5 Inches deep.

5. A smooth-edged clear glass cylinder vase. Minimum Size Specification: 3 Inches Diameter and 4 Inches Height, in case of a Fishbowl and 4 Inches Diameter and 5 Inches Height, in case of a Fish tank.

6. A suitable cover that allows enough ventilation. The cover must also have a provision to attach | accommodate an electric light-bulb.

7. An energy-efficient light bulb or a low-watt (8 to 15 Watt) incandescent light bulb.

8. A power cord with a plug to get power to the light bulb from the wall socket.

9. Appropriate volume of water. The water must not contain any trace of chlorine, chloramine, any chemical, detergent, soap and oil.

10. Enough large natural smooth-edged aquarium gravel (Size: 2 Inches) of your choice to cover 25% of the floor area of the Fishbowl or Fish Tank. The large gravel-substrate must at least be 2 Inches deep. Natural large gravel of different shapes and colors has been used in the DPM Type Natural Fishbowl mentioned in one of the previous sections.

Q U E S T I O N: What is the procedure to set it up?

A N S W E R: Following are the steps of the procedure.

Step 1. Select an appropriate location for the Fishbowl | Aquarium. It should be placed on something stable and sturdy. The location must get direct and indirect sunlight for some span of time every day. It should be possible to control the amount of direct | indirect sunlight that the Fishbowl | Aquarium gets exposed to. Keeping the Fish Tank close to a window with a curtain suffices. Exposure to Filtered sunlight (sunlight passing through one or more layer of glass on a window or door) is better than extended exposure to direct sunlight. Ensure that, the temperature of the water in your Aquarium | Fishbowl does not increase substantially because of the exposure to the sunlight. If the temperature increases, control the degree and type of exposure. Ideally, the Fishbowl | Aquarium should be placed at least 12 inches away from the glass on the window or door in question.

Step 2.Thoroughly clean the Fishbowl | Aquarium, Gravel, Marbles and the Glass Vase. Make sure that there are no residue of chlorine, chloramine, any chemical, detergent, soap and oil on the above mentioned stuff. Let those items dry out.

Step 3. Position the Fishbowl | Aquarium at its designated location. Place the glass vase, a little away from the center of the Fishbowl's | Aquarium's floor, in an upright position in the Fishbowl | Aquarium.

Step 4. Place (evenly spread) the regular-sized (½ inch or 1.25 cm) Glass Marbles on the floor of the Fishbowl | Fish Tank. Do not place any marble inside the glass vase.

Step 5. Place (evenly spread) natural smooth-edged aquarium gravel (Size: 1 Inch) on top of the layer of regular-sized (½ inch or 1.25 cm) Glass Marbles. Do not place any gravel inside the glass vase.

Step 6. On top of the natural smooth-edged aquarium gravel (Size: 1 Inch) layer, place a few pieces of the large natural smooth-edged aquarium gravel (Size: 2 Inches) touching each other to create a firm boundary enclosing 15% of the floor (surface) area. The boundary should be ideally 2-inches high. Do not place any gravel inside the glass vase.

Step 7. Fill the inside of that large-gravel boundary with the smaller Glass Marbles. Do not let the smaller Glass Marbles spill over.

Step 8. Place (create) a layer of large natural smooth-edged aquarium gravel (Size: 2 Inches) exactly on top of the layer of smaller Glass Marbles. Do not place any marble inside the glass vase. Do not place any large natural smooth-edged aquarium gravel (Size: 2 Inches) on top of the natural smooth-edged aquarium gravel (Size: 1 Inch).

Ensure that none of the layers mentioned above are shaky. The layers should be carefully created to achieve this goal. And, it is, very much an achievable goal. Let's talk about the SIGNIFICANCE of This Design | Arrangement | Architecture and the rest of the Set-up Steps next. NEXT >>  << Previous

PART 26: SETTING UP A DPM TYPE NATURAL FISHBOWL | AQUARIUM! by Debi Prasad Mahapatra is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

PART 25: IS THERE A BETTER DEAL THAN THIS?

<< Previous DPM Natural Method is absolutely a scalable and versatile method. It works as effectively in a 100 Gallon Fish Tank as it does in an One-Gallon Fishbowl | Mini Aquarium | Nano Aquarium | Nano Tank | Mini Fish Tank | Micro Aquarium | Desktop Aquarium! Following are a few of the obvious ADVANTAGES of a DPM Type Natural Fishbowl | Aquarium:

1. You do not have to take care of plants as there are no plants, by design, 

2. As there are no plants, no fertilizers are required.

3. No CO2 injection is required.

4. No filter is required in a DPM Type Natural Fishbowl | Aquarium.

5. No heater is required.

6. No air-stone and power-head are required, by design.

7. Low-power lighting is required, supplemented by sunlight.

8. Complete water change and full aquarium cleaning is NEVER required!

9. Just a 30% water change once in every two weeks in case of a DPM Type Natural Fishbowl (Recommended Capacity - 15 Litres) is required. In most of the cases, however, just a 30% water change once in every FOUR WEEKS, in case of a DPM Type Natural Fishbowl (Recommended Capacity - 15 Litres), is more than enough.

10. Just a 30% water change once in every TWO MONTHS in case of a DPM Type Natural Aquarium (Recommended Capacity - 60 Litres or more) is required. In most of the cases, however, just a 30% water change once in every FOUR MONTHS, in case of a DPM Type Natural Aquarium (Recommended Capacity - 60 Litres or more), is more than enough.

11. In case of algae-eating small inhabitants, feeding can be skipped for up to THREE WEEKS in a row! This has been established through an experimentation involving 12 tiny Platies mentioned in the previous section. When I write this sentence, they are alive, healthy and happy, as always. A DPM Type Natural Fishbowl | Aquarium takes care of itself and its inhabitants when you go on a vacation! (This is TRUE only in case of algae-eating small inhabitants). For the sake of variety and balanced nutrition, I feed my little Platies once in every FOUR days. They keep eating Green Algae whenever they like and enjoy the high quality natural fish-food that I give them once in every four days. It is never a good idea to skip feeding your fish altogether over an extended span of time. The experiment mentioned above was done specifically in the context of a typical vacation (No one at home to feed the fishes). NOTE: When you have Fish Babies | Fish Fry in your DPM Type Natural Fishbowl | Aquarium, do change 30% of water at least once in a week to support appropriate growth of Fish Babies | Fish Fry. Do feed them at least once with any suitable Fry-Food | Fish Baby Food! That will supplement the diet (Green Algae and other Natural Organisms) they get by default in a DPM Type Natural Fishbowl | Aquarium. This will result in a more balanced nutrition available to the Fish Babies | Fish Fry.

12. DPM Type Natural Fishbowl | Aquarium can be "STIR-CLEANED" without even touching the substrate and disturbing anything that is part of the setup.

13. Stir-cleaning, coupled with a 60% water change, once in TWO MONTHS is enough to maintain a DPM Type Natural Fishbowl in a good state (Recommended Capacity - 15 Litres).

14. Stir-cleaning, coupled with a 60% water change, once in EIGHT MONTHS is enough to maintain a DPM Type Natural Aquarium in a good state (Recommended Capacity - 60 Litres or more).

15. Green algae, in a DPM Type Natural Fishbowl | Aquarium, releases oxygen as part of their metabolism (photosynthesis) and that oxygenates the water, helping the inhabitants of the Fishbowl | aquarium.

16. No need to buy | maintain | repair | replace the following ever: Filter, Air Stone, Power Head, Air Pump and Heater. A DPM Type Natural Fishbowl | Aquarium does just fine at the room temperature. It is energy-efficient and absolutely silent. A DPM Type Natural Fishbowl | Aquarium is about extremely low cost of ownership.

17. A DPM Type Natural Fishbowl | Aquarium is perfect for someone who does not have enough time and resources for a high-tech aquarium. This is just ideal for one who likes the elegance of natural simplicity.

18. No need to vacuum the substrate. It is optional, though.

19. No need for frequent water changes.

20. The Fishbowl | Fish Tank never smells foul.

21. Fishes (especially, Livebearers) breed so easily in a DPM Type Natural Fishbowl | Aquarium.

22. A DPM Type Natural Fishbowl | Aquarium supports Fish Babies | Fry really well. It provides it all: Shelter, Security, Food and Growth! You do not have to take the Fish Babies | Fry out of your DPM Type Natural Fishbowl | Aquarium. Babies | Fry find appropriate places to hide themselves. No need to offer any special Fry food to the Fish Babies. They get their food, by default, inside a DPM Type Natural Fishbowl | Aquarium, without you doing anything on that front! The Fry grow really well in a DPM Type Natural Fishbowl | Aquarium. These facts have been establishes through a series of real-life experiments.

In this Fishbowl, mentioned in the previous section, currently (on March 01, 2012) there are a couple of a week old healthy and happy Platy Babies (born in the 2nd week of February 2012) exploring their environment. They are the THIRD GENARION (Second Generation, in the true sense)! This DPM Type Natural Fishbowl, mentioned earlier, was started with babies born to the First Generation of platies brought from a Pet Shop. These Platy Babies (The Third Generation) are a couple of offspring of the Second Generation.

23. DPM Natural Method is perfect even for a beginner, because it is simple.

24. No plastic (equipment | part) becomes a part of a DPM Type Natural Fishbowl (DTNF) | Aquarium, by design! A plastic cover | hood | lid that does not touch the water is fine, though.

25. In a DPM Type Natural Fishbowl, fishes do not have to wait for their feeding time. Food is always available in the form of Green Algae in a DTNF. The whole affair is very natural. Fishes eat whenever they feel like eating. It's the fishes that select the time, frequency and quantity when it comes to food and feast. No human intervention is done in this context. In case of a DTNF, the water quality does not deteriorate because of availability of uneaten food in the Fishbowl | Aquarium. For, the food is live and fresh always. And, it's the very food available in the Fishbowl | Aquarium that helps in maintaining good water-quality. This is not usually the case in case of many other types of foods.

26. Because there are no plants in a DTNF, you dot have to care about pulling out dead leaves, ever. Since you do not have any plants, you do not have to worry about your fishes destroying your plants.

27. A DPM Type Natural Fishbowl | Aquarium helps in applying DPM’s Natural Adaptation Technique (DNA Tech). That, in turn, helps the fishes, in question, evolve for a Sustainable-Natural-Living in a man-made environment - A Fishbowl | Aquarium! And, that’s not all. It is absolutely easy and quick to move over to another method of Fish Keeping, in case you decide to do so.

That's really quite a lot of good aspects of a DPM Type Natural Fishbowl | Aquarium. Let's talk about how to set a DPM Type Natural Fishbowl | Aquarium up next. NEXT >>  << Previous

PART 25: IS THERE A BETTER DEAL THAN THIS? by Debi Prasad Mahapatra is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.