PART 34: IS THIS METHOD REALLY NATURAL?

<< Previous | http://www.fishforums.com | New Discussion Thread | 04-16-2012, 07:51 PM:

Title: The new All-Natural Lowest-Maintenance Method!

It was about deriving a method of Freshwater Fish-Keeping that would make my life and that of my fishes better. I wanted it to be:

1. Self-sustained to a great extent

2. As natural as possible

3. LOWEST-Maintenance

4. Absolutely Low-Tech

5. Energy Efficient

6. Silent and extremely simple 

7. Truly healthy and comfortable for my fishes

As far as my academic education is concerned, I am not literally a Fish-Expert. I believed that I would be able to derive and develop a new All-Natural method through cycles of 'experimentation and analysis'. I got started and eventually, theorized this natural fish-keeping method!

After I deployed this method and it really worked, I was happy. My fishes were happy! And, happy was my wife ;-). She found it so cool that I would not have to spend a lot of time any more maintaining my aquarium! Well... that was a bonus!

Please do let me know if you have a question on this method. You have a wonderful day ahead. Take care.

Regards,

AquariumsFishes

http://www.fishforums.com | Question (Concern) | 04-16-2012, 11:19 PM:

I have one HUGE issue with this method for your fish. 

You are NOT providing a natural environment for them (platies) if they do not have at least some current and a source of protein-rich food. You say that they get plenty of sustenance by picking at algae, but that is just not true. Platies are naturally omnivorous like most fish - yes, even "algae eaters" are omnivorous. Of course they are eating the algae, because that's all that is available. 

How long do they live? What do they look like when and if they die? Fish need a varied diet to truly live to their potential and I don't see that being provided with your methods.

http://www.fishforums.com | Answer (Explanation) | 04-17-2012, 09:44 AM:

Thank you so much for putting across those interesting points, ........ . That gives me an opportunity to elaborate further the details of the method is question.

1. The DPM Natural Method is not about Platies, alone. It is a highly customizable scalable generic method. It is more about creating a near-natural environment that resembles the environment of a freshwater lake | pond. That being the theme, by design, no attempt has been made to incorporate a mechanism to create any current | artificial flow.

2. Creating artificial current would require a motorized mechanism (Power Head). The philosophy of this method is about getting rid of external dependencies as far as possible. It is about sustainability. In this method, you do not worry about power outage, broken motorized equipment and many more! That makes life easy and keeps it simple.

3. You are absolutely correct. Even though Green Algae are full of very rich nutrition, Platies really require other kinds of food as well (They are omnivorous). For the sake of variety and balanced nutrition, I feed my Platies once in every four days. I use a high quality natural fish-food. My Platies love that food so much. And, a 3-day interval is sure to intensify that love ;-).

4. These platies were born on the 18th and 19th of August in 2011. They are doing fine and appear healthy. My platies are very active. One of my female Platies became pregnant (by my Red male Platy) and gave birth to a few fry inside the DPM Type Natural Fishbowl. Two of those fry have survived and are doing fine (on 20-Apr-2012). These platies are smaller than the regular Platies. Some people say that these are Dwarf Platies! I believe, their size is a function of the size (and type) of their habitat | environment.

5. Many of the baby-platies from that brood (18th and 19th of August in 2011) died during the first few weeks of their birth. Those were basically the weaker ones and the ones with birth-defects. The ones that did not die are still alive and are healthy. They have grown reasonably well. But, they are smaller than the regular Platies. The good news is none of the grown-up Platies have died and I am going to celebrate their birthday in August. I believe, these platies are going to live to their true potential.

I really appreciate that you wanted to put your concern and observations across. Thank you so much for your time and interest. You gave me an opportunity to clarify the above points for all of us. You have a wonderful day ahead.

Regards,

AquariumsFishes
Additional Notes from the Author: 
(1)There is one more reason why no current is generated | produced in this method. DPM Natural Method does not use any kind of artificial filter mechanism. In the absence of a filter, any degree of current would make the Mulm | Detritus | Fish Waste fly in the water and make the water really cloudy, negatively impacting the comfort of the inhabitants and destroying the elegant look of a DPM Type Natural Fishbowl | Aquarium!
(2)The DPM Natural Method really helps when an aquarist goes on vacation and there is no one available back at home to feed the fishes and change the water. Since the fishes are accustomed (since their very childhood) to living on Green Algae and other bio-organisms that generally grow in such an ecosystem, they just do fine during that vacation without substantial damage to their health. Exposure to indirect sunlight | filtered sunlight is maintained throughout the vacation period, Green Algae keep growing and the fishes keep consuming that. The water quality remains stable. This is not a possibility in case of Automatic Feeders and Feeder Blocks | Weekend Feeders! Next >>  << Previous