Rethinking standard practice: 8 years, no testing, no disease.

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I understand that in your situation the "hands off" method has achieved some sort of equilibrium. I suppose your luck is due to low stocking density.

I'm guessing by your rag tag list of fish that at one time your stocking level was much higher. Btw What happened to the goldfish?

Unfortunately equilibrium in this hobby is temporary unless certain maintenance procedures are adhered to.

One can argue about the frequency and volume of water changes, and the value of gravel vacs. What can't be argued is the proven fact that regular tank maintenance is the key to success.
 
The gold fish got moved on to my sister as her partner has many different community tanks on the go too.

This is why I find this specific setup interesting because the equilibrium isn't temporary it's being monitored consistently over time , think about it the Chinese Algae is like a bulldozer through the sand so no pockets can build up

The barbs and the angels both peck at the sand in turn aerating the sand , by utilizing these natural behaviours I've effectively created a self sustaining loop.

It was originally 3 angels,2 red paradise fish, 2 Chinese algae eaters , the 4 barbs , and a guppy and platty. They were raised from small fry and just natural selection ran it's course
 
Of course there are a lot of benifets to a well aged tank, but it's somewhat amazing your situation is working.

You might take a water sample to your LFS and have it tested.

Over time fish can adapt to gradual increases in nitrate. There does come a point where excessive nitrate adversely affects health. Where that point lays differs between species.

Hope things continue to do well for you.
 
I have 2 heaters in there set at the same temperature of 20 degrees to maintain a constant variable , and the filter provides oxygen as well runs 2 vertically stacked sponges as the filtering system
 
I'll happily share a video of the tank to show that there is no hostility between the fish , and even when I feed they wait for the flake to hit the tank and will group together in wait , it's actually fascinating to watch because the Chinese algae eater I won't see for days at a time and then out of no where he will just dart across the tank, or be on the side of the glass doing his thing. While I understand this isnt the normal it's got me thinking has the stability of the tank stopped the aggression in the fish over their time together?
 
The real irony is that you are basing your conclusions on purely subjective data, and could easily ratify your conclusions w a simple water test to add objectivity. Strange that you would not want to do that.

If your claim to some type of anaerobic nitrate removal is true, a water test would prove that in under 5 minutes.

Personally researched, the actual scientific data for the effectiveness of anaerobic filter beds is 50/50 at best.

Your substrate depth is far from adequate to achieve anaerobic conversion, especially in the presence of your fish aerating the substrate column. Maybe 8 years of sludge build up in your filter or under your hard scape is achieving this!

In my opinion, live fish swimming in water that may be clear, but looks like tea is hardly conclusive.

The lack of aggression is also a poor data piece. As an ICU RN I see ppl everyday who have a build up of metabolites in their system. It actually causes somnolence, reduced activity, reduce alertness. These are a sign of a problem, not equilibrium.

As S skjl47 has said, you do you with your fish & tank, but if your purpose here is to try to convince a largely scientific community that your subjective conclusions are in fact correct, the only way to do that is to add objectivity.

What happened to the female guppy you mentioned?
 
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danotaylor said:
The real irony is that you are basing your conclusions on purely subjective data, and could easily ratify your conclusions w a simple water test to add objectivity. Strange that you would not want to do that.

If your claim to some type of anaerobic nitrate removal is true, a water test would prove that in under 5 minutes.

Personally researched, the actual scientific data for the effectiveness of anaerobic filter beds is 50/50 at best.

Your substrate depth is far from adequate to achieve anaerobic conversion, especially in the presence of your fish aerating the substrate column. Maybe 8 years of sludge build up in your filter or under your hard scape is achieving this!

In my opinion, live fish swimming in water that may be clear, but looks like tea is hardly conclusive.

The lack of aggression is also a poor data piece. As an ICU RN I see ppl everyday who have a build up of metabolites in their system. It actually causes somnolence, reduced activity, reduce alertness. These are a sign of a problem, not equilibrium.

As S skjl47 has said, you do you with your fish & tank, but if your purpose here is to try to convince a largely scientific community that your subjective conclusions are in fact correct, the only way to do that is to add objectivity.

What happened to the female guppy you mentioned?
Click to expand...
Zealot....😒
 
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danotaylor said:
The real irony is that you are basing your conclusions on purely subjective data, and could easily ratify your conclusions w a simple water test to add objectivity. Strange that you would not want to do that.

If your claim to some type of anaerobic nitrate removal is true, a water test would prove that in under 5 minutes.

Personally researched, the actual scientific data for the effectiveness of anaerobic filter beds is 50/50 at best.

Your substrate depth is far from adequate to achieve anaerobic conversion, especially in the presence of your fish aerating the substrate column. Maybe 8 years of sludge build up in your filter or under your hard scape is achieving this!

In my opinion, live fish swimming in water that may be clear, but looks like tea is hardly conclusive.

The lack of aggression is also a poor data piece. As an ICU RN I see ppl everyday who have a build up of metabolites in their system. It actually causes somnolence, reduced activity, reduce alertness. These are a sign of a problem, not equilibrium.

As S skjl47 has said, you do you with your fish & tank, but if your purpose here is to try to convince a largely scientific community that your subjective conclusions are in fact correct, the only way to do that is to add objectivity.

What happened to the female guppy you mentioned?
Click to expand...

You do realise I'm using a ring light as my active lighting , that has 3 distinct colours gradients which can be adjusted as necessary not only does this simulate the daylight cycle but also the moonlight cycle.

The guppy was at the end of her natural live as she had already survived 3 years in that tank.

Next ill be told my way of oxygenating the water is wrong too. I use a venturi snorkel design that uses the filter own power to draw the oxygen in to aerate the top of the water while the bottom of thank tank remains untouched

And regarding the behaviours of the fish , they still hold there own territory while reminding other of the hierarchy that it's there space , but there is no physical aggression.

I've never ran a test any in any of that I tanks I've had across the 8 years I've kept aquatic wildlife, and I don't plan on starting now

Using people in comparison to fish was the first mistake as behaviours are completely different in different species
 
I don't know. 3 months for water changes....I couldn't do it. Wait that long.
As far as testing. I think most people don't test on tanks that have been doing fine for years. It's seems it's always when problems crop up or when you are cycling a tank.
 
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