#LIKE THERES EVEN AN OSTRACOD ONE!!!

[tt-squid]

i dont have any money to spend on stuff like this rn so all i can do is dream, but-

LOOK AT THESE!!!!!

[endangered-aquarium-fish]

guys

theoretically how to make a self sustaining fish ecosystem (that i would trust more than trying to grow all the fish food in the tank with the fish. even tho that can work)

have an established planted tank and two separate clear containers, both at least a gallon

set the containers by a bright window and fill both with water from the tank (not newly dechlorinated, it has to be established)

in one container, add some gravel or lava rock to house beneficial bacteria to stabilize the water parameters, a bunch of dried plant trimmings from the main tank, azolla to absorb heavy metals, and a bunch of scuds, "pest" snails, ostracods, amano shrimp, etc. just anything thats rlly hardy and eats algae and rotting debris

in the other container, add gravel/lava rock, some kinda live plant to keep the water clean, some snails or smth to eat algae, and some daphnia

optionally add a bubbler to both, it might help

the one with the azolla and dead plants is gonna grow a bunch of greenwater (phytoplankton) since theres a lot of sunlight and nutrients and nothing else to consume them- all those creatures will release the nutrients from the dead plants into the water and also eat any other algae that tries to grow, and azolla is a nitrogen fixer so it won't consume much from the water it just keeps it from being toxic to daphnia (azolla is especially good at doing that)

every day, use a turkey baster to add a bit of greenwater to the daphnia, some daphnia to the main tank, and some water from the tank to the greenwater. so the daphnia feed the fish, the waste from the fish feeds the plants, the plants feed the critters in the greenwater, the critters feed the greenwater, the greenwater feeds the daphnia, and then the daphnia feed the fish again. and the plants in the main tank keep it clean so you have a source of good aged water for like constant water changes on the daphnia and greenwater to keep them going indefinitely

depending on what critters you put in with the greenwater you can use them as fish food too

if you dont wanna spread the azolla outside of the greenwater tank you can use one of those little floating hoops to make a clear spot where you can put the turkey baster

you can also use the dead plants to grow infusoria which is simpler and the same vibe but only feeds newly hatched fry

have not tried this but it should work im like halfway there i just need to find daphnia. lmk if you have any thoughts