Tannin Aquatics

Tannin Aquatics We’re more than just a purveyor of aquatic goods. We’re a mood, an atmosphere, an aesthetic. A means to blur the lines between nature and the aquarium.

Tannin Aquatics began with a lifelong love for all things aquatic, and a vision to provide freshwater tropical fishes with the most natural captive environments possible. The name “tannin” was selected because it’s the substance derived from leaves and wood that tints the life-giving waters of tropical rivers and streams with a beautiful brown color that I find so alluring. The dark waters, tangle

d roots and colorful leaves found off the shores of tropical “blackwater” rivers and streams provide an irresistible subject for us to replicate in our aquariums. Our tagline, "Leaves, Wood, Water, Life" perfectly summarizes our point of view, and our mission. The passion behind Tannin comes from a desire to provide fellow aquarists with a carefully curated selection of aquarium products, along with information, inspiration, and appreciation for the beautiful world that exists where land meets water. We’re all about fostering creativity and fascination. We offer wonderful natural materials to create distinctive aquarium displays, and provide fish breeders with materials and products they can use to practice their craft. Based in Los Angeles, California, our thing is to offer fellow hobbyists the kind of stuff that gets us excited. Weather it’s unusual aquascaping materials, that hard-to-find "small batch" fish food with the local cult following, specialty aquarium hardware, substrate additives, or equipment for fish breeders- everything that we sell is something that we use and believe in. Stuff that comes from quality, reliable, and responsible sources. Stuff that we know will get you excited, too. And we support all of this good stuff with a level of personal service that will keep you coming back for more! We know that passion matters in this hobby. And passion drives everything that we do at Tannin. As you may have already surmized- we aren’t your typical aquarium product vendor. And we're just getting started! To check out more of our story and what inspires us, check out our blog.

Sometimes we wander. Sometimes we head out of (what have become to us)the known areas; the comfortable ones. Souring our...
10/20/2022

Sometimes we wander. Sometimes we head out of (what have become to us)the known areas; the comfortable ones.

Souring our journey, we see what else is out there…We sense the wonder, the drama, and the opportunity. We see the lonely outer limits, the teeming cities; and experience the joy of a warm smile in a sea of humanity, or the thrill of discovering things previously hidden from view.

And when we return from our journey, we return as only an outsider can- curious, studious, oddly confident, and filled with ideas to share.

The mission becomes obvious: To encourage others to find their own paths, to push out from their familiar, ordinary, now comfortable environment, to be bold, and to redefine what’s possible.

2023 will be the year of the journey from ordinary. We’ll be your tour guide.

I sometimes look at my aquariums and wonder, “What can I do better?” And the beauty of this question is that there is SO...
09/20/2022

I sometimes look at my aquariums and wonder, “What can I do better?” And the beauty of this question is that there is SO much that I can do better. The botanical method aquarium movement has so much room for innovation, improvement, and refinement. We’re really still only at the beginning.

What is it about the tinted water of botanical method aquariums that we find so alluring? Is it the way our fishes react...
08/17/2022

What is it about the tinted water of botanical method aquariums that we find so alluring? Is it the way our fishes react, glowing like they do in the wild? Is it how these systems function much like the wild aquatic habitats they seek to replicate, fostering a diverse ecology of organisms at all levels? Perhaps it’s the unique aesthetics that they bring?
, we think that it’s “all of the above”, and more.

Find out for yourself…Take the plunge and “do Nature more naturally! “

One of the cool things about the aquarium hobby is how old favorites - fish, plants, etc.- can activate something in our...
08/16/2022

One of the cool things about the aquarium hobby is how old favorites - fish, plants, etc.- can activate something in our minds; re-igniting longtime passions.

This little frag of Pocillopora damicornus - of the most common stony corals in the hobby- is a throwback to my first stony coral reef tank decades ago.

Sure, Pocillopora is not much of a challenge to keep. Many consider it a “weed.” It’s been long since cast aside as reefers jump on more “trendy” corals- yet it holds a very special place in my heart. It’s fuzzy polyps, branching structure, and bright pink color give me the same joy now as they did all those years ago!

Isn’t that kind of what the aquarium hobby is all about? Keep what you love; what brings YOU joy. You can never go wrong that way.

Approaching all types of aquariums with a more “natural” approach is fun for me. As I ease back into reefing with my upc...
08/13/2022

Approaching all types of aquariums with a more “natural” approach is fun for me. As I ease back into reefing with my upcoming “postmodern”, bare bottom, coral-centric reef tank this Fall, it was simply irresistible to not detour a bit and evolve our already extant brackish water mangrove aquarium towards full-strength seawater!

I haven’t created a small, decidedly “low tech”, more “natural” marine system in quite a few years…and I’m already smitten again! The look; the smell…The mangroves transitioned beautifully, and the addition of some Halimeda macroalgae has set the stage for some soft corals as I attempted to replicate a mangrove habitat in Raja Ampat, Indonesia. Sure, I need to re-home my mollies, but I’m already getting a nice vibe out of this tank.

It will not be a typical reef tank, nor will it be the suddenly trendy sterile “macroalgae garden”-style tanks we see so much of lately. It will simply be an aquarium intended to replicate aspects of the function and form of a natural marine habitat. My happy zone with freshwater, translated to saltwater…

That excites me.

In many wild aquatic habitats, the relationship between land and water becomes immediately obvious: Terrestrial materia...
08/11/2022

In many wild aquatic habitats, the relationship between land and water becomes immediately obvious: Terrestrial materials, like leaves, twigs, and seed pods, accumulate on the substrate (formerly the forest floor or grassland), as in this pic by .

The now aquatic habitat incorporates these materials to create a dynamic ecology, providing food, shelter, and spawning areas for fishes.

It all looks a bit chaotic; some might call it “messy”- but is it, really? Rather, we think it’s one of Natures most beautiful and compelling aquatic habitats. So much to learn here! This dynamic has been the basis of everything that we’ve done for more than 7 years at Tannin.

Perfect in its “imperfection”- Nature is- and should always be- the inspiration for most of what we do in our aquarium practice.

One of the joys of keeping multiple aquariums is that you can really savor the contrasts between them. In this instance,...
08/02/2022

One of the joys of keeping multiple aquariums is that you can really savor the contrasts between them. In this instance, the deep, earthy color of our botanical method aquarium contrasts dramatically with the bright, clear water in our brackish water mangrove aquarium. Both of these will, in turn, contrast with our upcoming reef aquarium.

Yes, the aquarium hobby is many things; a study in contests and appreciation for the manifold aquatic habitats of the world being just one of them.

Yes, botanical method aquariums are a bit of an enigma to many in the aquarium hobby. We keep aquariums with decomposing...
08/01/2022

Yes, botanical method aquariums are a bit of an enigma to many in the aquarium hobby. We keep aquariums with decomposing botanical materials, yet we’re able to maintain high water quality.

The very existence of these materials and their accompanying microfauna, comprise the “biological filtration system” of the aquarium, and perhaps components of a “food web” within the tank.

The aesthetics may not be to everyone’s liking; however, from a purely functional standpoint, they’re gorgeous beyond measure.

The botanical method community has collectively taken its first steps beyond what has long been understood in the hobby. We’re asking new questions, making new observations- and yeah, sometimes a few discoveries, which will evolve the aquarium hobby in the future.

“The fish are out of focus; moving too fast!” True, but that’s not the point here. What I find awesome about this pic is...
07/30/2022

“The fish are out of focus; moving too fast!” True, but that’s not the point here. What I find awesome about this pic is the contrast: Rapidly moving fishes, flitting about their botanical aquarium setting at high speed.

All the while, Nature moves slowly and steadily, at a pace which only She determines, with fungal threads and biofilms growing luxuriously on the submerged branches.

A study in time, speed…and contrasts. A lesson from Nature.

Although we’re not known for our expertise with, or love for aquatic plants, it’s always fun to experiment with them in ...
07/29/2022

Although we’re not known for our expertise with, or love for aquatic plants, it’s always fun to experiment with them in our botanical method aquariums.

We definitely see unique behaviors in botanical method aquariums. Is it merely in our head, though- or is there some relationship between the presence of plants and an even more “relaxed” behavior in our fishes?

I mean we only have a very few in this tank, and the behavioral changes since we added them are marked… interesting!

07/28/2022

After the lights go down…

When our fishes begin to settle in for the night, it’s easy to see how they take advantage of the environment we’ve created for them as a place to sleep and feel secure.

“Functional aesthetics” in action.

We talk a lot about how the botanical method aquarium provides supplemental food sources for a wide variety of fishes. O...
07/27/2022

We talk a lot about how the botanical method aquarium provides supplemental food sources for a wide variety of fishes.

Our L134 Plecos are a beneficiary of this; they seem to never accept prepared foods when the tank is fed, and apparently derive most or all of their nutrition from the life forms they graze off of the botanicals and wood in their tank.

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Tannin Aquatics is just a bit different than what you're used to in the freshwater tropical fish trade, and we think that you'll appreciate that.

My name is Scott Fellman, the owner and "Chief Tint Officer"- of Tannin Aquatics.

I'm a lifelong tropical fish hobbyist, and I suppose that I'm probably best known in the aquarium world as a reef aquarium author, lecturer, and aquatic industry entrepreneur. Prior to launching Tannin, I was co-owner of a popular marine livestock vendor, Unique Corals. Of course, my first love was freshwater, and I can't ever seem to stray from it.

Tannin's story really began with my lifelong love for all things aquatic, and a vision to provide freshwater tropical fishes with the most natural captive environments possible. Environments with a certain look. A certain feel. A certain vibe. Earthy. Organic. Natural.