Indoor Eco-System With Freshwater Fish & Vegetable Patch Mimics Nature

With so much focus on technology and how it enhances our lives and everything inside our homes, there is something about this indoor eco-system that relies on the delicate balance of the relationship between plants and fish that is really appealing. This freshwater fish and vegetable patch eco-system come in a DIY kit. You fill it with fish like a standard aquarium, although that’s where the similarities end. This is a temporary, green eco-system that eventually gets eaten by the natural cycle of life.

The DIY kit is called Local River. This delicate combination of freshwater fish mixed with a leafy vegetable patch is based on aquaponics and the balance of two living things. They each depend on each other to thrive. The vegetable patch extracts nutrients from the fish excrement. Then the greens return the favor by purifying the water, which is essential for the fish to live. The fish also extract food from the vegetable patch, which is eventually completely consumed. It’s the natural order of the eco-system.

Setting this up in your home would be a great way to teach children about how the aspects in nature are interdependent on each other without any human involvement. Without any manipulation from people, this freshwater fish and greenery live in harmony until one is completely eaten by the other. This makes ordinary fish aquariums look boring and unnatural. I wish I knew how long it takes from start to finish for this eco-system to maintain itself. I assume when the vegetable patch is gone, humans have to get involved to keep the fish alive. In some of these pictures, those don’t look like fish. Are those snakes? Nah, I wouldn’t want those inside my house. I change my mind.