This is just one of many posts on the FilterPro Q&A page www.filterpro.co.uk/qa-24-w.asp but it is very important since most people have either never heard of 'Terrain Theory' or have never got beyond the ridiculous Google / Microsoft search results. Enjoy. GERM THEORY vs TERRAIN THEORY Don't worry, this does relate to fish keeping. It is a long article but will provide useful information for anyone prepared to read it. In the modern world we are exclusively programmed with Germ Theory which was proposed by Loius Pasteur (1822 - 1895) who died aged 72 but very few people know that an alternative view (Terrain Theory) was proposed by Antoine Bechamp (1816 - 1908) who died aged 91. I mentioned at what age they died for a specific reason - please read on.... With Germ Theory we are taught that there are germs / viruses / bacteria which are in circulation in our local environment and they can attack us at any time, no matter how 'fit and healthy' we are, then measures will have to be taken to treat the symptoms of the affliction. That now involves pharmaceutical 'treatments' to mask the symptoms, some of which have serious side effects which require further 'treatment' with more pharmaceuticals in the 'hope' to finally solve the problem(s) caused by past 'treatments' - when most of those further problems will have been caused by the pharmaceuticals tasked with 'solving' the initial affliction. Aaaarrrgggghhh... Obviously there is a real winner and loser in this situation and if you're on the winning team you will most likely be the one selling the pharmaceuticals to 'cure' the problems caused by pharmaceuticals. If you ask any doctor or scientist what they know all about Germ Theory they should be able to talk for hours about the miracles of modern medicine (antibiotics are a genuine miracle life-saver) and how medical interventions have saved the planet from so many diseases and viruses. However, they will seldom be able to tell you anything about Terrain Theory since it is not part of their programming and they will never talk about changes in basic sanitation which resulted in many of the problems claimed as being 'cured' by medical interventions were actually eradicated by better hygiene practices prior to the medical intervention being rolled out. Relating this to fish keeping you can either have an endless 'treatment' regime to keep the water an acceptable quality in order to keep the fish alive in an unsuitable environment (Germ Theory) which works out very expensive and only benefits the people selling you the 'treatments' or you can take the time to research what environment the fish would naturally call 'home' and try to replicate that to keep them happy and disease free (Terrain Theory). One way will be cheaper to set up and require minimal mental effort (but cost a fortune long term) and the other way will take more investment of time and mental effort but will be cheaper and more effective at keeping fish happy and healthy long term. The opposing view of Germ Theory (Terrain Theory) put forward by Antoine Bechamps when simplified can be described as creating a robust environment in the human body (or fish tank) so that any external threats (germs / viruses / bacteria) are fended off before they can do any damage. Having an understanding of Terrain Theory is critical when setting up an aquarium since the water conditions should be tailored to the needs of the fish. For example: If you are setting up an Amazon / Asian tank the vast majority of fish species would require a pH under 7.0 and tailoring the tank conditions to suit them will result in less problems than if they were in an environment which wasn't as conducive to the Natural environment for the stocked fish. Setting up an Amazonian tank with a neutral river sand substrate, bogwood and plenty of suitable plants will result in an environment which will Naturally have a pH lower than 7.0, provide the lignin (from bogwood) expensive plecs need as well as providing the cover and shaded environment many of the Amazon species of fish feel most comfortable with. This results in less stress related disorders and less 'need' for pharmaceutical treatments to keep the water and the fish 'right'. If you have a basic understanding of Terrain Theory and you're setting up an African cichlid tank you would set up the substrate and rocks to create a high pH and mineralized environment that the Malawi / Tanganyikan cichlid fish stock would be happy to call 'home'. The substrate would be crushed coral and rocks (to provide 'caves' for the fish and to increase the pH / mineralize the water) would be ocean rock / spaghetti rock / tuffa rock to create a higher pH and a highly mineralized environment which the fish would Naturally live in. That would result in the fish being happy in their environment with minimal problems as far as 'disease' is concerned. Basically Terrain Theory vs Germ Theory comes down to an understanding of what Naturally makes any organism healthy (good environment, good food, exercise etc.) and trying to replicate those conditions to fend off disease / ailments (Terrain Theory) or ignoring the Natural conditions in favor of pharmaceuticals in an endless cycle of 'treatments' to keep the fish stock alive and water conditions 'right' (Germ Theory). DIS-EASE is the body being unhappy with the environment it is in and manifesting symptoms based on those conditions. At the end of the day both Pasteur and Bechamps were mostly right but 'Germ Theory' benefited the Rockefeller pharmaceutical corporations and Terrain Theory did not. Is it any surprise which one is taught in the Rockefeller schooling system and which one is described as 'pseudoscience' or nonsense in Google / Wikipedia search results? Nope.... If you need further proof just recall the curious events in 2020. There was only one solution offered by 'scientists' and politicians: sit in place, hide in your houses, watch TV and wait for 'the science' to save the day but something which was never mentioned by the so-called 'experts' on TV was the simple message of 'get outside into the sunshine and build up your immune system' (since that would not have benefited the pharmaceutical corporations who have paid handsomely for the 'experts' to be on TV pushing their products). Exactly the same thing happens with fish keeping when paid 'influencers' push unnecessary treatments to keep the water 'right'. Some of them are doing 80% weekly water changes which indicates that the system is almost completely devoid of active bacteria, starved by their water conditioner with the side effects 'treated' with a nation of other treatments. Anyone with a basic understanding of Terrain Theory knows why 80% water changes are 'needed' by unthinking fish keepers and why in reality such big changes would not be needed if the aquatic system was set up properly after some simple research into the Natural habitat of the fish being kept. Knowing how to set up a Natural environment the fish will be happy to live in is critically important to success and the further the system gets away from Nature the more 'need' there will be to treat problems caused by a non-Natural set up. Having knowledge of Germ Theory AND Terrain Theory is important since they both teach valuable lessons and both have elements of truth but unfortunately most online Terrain Theory search results on Google or Microsoft search engines will now yield only 'Germ Theory denialism' claims and a 'pseudoscience / fringe' label to deter any further investigation. In reality Terrain Theory complements Germ Theory and allows for a much greater understanding of how sickness is caused and more importantly how it is prevented. Pasteur (Germ Theory) died aged 72 and Bechamp (Terrain Theory) died age 91. 19 years of extra life for a guy born in the early 1800's .... maybe we should think about it?
Pondguru
This is just one of many posts on the FilterPro Q&A page www.filterpro.co.uk/qa-24-w.asp but it is very important since most people have either never heard of 'Terrain Theory' or have never got beyond the ridiculous Google / Microsoft search results. Enjoy.
GERM THEORY vs TERRAIN THEORY
Don't worry, this does relate to fish keeping. It is a long article but will provide useful information for anyone prepared to read it.
In the modern world we are exclusively programmed with Germ Theory which was proposed by Loius Pasteur (1822 - 1895) who died aged 72 but very few people know that an alternative view (Terrain Theory) was proposed by Antoine Bechamp (1816 - 1908) who died aged 91.
I mentioned at what age they died for a specific reason - please read on....
With Germ Theory we are taught that there are germs / viruses / bacteria which are in circulation in our local environment and they can attack us at any time, no matter how 'fit and healthy' we are, then measures will have to be taken to treat the symptoms of the affliction. That now involves pharmaceutical 'treatments' to mask the symptoms, some of which have serious side effects which require further 'treatment' with more pharmaceuticals in the 'hope' to finally solve the problem(s) caused by past 'treatments' - when most of those further problems will have been caused by the pharmaceuticals tasked with 'solving' the initial affliction. Aaaarrrgggghhh...
Obviously there is a real winner and loser in this situation and if you're on the winning team you will most likely be the one selling the pharmaceuticals to 'cure' the problems caused by pharmaceuticals.
If you ask any doctor or scientist what they know all about Germ Theory they should be able to talk for hours about the miracles of modern medicine (antibiotics are a genuine miracle life-saver) and how medical interventions have saved the planet from so many diseases and viruses. However, they will seldom be able to tell you anything about Terrain Theory since it is not part of their programming and they will never talk about changes in basic sanitation which resulted in many of the problems claimed as being 'cured' by medical interventions were actually eradicated by better hygiene practices prior to the medical intervention being rolled out.
Relating this to fish keeping you can either have an endless 'treatment' regime to keep the water an acceptable quality in order to keep the fish alive in an unsuitable environment (Germ Theory) which works out very expensive and only benefits the people selling you the 'treatments' or you can take the time to research what environment the fish would naturally call 'home' and try to replicate that to keep them happy and disease free (Terrain Theory).
One way will be cheaper to set up and require minimal mental effort (but cost a fortune long term) and the other way will take more investment of time and mental effort but will be cheaper and more effective at keeping fish happy and healthy long term.
The opposing view of Germ Theory (Terrain Theory) put forward by Antoine Bechamps when simplified can be described as creating a robust environment in the human body (or fish tank) so that any external threats (germs / viruses / bacteria) are fended off before they can do any damage.
Having an understanding of Terrain Theory is critical when setting up an aquarium since the water conditions should be tailored to the needs of the fish.
For example:
If you are setting up an Amazon / Asian tank the vast majority of fish species would require a pH under 7.0 and tailoring the tank conditions to suit them will result in less problems than if they were in an environment which wasn't as conducive to the Natural environment for the stocked fish.
Setting up an Amazonian tank with a neutral river sand substrate, bogwood and plenty of suitable plants will result in an environment which will Naturally have a pH lower than 7.0, provide the lignin (from bogwood) expensive plecs need as well as providing the cover and shaded environment many of the Amazon species of fish feel most comfortable with. This results in less stress related disorders and less 'need' for pharmaceutical treatments to keep the water and the fish 'right'.
If you have a basic understanding of Terrain Theory and you're setting up an African cichlid tank you would set up the substrate and rocks to create a high pH and mineralized environment that the Malawi / Tanganyikan cichlid fish stock would be happy to call 'home'. The substrate would be crushed coral and rocks (to provide 'caves' for the fish and to increase the pH / mineralize the water) would be ocean rock / spaghetti rock / tuffa rock to create a higher pH and a highly mineralized environment which the fish would Naturally live in. That would result in the fish being happy in their environment with minimal problems as far as 'disease' is concerned.
Basically Terrain Theory vs Germ Theory comes down to an understanding of what Naturally makes any organism healthy (good environment, good food, exercise etc.) and trying to replicate those conditions to fend off disease / ailments (Terrain Theory) or ignoring the Natural conditions in favor of pharmaceuticals in an endless cycle of 'treatments' to keep the fish stock alive and water conditions 'right' (Germ Theory).
DIS-EASE is the body being unhappy with the environment it is in and manifesting symptoms based on those conditions.
At the end of the day both Pasteur and Bechamps were mostly right but 'Germ Theory' benefited the Rockefeller pharmaceutical corporations and Terrain Theory did not.
Is it any surprise which one is taught in the Rockefeller schooling system and which one is described as 'pseudoscience' or nonsense in Google / Wikipedia search results?
Nope....
If you need further proof just recall the curious events in 2020. There was only one solution offered by 'scientists' and politicians: sit in place, hide in your houses, watch TV and wait for 'the science' to save the day but something which was never mentioned by the so-called 'experts' on TV was the simple message of 'get outside into the sunshine and build up your immune system' (since that would not have benefited the pharmaceutical corporations who have paid handsomely for the 'experts' to be on TV pushing their products).
Exactly the same thing happens with fish keeping when paid 'influencers' push unnecessary treatments to keep the water 'right'. Some of them are doing 80% weekly water changes which indicates that the system is almost completely devoid of active bacteria, starved by their water conditioner with the side effects 'treated' with a nation of other treatments. Anyone with a basic understanding of Terrain Theory knows why 80% water changes are 'needed' by unthinking fish keepers and why in reality such big changes would not be needed if the aquatic system was set up properly after some simple research into the Natural habitat of the fish being kept.
Knowing how to set up a Natural environment the fish will be happy to live in is critically important to success and the further the system gets away from Nature the more 'need' there will be to treat problems caused by a non-Natural set up.
Having knowledge of Germ Theory AND Terrain Theory is important since they both teach valuable lessons and both have elements of truth but unfortunately most online Terrain Theory search results on Google or Microsoft search engines will now yield only 'Germ Theory denialism' claims and a 'pseudoscience / fringe' label to deter any further investigation. In reality Terrain Theory complements Germ Theory and allows for a much greater understanding of how sickness is caused and more importantly how it is prevented.
Pasteur (Germ Theory) died aged 72 and Bechamp (Terrain Theory) died age 91.
19 years of extra life for a guy born in the early 1800's .... maybe we should think about it?
1 year ago (edited) | [YT] | 15