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Greater Seattle Aquarium Society

The Soothing Aquarium

by Steve Ward
March 1999

The medical profession has realized for some time that aquariums are beneficial to the mental health and physical well-being of humans. It is not uncommon to find aquaria in hospitals, schools, offices, and restaurants. I find it relaxing to sit in front of my fish tank at the end of the day and find escape from daily life in admiring this placid and more natural world before me. Actually I have a number of tanks so I walk around the house and check on all of them, and it isn’t really that much of an escape because I just spent all day working in a tropical fish store. Still, I enjoy feeding them, although I forgot to buy frozen bloodworms again today and I can’t remember where I left that can of flake food (Oh, there it is. No, this is an old can of that stuff they don’t like as much). Well, they seem to be eating, that’s good. I make a quick headcount to assure that all are alive and well. Everyone all accounted for except for the female Pelvicachromis. Hopefully she is preparing a place to spawn, which would be great because that pair cost me a bundle.I really hope she is alright because the chance of finding another female would be pretty slim. She and the male have been squabbling a lot since that last water change. If he killed her I’d be heartbroken. I notice now that the other fish in the tank are acting a bit skittish, hovering near the surface and favoring the corners of the tank. Is the temperature right? The filter seems to be running properly. I should check the pH, ammonia, and nitrate although I did a big water change on Monday. Maybe I changed too much of the water. I wonder if I shocked them. Shoot, I don’t specifically remember putting the water conditioner in this tank, I was changing three tanks at the same time. I shouldn’t have used that new hose to fill the tank. The water had kind of a funny rubbery smell to it. I can’t tell if that new plecostomus is breathing. He’s not even moving, he just sits there. That’s something else I spend too much money on. He’s very rare but for $59 he shouldn’t look so much like a regular Pleco. And I shouldn’t have bought him at that store. I know they don’t hold their fish very long but we haven’t been able to get that species at our shop. He seemed okay when I got him but how do you know? They don’t swim around or show signs of illness like other fish. I know he was caught in the wild, probably has all sorts of strange diseases on him. Maybe I’ve started an epidemic. I could just kick myself. I’d use some Maricide on the tank, but I don’t have any and the shop is closed. The Maricide might be harmful to the plant that I got at the auction, they’re barely holding on as it is. This tank is too crowded. Maybe I could set up that 10 gallon that sprung a leak last month. I’m not sure I did a good job of resealing it, I’ll have to check it before setting it up. I’ll have to find a place to set it up, a good solid place so the bottom doesn’t crack. Not on top of the TV. Maybe it’s this food. I is pretty old and I’ve heard of fish getting sick from eating stale food. This stuff probably doesn’t have any vitamins left in it. It’s my fault. I’ll bet I got glass cleaner in the tank when I wiped the glass. And what about my niece? She was over yesterday and I’ve found all sorts of junk in the tank after her visits; crayons, pennies, paperclips...Who knows what’s in there right now! What if the fish have Columnaris? They could all be dead by morning! Why do I do this? What a waste of time and money! What needless deaths and heartaches I have caused. What the heck...

What the heck is that!? Babies! The female Pelvicachromis is out! And she’s got 30 fry with her! The male is keeping the pleco away, though the it needs a stern dealing-with.

Wooo hooo! This is great! What a relief! That must be why the other fish were hiding in the corner. What a nice batch of fry. Now I can relax and watch the fish for a while, soothe my nerves, enjoy the miracle of life, revel in my success at helping bring these baby fish into the world and into the hobby, and marvel at the behavior of these beautiful, graceful creatures. This is the best, what fishkeeping is all about.

Then again... what am I going to feed the fry? I’ll need to set up a tank for them. What am I going to use for a heater? Do I have any brine shrimp eggs? What if...