Tuesday, August 04, 2009

Something Fishy is Going On...

I've always found fish tanks (stocked, of course) fascinating. Fish are so lovely, so graceful in the water with their fins waving in the current like streamers of silk. And the colors--bright orange and yellow, black and cobalt striped, iridescent green. So I've always thought I would like to have my own tankful to admire.

Well, I've got my chance. Eamonn brought a single goldfish home in a plastic baggie from the county fair on Friday and deposited it directly into my hands. This could be cool, I thought, or this could be an early lesson in death.

Since I never miss an opportunity to create more work for myself, I rushed over to the pet store to pick up a "Goldfish kit" to create a suitable, watery habitat for little "Hot Wheels." Meanwhile, the husb looked up "goldfish habitat" online and discovered that if we really wanted to take care of this newest member of the family, he'd need a much bigger tank, filter, etc etc.

Today Hot Wheels moved into 10x as much water as he had been swimming in, with geologically-appropriate gravel (my color-coordinated neon blue stuff was nixed) and 2 snails to keep him company. I suspect there are some more piscine friends in the future and I look forward to the naming process...

Apparently, watching fish has been proven to lower stress levels and blood pressure, so I'm thinking I have a new backdrop for my home yoga practice. If you've ever sat in front of a tank of jellyfish at an aquarium, you can certainly understand how watching our watery friends glide around would be calming. I'll have to do some research on appropriate tank mates, but, for now I have a new yoga buddy.

Ohm, Hot Wheels, Ohm.

2 comments:

Eco Yogini said...

yay fish! Andrew and I have two freshwater fish tanks- one 30 gallon and one 10 gallon. They are basically his babies, but we love them :)

Jan Holt said...

I wish you so much luck with this. Our foray into fish began much like yours but ended very quickly and with heartbreak. As you say though, it was a good lesson about life and death. The three little fishy corpses (with headstones) are buried in my back yard now... shudder.

"Just Keep Swimming" as Dory say's in Finding Nemo.