still alive

He's still alive! I didn't wake up to see him belly-up!

fish adventures

After work this evening I migrated up the 405 traffic stream to the Pacific Reef Tropical Fish Store, hoping for an "official" and final opinion on my tropical fish options.

The fellow behind the counter, who could have been my grandpa, must have been hired to be the only "dry" thing in that watery little fish world - he had NO personality! When I told him about my biOrb and that I was there to pick out some tropical fish for it, he looked at me like I was yet another silly newbie aquarist for thinking I could put tropical fish in my biOrb (but, but, but… Petsmart & Petco told me!!!...) ...

"Oh, you have the BABY biOrb? I thought you had a LARGER one. You can only have a couple tropical fish in there, and ONLY if you have the water heater accessory. And no, the schooling fish won't 'school' in your size tank - it's too small."

"What size tank would they need to be happy?"

"At least 10 gallons, if not more. They need room to swim. And they need a heater. "

"Oh..... well I suppose I could order the heater attachment from the manufacturer. Hmmm. Well, if I don’t though, what kind of fish are we talking about for my unheated, 4 gallons?"

"A beta would be good."

".......oh."

[He looked at me blankly.]

"Do I have any other options?"

"A goldfish."

".....................oh."

[I cringed at that dreaded name.]

".......I've had bad experiences with those kind of fish."

[He looked at me blankly again, as though he wasn’t sure what else I expected him to tell me about my small, unheated, four gallon tank.]

While I raised an eyebrow in the direction of his bubbling goldfish tanks and pondered the fate of my empty biOrb, I began having childhood flash-backs of my flaccid, pale, expressionless dead goldfish in a murky swamp of stringy-things...and decided 'grandpa' took facial-expression lessons from his fish...

"Well, let me think this over while I wander around your store,” I responded.

'Grandpa' looked as though he could have had fins, the way he swished around and finally settled on his stool behind the counter, as though it was a piece of coral behind some greenery.

I wandered the store, jealously looking at all the colorful, flashy tropical fish swimming happily in their tanks. Ooooooh, an idea struck me....

"Are clown fish saltwater fish?” I would only need to add salt at that point!

"Yes. And they need a heater.”

Darn it. There goes that idea. On to the goldfish, I guess...

“How many goldfish can I have in my size tank?”

“One.”

“But if I want more than one fish for my…?”

“You’re tank is too small.”

“I would like to have more than one fish if I could, though. The biOrb box said my tank could hold up to five fish that grow no bigger than 1.5 inches – is there anything that doesn’t grow bigger than that?”

“You could have a few guppies.”

“But would I need a heater?”

“Yes.”

I wasn’t getting very far.

I looked at the goldfish again.

They were bug-eyed with bushy fins, and swam hysterically around their little tank like a bunch of dopey clowns in a rodeo. Pretty clowns, but very, VERY dopey. And dirty. I couldn’t pull myself to go down that road again.

I turned on my heels, longingly and slowly walking past all the pretty tropical fish, and on to the beta display…again.

After much inspection, and a few more questions about what fish a beta could swim with and NOT attack and NOT need a water heater for, I found myself carrying my new friend to the register…a little blue and red male beta.

'Grandpa' seemed pleasantly relieved I had finally made up my mind. LOL ;)

So, I took my yet-to-be-named, “little guy” home, adjusted him to his house’s water temperature, and then let him run free...all by his lonesome.

To help him feel a little more at home, I gave him some of his beta food for "dinner." He took a couple bites, and then spit it out.

"......terrific," I thought to myself, "I picked out a bulimic beta."

Soooooooo, aside from nicknaming him "BB" until I can find a more appropriate name, and watching him swim in a continuous counter-clockwise circle for about an hour, this has been my evening. :) We're off to a great start, I can tell!

I'll keep you posted.

fish nightmare

Apparently my childhood goldfish trauma is still potent enough to haunt my dreams to this day!

I dreamt just the other night that I put my new fish friends in their new fish home, fed them their first meal (dinner), and woke-up the next morning to find the tank clouded over and all the fish belly-up (and yes, Mom - with all the 'stringy-things' at the bottom of the tank, too!!!)! It was horrid, and I was embarressed, because the tank & I were with Carrie Underwood at her house in Oklahoma......................??! (Yeah, not sure how she fit into the fish nightmare, but it definitely earns this post the 'Random' & 'Humor' labels!)



So, I woke up from the dream feeling very sad and with some trepidation about my shiny, new, biOrb adventure. However, the fish experts at both PetSmart and Petco have assured me that goldfish are the 'dirtiest' of all the possible fish I could chose, and that I will likely have much greater success with the tropical fish I have my eye on.

We shall see...I make my decision on some new friends tonight!

Maybe Carrie Underwood can come over and sing to them. ;)

my new toy: show & tell

There's been a bit of a "something lacking" in my Home (Away from Home) apartment... could be due to 90% of my belongings still being in boxes in Washington, but besides that, there's still something lacking!

Until now: I have a new toy, or maybe better yet - a little home within my home!



I found a stellar deal on a Biorb and will soon be adding little LIVES to my humble abode (who can live next to mini-NYorb)! Since I tend to keep the shades drawn to hide from the nearness of my neighbors (& to keep heat/air costs down with the warm days & cool nights - and Mom, I think I'm turning into G'ma Ruth!!!), plant life requiring sunlight has seemed out of the question. But fish life works best kept away from sunlight - perfect! We'll hide from the outside world together.

The set-up was very simple. The box came with everything needed to begin the acquarium. I added a few rocks I liked better than the ones that came with the set, and now it's ready to stabalize for my new friends!

Next step: pick 'em out...

I can keep a total of five-ish small ones in the 4 gallons. And because of my goldfish traumas from youth (remember that, Mom?? ewwwwww!!!!), I've SPECIFICALLY sought advice on the CLEANEST and HEALTHIEST fish possible for a newbie acquarium. Here are my favorites I have an eye on...

cardinal tetras


black tetras


cherry barb


rosy barb


green tiger fish


tiger barb




veiled angel fish

black angel fish


Because of their size, hardiness, and ease to care for, I think I'm going to get the tiger barbs or the cardinal tetras (if I can find them locally - they are a wild variety, not farm raised).

Which would you pick?