A man who doesn’t merely sugar-coat stuff and (lie like a snake), Governor Andrew Cuomo recently stated, “Do not underestimate this virus. It has beaten us at every turn, and it has surprised us at every turn. Don’t take it lightly. Don’t underestimate it. I believe the facts will change as we go forward. The more we learn about the virus, the more the facts change, and the worse it gets.”
With this Covid-19 situation going on, some people are going absolutely bonkers with regard to staying at home. Some people are vehemently protesting the staying at home orders. All this while most people see professional medical experts’ recommendations to stay home as being very insightful, intelligent, fact and data-based, and beneficial; many people don’t mind staying at home. We live in a very rural area, so we can go to nature areas without contacting people. At our home, we don’t have to go out to be close to nature; nature is part of the essence and foundation of our living space. (We have — and have had — dogs, birds, tropical fish, shrimp, and praying mantises; not that animals can ever truly be “owned”.)
I’ve kept tropical fish for around 59 years so far. Right now i maintain around 700 gallons of aquariums. Aquariums are a very relaxing, educational, and beautiful way of keeping nature within your own home. (Many apartments, where pets are not allowed, allow aquariums.) Think about getting one for yourself. Many can be maintained without a heater. Most tropical fish, despite what the stores tell you, do very well in aquariums kept at room temperature. Petco periodically has “$1 per gallon” sales, wherein you can get a 20 Gallon Long aquarium for $20 or a 40 Gallon Breeder aquarium for $40. Air pumps from Walmart cost around $10 and can run 2 or 3 aquariums at only 4 watts. Walmart sells natural gravel. Many home-bred fish, like Endlers Guppies or hardy Corydoras Catfish (or very colorful Shrimp), can be purchased on eBay.
Most all of my aquariums have live plants. There are all kinds of very beautiful live plants that you can get and they can be very enjoyable to raise and reproduce. Some of my aquariums have shrimp instead of fish, or shrimp combined with small fish.
The following well-done, short video is by Lucas Bretz, where he talks about the “Staying at Home” thing and aquariums. I disagree with him on a number of things regarding the way aquariums should be maintained but there are a number of good ways to keep aquariums that all work well. I met Lucas at an Aquarium Auction/Swap in Champaign, Illinois, and i gave him some young Daisy Neon Blue Ricefish that i bred. Daisy’s are extinct in the wild — due to pollution — and only aquarium enthusiasts like myself and others are keeping them alive. Cory (of Aquarium Co-op) is another great source for videos and aquarium plants and supplies. Prime Time Aquatics is also a great video source. LRB Aquatics sells home-bred fish, shrimp, and plants online.
Below are two different shots of my 8 feet long Angelfish aquarium.
Tom's Nature-up-close Photography and Mindfulness Blog 
I always enjoy these glimpses into your aquariums, and the creatures that live there. I’ve certainly learned that they can be (and should be) far more than a guppy in a bowl!
Thank you, Linda! Yes, far more than a guppy bowl. Bowls are for eating out of! 🙂
Your aquariums are beautiful. If only my cats would let me have one.
Thanks much, Barb! 🙂 Just get a thick glass top of the appropriate size — they should have glass lids anyway — and the cats will not be able to budge it.
Haven’t raised fish in a while. When I did, my tank was close to my bed. I’d watch the fish swim and I’d fall asleep every, single, time!
Yes, tropical fish are very enjoyable and relaxing to watch. Magicalfloatinglyswimminglyflying! 🙂
Your home sounds like a haven for what is really valuable in life.
Thanks, Sue! When i was a kid i knew that i’d live in a house that was like a well-kept zoo. 🙂
It happened.
A six foot long tank. Wow! The plants and the Angel fish are beautiful.My dentisthad a fish tank in his officeand I enjoyed watching them before getting my teeth done- I think it had a calming effect. There was a tank at a nursing home that I used to work at., too and the residents enjoyed it.
Hey, wait a minute, Jane, it’s an eight-foot tank. Don’t chisel me down by two feet! 🙂
Yes, they are very enjoyable and relaxing! Magical too! My doctor’s office has a huge waiting room with two L-shaped aquariums forming a huge square. Lovely fish; great doctor! 🙂
Oh, I love seeing your fish… and once I too had an aquarium – today I have a personal problem with them because I fear the fish feel trapped… I couldn’t agree more with you – those of us who have a relationship with nature have joy at their door – those that do not have an opportunity to start – so how can we lose? I also agree that Americans are underestimating the power of this pandemic and we are going to take the consequences for that attitude – some of us will lose our lives – I have a sense of resignation that I can’t escape because we can’t control what others think or believe.
Thanks, Sarah! Glad you like them! I don’t feel like they — the fish — feel trapped whatsoever. Plus i keep them in huge tanks. They breed well in captivity and if you saw the dirty environments that some of them live in in the wild, you would faint. These days a good number of them are extinct in the wild and would not be alive as a species if it were not for us aquarists. Goodieds, for example, and there are a lot of species of them.
Yes, wanting to go out and socialize does not negate the virus… except in very gullible and crude minds. (It’s very difficult to change minds to be truly independent and intelligent; humans will destroy themselves by their own callousness and ignorance, and sooner than you think.)
Stay as safe as you can.
I am glad that you don’t feel like the fish are trapped and yes, yours are in huge tanks – and because fish like people they may enjoy living with you very much… I guess my worries about fish stem from the horrible practice of keeping one fish in a tea cup bowl – I cringe when I see this – and yes, fish are living in hideous circumstance in the wild in some cases – around here the ponds are so clear – i love being with the fish when I am wading or kayaking and they seem to like me too. My unease in general may be projection on my part to some extent but it is also grounded in living on the ocean for so many years. I pass no judgements here. I do not know…
As for humans – I am in total agreement. Nature made a mistake – and S/he is capable of correcting errors.
When my fish swim to the front glass of the tanks, it’s to greet me and get to me…whom they adore (since i provide easy-to-get food for them). They act like i am their God. I’m no God; that’s for sure! And God, (that vast, nameless energy, is definitely not male or female).
I know you are not judging.
Yes, Nature will give us what is coming to us… and we are getting a small sample of that at this time in our brief history.
There’s nothing as peaceful as watching fish swim in an aquarium. My brother at one point had over 20 aquariums of various sizes in our childhood home. He was quite adept at maintaining both fish and habitat. He even ventured into saltwater fish for a brief time, but back in the early 1960’s it was pretty tricky to maintain and just too expensive. Angelfish were always one of my favorites!
So cool about your brother, Sandy! I don’t like saltwater fish because most do not live as long in captivity; nor do they breed well in captivity. With freshwater fish, it is the opposite; they live longer and most can be bred in captivity.
It is magical when watching them! 🙂
Wow Your Angelfish are spectacular – as is that large aquarium. 😀
Thanks, Scifi! When i was a kid, i hung around a Local Fish Store that would specialize in breeding Angelfish. They’d keep big schools of them in huge cement indoor ponds and when two would pair-up, they would put them in their own private tank for life. They lay their eggs on a slate and the babies (when young) look like little worms — for awhile — while they hang onto the slate by a thread. 🙂
How interesting! 😀 Sounds like it was a good pet store. 🙂
Thoroughly enjoyed this! Your images are fantastic (always are) and just looking at aquariums is sooo calming, even photos of them. I had aquariums in my Florida years (long ago) that flourished w/o effort. After moving back to Texas (1986), I could never accomplish anything similar. Guessing a difference in water (Florida well vs Texas municipal source). Maybe time to try again?
That video is a hoot!
Yes, Jazz, definitely try again! 🙂 You may need to let your water “condition” in containers before using it… or use a dechlorinator or water-conditioner. Find out if your water is soft or hard and get fish that like the parameters that you have. If you ever have questions, just ask me. (Florida is so ideal, they breed tons of tropical fish there!)
Thanks for this great post including the beautiful photos and the interesting video. More than 20 years ago I built an 18′ x 20′ pond in my backyard. No chemicals, no filter, lots of plants and lots of fish. The wild birds and creatures loved it. It never smelled, the water was clear, and it brought much joy while watching the wild birds and creatures drawn to it.
With a little bit of thought and understanding of nature, we don’t need nearly as much as we think we do. This was a joy to watch. Thank you again!
Yes, we can do things in a simple way that often works. I do use low-tech filters and i do use air pumps. These do make the water quality better and my tanks are doing great. Most of my tanks are without heaters; most fish just do not need heaters.
Thanks, Susan! 🙂
Tom, you’re aquarium’s are beautiful. I was given a small 16 gallon one a while back and still haven’t set it up. Kinda reluctant to start a new hobby as it is one more thing to take care of.
Well, you’ve got a lot going with your wonderful ponds and dogs and such, Francis. But a 16 gallon shouldn’t be too much more work… hint, hint! 🙂
Thank you, Francis! 🙂
Your aquariums are so beautiful! I grew up in a rural area and I am still a “country girl” at heart. Though we live in a city, the green spaces allow me to “commune” with nature at my will. We had a small aquarium many years ago. I’d love to have one again. Watching fish swim can be so relaxing. Thanks for this post. I love your wisdom!
If you can, do get an aquarium. They are enjoyable to watch, educational, and just plain magical!
Thanks much, Carol! 🙂
You’re very welcome, Tom. It’s a small apt. so it would have to be a small aquarium LOL
You could get a 10 gallon or a 20 gallon-tall. 🙂
I didint know that shrimp could actually be live well in an aquarium along with fish? Am i correct with how i understand it?..
I love your aquarium and that angel fish really look beautiful over the Italian plants Tom..
Keep safe and yes we must never underestimate this virus..
Yes, you understand it right, Mich. If the fish are a small, peaceful species they will get along fine with the shrimp. I have three aquariums that contain shrimp, fish, and snails.
Stay safe!
Thank you for this post Tom. I don’t recall seeing a post on your fish tanks since I’ve been following you. The angelfish is beautiful and I like the lighting on the aquarium. I watched the video and at the end part before his product he says “tell me why you clicked on here” … I’ve never seen so many aquariums. A neighbor when I was growing up had some piranhas and my dentist had a fairly large tropical fish aquarium. Very relaxing to watch them when going for a dentist appointment. Pretty sure he had method in his madness and wanted to let us relax a little first.
Yes, tropical fish are very relaxing!… well, maybe not Piranhas! 🙂
Do you know what happens to a guy who likes to relax with Piranhas?
Chopped-liver!
Thanks about the fish and the aquarium. Those are LED multi-colored lights that i use for lighting. 🙂
Stay safe!
All the kids in the neighborhood played together and a big treat for us on weekends was going to Donny Murdock’s house to see his father feed the raw hamburger to the piranhas. 🙂 The father was a bit of a novelty to us, a meteorologist and drove an Isetta . The “cool dad” of the neighborhood. 🙂
They would be relaxing to watch – I can see why you enjoy them. Stay safe too!
Little footnote as you’re still there … I just Googled Dave Murdoch – even cooler than a meteorologist, his obituary says he was a Forensic Climatologist.
One local pet store that i visited a lot as a kid had Pirhanas. One day, they saw what they thought were hundreds of little parasites swimming around in the water. It turned out that they were baby Pirhanas! So cool! 🙂
I thoroughly enjoyed this post, as well as all the responses.
It would be good to remind readers to make responsible choices. As it is with all animal companions, one must take seriously the commitment to them, and consider carefully before adoption.
A reminder, too, not to release pet fish, reptiles, birds or aquatic plants into the wild. Many may be invasive or otherwise foreign and harmful to the local ecosystems.
Thank you, and other aquarists, for maintaining those species that would otherwise be lost to us, and for sharing that interesting piece of information.
Looking forward to seeing more photos of your beautiful aquariums.
Paz
Thank you, Paz! 🙂 Yes, people — when getting a pet — should do some research first. For example, some people buy a new fish (on impulse) from a pet store, only to later find out that such a species grows to a large size.
Yes, we should never release pet fish, birds, or aquatic plants into the wild. There are already plenty of invasive species.
I, for example, breed Daisy’s Neon Blue Ricefish; i love the Daisys. They are extinct in the wild. I recently hatched out over a dozen babies from eggs.
Yes, i’ll post more aquarium stuff in the future. I wasn’t sure whether people liked such stuff, but apparently they do! 🙂
Beautiful aquariums Tom! So tranquil and therapeutic! ❤
That was such a beautiful aquarium. I love that super closeup of that fishy. Its super cool. Keep posting more such blogs.
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when we are buying an aquarium heater we should consider the power of heater in other words, we need to buy a heater which can heat 5 gallon of water with 5 W isn’t it ?