Bruce Leyland-Jones
Fish Aficionado
You walk into a fish shop* and become fixated on all of the pretty colours, moving around, with a gentle hum of equipment and a bubbling of tanks. There's often a warm, slightly humid and 'green' scent to the air. Usually, the people around are all relatively quiet, as if they're in a library, or even a Church.
Or you're sat in a waiting room, staring at the moving tableaux of underwater life in front of you and, before you know it, your name is called and you have to move on out of that chair.
You want this in your own home...and you want it NOW!
I find it ironic that for such a relaxing pastime can facilitate so much rush, haste and a lack of patience. I know...I was that person, yonks ago and still, even after some 40+ years, still need to be aware of it and to curb it when setting up a tank.
You've saved up the money and you know where your tank is going to go.
You buy the tank and equipment. You'd looked at all those beautiful and intriguing fish and you know what you like. Unfortunately, the guy in the shop wouldn't sell you any, telling you that you need to set up your tank 'for a while', before you can put any fish in it.
You rush off home and over the next hour, (or less), you set it all up.
You may even have the plants in and very soon, as things quickly settle down, you have the very attractive sight of an aquarium. All is clean and bright. The filter makes that quiet hum, the water's quietly bubbling with the airstones and the light and water cast pleasing shadows over your sand and plants.
All it needs is fish...
Now what often happens at this stage, is that another visit to the fish shop follows and you do your best to buy some fish. You might even visit another shop and, so intent are you on buying some fish, you even lie to the shop staff about how long you've had the tank running.
Whatever, so impatient are too many people, that fish are bought, stuck in the tank and, after a glorious hour watching it all go swimmingly, they go to bed with a smile on their faces.
Unfortunately, the following morning, that smile disappears, as the tank is now cloudy, with dead fish on the substrate and a couple of desperate survivors, gasping at the water's surface.
They must be diseased.
It's the shop's fault...I knew I should've listened to the horror stories about Pets at Home/Petsmart/etc..
It's that virus I was told about.
Blah blah blah.
It is usually at this point that you remember the internet and go Googling to see what disease your fish have and to see if it can be treated, preferably without too much expense. The internet is a wide and open space and you're soon confused by the mass of information, some of it apparently contradictory and much of it full of strange jargon and stuff that sounds like science class in school.
STOP!
Take a deep breath, hold it...and let it out slowly.
Repeat.
Lets go back to that point in time where the tank is set up and you're thinking fish. Now is the time to do your research, if you haven't already done it. Why wouldn't the shop sell me fish straight away? What was they said about bicycling? Do the reading and read again. It's a sad fact of life, but you actually need to put some work in and 'I want it and I want it NOW!' won't cut the mustard. You're actually thinking about creating a whole small world, of living things, all of which will be your responsibility. Do intend to be a benevolent god, or an evil and malicious god?
So you do the research on the internet.
You might even find a forum such as this one and there are many very interesting videos on YouTube to gaze at.
I know that it is hard, awaiting that first fish purchase, so what do you do?
Personally, I spent a lot of time watching videos and cross-referencing the info given. I paid attention to the tanks of those YouTubers and moved away from those that had poor-looking set-ups, with masses of algae, or hundreds of large snails. I gained an awareness of current trends and fads and I visited as many fish shops as I could, often...making myself a pain and seeking out staff to ask the questions. Of interest, the staff who were willing to chat with me also knew what they were talking about. A couple at a local Pets@Home, however, would always get defensive and call the Manager, who would arrive and ask what the problem was...even though there was no problem. Said Manager was always happy to chat and so learning progressed.
I also spent a lot of time simply staring at the small beasts in their little glass boxes. Sometimes a staff member would join me and we'd talk fish. Sometimes the Manager would appear, to ask if I was 'alright'?
Bizarre.
Anyways, having learned what I could about cycling and playing Junior Chemist with my test kits, I spent time testing the waters and making notes.
Readings went up and then readings went down...and before I knew it, four weeks had passed and I could add my first fish.
I knew what could thrive in my tank and which would make the best 'first fish' to have, having discussed this at length with three different staff who kept fish themselves. (I know they did, because they showed me their tanks on their smartphones).
My first fish went in, Black Neon Tetra and I spent the following week testing the waters and staring at said fish, learning their behaviour, looking for any hierarchy, seeing how they fed, etc.
After another week, my second batch of fish went in, this time Glowlight Tetra and more learning did occur.
And so it went on, just like the Trumpton Clock...steadily, sensibly; never too quickly, never too slowly.
I first set my tank up on the 27th June and only now have I finished adding fish and completed my aquarium.
No deaths, unexplained or otherwise.
No apparent sickness, illness, or strange behaviours.
No anxiety on my part.
No sudden and unplanned extra expense.
I was in control throughout and remain so.
After a day's stressful activities, I can now become fixated on all of the pretty colours, moving around, with a gentle hum of equipment and a bubbling of tank.
This too can be your experience...if only you'd slow down.
*Note that often, in parts of the north of England at least, a 'fish shop' is where you go to get your fish**, which is usually battered and served with chips. This is not the 'fish shop' to which I refer.
**This is usually cod or haddock and not Oscar or Severum.
Or you're sat in a waiting room, staring at the moving tableaux of underwater life in front of you and, before you know it, your name is called and you have to move on out of that chair.
You want this in your own home...and you want it NOW!
I find it ironic that for such a relaxing pastime can facilitate so much rush, haste and a lack of patience. I know...I was that person, yonks ago and still, even after some 40+ years, still need to be aware of it and to curb it when setting up a tank.
You've saved up the money and you know where your tank is going to go.
You buy the tank and equipment. You'd looked at all those beautiful and intriguing fish and you know what you like. Unfortunately, the guy in the shop wouldn't sell you any, telling you that you need to set up your tank 'for a while', before you can put any fish in it.
You rush off home and over the next hour, (or less), you set it all up.
You may even have the plants in and very soon, as things quickly settle down, you have the very attractive sight of an aquarium. All is clean and bright. The filter makes that quiet hum, the water's quietly bubbling with the airstones and the light and water cast pleasing shadows over your sand and plants.
All it needs is fish...
Now what often happens at this stage, is that another visit to the fish shop follows and you do your best to buy some fish. You might even visit another shop and, so intent are you on buying some fish, you even lie to the shop staff about how long you've had the tank running.
Whatever, so impatient are too many people, that fish are bought, stuck in the tank and, after a glorious hour watching it all go swimmingly, they go to bed with a smile on their faces.
Unfortunately, the following morning, that smile disappears, as the tank is now cloudy, with dead fish on the substrate and a couple of desperate survivors, gasping at the water's surface.
They must be diseased.
It's the shop's fault...I knew I should've listened to the horror stories about Pets at Home/Petsmart/etc..
It's that virus I was told about.
Blah blah blah.
It is usually at this point that you remember the internet and go Googling to see what disease your fish have and to see if it can be treated, preferably without too much expense. The internet is a wide and open space and you're soon confused by the mass of information, some of it apparently contradictory and much of it full of strange jargon and stuff that sounds like science class in school.
STOP!
Take a deep breath, hold it...and let it out slowly.
Repeat.
Lets go back to that point in time where the tank is set up and you're thinking fish. Now is the time to do your research, if you haven't already done it. Why wouldn't the shop sell me fish straight away? What was they said about bicycling? Do the reading and read again. It's a sad fact of life, but you actually need to put some work in and 'I want it and I want it NOW!' won't cut the mustard. You're actually thinking about creating a whole small world, of living things, all of which will be your responsibility. Do intend to be a benevolent god, or an evil and malicious god?
So you do the research on the internet.
You might even find a forum such as this one and there are many very interesting videos on YouTube to gaze at.
I know that it is hard, awaiting that first fish purchase, so what do you do?
Personally, I spent a lot of time watching videos and cross-referencing the info given. I paid attention to the tanks of those YouTubers and moved away from those that had poor-looking set-ups, with masses of algae, or hundreds of large snails. I gained an awareness of current trends and fads and I visited as many fish shops as I could, often...making myself a pain and seeking out staff to ask the questions. Of interest, the staff who were willing to chat with me also knew what they were talking about. A couple at a local Pets@Home, however, would always get defensive and call the Manager, who would arrive and ask what the problem was...even though there was no problem. Said Manager was always happy to chat and so learning progressed.
I also spent a lot of time simply staring at the small beasts in their little glass boxes. Sometimes a staff member would join me and we'd talk fish. Sometimes the Manager would appear, to ask if I was 'alright'?
Bizarre.
Anyways, having learned what I could about cycling and playing Junior Chemist with my test kits, I spent time testing the waters and making notes.
Readings went up and then readings went down...and before I knew it, four weeks had passed and I could add my first fish.
I knew what could thrive in my tank and which would make the best 'first fish' to have, having discussed this at length with three different staff who kept fish themselves. (I know they did, because they showed me their tanks on their smartphones).
My first fish went in, Black Neon Tetra and I spent the following week testing the waters and staring at said fish, learning their behaviour, looking for any hierarchy, seeing how they fed, etc.
After another week, my second batch of fish went in, this time Glowlight Tetra and more learning did occur.
And so it went on, just like the Trumpton Clock...steadily, sensibly; never too quickly, never too slowly.
I first set my tank up on the 27th June and only now have I finished adding fish and completed my aquarium.
No deaths, unexplained or otherwise.
No apparent sickness, illness, or strange behaviours.
No anxiety on my part.
No sudden and unplanned extra expense.
I was in control throughout and remain so.
After a day's stressful activities, I can now become fixated on all of the pretty colours, moving around, with a gentle hum of equipment and a bubbling of tank.
This too can be your experience...if only you'd slow down.
*Note that often, in parts of the north of England at least, a 'fish shop' is where you go to get your fish**, which is usually battered and served with chips. This is not the 'fish shop' to which I refer.
**This is usually cod or haddock and not Oscar or Severum.
