30 Days of Meme
A Hobby of Yours
Well, I think I've spammed you all with enough photos, so I'll have to pick something else I do. (No, not drawing and painting, though I've been known to do a fair bit of that).
Recently I've got into this thing called fishkeeping. Well, I say recently, I've thought about it off and on for a long time, usually distracting myself with things like plants- a bedroom full of plants at 16- most of which are still alive, even if the cycad has been looking a little peaky for a couple of years now. At some point I'd like to live in a house with space for at least a few of them- although quite where I'd put three 6' citrus trees I'm not entirely sure.
Someone once said that fishkeeping was basically lots of chemistry with some fish involved, and I've certainly come to appreciate that. To start up an aquarium you need to have a colony of bacteria, which turn the toxic ammonia waste into something less lethal, and then there's the problem of dealing with other aspects of water chemistry. Anyone living in London knows that their water is very hard, which plenty of species aren't too fond of. And then there's temperature- I don't think I can keep many native species in the tank I have- it won't get cool enough in winter, and gets too hot in summer- Which is a shame s the native plants I've got in there right now are going great guns.
So I'm having to re-evaluate what I can keep. It looks like there'll be a few things I can happily accommodate- there are several Asian Bitterlings that are relatively readily available (the European one is banned as its considered an invasive species), and don't mind the relatively alkaline hard water I have, a swan mussel or two might encourage them to breed, though they're a git to keep alive. And I think I'll be ok with the pond loaches. So the plants will be wrong, but there'll be a nice little community set-up in that.
The only problem is that both species are social, and with the 1" to 1 gallon rule for stocking, the 240 litre (55 gallon) aquarium I have is starting to feel a little small, and that's before I've even put the fish in there...
Oh, and the other problem with fishes? MTS Multiple Tank Syndrome. I've no space for it yet, but I'm already planning the next three, a 30 gallon for Blind Cave Tetras, a 20 gallon for shell-dwelling cichlids, and perhaps a tiny little 10 gallon for shrimp.
Tomorrow I think I'll pootle off to find some more rocks and bogwood. I'd still like to get the pH down a little if I can...
Well, I think I've spammed you all with enough photos, so I'll have to pick something else I do. (No, not drawing and painting, though I've been known to do a fair bit of that).
Recently I've got into this thing called fishkeeping. Well, I say recently, I've thought about it off and on for a long time, usually distracting myself with things like plants- a bedroom full of plants at 16- most of which are still alive, even if the cycad has been looking a little peaky for a couple of years now. At some point I'd like to live in a house with space for at least a few of them- although quite where I'd put three 6' citrus trees I'm not entirely sure.
Someone once said that fishkeeping was basically lots of chemistry with some fish involved, and I've certainly come to appreciate that. To start up an aquarium you need to have a colony of bacteria, which turn the toxic ammonia waste into something less lethal, and then there's the problem of dealing with other aspects of water chemistry. Anyone living in London knows that their water is very hard, which plenty of species aren't too fond of. And then there's temperature- I don't think I can keep many native species in the tank I have- it won't get cool enough in winter, and gets too hot in summer- Which is a shame s the native plants I've got in there right now are going great guns.
So I'm having to re-evaluate what I can keep. It looks like there'll be a few things I can happily accommodate- there are several Asian Bitterlings that are relatively readily available (the European one is banned as its considered an invasive species), and don't mind the relatively alkaline hard water I have, a swan mussel or two might encourage them to breed, though they're a git to keep alive. And I think I'll be ok with the pond loaches. So the plants will be wrong, but there'll be a nice little community set-up in that.
The only problem is that both species are social, and with the 1" to 1 gallon rule for stocking, the 240 litre (55 gallon) aquarium I have is starting to feel a little small, and that's before I've even put the fish in there...
Oh, and the other problem with fishes? MTS Multiple Tank Syndrome. I've no space for it yet, but I'm already planning the next three, a 30 gallon for Blind Cave Tetras, a 20 gallon for shell-dwelling cichlids, and perhaps a tiny little 10 gallon for shrimp.
Tomorrow I think I'll pootle off to find some more rocks and bogwood. I'd still like to get the pH down a little if I can...