I was denied a promotion at work
Ah well, such is life.
So I did what I rarely do: I shopped to make myself feel better.
And so it was that I revisited a long-neglected hobby. I bought an aquarium. Specifically, I bought a small aquarium I had been eyeing for a time at the local pet store, before the Feng shui minimalist style apparently fell out of fashion, because the only aquariums I see now in stores are the bulky and cheap rimmed kind. And so, skeptical about UPS’ ability to deliver unto me an intact and glass aquarium (seriously, I had acrylic tanks), I ordered the Fluval Chi.
I had always been jealous of the ADA (Takashi Amano) style aquariums, and while I lacked the budget to create one in earnest, the Chi allowed just enough space for a convincing facsimile. I planned to use black sand substrate, vertically-aligned driftwood, and a java fern. And, since I didn’t want to clutter the tank with hardware, I would forego the heater and use coldwater-tolerant fish: the White Cloud Minnow.
And while the tank did ultimately arrive intact, sadly, my desire for instant gratification was sabotaged by my local fish store’s lack of stocked driftwood, java fern, and While Cloud Minnows; though it did have black sand. I grabbed the sand, then noticed a pre-packaged single java fern in a plastic tube…for eight friggin bucks! Those things grow like weeds and are truly the beginner’s aquarium plant. I grumbled, and bought it anyway.
Eventually, I found some White Cloud Minnows at a different store, and paid way too much for a simple common fish. But I only needed 3 so whatever. Still, no wood, so I resorted to sawing off a chunk from my main tank–which can’t be seen anyway since it’s long-since been overgrown by a decade’s worth of Anubis growth.
At last…
It also has a cool fountain/filter, so I placed black river stones in the top, added some spiderling plants, and dug up a little moss from the back yard. It now doubles as a small water garden.
Now, when I’m working at home and become embittered, I can glance over and receive a moment’s respite in the micro aquaculture environment I have created on my desk.
–Simon