Prior to becoming a dog enthusiast, well, actually a dachshund enthusiast, the only pets I ever had were fish. It started with the goldfish I won as a kid by throwing a ping-pong ball in a fish bowl at the carnival and ended with the 30-gallon salt-water tank I had about 8 years ago. Recently I thought about getting another tank and then I remembered all the work involved. Originally I thought about how relaxing it would be to turn off the lights and be mesmerized by a beautiful fish tank. Yes, it was sometimes like that but mostly it was work and worry. I blame that on myself. If you are like me (anal and neurotic) a salt-water tank may not be for you. I went at it as I do with most projects, blindly and with a lot of dummy books. I was so excited to test and chart the saline in the water everyday. I bought a cute little notebook in which to map it all and was absolutely thrilled at how adorable the tiny test tubes were. This excitement was short-lived. The thrill of the test tubes faded and the cute little notebook became a ball and chain. Then there was the changing of the water. You must make new salt water from time to time and take out some of the tank water and replace it with the new water. This could take days; days of having buckets of salt water all over the house waiting until it matches the saline of the tank water, followed by the mess of trying to get half a tank of water out of the tank while not upsetting the fish.
The difference between saltwater tanks and freshwater tanks (aside from all the work) is really about the types of fish you can have. I think that freshwater fish look boring. With salt water you can get more exotic fish. I found that the odder looking fish had the most personality. The really pretty fish were more aloof. We may be more like fish than we thought! Two of my favorite fish were Crouton and Boris. Crouton looked like a floating wet crouton with blue eyes. He (as if I knew his gender) was adorable as a tiny baby, but not so much as an adult. Boris had an anchovy’s body with a walrus’ head. Very ugly, but chock full of personality. He didn’t swim so much as just float from reef to reef. Another difference between saltwater and freshwater tanks (and this was a huge disappointment for me) is that with salt water you can’t put a castle or a Diver Dan in the tank. Only things from nature like rocks, shells and reefs can enter the saltwater tank.
Although I do miss having fish, after remembering all the work involved I have decided against getting another tank. Maybe I will go back to basics and just get a couple of goldfish in a small bowl. If so, they will definitely have a castle in that bowl.
