June 13, 1999

SUNDAY June 13, 1999

The Aquarist's Dream

A little over three years ago, before joining the band that would keep me very busy for most of my waking hours, and even before logging onto the Internet for the very first time, I was an avid and devoted aquarist... immersed into the hobby of keeping an aquarium full of fish and aquatic plants.

In my case, I was more into the collecting of aquatic plants. I had seen pictures of these aquaria that contained beautiful underwater vistas. The emphasis was on the plants, and the fish were there as a secondary diversion, but the plants were the main focus of these aquaria.

I became "immersed" (no pun intended) in this fascinating hobby, and I ended up buying some pretty expensive equipment to make sure the right conditions were maintained in the aquarium.

Anyway, the above photo is a picture of my aquarium at a time when it looked its nicest. The aquarium contained mostly aquatic plants from Africa and South America, and I was very selective about which plants I wanted in the tank.

I enjoyed watching my aquarium, sometimes for a good hour at a time, or more. It had a very calming effect on me.

And because the aquarium consisted mainly of live aquatic plants, my goal was to make it look as natural as I possibly could, and after studying many books and resources for creating natural looking aquaria, I got to a point where I felt confident I had achieved some success.

The fish that lived in this little haven were small neon tetras, tiny bright blue and red streaked fish that have a very peaceful disposition. It was very calming to just sit and watch the "life" in the aquarium. It was another world far removed from the reality of my own world.

Well, as the band's schedule became busier, and the free time needed to maintain the aquarium became shorter, this beautiful double-cube of peace and serenity slowly dwindled to its death, due to the lack of attention.

I've thought about starting up the aquarium again, but if I do, I will have to buy a bigger tank. The general theory is that the bigger the tank, the easier the maintenance. I don't know if I can maintain such a nice aquarium like I once did, but if I do, and it may be awhile... I'm definitely going to have to buy a much bigger aquarium... for ease of maintenance, of course.

MUSIC TODAY...

Kitaro ~ Silk Road (New Age)

One Year Ago Today

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