Jar

We know that looking at aquariums lowers blood pressure, anxiety and stress. That's why for decades there were fish tanks in maybe half or more of doctor's and dentist's offices. There are a few holdouts but you don't see them nearly as often these days. Why try to do things naturally when you can just medicate, right?

 Even this jar aquarium is relaxing to look at. It holds 5.5 gallons and with the rocks, wood and gravel it's about the equivalent to a 5 gallon tank. I'm sure someone makes a bigger jar, but if so I can't find it, and I've looked.

 Occasionally you'll find a bigger carboy oTVr something, but they always have a narrow mouth, and you have to be able to get your hands in the jar. This one is on Amazon. 

  What's different about this tank is that it's a coldwater tank as opposed to a tropical tank, which about 99% of aquariums are. The typical tropical tank has a heater and is kept at 76-80F, while a coldwater tank is around 68-72F. They're not practical for most people because in any room that gets above about 70F you need a chiller to maintain the temp, and they're very expensive.

 Since I shoot for around 70F year round this tank doesn't need a chiller. As long as the power doesn't go out for too long in the Summer I'm good. If it goes out in Winter I could keep it warm enough.

 Speaking of Winter, since the air is usually very dry, having an aquarium adds moisture to the air, making it much more pleasant to breathe and easier on the throat and sinuses. It even makes the same temp air feel a couple of degrees warmer.  It's even good for your skin. 

 All of these animals and plants are coldwater. Except for the catfish, which are rare, the shrimp and plants are often grown in tropical tanks, but they don't usually do as well or live as long as they do in cold water.

 The catfish are rare because most pet stores stock only tropical fish, and would need a chiller. As it stands now you can order them online but they're out if stock most of the time, and they only come from one small stream in Asia. 

 They're perfect for this tank because they do like to swim around some of the time but they also like to find a nice spot to hang out, which they do most of the time. They're also perfect because of their size. They only get barely over an inch full grown. They can live for seven years or longer in a well-maintained tank. 

 These guys are almost two years old. I got them as juveniles and they were tiny. They're fun to watch, even when they're just hanging out. Sometimes they swim around in formation and they get excited at feeding time. 

 They're very peaceful and get along with each other and most other small peaceful fish and shrimp. They're called Asian Stone Catfish or Moth Catfish. With their lateral fins and markings they do look like moths. 

 There are three of them in here. They're social animals and do best in groups of five or more, but these guys are doing fine. I might get a couple more but they're not cheap when you have to figure in overnight shipping. I'd love to have a huge tank with about 150 of them. Maybe one day.

 Speaking of hanging out, you might notice one of them hanging out on a leaf. If you want to look for him you can. I won't circle him. Since they're so small and probably weigh maybe a gram they can hang out in any position, even upside-down. 

In case you didn't see the catfish, here's a closeup. You can see a snail going by, eating algae and keeping the glass clean. He's one of the good snails. I have an infestation of common snails that came in as eggs on a plant that was advertised as "snail free." I have to pick them out by hand which is a pain.

 It does take some work to keep it looking nice, but it's work i enjoy doing. It's like rearranging an underwater Zen garden. Plants have to be trimmed and the gravel cleaned, and most tanks will get some hair algae, which needs to be removed. 

 If you can cram enough plants into an aquarium, get snails and algae-eating fish and keep things perfect, you won't have algae, but that's hard to do. I keep the lights on way longer than I would normally, but my mom is bedridden and it sits next to her. She loves to watch it so I keep the lights on more. If the lights were on a timer and kept off more, I'd have almost no algae. 

 Having live plants is the last link to having a successful and more natural tank. They provide hiding places and make the fish feel more at home, so they show their natural colors and behaviors better than in a bare tank. More than that they also help keep the water clean. Oh, and they look nice too. 

 The driftwood has uses too, beyond just looking good. It releases tannins into the water, creating a slight "blackwater" effect that many fish like. Tannins also have antibacterial properties and such. The wood also grows "biofilm," a colony of various miniscule critters that the shrimp, especially the babies, feed on.

 The Mussel shell looks cool too and isn't out of place. It releases small amounts of lime, calcium, magnesium and such, which creates conditions that the shrimp like, and helps them form stronger shells. Everything in the jar has a purpose, and there's a nice balance going on. 

 Lighting is LEDs. I had better ones but they crapped out and I can't afford to replace them right now. Plants benefit from CO2 injection, but professional units are very expensive, so I made a DIY system that uses a soda bottle, water, sugar, yeast and an airstone. 

 It's like brewing beer or making wine. The process creates carbon dioxide, and the pressure forces it out of the bottle and into the airline tubing and the airstone, which releases tiny bubbles into the water. Some of it is absorbed into the water and is taken up by the plants.

 You can't regulate it and theoretically you could get too much and starve the fish of oxygen, so you have to keep an eye on things until you know how much it will produce. When you get it right it's actually good for the fish. Plants take it in and release oxygen into the water. It forms tiny bubbles on the leaves of the plants. It looks like they're decorated with microscopic pearls. 

 The jar is always changing in subtle ways. At one point last year I got so busy that I didn't have time to do anything but feed the fish and shrimp, and the plant with the big green leaves completely took over, and it looked like a big jar of pickles in a general store. The fish were fine but they barely had room to swim, bless their hearts. They have plump little bellies so I know they're happy and eating well. 

 Just below the catfish in the closeup is a Cherry Shrimp. He's on his (or her) side with his back to the camera. There are five adults and I'm not sure how many babies. The babies hide until they're about half an inch long. Occasionally you'll spot one, and they look like little red ants.

 If there's a population explosion I can always give them away, trade them for store credit at PetSmart or wherever, or make teeeeeeeny little Po Boys.

 So yeah, this little jar is okay, and the inhabitants are happy. The catfish have even learned to recognize me, and probably my dog too. At first they'd hide when I approached but now they come out looking for food, and they'll investigate my hand when it's in the jar.

 Fish can even learn to tell the difference between the person who feeds them and everyone else. So much for the "eight second memory" thing. Some fish are pretty intelligent. 

 Lastly this jar is a connection to Nature, which believe it or not our brains need to function correctly. It's nice to look at and it's cool to see an underwater environment in a room full of air, and to watch the little creatures going about their day. 

 Just like I can see them, the fish can see me, and sometimes I wonder what they think when they see this huge, ugly-ass creature approaching. I'm sure i used to scare the shit out of them but now they know I'm cool and that I feed them. 

 I like my little underwater world. I've been into aquariums since I was a kid, and long before I knew that having one was actually good for your health. Nature knows what it's doing. There's a plan. Nature rocks.