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My office bowl (Updated Pics 10/22)

23K views 65 replies 22 participants last post by  AquaAurora 
#1 · (Edited)
Last one, I swear. This is in my office. I need to get a taller lamp for it and i'll try to get a better picture when the bubbles go away.

Light 9watt 6500k CFL
Substrate 1" MGO potting soil, .5" sand, .5" gravel.
Flora Cryptocoryne wendtii, Ammania gracilis, and Rotala Indica.













 
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#2 ·
The lighting is pretty haphazard at the moment. What I need is a lamp that I can set directly above the bowl but I've been limiting myself to what I can find at goodwill so no luck so far.

No shrimp/fish yet. I'm considering a betta as I don't think my office ever dips below 60F.





 
#9 ·
have you measured the gallons in this bowl? 2 gallons most likely. I recommend re-homing the paradise fish. It really does not belong in a system like this. too small, too cold(if its in the 60Fs), not enough filtration(lots of nice plants though!).

I'd just do orange shrimp in that bowl, or something similar.

bowl looks great :)
 
#11 ·
He seems fine to me, been in there for a month or so. I have measured the volume and its 4 gallons. The fish looks a lot bigger then he really is in the picture as the bowl distorts the image. As far as filtration its a walstad so biological filtration, also gets weekly water changes. As far as temps its a 24hr call center with a pretty constant temp of 70.
 
#15 ·
Very impressive....I wasn't sure about the wood with the first photos, but the whole bowl looks great now! I love nanos and this one is awesome! I am thinking of doing something similar now with all of the great ideas I have been looking at for the last several months on this forum.

What bulb are you using for lighting??

Melanie
 
#17 ·
You could try something like this; I have this sitting on the mesh top of my 5.5 gallon Glass Shrimp tank, and it works nicely. You could possibly clamp it to the cubicle top and it should sit perfectly over the bowl.

...And I have that bowl at home. With nothing in it. I think it's coming to work with me tomorrow. :)
 
#20 · (Edited)
Please rehome that paradise fish. I have a trio myself and they are very active fast swimming little things that really deserve an absolute minimum of 2ft of swimming space. They have an intelligence and insatiable curiosity similar to the larger preds (and a ferocity to match) so he is likely bored out of his mind too. To those saying get a heater, its probably not worth it unless the tank is close to freezing. These fish are very hardy and do very well at room temp or even in ponds if you live somewhere it wont freeze over. I know how easy it is to make these sort of mistakes but a little research would show you how colourful a healthy paradise fish is. Here are my ladies and they are no where near as colourful or as large as a male:




I started out with them in a 29g but they needed more space and are now happily enjoying a 75g with the male and some fast swimming shoalers but as you can see they still spar over territory.
 
#21 ·
Please rehome that paradise fish. I have a trio myself and they are very active fast swimming little things that really deserve an absolute minimum of 2ft of swimming space. They have an intelligence and insatiable curiosity similar to the larger preds (and a ferocity to match) so he is likely bored out of his mind too. To those saying get a heater, its probably not worth it unless the tank is close to freezing. These fish are very hardy and do very well at room temp or even in ponds if you live somewhere it wont freeze over. I know how easy it is to make these sort of mistakes but a little research would show you how colourful a healthy paradise fish is. Here are my ladies and they are no where near as colourful or as large as a male:

I started out with them in a 29g but they needed more space and are now happily enjoying a 75g with the male and some fast swimming shoalers but as you can see they still spar over territory.
My fish is quite happy in his environment. I don't know where you get 2ft of swimming space as their natural habits don't typical support that. As far as being bored I guarantee my fish gets more attention then yours do. I sit a play with him throughout the day, 8 hours a day 5 days a week. When I'm not around for those 2 days my cube mates often come over to say Hi.

He gets fed live food weekly and I stock the tank with small pond snails that he spends much of the day hunting for and eating. He is constantly active and entertained.
 
#25 ·
This could go back an forth all day but I will say that your dismissal of my last source seems flippant. They are studying the behavior of the fish, putting them in an environment that would unduly stress them would defeat the purpose of the experiment.

By saying that "I'm not sure animal testing labs have the best track record when it comes to animal welfare" your completely avoiding the point with an inflammatory statement. I did not site an animal testing lab at all, rather a scientific study done by a major educational institution.

Finally the assumption that that these are "bad practices" simply because they deviate from your own shows a clear bias.
 
#26 ·
This could go back an forth all day but I will say that your dismissal of my last source seems flippant. They are studying the behavior of the fish, putting them in an environment that would unduly stress them would defeat the purpose of the experiment. By saying that "I'm not sure animal testing labs have the best track record when it comes to animal welfare" your completely avoiding the point with an inflammatory statement. I did not site an animal testing lab at all, rather a scientific study done by a major educational institution.
An animal testing lab that is part of the University of Michigan is still an animal testing lab. I believe animal testing is a necessary evil but its not an excuse to treat pets the same way : /

Finally the assumption that that these are "bad practices" simply because they deviate from your own shows a clear bias.
I believe that keeping an animal in conditions that don't allow it to exhibit natural behavioral patterns is bad practice. Since you appear to enjoy a scientific approach maybe the only way to find out for certain is to move your fish to a larger tank and do plenty of personal observation. There is no substitute for personal observation and experimentation IMO and I promise once you see the difference you would never even think about returning him to a bowl.
 
#27 ·
I believe that keeping an animal in conditions that don't allow it to exhibit natural behavioral patterns is bad practice.
Source: Pseudosphromenus cupanus inhabits lowland streams, freshwater ponds and even ditches. It is a hardy species and is a very excitable bubblenester and jumps more often than other bubblenest building fishes (Chhapgar and Manakadan 2000).

So my bowl is a ditch in this example. It's still a natural condition in which the animal lives, as you said. To say that the fish would be "happier" in a larger environment is projecting human emotions on the fish of which it does not posses. If the fish is health and active it's "happy".
 
#29 ·
If it grows to be more than 2", I'd say its too cramped in a heavily planted tank that won't have all 5G of volume as available swimming space.

If it grows to be more than 3-4" then a 20G at the smallest.

There are more exceptions at the 1-2" level but next to none at the 4" level.

That's usually the role of thumb before its reviewed on a case-by-case basis. However, I would say that the 3-4" rule is pretty universal regardless of the fish you have.
 
#30 ·
Also, when making the size argument please be aware that you have far less than 5G of available volume for the fish. It's probably closer to 2.5. It's tough to say how big a ditch or stream in its natural environment is, but I think we can all agree that its likely to be more than 2-3G.

Again, this is your choice. But let's be real here lol.
 
#32 ·
Thanks for sharing your bowl, it looks quite amazing.

And People just lay off the witch hunt over the paradise fish. It looks like it's doing quite fine, the OP will have a better idea of how the fish is faring than you do from looking at a few photos as they can observe their behavior and use their best judgement as to whether it appears healthy. Taking it back to the LFS would probably lead to a much worse end to this fish. The average LFS fish probably ends up in an overstocked 10 gallon community tank where it succumbs to poor water quality or possibly a lethal dose of chlorine. To dispatch fish behavior work as "animal testing" is purely ludicous, its actually more valid than even someone with 2 paradise fish in a 75 gallon tank because it's actually providing valid scientific information about this species, avaiable to all in the annals of peer reviewed journals. If you actually get into the concepts of animal ethics you will find that a fish in captivity is best off euthanized, they belong in the wild, and they can't go back, so be grateful for the enjoyment you are getting from keeping your fish and stop trying to chastise others who are doing the same. Anabantoid fish are well suited to an unfiltered tank, many of them are fine unheated, as these are the conditions they inhabit in the wild. Sure they may be reported to grow to 4", this fish doesn't look to be 4", in fact, it looks like about 2.5" and 30-40% of that is tail, if it grows rapidly and is clearly distressed, I'm sure the OP will find it another home.
 
#34 · (Edited)
And People just lay off the witch hunt over the paradise fish. It looks like it's doing quite fine, the OP will have a better idea of how the fish is faring than you do from looking at a few photos as they can observe their behavior and use their best judgement as to whether it appears healthy. Taking it back to the LFS would probably lead to a much worse end to this fish. The average LFS fish probably ends up in an overstocked 10 gallon community tank where it succumbs to poor water quality or possibly a lethal dose of chlorine. To dispatch fish behavior work as "animal testing" is purely ludicous, its actually more valid than even someone with 2 paradise fish in a 75 gallon tank because it's actually providing valid scientific information about this species, avaiable to all in the annals of peer reviewed journals. If you actually get into the concepts of animal ethics you will find that a fish in captivity is best off euthanized, they belong in the wild, and they can't go back, so be grateful for the enjoyment you are getting from keeping your fish and stop trying to chastise others who are doing the same. Anabantoid fish are well suited to an unfiltered tank, many of them are fine unheated, as these are the conditions they inhabit in the wild. Sure they may be reported to grow to 4", this fish doesn't look to be 4", in fact, it looks like about 2.5" and 30-40% of that is tail, if it grows rapidly and is clearly distressed, I'm sure the OP will find it another home.
He will never grow rapidly in such a small volume of water due to stunting. This basically means that the fish slows or stops growing externally, the internal organs are compressed until something stops functioning. There's often very little sign of damage until the spine starts starts warp under the the internal pressure or the swim bladder is damaged. If conditions improve in time stunting can be reversed, if not its permanent and ultimately fatal. Just to be clear I've not gone into ethics here and I'm not going to, my only beef is with the sheer quantity of misinformation in this hobby. If we don't speak up once we learn better it's endlessly perpetuated, if there is anyone in this thread who hasn't fallen foul of bad fishkeeping advice at some point I would be surprised.
 
#37 · (Edited)
To the OP,
There have been several smart and experienced Planted Tank members giving advice. Most have the same thoughts about the bowl. They are not attacking you, they are just trying to help you and your fish. They are expressing what they believe will help your fish live a fuller healthier and longer life. And if the fish can live a fuller healthier and longer life then you, the OP, will be able to enjoy the fish more and be happier because of that.
I strongly suggest you take their concerns and advice into consideration. It is natural to put up one's defences when one feels attacked, but try to really absorb the advice that has been given. If the advice does not work for you, then abandon this post, do things your way and move on.
Either way, good luck.
 
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