Hi, y'all!! My first thread here. (Posted before on the Google Groups Freshwater Aqaurium group, but I guess that's defunct now.) I used to have a 20-gal aquarium with a few platys. Made all of the newbie mistakes and killed most of them. Scaled back to a 10-gal with a betta, which worked out a lot better. Eventually, the betta also died. What I really wanted was a nice large planted tank with a variety of aquatic spieces all living together, but that was too far beyond my finances to set up. So we just shelved the aquarium and repurposed the stand. But I miss having fish.
That was a few years ago. I am also a magician, doing birthday aprties and small parlor/stage shows. I'd like to perform the magic trick of making a bowl of water and fish appear on my table on stage. I can get the bowl and the water to comply with no problem. But I would really enjoy it more if the fish survived the experience too! Right now, it's all in the imagination stage - I do not currently have any fish. (But a nice excuse to get back into an aquarium!) I can manipulate any of the non-living elements as needed, but I'd like some input on the fish if you would be so kind.
Here's what I have in mind:
-- First, I live in the southwest corner of Arizona, USA, about 10 miles from the Mexican border. Translation: it gets hot here. I'd transport the fish inside an air-conditioned vehicle. Even so, interior temps could be in the 80s (F) range for a half-hour or so. Not to mention a certain amount of jostling. I can cover the transport tank/bowl to prevent direct sunlight, but that could also trap hot air underneath, so I gotta be careful here.
-- Before and during the show, the fish would be inside a plastic bowl with a snap-on lid. I'm currently looking at these because they're a decent manageable size - and cheap! Internal capacity is 13 cups / 3 liters. http://www.rubbermaid.com/Category/Pages/ProductDetail.aspx?Prod_ID=RP091255 So if I've got the lid on to prevent spillage while moving stuff around up to the final "taa daa!", there's no fresh air. I do not anticipate this being more than one hour, but I'd plan for two as a safety factor for the fish. So I probably can't fill the bowl to the brim with no air pocket, correct? But I also can't add more water just before we go on, so that could impact the amount of water the fish have while waiting.
-- I plan on keeping the fish at home in a 10-gal tank with a 20-gal BioWheel filter. It's also possible the mom and dad will think a magical fish is a great present for Junior, so after I make them appear he gets to choose one to keep. Which probably means a bowl with a handful of clown gravel in the bottom. This would be a great way to offset some of my expenses, but it could be very "expensive" for the fish! If I can't get the right fish, then that part goes away and the parents just get told that these need special treatment because they're highly pedigreed and trained.
Ideally, I'd love to present a bowl full of water with three nice colorful fish about three fingers big. Obviously, starting with the right fish is a big factor here. And then caring for them properly so they can handle the rigors of being travelling performers. And then handling them well from the time they leave their tank until they return back.
I'd love to hear your inputs. Thanks for listening!
Ed
That was a few years ago. I am also a magician, doing birthday aprties and small parlor/stage shows. I'd like to perform the magic trick of making a bowl of water and fish appear on my table on stage. I can get the bowl and the water to comply with no problem. But I would really enjoy it more if the fish survived the experience too! Right now, it's all in the imagination stage - I do not currently have any fish. (But a nice excuse to get back into an aquarium!) I can manipulate any of the non-living elements as needed, but I'd like some input on the fish if you would be so kind.
Here's what I have in mind:
-- First, I live in the southwest corner of Arizona, USA, about 10 miles from the Mexican border. Translation: it gets hot here. I'd transport the fish inside an air-conditioned vehicle. Even so, interior temps could be in the 80s (F) range for a half-hour or so. Not to mention a certain amount of jostling. I can cover the transport tank/bowl to prevent direct sunlight, but that could also trap hot air underneath, so I gotta be careful here.
-- Before and during the show, the fish would be inside a plastic bowl with a snap-on lid. I'm currently looking at these because they're a decent manageable size - and cheap! Internal capacity is 13 cups / 3 liters. http://www.rubbermaid.com/Category/Pages/ProductDetail.aspx?Prod_ID=RP091255 So if I've got the lid on to prevent spillage while moving stuff around up to the final "taa daa!", there's no fresh air. I do not anticipate this being more than one hour, but I'd plan for two as a safety factor for the fish. So I probably can't fill the bowl to the brim with no air pocket, correct? But I also can't add more water just before we go on, so that could impact the amount of water the fish have while waiting.
-- I plan on keeping the fish at home in a 10-gal tank with a 20-gal BioWheel filter. It's also possible the mom and dad will think a magical fish is a great present for Junior, so after I make them appear he gets to choose one to keep. Which probably means a bowl with a handful of clown gravel in the bottom. This would be a great way to offset some of my expenses, but it could be very "expensive" for the fish! If I can't get the right fish, then that part goes away and the parents just get told that these need special treatment because they're highly pedigreed and trained.
Ideally, I'd love to present a bowl full of water with three nice colorful fish about three fingers big. Obviously, starting with the right fish is a big factor here. And then caring for them properly so they can handle the rigors of being travelling performers. And then handling them well from the time they leave their tank until they return back.
I'd love to hear your inputs. Thanks for listening!
Ed
