The Story
I got started with keeping fish in aquariums about a decade ago when our friend Linda helped me set up a 25 gallon tall aquarium that I stocked with a pair of comet goldfish. I used a HOB filter, a heater, and a Tetra air pump that connected to a sunken treasure chest bubbler. I decorated the aquarium with colorful blue gravel and a few other colorful decorations.
I performed partial water changes every weekend, using a gravel aquarium siphon to clean up after those messy fish. The aquarium was located in a window between the kitchen and our living room. It was located right above the kitchen sink, which made it easy to perform water changes.
At night, the aquarium added a pleasing ambience to our living room. During our annual Tiki parties, I would hang light blocking curtains on the kitchen side to block the light coming from the kitchen and then turn down the lights in the living room. It greatly enhanced the Tiki aspect of our living room.
When we were in the kitchen, either preparing food or cleaning dishes, the goldfish would watch us. We rewarded them with food so they were always eager to engage us when we were in the kitchen.
I replaced the comets with shubunkin goldfish when the comets died and eventually added a fancy tail goldfish. At some point, Kat became interested in bettas, so we bought a (too) small aquarium and put a betta in it. Kat was diligent about cleaning it every week. Initially it appeared happy in its home but as summer gave way to fall and fall gave way to winter, our house would become colder and colder at night. We would wake in the morning to find a very sluggish betta.
Being concerned for the betta, we researched what bettas needed for environmental conditions. To our dismay, we learned that what we were providing was inadequate. To provide a warmer environment, we added an in-aquarium container that we placed in the goldfish aquarium. While it was warmer, the betta was not happy with the constant water movement. We eventually bought a 10 gallon tank to which we added a small heater and a low flow HOB filter. The betta was much happier in that and lived for another 3.5 years.
What put an end to the goldfish and betta aquariums was a complete remodel of our kitchen. We removed and closed off the window and rearranged the kitchen. It is so much better than before but there was no longer a good location for an aquarium in the kitchen.
What I Learned
Not all fish are as easy to care for as care-free comet and shubunkin goldfish.