I've had fish in my office in the past, and didn't encounter any problems with insects or humidity (offices are not near galleries or collection areas). I used weekend feeders when I was out of the office or made arrangements for coworkers to tank-sit. I think Monday - Friday people food (lunch) is much more of a problem in attracting insects. -----Original Message----- From: Museum discussion list [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Deb Fuller Sent: Friday, November 04, 2005 12:16 PM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Re: Fish in museum offices On 11/4/05, Bennett Siegel <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > the humidity would be less of an issue than toilets, with standing > water, if you have any of those. fish seem to be the most innocuous of creatures for a museum, as they are "sealed" in their own watery envelope. humanize the environment, allow the fish! the only issue may be, the keeping of fish food, and the creatures that the food may attract. I've kept fish for years and never had a problem with insects. The frozen bloodworms are kind of gross so I discourage people from keeping them in the community freezer. You can get the dried variety. There's a couple of caveats with office fish. First, if the heat or AC gets turned off on holidays or weekends, you could loose your fish. Same thing will happen if your office doesn't hold a constant temp well. Secondly, desk top tanks that are only a gallon or less are generally too small for most fish. Ammonia waste builds up very quickly so you end up having to change the water every day. Little betas (aka Japanese fighting fish) do okay in them as they don't move around much and live in stagnant pools but most fish need more room to swim around in. Betas should never be kept in those stupid little decorative bowls as those are MUCH too small for them. Given those two caveats, I'd say let people have fish. They can be great stress relief on bad days and brighten up an office. Deb ========================================================= Important Subscriber Information: The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes). If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes). ========================================================= Important Subscriber Information: The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes). If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).