Just a thought about fish in museums-

I don't know much about fish, but what about the electricity uses for these
tanks.  I have heard that they can pull a lot of electricity, especially the
large tanks.  Is this a problem or issue?  

Tracie Evans
Collections Manager
Texas Ranger Hall of Fame and Museum
PO Box 2570, Waco TX 76702
254/750-8631
[log in to unmask]


 -----Original Message-----
From: 	Deb Fuller [mailto:[log in to unmask]] 
Sent:	Friday, November 04, 2005 11:16 AM
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

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