Back in the days when I still had money, I used to maintain a 1oo gallon saltwater aquarium. The tank was only 5 feet long, but it was very wide, meaning I could have layers of background coral and such to make it look interesting. The bottom of the tank was covered in puka shell which is crushed pieces of cone snail shells found naturally on beaches, especially in Hawaii. My absolute favorite type of marine fish that I kept in the tank were tangs. There were so many varieties and colors of tangs available for the tank that my aquarium always looked so colorful and bright. I was never able to keep live coral, though, which adds a great deal of beauty and color because tangs are grazers. They graze around rocks and coral eating the green algae that they find. I was not aware of that until the day I discovered my $75 piece of coral was dead and/or dying. Oops.
I loved maintaining the aquarium even though it was a fairly costly hobby. The tangs could run anywhere from $25 each to $100, depending on its color and popularity at that particular store. However, my den smelled of briny ocean water and the splashing of the pumps was very relaxing. At night I would turn on the aquarium lights and turn off the lights in the house. The tank would glow with a soft brilliance, and I would sit and watch the beautiful tangs swim around in their new home. I could sit for an hour or more just watching. It was almost exactly what I had imagined as a child it would have been like to look out a porthole of Captain Nemo's Nautilus, watching the sea pass by as we traveled from place to place.
Well, my aquarium is now gone. As is my house. But at night when I have difficulty sleeping due to anxiety and nerves, I close my eyes and remember my beautiful fish and try to imagine myself as a child again, standing next to Captain Nemo, watching the fish pass by.
