New fish on the block

So there are new fish in our tank.

Rather another oldish, smallish tank, with semi-new fish and two shrimps, sharing my mother-in-law's bedroom.

She was annoyed and indignant... standard behaviour when she has to give up more space to furniture or a member of the  animal species. She doesn't seem to mind humans very much.

After being scolded for inadvertantly wishing my brother-in-law's fish dead as a result of being poisoned by primer, paints and peeling plaster... not to forget the workmen, she acquiesed and has now promptly forgotten them.

Husband and I have been feeding the fish frenzy... we've been reminding each other to feed, clean and remember to switch on and off the filter for the smaller fish tank. On the weekend, brother-in-law comes in to give us 'gyaan' on why we should keep the light switched on in the tank. He says it's for their emotional well-being and physical growth. The thing is they seem to be the same size as the day they were introduced into the tank.

 

I don't get it. At the bottom of the ocean or the river bed, there is no light, so why would you want to light up their lives in a tank? What good is it going to do them? At best, they'll develop a human body clock and want porridge at the crack of dawn.

 

Hell, they may even want to speak into a cell phone.

Seriously, staring from the top of the tank... I think the light scares them silly. Or it could just be me.

We also get lectures on what we are doing wrong with our fish. Classic case of my-kid-is-better-than-yours.

My sister-in-law once told me that the minute her husband comes home, the kids are at the door, welcoming him, but he's staring at the fish tank -- doing a body count.

In the week the tank made its appearance at chez nous, we discovered a small tetra (he calls it a tetra, I'm going with it until I know better) with a hump on its nose. We asked BIL about it. There's been silence. I think he's wondering if it's a growth. Or whether we slipped him a new one.

He came one day with rocks in his hand. Apparantly he wanted his pair of shrimps to be able to hide. One has been out of sight since it came here. The other loves the attention. Will try and post some pix later.