stay together, learn the flowers, go light.

Thanks to my Syracuse community, my long, lost love and enthusiasm for tropical fish have been reignited once again.  I guess I had a moment of revival last year in Vietnam, when I found some spotted green puffer fish on the street for fifty cents… but, I was lacking the theory and drive to create a sustainable, balanced, aquatic ecosystem (which made the constant upkeep feel like a burden.)

Fish enthusiasts see aquariums as an ecological art: they study the hierarchical interactions, social systems, and different roles of each fish, the conditions needed to promote breeding or cooperation, and the way the non-living (style of rocks, types of gravel/sand) and living components (plants, coral, snails) become interdependent with each other.  They take a multi-level approach at creating a sustainable “community” in these aquariums… and for that reason, I find fish enthusiasts really inspiring artists.

I hope to take everyone I’ve known to ABC Reefs in Syracuse, NY, the most incredible fish store I’ve ever been to in my life.  What once was just a store for a small group of fish hobbyists in upstate NY, has now become a giant industry for a fast-growing community of passionate, aquatic artists.

My future prediction?  I think tropical fish and aquariums are going to get very popular/trendy in the next decade, once people see how interesting, beautiful, and artistic fish-tanks can be…