Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Pet fish



Click on Photo to enlarge.

Last month as I was wading in a shallow river looking for dragonflies, I noticed that there were a lot of snails clinging to the rocks. I mean a lot. I’m not sure what species they were but it just didn’t look right. There were very few fish.


Click on photo to enlarge.

I was reminded of the aquarium I had as a young girl, when after all the fish had died only the snails and murky water remained. Unfortunately, I am probably not the only one to have pet fish that died. Their death was acceptable and the floating fish were flushed down the toilet and forgotten. I think some of us were not good stewards as children and we don’t seem to be doing much better as adults. I wonder if we teach our children to take better care and responsibity for aquariums will they then take better care of the rivers and streams we love to photograph? Might be worth a try.


10 comments:

Janie said...

We have an invasive snail in the rivers here - I believe it's the New Zealand mud snail - that is damaging fish populations. It's not native but came in either on fishermen's boots or through stocking practices. Not good. The snail crowds out the aquatic species that the fish would feed upon, and the fish can't eat these snails. Big problem.
I think you're onto something. Let's start with kids and their aquariums. Maybe they'll learn to be better stewards of the land than we have been.

squirrel said...

Janie, we also have invasive snails here in WV, US but I'm not familiar with the species and I don't know if what I saw were the "bad" ones or not. But it just didn't look healthy. Thanks for your comments and come back again when you have time.

Ann said...

What a beautiful place, I notice the water is crystal clear, could the snails be good snails, keeping the water clean as they do in a tish tank. Those snails might be more welcome in France, where they eat them, not sure what species though.

Ann said...

I'm back again, I meant a Fish tank, I have no idea what a tish tank is.

eileeninmd said...

Lovely post and such great timing. My son has just started taking care of fish and an aquarium in his room.
Lovely photo and thanks for sharing.

CreativeMish said...

Great pictures. My had had a wall of aquariums in the basement family room.. I remember loving to sit and watch all of the different variety of fish...

Wanda..... said...

Sometimes our instincts are just right, even without all the information...we know something isn't quite right.

You asked me if I knew how many different turtles I had seen this summer...definitely 12, but I haven't checked out yet the 4 I found together last week.

squirrel said...

Ann, I think a Tish Tank is the style of tank top most often worn at Tish Tank Campground in California. Check it out. :-)

eileeninmd, I hope he shares with you. Fish are great fun to watch.

Creative Mish, that must have been wonderful, like going to the pet store. Although I'll admit that now I don't much care for pet stores. It breaks my heart to see the birds in cages.

Wanda, you must be doing something right on your property. I imagine that mowing over the babies is your biggest worry with box turtles. I love to find them in the woods around my house.

Thank you all for stopping by.

Unknown said...

Teaching children to take better care of their animals is a start. Unfortunately, though, children usually take after their parents. We adults need to be better role models.

Girl Tornado said...

You have such a beautiful blog here, glorious photos, and such insight. I love your thoughts.