the mellow tigger's musings

It was -15C/4F in Minneapolis when I woke up this morning.  I really should get an indoor thermometer, so I can measure the temperature in my bedroom.  Slightly warmer than outdoors, but not by enough.  The glass of water by my bed was not frozen, at least.  Thanks to the very drafty old windows, I just keep my bedroom door closed during the day.  I also bubble wrap those windows in winter to slow the heat exchange as much as possible.

My energy bill is already low compared to the norm here, but I keep trying to think of ways to get it lower.  I don't know how much lower I can keep the thermostat than its current 19C/66F setting.  I have plants and fish to consider.  They're a luxury, I know, but I can't dismiss the psychological good it does to have them around 365 days a year, especially when it's so cold outside and I live alone (with cat).

My aquarium is unheated.  I chose fish that can handle it.  It's been almost 3 years since I bought them, but only 1 minnow remains.  I lost several during the aquarium leak and migration to temporary tank nearly a year ago.  I eventually resealed the aquarium, and the original is back in use now.  You can't see the minnow here because it's hiding in the foliage, but the tank made the transition okay, I think.  The java fern and pelia moss (Monosolenium tenerum, the rootless free-floating leafy liverwort mass on the far right bottom) obviously recovered just fine.

I think when this last fish dies someday, I'll try some shrimp.  Cherry shrimp are just so colorful, and supposedly they can survive at my house thermostat temperature. That's the bottom of their range, though, so that leaves no "fudge factor".  Also, colder temperatures slow growth and stop breeding, so I'd probably add a heater for their safety.  But... I still wish there were more energy efficient aquarium heaters.  Does any crafty person want to experiment with the design I listed in that blog post?  I wish I knew how to do it on my own.

Edit 2022 Dec 06 Tue: I'm thinking now that I have subwassertang, not pelia moss.  Apparently I'm not the only one who gets them confused by their similar appearance.

It's not quite time for my annual year-in-numbers review post.  Coming soon.  Meanwhile, here's a post about my Monday errands.

I spent the last few months moving my direct deposit and automatic checking to my new bank much closer to my house.  Today, finally, I closed my credit union accounts.  I went to the new bank and added a savings account.  I literally got free kitchenware for opening that savings account.  I took that photo of the box, on the right.  I didn't know that sort of thing still happened.  I thought it was just some 1940s trope.

I also bought (for the first time in my life, I think) a safe deposit box.  Turns out, it was only about $30/year.  I took the cash from the closed credit union accounts and tucked it away in the bank box.  I'll feel better knowing that I have some non-digital cash, but safely away from the house.

Then I drove to the south metro to an aquarium store that I like.  I used some of the holiday money my parents sent me to finally get a fun birthday/christmas present.

• two 'Monte Carlo' plants (Micranthemum tweediei)
• three 'White Cloud Mountain minnows' (Tanichthys albonubes)
• three 'Galaxy rasbora' (Danio margaritatus)

Those links all have photos better than I can take in my little 10-gallon aquarium.  They're worth a look, if you're into underwater gardens.  :)

I had never seen those Galaxy rasboras before.  Apparently they were "discovered" only this century, and they're becoming popular in stores finally.  They're also called "Celestial Pearl danios".  Here are two of them (photo on left) in my small tank, still in their plastic bag getting acclimated to the new temperature and water quality.

I also didn't know that white cloud minnows are rasboras, and rasboras are danios.  Seeing them side-by-side together, I can sort of see how they could morph from one appearance to the other easily enough.  The colors are actually quite similar, just displayed prominently in different places.

I'm also a big fan of Harlequin rasboras.  I had some many years ago, and the bold orange they eventually developed in my tank (after a few months when they were settled and happy) was better than any I've seen in photographs.  And long-finned leopard danios are beautiful too.  Apparently I like danios of all kinds?  I never got into cichlids, discus, or goldfish.  I don't know why, since most people like those fish a lot more than rasboras/danios.

I have other house things that I need to spend money on first, but I also still want to get another large tank.  My intention is to never move from this house, so I might as well get a big unwieldy tank that sits and never moves again.  I had a 50-gallon back in Austin (over 20 years ago) that I very much liked.  It swarmed with plant and animal life of all kinds.  I think I'd like to get the same size front, but slightly more depth.  A 75-gallon would be 18 inches wide instead of 12 inches.  I think that might be enough to actually aquascape something beautiful.

I've been watching a few YouTube channels in recent weeks that rekindled my aquarium interest.  For the curious, my favorite is "Dustin's Fish Tanks".  He's the aquarium equivalent of "the ShamWow guy".  Not only does Dustin actually look kinda like the famous tv commercial actor, but he's got exactly the same overpowering extroverted enthusiasm for everything he shows his audience.  Some other channels that I watch and like are:

• Keeping Fish Simple,
• Aqua Pros,
• H2O Plants,
• MD Fish Tanks (he also did an interesting "Frozen"-themed tank for kids for Christmas),  and
• Aquarium Co-Op.

So, daydreaming about lush plant and animal life during another frozen day of Minnesota's winter.  Don't mind me.