Fish In The Bathroom Sink

[jayjay]

I say something like mendka a.k.a rice fish would be a good choice.

 

[guppler]

I use ceramic decorations in my tanks all the time. I figure if it's food safe , it's probably fish safe. So I just don't give the fish anything that's been raku'd or has any nonfoodsafe glazes, which at my school are labeled "sculpture only". I kind of like the guppy idea, because they are small and like some current in their water. I have had a betta jump tank too.( Found him dried up on the floor. I usually have covers over my gups, but the only one I remember picking up off the floor jumped out of a net when i was moving them so I could move the tank. It was a tiny fry but it kept jumping, so I was able to find it on the floor quick enough to get it back in the water.)
Do you have an estimate of the sink volume?
just as a side note on gold fish, some people think they are ok in small bowls but they are probably the same people who think "the little ones" only live a year or less. I got 2 feeder goldfish 4 or 5 years ago and they are each around 6 inches long now. They did start out in a 1 gallon tank, but their tanks get bigger as they grow, so if you wanted to put a baby one in just for show, you could maybe get away with it if you switch 'em out to a bigger tank before they outgrow the space. Feeder guppies come about as cheep as feeder goldfish, but fancy ones aren't really expensive either and look more impresseive to most people. I've kept them in unheated tanks too, most of the time. They should be fine as long as you dechlorinate the water and keep it moving or aerated and filtered or do lots of partial changes. I'm asuming this will be inside art. If it was outside the temp changes might be too much for almost anything, depending on where you are.

 

[LucyHurst]

I got 2 feeder goldfish 4 or 5 years ago and they are each around 6 inches long now. They did start out in a 1 gallon tank, but their tanks get bigger as they grow, so if you wanted to put a baby one in just for show, you could maybe get away with it if you switch 'em out to a bigger tank before they outgrow the space.

Putting goldfish in there, whatever the size, would be advertising the myth they CAN live in small space. We really dont want that!

 

[CBTF]

judging by the fact you want something hardy and that bettas really cant deal w/ current, then i'd go with some zebra danios. not only are they hardy, they're cheap, flashy and currents arent as harsh on them.

how will the water cycle through this contraption? surely it wont be pure tapwater..

 

[matttail]

how will the water cycle through this contraption? surely it wont be pure tapwater..

No, water will be taken from the drain, through a filter and back into the tank through the sculpture's his wee wee.
I'm thinking I'll set up a little gravel or somethign at the bottom of the tank and have just a small openning from the drain pipe to take the water - so there's no chance for the fish to get sucked down.


Here's a question - do you think it would look better to have a traditional wood base / cabnet to hold the sink? Or a less traditional metal structure - perhaps something I'd wield and paint?

 

[matttail]

Do you have an estimate of the sink volume? ...I'm asuming this will be inside art. If it was outside the temp changes might be too much for almost anything, depending on where you are.

No, don't really know, but I figure it's about 2 or maybe 3 gallons. Might be more, I'll have to measure and find out.

Yes, it will be inside art. the building is heated/AC'd.

Have you ever used unglazed ceramics? I traditional don't glaze my stuff, but I could probably glaze the inside parts where the water would be. Perhaps that would be better anyways - harder for algie and stuff to grow?

 

[LucyHurst]

It would be better not to glaze the inside, a rougher surface is better for beneficial bacteria growth.

I think a regular sinks volume is about 2 gallons, as I was emptying a 1 gallon tub into my sink last night and thought of this.. as it filled it more than half way up. 3 guppies would be a reasonable temporary stocking level, as long as you can create some sort of little filter in the wee fountain. Maybe shove a piece of sponge in there somehow

I've used unglazed clay in a tank with no problems

 

[guppler]

Do you have an estimate of the sink volume? ...I'm asuming this will be inside art. If it was outside the temp changes might be too much for almost anything, depending on where you are.

No, don't really know, but I figure it's about 2 or maybe 3 gallons. Might be more, I'll have to measure and find out.

Yes, it will be inside art. the building is heated/AC'd.

Have you ever used unglazed ceramics? I traditional don't glaze my stuff, but I could probably glaze the inside parts where the water would be. Perhaps that would be better anyways - harder for algie and stuff to grow?

glazed and unglazed are ok. I would wory about trying to glaze the inside partly because some glazes might drip enough to block the passage way or seal things shut. I tried to make a tree fountain recently using rolled newspaper to keep it hollow inside, but it shifted enough during the building proccess that I couldn't force my tubing trough the trunk once it was done. i might tri a bigger tunnel next time. i think it just got blocked at a bend in the trunk, so soft clay might be part of the problem. I do like to see a little green fuzz on some of my underwater art. It does hold on better to the slightly rougher unglazed surfaces, but it eventuallly grows a little on some of the glazed surfaces too. Flowing water should keep algae from blocking things up too much. Anyway I've never had algae thick enough to block water flow, and some of my stuff has been in tanks for over a year. Maybe the inside wouldn't get enough light to grow excessive algae anyway.