If there is one thing we may or may not be known for here at OhGizmo, it’s posts about fish tanks. Fish tanks like this one, this one, this one, and especially this one. Since it’s Christmas, I just thought I’d remind you that fish also like to celebrate the holidays, and all it takes to get them into the spirit of things is a visit from Santa:
This conical fish tank in the lobby of a restaurant in Beijing is stuffed to the brim with goldfish. The tank is restocked at the top, and then the fish end up not quite alive at the bottom, which takes them, unfortunately, a mere six days. No word on what happens to them after that, but feel free to insert a tasteless sushi joke here.
It’s easy to just slap a few Star Wars stickers on any old item and sell it as an officially branded product, but recently it seems like Lucasfilm has been going beyond the call of duty when it comes to licensing out the Star Wars brand. This 1 3/4-gallon R2-D2 aquarium is a good example. Just sticking a clear tank inside a plastic R2 replica isn’t that noteworthy, but turning his radar eye into an eyepiece for a built-in periscope that allows you to see the underwater inhabitants up close will guarantee this thing ends up under plenty of trees this Christmas.
R2-D2′s domed head will even swivel at any voice command, and includes overhead LED tank lights that randomly cycle between red, blue, and green. Not surprisingly the R2-D2 aquarium is available from Hammacher Schlemmer for a reasonable $129.95.
Fish tanks, by definition, are restrictive, and don’t give fish the freedom to explore the upper atmosphere. It’s a real problem, especially if you have a flying fish, like this one. Much like the Festo Air_ray, this fish is most likely filled with helium and controlled by servo-powered fins. There aren’t many more details, but it seems to have been an entry in a German airship regatta.
Click here for a video of the longest recorded flight of a real flying fish.
So maybe you’ve taught your fish all kinds of neat tricks. That’s great. But what about some old fashioned book learning? I mean, how’s your fish going to get a job without some smarts? This globe aquarium should do the trick, since Mr. Fishy will have absolutely nothing better to do than study the geography of the world that’s been stenciled onto his house, day and night (since it glows in the dark thanks to an LED lamp).
You might think that it would be a problem not to have a north pole when learning global geography. Not so, since in fact the Earth also has big hole up there, just like this fish tank. Where does the hole go? Why, inside the Earth, of course. It’s hollow in there. With people in it. The Garden of Eden is down there, apparently. And a monorail. You can go there, if you like… Just join the expedition.
Be sure not to forget your fish tank. You know, in case you get lost and need a map back to the surface. It’s $49.95.
I’m perfectly happy to have a bathroom devoid of life. But I suppose it can get lonely in there, at times… All of that cold, sterile linoleum and tile. I guess then it could possibly make a tiny little bit of sense to stuff all your bathroom fixtures full of fish, maybe. I mean, a lot of your bathroom fixtures are submerged to some extent much of the time anyway, right? So why not let a bunch of fish enjoy it? Doesn’t that sort of make sense?
Or maybe it’s just weird.
Either way, people have done it, and if you want to, you can completely fishify your water closet with integrated fish tanks in your sink, bathtub, and toilet.
The Moody Aquarium Sink comes with a sand bed and built-in lighting and filtration to keep your fish happy and healthy. The soap dishes on either side lift out to give you access to the tank. Cost: $4700.
I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking, “what the heck is this? Fish Tank Fridays used to be cool.” Well, this is a USB hub. With fish in it. Again. I can’t help it, people just keep on makin’ these things! And I can only assume that people (other people) keep on buying them. This one has a magnetic paper clip holder on top and four USB ports in the bottom, with 2 fake fish, some LEDs, and…
And…
Sigh. You know what? You’re right. This is NOT a cool Fish Tank Friday. I’m in the mood for something bizarre and random, not a lame fake fish USB hub that holds paper clips. Soooo, how about this:
As the three or four regular readers of OhGizmo (you know who you are) may have noticed, I’ve been gone for the past few weeks. No, I wasn’t kidnapped by robots (I wish), but I was on a much deserved and entirely un-relaxing vacation in the middle of the biggest fish tank in the world, the pacific ocean. Specifically, in the Galapagos, a small group of islands some 600 miles off the coast of Ecuador. The Galapagos are most well known for their unique and in many cases totally bizarre terrestrial fauna, but their location smack dab in the middle of the Humboldt Current makes them a haven for all sorts of marine life. I spent a few days diving while I was there, and after the jump, I’ve posted a gallery of a few of my favorite pics. Enjoy… Read the rest of this entry »
When it comes down to it, fish tanks aren’t really the greatest place for fish any more than cages are the greatest place for birds. Many of the fish tanks we’ve featured on Fish Tank Friday try really damn hard to give the fish a unique place to call home, but unfortunately, not all fish tanks are created equal, and some are created downright unequal. This Friday, we’re showing you some evil fish tanks to help raise awareness and benefit fish everywhere.
These keychains are being sold by vendors in Qingdao, China. It’s not a little bag to take your goldfish for a walk in; the fish is sealed inside and sold as a souvenir. The logo on the bag? Yeah, that’s one of the Chinese Olympic mascots. It’s unofficial, of course, but you have to wonder who exactly sees one of these things and decides that yes, that is exactly the Olympic souvenir that they’ve been looking for.
This is the iPond. It’s a portable speaker system attached to a tiny fish tank, designed to work with iPods and the like. It’s actually for sale (for $60) in retail stores in Australia. Inside the tank is a Betta fish, which (according to officials from the Melbourne aquarium) needs at least 10 liters of water to live in, as opposed to the 650 milliliters of water in the iPond. And I’m sure the fish doesn’t appreciate having its living quarters attached to a speaker playing crappy music. According to the people selling the iPond, however, sales have been “brisk” and “fish in iPonds seemed to flourish.”
So just remember, as you continue to enjoy Fish Tank Fridays, that not all fish have it so good, and give your fish an extra shake of flakes today on my behalf.
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