© irene waters 2015
I am a Piscean and very much a water sign. I have ponds all over my garden and almost every window of the house looks out on one. Many have a Buddah enjoying the calm, some have fish and all are overgrown. Maintenance is not something I do well and I like it that way.
© irene waters 2015
My fish are two Metynnis argenteus (Silver Dollar fish) which are in the same family as the piranha. This you can well believe when you look at their little mouths full of teeth front on. These are strictly vegetarian. After many months of overcrowding in Roger’s tank of guppies I added a few. I thought they would be eaten in minutes but in reality they are still there and breeding happily. The Piranha is a sadly maligned fish. They are not the carnivorous creatures that will devour a person who dips a toe in the river. They gained their reputation when President Roosevelt was on tour in the Amazon. The local people had dammed a section of the river, trapping a school who then had no food to eat. The fish became starving hungry. At this point they led a cow into the water. The thousands of ravenous fish devoured it. Obviously a party trick for visiting dignitaries and the fish has never lived down this reputation. Normally it does not travel in these vast numbers although it is in large shoals for its own protection. It is omnivorous but does like meat. In the dry season in recent years however, there have been a couple of children who have died as a result of attack as well as a drunk man who fell asleep in a puddle which was also occupied by once again, hungry fish.
Apart from the fish in this photo you can see my kitchen and also myself behind the phone.
© irene waters 2015
This tank in the wall is home to two goldfish only. There were more but one by one they meet their demise. The tank, the width of the wall, is tiny and the two fish here have grown from fingerlings to a size almost necessitating a somersault to change direction and swim the other way. Soon she will have to go to an outside pond.
© irene waters 2015
These photos were taken Saturday in my effort to obtain the Bokeh effect. They were a dismal failure in this regard but as Odd Balls?
Reflections and Nightmares- Irene A Waters (writer and memoirist) 
I like your fish tank! the way it is part of the wall instead of sitting on the side, Now as for the silver dollar? I had no idea about that, thank you for the info 🙂
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Yes we loved the fish tank in the wall but became hooked wanting fish that wouldn’t fit in it so ended up with both types. The silver dollars are just mesmerising to sit and watch.
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Absolutely! guessing the guppies are in the wall tank? given they breed like rabbits? 😀
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No the guppies are in another tank. My husband and I have a tank each – we both like different things. He likes the small colourful darters and I like the serene gliding of the big fish. The wall tank is ours jointly and has gold fish.
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I like serene gliding fish too, It’s a shame that angel fish are so tempermental otherwise I really wish they’d go together with guppies 😦
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They can be aggressive little blighters.
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Such a misplaced name for them huh! :-\
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I’ve never thought of that. They should be called devil fish but there is a fish called a red devil that is worse than an angel fish so maybe it is by comparison. LOL
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So one should be called evil and the other one devil lol
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That first one has me laughing, Irene. Although I put no meaning to it, I’m also a Pieces as is my husband. Next month is our month, right?
janet
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My husband is also a Pisces. Yes Janet, next month we’ll all be celebrating.
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Odd ball or not, I woould like your garden.
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Kayti I’ll let you share it via pictures. It is very calming. 🙂
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I really like your fish photo. Thanks for playing along. I always enjoy your entries.
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Thanks Cee. I always have fun.
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From one Pisces to another, I love your fish … especially the first one! He’s adorable 🙂
I’ve lived near water my entire life (a happy side effect of being Canadian I guess). I can’t imagine otherwise!
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I didn’t know Canada had a lot of water. We have lived away from water once and it took us ages to work out what we were constantly looking for.
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Yes – we have more lakes, rivers, and streams … it is one of many things we were blessed with as a country. I can’t imagine living anywhere that wasn’t close to water.
I could understand your undefined discomfort being away from it. Both my husband and I are water people – I would be stressed without it!
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I guess I expect the inland to be dry but yours obviously isn’t . You are lucky.
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Vegetarian piranhas would be the sort I’d want to encounter. I had no idea about the back story as to why piranhas had the reputation they have. All your ponds and fish sounds peaceful.
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It is a serene garden even more so as there is no grass to mow.
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