Meet the BioPod! First up, on the 12th August 2019, we’ve got ourselves a tank full of Endler’s livebearers! Guppies! Well, sort of. Endler’s are closely related to ordinary guppies, and the two can even interbreed. It’s practically a fish family reunion, only with more swimming and considerably fewer awkward conversations! These colourful little fellows certainly make for an interesting aquarium, and there’s always something happening when you’ve got a whole collection of fish to keep an eye on.

Of course, Fish Tank World wasn’t entirely about sitting around watching fish. There was also the exciting world of aquarium water chemistry! The original BioPod records from the 12th August 2019 show an ammonium (NH4+) reading of 0 ppm, nitrite between 0.25 and 0.5 ppm, nitrate at the test kit’s upper limit of 160 ppm, and pH down at 6.0. Yikes! That’s quite a collection of numbers, and not all of them particularly encouraging. Ideally, nitrite should be sitting at zero. Too much of the stuff can interfere with a fish’s ability to carry oxygen in its blood, which is bad when breathing is something fish generally like doing! The nitrate reading wasn’t particularly impressive either. Apparently keeping a little collection of fish also means becoming an amateur chemist!

Fast forward to the 20th October 2019 and we’re back at the BioPod for another look at the Endler’s livebearers! I could spend ages watching these little guys going about their business. There’s something rather fascinating about an aquarium, even when you’re just sitting there observing what all its inhabitants are getting up to. It’s a little underwater world with plenty happening inside it, and I find that rather entertaining!

And here’s even more Endler’s livebearers from the same day! These three recordings give us a nice little look at the BioPod during August and October 2019. Between the fish, the water testing and trying to understand all the biological processes keeping an aquarium running, there was certainly plenty to occupy my time. Fishkeeping is rather addictive once you start getting interested in how everything works. One minute you’re admiring a few colourful fish, the next you’re reading about beneficial bacteria and the nitrogen cycle. Who knew a glass box full of water could be so complicated?

Fish rock!