Fish tanks are boring. Sure, you can get a little castle, or a diver that goes up and down. Sometimes the filter provides a little entertainment when the fish gets sucked into it... but the tank itself is just boring. What you need, is to make waterproof hamster tubes. It would have a main tank in the middle (just like the ordinary ones), but tubes could sprout from the main tank, and you would curve them any way you want. Say you wanted to bend tubes all around your house. Or line your ceiling. Replacing the water would be a pain, but it could be worth it. You could even feed the fish at the top tube, so he has to find his way through the maze of tunnels to get fed. Then again, fish only have three second memory spans...
-- ghillie, Sep 16 2003

With linking tubes http://www.aqualeas...m/aq-jpg/dblhex.jpg
[squeak, Oct 04 2004, last modified Oct 05 2004]

Marine Life double-glazing http://www.halfbake..._20double_20glazing
See the annotations and particularly the links on this idea. Already discussed and as you'll see, gnormal has baked it. [waugsqueke, Oct 04 2004, last modified Oct 05 2004]

(???) If fish is good for your brain... http://news.bbc.co....rkshire/3189941.stm
..then how can they be thick? [squeak, Oct 04 2004, last modified Oct 21 2004]

Practical Fishkeeping http://www.practica...fk/pages/basics.php
Fish need room to swim in all three dimensions [squeak, Oct 04 2004, last modified Oct 21 2004]

Downtown Aquarium http://www.downtownaquarium.com/
Couldn't help thinking of this place. [Ander, Oct 04 2004, last modified Oct 21 2004]

The House Aquatic http://www.halfbake...Aquatic#1074024556.
I would like to build his into submerged portions of my floating hose -- the bigger the better. Imagine seeing a great white or dolphins getting curious and coming through. :) [Leotardo Da Vinci, Oct 04 2004, last modified Oct 05 2004]

(?) Double baked http://www.mohegans...y_shops.jsp#odyssea
[blissmiss, Oct 05 2004]

Fish Highway http://www.fishighway.com/
[waugsqueke, Nov 20 2004]

Now commercially baked http://www.octopuss...com/aquagallery.htm
[ConsulFlaminicus, Feb 02 2008]

Awesome. You could have an outlet right over the stove.
-- DeathNinja, Sep 16 2003


If you think fish tanks are boring then why do you want to have one anyway?

There are double tanks with connecting tubes available (see link) but if the tubes were too long or convoluted you would have a problem with oxygen levels in the water and circulation. It would also be tricky to have any tubes that were raised above the tank (water goes down, y'know).

I'd kinda like two joined tanks though, but done simply. One in one corner of a room, one in another and tubes between the two. I saw a great one for octopi at a public aquarium somwhere.
-- squeak, Sep 16 2003


I want one of these in my dream home…

The filter output would be at one end of the system, and the pickup at the other. That way, water always flows through the tubes, solving the oxygenation problem. The fish would probably respond better to having the current as well.

I’d hate to try cleaning these tubes – maybe a specially designed robotic scrubbing machine would need to be developed.
-- TIB, Sep 16 2003


yep [TIB] *some* fish do like current but not all so pick carefully. Also, surface dwelling fish won't like the tubes so stay away from those as well.

Oh, and [ghillie], the three second memory thing isn't true at all.
-- squeak, Sep 16 2003


Already discussed and actually created by a baker... see link.
-- waugsqueke, Sep 16 2003


[gnormal] is a stupid sod who shouldn't be allowed to keep fish. He obviously doesn't have a grasp of even the most basic fish keeping skills necessary for their proper care.

Please read 2nd link before getting creative.
-- squeak, Sep 16 2003


Would be great for fish that like to snuggle in somewhere, like eel or morane. Watch them slide through the tubes, put in an electric eel to stirr things up.
-- kbecker, Sep 16 2003


"put in an electric eel to stirr things up." Hmm... Coil the tubes... put a big magnet in the middle... see how much of your house you can get going on "eel power"...no, make that "eel"ectricity!!
-- KansasKid, Sep 16 2003


Fish tanks ain't boring. In fact, 6 hours ago I replaced a small octagonal with an Eclipse tank. The guppies and kuhli loaches have been eating and drinking non-stop since.
-- thumbwax, Sep 17 2003


I thought up a version of this many years ago, called it 'fish link' (rather un-inspired I'm afraid). Like you [ghillie] basically describe, linked two tanks with a clear plastic pipe (say 3" diameter) up out of one tank, across, and down into the other. It would work by the same principal that allows you to lift a submerged glass of water up-side-down above the surface and it takes the water with it (ooeeoooeee spooky). As [squeak] mentioned you might need a current to keep it fresh (and hence a return feed from the receiving tank to the pump), plus perhaps an second feed from inside the top of the tube to suck out any bubbles that collect. Both tanks would need to be on the same level (as the tube would always equilise any imbalance), but you could make it quite long, perhaps travelling along a wall between your two tanks squeak.

Never owned fish though so never tried it, think they're cruel anyway. Ho hum.

(Still gets a pastry tho')
-- gaspode, May 06 2004


Another ghillie fun idea. I like this better than the new one.
-- dentworth, May 20 2004


I agree. This one is brilliant.
-- schematics, May 20 2004


I remember sitting at a bar in London, about 1983, watching the fish go by in a tube along the edge of the bar top, drinking something with an umbrella in it. I would appreciate it if someone could tell me that this really happened.
-- farble, May 25 2005


its the piranhas in the pub toilets that you want to worry about.
-- po, May 25 2005



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