I have this fish tank. A glass box of water I put sand and rocks in. But the point of a fish tank are the things that are alive. I have plants that reach outstretched hands to the light and grow to the barrier between the clear fluid they live in and the clear gas we breathe. In one single leaf so much chemistry takes place, photosynthesis makes ungraspable light into life supporting substance.
And in my fish tank I have a fish. A fish that can be found lifeless in cups in pet stores, but I’ve seen this fish thrive. I’ve seen him change color due to jumping genes. I’ve seen him play in the filter meaning he makes decisions. Something so small exists and lives and makes choices. It baffles me, truly. Such vibrant color that I can only compare to something man made and yet it was nature that did it first.
I see this little world that I have placed on my shelf. Cared for by me; dependent on me. It amazes me the human emotion I have for them, and how far humanity has gone that I can dose the tank and manage it on a delicate scale.
And sometimes I wonder, what if we exist on a glass box on someone’s shelf? One way glass we can’t look out, but if we could, everything would be different? What if we are all a fragment of someone’s novel or a C+ science project? Life is so so amazing, it’s baffling.
“Well actually bettas live in dirty puddles so even though the water in my .25gal (.9L) is brown and smells like its rotting, its tottally okay to keep my betta in there!”
“All that room for one fish? Bettas live in puddles so no I don’t need that big of a tank”
“Bettas live in puddles their whole lives so its okay to permanently house them in the cup they’re sold in”
No. No. No. No. No.
Bettas live in rice paddy’s. Hundreds upon hundreds of acres of three feet deep water surrounded by roots and leaves and plenty of hunting grounds.
Domestic bettas are bred in large glass jars sometimes. It doesn’t mean you can keep them in the glass jar.
Sure, I can fit in the under the stairs closet and live my whole life there. Oh wait. I’d be miserable. I don’t understand people who take an animal who is completely reliant on you as its soul source of living, and just throw them in a cute little wine glass and ask me why tf their betta isn’t eating/swimming/ living, and then tell me I’m wrong when I say they need at least 5 gals and lots of hiding spots because “they live in puddles”
After ten years and probably over a hundred individual skulls, I finally did it. I finally found one.
I found a white-tailed deer with a vestigial canine tooth
The more I work with tarantulas they less I understand the overwhelming fear and hatred most people have towards them (not talking about legitimate, involuntary phobias btw…just to be clear). Tarantulas are such oversensitive, helpless little babies.
Even the defensive species are mostly just cute and hilariously silly in their reactivity. “I’m so offended by the opening of my cage that I will now threat pose so hard that I almost fall over.” Like, we do this every week, little dude. Chill. Stop trying to fight your water dish.
I guess it’s hard to be scared of an animal you’ve seen violently flee from a prey item less than ¼th their size, or stand on tiptoes because they don’t like a new texture, or obsessively and meticulously clean every little spider-paw after a meal because it’s not polite to be dirty.
They’re like grumpy little eight-legged cats and I love them all.
Remember: a lot of people tell them they’re ugly and should be killed. All spiders want to do is help us, so sometimes they need a little self-esteem boost!
No one:
Bisexuals:
May I present to you:
Book seller
Crystal seller
He sells flowers
She will sell you a pumpkin this fall
Would you like to purchase.. bean?
They are regulars. They buy mushrooms for soup
She has more options
Don’t be scared, he’s just been doing this for years and is passionate about garlic
Can I interest you in...melon?
Witch’s familiar needs coins to buy ingredients from toad next door
Please trust reliable, small business owners
The last thing the seed sees…
I brought a friend to biology today and like a good student, she began cleaning herself in the middle of lecture
Ripley has figured out how to ask for cheek scritches by holding her foot to her face and making her baby cockatiel begging for food noise
skull and spider enthusiast//check out @voooorheestaurus sun moon & rising
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