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You're getting value for money this time - TWO editorial pieces in one day!

While in 'editorial' mode again, I thought I'd introduce everyone to the weirdness that is my PC desktop. Not direclty, because I don't have premium member status and can't directly post images. In any case, I think a few people (especially those stuck on 56K modems) would be pretty hacked off if I embedded a whacking great 1024 x 768 true-colour image within my topic post. Especially if it didn't contain any fish imagery! But I digress. The reason I've started this topic is because I was introduced, at an early age, to an interesting idea, which has in a small way come to fruition on my PC desktop, and in the process has led to numerous derogatory comments about my aesthetic sense.

Basically, I've changed all my Windows desktop colours to multiple shades of green, with white text. I've had this desktop setting now for several years, and quite a few people look at my desktop and wonder why I've chosen the desktop scheme I have. Likewise, I look at most of the supplied desktop schemes that come with Windows, and wonder about the colour sense of the people who created them. And no, I am NOT colour blind, I have passed the requisite tests with flying colours (pardon the pun). But, for some reason, my desktop evokes all kinds of comments from people who see it. What has this to do with fishkeeping? I shall now explain.

The February 2004 edition of Practical Fishkeeping featured, on pages 4 to 8, an article covering the reasons why fishes in an aquarium might be behaving aggressively. It covered such matters as being kept outside of their preferred temperature range (citing experiments which show that Convict Cichlids become more markedly aggressive if the temperature is increased from 26C to 30C), and a number of other environmental factors. One surprising correlation that was reproduced time and again was a correlation between fish aggression and the colour of the decor. Fishes kept in red, yellow or white containers were, in laboratory experiments, found to be far more likely to exhibit aggression than fishes kept in green containers. Green is, of course, the colour of aquatic vegetation, and so fishes are more likely to exhibit natural behaviour if kept in predominantly green surroundings. Green is, indeed, calming for fishes to experience: vegetation usually equals shelter, a place to hide from predators and possibly a source of tasty titbits to eat too, and thus fishes are likely to feel secure in predominantly green surroundings. At least, this is the case with the majority of freshwater fish species: it would be interesting to see which colour proved to be most calming for marine coral reef fishes (I suspect a relatively deep shade of blue would prove to be calming for them).

However, this does not only apply to fishes. Any land animals that inhabit a predominantly green environment (e.g., lush grasslands, forests) are also likely to feel more secure in captivity if their quarters are predominantly decorated with green colours. And, it was while at school that I was informed by one of my teachers of an interesting experiment that had been conducted by educational psychologists, in which predominantly green decor and a green blackboard had a measureable positive effect upon classroom performance and learning. This no doubt reflects our evolutionary ancestry, descended as we are from forest apes. Taking this on board, I set about creating a nice green desktop colour scheme for my PC, and since doing so, I have found that my own productivity has increased measureably. First of all, white text on a green background is relaxing to view for long periods of time, far more so than black text on a stark white background. Furthermore, just as spending time surrounded by lush vegetation in a forest is relaxing for me (again no doubt an atavistic remnant of evolutionary history rising to the surface), working on what might otherwise prove stressful projects is much more relaxing against a green background. My endurance before the computer screen is considerably greater when I am looking at a green desktop, and my applications all have green backgrounds. There is no way on earth that I could stand to look at a stark white screen for eight hours at a stretch, but with a suitably chosen palette of leafy green colours on my desktop, I can debug code and write articles for the Board for hours if I so choose, without feeling major eye strain.

However, this notion, eminently sensible as it is, seems to be completely lost upon most of the people who view my desktop. "How do you work in front of that?" is the typical comment I receive. I shall dwell but briefly on the irony that many of the people who ask me how I manage to function in front of a green desktop complain of eyestrain if they sit in front of a PC monitor for too long. This is probably yet another manifestation of the herd tendency that Aldous Huxley dwelt upon in Brave New World, and of course, we all know what good following the herd does for all too many lemmings, don't we?

This is probably another reason why my Pandas are so happy. They have lush greenery in abundance to frolic amongst. Carpets of Java Moss on the bogwood arch, another mound of Java Moss on the bogwood boot, Java Ferns sprouting at odd angles hither and thither, an Amaxon Swordplant in the centre of the aquarium, and a collection of Cabomba stems here and there too, all provide my Pandas and their Characin companions with a verdant underwater forest to explore. No doubt they too would start to feel decidedly ill if I dumped them in a container full of stark, bleached whites, or garish reds and yellows. Let's face it, Corydoras have been around in their present form for around 50 million years, and for most of that time, I'm willing to bet that they shared their watery home with aquatic vegetation in abundance. Just as our ancestors did for most of the 2 million years that hominid apes have been a distinct taxonomic group. I'm even willing to bet that the reason many people find modern art so objectionable is that it's displayed in stark white rooms flooded with light from flourescent tubes with bad spectral outputs. Standard office fluorescents are notorious for their spectral gaps, which is why photographers brought up on 35mm film (like me) absolutely loathe photographing anything under fluorescent light in a building. Want to see what you look with B-movie alien green skin? In the days before Adobe PhotoShop, the way to achieve this end was to set up a 35mm film camera on a tripod, and take a photograph of yourself (using the time delay function on the camera, and no flashgun) under the typical bad office fluorescent light. The resulting colour casts (particularly on human skin) are enough to make the typical old school photographer wince. And yet, this is the kind of environment that all too many human beings have to work in. Perhaps if more office buildings were lit with lighting systems that corresponded better to natural daylight, and all those stark white panels were painted in leafy greens, the level of violence recorded by law enforcement agencies would start to drop noticeably.

For some reason, that experiment by educational psychologists never caught on. Probably considered too expensive to redecorate schools in calming leafy green wall colours, let alone replace all those old blackboards with new green ones. But my Panda Corys and mixed Characins aren't the only ones to feel the benefits of green scenery - when I fire up the PC and write another of my new Board topics, I can do so without feeling eyestrain for long periods of time, and debugging code is a LOT easier when you're not looking away every 15 minutes and seeing spots before your eyes. And in case you're thinking I'm out on a limb with this one, I'm in good company - one other lateral thinker who appreciated ideas like this (and how I lament his passing) was the astronomer Carl Sagan. I bet if he was still alive, he'd have a green desktop ...



Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

A very interesting point i will have to try it! Also are you trying to say that algea in a fish tank will make the fish less agressive so if you what aggresive fish you shouldnt want algea righT?????

But why would you *want* aggressive fish? Fish that exhibit interesting behaviour, yes, but ones that rip each other to pieces? Somehow, I think not!

Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

Why not agresive fish ? they are cool even though they rip each other a part!]:|

I dont want aggresive fish but some people do so ask them! and i do agree with malawi it is pretty cool to see an oscar rip/bite/tear/destroy/kill another one but that is the food chain! i think!

Personally I prefer more peaceful coexistence. When fishes start launching vicious attacks on each other in an aquarium, it's usually a sign that there are gaps in the management thereof. Spectacular threat displays prior to courtship on the part of certain Cichlids are wonderful to watch, but ideally, one should arrange the environment so that they don't come to blows. After all, I don't think many people would enjoy being forcibly maintained in an environment where bloody (and possibly lethal) violence was a certainty ...

Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

I agree with that! when you are running a display tank who wants to see fish bitin each and what not!

I agree with Calilasseia, agression can be pretty mundane after awhile.. there is alot more to fish than what YOU want them to do (fighting etc.). Why not let them live in an environment where they can do what they want and need to do, instead of murdering eachother for your gratification.

Tucker

Hmmmm... just so happens that when I set my 75 gallon tank up I painted the back and sides hunter green, and heavily planted it. I only have mostly peaceful fish to begin with, but it's interesting to think that maybe the color I chose relaxes them further. I did notice that the more " skiddish" fish, the keyhole cichlids, ceased to be so skiddish and quit darting away when someone approaches the tank.
There always has been scientific proof that certain colors provoke certain feelings, not only in animals but in humans as well. They've shown that restaurants painted certain colors inside make a person more apt to eat more, and so on.

Intresting reading, Calilasseia. Thanks.

O i see so you do want some algea in your tank hmmmmm to bad i dont have any!