Choosing to feed the fish is more enjoyable than sitting along the water’s edge with a fishing pole hoping to catch a fish and eat it. I know this sounds odd when we have always heard how fun it is to go fishing, but why does fun have to take a life? Should we fish with a barbless hook and then throw the fish back after we have terrified them? There has to be a better way to interact with the fish in our streams, creeks, ponds, and lakes.
Feed the Fish in your Aquarium
People pay big money to set up fresh or saltwater aquariums in their homes. They bring a little bit of nature into their homes. It can be so relaxing to watch the beautifully colored fish swimming back and forth in the aquarium. How many people do you know that buy a tiny fishing pole and barbless hook to fish out of their aquarium?
My husband, at the time, Gary, and I had had fish aquariums before we married. So, we both had a fascination and respect for fish. We were both vegan and had no desire to have friends or neighbors coming on our property to fish. I had to work, while my husband stayed home to work on the property. In his free time, he was drawn to the creek where he noticed the fish. We couldn’t have an aquarium while we were homesteading due to the lack of consistent electricity. But, who needs an aquarium when you have a creek?
Buy Fish Food to Feed the Fish
One day, Gary got the idea that he wanted to feed the fish in his giant creek aquarium. He bought a large container of fish food. Imagine how much fun he had sprinkling the flakes on the surface of the water and seeing all the little fish come for a treat. He got the idea to tap with a small rock on the big rock he was sitting on. He believed that the fish were coming to the sound of his tapping. The only problem with this was that a container of fish food like the one pictured below cost around $8.00 at the time. With funds very tight, I explained to him that this wasn’t sustainable.
Feed Cat Food to the Fish
I came up with the idea of feeding cat food to the fish since most of it is seafood anyway. Obviously, I didn’t mean for him to open up a can of cat food and spoon it out to them. As everyone knows, if you feed canned food to your cats, the bowls are left very messy with remnants of uneaten food. So, I suggested that he let the fish clean the bowls. They would benefit from a treat to eat and we would get clean bowls.
Watch the Video
If you would like to see this put into action, it is time to watch the video as I go underwater with my Fuji underwater camera. You will see my husband put the food container in the water and hear him start the tapping. The fish will come, many of them. It really is fun to enjoy the underwater world that God created. If you can watch the video on YouTube, you can comment and like the video. It will help the YouTube algorithm so it will be shared. I hope you will enjoy it and be motivated to go underwater with a mask sometime. For those without the ability to watch the video, I will post some pictures taken from the video with some more details.
It used to be that I didn’t wash my cat bowls every time after my cats ate, so there was a build-up for the fish to eat. The bowls get washed every time now. Below is a picture of a dirty plastic food container. Plastic floats, so it has to be weighted down with a rock. Gary enjoyed sitting on a rock with his feet in the water. He would grab a rock and start tapping and wait for the fish to come.
Swimming in an Aquarium
Wouldn’t it be fun to swim in a huge aquarium at Sea World? Well, if you live near a creek, lake, or even the ocean, you can have this experience. All you need is a mask and snorkel. If you don’t have a snorkel, you can hold your breath. In the video, I didn’t have a snorkel, so I had to keep coming up for air. It is a different world underwater.
With goggles, you can open your eyes underwater and see what the fish see. In Clear Creek, it is especially nice because the water really is clear. You can see the rocks and have a fish’s view of the sky too as you can see in the next three pictures.
Conclusion
In conclusion, I would say that it is more fun to put on a mask and watch fish coming for a meal to clean a cat bowl, than it is to sit with a baited fishing pole waiting to catch a fish so you can eat it or even to catch and release it. I think I have become a naturalist and I really enjoy observing and learning about the creatures that share this planet with me. God created the wildlife and we are to care for the creatures and apprecitate the gift He has given us.
Did you see the last post for the Wildlife Category called The “Taming” of the Shrew? Check it out by clicking this link.
https://healthyhomesteadingadventures.com/the-taming-of-a-shrew/
The last post for the Homestead category was The Homestead Water System Tour.
https://healthyhomesteadingadventures.com/off-grid-homestead-water-system-tour/
The last post for the Health category was God’s Design in Our Sanitariums Part 5.
https://healthyhomesteadingadventures.com/category/health/
The most recent post for the Music Category was “Then They Will Know” Sing-Along.
https://healthyhomesteadingadventures.com/then-they-will-know-sing-along/