I hate aquariums (maintenance, non-interactive pets, etc), but I'd gladly have one full of these little guys.

How long until humans scoop these poor little bastards out of their natural environment and start breeding them for pets?

Cabela's is a sporting (as in hunting/fishing type activities, no athletics) goods catalog business. They expanded from that into a few really huge stores of over 200,000 square feet, recent stores are closer to 80,000-100,000. The really big stores were travel destinations for sporting enthusiasts. I'm not sure about the smaller ones, but the big 225,000 size stores had restaurants. Most of the stores have a large "conservation mountain" of mounted animals, some have aquariums (the one in Columbus has a 5,000 gallon one). I think some of them even had climbing walls. Other chain stores that have similar things are Bass Pro Shops, Gander Mountain...

My step father is a taxidermist and sportsman, so he gets the catalog. He's never done work for them, though he's done some for one of the local stores. I haven't seen a catalog for a long time, so either he stopped getting it or they stopped sending it out in mass and use their online store as the catalog was probably expensive.

saw this in the news just after our recent chat ... http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/rnafternoons/aquarium-fish-hurting-waterways/6364144

From teh Interwebs in case you're thinking the octopus is being abused:

SEATTLE (Reuters) - A giant male octopus caught on cell phone video scaling his glass display tank at the Seattle Aquarium and reaching several tentacles over its open top has sparked Internet speculation that the massive mollusk was trying to mount an escape bid.

But aquarium officials say the octopus, named Ink, was not attempting a jailbreak in the video, which has gone viral on the Internet, but simply learning to embrace his new home with all eight arms.

"It was not an escape attempt," aquarium spokesman Tim Kuniholm said of the video, in which Ink inched his way up the cylindrical glass tank to squeals from onlookers. "It's a new exhibit and the animal was exploring his boundaries."

A Seattle aquarium employee later put Ink's arms back inside the case, and a so-called "evening cap" was fastened on top to help keep the curious fellow in place, Kuniholm said.

"Octopuses are very inquisitive by nature, and in this case ... Ink is an overachiever," he said.

Ink is one of two new giant Pacific octopuses on display at the aquarium. Found in Puget Sound, they are the world's largest species of octopuses, weighing on average about 90 pounds (41 kg) and measuring 20 feet (6.1 meters) across.

Kuniholm said the two male octopuses are kept in separate homes at the aquarium because the species is solitary by nature, with males and females coming together only to mate during their short 3-to-4-year lifespan.

In the next year, Ink will be released back into the wild as part of an ongoing education and conservation program for the species, the aquarium said.

(Reporting by Victoria Cavaliere; Editing by Cynthia Johnston and Sandra Maler)

It was April the forty-first
Being a quadruple leap year
I was driving in downtown Atlantis
My barracuda was in the shop
So I was in a rented stingray
And it was overheating

So I pulled into a Shell Station
They said I'd blown a seal
I said, "Fix the damn thing
And leave my private life out of it
Okay pal?"

While they were doing that
I walked over to a place called the Oyster Bar, a real dive
But I knew the owner
He used to play for the Dolphins
I said "Hi Gil"
You have to yell, he's hard of herring

Think I had a wet dream
Cruisin' thru the Gulf Stream
Ooh Ooh Ooh Ooh
Wet dream

Gil was also down on his luck
Fact is he was barely keeping his head below water
I bellied up to the sandbar
He poured me the usual

Rusty snail, hold the grunion
Shaken not stirred
With a peanut butter and jellyfish sandwich on the side
Heavy on the mako

I slipped him a fin
On porpoise
I was feeling good
I even dropped a sand dollar in the box for Jerry's squids
For the halibut

Well the place was crowded
We were packed in like sardines They were all there to listen to the big band sounds of Tommy Dorsal
What sole

Tommy was rockin' the place with a very popular tuna
Salmon Chanted Evening
And the stage was surrounded by screaming groupers
Probably there to see the bass player

One of them was this cute little yellowtail
And she's giving me the eye
So I figured this is my chance for a little fun
You know, piece of Pisces

But she said things I just couldn't fathom
She was too deep, seemed to be under a lot of pressure
Boy, could she drink
She drank like a . . .
She drank a lot

I said "What's your sign"
She said "Aquarium"
I said "Great, let's get tanked"

Think I had a wet dream
Cruisin' thru the Gulf Stream
Ooh Ooh Ooh Ooh
Wet dream

I invited her to my place for a midnight bait
I said "Come on baby, it'll only take a few minnows"
She threw me that same old line
"Not tonight, I gotta haddock"

And she wasn't kidding either
Cause in came the biggest, meanest looking haddock
I'd ever seen come down the pike
He was covered with mussels

He came over to me and said
"Listen, shrimp, don't you come trollin' around here"
What a crab
This guy was steamed
I could see the anchor in his eyes

I turned to him, I said
"A-balone, you're just being shellfish"
Well, I knew it was going to be trouble and so did Gil
'Cause he was already on the phone to the cods

The haddock hits me with a sucker punch
I catch him with a left hook
He eels over
It was a fluke but there he was
Lying on the deck, flat as a mackerel
Kelpless

I said "Forget the cods Gil
This guy's gonna need a sturgeon"
Well, the yellowtail was impressed with the way I landed her boyfriend
She came over to me, she said
"Hey, big boy, you're really a game fish
What's your name"
I said "Marlin"

Think I had a wet dream
Cruisin' thru the Gulf Stream
Ooh Ooh Ooh Ooh
Wet dream

Well, from then on we had a whale of a time
I took her to dinner, I took her to dance
I bought her a bouquet of flounders
And then I went home with her
And what did I get for my trouble
A case of the clams

Think I had a wet dream
Cruisin' thru the Gulf Stream
Ooh Ooh Ooh Ooh

Wet dream
Cruisin' thru the Gulf Stream
Ooh Ooh Ooh Ooh

Wet dream
Cruisin' thru the Gulf Stream
Ooh Ooh Ooh Ooh

That's awesome. Also, stingrays feel incredible. I was recently at the Osaka Aquarium and they had a petting section with some sharks (not sure what kind) and some stingrays. The sharks felt coarse (and were also covered in lots of individual particles of sand), but the stingrays had this kind of slimy texture, sort of like algae without the residue. It was really amazing.

Just in case anyone thinks newtboy is being mean for no good reason, Lionfish have become a serious problem as an invasive species.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pterois#Invasive_introduction_and_range

All because some dumbass didn't want them in their aquarium anymore.

No sand, no gravel,no plants. I'm not an aquarium aficionado, but surely this environment is way too spare for "mental health" and physical health

Maybe you're right, but I get the feeling that he's a happier person MINUS hundreds of thousands of dollars PLUS batcave than he would be PLUS the money MINUS the cave. His money to spend; he can do so how he likes.

I spend hundreds of dollars (possibly a comparable percentage of my total income as this dude's batcave compared to his income) on aquariums, fish, plants, pumps, fish food, etc. etc. etc. Plenty of people might think that is crazy and unnecessary; yet I don't regret any of that money I've spent.

Can't take it with me, might as well enjoy whatever short-term increases in enjoyment I can, I figure. At least, as long as said short-term increases in enjoyment don't have consequences that lead to long-term problems.

It doesn't look as if he's just doing some trick for treats like at Seaworld or Seaside Aquarium. Just chilling.

>> ^brycewi19:

>> ^vaire2ube:
thats still not nice to the fish freakin complex set up

Don't worry. He'll just forget about it in two minutes.


I was going to dismiss this, then I noticed that they seem to have went through a few fish.

>> ^Auger8:

Wouldn't the dry ice they're using bring the water temp. down so fast it would throw the fish into hypothermia or shock?


may have just been Seltzer tablets

>> ^Auger8:

Wouldn't the dry ice they're using bring the water temp. down so fast it would throw the fish into hypothermia or shock?


Not to mention raise the CO2 level to suffocate the fish.

Your video, Fish Boiling In Aquarium PRANK, has made it into the Top 15 New Videos listing. Congratulations on your achievement. For your contribution you have been awarded 1 Power Point.

>> ^vaire2ube:

thats still not nice to the fish freakin complex set up


Don't worry. He'll just forget about it in two minutes.