Megan Munsell is hooked on fish. She's also a member of Wichita Fish Owners, a group that is passionate about their underwater pets. In her spare time, Munsell is an aquascaper — someone who meticulously crafts aquatic environments. For this edition of "In the Mix," Carla Eckels talks with Munsell about her love of aquariums.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
So, what is it about fish that really strikes you?
They're just very calming and they come in a variety of shapes, sizes and colors and they have personalities. ...They see me when I walk up to the tank and they greet me just like kind of a dog would, but in their own way.
...You can tell they kind of start gathering when I put my fingers on the glass. [They] will kind of start coming towards [me]. ...They can see me and then, when I open up the top of the tank, they'll start coming to the top. Especially if I put my fingers in the water [and] tap it, they can feel the movement and they can also see me. It's kind of like a shadow the way fish see us and they'll just come up. ...Sometimes, if I stick my hand in the water, they will swim between my fingers and will kind of peck on me a little bit.
Tell me about this tank.
So, this is [a] 40-gallon tank. This is where we house our rummy nose tetras, our albino lemon tetras; we [also] have our male guppies. We have a small school of lbino corydoras catfish, and then a fairly decent-sized school of kuhli loach and eight amano shrimp, and then our one super red bristlenose pleco. And we have two mystery snails...
Mystery snails?
Yes, mystery snails. They can get about five to six inches in diameter; they can be pretty active — they'll swim up and down. The glass will climb on the plants and they're a great addition to help with keeping some algae down. They'll eat excess food, [and] they're kind of like your "little janitors" of your aquarium.
When you buy mystery snails you can just add them to your tank?
You can just put them in your tank when you put new fish [in], even if it is a snail — which is an invertebrate. You want to make sure that you acclimate them into the water because they can be coming from different water parameters/different environments. So what I like to do is put a little bit of my aquarium water into a bowl along with the water that they came with, and [then] put it inside the aquarium to make sure that they're getting adjusted to the temperature of your aquarium. ...If you don't, that can shock them and ... really hurt them.
This is our 20-gallon tank and I like to keep my female guppies and one male, and then my sterbai corydoras. So, I have five sterbai [corydoras] ... and then I have one bronze corydora as well.
Can you describe the color? What do the sterbai corydoras look like?
They are a smaller species of catfish; they still have the barbells on their mouths that help them sift through their environment to pick up food. But they can range in two inches to four, which is about what my sterbai can grow up to. They kind of look like a checkerboard all over their body. The thing that I liked the most is their pectoral fins are bright yellow, and their eyes have a yellow ring around them too. So, it kind of looks like they're really looking at you.
Let's talk about aquascaping. Explain that to me.
So aquascaping ... it's [an] art ... you can kind of make it however you want. Usually, I like to have some sort of "hardscape" — which is driftwood or rocks. So, in this tank, I have just some driftwood and then I have some smaller dragon stone[s]. ...A simple nature style is what I usually go for at least in these two tanks at the moment.
[Spiderwood] is another type of wood that is also used in a lot of aquascaping. ...Another important detail when it comes to aquascaping is getting the correct nutrients/soil for your plants; you can layer it with sand or other types of gravel. And then you start placing your rocks [and] your wood. And then from there, you can start planning your plants and building it up from there.
How did you get involved in aquascaping?
I always was fascinated by aquariums and fish and I joined the Wichita Fish Owners group on Facebook. When I first got my aquariums, they helped me [to understand] the nitrogen cycle, where to get fish and also how to grow certain plants. We've also traded plants and fish with each other. It's a great community to learn more and share your passion with other people. There's a little over 3000 members in the group and that's how I learned about the different types of aquascaping and the fish that go along with that. And since then, I've been hooked on it and have future plans to get more tanks.
Tell me more about the Wichita Fish Owners group. What is one of their main goals?
It's a community of people who own fish and who share the same passion as me and we would just all love to see more representation in the aquatic community. I personally have been advocating for Wichita to have their own aquarium because when I want to go to an aquarium and see fish, I go down to Tulsa, or I'll go to Kansas City or Denver. It would be nice to have one right here in the heart of Wichita to go to.
What are some of the other attributes of having fish?
It's very peaceful just to sit and watch. It's like my own television. I just like to watch the fish and pull up a chair. But also, it's just a fun hobby. You get to learn about different types of species of fish, you get to learn about aquatic plants, how to properly take care of them. I've also learned a little bit of chemistry with water parameters. And a little bit of biology when it comes to making sure the fish are healthy and they're free of parasites or any infection. So, it's just a great learning experience.
How long have you had fish as pets?
I've personally had these fish tanks for about two and a half years. But I've grown up with fish in the house since I was a little girl. My stepdad had a really large — about 100-gallon — fish tank and I took care of it. I fed the fish, and I would watch him clean it and that's kind of how I started to learn about fish tanks.
You have quite a passion for them.
Yeah, I have a huge passion. I love fish. I think they're ... a great addition. Like they're a great pet. I mean, once you get your tank cycled and settled, then it's pretty easy to maintain. And they have personalities just like a dog does ... [just] in a different way. But they're still friendly. They still need the proper nutrition and time and attention.
Yes, and you feed them food: The algae wafers.
I feed them about 10 to 12 different types of food. So one of the food[s] that I feed [them is] algae wafers, but I also feed them flakes which have a good amount of protein for the fish. ...I also have this rich patchy powder, which ... also [has] a lot of protein in it and it comes in a powder form [that] I have to boil water and then mix it with ... and it becomes a gel and I put them into these little heart molds that I can freeze for about six months so I can keep using it.
If someone's thinking about maybe owning some fish, getting a tank and trying to do this, what advice would you give them?
I would say definitely do your research. Before you even get an aquarium, look at specifically what kind of fish you want and then build your tank around that fish. And then once you have that, you want to make sure you understand what is called the nitrogen cycle. This is what is needed in order for the tank to thrive and become healthy, [as well as] the water parameters to be stable enough to house fish.
