3 Cheese Enchiladas — Rice — Beans
Beef Taco — Chile Con Queso — Tostaditas —
Wednesday: LUNCH SPECIALS
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4 Images, The Battalion
Tuesday, March 2, 1982
Exotics popular with students
Fish ideal pets in
small
areas
by David Calvert
Battalion Reporter
For students wno miss the
family pet but can’t have a dog
or cat becaause of dormitory or
apartment rules, an aquarium of
tropical fish may be the answer.
Janette Jacobs, co-owner of
Animal World in Bryan, said
most varieties of tropical fish
make excellent pets.
“Fish make great pets be
cause they are soothing to
watch,” she said. “Their slow,
smooth movements have a calm
ing effect when you watch
them.”
Jacobs said aquariums can
cost anywhere from $5 to more
than $100, depending on the
set-up desired.
“Depending on what you
want, you can get out cheap or
you can spend quite a bit of
money on a set-up,” she said. “A
goldfish in a plain glass bowl
costs less than $5. A good
aquarium with accessories
would go for around $35 to $50.
“Of course, the more you
want in your aquarium, the
more it will cost.”
Jacobs said the basic equip
ment needed to start an
aquarium are the tank, sand, an
air pump and filter, a hfeater and
some type of lighting.
There are two types of light
ing: incandescent and floures-
cent. Flourescent lighting usual
ly comes in a full hood which
covers the top of the tank. While
it is more expensive, the floures
cent system is safer for the fish.
“The incandescent light
warms the water when it is on,
but if it goes off the water cools
down drastically,” Jacobs said.
“These temperature changes
place the fish under stress,
which increases the chances of
them catching disease. The
flourescent light, however, does
not affect the temperature of
the water.”
Bennie Jacobs, co-owner of
Photo by Kim hi
Jeanne Petrofes, a junior zoology
major, is an aquarium buff. Here
she syphons the dirty water out of
her aquarium in order to clean the
gravel and tank. With proper care,
fish make excellent pets for students
who live in apartments or
dormitories.
Animal World, said the more
popular fish are those which are
more exotic or aggressive.
“We sell a lot of Siamese
Fighting Fish and Oscars,”
Jacobs said. “People like these
fish because they will eat practic
ally anything: any type of com
mercial food, insects, or other
fish. In fact, Oscars will lunge
out of the water at anything that
comes near the top of the tank.”
Other types of fish that are
popular with students are but
terfly fish, the elephant long-
nose and the ropefish.
“It seems the weirder the fish
looks, the more popular it is,”
Jacobs said.
When starting an aquarium,
Jacobs said it is best to set up a
fresh-water tank.
“A salt water tank is a lot of
trouble to work with,” he said.
“You need a much larger tank.
You have to keep adding trace
elements. And you continually
have to monitor the pH level of
the water for the fish to survive.”
Jacobs said fresh-water fish
are easy to care for.
“As long as the fish is in a
stable environment, it can live
for as long as three four or
years,” she said. “Disease and
overfeeding are the biggest
problems facing the aquarium
owner.”
When too much food is
placed in the tank, the fish can
not eat it all. The excess food
sinks to the bottom of the tank,
where it nitrifies the sand. This
can lead to poisoning of the fish.
“On top of this,” Jacobs said,
“the owner might suspect some
thing is wrong with the fish and
add medicine, usually in large
doses.
“When the wrong medication
is used, ammonia poisoning
usually results.”
Jacobs said small amounts of
food should be sprinkled into
the tank four or five times a day.
Jacobs said the most common
fish disease is ichthyophthirius,
usually called ‘ick.’ Ick is caused
by a protozoan that lives in the
water.
“Ick is like the common cold
for fish,” Jacobs said. “It is al
ways present but it only attacks
the fish when it is under abnor
mal stress.”
Jacobs said the best way to
avoid stress on the fish is to leave
it in its accustomed environment
and avoid drastic changes in the
temperature of the water.
It is also important not to put
anything which has been ex
posed to chemicals or comes
from salt water in an aquarium
with fresh water fish.
“People like to place seashells
in their tanks,” Jacobs said. “The
salt from these shells will kill
fresh-water fish.
“Petrified wood is another
popular item for an aquarfej
Beit >re it is placed in thetanUl
should be washed in bleach a-1
allowed to dry in the sun ft!'
couple of days.”
Jacobs said that buyingaheij]
thy fish f rom the dealer is iit|
portant.
“If the fish is diseased wk|
you buy it, it probably won't|
vive being moved toanewtanll
Jacobs said.
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Arts Council brings B-CS ‘culture’
Art exhibits, concerts planned
by Amy Polk
Battalion Reporter
Whether it’s enjoying the
opera or learning to make a
quilt, the arts are an important
part of American culture. Arts
in the Brazos Valley are no ex
ception. ,
The Arts Council of Brazos
Valley is working in co
ordination with organizations
throughout the community to
promote its cultural and artistic
interests. .
The Arts Council, a non
profit organization, serves as an
umbrella for its 13 member
organizations, which include
MSC OPAS, the Community
Singers, Stagecenter and
Friends of the Library.
A yearbook put out by the
Arts CpUncil of Brazos Valley
describes the council as “dedi
cated to identifying and publi
cizing the cultural needs of the
people in the Brazos Valley and
to drafting and supporting long-
range plans for the satisfaction
of these needs.”
The council was started in
September of 1970 on the idea
that “union gives strength,” as
stated in the yearbook. Besides
the 13 member organizations,
there are 205 individual mem
bers who help support the coun
cil through donations. An esti
mated 7,000 people are involved
in the council.
Major funding for the council
is through a percentage of the
hotel and motel tax levied by the
cities of Bryan and College Sta
tion. Other sources of funding
include county funds, member
ship fees, fund-raising projects
and state grants.
Jody Bates, executive director
of the Arts Council of Brazos
Valley, said the Council has been
very lucky in getting plenty of
funds. This year’s budget will
run $83,000.
The council is governed by a
board of 25 directors. They rep
resent the county, cities, schools,
member organizations and local
businesses. Of the 25 members,
seven are employees of Texas
A&M University.
The Arts Council publishes a
monthly magazine called Pulse
which keeps members up-to-
date on upcoming events.
The council has sponsored a
Youth Symphony Concert for
6,000 Brazos Valley students for
eleven consecutive years'. For
the past ten years, with the
Bryan-College Station Eagle,
they have held a Youth Aft
Show which involves young
artists and craftsmen from
approximately 35 area schools
irt eight counties. Each year they
sponsor arts and crafts classes
for all ages.
Some of their upcomirtg
events include:
— Friday through March 12,
the ten-county Youth Art Show
in the Brazos Center
— March 21 — April 3, the
Texas Designer Crallsment' cc
hibit in the MSC Gallery. al
— April 10 — May JO, >1 1J]
Smithsonian Exhibit entiilfje al
“The Making of a Goblet" »* e;
held in the Brazos Center. tl
— April 15 — 18, the Amp j:.;
Brazos de Dios Festival held 2 1
the Brazos Pavilion.
— May 30 — August 22,si'|j
outdoor concerts in ce;|
operation with the Parks ak I
Recreat ion Department of Co! |
lege Station.
The Arts Council is curren 1 ' I
working with Texas
versity on a project that ivoiil®I
set aside 1 percent of thecoi'j
struction cost of new buildin?I
to be used in the purchase''!
some type of art for tkj
building.