Anjani’s husband has a hobby: a saltwater aquarium

Anjani: “He calls it his ‘cup of coffee’. Well, leave out that reduction: behind our sofa is a two hundred and fifty liter tank, which illuminates the living room in fluorescent light at night. Our children, now two and five, love it. They both have their own clownfish, which dies every so often. Not that they know that; my husband quietly replaces them with new ones. From twenty euros each. A piece of steak for the whole family is cheaper – and in the meantime I pray over and over again that he stays ahead of the kids when another one floats upside down on the surface in the morning.

Everyone his hobby. So when Vincent moved in with me seven years ago and lugged his nano-aquarium, I was totally fine with that. It even looked cozy, such a white design aquarium on the sideboard, with a few brightly colored guppies. Once in a while he changed his composition – that’s officially called ‘file’ – and suddenly a school of cardinals or platys swam around. But as long as it didn’t have a significant effect on my interior, it could be stolen from me.

Close to nature

A second ‘cup of coffee’ was added. With biotopes. Well, that’s a science in itself, because it ‘brings nature so close by’. But then the one from the Amazon. Try to copy that in your Dutch Vinex home. Every weekend he was in the specialty store, where he spent tens of euros on pumps, filters and bedding. No problem as long as there were no children yet; we both had our own income, and spent it outside the joint rent as we saw fit.

But then he discovered saltwater life. About the same time as the birth of our second. Diapers and bottle feeding cost a hefty dollar, but add a miniature ocean life. As if you are supporting an entire family. Our grocery budget is five hundred euros a month, but just for those fish alone, a sloppy 150 will disappear.

Blue night lamp

It’s not that we get in trouble for it, and I also have expenses that are useless in his view. The nail salon, for example, every three weeks, and it straightening of my hair. What I find more annoying is all the hours he spends on internet forums about fishing. That is a world apart; I don’t understand half of what they write there. When I go to bed at night and switch on the aquarium to a blue night light, the light from the computer screen still shines from the study. Then I know that I can expect a new housemate the next day. Shaped like a Amphiprion Clarkii, Hemigymnus Melapterus, or some other aquatic animal with an unpronounceable name.

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Army tent on a ditch

For the same money, Vincent had been in dog training, with a kennel covering the entire yard and three bloodthirsty shepherds. Or would he rather look for the fish in the wild, all weekends in an army tent next to a ditch – while I am alone with the children. It can always be worse. In the meantime, I just hope that aquarium never leaks. And that the neighbor remains our neighbor, because he is the only one who entrusts Vincent to keep things alive during our holiday. If it ever comes to a choice between the family and the fish, the decision is of course made that way. But Vincent would never let it get that far, because if I’m honest, our family is complete with each other, the children and all those very expensive aquatic animals. ”

This article has previously appeared in Kek Mama.

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