FalseIncarnate's Guide to Fish Farming

[FalseIncarnate]

 

INTRO

So you want a fish? A little aquatic friend to call your own, or perhaps a future snack?

 

Either way, there are some very important things you should know about raising and caring for these tiny aquatic lifeforms, their new home, and the dangers to your fish that lurk around the station...

 

Step 1: Procuring Your Aquarium

 

Before you get your fish, you'll want somewhere to raise them! Luckily for you, Nanotrasen decided to do a little remodeling near the Vault and included a tiny little pet store, right next to Auxiliary Tool Storage. Inside, they have graciously provided two empty fishbowls, a sink, a bucket, and a brand new CritterCare vending machine!

 

While you can't pick up the fishbowls, you can drag them around. Further, due to their small size, you can even drag them across tables, letting you decorate your desk with a glass fishbowl.

 

Perhaps someone else has already relocated the fishbowls, or you want something with a bit more capacity? Head next door to the Auxiliary Tool Storage, or down to Cargo and pick up some sheets of glass! With a bit of glass, you can easily shape your own fishbowl (1 glass), fish tank (3 glass), or the massive wall aquarium (4 glass)! The fishbowl is the only one small enough to not prevent people from walking over it, while the wall aquarium is so large that it even can seal hull breaches* and contain atmospheric gases!

[spoiler2]* Nanotrasen does not encourage the use of Wall Aquariums as a hull substitute, but does recognize that it really classes up the place.[/spoiler2]

 

All three types of aquarium can be deconstructed with a wrench when empty of water to return the glass to a usable state, and will break if subjected to enough brute force. Broken fish tanks and wall aquariums will leave behind a number of glass shards, while the fishbowl will be utterly pulverized into un-salvageable dust. Beware, damaging a tank can cause it to spring leaks, and destroying a tank that has water left inside will create a slippery wet floor!

 

 

Step 2: Maintaining Your Aquarium

 

Now that you have your aquarium(s) of choice, you'll notice they are somewhat lackluster when empty. Simply dump in the nearest liquid and the built-in filtration will kick in and separate any safe water for the aquarium. Obviously, plain water from a sink or watertank is the sensible choice, though ice, soda water, tonic water, holy water, and fish water (water removed from an aquarium) will also increase the water level of the aquarium by various amounts. Any other reagent will be completely filtered out and disposed of, so be careful with that carefully filled beaker of powerful medicines!

 

Using an empty reagent container like a bucket on an aquarium with water inside will fill the container with "fish water", a gross combination of water, algae, and possibly fish poo. It's not recommended to drink it, but plants love the stuff for it's nutrient-rich water, so don't be surprised if the botanist comes after your aquarium with an empty bucket in hand!

 

Each type of aquarium has a different capacity, which is also related to the maximum number of fish that can be contained inside. Fishbowls can hold 50u of water, and are only able to house a single fish. Fish Tanks can hold 200u and support up to 4 fish, while the Wall Aquarium can hold an impressive 500u of water and up to 10 fish! Be aware that fish do need some space: 1 fish per 50u of water. Just because the aquarium can hold 10 fish, doesn't mean they will all survive if it isn't full! Fish will quickly die off when the water level drops until the water level can support the number of remaining fish.

 

Leaking aquariums will slowly lose water over time, with heavily damaged ones leaking more. Below 50% health, the aquarium will spring a minor leak, losing 1u of water per cycle. Should the aquarium drop below 25% health, the leak becomes a major leak, losing water at a rate of 10u per cycle! Should your aquarium become damaged, simply apply a lit welder to the sides to reseal the leaks and restore health to the aquarium (much like repairing robot limbs!); no welding mask or goggles needed either!

 

Empty aquariums will never get dirty, but as soon as there is ANY water present, algae growth will begin. Over time, the tank will become filthy from algae and/or fish waste. If left unattended, an aquarium will eventually become too filthy to support fish life, and any fish present inside will begin to die off! Luckily, for a small price, you can purchase an aquarium brush from the CritterCare vending machine, which can be used to completely clean even the filthiest of aquariums!

 

Perhaps you want to remove a fish from the aquarium to make room for a new one? Visit your CritterCare and pick up an inexpensive fish net, then simply scoop out a fish from the aquarium! Be warned though, you will catch a fish at random, and as we all know: a tiny net is a death sentence.

 

 

Step 3: Populating Your Aquarium

 

So, you have a filled, mostly filth-free aquarium. Congrats! Time to fill that aquarium with fish! Simply head over to the CritterCare vending machine again and buy some fish eggs! There are a couple types to choose from, though rumor has it that a larger selection is in the works, and somehow these fish can all thrive together in the same aquarium, so feel free to mix and match!

 

Fish eggs in hand, simply drop them into your aquarium and a brand new fish will hatch! But there aren't many eggs in the machine and we all know that cargo can sure take a long time to order in vendor restocks, so how will you continue to expand your aquarium?

 

Why, by breeding fish of course! Simply have 2 or more live fish present in the same tank, keep the tank relatively clean, and provide them with some fish food (available from the CritterCare machine) and soon they'll start laying eggs! An aquarium can hold a maximum number of eggs equal to the maximum number of fish the aquarium type can sustain at full water capacity (so 10 for a wall aquarium, even if it's only half full and has only 2 fish). For every live fish after the initial 2, the chance for eggs to be laid increases, so more fish means more frequent egg laying!

 

When fish lay eggs, the new eggs have a small chance to be a dud. Otherwise, the eggs will match the type of a random fish in the aquarium at the time they were laid. Hit up the CritterCare machine once more and purchase an egg scoop, which can be used to harvest the eggs from the aquarium. Doing so will remove ALL the eggs from the aquarium and safely deposit them at your feet. Simply pick the eggs up and place them into an aquarium to hatch them, starting the whole process anew! Dud eggs will be visually distinct, and will dissolve safely when placed into water, so don't worry about whether you should toss them in an aquarium or the disposals chute; either is fine!

 

 

Step 4: ???

 

Where you go from here is entirely up to you! Sell fish eggs to your fellow crewmembers or charge admission to your grand maintenance aquarium, or perhaps enjoy the company of your goldfish while you stare at the wall in your office. Future updates will include new types of fish (some of which will have special interactions with their aquarium and other fish), new fish items that will be obtained from catching fish in the net for use in the kitchen (or slapping someone with a trout), and possibly more!

 

 

 

But wait, what about those dangers!?

 

Ah yes, fish are not without their predators, and this is still true in space stations. Fishbowls and aquariums with open lids can be preyed upon by cats (like Runtime, not Hawke) and bears (like Hudson). Should these hungry beasts be controlled by a player, they can interact with the aquarium on help intent to try and go fishing!

 

Water in the aquarium causes the beasts to have a chance to fail (45% for cats, 5% for bears) to catch a fish. Should they succeed (no water guarantees success as well), they will catch and devour a random fish from the aquarium, healing themselves in the process. Be sure to keep your aquarium lids closed and fishbowls as far from a cat as possible as a precaution!

 

 

Other Useful Tips and Stuff!

 

Fish tanks and Wall Aquariums have a set of "alert/sensor lights" much like a hydroponics tray. From left to right, the 5 lights indicate: harvestable eggs, food level, lid status, and leak status.

The harvestable eggs light will blink green if there is at least 1 egg in the aquarium ready for harvest. Otherwise, it will be dark.

The food level light will be be green if the food level is above 5, yellow/orange above 2, and red below 2. For fish to breed, the light must be green or yellow/orange.

The lid status light will be green if the lid is open, and red should it be closed.

Finally, the leak status light will be green if there is no leak. Minor leaks will cause the light to slowly blink a light blue, with major leaks causing a rapid, dark blue blinking light.

 

Fish Tanks and Aquariums also have toggle-able lights which will cause them to emit light when on.

 

Fishbowls do not have lids, lights, or alert lights.

 

All aquariums display water and filth icon overlays. They will appear half full between 35-85% capacity, and then full above 85% capacity. The water will become murky and gross if the filth level exceeds 5, otherwise the water will appear clear.

 

Examining any aquarium will provide you with a plethora of information, including better estimations of water level, the number and type of fish inside, lid status, filth level, food level, leaks, and the number of harvestable eggs.

 

Fish tanks have a small chance to include a little castle decoration when spawned/built. This doesn't affect anything other than the appearance.

 

Every cycle, the fish will attempt to eat food if there is any available. If they eat food, there is a chance they will make a larger mess than normal causing the filth level to increase more that cycle.

 

Lack of water and unsuitably filthy aquariums EACH have a chance to kill a fish each cycle. If a fish dies from lack of water, it will increase the filth level, so beware that this could result in the aquarium becoming too filthy to support the remaining fish, causing more to possibly die.

 

The amount of food consumed each cycle is proportional to the number of fish in the aquarium. Lack of food does not kill fish, it only prevents them from breeding.

 

 

[Dumbdumn5]

 

Fishbowls and aquariums with open lids can be preyed upon by cats (like Runtime, not Hawke)

 

But why not let the tajarans go fishing? They can already devour mice!

 

[FreeStylaLT]

 

Fishbowls and aquariums with open lids can be preyed upon by cats (like Runtime, not Hawke)

 

But why not let the tajarans go fishing? They can already devour mice!

You mean they can't?!

 

[Plotron]

 

Fish breeding is easy. Now what to do with the massive surplus of eggs?

 

I'm waiting for caviar!

 

[Anxipal]

 

I feel like some tweaking is needed. Make it harder for fish to lay eggs, and perhaps let them require less food? Regardless of the amount of fish, (I used sharks, not really any other kind) they need food every 1-3 seconds. I was basically glued to the fishtank for a solid 1.5 hours before moving the tank to permabrig and ditching that job.

 

It's always nice to get more content though, and I'm sure we'd accept caviar or the like with open arms

 

[Svej]

But can it be emagged?

[FalseIncarnate]

 

I feel like some tweaking is needed. Make it harder for fish to lay eggs, and perhaps let them require less food? Regardless of the amount of fish, (I used sharks, not really any other kind) they need food every 1-3 seconds. I was basically glued to the fishtank for a solid 1.5 hours before moving the tank to permabrig and ditching that job.

 

It's always nice to get more content though, and I'm sure we'd accept caviar or the like with open arms

 

This is the initial release of the aquariums, they'll definitely be getting some tweaks to things like food consumption, filth build-up rates, and egg laying rates. The chance to get dud eggs might also get raised and/or a cooldown between fish being able to lay eggs might be put in place to help cut back on egg spam.

 

Fish eat an extra amount of food when they successfully lay eggs, and given the chance to lay an egg is quite easy to increase, this means they do so quite often. It's a good thing I didn't make no food start killing fish too, otherwise it'd be really infuriating to care for an aquarium.

 

As for uses for the stuff... This is actually planned! Caviar, sushi, and possibly other uses are already planned / being planned. New varieties of fish are also planned, some of which have special interactions such as cleaning filth, producing food, or perhaps even eating other fish... Suggestions and such are always welcome either via IRC, the TS, or in the suggestions forum.

 

As for letting tajaran fish in tanks, it might be a little snowflakey from a code perspective and sorta pointless since a fish net is so easy to get and pretty much does the same thing. The interest has been noted, though I make no promises at this time about implementing it.

 

EDIT: Currently, aquariums cannot be emagged. Given they are built entirely from just a few panes of glass, it's quite impressive they have fully functional (and rather advanced) filtration systems, built in lights, and the ability to sense tank conditions without any sort of required electronic components. I might consider emagging them later, though I have no clue what this would cause other than possibly murdering all the fish or blowing up the aquarium or something.

 

[FreeStylaLT]

Emags could turn some of the existing fish into carps that burst out of the aquarium

[jedr]

Fish? Have I been gone so long? I know exams have taken me out the loop for a while, but..fish?

[Fj45]

Veeery recent PR, don't worry. Fish are (currently) self contained to just fish tanks.

[KasparoVv]

but how 2 pet rock

[FalseIncarnate]

Don't worry, I'll be writing up a comprehensive guide to caring for your pet rock in the next day or two. But that'll be kept separate from the aquarium guide to avoid confusion.

[monkeysfist101]

But will it blend?