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]]> Video http://freshwaterpearlspuppetry.com/bubbleblog/index.php?itemid=277 Sun, 1 Jan 2012 10:09:20 -0600 http://freshwaterpearlspuppetry.com/bubbleblog/index.php?itemid=276


]]> Video http://freshwaterpearlspuppetry.com/bubbleblog/index.php?itemid=276 Thu, 15 Dec 2011 09:38:43 -0600 http://freshwaterpearlspuppetry.com/bubbleblog/index.php?itemid=274 Promethea

I miss Thea very much, but the wheels of the Musical Goldfish Machine must not grind to a halt! Today a new goldfish arrived from Rain Garden Goldfish in Hawaii. Meet Amakihi!

She is a large comet goldfish — a whopping 9 inches from the tip of her nose to the end of her tail. And she's stunningly beautiful! Let's hope her musical talent is equally stunning.

Welcome, golden girl!]]> Training log http://freshwaterpearlspuppetry.com/bubbleblog/index.php?itemid=274 Fri, 9 Dec 2011 14:20:35 -0600 http://freshwaterpearlspuppetry.com/bubbleblog/index.php?itemid=272 Promethea

My dear Thea died this morning after a long battle with the combined forces of Mycobacterium marinum and amoebas.

Like the moth for which she was named, Promethea took a spiral course through life. She swung easily through friendship, musical achievement, and pleasure, but death drew her inexorably toward its dark embrace. Thea suffered from multiple chemical sensitivities, so the periodically required anti-amoeba treatments tolerated by other fish were hard on her.

Strangely, Rhiannon, Thea's tankmate and best friend, has been ringing her bell with impressive gusto today, after barely touching it for weeks. Is she merely relieved now that the stress of Thea's recurring illness is past? Or is Rhiannon sending Thea a tune to help her on her way? I can't say.

Promethea was with me a little over a year. Such a short time, but I believe she was happy. She didn't quite make it to her national television debut this month, but her life had meaning. May her accomplishments live in the hearts of those who watch my mild, musical girl with the sweet face. May they awaken to the possibilities of what a humble goldfish can do. There once was a fish who played chimes!
]]> Meet the Fish http://freshwaterpearlspuppetry.com/bubbleblog/index.php?itemid=272 Fri, 2 Dec 2011 13:19:14 -0600 http://freshwaterpearlspuppetry.com/bubbleblog/index.php?itemid=270
]]> Video http://freshwaterpearlspuppetry.com/bubbleblog/index.php?itemid=270 Fri, 18 Nov 2011 09:10:42 -0600 http://freshwaterpearlspuppetry.com/bubbleblog/index.php?itemid=269
I played a soothing ukelele duet through the ponies' very own ipod speaker positioned next to their tank. Zephyr, already in a dancing mood, began to sway with the music. He timed his dips and bows with its cadence. Then subtly, gracefully, Zephyr began to follow the melody. When it rose in pitch, he reared his head, and when the pitch fell, he bowed.

A creative spirit lives humbly inside this miniature stallion. What a privilege it is to witness its wild beauty! What amazement I feel!

]]> Training log http://freshwaterpearlspuppetry.com/bubbleblog/index.php?itemid=269 Mon, 7 Nov 2011 23:13:00 -0600 http://freshwaterpearlspuppetry.com/bubbleblog/index.php?itemid=265
Their reproductive arrangement is quite amazing and rare: the male becomes pregnant and bears live young. Seahorses breed every two weeks. If they are successful, the female transfers a cluster of eggs into the male's pouch, where he protects the growing babies.

But before the egg transfer can occur, the ponies must go through an elaborate, multi-step courtship ritual. They dance!

Galene and Zephyr were a mated pair when I got them. They quickly settled into their new home, and within days they began to court. Now I am treated to seahorse choreography daily, with a full dance concert every two weeks. I have never seen a more artistic, beautiful performance!


]]> Video http://freshwaterpearlspuppetry.com/bubbleblog/index.php?itemid=265 Sat, 15 Oct 2011 11:20:49 -0500 http://freshwaterpearlspuppetry.com/bubbleblog/index.php?itemid=261
Mustang diner

As it happens, they are quite intelligent, rather emotional, and very amenable to training. At this point we are working on basic behaviors. The first lesson: Place.

Place training is designed to condition an animal to go to a specific spot where she will receive a reward. That place becomes a "home base" -- a default location to which the animal can be sent. Crate training for dogs is a familiar example.

I have two mated pairs of seahorses. There will be times when I will want to work with one pair or an individual without interference from the other pair. For example, I want to separate pairs at feeding so the big ponies don't out-compete the small ones for food. I decided to use color to condition the seahorses. I started by making targets out of colored Pex tubing - red for the small "Sunburst" ponies, and blue for the larger "Mustangs." Approaching the appropriate target earned each individual a reward. All of the horses quickly became enamored of their target and would readily follow it across the tank.

I then turned the targets into feeders. I just stuck an aquarium suction cup inside the tubing and attached suction cups on the outside with a cable tie. At feeding time, the seahorses' food (thawed frozen mysis shrimp) is placed in the bowl of the feeder. To further condition color preference, I use red plastic chopsticks to deliver the Sunbursts' food and blue chopsticks for the Mustangs. Thus, the chopsticks have become useful targets for luring each pair of seahorses here and there about the tank when needed. The Mustangs eat on the right side of the tank, and the Sunbursts on the left.

The original feeder design was a bit small for the seahorses, so I wandered about the aisles of my local grocery staring at jar and bottle lids. Eventually I found the perfect product - Jif peanut butter. (Choosy seahorse mothers choose Jif!) It comes with a blue lid or a red lid. My ponies are quite happy with their new diners!

I'm very pleased that place training has gone so well. In future, I can use colored targets to build other behaviors. I plan make a windchime which the ponies can play by hanging onto dangling clappers made of the same colored Pex tubing that I used for their targets.

The world's first seahorse musicians are waiting to be born!]]> Training log http://freshwaterpearlspuppetry.com/bubbleblog/index.php?itemid=261 Thu, 13 Oct 2011 14:47:11 -0500 http://freshwaterpearlspuppetry.com/bubbleblog/index.php?itemid=258 Ocean Rider Seahorse Farm, these creatures are beyond wonderful! Meet my new Mustangs, Zephyr (male) and Galene (female):



And here are my Sunbursts, Aethon (male) and Eudora (female):



These amazing animals are the most artful dancers I have ever encountered in the fish world. Talented, smart, easy to train. I am in love! Stay tuned for details...

]]> Training log http://freshwaterpearlspuppetry.com/bubbleblog/index.php?itemid=258 Thu, 13 Oct 2011 11:33:05 -0500 http://freshwaterpearlspuppetry.com/bubbleblog/index.php?itemid=256

On September 26, 2011, Vanya, my dear boy, died of a Mycobacterium marinum infection.

Vanya had been with me nearly two years. In that time he fell in love (with Pele, who survives him), learned to play windchimes, and took up ballet. Toward the end of his life, he was Pele's love interest and a ballet dancer in the short film entitled "Lac du Cygnes et les Poissions D'Or (Goldfish Swan Lake)." This film is part two of Freshwater pearls Puppetry's production, "Love Beyond Reach." The show will officially premier in 2012. May Vanya's talents delight audiences for years to come.

Goodbye, my sweet ballerino!]]> Training log http://freshwaterpearlspuppetry.com/bubbleblog/index.php?itemid=256 Thu, 13 Oct 2011 11:14:30 -0500