The Bubble Blog

If Fish Could Say Tsk Tsk!

Wed, 7 Jul 2010 15:11:17 -0200

Whack! I get a smack upside the head for letting trainer error go uncorrected for so long!

During my training sessions with Jor Jor the Musical Fish, I have been lazily pointing at the particular bell/chime string which she is meant to pull. Jor Jor knew what to do, and yet, I pointed. When she seemed confused, I pointed more.

I have finally gotten it through my thick mammalian skull that the pointing throws Jor Jor off her game. And I think I have figured out why. I also point to show Jor Jor where to look when a treat has accidentally missed her mouth and fallen to the bottom of the tank. So when I point at the string, she's thinking "What? There's a loose treat floating around somewhere? Where?" So of course, her attention is diverted away from the string!

What we needed was a better cue for "pull that string right there." Now, all of the fish I train are conditioned to target the color red. That's because the part of the feeding wand that delivers their treat is bright pink-red.

"Aha!" says I. "What I need to do is make the string turn red when I want Jor Jor to pull it. But how?"

It just so happens that I have been using the flash of a green LED penlight to "click" Jor Jor's correct behaviors. But for other fish I have used penlights of a different color, including red. So I tried aiming a red light at the white bell string. Bingo! Jor Jor pulled it immediately! I could just about see the little "Eureka!" aquabulb light up over her head. (She also looked very relieved. Maybe her sloppy trainer would finally stop pointing!)

Our next step will be: Put two windchimes side by side, each with a white string, and use the red light to tell Jor Jor which one she is meant to pull. Once she gets that concept, we will have a bona fide cue.

And then, anything is possible. Maybe Jor Jor could actually play a whole tune in real time. Operate little marionettes in a designated sequence.

Oh, the mind reels! (Whoops. Bad thing to say about fish training.) ;-)

And as for me, I've gotta stop being a sloppy trainer. I'm getting a headache.

Very Chordial

Thu, 10 Jun 2010 23:05:22 -0200

Jor Jor has been resting on her laurels a bit, but she is an industrious fish. Time to get back to work!

We have returned to work on Jor Jor's CD, Unknown Waters, Common Ground. We are compiling a sound library of Jor Jor playing notes and chords, which will later be edited in with performances by local musicians and singers.

Right now we're still working on three-part chords. We will include 34 commonly used triads, and Jor Jor has played/recorded ten of them thus far. Today we did E minor. Only 24 more to go!

Jor Jor, Minute 16

Fri, 28 May 2010 20:13:17 -0200

Another article about Jor Jor has just been posted on People Magazine's PeoplePets site. It's really a nice piece!

Jor Jor's 15 Minutes

Fri, 28 May 2010 16:01:02 -0200

They say everyone gets 15 minutes of fame. Apparently that includes fish!

This week Jor Jor and I quite suddenly and unexpectedly became famous. This tale of fins to riches (metaphorical riches only) begins with an offer by our friends at R2 Fish School. They asked if I would be interested in having a British news agency do a story about Jor Jor's musical achievements. The idea was to generate some publicity both for Freshwater Pearls and for R2 Fish School. Sounded good to me! So the story was written, and for a week or two I heard nothing more about it.

Then on Wednesday, May 26, a massive drift net of celebrity swift us off our feet and fins. The Sun, Great Britain's premiere gossip rag, picked up Jor Jor's story. And from there the story whizzed through the international news media faster than a minnow chased by barracuda. By evening Jor Jor's musical talent was splashed across media in the UK, Australia, India, China, Russia, and other countries. People everywhere were tweeting and blogging about my humble trainee. Calls came in from UK radio stations, and I found myself being interviewed by BBC Radio London, BBC Radio Wales, BBC Radio Scotland and TalkSport Radio UK. Everyone was eager to hear my special fingirl play, and Jor Jor didn't disappoint. She enthusiastically rang handbells and windchimes, live, in real time, for captivated audiences thousands of miles away from her cozy tank.

For 24 hours Jor Jor and I were media darlings! And the next day, everybody forgot about us! New google hits diminished, the phone stopped ringing, life returned to normal. And that's okay with me. Fame is exhausting!

Here are links to

1) The Sun article,

2) our BBC Radio Scotland interview, and
(Click "Listen Now" and advance to 1:16:12)

3) our BBC Radio Wales interview.
(Advance to 1:54:12)

These links will be active for just one week, so listen now, and marvel at the quicksilver, fickle nature of celebrity!

Easy Listening

Sat, 22 May 2010 09:58:33 -0200

Jor Jor the Musical Fish is trying to get my attention this morning by ringing the bloody heck out of her windchimes.

"Too much computer! Too little fish training!" After several months of working with windchimes, we went back to our handbell chord project. (We are compiling a recorded library of Jor Jor playing three-part chords for use in her upcoming CD, "Unknown Waters, Common Ground.") Jor Jor used to love playing handbells, but now she's spoiled by the much easier to play chimes. She will play the bells, reluctantly, but she gives me a dirty look! "Really? You want me to knock those clunky bells around instead of the easy and elegant chimes? You are SO pedestrian! Take a music appreciation class, woman!""

Luna in New Moon

Sat, 1 May 2010 10:16:43 -0200

Like the new moon, Luna's light has gone out.

Yesterday I had to euthanize my once beautiful girl, who was devastated by Mycobacterium marinum and an amoeba infestation. None of my doctoring could beat such insatiable bacteria and parasites.

Luna was always herself. Unlike my previous ranchus, she wasn't sweet and agreeable. She was a terror to any tankmate, tho...ugh that was partly because of her history. Luna grudgingly participated in training, but she didn't particularly care about it. In many ways I think her existence was a little empty. When her last tankmate died (she all but murdered him), I didn't attempt to give her another companion.

She was a tough little gal. Her previous tankmates succumbed rather quikly to M. marinum, but Luna's immune system allowed her to survive. She beat the odds many times, until they finally stacked too strongly against her.

She had many faults, but I loved her anyway. I will miss her.

And that is the end of my keeping of ranchu goldfish. They are generally sweet, eager fish, and cute as can be. But they have no hardiness, and they always faded too quickly from my life, if not from my heart.

So it's on to pipefish and then an octopus in the space Luna vacated. How different they will be from the willing little fishes without a dorsal fin that have lived there over the years!

Goodbye, Opaluna Ma'am-in-the-Moon, my scrappy little girl. May you find peace at last.

Jor Jor Chimes In

Wed, 24 Feb 2010 15:19:31 -0300

Ms. Jor Jor added a new musical instrument to her ever-growing repertoire today: the windchime.

No learning curve here! Her tone and technique were instant perfection. Jor Jor is the master of any and all instruments played by pulling on a tasty white worm. (Even if the worm IS stringy and unswallowable!) She dominates every crazy music machine I devise as fast as I can dream it up!

Jor Jor, Fashionista

Fri, 29 Jan 2010 09:36:36 -0300

The award for Most Remarkable Transformation of 2009 goes to... Jor Jor! (Applause applause!!) Here she is when she came to us in November of 2008.

And here is the stunning Ms. Jor Jor today! What caused this incredible blossoming? Love? The power of creative musical expression? Education? Bloodworm-induced endorphin rush? Good water, space, and healthy food? Or simply maturing into her full potential? We doesn't know, but we likes it, precious!!

Glock Test - VIDEO

Thu, 28 Jan 2010 08:43:19 -0300

Testing a new video format.

Man and Fish in Harmony - VIDEO

Mon, 25 Jan 2010 19:05:52 -0300

Jor Jor is spellbound by the concertina playing of her friend, Stu.

(The tune is Grey Funnel Line.)