When I was growing up, my parents had an enormous fresh-water fish tank in our living room. I’m definitely pet-ed out at the moment, but I still love this idea.

Via Yay! DIY: The Ultimate in Form vs. Function.

I’m kind of obsessed with the idea of getting a dog, but fear that my current schedule wouldn’t leave much time for its care.  So I started thinking about something much lower-maintenance and remembered my beloved beta fish, Theo, who managed to live through several years of college with me.

My greatest joy with Theo was his tank – which was not your traditional glass bowl but a fake blender.  It even had buttons you could press that yelled things in a tiny fish voice like, “Oh no! Nooo!” and “Not again!”  I loved that blender almost as much as I loved Theo.

more after the jump….

Tragically, Theo died when I was transporting him back to school in North Florida from South Florida when the temperature in the car heated his water too high (he made all long car trips with me. Damn old cars with no A/C!).  I was devastated and haven’t had a pet since.

But now that I feel ready to care for something again, I am thinking about getting another fish.  If I do, I will need to store him or her in something a little more adult. (I guess.)  That’s why I liked this really cool dual fish tank and planter from Yanko Design.  Now I can have a fish AND and grow cilantro.  AMAZING.

According to the site:  “Using this system of cycling materials keeps the fish poo from staying in the water long enough to turn it acidic. It also can reduce the use of chemical substance such as nitrifying bacteria and other materials, “maintaining the steady neutral PH quality of the water.”

It really doesn’t get much better than this (to me at least.) Find out more about the design here and how to connect with the designers who made it. I will be doing so, too, shortly!