# Fish keeping and Feng Shui



## Cypher (Apr 15, 2006)

Hey everyone,

Just wondering if any of you here practice or dabble in feng shui. I'm not really very familiar with it, but have some very basic ideas on it. For example, I have heard that round objects are good luck and pointed/ angular objects are bad luck. Just wondering if any Feng shui practitioners have extended this belief(s) to the fish keeping sphere. So would it be bad luck to keep altum angels (pointed, angular and pointing towards viewers) while good luck to keep discus (round/ circular)?

This is just a curiosity thing and I was hoping some one with good knowledge on the subject can enlighten us.

Thanks.


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## Cypher (Apr 15, 2006)

No one is familiar with feng shui? Really???!! Oh well LOL.


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## theeyrietrainer (Dec 9, 2010)

Well, I don't think that its because people aren't familiar with Feng Shui, but moreso that perhaps nobody has ever thought of combining Feng Shui with their aquariums. I mean, at my house my mom has rearranged where I place my tanks in the house, but she hasn't stopped me from point anything conflicting in it yet...


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## bcarlos (Nov 19, 2009)

Some fish are considered good feng shui, too-- the Asian aro + Datnoid + Flagtail combo (Dragon+Tiger+Phoenix), for ecample.


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## Hitch (Apr 26, 2009)

I am not too fluent in Feng Shui, but I think the obsession of round things and in particular round flat things has its roots from its resemblance to the coins used in the age of the dynasties. 

but 1 think I could say in some what confidence, is that it is good feng shui to place your aquariums against the north facing wall. I unknowingly placed all my tanks on north facing walls in my house and a relative who is all into that made a comment about it...lol


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## Antoine Doinel (Dec 20, 2010)

Feng Shui has largely been turned into a marketing gimmick and tacky interior decoration tool in North America. I think Aquariums fit into this false mindset somewhere. The idea that they give you relaxation and enjoyment, which in turn creates prosperity and wealth. Blah, blah, blah.

It could probably be argued that an Aquarium is anti-Feng Shui, and adds more negative energy than positive. The idea of disrupting nature to create a false habitat, the idea of trapping life, etc. Feng Shui is after all about creating a balance between man and his environment.


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## KhuliLoachFan (Mar 8, 2008)

I wonder if planted aquariums fit into Zen in any way. Iwagumi-Zen, from Takashi Amano-san. 

W


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## Cypher (Apr 15, 2006)

I understand that the placement of water features is an important aspect in Feng Shui and as ancient Chinese people kept gold fish and koi in ponds and porcelain containers, I guess we could equate these to our aquariums. 

Antoine - though your interpretation is very thoughtful, I think it comes from a very western bent and probably goes too far. Otherwise, Chinese culture would never have kept and cultivated goldfish, koi and aquatic plants like lotus, etc... as well as the fact that gardening also is a manipulation of nature by any means.

Hitch - I think you're right about the association of circular objects to money and wealth, etc... but is this also extended to the shape of fish? As mentioned before sharp angles/ like triangles from what I understand are bad because they focus and channel negative energy to where they point (unless they point up wards in which case its a good thing). So is keeping angle fish bad feng shui? Cuz they obviously point towards people feeding them lol.


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## Antoine Doinel (Dec 20, 2010)

Like I said, just one side of the argument.

Could easily be argued that true aquarists are doing far more good. The type that think of their aquarium as a vessel to learn and connect more with nature. Lets face it, a large portion of fish in the aquarium trade are doomed to a mediocre or cruel life. A true aquarist is taking these fish and giving them a natural habitat and love and care. I think someone like this is giving as much as they're taking.

I do fully believe that properly maintaining a natural community tank is akin to some form of meditation. I think corydoras should be prescribed to anyone suffering from depression.


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## Holidays (Apr 18, 2010)

is it bad luck to only keep 4 fishes?


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## Cypher (Apr 15, 2006)

Haha no, I don't think so. The Chinese character for the number 4 is not bad luck in itself, it's that the english word 'four' sounds like the Chinese word for 'death' that's why Chinese people avoid saying four. Look at that! Looks like I did pick up some stuff living 1 year in Singapore lol.


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## Holidays (Apr 18, 2010)

Cypher said:


> Haha no, I don't think so. The Chinese character for the number 4 is not bad luck in itself, it's that the english word 'four' sounds like the Chinese word for 'death' that's why Chinese people avoid saying four. Look at that! Looks like I did pick up some stuff living 1 year in Singapore lol.


Really why is it bad luck to buy a house with number 4 then hehe 

Singapore eh..lots of people can speak malay there, I visited there a while back.


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## Cypher (Apr 15, 2006)

Think about it, if you're Chinese and another chinese friend asks you where you live you say it in english number "four" xtracheesy street. So it sounds like number "death" xtracheesy street. Sounds bad.

Other than that, believe what you want to. If you want to think its bad luck then so be it, it will be bad luck for you alone.

Yes, there are Malay people in Singapore, after all Singapore gained it's independence from Malaysia who was previously a british colony. But, Singapore, uniquely is far more Chinese than Malay - part of the reason why it gained its independence. Just google/ wiki Singapore for it's history and cultural information.



Holidays said:


> Really why is it bad luck to buy a house with number 4 then hehe
> 
> Singapore eh..lots of people can speak malay there, I visited there a while back.


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## qwerty (Dec 15, 2009)

Keep whatever fish and aquarium decor you like, and put the tank wherever it fits and you feel it looks good... I think you'll be much happier and more relaxed that way than you will be following someone else's guidelines which have little connection to reality.

How many of you can walk into a room and instinctively know which wall is a north-facing wall?

I really don't think you'll ever have a guest walk into your house and think to themselves "oh that wall faces South, I guess your tank is bad and your house is ugly".

So relax and go with whatever makes you happy


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## Cypher (Apr 15, 2006)

Ya, I know. I posed this question just out of curiosity not out of desperation to fix something lol. Besides, I'm more curious on what feng shui practitioners think of the _shape_ of fish rather than the placement of the aquarium.


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## moose113 (Nov 17, 2010)

I don't know too much about feng shui, but I think it has more to do with the placement of the tank and the type and number of fish in the tank, than the shape of the fish. 

I've been told that it is good to keep a tank of goldfish near the front door to prevent all your "good energy" from leaving your house. If you keep black goldfish, they must be kept in odd numbers or it's bad luck.


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## Cypher (Apr 15, 2006)

A long time ago, someone who kept koi told me for every 8 regular colored (gold, white, red, etc...) koi, you should keep 1 black koi.


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## Riceburner (Mar 14, 2008)

Cypher said:


> Haha no, I don't think so. The Chinese character for the number 4 is not bad luck in itself, it's that *the english word 'four' *sounds like the Chinese word for 'death' that's why Chinese people avoid saying four. Look at that! Looks like I did pick up some stuff living 1 year in Singapore lol.


It's the pronunciation of the #4 that sounds very similar to the pronunciation of "death"....only a slight inflection difference. When said with one inflection, it means 4; when pronounced with another it means death.



> Number 4 is considered an unlucky number in Chinese, Korean, and Japanese cultures because it is nearly homophonous to the word "death"





> In Chinese fung shui, water is meant to help the flow balance, harmony and prosperity into one's life. The water should be flowing and not stagnant. For this reason, many Chinese will have a little water garden, pond, or even a small water ornamental feature inside their home or office.


http://www.kinabaloo.com/chinese_culture_4.html


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## Hitch (Apr 26, 2009)

I agree with riceburner, its not the english word for four. Its the actual Chinese pronunciation of 4 that is very close to that of the pronunciation of death, hence the cultural dislike of the number 4. 

another example is the cultural dislike the number 250 (in Mandarin at least), though not as pronounced as 4.


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## Cypher (Apr 15, 2006)

LOL, that's what I've been sayin! But it's nice that what was said was confirmed by Chinese members of our community .


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## Riceburner (Mar 14, 2008)

Cypher said:


> LOL, that's what I've been sayin! .....


Let me guess...English is your 2nd language?

 j/k


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## Cypher (Apr 15, 2006)

Let me guess - you jumped in to the discussion without reading the thread from the beginning. But thanks anyways for confirming what I had been saying. 

Baby talk was my first language, if you have to know. Neither am I Chinese - thus the skepticism towards what I said - what you later confirmed as true.


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## 5318008 (Dec 11, 2010)

The feng shui I know of is 8 red fishes and 1 black one. (typically 8 red parrots and 1 pleco). Not so sure what the symbolic meaning is though. 

p.s. don't mean to hijack this post, but I'm curious of whether anyone here's from Singapore/Malaysia


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## Cypher (Apr 15, 2006)

Yeah when the koi guy taught me that 8 to 1 ratio, the lone black koi was supposed to 'absorb' the bad energy while the 8 red/gold/white ones are good luck.


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## KhuliLoachFan (Mar 8, 2008)

It also looks cool to have one black one. 

W


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