I started raising medaka fish.
We have started raising medaka fish in our Kyoto office.
The idea of medaka first came up when we were starting to move forward with opening an office in Kyoto.
When the members setting up the Kyoto office were discussing, "What kind of office would make people want to come to work?", Mr. Kanno said, "If there were killifish, I think I'd want to come to work." That's how it all began.
About six months later, when the Kyoto office had a home, the furniture had been collected, and things had settled down quite a bit, the topic of medaka came up again.
The office is a nice old Japanese house, so it would be a good place for medaka, and we decided that since people come to the office relatively frequently, it would be possible to raise them.
I checked with everyone in the company and they all agreed, so I decided to keep some medaka.
Searching for a medaka house and materials
As soon as it was decided that we would be able to keep medaka, Handa-san, a member of our Kyoto office, brought me a picture.
It was a picture of a killifish house.
The house is filled with various types of plants and is decorated with rocks and driftwood.
It seems that a house like this can be kept relatively clean without frequent maintenance by humans.
At first glance, we all said, "It's amazing!"
Using this picture as a reference, I started looking for a pot for the medaka.
One day, Mr. Kanno showed me a picture of a large blue brazier and said, "There's one like this at a nearby store."
The size seemed good and the brazier was stylish, so I decided to go with this one.
On the same day that the decision was made, Mr. Kanno and Mr. Handa went to buy a brazier.
However, the office didn't yet have a cart, so the two of them had to carry the heavy brazier back to us.
Handa gave us some ideas on what kind of plants we should plant and what kind of small pots we should put in the brazier.
We all debated, saying this one was cute and that one was cute, but we managed to narrow it down.
Whenever I'm having trouble deciding on a color, Natsumi always says, "This is it!", which is very helpful.
Yuka and I ordered everything we needed, and once the materials arrived we immediately started building our house.
Building a house for medaka fish
First, thoroughly wash the Akadama soil that will be placed at the bottom of the pot.
After laying the Akadama soil, arrange rocks to create differences in elevation.
When asked "How is it?" I gave my opinions such as "Maybe it's a little too straight," but it was finally finished.
Welcome! Medaka-san
We decided to go shopping early to help them get used to the cold, so only the members who were at work went to buy some medaka.
Our destination was Kyoto Gyoen, a restaurant in Taishogun Shopping Arcade, about a 10-minute bike ride from the office.
Although it is a small shop, they have many different kinds of medaka.
This was the first time I had ever looked closely at a medaka's face.
Until then, I had thought that medaka were similar to guppies, but I learned that medaka come in a variety of sizes, from small to relatively large, and that their faces are very adorable when viewed from the front.
While looking at the colorful medaka, we decided to each choose our favorite color.
I'm red, Handa is black, and Kanno is blue.
Handa points to a lively medaka fish and asks the store clerk for it.
I felt excited as I took the bag of medaka home.
The bag is left floating on the surface of the water for a while to allow it to get used to the water temperature, and then it is released into the house it made.
Everyone watches over the medaka for a while, while Handa asks them if they are okay.
The medaka fish swam around as if exploring their new home, under floating leaves, in shallow water on rocks, and at the bottom of the brazier.
After a while, everyone seemed to have found a place they liked and settled down.
We come to work for the sake of medaka fish
From then on, the first thing I did was eat medaka when I came to work in the morning, medaka when I came back from lunch, medaka while I was going to the toilet, medaka even when I had nothing to do, and medaka before I got home.
I now have a life where I occasionally have medaka fish in between meals.
Although we all originally came to the office, we now have an unspoken understanding that we will each come to the office when it is necessary to feed the killifish.
It's been two months since I started raising medaka.
For the first month, the black medaka was often chased to the edge by the red medaka, but recently they seem to get along well and only play a little with each other even when they are close to each other.
When it gets cold, the medaka go into hibernation. Their appetite changes depending on the season, so I would like to continue to keep a close eye on them.
BABA Haruka