Have you ever found yourself coming down the stairs of the student center and noticed something a little fishy? Tucked away behind the glass of office 137 is a tank that is far from your typical aquarium.
This is the temporary winter home to a group of mysterious fish that may leave students curious and occasionally strolling past wondering, “Did I just see fish in there?”
Wade Newer, the coordinator of building operations, has cleared up any confusion.
Newer said, “It’s not really a pond but rather a tank, the fish winter in my office and return to my outdoor pond in the summer.”
Newer continued, saying the fish were originally housed in a 55-gallon tank. However, he soon realized these aquatic adventurers needed an upgrade. “They got too big for my 55-gallon tank, so I put them in a livestock tank.”
The three koi may not have names, but they’ve certainly made a name for themselves among students and faculty alike. This is the fourth year Newer has housed them in his office, keeping up with their growing needs.
“People enjoy stopping by to watch the fish, especially the kids from the CDC [Child Development Center],” he said. According to Newer, the makeshift fish tank and its inhabitants have unintentionally become a familiar sight in the student center, with many people stopping by to watch them.
“There’s a sense that folks decompress for a couple of minutes as they watch them before going to class,” he said. “The young kids really enjoy watching me feed them.”
“I honestly did a double take the first time I saw them,” said Keene State sophomore Charlotte Jeffrey. “You don’t expect to see fish in an office, but it’s kind of cool.”
Newer said he has even bigger dreams for his finned friends. “My hope is that someday we will be able to build a permanent inside pond in the student center Atrium utilizing the two holes where trees were planned to go,” he shared.
As for the dream of a permanent indoor pond, Newer said he has already worked out the details. He envisions transforming the two unused grates in the atrium into a 600-gallon pond using locking blocks, underlayment and a rubber liner. The total cost would be around $3,000, including filtering and plumbing.
With other student center improvements taking priority, Newer said the fish will have to wait for their dream home. But in the meantime, they’ll continue holding court in office 137, happily swimming their way into the hearts of the Keene State community.
And so the mystery of these new residents has been solved – just a few koi enjoying their winter vacation.
Aisling Kavanagh can be contacted at
akavanagh@kscequinox.com
