Perfect Little World?

I was at the mall the other day and a display at the Brookstone store caught my eye. (Something at that store always catches my eye – they have such cool stuff!). This time they had a display of water tanks with tiny, living frogs. I have never seen them sell anything quite like this before. They called it a Frog-O-Sphere Ecosystem and it is suppose to be a little “ecosystem” in a 10” x 10” tank.



Here is how it is described on their website:
The Frog-O-Sphere includes 2 aquatic mini frogs, a snail, Living Gravel and a bamboo plant. The frogs won’t outgrow the tank and live for up to 4 years provided you feed it 2 pellets, 2 times a week and change the water 2 times a year. The snail, also known as the janitor, feeds itself and keeps the tank clean of algae and excess food. Living Gravel acts as a biological filter, converting excess food and waste into a soluble form that can be used by the bamboo plant. The bamboo absorbs liquid and gaseous elements and releases oxygen, which helps the frogs and snail thrive.

How ideal does that sound? Everything thrives and co-exists with and because of each other. It is like a perfect little circle of life. While I thought it was fascinating to watch the little frogs frolicking in the water, and while the snail, rocks and bamboo were soothing to the eye … I also thought it was kind of sad that they were limited to that confined space, in their perfect little world.

Think about it. On the one hand, it would be nice to be in a safe, pristine and familiar environment all your life. They go about their life without a care in the world. They are not hunted by predators and they in turn don't have to worry about having to hunt for food. But on the other the other hand, it’s also a small, unexciting and limiting space. They basically go around in circles all day and they can't do the other things normal frogs do ... like catch flies, or have baby tadpoles, or get kissed by fair princesses looking for their Prince Charmings, or whatever else they do. You get the picture.

What do you think? Interesting perspectives, right? I wonder what the frogs and the snail would say if anyone asked them. Or maybe it helps that they don’t know what they’re missing.