In the middle of lockdown, Marc Fritschi received an aquarium as a gift. It proved to be a game changer: today, the system engineer shares his bedroom with 53 fish.
Everyone has a pandemic story – it is what unites the world in 2022. For some, it is about life and death; for others, it has revealed divisions among family members. But this is not a big story. Rather, it is a small one. About failure, getting back up and pulling through. In short: a story about a few fins. And the mercilessness of FC Zürich.
«All the water was black»,
recalls Marc Fritschi of his first setback as an aquarium owner. A few days earlier, his brother-in-law had given him a glass box, a water filter and some gravel – a starter pack with a 30-litre holding capacity. Fritschi did what is typical of him when he wants to take a step forward in life: he sat down in the office at the entrance to his 4.5-room flat-share that comes complete with an open kitchen and balcony and is situated in a new building. Next, he opened the web browser and typed a few words into the search bar.
A few days later, the first fish, aquatic plants and roots landed in his letterbox by post – and then all found themselves in the aquarium. It was not long before the fish were plunged into darkness. The water had changed colour. How did that happen?
When questions arise in the life of the young fish aficionado, he faces them with the same merciless approach his beloved FC Zürich applies when taking chances this season. “Hello, championship title” may well be the sentiment at Letzigrund Stadium soon. “So long, questions” is the sentiment in Marc Fritschi's Winterthur flat. His most important companion on this quest is the internet. Does the filter in the aquarium always have to be running? YouTube channel “Aquaowner” has the answer: absolutely. Why is the water in the aquarium black? It is a harmless biochemical reaction of the fresh roots, states all-knowing Google.
Marc Fritschi used to spend a lot of time in front of the computer. “I would spend hours playing Counter-Strike.” Even today, he meets up with friends in the virtual world two evenings a week. They play UNO or indie games like The Escapists. “But on the weekends, I have better things to do.” In front of the floor-to-ceiling living room window, plants in a glass container enjoy their own ecosystem. “In summer, I also grow chillies and watermelons.”
Mottled grey boxes in the living room offer a glimpse into the past: SNES, Dreamcast, N64, SNES, PS1, PS2, PS3, and Wii. On the floor is a new Playstation 5 connected to a flat-screen TV spanning 61 inches – that’s 155 centimetres, or the height of one actress called Reese Witherspoon.
The 30-litre aquarium in the bedroom was soon joined by one holding 20 litres. And then another one with 54 litres, followed by a 180-litre unit. From that point forward, fish have been swimming in the spot where a flat-screen TV used to light up the bedroom. Fritschi has kept asking himself questions along the way. What is important about the pH value? What about the CO2 supply? How do you design an aquarium in the first place?
He brings his questions to the office at the entrance to the flat – and he only leaves once they have been answered. Marc Fritschi learns how to lower the pH value of Winterthur’s water from 7.5 to 6.5. And he discovers which fish species are well-disposed towards each other – and which are not. He learns that he has to switch off the CO2 system at night because the plants do not photosynthesise then. He reads about aquascaping and the Brazilian style of landscape architecture for aquariums. The same goes for the approaches of the Dutch and the Japanese. Fritschi knows that he has to define his very own style: “I just do everything freestyle.” With lush planting, just as his low-maintenance fish from the Amazon like it.
«There is nothing more calming than watching the fish..»
Fritschi spends time with the fish not only in the evenings, but also on Saturdays. Every weekend he lowers the water of two aquariums by half and removes the algae from the glass boxes – along with the angelfish and the galaxy rasboras, the catfish and the Amano shrimps. A week later, he will do the same routine with the other two aquariums. He enjoys this time: “There is nothing more calming than watching the fish.”
Some people meditate.
Marc Fritschi has four aquariums. But on the rare occasions when this tranquillity no longer does the trick, he takes his blue and white scarf from the sofa and leaves his hideaway to head in the direction of his favourite eleven-man team: “FC Züri, allez, allez.”
Some people meditate.
Marc Fritschi has four aquariums. But on the rare occasions when this tranquillity no longer does the trick, he takes his blue and white scarf from the sofa and leaves his hideaway to head in the direction of his favourite eleven-man team: “FC Züri, allez, allez.”
Marc Fritschi
joined the IT department at Walder Wyss in April 2019. At first, he assisted the law firm on the support team; after a year, he became a system engineer. “It was clear to me early on that I would become a computer scientist,” says Fritschi. So what was the trigger for this career path? Counter-Strike, the computer game. Marc Fritschi completed his training at A. Baggenstos & Co AG, an IT company in Wallisellen known for repairing typewriters. While he could still bring any typewriter back to life today, it is his expertise in document management that is especially valued at Walder Wyss.