Warning: This article contains man-eating fish.

Two NIU students are living “The Life Aquatic” with the aid of some terrifying fish and high altitude sleeping accommodations.

Nick Achtien, a freshman computer science major, and Ryan Sheive, a freshman construction engineering major, put their heads together to transform their run of the mill Douglas residence hall room into a one of a kind space.

“We are both big guys,” Sheive said. “So, when we moved in, we decided we needed as much room as we can get.”

The guys more than accomplished their goal for maximum floor space. Sheive managed to loft both beds, one in front of the window and one along the wall, so that they meet at the corner.

“We built the beds right when we moved in,” Sheive said. “All of the wood for the bed was free. All it is is a dismantled pallet.”

Sheive put his building skills to work again when Achtien decided the room needed some additional occupants.

Residing in the corner of the room, just below the television and next to the fridge, live three eight-inch piranhas along with their handy-dandy suckerfish in a not-so-modest 55-gallon fish tank.

The tank made its way into the room in October and posed a new construction challenge for Sheive.

“I had to build something that could hold [500 pounds] to support the fish tank,” Sheive said.

Supporting the fish has become a joint effort for the two freshmen. The guys have gone through well over 300 feeder goldfish so far.

“The piranhas eat everything,” Sheive said.

“It’s not expensive [to support the fish],” Achtien said. “Once a week, we have to do a 20 percent water change, but that’s all. Feeder fish are [cheap] and 50 last about two weeks. We just drop them in there and the piranhas eat on their own.”

“We want to get insurance on the fish tank,” Achtien said. “That way if the tank breaks we are covered for the damage. I want to get a bigger tank. It will probably cost around $500, but we want to get stingrays.