Why fish should be the new dog
Sure, they stink, they scare the life out of you when they flap out of water and their strange faces can be the stuff of nightmares…but fish are the most amazing creatures you will ever rear.
I began my fascination with the aquaria hobby when I was just a toddler. My grandfather reared many species, and while other children my age were grappling with terms like Lego, Hot Wheels and Hasbro, I was more obsessed about tetras, barbs and cichlidae.
I went through the usual childhood phase of animism. I would anthropomorphize anything around me. So, as regretful as I am, I once shoved a guppy into the back seat of a matchbox jeep model and it became its ‘’permanent’’ driver. The young me was puzzled as to why the fish stopped moving after ten minutes and shrank over time before drying up on the miniature seat. Also, I would not be able to forget the noisome smell that permeated the living room hall the following week.
Gross. Yes. But the learning curve was a steep one.
After some home-made therapy sessions with my father and a short abstinence from toy cars, I started to study these underwater beings.
There was something enchanting about these submerged creatures. You might think them frail, being all hopeless on land but air-breather, imagine yourself plunged into the depths of the sea without swimming equipment, try being arrogant then!
When I was younger and still learning about the great biblical deluge, I immediately thought about how the fish of the world would have survived the disaster with no sweat at all (not that such a biological function is within their control though). I could picture the ‘’fishies’’ talking among themselves, with thought bubbles and bubbles all the same, discussing how hopeless the surface dwellers were, watching them drown and bloat like soaked cereal.
Noah had no need to arrange the gill brethren in pairs, they were moving alongside the ark! I was charmed by the ability of fish to dominate the realm that us humans find ourselves so vulnerable in. There is so much that we can learn from the scaled swimmers.
I have many narratives to share regarding my experience with fish, mostly freshwater and some marine.(I will cover my adventures with marine fish in another article)
As a disclaimer, I shall inform the reader that there will be no mention of fishing rods or the consumption of fish in this article. I am thoroughly against the painful device used by fishers in the international waters.
Fish may not have the pain receptors uniquely found in the neocortex regions of the human brain but they do possess telencephalons and those pretty much serve the same function.
So, before you decide to slay a fish in the most horrific and bloodthirsty manner, do note that they pick up each sensation as would any other living creature (even the nerve endings of torn fins hurt!).
I enjoy a fresh, well-sliced sashimi ever so often, but my topic involves fish that are still alive, very much intact as a whole and not chunks of meat.
Essentially, this article is about my fondness for fish species and the observations made on their kind. I have listed some of the most interesting species to date, based on my experience as a hobbyist.
Before I proceed with the list, here are some honourary mentions.
Honourary Mentions:
Fire Eels/ Mastacembelus erythrotaenia
There was a five feet tank (152.4cm) in the flat of my grandmother, the first community tank I ever had. A community tank is an aquarium holding different species of fish that live harmoniously with each other.
It is capital that exhaustive research be done by the enthusiast on each species before introducing them to the rest of the inhabitants. A single predator could prove catastrophic for the ecology within the aquarium.
I chose loose gravels as substrate of the tank, which were then placed over a hidden bottom filter mat. I once had a few small fire eels living in the tank. I noticed that they began to burrow into the substrate. These cheeky worm-like fish would appear intermittently, sticking their heads from out of the ‘’ground’’.
The smallest of the eels resembled tubifex worms. I would have a bunch of the sinuous fries kept in the tank as a prank to creep out oblivious visitors, who would gaze into the tank. The look of disgust on their faces were entertaining to the seven-year old self.
The eels vanished one day, no trace of their bodies, not even the bones. I might have sucked them down the drainage by accident while performing the routine water changes with my hose.
Zebra Danio/ Danio rerio
My grandfather had the habit of comparing the health of the fish we reared. He would look at me with pensive eyes and say, ‘’see how long-lived and healthy my fish are, why do yours die so soon?’’
I would be utterly ashamed of myself each time he afforded me one of those heartfelt lectures. I knew he meant well though. In my defence, I was still learning how to provide each species with their ideal living conditions; I was still tinkering.
Zebra Danios or Zebrafish, were the favourite of my grandfather. These small striped cyprinids are streamlined and swim in military unison, forming small schools at the mid-level of the tank.
There is a bred subspecies that develop long fins resembling cocktail dresses. Be that as it may, I was never a fan of humanity playing the role of nature. People never deserved the scalpel of life.
These tiny fish remind me of my grandfather and the sage advice that he imparted to me over the years,they remind me of my humble origins as a student of the aquarium hobby.
I grew up to become more of a cichlidae sort of guy though, to be explained later in this text.
Indian Glassfish/ Parambassis ranga
When I was little, I would accompany my grandmother for her daily Tai chi sessions at a local park. While she was busy harnessing her internal forces, I would be busy with a net in hand, playfully scooping at the nearby water feature.
There were some captivating fauna living within the murky pond, including Marble gobies, freshwater shrimps and platies. The oddest of species was the translucent Indian glassfish indigenous to the countries in South Asia.
Three filthy white ducks that frequented the premises of the park would stare me down with some spirit of inquiry as they witnessed a young human boy threatening their food source. Those ducks went missing one day, I still wonder what happened.
My initial reaction upon snagging one of the quirky fish in my trusty green net was one of aversion. There was a bilious feeling coagulating in my gut as I saw that cadaverous thing trapped in the netting. (Please do be reminded that I was still recovering from the dreadful episode involving the desiccated guppy).
The fish was obviously long dead and half-eaten, I bolted to release it back into the water when I saw it squirm!
I was sent sprinting toward the direction of my grandmother, who assured me that the fish was certainly alive. She pinched the fish with her fingers and placed it on the palm of my hand. The fish secreted a strange slimy substance that made the whole sequence a wee bit weirder.
I was bestirred but I added a new entry into my mental fish journal that fateful morning.
I discovered that these fish are commonly found in the aquarium trade and are often abused. Dyes are injected into the tissue of the glassfish, resulting in stress that make the fish susceptible to diseases.
Readers, please do not enable those wily traders who resort to such reprehensible acts. Every fish is a life.
Boycott ‘’painted glassfish’’! They are a mockery of mother nature and the sanctity of life!
Now that we are done with the honourable mentions, let me present to you the five most compelling encounters I have had in the fish hobby.
- Electric Catfish/ Malapterurus electricus
I kept one electric catfish in a community tank. Just one. It created the most havoc that any resident was capable of. My greatest mistake? Not placing a lid over that aquarium.
Well, you see, these innocuous sausage-like creatures that originate in Africa are producers of electricity that can shock other fish silly . I named my catfish Fatty, due to its corpulent stature. Fatty always hid in the hollow of a wood feature in the day, it was during nightfall that it would come out to pester the other fish.
With beady eyes the size of glitter dust, I should have suspected its nocturnal nature! Yet, nothing prepared me for its predatory bearings!
So, the reader may predict at this point that things went bump in the night. Many ill-fated fish were electrified while I was in slumber and they leapt straight out of the tank only to be found hardened on the floor the next morning. The air-conditioned room must have hastened the dehydration.
Smaller species were swallowed whole without a shred of evidence (till this day, I cannot prove this but I am highly apprehensive).
Also, the fish is a rather large one, growing exponentially within the span of weeks. I would advise that prospective owners consider keeping the electric cafish in a species tank but if they insisted on a community setting, NEVER FORGET LIDS and ONLY KEEP FISH THAT CAN LOOK OUT FOR THEMSELVES.
Fatty eventually ‘’floundered’’ with a bad case of swim bladder disease. It was a sad day for me although the fella was pretty much a serial killer.
2. Blind Cave Fish /Astyanax mexicanus
A formally good friend of mine (we drifted after school, no need to speculate) was telling me about the weaknesses of the human gene and that we were probably hardwired to fail in most senses because of our incredible intelligence. My friend was angling the trite argument that nothing was perfect. He could have left it at that but no.
He made the sloppy mistake of gambling with me, a disciple in the school of probability. I still see that smug look on his face as he blurted:
‘’Show me a species born to be more disabled than the human race and I will treat you to a burger.’’
I showed him the Mexican Blind Cave Fish and I must say, fast food never tasted so good.
The Blind Cave Fish, as the common name suggests, are naturally found in the caves of Mexico and live in light-deprived environments. Nature is a practical worker, it takes away things you do not need. Hence, deep sea fish and the Blind Cave Fish have deteriorated eyes, instead, depending on the ability to emit electrical impulses that bounce off surfaces.
The Blind Cave Fish have skin where their eyes are supposed to be and constantly bump into the screen of aquariums (since glass is a insulator of electricity).
It is a tad silly but also pitiful to see these fish blundering about due to the bad hand they were dealt during the evolutionary process.
3. Cichlids, cichlids and more cichlids
Okay, so ciclidae is not a species. However, I am so deeply mesmerized by this family of fish that I cannot settle with one kind.
The fish from the family Cichlidae are known as cichlids and are as diverse as they come. However, one thing shared among the fish is their acute intelligence.
Cichlids are capable of underwater interactions that are impossible with most other fish species. They uproot plants, form alliances, bully other fish and allocate complex territories among other things.
Most cichlids come from one of two major groups: from Lake Tanganyika or Lake Malawi, both found in Africa. There are some species that originate from other parts of the world, such as the ubiquitous Oscar/ Astronotus ocellatus from South America and the Tilapia cichlids considered an invasive species in Australia.
I once converted my aquarium into a cichlid species tank and it was turned into a sub-aquatic wonderland. I had Jack Dempseys, Electric Yellows, Livingston’s cichlid and even the rare Butterkoferi.
I witnessed the confluence of activity in the tank unlike any I have seen before. Some cichlids chased the others around the tank, either in a mating ritual or coming of age gauntlet. Other cichlids would retreat into the darkness of an artificial cavern and emerge only during feeding time.
Speaking of feeding, cichlids are some of the most voracious feeders around. The typical cichlid dashes to the surface where the pallets float and snatch the food in record-setting time, wary of covetous cohabitants.
Pugnacious, belligerent, territorial, ferocious, are some of the common adjectives attributed to the highly intelligent cichlidae family but there are some atypical species that must never be mixed with the usual rowdy band.
Here are some examples of cichlids best left in a species tank:
Ram cichlid/Mikrogeophagus ramirezi
Perhaps one of the prettiest cichlids ever discovered. The neon Ram cichlid, a native of the Orinoco River Basin, is a short-lived species that fall prey to the rough antics typically exhibited by their cichlidae cousins.
Angel Fish / Pterophyllum scalare
One of the most recognizable of aquarium fish, not to be confused with the marine angelfish. The irregular shape of this cichlid along with its elegant finnage, causes ungainly movement, making them easy prey for faster and more violent cichlids. Angel Fish however, are known predators of smaller fish such as neon tetras and guppies.
For the most part, cichlids are adored for their strong personality and exceptional quickness of mind. Think of them as puppies that swim.
4. Red-bellied Pacu/ Piaractus brachypomus
I came across this species while I was taking my routine visit to a local aquarium store right after my secondary school classes for the day.
I decided to purchase one after some thought and waited patiently for the permit or documentation required.
The shopkeeper laughed and informed me that it was not a piranha but a red-bellied pacu, its cousin. Owning a pacu did not warrant a licence since they are Omnivorous and lack the dangerous sharp teeth that characterized Piranhas.
However, do not be fooled by the human-like teeth of the pacu, they are formidable gnashers!
I had the habit of tossing leftovers from my dinner into the tank where I had kept the Pacu and it would devour each morsel as would a human being. I am talking chewy food like cuttlefish and steak.
It seem to me like a feat and I started to showcase the prowess of the pacu jaw to family members and friends. Sometimes, I would deliberately tout the fish as a piranha and watch them go slack-jawed at the feeding frenzy of this abnormally huge specimen (pacus are much larger than pirahnas).
A part of me was mortified by the bite of the fish and I was always careful with the tank maintenance, so as to not lose any fingers.
The pacu is an amazing fish but before you decide on getting one, do note that it reaches a massive size and is best kept in a tank that has the capacity of at least 240 gallons. The pacu is a food fish in its native lands, I think a fully-grown fish can feed a small village to be honest.
5. Striped Raphael catfish / Platydoras armatulus
Why this catfish is named after a 14th century renaissance artist, I do not know but it certainly belongs on my list.
Other hobbyists would probably think this catfish awfully dull and unspectacular but my tale is different. I once reared a robust specimen and believe it or not, it had multiple lives! I called it Vamp, after the Metal Gear Solid villain who refused to die even after receiving a head shot.
In the first incident, the filter of the tank had clogged up and there was a severe case of ammonia build-up. Every single fish in the aquarium expired within a night and so did Vamp, or so it seemed. As I cleared the tank, Vamp miraculously galvanized itself and regained its energy.
After a few months and a restock of fish, there was an algae bloom that once again, killed every single inhabitant of the tank save for Vamp. I was starting to think that something preternatural was at work.
Just when I thought that things could not have been anymore remarkable, Vamp did it again. I introduced a hardy, combative, albino giant gourami I had named Pale Moon.
Pale Moon was one of the most nasty and unbearable tank mate that any fish could ever have.
Moon would swallow small occupants in a gulp and ram similarly sized fish with its rock-like skull. The bullying could last minutes or mere seconds, always at the expense of the victims, which succumbed to their injuries.
Gradually, all of the other fish were slain by the relentless villain, all but Vamp.
Then, a strange occurrence happened. Pale Moon had the worst fright ever and threw itself out of the aquarium. The giant fell onto the hard floor with a crashing thud and never regained consciousness. Vamp became sole survivor once more!
There were a variety of other isolated problems that befell the legendary Vamp, such as fin rot, dropsy and the deadly white spots,but each time, the catfish recovered and grew stronger than ever.
Vamp was finally released into a pond after the family disposed the tank, deciding it was wasteful to maintain the electric charges for the care of one ordinary-looking catfish.
Vamp may be living on to this day.
I stopped rearing fish in 2016, when I shifted to a new home and had space constraints for a tank. However, the profound fixation with the aquarium hobby will always be a part of me.
Sometime down the road, I will get a tank once more and it will be the most amazing community tank I have ever stocked, preferably with all kinds of cichlids!
P.S. Keep a lookout for more articles from me on the freshwater fish hobby, I have only skimmed the surface!
