Tuesday, June 13, 2006
From scales to fur
For almost 2 years, I have been keeping fish. This came as a surprise as many of my friends knew that I did not like fish. Heck, I don't even like to eat fish. Much less keeping them as pets. Things change when I was in the army. I started a tank to keep an Ornate Bichir. Soon, I invited my fellow bunkmates to add livestock to make the tank more interesting. Soon we had loaches, dwarf gourami, shrimps and guppies and even a snail. It was like seafood "rojak". Ha, can't find a better word to describe it.
Towards the end of my term in army when I started to clear my leaves, I started going down to the beach everyday. (5 mins from my house. Yes, nice spot) It was just so refreshing. Soon, I found something perk my curiosity. Hermit crabs, then I saw fiddler crabs. Plentiful & so bright coloured shells and enlarged chelipeds (for male only). I started "beach combing" and took back watever I could catch. Kept them for a day & released them when I went to the beach the next day.
The problem was those specimens caught from the beach are so dull compared to fishes found in deeper reef environment. The more I researched, the more I was drawn and it was only a matter of time b4 I started my marine set up.
Ornamental marine fishes and corals are immensely captivating but maintainance of the water parameters are so demanding. As my daily routine started to get more hectic, I simply couldn't find enough time to maintain my tank. The only solution was to give up & change to something which requires less maintainance.
Dogs & cats are nice but they need space which I cannot provide. (I still live with my parents) So the next best choice is small pets that I can keep in cages.
Towards the end of my term in army when I started to clear my leaves, I started going down to the beach everyday. (5 mins from my house. Yes, nice spot) It was just so refreshing. Soon, I found something perk my curiosity. Hermit crabs, then I saw fiddler crabs. Plentiful & so bright coloured shells and enlarged chelipeds (for male only). I started "beach combing" and took back watever I could catch. Kept them for a day & released them when I went to the beach the next day.
The problem was those specimens caught from the beach are so dull compared to fishes found in deeper reef environment. The more I researched, the more I was drawn and it was only a matter of time b4 I started my marine set up.
Ornamental marine fishes and corals are immensely captivating but maintainance of the water parameters are so demanding. As my daily routine started to get more hectic, I simply couldn't find enough time to maintain my tank. The only solution was to give up & change to something which requires less maintainance.
Dogs & cats are nice but they need space which I cannot provide. (I still live with my parents) So the next best choice is small pets that I can keep in cages.
MaximiliusKane 10:17 PM