HPB Voices Reloaded
September - October 2007
HPBians show off their pets...
Go to: Alan Pui | Janice Yeap | Shin Dee | Sai Joon | Norbayah|
Fish – The ‘Untouchable’ Pet
What’s a pet? Most people would answer, “Something for me to hold, cuddle and bring to bed with”. With this, some also consider soft toys as pets. But alas, when you mention fish, the response will most probably be, “Argh, that slimy, untouchable (pun intended), lowly creature, a pet?”
Well, you’ll be surprised. There are a whole lot of fish lovers (not those who like to eat fish, mind you) out there who throng the many fish farms (from Lim Chu Kang to Seletar) and fish shops here in Singapore every weekend. I know cos I am one of them. I belong to this group who can stare in front of the aquarium appreciating the way the fish swim, their eating habits, their territorial behaviours, etc. And it’s therapeutic after a hard day’s work, a stress reliever. So, HPBians, it’s good for mental health after all.
As there are so many species of fish that we can put into our aquaria, from the humble gold fish to the exotic killifish, I have had countless hours of fun keeping fish as pets since my school days. It is a natural progression for a fish lover to venture into fish breeding after he gets a hang of the ‘keeping the fish alive’ process. I, being no different, did a lot of breeding experiments over the years, too. Tried my hands at guppy (which is among the easiest to breed), fighting fish, gold fish, tiger barb, and my last conquest was discus. That was in 2001.
I was particularly proud of my success in breeding discus, as it is a difficult fish to keep alive, what more to keep alive and sexually happy to lay eggs. It demands a lot of efforts, maintaining the right water quality, food, lighting, so that the female can be attracted to the male (sounds like human, hey!). And the hard work does not end there when the babies arrive, you’ll have to hatch these tiny brine shrimps for the babies every day! Am sounding a bit technical now, so I better stop here. Just one word of advice for those wanting to start an aquarium, start small, keep the fish healthy and do not venture into breeding unless you have a lot of time to spare.
By the way, my last discus died in June this year at 6 years of age (I kept 10 of the babies from my 2001 brood). My fish tank is now empty, no more time for this daddy of two to indulge in his favourite hobby anymore. But I will start my son early, and you never know, our next conquest may be breeding oscars.
Howdy folks! My name is Coco, I’m a Shetland Sheepdog. I’m 8 months old. I’m the princess in my family, they dote on me a lot. I have many nicknames such as ‘girl girl’, ‘kangadog’(because I like to jump with my two hind legs) and ‘siao gao’. I like to play fetch and chew newspapers, wooden furniture, and my pet dog. Yes, I have a pet dog. However, I don’t think my folks like me chewing on those things, because they always go “NO!!” when they see me doing it. So I chew at night, when they are all asleep. Haha… Recently, I graduated from my kindergarten (basic obedience training course), but somehow my folks still have to battle with my mood… when I’m in the mood, I’ll be obedient, if not, I’ll be the devil that drives them up the wall. Oh, by the way, I don’t like my neighbour, I will always bark at them when they walk past, and my folks will scream “NO!!”, I wonder if they have other vocabulary other than no. Oh well, that’s all folks! Bye!
Terry came into our lives when he was all but 2 years old in 2004. It’s been 3 years now, and it has been, to say the least, an adventure for us all. Besides indulging in his favourite hobbies of sunbathing and challenging monitor lizards to a game of Celebrity Deathmatch (guess who usually wins?), he also likes to take the odd road trip to visit his fair-weather feline friends in the neighbouring housing estates via the intricate network of longkangs (monsoon drains) that surround our home. Needless to say, he answers to no one except the call of dinner-time.
Ricky is the baby of the house. Willing to do anything for snacks, he never fails to be the centre of attention.
JC, name after Joo Chiat Complex, as we found him in the deep drain in Joo Chiat two years ago. An adorable cat with a black moustache. He loves to sit in that manner along the corridor watching passers-by.