mcarver

28th March 2008 This maybe of some interest to some of the members here. it is part of an email that I sent to my family in New Zealand. Yesterday we visited the pet market mainly because I’ve been wanting to buy Sammi’s cockatoo (I can him Mini Monster) some sort of toy or bell to play with so that he doesn’t get too bored when there is no one home. The market is in a 3 story building each floor having numerous small shops each specializing in a particular thing. Probably about 70% of the shops sold some sort of aquatic type of equipment, pet or flowers and pot plants. A large aquarium approximately 1m x .600m x .500m, complete with stand, heater, lighting, and filter system costs about N.Z. $200. There were complete aquarium setups up to about 2.5 meters long on sale. I am no expert in tropical fish having only kept cold water varieties in the past. They seemed to have many tropical fish species that I have never seen before and a lot being sold are of a large size. The golden dragon fish are very popular as the Chinese believe that if you own one, money will come to the house. It also seems for them the bigger the better. A large specimen cost about 35,000 Yuan, that’s approx N.Z. $6,500. When you consider that a labouring job pays about 1,200 Yuan a month, it shows the high regard the Chinese hold for these fish. The cold water varieties of fish are very impressive too and you never see deformed fish or nymphs for sale as you do in most of the New Zealand pet shops. Breeding size Pompom, Calico and Gold bubble eyes, Pearl scales and Celestials sell for about N.Z. $5.00 a pair. The ones that I saw were all very good examples of their variety. One thing that did strike me is that the Black Moor variety is longer and thinner than we are used to seeing, though this may only be a regional thing. There were Koi of all colours and sizes, some over 300mm in length. Others were obviously from last years spawning. The over crowding of tanks and basins is something you would have to see to believe. Fish deaths didn’t seem to be of too much concern as there is always a hungry turtle available to dispose of the carcass. They sell a lot of live food for the fish and turtles such as the usual blood worms etc, but also a small long thin black coloured fish. At first glance I thought they were eels but on closer inspection appeared similar in shape to very long thin white bait. There were very few cats and dogs for sale at the market though several shops specialized in dog food and accessories. One stall just sold dog clothes for the well dressed dog around town. Yes the Chinese seem to dote on their dogs too. There were only 2 shops selling birds. They had the usual budgies and finches and once again some species that I didn’t recognize. One medium sized bird similar in shape to a large blackbird is reputed to be a better talker and smarter than most parrots. Then there were the snakes, golden and green frogs, lizards, spiders and many varieties of turtle and tortoise. They also sell a variety of tailless white mice, rats, ferrets and rabbits etc, all the off beam type of pets that we see for sale in New Zealand. One thing that I didn’t see was any axolotls which surprised me. The shopkeepers hadn’t seemed to have heard of them. For those interested I tried turtle soup for dinner last night for the first time and was surprised at just how much fat a turtle has on it. The meat has quite a bland taste, maybe subtle would better way to describe it, and surprisingly to me was a red/brown colour. Early last week I ate frog, again for the first time and must admit I found it delicious. I have always made it a rule when I am traveling that I will try a new food before I say I don’t like it. I have found snake to be a little like fish in taste and texture. I tried that in Taipei and again in Southern China as a soup. I have put off going to the zoo here mostly because I have seen the way that some Chinese treat and keep animals. We are going to Beijing soon to visit friends and will probable visit the zoo there. With the Olympics coming I’m thinking the animals living conditions may have improved. They have Pandas at the Beijing zoo and I would dearly love to see one. Also, the new toy, the one I brought Mini Monster, it was completely destroyed when I got up this morning. It was a toy made for dogs and it lasted less than 24 hours. I’m off to give him a shower soon, that always settles him down for a while, he really is a sweetie in his own birdie way.

It is a a well planted tank, I just think she developed a fetish as she spent a long time alone.

This isn't about a rare fish but a fish which has a fetish. I inherited this fish from someone who kept it in a small round bowl, originally with 2 other tank mates who died. It is a female and spends most of the day asleep, only waking up when I feed the the other fish. Once fed, back to sleep again, standing upright in the corner of the tank. The odd thing is that when she sleeps, she wedges herself behind the under gravel outlet on the bottom of the tank. She sleeps standing on her tail, upright, with her nose pointing to the surface. Kinda like us sleeping standing up. I have tried introducing a male in an attempt to redirecting her lack of energy, but that didn't work. I can't exactly send her to her bedroom or try reverse phsyology by placing the undergravel outlet sidewise. She is a beautiful fish and I would like to see her more ofton. Any ideas?

Hello to you all. I am gratefull for the opportunity to participate in this forum and would like to say thankyou to the moderators for their work. Thirty years ago as a single man, I breed gold fish as a hobbist. I specialized in breeding celestials of all things! Mariage intervened and later raising 2 children as a solo father came along and now in my dotage I am ready to take up the hobby again. But never again will I try the celestial thing, beauty and form is enough. After an absense of 30 years it is amasing how much fish keepng has changed. Keeping fish seems to have become a Pseudo science with water testing kits etc. ( I am not trying to be disparraging) We used litmus paper and the nose, under gravel filters were the ultimate in high tech filtering. Good Planting, weekly 30% water changes, good hygiene, feeding live food as ofton as possible were considered good fish keeping practices. Hollywood fish farm had just started up. About 6 weeks ago I purchased a 200 litre aquarium and have been slowly stocking it. I am finding it difficult to find good specimens of the fish that I woud like to Keep. There are so many poor examples of varieties on sale in shops it should be an embarrassment to all fish breeders. Why put rubbish on sale? I think that I should leave more of what I would like to write it here alone. Because if I carry on, I may make my debut here very unpopular. Regards to one and all, Mcarver.