The life of Bruce






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Now my knowledge of aquarium fish could be written on the back of a postage stamp which is about the size of the little fellow (if you trimmed some very fancy fins) that was given to my daughter at a family Christmas get together. Turns out he (we were assured it was a male) was a Siamese fighting fish. My daughter took to him straight away and promptly gave the fish the handle of Bruce after one of the sharks on the Finding Nemo movie.

 

Bruce was purchased from a coastal pet shop made the trip many hours west in the small fish equivalent of a cat cage. Became the centre of attention at a noisy family gathering when presented to Bruce’s new owner, a scene of less trepidation than when Nemo found who his new owner was to be in the dentist surgery. There was some more travelling in store for Bruce in his little container positioned inside a big ice-cream dish as the rough road tended to decrease the amount of water in which he had access, to reach his final destination.

Also in the Christmas present was Bruce’s new home, an attractive glass aquarium that was shaped tall like a rather oversized flower vase. In goes the fake rocks, fake weed, more importantly water before Bruce was set free to explore his new territory. Apparently territory is the right word because these little fellows stake out their area and vigorously defend it, hence their name. That was alright but on the following day Bruce just hung around in a listless state that I wondered if in the life of the now well-travelled Bruce there had been a bit too much going on, but no, on that very day Bruce was to experience a little too much excitement.    

Just as well my daughter was nearby because the shapely glass home for Bruce sitting on the bench top unexpectedly shattered; exploded into many pieces leaving Bruce stranded on the floor. Bruce was hurriedly plonked back into his travelling cat cage with some essential water following. My better half was away doing some more Christmas shopping at a larger regional centre so a phone call was made for the purchase of more suitable digs for a feisty fighting fish. That evening Bruce was in a new territory and next door was a second vessel, home to another Nemo shark, Chum. Turns out that these little sods when nothing is going down just hang about not doing much but when another male turns up then they will really burr up. It’s interesting to watch the two as when they get close through the double thickness of aquarium wall how the show begins, the fins flare out. It’s just like two bulls siding up to each other snorting and carrying on making out that they are the bigger animal than the other.

The life of Bruce has been interesting and it looks like he will be a survivor. Not only has the receiver of this gift but the whole family enjoy having these new additions to the household.

This isn’t always the case we are reminded every year that often on a whim a Christmas present pet is given only to be unwanted by its new owner, neglected, abandoned or handed into some pet shelter. RSPCA have been on about this message for years and its one worth broadcasting. However as this long established, once highly respected organisation changes its focus away from its core business and descends further into the depths of radical activism, now days I find RSPCA has very little credibility. To learn why please read this article by NT cattle producer, Jo Bloomfield, who has explained it very well in, I used to support RSPCA.