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.
