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“I want to be a fish.”
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“Well, the Parkers are dead... You had to encourage them to take thirds, didn't you?” |
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Red Spotted Hawkfish |
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“Well, thank God we all made it out in time... 'Course now we're equally screwed” |
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Greenbird Wrasse |
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“Margaret! He's doing it! He's doing it!” |
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Saddle Valentini Puffer |
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Digit |
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Neon Dottyback |
“So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living and moving thing with which the water teems, 
according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.”
Genesis 1:21
Many of you know (and some of you may not) that I've been wanting my own saltwater aquarium for as long as I can remember... but I could never afford to buy one retail. I've always been fascinated with watching fish in aquariums and the unique relationships they have with one another... and sometimes even with the people that care for them. My father had a 10 gallon fresh water aquarium when I was not yet old enough to stand without support. It was on the kitchen counter and I used to crawl to the kitchen (yes, I actually remember this), pull out the bottom drawer and stand on it while holding onto the edge of the countertop. I stood there (according to my mother) for hours on end. One day, I was particularly entranced by staring into the aquarium and lost consciousness. I fell backward onto the kitchen floor and after my mother heard the thud, she demanded that my father remove the aquarium. I believe the inhabitants were reluctantly flushed. *sigh* The rest, as they say, is history.
Back in March 2001, I found this 140 gallon aquarium on eBay and knew it was meant to be... only $400 for the whole thing! Of course, it cost me $300 to get it moved, so I'm still paying that whole thing off. The aquarium came with about 100lbs of live rock, salt water and 3 fish. Yeah, just 3 fish... but some great ones... 2 mated clowns and 1 hawkfish. I never thought about how heavy salt water is until I had to schlep it in buckets all day. Salt water weighs (depending on salinity level, of course) about 11lbs. per gallon. With the weight of the stand, the glass tank, lid and lights combined with the water, the aquarium weighs almost 3,000lbs! It was a great deal, but this hobby is putting me in the poor house. Fish are addictive!
My Red Spotted Hawkfish, a.k.a. "Hawkeye," has passed away after a 2-month-long illness. I've heard that hawkfish typically live 7-8 yrs and considering he was about 8 years old, I guess it was his time. I had him in a hospital tank in my kitchen getting antibiotics every other day. Never in my life did I ever think I'd take a fish to the vet, but I did. He was one of the three fish that came with the tank I bought and the woman I bought the tank from had these fish for over 7 years... and I felt more of a responsibility for him since I basically "adopted" her pets as well as purchased her tank. Hawkfish don't have air bladders like other fish, so they don't swim constantly as they require a great deal of energy to stay afloat. They are agile swimmers and will swim to the top of a rock and look down (much like a hawk) and swoop down on their prey. When at rest, they sit on their pectoral fins (it's hard to see in this picture) and perch for lack of a better term. My hawkfish learned to scuttle up the sides of the tank by using his fins as stablizers on each side of the tank as he'd shoot up the corners of the rectangular tank. He was quite a character. He was about 3" long nose to tail. I'd like to get another hawkfish... probably a flame hawk, but I want to get more live rock first.
I'm sad to say that my Saddle Valentini Puffer (canthigaster valentini) (right) has died. He stopped eating on June 18, 2001 and by June 22, he was gone. He may have had a parasite of some kind. Needless to say, this was depressing. Puffers are fascinating fish. This is not a porcupine type puffer as many folks think of when they hear the word "puffer." Some puffers get enormous (up to 18" in the wild), but the Canthigaster genus of puffers don't get beyond 4" in the wild and rarely do they get that big in an aquarium. Puffers are incredibly intelligent for their size. They can communicate with a look and seem to act positively snooty toward the lesser intelligent creatures in the tank. I really miss this little guy. He was a juvenile and about 1.5" long.
My greenbird wrasse is my favorite fish and the only one that I've bothered to truly give a name. He's named after the famous Don Knotts 1964 movie persona, The Incredible Mr. Limpet. As beautiful as he is in the few pictures posted here, you must see one of these magnificent fish in person to appreciate the combination of beauty and humor displayed in this species... they are comical and graceful at the same time. As a matter of fact, some physicists got together and got a Federal grant to study the unique way in which this particular fish is able to propel itself through the water. You can click here to download a PDF file revealing the results of their study.
Some fish are hard to distinguish in regards to gender, but this Hawaiian fish is definitely male due to his color. The females are sometimes white, sometimes brown, depending on their age and genetic background. He has some tiny teeth at the front of his beak which he uses to hold his prey while thrashes them on a rock to knock them silly. He then will let go and let the feeder fish right itself in the water as best as it can. This gives him the opportunity to line up with the fish so he can swallow it in one gulp. He's about 7" long. To me he looks like a cross between a dolphin, a hummingbird and a penguin.
His pectoral fins look like butterfly wings under the proper lighting conditions and he manages to hoover in place much like a humming bird and quickly change to lightning fast speed when in persuit of a guppie or other live food. After his many acrobatic "flights" under the water, he will create a "nest" in the sand by waving his fins in such a manner that the sand is moved into a bowl-like shape and he then rests in the groove. He's recently started resting right in the front of the aquarium where I can watch him instead of hiding behind rocks at the back of the tank. I can only assume that part of this change is due to trust and the other part is he's afraid he'll miss something (namely, food). He enjoys watching me and my dogs as much as we like watching him. He seems fascinated with the dogs and is particularly interested when they stand on their hind legs to examine him and he sees me petting them. He must be wondering, "what in the heck are those bizarre creatures doing?"
more coming soon (or eventually)... >>>