Pets

In the good old days, people reared chickens and ducks to trade or for food. People were poor and they can't even feed themselves sufficiently let alone keep pets. Dogs were kept to keep strangers and pests like snakes away but as society gets more affluent, keeping pets became fashionable. Very often, pets got abandoned needlessly as owners got tired of them. Makes me wonder how many are really animal lovers. I know those who loves animals because they taste good.

I have my experience with dogs but when they got given away or died, you will feel sad and forlorn. Yet there are others out there who swear by their feline partners - cats. They think cats got more character and are more intelligent. They feel that dogs are well, just loyal while cats need you to earn their respect. Then there are those who love birds, like golfers.

Rearing fish is another great fascination. Their species are just mind boggling. I mean you don't keep many species of cats and dogs but you can have many types of fish in an aquarium. I recommend that you take a walk along Serangoon North at The Pet Walk at least.

You will get to see all kinds of birds.

Canaries, parakeets, cockatoos,

There is an open space where you can see birds getting their shower from the pet shop owners.

Any bigger birds that you can see than this has to be Big Bird from Sesame Street.

I like this shop in particular - Pet Mart. Clean, neat and the owner is knowledgeable. More on this another time if I wish to feature it more prominently.

My interest was ignited when I bought my first fish and reliving my childhood. A Betta or commonly known as fighting fish. They are also known as Siamese fighting fish as they originated from the padi fields of Siam. Their fight can be gruesome but fighting fish is banned from fighting in Singapore today. I mean people are banned from fighting the fish. Why then do they still have boxing or other forms of fighting among men and women? Forget about those long fins and long tailed cousins which can also fight but they'll be no match for this one here. I chose this for its strong body, big and dark head and its shorter fins and tail. This one is a fighter. When they see one another they will "kombang" meaning it will flare its tail and fin, tilt its body in a stance and open its gills ready for a good fight just like Bruce Lee. It could be my first king but I will never know now.

The smaller and skinnier version or Betta below.

There are some vets nearby and I see a lost and found corner for dogs.

Royal Pleco, a sucker fish. Pleco are very well behaved, quiet and go about it own life. It can grow till quite big.

Oscars were once one of the most popular fishes. They are quite aggressive and can feed on smaller fishes. Once, there were some folks who kept Piranhas until it became a banned fish.

A pet shop owner who lets his bird hang around him or walk around.

Guppies are colourful and dainty and preferred by girls.

Our guppies gave birth to a school of fry. It is a good sign when flowers bloom in your home, fish reproduced or birds lay eggs.

But guppies reproduce incessantly. If only Singaporeans are like guppies. If only I can find a way to help the government I'll be receiving a National Day award.

So we decided to go for bigger things and move onto Qian Hu at Sungei Tenggah. That's when my car got hit by the driver behind as the lane merged and he/she escaped by turning away while I was going straight.

I was a little infuriated because until then I was having a perfect record of not being hit for such a long time and this fellow tainted that record. I didn't even have a chance to note the licence plate.

I put this down on record. I forgive that person. All that was needed was an apology. The driver never gave himself or herself a chance.

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We continued as I wasn't bothered nor should we allow it to spoil the fun. First look at Gourami.

Neon Tetra or Cardinal Tetra. Very nice in a tank with their neon colours and watching them darting around.

Like the Arowana, Koi are like a rich man's fish.

They are supposed to bring longevity and prosperity.

Archer fish can spit water at its prey, like a spider. Maybe it can also spit at you while you are reading the newspapers.

What you see here below is the Red Tail catfish. It can really grow to a huge size.

The Pacu, a cousin of the Piranha can be big too. While we were rearing Red Swordtail, Guppy, Tiger Barb or Gourami, today's people are really going for "Monster Fish".

What are Monster Fish? They are fishes that are big, are either aggressive, predatory or both. More on that another time. You need a huge tank to keep them. A huge tank requires good filters that have the right capacity to clean like those below.

It can set you back by a few hundred bucks. A "Eheim" comes highly recommended. When I heard that I went "Ahem! what did you say?"

Getting a good tank with the right size and at a really good price requires lots of patience and quite a few trips. You will probably need to be at the right place at the right time. These are not cheap toys and if you can get one at a hefty discount, you should be content.

This can probably hold four huge fish.

Monster fish? Aargh!!

Bring your little ones to try their hands at "longkang fishing". We have to resort to man made drains when during my time this was all natural.

While the children will love it, they will tire out after awhile and you will see the parents getting to work. Fret not if you haven't caught enough. They will add more for you to take home but these fish are so stressed they will soon die one by one. Who wouldn't? If you are at work and you have 10 people chasing you all over with a net, we will soon die too - from stress!