When we moved back to Malaysia, it wasn’t long before dad set up an aquarium teaming with colourful tropical fish. The book that really fascinated me was an encyclopedia my dad bought to assist in his fish-keeping. I was too young to understand the science and nomenclature and instead browsed the pages and marveled at all the colourful photographs and illustrations of fishes. The book is now outdated as taxonomy classification changes, new species and new improved methods of fish-keeping are being discovered. Nevertheless, this book has become my bible for fish-keeping and I still read it now and then despite vast amounts of information now being available at the click of a mouse.
It wasn’t until I was in college that I ventured into tropical fishkeeping on my own. I started with guppies and then acquired a pair of balloon rams and later a pair of brichardi cichlids. They thrived and bred even in what I consider “hill-billy” setups. Later on, I got more adventurous and went into the hobby of marine fishkeeping after the release of Pixar’s Finding Nemo. My pride was a 30 gallon full-blown reef with fish and invertebrates using only a live rock and deep-sand-bed system of filtration. The stars of the display were a pair of ocellaris clownfish, a dwarf hawkfish, a sixline wrasse and a Rolland’s damselfish. The motley crew of invertebrates included coral-banded shrimp, cleaner shrimp, electric-blue hermit crabs, money cowrie, turbo snails and a crocea clam. For corals, I had mushroom corals, plate coral, xenia, leather coral, hammer coral, zooanthids and brain coral.
That was 6 years ago. Now I am back again, and this time with Betta! Of all the fish that fascinated me, the Betta has captured my attention with its spectrum of colours, flamboyant finnage, edgy attitude and ease of care. Betta are undemanding in nature, and I had several as a kid. Back then. I hadn’t heard of the fancy Crowntails, Double-Tails and Half-Moons yet. It was the old faithful Veil-Tail that was featured in my favourite fish book and which were widely available. The very last Betta in my house died from being overfed by grandma when we were on holiday in 2002. Grandma tends to overfeed all under her care, including both my brother and I, although I don’t show it physically.
