The Fish that started it all. (April 2014)
I would like to share a story, the beginning of my fish keeping hobby that eventually got stuck with me from childhood till today. This is about a fish that had been hiding away from me for the past 30 odd years. This was the fish that inspired it all.
When I was around 9 yrs old, my dad took us for a holiday trip to Singapore, we visited the Singapore Aquarium if I remember correctly. And in one of the tank on display I could not help but was instantly mesmerized by the blue fish, the body of the fish is painted in shocking blue color. I remembered clearly written on the side Toman - Channa Micropeltes because this was the first time I was introduced to the scientific names of fishes.
After returning from the trip my crave for snakehead developed, I got a few snakeheads but never in blue. I asked around but nobody had ever seen or even heard of the blue Toman. I bought micros from fish shop and grow them till adult and to my disappointment they did not turn blueYears later when I started working, I can't stop thinking of that blue fish I saw when I was a little boy. Whenever I travel, I would try my best to drop by to local fish store just to peep if I will ever see that blue fish again. Lost was my hope to ever find that blue fish and I have concluded in my search that the blue toman was a freak of nature on just that particular fish and that is why it is displayed in the Singapore Aquarium.
This few years I was searching on the internet and tried to find the Blue Toman again, the Toman is known as the Giant Snakehead (Channa Micropeltes). I stumble upon a subspecies of the micropeltes, Channa Diplogramma found only in the southwestern region of India. When I google the image of the adult fish, I froze at my seat, damn it, that was the blue fish I've seen!!! I was searching at the wrong region all along.
I began my search again, this time to acquire the fish in my collection. I studied the fish and I plan my next tank. I built the new tank to house the fish and waited patiently. I've spread the words to all known friends that this fish is highly wanted. And yesterday I finally got the fish home, the fish that had started my craze as an aquarist.
Last night I sat there in front of my tank staring at the young fish, I was again transform to that little boy 30 years ago and I was eye to eye staring at the blue fish. I told this story to my wife, this is the fish that had started it all, and this is the elusive creature that had stayed hidden from me for the passed 30 years....it was a dream fulfilled.
Malabar Snakehead (Channa Diplogramma)Channa Diplogramma was only officially a species of its own in year 2011, all the while it had been known as the sp malabar. Once in a blue moon it was brought into Malaysia but with the high price tag it was a flopped.
I would like to share a story, the beginning of my fish keeping hobby that eventually got stuck with me from childhood till today. This is about a fish that had been hiding away from me for the past 30 odd years. This was the fish that inspired it all.
When I was around 9 yrs old, my dad took us for a holiday trip to Singapore, we visited the Singapore Aquarium if I remember correctly. And in one of the tank on display I could not help but was instantly mesmerized by the blue fish, the body of the fish is painted in shocking blue color. I remembered clearly written on the side Toman - Channa Micropeltes because this was the first time I was introduced to the scientific names of fishes.
After returning from the trip my crave for snakehead developed, I got a few snakeheads but never in blue. I asked around but nobody had ever seen or even heard of the blue Toman. I bought micros from fish shop and grow them till adult and to my disappointment they did not turn blueYears later when I started working, I can't stop thinking of that blue fish I saw when I was a little boy. Whenever I travel, I would try my best to drop by to local fish store just to peep if I will ever see that blue fish again. Lost was my hope to ever find that blue fish and I have concluded in my search that the blue toman was a freak of nature on just that particular fish and that is why it is displayed in the Singapore Aquarium.
This few years I was searching on the internet and tried to find the Blue Toman again, the Toman is known as the Giant Snakehead (Channa Micropeltes). I stumble upon a subspecies of the micropeltes, Channa Diplogramma found only in the southwestern region of India. When I google the image of the adult fish, I froze at my seat, damn it, that was the blue fish I've seen!!! I was searching at the wrong region all along.
I began my search again, this time to acquire the fish in my collection. I studied the fish and I plan my next tank. I built the new tank to house the fish and waited patiently. I've spread the words to all known friends that this fish is highly wanted. And yesterday I finally got the fish home, the fish that had started my craze as an aquarist.
Last night I sat there in front of my tank staring at the young fish, I was again transform to that little boy 30 years ago and I was eye to eye staring at the blue fish. I told this story to my wife, this is the fish that had started it all, and this is the elusive creature that had stayed hidden from me for the passed 30 years....it was a dream fulfilled.
Malabar Snakehead (Channa Diplogramma)Channa Diplogramma was only officially a species of its own in year 2011, all the while it had been known as the sp malabar. Once in a blue moon it was brought into Malaysia but with the high price tag it was a flopped.
I have one not hard to find 😛
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