My beautiful Thai Girl

Hey ya'll 

First of all let me apologize for two things. Firstly, for any racial stereotyping I might have inadvertently participated in with my flagrant use of a title here and secondly, for the misleading nature of this post's title (I was trying to have some fun... so sue me! *ps. not to be taken literally!) for I was not in fact referring to the beautiful ladies of our neighboring country but rather, the equally beautiful female of the Siamese Fighting Fish (betta splendens). I have been scouring the fish shops for these females for several months now... they can be SO HARD TO FIND!!! I don't know what it is... a few years back they were practically everywhere. In fact fish shop were pretty much giving them away for free, and today I had to pay as much as RM12 for mine!!! That's a rip off if anything, but I'm hoping when she does produce with one of my choice males the color combination of the offspring will be worth it! 

Betta splendens female

I've started the breeding set up by placing them side-by-side in the "Getting to know you" tanks. Expect updates within the next two weeks or so... WISH ME LUCK!!!

Cheers,
Cyren

Appetizers.

Hey ya'll 

I have a low tolerance for things that are unexpected or new. Coming from a family with a genetic history of high blood pressure, hyper tension and a myriad of heart disorders (enough to warrant a doctor, whose generations have treated my family's heart conditions for generations) I try to live a pretty balanced lifestyle, one that is WITHOUT surprises. So you can imagine how my heart just stopped today, when Ray showed up for dinner but instead produced a small little packet in his hand containing within it a turquoise ring, molded in the shape of a very large beetle. There was nothing that could have gone wrong with the gift, considering my utmost adoration for rings, gemstones and insects, but I was somewhat perplexed as my birthday was not for another fortnight or so but I didn't even get the chance to ask for he almost immediately said that "this month, this entire month, is for you... and  this is just the appetizer" Well fancy that! An entire month entirely devoted to me!!! Now that is something I can sink my fangs into with much relish!!!

And speaking of appetizers, today has also been rather special for another reason and that is that we've had a very new arrival to my ever-growing menagerie! Having pretty much overcrowded myself with butterflies and moths over the past few months in particular, I've come to expand my horizon by taking an interest in making observations of other animals as well, particularly invertebrates of other species, and while I've been having much success with other kinds of insects (my mantises) and arachnids, I've also began to grow very fond of aquatic/semi aquatic animals as well which is why on our way home today, we went out and got ourselves one of these fresh-water lobster things. Now I know these animals have gotten popular fairly recently (in fact, the latest "thing" seems to be miniature blue lobsters in medium sized plastic cubes) but to be completely honest, Ray and I have been eyeing them for quite some time already. As such when we decided to take one home today, we pretty much skipped the pet stores and went straight to our favorite Mak Cik's (Aunty) stall and managed to part with one for only RM10, instead of the exorbitant sum of RM40 that is being asked in most pet shops. Indeed I was so taken to finally obtaining one of these creatures that I went straight home afterwards, already thinking about how I might set up its aquarium and begin observing some of it's behavioral patterns and lifestyle. I knew, of course that this would be fairly poor indication of crayfish habits in the wild, but as they do not occur anywhere around here, I supposed that this was the closest I could ever get. 

Meet Marina!!!

There was some initial dispute as to what we should originally name our new pet but we eventually settled on Marina (which is really Ray's idea) after I discovered how to sex lobsters from several "trusty" internet sources. The process is really quite easy and all you have to do really is pick up the lobster and observe the area at the base of it's tail where the last two legs end and swimmerets begin. The upper most swimmeret would be more developed and leg-like with the males, whereas the females' swimmerets are generally broader and somewhat fan like (they will use these to hold their eggs and young while breeding). In fact, the picture above was taken right before I flipped her over in my attempts to discern her gender. Marina, of course, objected fiercely to such an invasion of her privacy and flailed her claws about, even managing to inflict a quick pinch on one of my fingers!!!

I did make a joke, originally, and suggested that we should name her Appetizer (on account of her small size) but Ray countered that he was very likely to fish her out of the tank and cook her if I did such a thing.

Cheers,
Cyren

Long Kang Fish pt. 2

Hey ya'll

I went back to my "fishing hole" this afternoon and discovered to my utmost delight that despite the torrential downpour yesterday evening and this morning that my little aquatic paradise was still intact and that the little Drain, or Long Kang fish, were still in there in large numbers. I came prepared today though, with a small fishing net, and unlike yesterday when I had to sweep my container in the water with the hopes of catching even one fish, today I could squat at the edge and sift through the water at my own pace and to my heart's content. The fish seemed to remember my presence from yesterday though, and many swam away to hide underneath the moss covered rocks other such places but I did manage to learn something new and pleasant; that some of these fishes were not the usual silver-brown, but rather quite colorful! I decided to catch a few to take a closer look! 

The colorful variant of the Drain/Long Kang fish. The patterns varied from one individual to another but many of them had patches of iridescent scales and random spots of colors on them. One even boasted a large black eye-spot that reminded me of nothing as much as the ocelli on satyrid butterflies! 

Long Kang fish fry.

Upon closer inspection of the fish, I started to realize several similarities between them and the fancy guppies I raise at home. The colorful variants namely, were smaller in size than the drably colored ones. Also they had fins which tapered slightly and a rather "sharp" and elongated anal fin. The drab fish, on the other hand were much larger in comparison (almost twice the size of some of the colorful fish) and had shorter fins, but also an anal fin which spread in a half-fan shape. Indeed, it is perhaps no coincidence that these are the traits to distinguish the sex of male and female guppies! It is as such that I might surmise that the drain, or Long Kang fish, are really feral strains of the fanciful guppies one might buy for RM1 at the pet-store! I decided to capture more of the colorful ones to observe them at length at home in my fresh-water tank. 

As you can see, I have put the Long Kang fish in together with my fancy guppies. After my females have all given birth to their current progeny, I intend to try and see if the Long Kang fish and the guppies will breed, as an experiment! I am currently picturing guppies with eye-spots and colorful patches on their bodies. Lovely!

Cheers,
Cyren

Gone Fishing!!!

Hey ya'll

The monsoon winds, which seem to have finally hit us with full force have brought about it constant torrential downpours and the occasional flooding in certain areas. But more than just bad weather and varying levels of inconvenience this may pose to the average Malaysian, they sure have brought with them also an explosion of life. Once bone-dry areas have become filled with water, and as many of these are in fact overspill from a great number of drains, rivers or streams they undoubtedly carry within them an abundance of fresh-water organisms. Indeed I happened to chance upon one such location earlier today. Having left my appointment with Dr. Moore some one hour earlier than expected, I left the office early to take a leisurely stroll down the road leading to the carpark. Presently a darting dragonfly caught my attention and I casually started to follow it. I had no intention to capture the dragonfly as I had not my net on hand but I could see that it was circling what seemed to be a stagnant water source and I was hoping to catch it in the act of egg laying or other such behavior. Upon strolling towards the water-source, however, I discovered to my amusement that it was quite positively brimming with all sorts of minute aquatic creatures.

What was really an abandoned drain had quite literally turned into a self-contained paradise in but the span of a few days! Grass-like moss had begun to grow on the bits of concrete creating the illusion of grassy hills and meadows. Larger strands of water plants with small purple flowers floated languidly on the surface. In between these darted all sorts of fish, some larger than most, but none bigger than my little finger. Indeed, though they could not have been there for more than 3-4 days (the drain was still bone dry when I last passed it last Thursday) it seemed that the aquatic inhabitants had adapted themselves to it quite succesfully. Already many of the fish were spawning and I could see their miniscule babies darting about the grass-like moss, feeding no doubt on the microscopic things that dwelt within. Why I was abuzz with excitement at finding the latter that I almost completely forgot the dragonfly. Fetching the plastic container I now carry everywhere I go, I scooped up some of the water (which was as clear as freshly filtered tap water, by the way) and with it, three of the small baby fish (the larger ones were too nimble to catch without the aid of a net!) I surmised that the fish and other inhabitants of this particular self-contained ecosystem must have been inadvertantly washed into their current location by the storm that occured several days past.



Three of the little "Drain fish" I managed to catch. There were some rather colorful looking fish swimming in the mix and I wonder if any of these would grow up to be one of those! I wonder if they can inter-breed succesfully with any of my guppies!

On a separate note, I also allowed myself to indulge in a different kind of "fishing" later in the day. Turns out that a sort of small carnival of sorts was taking place at the Sunway University and one of the games they had was the traditional Japanese one of catching a fish with a net made out of tissue paper. I believe the trick with such games is to exercise the right ammount of precision and delicacy to catch live goldfish and baby carp without rupturing the delicate piece of tissue paper that is strung between the wire frame of a net.

The more conventional fun-fair fishing pond with hundreds of small golfdfish and baby carp.

Though Ray would not consent to catching "Drain fish" with me, he was more than agreeable at trying his hand with these fun-fair fish.

I exercised some delicate and precision fishing myself and ended up catching three small sized carp! No doubt one of the highest catch rates of the day because many people tried at the same time and failed to catch even one. The trick, of course, was to allow the disturbances of their frantically waving tissue-nets to scare the fishes over into my quadrant where they could be scooped up most delicately as they casually swam on top of my own film of tissue paper. Ray also caught one fish himself, and this was despite the fact that his tissue net had a hole in it!!!

Our prized catches of the day! Two of the carp are really deformed if you look at them carefully (they have crooked spines) and I think this is possibly due to the effect of in-breeding as many of these fish have been bred so many times over.

 I ended up putting the baby carp in together with my little "drain fish" because the plastic bags offered by the people at the fair seemed insufficient for the fish but it turned out to be quite a mistake as one of the more rambunctious of the carps belatedly made a meal out of the smallest drain fish I had caught. Oh well, if it doesn't rain today, I can always go back and catch more of them tomorrow!!!

 Cheers,
Cyren

Guppies and Goodbyes

Hey ya'll 

It has come to that time of the year again. The time when everyone starts packing up and going off on their own separate ways. Such a blurry of movement is recorded on my Facebook page that at times I no longer remember who is coming or going.. and where! Indeed the metaphorical chaos that ensues reminds me of nothing more than the bird sanctuary after peak bird-watching season, and all the beautiful avians that had come from all around the world to mingle, and breed and raise their voices in sibilant cries and caws have all but taken wing and left for foreign shores. True enough, many will return the following year but right now... things seem pretty quiet at this sanctuary and I can't help but wonder if I had not appreciated as many of those birds as much as I should have... oh well. I suppose there's nothing left but to wish them all a safe journey and a hearty farewell!!! To all my darling birds~

Mei Li the Swan
Crystal the Sparrow
Jern the Owl
Naz the Warbler
Lindley the Nightingale

and of course last but not least...

Kaylex the Penguin (although, Penguins aren't really the sort of migratory bird that would end up in a bird sanctuary... but I know how fond you are of those things... also I might have said "Duck" if not for the negative association associated with the term in Chinese)

I wish nothing but the best for all of you!!! If it is meant to be, may this not be goodbye for good, but goodbye for now! Now go, spread your wings and fly!!! 

Meanwhile, in other less depressing news... we set up a tank today! In my room, on my working table next to the laptop where I do most of my work. We figured that the fishes swimming around may alleviate me from my periodic moments of anxiety!!! So far, so good. I love decorating small contained things!!!

Also I think one of the fish might be pregnant... YAY, babies!!! I love babies!!!

Cheers,
Cyren

My Manic Menagerie

Hey ya'll

three posts in one day! That must be a record of some sort!!! Anyway, following my completion of My Family, and Other Animals, by Gerald Durrel, I decided to make a headcount of all the pets I've ever had. Of course, I use the term 'pet' here rather loosely as it also refers to the various other animals I've taken care of for varying periods of time (my butterflies, for example) and then released into the wild. Because I'm guessing there's going to be a lot of them... I shall make it as brief as possible.

1. Dogs

Blossom and Buffy, my two shih-tzus have been the two animals who have been with our family the longest. Although it's been some nine years since they came into our lives, I still remember how we had decided - quite randomly - in my opinion to one day adopt a dog into our household. Of course, the moment between deciding to have one, and actually getting one took some time (we wanted to make sure we got the right dog) but eventually settled on a shih-tzu. Supposedly for easy maintenance. Boy were we wrong. Either way, Blossom and Buffy, for all their attitude and flaws have been amazing additions to the family and can diffuse any tense situation with their antics (unless they're the cause of the situation in the first place)

2. Rodents

Our house has seen quite a large number of its fair share of rodents during its time. And no, we did not have an infestation or a problem, we just had a little boy (namely me) who cannot resist adopting any creature he's come across. From the first pair of white mice Terri got me for my birthday (luxuriously named Chanel and Dior by her), to the ones I 'rescued' from being dissected at science labs, and finally, my darling single-mother of a mouse, Dandelion who gave birth to up to thirteen young, all of which survived to adulthood, mice have been welcome additions in this house and instead of trapping them with cages or cruel glue-lined papers, we have come to see these rodents in new perspective and light.

But the favorite rodent in this household, was arguably the only hamster we ever got. Strawberry, the female, Syrian hamster that was given to me by Robyn and Nigel when Dandelion finally succumbed of old age. Strawberry - unlike most hamsters - has always had a very sweet temperament and would never bite a person - not even a stranger. In fact, she loved humans so much, she would be content by simply curling up in one of the family's laps for her afternoon siestas. Throughout the three years of her life, Strawberry never ceased to entertain and amaze us. From learning to pick the locks to her cage, to performing simple tricks for our (and presumably her) amusement, she must be one of the most intelligent hamsters I've ever seen. In fact, her presence was so cherished that, when she at last left us, we made a small monument out of tiles and wax in the front garden to bury her. We sometimes bring flowers to that spot till this very day.

3. Turtles

Turtles have been very much loved in our household on account of their 'good luck'. We currently still have three of them, the tiny one, Shelldon (who is currently living quite happily at Ray's) and the other two colossal giants from a forgotten point of memory in my childhood. 

4.Fish

Fish have always been a particular favorite of my father and so, we have had quite a history of fish living with us. From my earliest memory of possessing a common siamese fighting fish (betta splendens) to our large tropical fish tank of angel fish and discuss, to the outdoor pond of goldfish and guppies, we have always enjoyed the serenity and calm watching fish swim around seem to invoke on some of those lazier days. Of course fish, being fish, don't live very long, but it has always been that when they die - indeed if they do not have offspring to replace them - that they would be almost instantaneously replaced by a quick trip to our local pet store.

5. Birds

As I may have already stated elsewhere here, birds have always been a particular favorite of mine. Generally, I admire birds for their beauty, their ability to create complex vocal sounds (singing, in some people's terms) and not to mention their beautiful feathers and their capacity for flight. Unsurprisingly, therefore, I have kept many different species of birds from the point of my childhood till I grew up. Some of the earlier species of birds I kept were common fowl. Jungle chickens and pheasant chicks and the like, until I eventually moved on to rescuing baby birds in nests which were abandoned by their parents, or upset during a storm. I recall in particular, the chick of a yellow vented bulbul which we raised quite succesfully. All these birds, however, were released into the wild upon recovery and although I would love to play the romantic and say they have constantly frequented my garden, I never saw many of them again since. Things took a change though, some few years ago when our garden saw its first budgie visitor, an injured bird we subsequently named Tweety (mostly because of his incessant vocalizations) but I've already talked about that and you can read more about him and his family here, and here, and here. (or simply go to the homepage, and click the link "birds" on the sidebar whereby you will be presented with every single ornithological related post I've ever written here) At any rate the result is that we have a pretty large outdoor aviary at the side of the house now which - I hope - will soon house a beautiful white Java Dove I have named Snow White. 

6. Frogs and Toads and other amphibians

Aaaah, the lovely amphibians with their interesting life-cycles. Unbeknowst to most of you, Trevor was not my first - and most certainly won't be my last - amphibians. Since I was a boy growing up, I've always had a soft spot for amphibians (and almost everything else that crawls, creeps, jumps or flies!!! But I digress) and some of my earliest memories in school was of me crawling in mud-filled ditches, scooping up their tadpoles by the palmful to be kept in plastic tanks to adulthood whereby they would be released in my garden with hopes that they would someday reproduce in our pond. Nothing came of it, though, and I never did see a single tadpole. Some species which I'd previously kept include the African clawed frog, and a pair of lovely fire-bellied newts which I had rescued from a rather forlorn looking establishment. I was, by all accounts, extremely fascinated by their life-cycles which reminded me greatly of the metamorphosis of butterflies as well

7. Insects and Other Invertabrates

Which brings us to the height of my passion. The magnificent insects! Growing up, I've had a very mixed relationship with the world of insecta. But despite my ill-feelings towards certain species (grasshoppers and cockroaches being the top two), insects under the order of lepidoptera, the butterflies and moths, have always capture my fascination and wonder and thus hold an extremely special place in my heart. This blog, is perhaps the biggest testament to that and you only need scroll through my posts to see why it is so. I do breed butterflies still, and raise them, but while some individuals are kept within a netted enclosure on the outside of the house, most are released so that they may return to populate the wild. 

Praying mantids are another breed of insects I like. Mostly because of their fascinating mannerisms, their (sometimes) brilliant coloration and their infamous reputation, they are perfect specimens that I use in my bid to educate people on the fascination, usefulness and integral roles insects play in our lives and ecosystems. Being mostly tame - except when she's hungry or angry! - my latest mantis, an impressive female specimen by the name of Artemis, basically sat in a cage on my office table to this effect until quite recently where she's recuperating after producing me a particularly splendid Ootheca.

Also, who could forget Hector, the walking-leaf insect (phyllium bioculatum) that was so difficult for me to procure. to read more, click here.

I've also raised a wide assortment of land-hermit crabs of various names which I can't quite recall now... 

And of course, who could forget the scorpion... Sting. Which caused quite a stir when he first appeared.

And though I must admit that all these animals were had in different points in time of my life, we are able to identify at least 8 different main groups here (not to mention the various individual species under each category I've raised) which really leads me to wonder, should I really counter people with a cutting remark, the next time they make the obvious comment "Cyren!!! You've got a ZOO there!" or not? Either way all these animals have brought me many good experiences, yes, and it was an extreme charm and challenge to raise them all... but for warning's sake, I must confess that raising animals can be quite a chore. It is an incredible responsibility to take upon oneself... placing another creature's life in the palm of one's hands (literally!) and I definitely would not recommend it to anyone on a whim. And really, at my high point, I barely had any time for a social life - what with the ammount of cages that needed cleaning, mouths that needed feeding, growths that needed charting and the like... which is all fine and good for an animal enthusiast like myself. But I daresay it is not for anyone. And now, before I go, truly, and leave you for your amazing weekend and Hari Raya celebrations, it seems I have managed to forget one last animal that is dependant on my love and care.

9. Human Being

Teeehee!!! Just joking!!! 

Selamat Hari Raya and Happy Holidays ya'll! 

Swimming with the Fishes

Hey ya'll

A couple of things I realised with Ray's absence these past few days... the first is how I've reverted back to my lifestyle from before I knew him - that is to say clock in the office in the morning, clock out in the evening, straight back home to a life of downloaded Futurama and facebooking to the wee hours of the morning - and how much that lifestyle sucks... and the second thing is how although I may be able to live without him, I'm no longer sure how to function anymore. I guess there IS a part of me that really needs to be told to do things... like to pick up after myself, wash my hands right after I've eaten... to take my medicine (which I keep forgetting to do!)... just routine things like that which make so much difference in one's life and if Ray is reading this right now I want you to know that I NEED YOU HOME NOW!!! Anyway... what better way to cope with things than to reminisce about our first vacation together!!! All in all pretty amazing, especially since we both invested in an underwater lomography camera to take photos under the waves...but unfortunately one of the film rolls turned out blank (possibly due to a faulty camera) so I've only got the pictures from the first roll... which you will soon see here.

That's us on the beach. We rented only one snorkeling gear the first day so Ray and I had to take it in turns to go.

And this is me... helping him put it on...

..and him, taking it off!!!

and attempting to swim without them... he got a lot of saltwater in his nose, I'm afraid... but enough with the people shots already I suppose. I mean we did get an UNDERWATER camera after all... so here are some classic "underwater poses"

That's me... looking like a total cross-eyed retard under the surf

And Ray...who manages to look more cool somehow ... boo him :P

I don't know if he's photogenic or if I'm the good photographer... but in any case, photographs always seem to come out nicer when he's in them....

Compare, for example... with my ungainly attempts at mimicking a mermaid... rather, a merman ~ Speaking of mermen... now check out some of the photographed denizens of the deep...

Schools of what looks like "Ikan bilis"

Really aggressive black and white fish that will come bite you when you least expect it...

Giant clams!!!!

Coral bed...

...and MORE coral bed, some of which are poisonous and extremely painful when accidentally stepped on... I think the trick is to lay flat on your belly and let the ocean keep you afloat... the reef stays undamaged and one's feet stay unpunctured!!!

Unfortunately the pictures from the second day (overall more sunny so the pics would've turned out beautifully) featuring parrotfish, swordfish, clownfish and more of Ray and I didn't turn out... possibly because of a fault in the camera... but oh well... this already IS the longest picture post I've done... EVER!!! Anyway these pictures are as much for your viewing pleasure as they are for the rest of the group who've yet to see them... and before I start to sound like an old lady regaling her vacation, showing slides of them to people she hardly knows, I shall finish by stating that it was on the second day that I began to fall deathly ill. What started out as nausea and vomiting soon escalated to a fever beyond epic proportions, muscle spasms, convulsions, and limb paralysis. Whether a spider bite or something poisonous I contracted from the ocean, we will never know. The lesson though is to be careful I suppose when doing these things. People still joke that I nearly pulled a Steve Irwin on them... but in all humor I will like to thank the people we went with, specifically Caryn, Alhamdu, and of course my darling Ray for nursing me back to health. Only God knows where I'd be if it weren't for you guys carrying me (literally!) off to the 24 hour clinic at 3am in the morning!

DOMO ARIGATO!!!!

And finally (I promise, this is the last!!!) before I go... because I failed so much as a merman underwater...

I think I perform so much better on land :P

The Fighting Fish

Hey guys!

Fighting fish are one of my favourite fishes to keep. For one they are extremely hardy which means that they don't die easily (an unfortunate trait common to most other fish) and for another thing, you don't really have to feed them much either so if I happen to "forget" to feed Mr. Rainbow or Mr. Sheffield for a couple of days they'll still be fine! My theory is they subsist on mosquitoes and other insects that sometimes fall into their cups.... but I digress.


Fighting Fish



Fighting fish


Anyway the above two pictures are a pair of Malaysian fighting fish as you might find them in the wild. In the wild fighting fish are native to the paddy fields of Malaysia and Thailand, and unlike the long finned iridescent variety you might commonly see in fishbowls in pet stores, they tend to be dull and brown in colour. Meanwhile, decades and decades of selective breeding have produced some of the most beautiful varities of fighting fish there are!

my own Mr. Rainbow during water changing. Don't worry he's NOT DEAD!

Fighting fish make the most interesting pets to breed as well. For most parts of the year they are terribly aggressive to other fishes of their own species and will attack and even KILL their mates but when they are in heat  suddenly it all changes! The males build delicate bubble nests on the surface of the water and for a brief period they will permit females to enter their territory to mate with them. After then though, the females are chased away because this species is big on single parents and it is the father's job to guard the babies in his bubble nest.

But you know what the best thing is? Its that they're highly responsive and alert! You know most people think that fish make dull pets but you know I just find it so adorable when I scratch my finger on the top of Mr. Sheffield's CD Container tank and he responds to it like there's no tomorrow! All in all definitely a pet I would recommend getting to teach a kid responsibility. They're so hardy I've had both of mine on my study table for more than a year now and they've lived through both bloat and fin rot without any medicine at all! One change of water and all was good. Anyway, big day tomorrow so~ ttfn TATA FOR NOW

Oh, and

GONG HEI FATT CHOYY

Oh Mr. Sheffield!

Hey guys!

I'm not sure if I have done this, but please let me introduce you to my fish, Mr. Sheffield!

For those of you who do not know this, Mr. Sheffield is a Fighting Fish and, in Malaysia, these fish are actually pretty common and can be found sometimes in drains and paddy fields. But Mr. Sheffield did not come from any drain or paddy field, he was bred in captivity and eventually found his way to a pet shop where I bought him for RM10. I have reason to believe that Mr. Sheffield is getting horny though. Yesterday morning I saw him blowing bubbles. One at a time. When I checked on him later today this is what I found

The bubbles are actually a sort of nest that Mr. Sheffield's species uses to store their babies. In the world of fighting fishes it is the ferocious fathers that make good parents. The females, which leave after laying their eggs, play no part in the growth of her offspring. Instead it is the male fish which carefully picks up the eggs and stores it within the bubbles until they are ready to hatch. What do you guys think? Should I get Mr. Sheffield a Miss Fine?

Should I get Mr. Sheffield a Miss Fine?