A Weird One

The fish of the post today shall be....

The Pacific Barreleye Fish... See that... That thing's head is literally transparent. Those green things. Those are its eyes. How weird is THAT.
       The eyes are telescoping, though they usually focus upward, sometimes they can look forward, and that transparent dome is kind of like a big, protective glasses lens made up of tissue.
      There are actually a few different kinds of this fish, and some of them have some luminescent organs. One has them along its belly... one of them has one in the form of a glowing rectal pouch. I don't know why. But that makes me laugh so hard. (I know, immature but come on!)

But actually these bioluminescent parts are supposed to be a kind of camouflage when seem from below. It's supposed to break up the fish's form and help it blend in with the light coming from above the surface.
        These fish spend most of their just below where the sun's light would be harmful to their exposed eyes.
        Just another strange and awesome creature the ocean has to offer us.

Tales of Immortality

             So as previously discussed, fish are associated with love, but certain fish are also associated with longevity. More specifically the koi (or nishikigoi).
             There is a lot of symbolism following koi. They're said to bring good fortune and wealth, this is probably because they are hard to keep, and require a lot of care (by way of food mostly) so only wealthier people were able to have them in older days.
             Koi is another fish specifically linked to love and friendship, as the word 'koi' in Japan is a homophone for the word for 'affection' and 'love'.
            Another meaning is strength, perserverance and overcoming adversity. This is because when it comes time to spawn koi travel upriver much like salmon, sometimes miles. There is a legend that if a koi succeeds in climbing a waterfall at a certain point on the Yellow River called the 'Dragon Gate' the koi would become a dragon.
           And the meaning for longevity (I know, I went on a tangent there), that's because the koi is noted as the longest-living vertebrates. Upwards of 200 years in good conditions. It's no wonder they're such a widely known and respected creature.

Now for some info on an even longer living example of fish... well, not quite fish. Jellyfish.

The Turritopsis Nutricula to be exact. A type of jellyfish that is biologically immortal. That's right. And immortal jellyfish. What's its secret, you ask? It's secret is simply the fact that it can revert itself back into its polyp or 'baby' state once it's reached sexual maturity.
       Now isn't that a nifty trick. It's interesting to note that many marine and water type animals have much longer lifespans than most earth bound creatures. Just look at the sea turtle.
      Anyway. Food for thought.

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Fish of the .... well post I guess.

The Clownfish. The hermaphrodite of the marine world.

most people have become more aware of the bright little fish due to Disney's "Finding Nemo" (which I love), so I figured, why not talk about them a bit.
            Clownfish seem to be most known for their bright orange color, and white bands, though some clown fish are actually yellow, or black in color, and some of them don't have as many white bands, depending on the species.
            The other most known fact is that clownfish form a kind of symbiotic relationship with sea anemones. Studies have shown that the mucus coating on the fish is actually what proves to be the biggest buffer against the poison of the anemones, though there is also suggestion that constant contact actually creates a semi immunity. I say semi, because the toxins, without the mucus coating, can still prove lethal to the fish.
           Now for some stuff that maybe you DIDN'T know... because it's pretty cool. Mostly my comment about being the hermaphrodite of the marine world. You see. All clownfish are born male, and later some MAY become female. There's actually a hierarchy to how it works.
           Clownfish will usually live in a group of two or more. The largest, most aggressive clownfish will be the female. The second largest will be the mating male... and all the others will be non mating males, they're pretty much neuters until the time should arise where the female dies. THEN, the mating male will become the NEW female, the larges neuter male, will gain male reproductive organs and become the NEW mating male... and the rest will have to stay neuters until the new female dies.
          Oh man... how can you say fish aren't awesome XD

Fish... and their role in Love

             This post is done by direct request when I mentioned this belief at a get together... because I thought it was funny, anyway.

                      WARNING. THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION MAY NOT BE SUITABLE FOR WORK OR CHILDREN

That being said...

             So, the belief that I mentioned that brought all this about is about a means to get a man to fall in love with a woman. The belief is that if a woman wants a man to fall in love with her, she will 1) get a live fish. 2) put the live fish into her vagina 3) keep it there until it dies 4) cook the fish and finally 5) serve it to the man whom she wishes to fall for her.
I CANNOT MAKE THIS STUFF UP.
            So amongst my friends I had the one that was concerned about killing the fish, and the other wondering why the hell you would put a fish there in the first place.... and me, wondering how this would even become a valid belief in the first place.
              First off I want to know who came up with this idea that this would work. What the heck linked fish to love potions... I mean, I know some seafood is considered an aphrodisiac, but that's usually shell fish. Not fish, fish.
              After some research I found some reasons for the initial idea. I'm sure most of you recognize this symbol here...

     Yes folks, the Jesus fish. Well, the Christian fish I guess, I always wondered what this had to do with Christianity and someone told me it was in honor of the Jesus fish miracle... which I still thought was weird that THAT'S what they focus on, but then I guess a lot of fish was important back then... whatever, I let it be at that BUT I found something else that says that pagans too, once used this symbol.
      This makes sense, I mean, a lot of symbols were used by other religions and adopted left and right... so what? Well, in pagan beliefs, the fish IS a symbol for sexuality and fertility... because the fish drawing up above represents... wait for it... a vagina.... Sometimes I think everyone back in the day were a bunch of prepubescent teens. BUT... I guess if you think about it... it sort of makes sense. I mean... just look at the drawing. really.
       I guess it started because originally the fish was drawn as two overlapping crescent moons... which represented a woman's monthly cycle. So there's that. Then there's some mythologies that associate fish in helping with the birth of either the world, or the goddesses of fertility, depending on which beliefs you look up. So okay... Fish and fertility. Right. That question is solved... leaving my next question.

        How much thought does one actually put into this before doing it. I mean really, you have to think. You have this woman, and she's seriously considering suffocating an animal with herself. Like... that alone requires some thought I guess, but then there's the type of fish. I mean, that's something you'd want to think about. You're not just going to go and shove a Marlin up in there. You've gotta think, size, scales, what the man will actually EAT.... I mean seriously. You don't just want to go out, and use the first thing you catch right.

Look at those spines... um... ouch.

And teeth man. Some fish DO have them... and they hurt. I've been bit by one of these effers before and it's not too pleasant.

I'm thinking maybe one's best bet would be trout or salmon ... but even then

yeah... whatever guy a girl wanted I'd hope he was really worth that kind of effort. I'd say ladies, stick to just simple dinners out...

oh, ps- I have another blog full of distractions I have other than fish... visit here if interested  A Medly of Distractions

Seahorses

I decided I want some...

Unfortunately the world seems to be against me having them at this particular point in time.

See originally I thought, oh, maybe I can get some of those dwarf seahorses. They don't need that big of a tank because they only grow to be about 1 inch. And I can keep a bunch of them. The tank conditions they require aren't really all that difficult to maintain... So what's stopping me?

Well, seahorses don't really have much of a digestive tract... and dwarf seahorses have even less of one. Meaning they need live food at least twice if not three times a day. Live food that I'd have to also maintain and care for daily, which isn't that difficult really, but the problem exists where I can show my mother what food flakes to toss at my fish twice a day in the event I am away... much more difficult showing her how to scoop out live brine shrimp, rinse em, make sure the shells aren't mixed in, and feed them to the seahorses.

Proof, my friends that I DO have a life outside of my fish... the fact that I immediately tossed my dream of having little tiny seahorses so that I can still hang out with my friends.

Look at the adorable dream I have tossed away.

Omg so cute...

Anyway, I did find some other seahorse varieties that I have a chance on getting. they've been raised to accept non live foods. But they can get to about 6" which means I'd need to get myself at least a 20 gallon tank, and I don't have a space for it yet *huge suffering sigh*

So my dream will have to be put off until a later time. BUT ONE DAY WORLD. ONE DAY... Because I think seahorses are amazing, and their tails are too cute for words.

Crooked Tail

       I seem to be having horrible luck with my green glofish, which is disappointing. As of last night I managed to total, 3 green glofish deaths, to one orange glofish death, and 0 (knock on wood) reds.
      The first one I noticed getting sick but unfortunately nothing I did seemed to help him. The second... well he didn't look so good when I first got him, but I was determined to give him a chance... he didn't last the night either. This most recent I have no idea what was wrong. The other day he was seemingly fine, and then last night he was dead. I'm running a dose of medication in the water just in case, but everything, and everyone else seems fine, so it's a mystery.
      Anyway, I got a new fish (because I really don't like my other green being all alone) and put him in the tank... As I was transferring him from the bag, to the transfer box I noticed something weird... He looked normal enough from the side... but looking down from above I noticed something weird.

His tail is very obviously crooked... I don't know why or how. For now it doesn't seem to bother him too much either. He's beating other fish too food, even if he does swim a little weird, he's pretty active.
      I know a lot of people would take him back but... I just can't. Because he's mine now, and like that second fish I'm determined to at least give him a chance. I take him back, he'll probably be euthanized. And he seems okay right now... he's just a little gimpy fish.
      So I'm hoping for the best and getting attached to him because he really is adorable. I'll just have to keep an eye on him and make sure he doesn't have any trouble ^^

Everything is better with a Dojo Loach.

       Why? you may ask... I don't know, it just is. At least according to me.
     What is a dojo loach, you ask. Well, a loach is pretty much a freshwater eel. They're usually longer and snake like. Sometimes they are called weather loaches. This is because they can sense changes in barometric pressure, which usually occurs before a storm, and the loach will sometimes become more active when this happens.
       I've wanted a loach for a while now but never had the tank size to keep one until recently, as a loach can grow up to 10 inches long. They actually thrive in colder temperatures which means I'm going to have to make some adjustments, but only by a few degrees which won't effect my other fish at all (I only have to adjust because I recently raised the temperature for fish medical reasons, so returning it won't be an issue at all).
      Loaches also have a habit of burrowing and digging, so that's another reason I'm glad for the sand substrate, despite the initial pain of setting it up. The dojo loach uses it's barbels (whiskers) to burrow, and scavenge for food as well.
      So, that's some info on loaches, now stuff about MY loach. Whom I've named Gojun because he's all dragon like (chinese dragon like) and looks a lot like Hakuryu, only smaller (eventually bigger... maybe, Hakuryu is kind of a beast.) The characters they're named after, one is the reincarnation of the other, so it's funny to me.

Hakuryu... is still a beast as we can see. But Gojun is adorable and he wiggles when he swims which is the best part ever.
   Eventually I'll get some real pictures up here, and introduce you to my other fish. They're pretty personable.