My Longkang

I received a query from cheeky bear on care of red parrots.

Red parrots are not cheap. However they are not expensive either. In purchasing red parrots, make sure the fish is not deformed and the color is red. Never mind if the size is small. It will soon grow. A small fish is cheaper than a big fish.

Many people buy in sets of nine. An auspicious figure some say for fengshui. Basically the aquarium must be big enough for the fish. The water is everything.

Get a good water filter. When changing water, do not change more than 40% of the water at a time. If it is the first time, let the water settle for a few days first before releasing the fish into the aquarium. The longer the better. Let the filter be on even though there is no fish.

For me, after the habitat had stabilized I added water plants. The red parrots love to nibble on the leaves. However some discourage me from doing this. It dirties the aquarium.

I rear one scavenger fish in the aquarium. It is like the maid. It keeps the aquarium clean.

Ask the dealer to recommend you a good brand of fish feed. They all look the same but the prices are different. Pay a little more for the better ones. It keeps the water clean and the fish will thrive.

My red Taiwan parrot fish fish are very happy. Except for the episode where green algae grew out of control ages ago, every thing is going on smoothly. The fish are now in a world of their own. It costs less than 10 sen a day to feed them. As for electricity, I don’t think it costs much either. ( Just showing off here hehe )

They swim in and out of the holes in between the bricks as if it is a game and claim certain niches as their own personal territory. They are no longer afraid of me and get ready when I approach because I assume they associate me with fish feed.

I get much pleasure from feeding and taking care of them. The thing that puzzles me is why some of the fish seem to be losing their red color.

On odd occasions when I have to clean the glass, they even bite me. A friend told me I should release them into the wild. I told him I would consider but that was just a diplomatic answer. They will have little chances of survival in the wild. The streams and rivers are not exactly pure and free from pollution. Who is there to say they will be more happy to be free anyway?

On a more personal front, my home is a mess. Benghui is doing last minute mugging for his school exams and his books, reference books and exercise books are everywhere. The tv is off and of course “The Olympics 2008 is off limits,” Mrs BB has declared.

He was studying when the electricity went off last night. Precious time when he should be studying. He was getting very worried. He prayed and of course the supply came back. There is no way the state governmen would let such a major shutdown to continue longer than it should.

Sometimes at odd moments I wonder if I have made the right decision to enrol him in a Chinese medium school where he has to work so much harder taking our family factors into consideration.

But I hope one day he will thank me for it. Having an extra language is always an advantage.

Talking of parrots, here is another parrot story. A little in poor taste but it was all I could google

To relax and calm your mind and rest your eyes, click on the video. Watching them works wonders on me. Draws me into their world.
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