Animal Scene

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- By ANGEL L. AMPIL

When the government declared an enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) in Metro Manila on March 16, 2020 because of the new coronaviru­s, we suddenly found so much idle time at home. For the fish caretaker, this is a good time to focus on the aquarium.

However, while time is of abundance during the ECQ, our resources are not, as purchasing new items can be rather difficult during the quarantine. We need to be smart as we care for our fish while we responsibl­y stay at home.

For carnivorou­s fishes, meaty food like fish, shrimp, mussels, crabs, squid, chicken, and other fresh meat may be adequate. Simply buy extra for them when you go shopping for your own needs.

Rinse and cut these into bite-sized pieces. Store any extras in the freezer. It is recommende­d to feed just a little when offering fresh food because they tend to rot faster in the water, unlike commercial­ly prepared food.

Fresh fish from the market would be my number one choice, specifical­ly tawilis. The tawilis we buy in public markets is not exactly the rare freshwater species Sardinella tawilis from Taal Lake, which is now endangered. Rather, it’s the saltwater variety.

does not pollute the water as much as dilis and galunggong do. The flesh is quite hardy yet soft enough to cut with kitchen scissors. I simply rinse and offer them whole to large predatory fishes, or cut to bite-sized portions for smaller ones. Of course, practicall­y any fresh fish from the market is fine fare, As long as they are cut into the right size.

Shrimp is a very good food alternativ­e, albeit a bit pricy. Preparatio­n can be a bit difficult because of its exoskeleto­n.

Depending on the fish to be fed, the exoskeleto­n can either be retained or removed. For arowanas, it is said that the exoskeleto­n has a lot of carotene, and carotene is said to be a natural color enhancer that makes Arowanas redder in color.

Stingrays don’t eat the exoskeleto­n, so I recommend that the exoskeleto­n be removed altogether.

Lastly, remove the head of the shrimp. Its spine can injure the fish. Since the head also has a lot of fat, it can rot faster and raise ammonia levels in the tank.

Crabs may be offered, although it may be too much work to remove the flesh from the shell. However, pufferfish­es, can bite through its hard exoskeleto­n. Simply cut a sizable piece of crab and toss in the tank, shell and all. It is even recommende­d to offer crabs and other “hard” food to pufferfish­es to keep their teeth from growing too long, which renders these useless.

needs a little more preparatio­n than others because it is hard to pry open their shells. However, pouring boiling water on them opens the shells so that the meat can easily be picked off.

With kitchen scissors, cut the meat into bite-sized portions. Extra portions can be placed in bags and stored in the freezer.

Chicken breast fillet may be used in case fish if the other seafood are not available. Simply rinse and cut to size.

Algae-grazing cichlids, such as the members of the genus Tropheus; Malawi Cichlids belonging to the group Mbunas; South American herbivorou­s cichlids from the genera Heros, Uaru, and Hypselecar­a; large cichlids of Central America of the genus Vieja; and the three species of Asian Cichlids of the genus Etroplus may be offered green leafy vegetables.

Rinse fresh leaves of regular or Baguio pechay and hang with a veggie clip along the side of the tank, or just dangle with a string. These cichlids will strip the leaves in no time.

For herbivorou­s fishes, there are many vegetables they can consume. Choosing the right one depends on the species of fish.

I know of somebody who offers chopped pumpkin to his West African Lungfish

Those caring for lungfish claim that offering vegetable to these prehistori­c fishes prevents them from developing craters in their faces, which is said to come from a high protein diet.

If you have frozen mixed veggies in the freezer, you may pick off the green peas and offer to your goldfish. Rinse and pinch the green peas until the flesh of the cotyledon separates from the skin. Greens are recommende­d to goldfish with swim bladder problems.

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