Category: Pets

Goldfish/Pond Fish

Goldfish, photo by PH Morton

Goldfish, Photo by PH Morton

Goldfish/Pond Fish

We have kept goldfish in our garden pond since 2006.  I remember digging a hole for the pond during a rather fraught England game during the World Cup 2006.  I must say because of that game we were able to build a pond in just a few hours.  🙂

It was so exciting filling up the pond, watching the flow of water into a thick  black plastic liner.  We were novice about keeping a pond so without much thought, we released a lone red goldfish my son had in an aquarium.

My son then said ‘you might just had killed that goldfish.  You are to wait at least three days for the water to settle and then introduce the fish slowly to acclimatise to the temperature.”

Thank goodness, the fish survived.  He is resilient!

Goldfish is a freshwater fish, they are easy to keep, as we have discovered, therefore, the most popular fish for ponds and aquariums.

There is a myth that goldfish have only a 3-second memory but this is not true.   Our goldfish in our pond know about feeding time.  They have also been a victim of a starving heron, which ate more than half of their numbers.  This so traumatised those who were left behind (including us) that they would not willingly come up with the water surface anymore.  We had to put netting near the surface of the pond and this seemed to have reassured the remaining goldfish.

Apparently a study was done by the School of Psychology in the  University of Plymouth.  It was found that goldfish have at least 3 months worth of memory.  They can recognise sound, colours, and shapes.


Superstitions

  • Did you know?  Dreaming of fish swimming in clear water foretells wealth and power in the offing.

Rise of Parakeets

Parakeet in Childshill, London, photo by PH Morton

Rise of Parakeets

More and more wild parakeets are seen freely flying and nesting all around London.  I first saw parakeets on top of a tree at Hyde Park four years ago.  I thought they were not really a natural bird for cold UK.

As much as they are so lovely to look at, there are some negative implications to our local birds.

When Bert Met Bubbles

Bert & Bubbles, iphone photo by JMorton

Bert & Bubbles, iphone photo by JMorton

Bert & Bubbles, iphone photo by JMorton

Bert & Bubbles, iphone photo by JMorton

Our pet budgie, Bert, has been alone in his cage for a couple of years now.  Though he is very friendly with our dog, Diesel, we thought it was about time to get him a companion of his own kind, and so we did today.

Stacey, our daughter-in-law, found a pet shop, that sells budgies.  The shop was the Jumanji pet shop, which is located at the Kilburn High Street, just by Lloyds Bank, next to Iceland supermarket.

At the back of the shop, is where the animals are.  There were rabbits, guinea pigs, mice and even rats (ugh)  And there were lots of birds.  There was a pair of lavender-coloured love birds, which only had eyes for each other. 🙂

Luckily they have budgies and we had to look for a female one, apparently as we have a male already, he would need a female companion.  Another male would mean cage war.  🙁

Bert did have a female companion when we got him, but sadly Lolly died.  She hurt her wing while trying to fly and never really recovered.

The female budgie we got today which costs £28 was a beautiful blue one.  Bert, thought so too.  As soon as he saw, Bubbles (named after Nathan’s bubble gum), Bert had not stopped preening. In fact, he looked so much better, his plumage is much  brighter, emerald green.  He is so attentive to the new bird.  He was ‘kissing’ her all the time.

The shop assistant at the Jumanji pet shop, advised to return Bubbles within the next 7 days, if she doesn’t get on with Bert.

Fingers crossed, it seems they are getting along just fine.

Jumanji Pet Shop was very clean and all the animals are well looked after.  They had food and water.  A trusted commercial establishment for pets.

Man’s Best Friend

Diesel

Man’s Best Friend

jean & diesel

Did you know?

According to findings, dog owners are fitter and less prone to depression compared to those who do not have a canine pet.

This is rather bizarre but studies also show that just by looking at photos of cute puppies can increase your productivity at work.

Not only that owning a puppy/dog can enhance your social life too.  I remember a friend who used to ‘borrow’ our cute yorkshire terrier so he can walk her in the park.  Apparently our little yokie was a babe magnet. 🙂