Some Reminiscences of  How Large Aquarium Fish Arrived in Our Hobby

by Gerry Hawksby of England
Aquarticles

When I started keeping tropical fish the choice of varieties was very limited, with only 22 species being regularly listed by the few dealers to be found in my locality; none of which, I hasten to add, were specialists in the hobby. They were purely stockists of accessories and domestic pets such as birds, puppies, kittens, guinea pigs, mice etc., who added another string to their bow by including two or three tanks to their establishment as this new aspect of pet keeping became available.

Whilst I readily admit many more species had by this time been identified and classified, none of them were being imported into the U.K. as greater priorities were understandably placed on the importation of essentials as the country began returning to some sort of normality following cessation of hostilities after the 1939-45 War. Thus the aquarists were oblivious to the existence of the larger growing species and therefore all accessories were geared up to the keeping of smaller species. Hence our only chance of seeing some of their larger cousins necessitated a visit to a public aquarium.

Purely as a matter of interest the first annual Open Show I visited was a weeklong event organised by the Leeds Society in Trinity Lane Church Hall, on Boar Lane, Leeds. The scheduled 10 classes comprised of 3 classes for furnished aquaria (Individual Tropical, Ladies Tropical and Coldwater), Siamese Fighters, A.O.V. Labyrinth, Livebearers, Characins, Barbs, Cichlids and Breeders - split into livebearer and egglayer sections. The fact that there were only 7 fish classes adequately reflects the availability of species I referred to earlier.

As our hobby gained popularity collectors became more active, and with the advent of air transportation becoming more readily available, new species quickly began appearing in the growing number of aquatic outlets. Our armoury was further strengthened by the arrival of a hitherto unbelievable product we now know as silicone sealant. This immediately gave the D.I.Y. fans a free hand in constructing tanks of whatever size they wanted without having to revert to the services of the local blacksmith or professional engineer who had previously produced angle iron frames into which glass could be set through the use of putty. Thus the floodgates opened allowing the aquarist the chance of accommodating whatever sized fish they wanted to add to their collection.

Taking advantage of the above, one of my friends was intent on keeping a Red-Tailed Catfish (Phractocephalus hemiliopterus). Having established that it could eventually reach a length of around 130cms (over 4 feet in real measurement terms) he set about designing a tank of large enough proportions to allow it to move about freely. Fortunately, before he began construction, he realised the tank would be too big to go through the shed door, which resulted in it having to be built in situ.

Long term, and with careful husbandry, there will come a time when this environment will no longer be ideal for the keeping of his 'beloved friend' and it will have to be found another home (remember the phone calls Jackie at Flamingo Land receives from 'Oscar owners' in this very same position). A certain amount of sadness and heartache will undoubtedly ensue when this day dawns.

Just such an experience had to be endured by another friend, the late Max Faircliffe of Tadcaster, when he reluctantly had to dispose of his long time soul mate, a Giant Gourami (Osphronemus goramy) which he had looked after since it was a 2" specimen. Max was one of the original judges of the then A.Y.A.S. (later to become our beloved Y.A.A.S.) so his chances of showing his 'pet' were reduced to shows at which he was not officiating.

Osphronemus goramy    Photo © Mrs Jackie Goulder

What we have to remember was that this particular gourami was a sizeable, also beautiful, fish that was well capable of showering water from its aquarium. At first showing it proved little problem but a time came when the fish appeared to disapprove of being removed from its tank and bit its way out of a large nylon pond net. Subsequently Max resorted to using an industrial plastic sack in which to capture his 'mate'.

For sometime this practice continued until one day the gourami simply decided that enough was enough and as it felt the water pressure building up as the open sack was slowly drawn towards it, it set off with such force that it broke through the end of the sack. This indicated to Max that the time had finely arrived for a 'parting of the ways'. Thankfully a public aquarium in the then West Riding (West Yorkshire) had a tank large enough to take it so the gourami went from adored pet to prized exhibit and, hopefully, enjoyed a happy retirement here.

What is my main memory of Max's giant gourami? Upon one of my visits to his home I clearly remember Max feeding this fish with a 1lb tin of peas. To my amazement as the peas were poured in, not one of them reached the bottom of the 3' deep tank. It must have been partial to these tasty morsels.

In conclusion, these were but two of my encounters with the really large growing species now available to the hobbyist, and whilst it is an education to see such mature specimens, I personally would not want to keep them for two reasons. Firstly major reconstruction of my fish house would be necessary to accommodate the size of tank required, and secondly, in particular, I would find it hard to part with a 'soul mate' for whom I had cared for and cherished for a number of years. I love to see them but not to keep them.