ILLUMINATION 014 (An Aquarist Passion)

One of my most joyful and unforgettable day as a child was when my mother first set-up an aquarium. I eagerly waited for her return when she announce that she's going to buy fish and put up an aquarium in our living room. My heart was leaping when I watch her fill the tank with fresh water and arrange decor of stones and laid white sands or hailstone, water pump and some plastic plants. When the gold fishes was finally put in, I remember fixing my eyes on the tank the whole day following them as they roam and gracefully swim...

   As I grow older and have a family of my own, I still carry that same passion on setting-up a fish tank. I can proudly say I have already acquired the skill in maintaining a good healthy community of fish...I once dream of owning a pet shop too having years of hands-on experience with enclosed aquatic creatures. I can also identify different individual among group of fish even if they all look the same to others. I remember I felt so bad and cried inside when the first gold fish I purchased died, an consider it as a traumatic experience that I become extra careful in handling my fish tank.
   I can identify almost any decor fish in the market from gold fish to pleco and from guppies to arowana. My special interest was on cichlids (includes Tilapia) Cichlids ( /ˈsɪklɪd/) are fish from the family Cichlidae in the order Perciformes. Cichlids are members of a group known as the Labroidei along with the wrasses Labridae, damselfish Pomacentridae, and surfperches Embiotocidae.^[1] This family is both large and diverse. At least 1,300 species have been scientifically described,^[2] making it one of the largest vertebrate families. New species are discovered annually, and many species remain undescribed. The actual number of species is therefore unknown, with estimates varying between 1,300 and 3,000.^{[3]
   Cichlids are to me among the most beautiful and intelligent fish...they took care of their babies and can recognized its owner. Oh yes, base on my experience with owning  some kinds of cichlids like Oscar, Green Terror, Angel Fish, parrots, auratus, red convict, flower horns etcetera, I've notice them behaving differently when other people are around and they allow my hands to touch them. They are a very nasty creature too...they can give you an electifying bite if you dip your finger on the water being highly territorial.
   The amazing thing about cichlids are that they took care of their young....swallowing them inside their mouth when there is danger nearby. Something that still baffle me why they are not pump inside their intestine.}

Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Perciformes
Suborder:	Labroidei
Family:	Cichlidae

   ^{I used to own 4 to 6 aquariums and even imagine myself as a marine biologist. An ambition I have made when I was a little boy aside from being a painter. Fish are also among my favorite subject on my art works. Maybe in the afterlife I will have that capacity to stay forever underwater...watching school of fish play among the corals. 
  Oh well here's an illumination...maybe every now and then I'll give you some info and pictures of fishes. Maybe I can share my experiences too having vast years of experience as an aquarist.}