About Me

I have done a lot of things in my life and have also worked in many different jobs to make a living and to experience life. This blog is just some of my musings, sometimes funny, sometimes inspirational, sometimes sad, sometimes angry, sometimes simple but all the time, it's just me.

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Sid, my pet and my friend.


Quite sometime back, a friend of mine asked me to keep a fish called Ikan Puyu in Malay. As I had never in my life had a fish nor any kind of pet I was reluctant at first but one day decided to get a bowl and 1 Puyu fish.

Little did I know about my 1st pet. One weekend when wifey and I had to go away and left the bowl and my fish Puyu 1 with my sister in law.

The next day, my 1st pet Puyu 1 jumped out of the bowl and committed suicide.

I found out soon enough a little more about Puyu fish, it seems it can live in land (in the right conditions) as well as land and breathes atmospheric oxygen.

The Anabantidae are a family of perciform fish commonly called the climbing gouramies or climbing perches. As labyrinth fishes, they possess a labyrinth organ, a structure in the fish's head which allows them to breathe atmospheric oxygen. Fish of this family are commonly seen gulping at air at the surface of the water; which then passes out of their gills or mouth when they dive beneath the surface.


Climbing perch (Anabas testudineus) on land.The climbing gouramies originate from Africa to India and the Philippines. They are primarily a freshwater fish and only very rarely found in brackish water. An egg-layer, they typically guard their eggs and young.

Climbing Gouramis are so named due to their ability to "climb" out of water and "walk" short distances. Their method of terrestrial locomotion uses the gill plates as supports and the fish pushes itself using the fins and tail.

So, my 1st pet Puyu 1 committed suicide and that did not bode well for me.

I still never gave up and decided to buy a small fish tank with all the works like filters etc and cover to prevent my new purchases. This time, I decided to buy 2 Puyu fish, thinking the 1st one committed suicide out of loneliness.

Having 2 Puyu's, I did not want to name them Puyu 1 and Puyu 2. So, I chose a simple name for them, in honor of my 1st pet Puyu 1, I named them Sue and Sid (suicide = sue sid - get it?).

For a long time I have had Sue and Sid. Then after about 2 years or so, Sue died and was replaced with another Sue and Sid died and was also replaced with another Sid.

Now, in the big tank in my house, there is a lone Puyu, Sid. Sue died a couple of years ago. Wifey got some fancy angel fishes for a present which did not last too long and got some disease. She also bought another Sue but that Sue too died with the same disease of the angel fishes.

All our Sue's and Sid's and angels have been buried in our backyard somewhere which has become a little of a pet cemetery.

Anyway, Sid is now alone in the huge fish tank with Al E on the outside. Just like Al E, Sid likes to listen and pay attention. He will come to the front of the tank and look at people.

I then came upon this on Google search about Puyu. From a Yahoo Q&A, someone had answered this about Puyu and it's mystical powers.

In mystical arts, the climbing perch (puyu) is seen as a fish that dwells in two realms (which makes it unique) and it has the ability to live without water for days (if in a proper environment) which is quite symbolic for certain qualities which humans don't have (as fishes are supposed to be dependent on water, humans are dependent on air, but in the case of this fish, it is able to dwell in both realms). These abilities are seen as special and unusual, which is another feature that makes this fish 'special'.


It is said that here are two kinds of uses for these fishes.
(1) It can be used to repel 'pest-like' spirits, those of the 'weaker' kinds. Spirits that can be mischievous such as toyols and certain dwarf-like beings (kerdil). Some versions of this explains that these beings are actually not afraid of the puyu at all, but uses them as 'toys' to play with.
(2) It can also be used to repel demonic spirits, those with grosser bodies (in the case of Djinns) as these beings are said to dislike its sharp bodies.

There's also a third use of these fishes. It can be used as a sacrifice for removal of cursed objects (santau) by transferring those objects into the body of those fishes (though it is not commonly practiced). Some uses the puyu as a medium to send cursed objects instead.


I guess all races 'accept' these fishes for their uniqueness and attracted to the stories of old rather than having any understanding whatsoever about these fishes. As a matter of fact, not many 'modern' Malaysians know the uses of these fish anymore unless they are being brought up with proper guidance in the old ways. It is more like an adaptation as the climbing perch is a native only to Southeast Asian countries and can also be found throughout Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Burma, parts of Indonesia and Borneo...


These fishes have NO 'mystical' powers of its own without any 'divine' assistance and usually it has to be done with proper conjurations and spells. Black magic is a term referred to certain practices which involves darker intentions of one's practice. In reality, there is no such thing as 'black' or 'white' magic. The intention of one's heart determines the cause and effect of its spells. Through the powers of these spells, certain beings are being used to 'work' for a particular person (eg. witchdoctors/bomoh), and thus the climbing perch is used for the purposes as mentioned earlier above.

Hope this helps...

I do not wish to make this too lengthy, but basically mention the 'idea' about keeping these fishes for the purpose of 'preventing' black magic.

By TheBear V2.0 (Happy Bearian)

I do not know about preventing black magic or white magic or anything. But all I know is that in my journey of this soul that is I, all these pets are in my life for a purpose and reason. Sid has been a loyal and wonderful companion. He has listened and he minds his own business. He needs little food and he seems contented.

And I also believe all animals have telepathic and mystical powers, be it my loner Sid in his tank or loner Al E outside the tank.

I love both of them to bits. I thank them for being in my life. I seek their forgiveness for anything bad I may have done to them in this lifetime or previous ones. I love you and I thank you.

Take care and be well.

5 comments:

Ayu said...

Hi there,

i don't know if you meant to be funny with this story or if this really was some deeper spiritual journey or realisation for you, but you made me laugh :)

Nil said...

Ayu, I am happy you found some humour in my writing. It is a true story, and I do love my fish Sid and my dog Al E :)

Sneha said...

very heart touching... I too never experinced keeping a fish tank at home...but m planning for it...
I have heard fishes improves out concentration power...dunno how much it is true..

gr8 post thnx for sharing

One Woman's Thoughts said...

I have had quite a few pets, some rather unusual, especially as an adult. My most precious pet was a tiny yorkshire terrier dog that was so black his coat shown a deep blue in the light. He was intelligent, loyal, playful and affectionate.
I di miss having a furry pet, but they take time and attention. I don't have that luxury at the moment so I have a very interesting pet. I have a pet shrimp, it is the size of a piece of rice. It lives in an egg shapped shere that is an EcoSphere. Her name is Rose, there were two shrimp at first, I named them Jack and Rose after the Titanic movie. One dies . . . it had to be Jack right? I don't feed her, clean her home, or do anything much. I love to watch her whirling around her world, eating algae. She seems to enjoy the light in the evening as she is really active then. Usually these shrimp last about 2 years. I've had Rose for 4 and 1/2 years. She's a great pet for a traveler or someone with little time. About once a month I use a magnet to agitate the algae. Someday, I will get more pets, furry ones. But for now, I love having Rose.

ZuZu said...

Nice blog New music videos lyrics