Scott Fellman

Why do I like small , grey fishes? Why do I covet fishes and corals that most people find rather uninteresting? Why do I get excited about great Sarcophyton, Acropora yongei, and Fungia specimens way more than I do about almost any other corals? Do I not get out enough? Am I too cool to jump on the bandwagon of new corals? Or, could it simply be that, after several decades in the hobby- I’ve learned to be honest with myself about what I like? Hmm…is there a lesson here? Or even a blog? Let’s see…

Working, as I do, in one of our country’s most highly regarded aquarium businesses, I get to see a lot of corals and fishes- a lot of really rare stuff. I don’t care how long you’ve been in the hobby or worked in the aquatics industry- when a new livestock shipment arrives and it’s time to break out the box cutters, even the most crusty fish person still gets a kind of giddy excitement, anticipating what is in the box.

Not too long ago, I was in our retail shop when the shipment arrived. As usual, I hung around watching the crew open up the boxes to see what was swimming. Juvenile Conspic Angels? Another Lennardi Wrasse? No, this time, it was a box of Yellow Tangs and Flame Angelfish. Yellow Tangs and Flame Angels? The “bread and butter”, ultra “common” staples of the aquarium hobby. Yawn.

Actually, I wasn’t yawning. I was admiring this brightly colored gems swimming in their bags, and considering what brought them here. Just a few days earlier, these little guys were happily swimming somewhere in their native South Pacific, thinking only of where their next meal was coming from, and ways to avoid becoming menu items for someone. What were they thinking now, I wondered? Who would end up buying them? What size aquarium would they spend the rest of their lives in? Would they be comfortable, well fed- or would they slowly waste away and die in agony? Do we ever think about this?

Was I being overly sentimental? Stupidly self-righteous? Maybe. But I was contemplating; just for a second- how easy it is to take for granted what has become “common” to us. These fishes are popular in the aquarium hobby for a reason: They are beautiful, not trendy. Yet, they are interesting creatures. They are precious, regardless of the price tag- and they are worthy of our respect and admiration. They need not be expensive and flashy to be worthy of our admiration, do they?

Who loves the grey fish?

To further compound my theory, I need only slip over into the freshwater section of our shop, and admire the (very grey!) “Tanganyika Lampeyes” that we received not too long ago. Okay, on the surface, these grayish Rift Lake killifish are about as unexciting (is that a word?) as a fish can get- a poster child for the freshwater “haters”…But wait a minute. Have you ever even seen one? Probably not that often. Probably because they are rather…well, bland, and collectors toss ‘em back. But man- that’s what’s so cool about them! They are different! Subtle. Imagine how awesome they’d look as contrasting players in a tank full of colorful African Cichlids!

Think about the humble “Blue Streak Cardinalfish” Apagon leptocanthus. This little Indo Pacific fish looks for all the world like a freshwater Tetra from the Amazon, yet it’s a 100% marine…Subtly colored, yet somehow compelling. It sells out really fast. Why? I don’t know. I mean, why is a “Pokerstar Monti” so hot? To each his own, I suppose. Could it be that we really, truly love the creatures of the sea for what they are? I believe we do!

The beauty of the hobby is that there really IS room for all sorts of fishes and inverts. Pretty much every animal out there gets at least some love from the reef masses! Admit it- you’ve occasionally stared longingly at a browned-out Acro and wondered, right? You’ve contemplated purchasing that grey-brown blenny with the cute eyes before, huh? You may have even owned a Scopas Tang once!

There is hope for the hobby after all…Long live the dull! Who loves the grey fishes? WE do.
Until next time…

Stay Wet
Scott Fellman
facebook.com/scott.fellman