Praviny Muniapan started keeping fish to take her mind off work. She loved coming home to watch them calmly swimming to and fro in their tanks.
Soon trips to the fish shop became a weekly routine and it was during one of these trips that she spotted a weird, four-legged creature swimming around inside an aquarium.
After one long year of researching and thinking hard, she finally decided she wanted one.
Toothless is an Axolotl, also known as “Mexican walking fish”, for obvious reasons. He’s an amphibian and so he is technically not a fish, though it’s a common enough mistake that just about everyone makes.
He lives in chilled water, with the ideal temperature being between 20-23°C.
Being a carnivore, he lives on fresh worms, nightcrawlers preferably, feeder fish (after being quarantined) and pallets.
Somewhat timid by nature, Toothless prefers to spend most of his time in his cave, away from bright lights. He also likes to hide behind or in-between the plants in his tank.
However, on days when Praviny works from home, Toothless comes to the front of his tank, walking and showing off his beautiful gills, wanting to be fed.
And Praviny has noticed that no matter how much she feeds him, he always seems to want more. A clumsy and greedy eater, Toothless likes to try swallowing four to five whole pallets at a time.
Besides bright lights, Toothless doesn’t like the sight of the three Congo Tetras he lives with in his tank. He did try to eat them at first, but since that didn’t work out too well for him, he is resigned to putting up with them without complaining.
Praviny says Toothless’ smiley face warms her heart and is one of the reasons why she picked him. “It’s like he’s always smiling. My best friend says I’m crazy as I send her his smiles almost every other day,” Praviny says with pride.
One of Praviny’s current obsessions is to teach her fishes some tricks. “My bettas are learning to jump and Toothless is learning to Hi-five. They will learn eventually. Slowly but surely.”
Praviny says that in the short three months that she’s known Toothless, he has come to be very special to her. “I have a special bond with this guy. He’s like a clumsy puppy but just a puppy who lives inside an aquarium.”
TELL US ABOUT YOUR PET: FMT Lifestyle readers are invited to send in pictures (landscape format) and a short video (if any) of their furry, scaly or feathery friends to [email protected]. Don’t forget to include details like your pet’s name, age, breed and a short story about them.