Meet Ms PacMan, the Rudest Fish in My Tank

Clown loaches are really fun fresh water fish to keep. Their apt moniker is displayed daily by clownish activities like lying atop one another on their sides or balancing on tip of tail. My eldest, Ms PacMan (named for the way she goes after their Tretra Min tropical crisps) will do the latter with her belly facing the front of the tank.

And these loaches make periodic clicking noises, hers being much louder than the smaller males, Frick and Frack. What’s especially funny is that they sometimes do this to get me out of bed in the morning. They know a feeding will soon follow.

The other day she got so loud I half feared that the glass would shatter. And her trigger was both surprising and hilarious. She reacted to my car on the other side of the bedroom wall.

My 2016 Chevrolet Volt runs on both electric batteries and an internal combustion engine. When home, we keep the vehicle perpetually plugged in to the garage charger. This allows the vehicle to draw power when extreme cold or heat trigger a conditioning cycle meant to prolong battery life.

When the cycle completes, the vehicle emits a sharp pop. Yesterday, I am sure that signal sent Ms PacMan into her raucous 6am fit.

Have you ever kept tropical fish, either freshwater or salt?

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