The Wet Guys
"Bongo" the Distichodus Sexfaciatus, or Six-Banded African
Bongo comes from the Congo/Zaire river in Africa and is an African Characin. He is ten years old and at 20" in length may be only about half grown. (I obviously didn't know he was going to reach such monstrous proportions when I got him at 2" long.) I even did my homework beforehand, buying the most respected fish atlas available, (Baensch Aquarium Atlas, 1st Edition), which listed his species as growing to a total length of 10 inches, as did the other reference guides I read at the time. Many still misreport the length. In truth this species can reach over three feet in length, and should not be sold in stores, nor imported at all.
That's not to say I'm sorry I got him. I'm very attached to him. But even a 240 gallon tank is a 'minimal' area, relatively speaking, for a fish that is 20" long and growing.
There are a lot of interesting facts about Characins. They are believed to be some of the oldest fish on earth, dating back some 80-150 million years ago to the Mesozoic age when Africa and South America were joined as one continent. Characins have a unique physiology in that their hearing organs are connected to their swim bladders which are used as a sounding board, giving them an extraordinary sense of hearing. As a result they are very alert. Baensch reports that if food is scattered across the surface of the water, Characins will find it first. To compliment this they have what Baensch refers to as "a chemical warning system" and GERY (1972) reports they "seem to sense trouble before it happens."
Bongo is extremely intelligent, aware and alert, yet mellow. With fish I tend to associate being "alert" with being "hyper". When a fish is alert but hyper, like Neon or Glowlight Tetras (which are American Characins by the way), you tend to pass off the alertness as a survival behavior. But when a fish is totally mellow and slowly moving through the water, and you do some slight little thing near the opposite end of the tank and he cocks his head to look back to see what you're doing because he notices, it's a whole different kind of alertness - he conveys intelligence as opposed to pure survival instinct.
Most of the information on this site is factual, but I'm going to step away from facts and into the intuitive/psychic realm a minute. The fact is, :) Bongo feels like a very old soul - not of the human sort, but of some sort every bit as valid. He often accompanies me in my dreams, swimming alongside my shoulder through the air. He loves company and greets anyone who approaches the tank with, what I can only describe as, a warm, curious nature. If I place anything new by the tank, he's sure to swim over and check it out. He takes an interest in everything.
Bongo has a very calming effect - maybe it's the slow way he glides through the water. Maybe it's his peaceful disposition. In any case he is a friend of a different color, and I am grateful to have him.
Characins have the distinguishing feature of an andipose fin - that's the small fin between the dorsal and tailfin. Not all Characins have this fin, must most do. A few fish that aren't Characins have it too, like certain Catfish. But for the most part if you see an andipose fin, you're probably looking at a Characin.
Bongo's an omnivore (listed as a vegetarian in most references). He does love vegetables like peas, corn and iceberg lettuce, but he also eats food sticks, bloodworms, and just about anything else. (Yes, he'd eat beer and pizza if I threw it in the tank.)
The drawback is that I can't have any plants in the tank. He'll eat them all. He even ate silk plants. I'm afraid to try Java fern because I read somewhere the reason fish don't eat it is because it is toxic and could kill a fish if they did eat it. I don't know if this is true, but I don't want to take the chance.
And that brings us to the other residents...
"MadJon" aka "Sam Seaborn" the Synodontis Eupterus
Also from Africa, the Synodontis Eupterus are very entertaining catfish. I think of them like puppies because of their dispositions and puppy-dog-eyes. When the lighting is low they play by following each other back and forth, doing loop-de-loops and twirls. They are very "young at heart". MadJon is extremely affectionate and swims up to the tank wall to show you his belly whenever you get near. He's 10 years old and was a juvenile when I got him. He has a symbiotic relationship with Bongo, often swimming along Bongo's side, like the little birds that sit on the Hippo's in Africa and clean off the ticks. :) (Sometimes Bongo likes it, sometimes he doesn't!) :)
"CoolJack" aka "CJ"
This is the other Synodontis, CoolJack, who, at 8" long, is slightly larger than MadJon. CoolJack is 10 years old too and has a completely different disposition - he is slightly paranoid, somewhat agoraphobic, and mostly sits in his house being curmudgeony. He does come out when he thinks no one is looking, though, but once he notices you he'll dart back to his house and look out the window like you caught him in his underwear.
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