Goldfish, sharks, and Saint Nicholas

This video is about fish of coral reefs.

The old harbour in Hilversum, the Netherlands, completed in 1876, was important about 1900. Then, ships used to bring building materials there for what used to be a village, then rapidly expanding into something bigger.

Later, as the old harbour was not deep enough for newer bigger ships, and, in 1938, a newer, deeper harbour was dug somewhere else, it decayed. During the past few years, the old harbour and its surroundings were reconstructed, for nature and recreation. I heard jays calling from the trees.

Today, for the first time in years, a ship arrived in the old harbour. It was a ship bringing people impersonating Saint Nicholas and his servants; as part of the Saint Nicholas festival, important in the Netherlands.

The holiday of Saint Nicholas is on 6 December. Most festivities are on 5 December, Saint Nicholas Eve. However, Saint Nicholas is supposed to arrive in the Netherlands already weeks before that, in a steamboat all the way from Spain. So, today, hundreds of Hilversum children and their parents were expecting that boat. For the first time ever, it would arrive in the old harbour of Hilversum, now that it is reconstructed.

Along the old harbour is a big aquarium shop, called De Rifwachter. That shop is called after this coral reef fish species, called in English marine betta. The website of the shop says there are usually 35,000 fish, coral and other invertebrate animals, and water plants there. There are also Internet forum discussions about the Rifwachter.

Among the many fish species, well-known fresh water ones, like goldfish, neon tetras, blue discus, and Pterophyllum.

However, most fish were marine species, mainly tropical.

Upstairs, on the first floor, there was a big aquarium for three young blacktip reef sharks. They were about a third of adult size, a shop assistant told me. They would cost about 2000 Euro. A moray eel (about 700 Euro), and a smaller fish, swimming too fast for the sharks to catch it, kept them company.

In another big aquarium, big catfish and a ray.

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