New Port pet store carries creatures less cuddly - Times Herald-Record

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New Port pet store carries creatures less cuddly - Times Herald-Record Posted: 28 Aug 2020 12:00 AM PDT Jessica Cohen  |  Times Herald-Record PORT JERVIS – Tyler Hoke, 26, has always loved animals, but not only the charismatic and cuddly ones. He has a photo of himself at age 3 with a big python on his lap. "I always had tarantulas, scorpions and giant centipedes throughout high school," Hoke said. He and his partner, Bill Morris, recently showed off the assorted creatures they harbor at Overboard Aquatics, which they opened six months ago at 124 Jersey Ave. in Port Jervis. They rent the space from Carol DuBois, owner of Trinity Pet, the store next door. Hoke often bought reptile food there when he was in high school. Hoke met Morris while working at Petco. "Rather than selling fish for Petco, we wanted to do it our own way, focusing on the animals, caring for them and making sure people don't impulse buy. Many fish get larger than people realize. You can't fit a 12-inch fish in a 20-gallon tank." Some fish also don't make good aquarium mates. He pointed to a tank of young red devil cichlids, which may grow to be 15 inches long. "They're mean and territorial. They bite and kill each other and others in the tank," Morris said. "A group of them killed one of their parents." When he put his arm in the tank, it was quickly surrounded by red devils. "They're always hungry," Hoke said. "They're ravenous compared to other fish. But they're good parents and nest protectors." Red devils come from South America, he said, noting that some African cichlids protect their offspring in their mouths. Then he pointed out a pufferfish, which inflates when distressed. "Everyone likes to see him because he looks like he's smiling," Hoke said. "But if he's annoyed or dying, he releases a toxin that can kill all the fish in the tank. So, he swims alone." Pufferfish have a special diet of shrimp, squid and especially clams, on whose shells they file their teeth. Otherwise the teeth become overgrown. Hoke says he has had to clip the teeth of pufferfish whose owners fed them soft food. Hoke's pufferfish, which will likely grow to three feet long, has already been sold for $450 to someone who will provide a 300-gallon tank or indoor pond. Nearby was one of Hoke's favorite fish, the mudskipper, with big flippers. He described it as a "fish that can drown." "They have gills that have to stay wet, but they need to breathe air," Hoke said. A few feet away, an aquarium contained coral in fanciful shapes and colors. "Light grows the coral — it's an animal but functions like a plant," Hoke said. "Coral live in a symbiotic relationship with the algae inside. The algae get a place to live, and the coral benefits from the algae photosynthesis." The relationships in an aquarium nearby are also curiosities. "The cleaner shrimp climbs on the Dracula goby and rids them of parasites and debris," Hoke said. "When I put my finger in, he picks at it, especially if I have a cut." When the pistol shrimp rides the goby, the goby navigates, and the shrimp defends with its long, muscular claw. "The claw snaps shut with such force that a stream of water shoots out and makes a cavitation bubble hotter than the surface of the sun," Hoke said. "You hear a loud snap." Almost unnoticed as he toured the store was Chip on his shoulder, a tokay gecko draped there, quiet and still. "Geckos are known to be aggressive, mean and fast. They're usually cheap, $20. They'll try to bite you, run out of the tank and live behind the stove," Hoke said. "Wild caught, they come in sick, with parasites, but I've had Chip since he was six months old. Captive raising and holding them, you sometimes get nice animals out of that." Hoke also brought out his eight-legged friends. A black widow spider clung to a white web spun on the lid of its container. "They're feared, but they're one of the most docile spiders. Their venom is toxic, but they rarely bite," Hoke said. "When I offer a cricket or roach, they're afraid of their prey. They throw spider silk over it. It's strong as steel and hard." He also brought out a couple of furry spiders: an orange baboon tarantula - they're known as OBTs, which Hoke said can also stand for "orange bitey things" - and a Goliath bird-eating tarantula, whose leg span can reach 12 inches. "They move incredibly fast and disappear in the middle of an open floor," Hoke said. "When they're aggravated, they flick off urticating hairs from their abdomen that get on your skin. They're itchy," and more problematic in eyes or lungs. He concedes that spiders are not as personable as dogs and cats. However, he said, "If you know their body language, you know what they'll do. It's less about friendship, more about mutual understanding and respect."

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