Since Luohan fish, otherwise known as Flowerhorn, mercifully doesn’t count as a food fad, its claim to fame is its bulging lumpy forehead and rumours of lucky numbers miraculously appearing on its body. A hybrid of the cichlid species, the fish’s strange and mutated look made its likeability questionable and its fad status utterly incomprehensible.
Yet, at the height of the craze in 2003, aquariums were mushrooming everywhere with the common goal of making a quick buck. Then, the hump on the Flowerhorn’s head was believed to bring good fortune to the owner. Armed with the spontaneous inexorable desire for better luck, Singaporeans impulsively bought the fishes at outrageously inflated prices in the hundreds and thousands.
It took Singaporeans months to finally realise the futility of believing in such fallacious superstitions. Soon, aquariums solely relying on Flowerhorn sales quickly ended up in a watery grave as Singaporeans abandoned all previous notions of the fish’s improbable magical powers. Consequently, some Singaporeans conveniently released their unwanted Flowerhorns into local reservoirs where they would terrorise other fishes with its vicious carnivorous nature.
Article migrated from original My Story Portal 2007.
Author. Angela