My Goldfish

I guess this is what things have come to. I'm writing a post about my pet goldfish. I'm pretty awesome, let's be honest. But you know what? It makes me happy that I can find so much enjoyment from a tiny fish that I feel the need to write about him. It makes me happy that he's worth that much to me.

Here's the story:
As I had become fed up with a certain petstore and the quality of fish I had received from there, I decided to try another one. My friend and I went to said store to pick out new creatures to grace my lovely, albeit empty tank. The tank is a standard 10 gallon, with teal and green rocks, as well as blue glass rocks on the bottom. There are three fake plants in purple, teal, and pink, of varying heights and styles. I have a small statue that looks like a Chinese hut, as well as the coolest Egyptian statue ever. I have a special fondness for Egypt because the best day of my life (or at least one of the top three) was spent climbing around on the pyramids at Giza and shopping in Cairo's fun bazaars (more on that another time!). Anyway, the so-named "Temple of Rah" looks like the side of a building, with columns, a statue of a pharaoh, and hyeroglyphics written on it. My hood has LED lights that give it a special and white-light glow. Basically, it was in need of some cool aquatic animals seeing as I was unable to successfully shrink myself and find a way to breath underwater so that I might live there.

We got to the store, and having been highly frustrated with my skills as an aquarist. I had regretfully went through several fish in the past two years, despite my ardent research, vast amounts of money spent, and earnest to succeed in providing the most healthy environment for fish...So, I was kind of fed up with the whole thing. But good news is, I don't give up very easily. I get very set in my ways, stubborn, to accomplish something I've set my mind to, and keeping a fish long enough to truly love it was my goal.

Remember all that money I said I'd spent on the tank? Well, I couldn't afford the prettiest fish anymore. So, I got one fiddler crab and 5 so-called 'feeder fish' (the tiny, 25cent goldfish that are typically bought as food for larger fish). One of the fish died before we even got home. Of the four left, one was unique. He has black tipped on his tail fin, just on the end, and he was distinguishable by this trait. I was reluctant to name the fish, because of their likely death, but did name the crab, as I had luck in keeping them in years past. His name was Anakin, but he quickly was re-named Vader when we realized he had a dark side. Crazy little thing ate 3 of my 4 goldfish within the first day!!! I saw him hiding in the Chinese hut just cleaning out their insides. Now, I'm not mad at the crab for doing what was only natural to him, and that's just the circle of life for ya, but it kinda stunk that I only had 1 surviving fish after ONE day. And well,  I guess Vader ate too much, because the next week, he was dead, too.

And so there was one. Little black-tipped tail guy. Somehow he was just a trooper who managed to avoid the grasps of Vader, and over the past few weeks, he has grown to at least 2-3 times his original size! Crazy enough, as we had named the crab Vader, this guy is turning to the dark side, too! And I don't mean the mean side...I mean, he is turning black! His whole tail has grown to black, as well as his caudal fin, and he has gotten black spots along his sides. It's so cute! Anyway, after watching him for several mornings, I came up with a name for him. He flits around, most curious, and has an intuition about things, but overall, his simpleness and will to survive shine through. He loves his food and eats it well, and he explores his tank as if it is new each time he looks or tastes something in it. Because of his nature, I named him Henricus Ludivicus. Why the crazy name? That was my Dutch grandfather's name. By the time I was old enough to truly know him, he was suffering from Alzheimer's. He was simple, had a short memory, but his love of animals, crazy foods, and will to survive shone through. I remember him puttering around the farm, showing me baby kittens and cattle and feed and tractors. I remember petting his dogs and watching him eat ridiculous concotions of cereal with orange juice or lemonade instead of milk! My dad is so much like him. Just plain kind. No matter what he did, you could see that earnest showing through, and though I was young, I have such fond memories of him. He's one of the first people who really taught me to love animals. And so I named my fish in his honor and memory.

I'm training Henricus right now. I do this silly thing at night where I lok at his tank light being on and say "Henricus, it is way past your bed time mister! Why you still have the lights on?" And then I proceed to turn out his light. However, lately I've decided that in my earnest love of him, I want to give him a goodnight kiss. Okay, this sounds ridiculous, I know! But it's adorable to watch, and I will explain to you what I mean by it. When I look down at his tank, watch him for a bit, and say "It's past your bedtime," I pucker up near the glass and when he swims up to my lips and kisses at the glass, I sprinkle a little bit of food while simultaneously turning off the light. It will take a little time, but I am hoping to train him to associate 'bedtime' with a ksis goodnight and a little snack.

I'm honestly scared to add any more fish. He's doing so well, I just don't want to disrupt the balance. I've grown so fond of him that I fear my affections would wane if others were there for me to worry about. I just sense that he will live a long time. I once had two goldfish that lived for 2 years each. They were beautiful and I frequently drew them. I hope Henricus will be the same way. As he is the main animal in my life right now, I get to outpour my affections on him, and I am always happy to spend my morning sipping coffee and watching him have his breakfast. He is very dear to me. He is a goldfish. It is the simple things in life that set us free.