I bought a fish. I wanted a guitar, I still want a guitar, but instead I bought a fish.
He is a Betta. His body is pink and purple, his fins start off blue and transition into a deep crimson red. I named him Northrop.
Believe me, there was much debate about the name. Suggestions were flying: it could be a Sheldon, it could be a Merlin, it could be a Steve. I think I even tossed around the name Alfred for a while. Then I remembered that I named the dead chipmunk Alfred, so I couldn't name my beautiful fish that. I finally settled for Northrop. I did, in fact, name my fish after Northrop Frye - everyone's favourite Canadian literary critic. His red fins also kind of reminded me of Winthrop from The Music Man (that, and I had the Wells Fargo Wagon song stuck in my head at the time).
Now, let me tell you a little about Bettas. They are supposed to be brightly coloured, and very mellow, and not very big on the whole swimming thing. To which I think: "Yay! Low maintenance!" Bettas are supposed to eat once daily. They don't have large appetites because, well, they aren't very large fish. They need to be able to breathe at the surface because they actually breathe oxygen from the air, not from the water itself (cool fact). They are native to small ponds and puddles in Japan. Males are very territorial and don't like seeing other male betta fish on their turf.
Northrop, however, is not your average Betta. He does the whole breathing at the surface thing really well, but everything else seems to be an issue. Northrop is smart. He knows when I feed him. He knows how to swim into the cup when the water needs to be changed. He also figured out that the little purple beads I have on the bottom of the bowl will float if he rams into them hard enough. Northrop is the least lazy Betta I have ever seen. He also has no interest in his reflection. Most Bettas will flare up if they see their reflection. He looks at it, and then decides he is hungry and stares at me (actually stares at me) until I give him some pellets.
On a completely unrelated note, isn't it good to know that Matthew Broderick went from this
to this?
to this?
MCC: 31
Word of the Day: Maid Service
Quote of the Day: "Get your butt out of my hands!" Angie to Deanna
3 comments:
Only YOU would have a fish that doesn't do what it's supposed to!!! Sounds like he has you well trained. Please give Northrop a "welcome-to-the-family" pellet from us. You make me laugh! I miss you....
Dad says....maybe your fish is blind....that's why he can't see his reflection, and is slamming into the beads by accident... he is lost~!!
Just saw a Northrop Frye on Shakespeare at the Stratford Bookstore...he's be so pleased to know he's leaving a legacy?? (Did you know thatlittle fish are also known as "small fry"??)
PS I sure was excited when I had a day named after me.
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