Meet Opal and Roger...

Since it’s not warm enough to start updates on my garden I’m introducing the newest members of “my family”. I’ve always dreamed of owning fish, but was afraid of being too attached if they didn’t survive. Luckily for me, our maintenance worker, Scott, had an old fish tank and he gratefully brought it over for me. Thus begins the story of how my dream became a reality.

Within hours, I dashed to PetSmart to buy all the equipment. I knew what to get, but not specifics. The store associate was helpful and didn’t roll her eyes when I asked silly questions that should have made her wonder if I was ready to own fish! It took me 2 hours to set up my tank and fill it with water, it’s 20 gallons! So I had a gorgeous fish tank, but no fish…

Finally on Saturday, February 5, I made my way to the pet store for: a gold gourami and a blue dwarf gourami. The experience that follows can best be described as a nervous mother taking her first baby home. As soon as my fish were scooped out of
the tank, I was apprehensive that they would be in my care, and I want to make sure they are as happy as possible. The associate warned me that the gold gourami might bother the dwarf. I didn’t want my fish to be bullied! Reluctantly I traded the dwarf for an Opaline gourami that would grow to be about 5 inches like the gold one. Happy with my decision, I let George, my boyfriend, carry the fish, for fear I would trip, and they would go flying! On the drive home I kept asking if they were okay, and I drove extra cautiously.

I had read enough about fish to know that introducing them to their new home is crucial, especially in regards to temperature. After floating the bag for 30 minutes, it was time to free the fish. When I opened the bag, it collapsed, and they couldn’t get out or breathe. I panicked, but George was calm and helped them into the water. Finally they are home and I can breathe a little easier.

I fed them and got down to the last piece of business, naming them. I chose Opal for
the blue Opaline Gourami. George chose Roger for the Gold gourami because that’s the first name that popped into his head. Opal and Rog were shy at first, but after a few hours they started swimming around. I checked on them every 20 minutes, and I enjoy watching them swim and chase each other. Little did I know, the chasing was aggressive behavior and would lead to trouble! But I’ll save that story for another week… Liz