Fish Stories

[Spiritwind]

Fish stories

I have a few funny fish stories to tell. I don't know how intelligent fish are in general, but clearly there is more going on than we know. Feel free to add your own stories as I thoroughly enjoy this kind of thing. Some of my most fond memories as a child were going to feed the fish with my grandfather. He raised trout, I think, and had a couple large fish ponds, and then a little building with tanks he used as a hatchery. Even the smell of fish food is a powerful trigger for me, interestingly enough.

So, one of my favorite people in this world, Grandma Mary, who is no longer with us but will never be forgotten, got my oldest son his first fish tank when he was about 4-5 years old. Over the years I have had many, with a crazy 7 individual tanks at one time. I even had a bucket on the counter with goldfish I had rescued from a rental in the mobile home park my husband and I were managing at the time. That was a crazy story.

We had went in there to clean in the middle of winter after the power had been shut off. I saw a fish tank with some water in it, but no fish. Then, as I was starting to clean up, I saw a large fast food drink cup with really dirty water in it. Was I shocked as I started heading for the sink and I saw sudden movement in the cup! There were 3 still alive goldfish in there! I knew they could survive the cold, but had no idea they could survive the unclean and very cramped conditions. Unfortunately, after I went out and bought another tank to put them in after being in a bucket on my kitchen counter for far too long, they all died shortly after introducing them to the new tank. Must have been too much for them. Reminds me of chickens I used to rescue when working on a egg farm many years ago, but that's another story.

I had a couple of experiences with young boys, one of them with my younger son when he was about 6, where they just had to go fishing! He came running out of the house with one of my orange platy's in his hand, all proud of himself even. I ran back in and put it back in the tank with no ill effects amazingly.

I had a very aware Paradise fish that used to be in a tank I had in the bathroom. There was a tiny hole at the top of the tank, not even the size of a penny. My daughter, one day, was teasing the fish with her finger. Suddenly I heard her scream and went running in there to find the fish flopping around on the counter. It had jumped through that tiny hole on top and bit her finger she was sticking in there. I stuck the fish back in the tank and it was apparently none the worse from the experience. And my daughter didn't tease the fish anymore.

A few years later I had this same fish in another tank. I also had a beautiful blue Siamese Fighting fish that had been going back and forth between looking like he was on his way out, and then making a comeback. This went on for several months. Finally he looked like he wasn't going to make a comeback anymore. I didn't want to just flush him and read that putting them in the freezer was "more humane". So, reluctantly I put him in a ziplock bag with some water and put him in the freezer, not wanting to see him suffer.

Then a few months later this Paradise fish I had began to look like he was on his way out. Sometime not long after this my friend and I were standing right by his fish tank watching him. I told her I didn't want to see him suffer and talked about putting him in the freezer like I did with the other fish. He came around to the front of the glass and looked us right in the eye. We both remarked on it, then went on to talking about other things. I can't remember if it was before she left, but literally within hours I found him floating at the top of the tank dead. I have always thought that was his way of saying: ain't no way I'm getting frozen alive!