# Its just a fish



## Creat (Dec 6, 2010)

An free write essay for my english class...

Its just a fish. The line I hear whenever I have my face pressed up against the tank. The words I hear whenever I'm guarding a spawn more then a male betta. What is that supposed to mean? Does this infer that they are somehow less then us or I shouldn't care about them in the same way I love my dog. Only someone who has looked into their tank and felt the proud feeling like a parent can understand. There is something magical about creating the perfect aquatic environment because your not just feeding or staring at a fish you are creating a balance of nutrients and organisms. It doesnt matter what the fish is. From anaconda to guppy, if there isnt that magical level of bacteria you are not a fit parent. I find joy from those times when my aquarium is thriving. The water clear as glass like a portrait of a secret world. I think people who say their just fish are jealous of them. What other creature can live under the water in such a graceful way? They have mastered it creating more vibrant forests of color then the largest rain forests. Hiding most of their secrets form their view from man and the creatures on land. The aquarist however has been given the right to see some of their aquatic friends most hidden secrets. These are more then just fish they are messengers from a land we will never be able to join them in. And we only can just watch them in their watery world going about their lives and can only imagine what they might be thinking or doing. They say fish have no mental capacity no personality all they do is swim, eat and poop. I say they are half right. There are fish out there, like some dogs or cats, that have as much personality as a rock. But there are those few fish, like cats or dogs, that just swim their little way into your heart. I invite people to tell me that my puffers have no personality. Those little guys are my spokes fish for the reason I have fish. With their big heads and tiny fins their look like little aliens then when they realize the fish is just following them they like to say its only cause its for food. I realize this but those who have had fish realize that they are masters of survival. I once had a green spotted puffer called Ponder. Friends liked to come and say hi. Once they asked me if they could try to scare him. I said yes as long as they stayed out of the tank and he stayed in. It was the funniest thing to see people try to jump up and scare that fish because he was the mellowest puffer I have ever had. He just sat there at the front of the tank and swiveled his little eyes. After determining they didnt have food he went back to picking amongst the rocks in his tank. Then when I wasnt looking they stuck their hand in the tank. Ponder darted up and started attacking their hand. Keep in mind he never once tried to even nibble on me, even when I fed him from my hand. From then on whenever the person entered the room Ponder darted out looking rather angry, not to personify him of course, and darted across the front of the tank.He would darken his belly a little a sign of stress is puffers and as soon as they left he went back to white. This is the type of fish that makes you feel loved when you come in. Even after they have eaten they follow you around. This is why I never understood the plight of the betta fish. These fish are stated to be mean little fish that live in tiny puddles. People always ask me why my males dont eat the tetra in the same tank. It makes me sad. These amazing little fish can take a lot of trauma, but that doesnt mean they should. Just like any other animal just because you can torture them doesnt mean you should. At least a hundred abused and neglected betta have gone through my hands. Each one has a separate personality and anyone who has had a fish knows this for a fact. But once again I hear them say but its just a fish. But if a fish is just a fish you are just a person.


----------



## bettalover2033 (Feb 17, 2010)

Wow That is really good!

What grade are you in?


----------



## Creat (Dec 6, 2010)

I'm a freshmen in college I wrote this my senior year of high school. And thank you ^^


----------



## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

I like it! Good job!


----------



## JD3P (Oct 21, 2010)

I completely agree with you as I'm sure almost everyone on this forum would also. Most people, unless they've had their own aquarium and put effort into it, don't see a fish as anything more than a fish. Even if the fish doesn't have a personality or much brain capacity....it's still a living being. Something that we chose to put in the pet store and than bring into our home. Of course we should look at it as more than just "a fish". I think too many people look at animals not as pets but as something pretty to look at. There is a reason why there are so many abandoned animals of all species. (Of course I know that is not always the case for abandonment.) But I understand exactly what you mean when you say you take pride in your betta and it's home. It's a great feeling to know you are taking care of something which in someone else's care might not be, and have given it all you can.

P.S. Good essay as well. I assume you want responses on both the topic and the fact that it was an essay lol.


----------



## Feral (Sep 19, 2010)

*"* But if a fish is just a fish you are just a person"
-Creat

Succinct summation and quite right ;-)

Nice job!


----------



## Creat (Dec 6, 2010)

Thanks guys


----------



## bloo97 (Mar 6, 2010)

Wow, that was powerful. A great story!


----------



## ilovepeace (Dec 30, 2010)

*Hi*

Great essay ! I got bigfin ( my son named him) for Chrismas. I am enjoying taking care of him and seeing him happy and feel he is our baby. I enjoyed reading your article. Your last line so true.


----------



## Creat (Dec 6, 2010)

I'm glad you guys like it and agree  Its so hard finding people who agree that fish really are more then little money wasters.


----------



## FuulieQ (Jan 10, 2010)

Great essay! But just so you know... anacondas aren't fish.


----------



## britnyjackson (Mar 10, 2010)

Wonderful essay! I couldn't agree with u more. I have several fish and its one of the most magical things to see them in their "natural" environment thriving! I love my babies and wouldn't trade them for anything! I love them as much as I do my dog and cat.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


----------



## Luimeril (Dec 29, 2010)

i totally agree with you. i get told that often, whenever one of my babies is ill, or has fin issues, or has died. "it's just a stupid fish". not to me. it was a unique soul, a being that i cared for and loved. it was my child, my baby. it wasn't just a fish to me. 

when Weiss died, i was told that. i wanted to rip the head off anyone who told me that. Weiss wasn't "just a fish". he was my little prince, my baby. i felt horrible, because i didn't know what was making him ill. i cried every time he'd wiggle at me, because i knew it drained him to do so. when he finally passed, it took me over a week to type up a long "RIP" entry on him, because i couldn't belive my little white prince was gone. my family told me "it's just a fish", and i glared at them.

when i opened a package i thought contained a trio of red cherry shrimp, a divider, and a small ball of java moss, i was shocked to see a little bitty betta fry, hiding in the moss, looking up at me with those big eyes. i cried out of joy and surprise. my friend had given me a gift, and i guarded her like a wolf guards its pup. he was my princess(though at the time i didn't know her gender), and watched her grow up, from the speck that lived in the moss, to the stunning HMPK princess she is today. every few days, i'd take photos, documenting her growth. when i saw her bitty ventrils, i was excited and estatic. when she got that stunning green sheen on her creamy body, i jumped for joy. when i was able to tell her gender, words can't express how happy i was to have Chappy Belle. to many, she may be just a fish, but to me, she's a child i've raised from a month-old baby, to the five or six month old princess i have today. 

people can tell me "why cry over it? it's just a fish." but i'll always correct them. "he/she wasn't 'just a fish' to me. he/she was my baby. how'd you like it, if i told you 'why cry? it's just a dog.' when your dog dies?".


----------



## Creat (Dec 6, 2010)

FuulieQ said:


> Great essay! But just so you know... anacondas aren't fish.


 ha ha I ment arowana lol thanks for catching that  

Luimeril that is such a cute story I loved it  Thats amazing and the sweetest thing ever


----------



## Luimeril (Dec 29, 2010)

thank you. everyone in my house, and most of my friends, think i'm stupid for loving my bettas like i do, but they don't _understand_. lol they've never gotten a betta and had it last more than a few days. Xd lol i freaked out when Chappy suddenly started marbling away her dragon scales. i thought i'd done something wrong! maybe i pamper her too much? xD


----------



## snozmail (May 23, 2011)

I find my aquarium is like its own little world of fishy personalitys, actions and stories I can get lost in and forget about being a person


----------



## HayrideHaunter (Dec 20, 2010)

I'll tell ya...the "its just a fish" thing was my state of mind for a very long time...until I bought my little Marblemonster!

My sweet, feisty little crowntail has gotten me through some very difficult times...cheered me up by flaring when I had a really hard night (i live in a dorm at my college for the school year and I tend to have veeeeery stressful, long days)...Marbles even helped me make a very good friend...she got a betta just after I bought Marbles...and it gave us a reason to talk to each other...now i'm a little less lonely, a heck of a lot happier, and warm inside every time I look at this little guy. Biggest personality, healthy boy, and if he ever gets sick I might die!

Awesome stories =)


----------



## laughing (Mar 12, 2011)

People do think they are a decoration. 

I will tell you, my little girl always wiggles at me. She sits at her tank and stares head on and wiggles, her little fins wiggling. When I sit on the couch she zooms right over! She is such a derp, too ;3

My male has an extremely different personality! 

How can people get a fish tank and just not care? I love going to the pet store and watch all the tetras and guppies... you can just picture them talking to one another... 

I feel like with fish, I am let into a part of a whole different secret world.


----------



## Creat (Dec 6, 2010)

Ha ha I love that name Marblemonster !
and @laughing i always think that fish can be a great decoration or accent to a room but what gets me is when they are purely decoration i have known people to go into a fish store with color swatches to match somehow that really gets on my nerves.


----------



## HayrideHaunter (Dec 20, 2010)

@Creat: haha! thank you...my boy's name is actually Marbles...but I call him a variety of nicknames including Marblemonster, Flarybutt, Mister Marbles, etc XD


----------



## Arashi Takamine (Mar 3, 2011)

This essay definietly is in exact allignment when people tell me they're just fish then I begin to tell them about how my babies and how adorable Kai is and describe their little personalities they showed me. My BFF never dared utter that phrase to me and is pretty much my fishy's aunt. She even told me she was going to kick my dad in the pants if he forgot to care for Kai and Aki correctly whilst I'm out of town. She's got a betta of her own that's quickly becoming _her _fish.


----------



## Neil D (Apr 10, 2011)

Haha so true! Love the poem! Some people think All you have to do is put water in a bowl and put a fish it. I HATE that! Great poem.


----------



## laughing (Mar 12, 2011)

Color swatches? _Really?_ 

Yes, I am trying to match a tank to my decor in my room currently, but that's the DECOR OF THE TANK! Not the _fish_! I feel when properly arranged tanks can be gorgeous and really add to a room, but the fish are still living&breathing creatures. Not like... Gosh... Freakin' posters!!

GRAAWWW! <--angry.


----------



## Arashi Takamine (Mar 3, 2011)

The thing is that's how my parents saw it until we got everything we needed after we did all the research we did. Now we have two healthy little betta's flitting about. Akira's recovering from fin-rot and Kai is heathly and happy.


----------



## Creat (Dec 6, 2010)

I always love it when someone changes their minds and I can "convert" them into a fishkeeper  and yeah the woman with the swatches decided to go to a petsmart or something cause the LFS that she went to the first time, the one i go to told her she couldnt keep "colors" (aka certain fish) together.


----------



## Neil D (Apr 10, 2011)

@ creat,
i missed that. she went to petsmart because she could keep certain fish together?


----------



## Creat (Dec 6, 2010)

she was at my local LFS and when they told her certain fish wouldnt work together she said she would take her business elsewhere is what happened in a nut shell basically 
another reason i like to hang out at the fish store


----------



## Neil D (Apr 10, 2011)

Oh. Wow thats kinda dumb. haha sounds like a good LFS!


----------



## Creat (Dec 6, 2010)

I love it when pet stores will turn people down when they want to buy an animal when they obviously wont care for it


----------



## Neil D (Apr 10, 2011)

if only all pet stores do that. *sigh*


----------



## laughing (Mar 12, 2011)

At my LFS a group of three boys come in... one is yelling on the phone he has no money and can only buy food and cannot go out... talks to worker... asks for a $500 fish! She says don't waste my time if you don't have money and he argued he did so she showed them.

"THIS IS A $500 DOLLAR FISH THIS TINY THING!" It was a baby Goliath fish... of course it is tiny!!

They went on about eels, but the eel he wanted is illegal to own. Any electric eels? No. Any eels with sharp teeth? No. Can I pet them then? No. Any poisonous fish? The puffers gallbladder is. He is poisonous?! Yes, the gallbladder. So if I touch him I will be poisoned? No, the gallbladder, if you eat it. 

That went on for quite some time... I want the Goliath fish, how big of a tank? 500 gallons minimum, 1000 is recommended. Like, a swimming pool?!  Yes. 

I love this worker! She's always there when I go and she always handles the idiots perfectly. Those dumb teenage boys just wanted a fish to be "badass" and probably to be threatening towards other kids...


----------



## laughing (Mar 12, 2011)

Oh sorry, I believe it was a Tiger Goliath. Nasty things...


----------



## Neil D (Apr 10, 2011)

haha send that worker my regards!!


----------



## Creat (Dec 6, 2010)

ha ha ha hug her for me that is awesome people like that deserve awards for dealing with idiots


----------



## Neil D (Apr 10, 2011)

Idiots or people who dont know how to properly care for their pets...


----------

