I adopted Alice shortly after becoming single my sophomore year of college. All of my roommates had moved out, my friends we're leaving for summer break, and I was going to be spending four months in an empty apartment. I was terrified of being alone, and so was Alice I think.
Alice and I took a while to become friends. At first we would kind of just hang out in the same room, acknowledge each other occasionally. We would eat all of our meals together in mostly silence. It took about a week to become accustomed to each other, but that's when we really started bonding. I learned quickly that Alice loves to listen to music. I would play Spotify out of my computer on my desk and she would happily swim around her bowl for hours. When I couldn't listen to music, I would read her books and it turned out that she liked that just as much. Our relationship was really starting to blossom.
Alice and I lived together about two years before I realized that I was spending less and less time with her. I felt bad because while I used to spend hours by her desk reading and working on homework with her, I was spending more time working or out of town. A few months ago, I decided to experiment with introducing another fish into Alice's life. I did my research and after getting a 3 gallon tank, I brought home Brenden.
Alice, although a female fighting betta, was accepting of the small and different looking orange fish. She ate most of his food at first and scared him into hiding in the plastic pineapple in their tank, but after a few days they also became best friends. Now, they both love dancing around their tank to music!
Unfortunately, some people don't understand that caring for pet fish is hard work. I have spent a lot of time (and money!) making sure that their water is not too warm, cleaning out the gross things and filter from the tank, and keeping a close on the chemicals in the water. I make sure that they both eat enough food, and even let them indulge in blood worms every once in a while.
My fish have become my best friends. They motivate me to do my work, they keep me company, and they give me a reason to get out of bed every morning, even if it's just to feed and check on them. Whenever I am sad, my fish keep on swimming happily as ever! I think that every one should have a pet fish or two - they make life just that much better!
