I was very young at the time and he belonged to a neighbor boy, who inadequately kept him and a two inch angel fish in a one gallon bowl for what turned out to be over four years. That is when it began. That angel fish was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. My mind was made up.
I set about earning my way to getting my own larger aquarium. My first tank held twenty gallons and it was a beauty. I was determined to be a good fish caretaker. I filled the tank with a pair of angel fish, some tetras and some mollies. Everybody gets mollies, don’t they?
After I had learned a lot about tropical fish and fish care, it did not take me long to see that Mark, who was my childhood friend, did not care for his aquatic pets as I did mine. Eventually, I convinced him to give me the angel fish. And, as for the lion head goldfish? It was the ugliest fish I had ever laid eyes on. He was a transparent white and pink with a disproportionate body and no dorsal fin. He just looked so unhealthy with no head growth and fraying deformed fins. I had no interest, especially since that fish was a far cry for any I had seen in pet store or depicted in books or magazines.
A year later, Mark was done with taking care of the lion head and was going to flush him, so I took him. It was the coolest thing to see the two reunited. They recognized each other immediately and showed it. As I floated him in the tank, the angel fish, whom I named Star, went nuts. Once I let him out, they swam together and actually played and touched one another. They slept together in the same positions as they had done when they were stuck in that one gallon bowl. For the next six years they were inseparable. He would frolic about trying desperately to catch her, while she swam circles around him, sometimes even upside down. Star would not even let any other fish near him.
Star died first. One month later he did. I firmly believe he died of a broken heart. Nothing was wrong with the tank and the water was healthy. I think he couldn't stand being without her again. I would never have believed a story such as this had I not lived it. It put a new perspective on fish; goldfish in particular for me.
I never named him, but I will tell you I loved that little fish. He taught me so much. Through him I realized that fish can feel just like us; that they have personalities and emotions. I have no doubt they experience fear as well as love. I saved him from a life in a one gallon bowl he had been in for over four years. I will never forget him and even though he was nothing to look at, I realized he was the most beautiful fish I ever had.
