Do You Have a Good Fish Story?
This week, we had the pleasure of visiting a middle school to speak with the fifth graders about our books and to share animal stories. It was so much fun to watch their faces light up as they told about special pets. They also asked good writing questions such as, "What is your favorite genre?"
One little girl told about how the family had made a mistake by putting a predatory fish in their fish tank. The big one had eaten all but a few of the smaller fish by the time they discovered the tragedy. They watched in awe as one of the medium sized fish nudged the tiniest fish to the bottom of the tank and hid him behind a clump of algae. Then he used his body as a shield to keep the big fish from seeing the little one.
Don't you just love it?
Any fish stories out there? When have you observed fish in an aquarium or in the wild doing some act of kindness or other action you never expected?
Categories: Writing about Animals, Animal People, Observations
I used to have Mollies. For those of you who don't know, Mollies and Guppies give birth to live young. I got so frustrated with trying to stop the Mollies from eating their young, I ended up getting rid of them.
A few years later I got a pair of Guppies. I expected to have the same headache, but they were beautiful fish and needed a good home. So I brought them home.
I knew the female was pregnant, but I miscalculated when she was due. I was surprised to find babies in the tank when I went to feed them one morning. What surprised me even more was that the adults weren't trying to eat them at all! I've added a few new ones over the years, and now have around 50 in a large tank and have given away quite a few to good homes. I never have to worry about any babies being eaten.
Many people I have talked to who have Guppies say that they have to be very careful or the babies get eaten, so this isn't normal behavior for them. I don't know why my Guppies are different, but I'm glad they turned out to be such great parents.
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