It all started innocently enough with a goldfish. A friend was added to prevent loneliness and it soon became clear that the small plastic bowl was not going to accommodate it’s residents. Enter the 85 litre, filtered, illuminated and heated glass palace. Complete with stand that doubled up as cupboards to house all the chemistry.
Two little fish were never going to fill out their new home so a trip to the garden centre was inevitable. Ghost Koi. If you buy them young enough you don’t need a bank loan and they look stunning all lit up indoors. For about five minutes. Then you have to find someone with a pond and a plastic heron.
Soon after the goldfish did what they do best and another trip to the garden centre was needed. It was time for something a bit more exotic and after much research and/or a quick chat with the fish man, Lake Tanganyikan Cychlids were chosen. A beautiful selection of colours and stripes swam around in harmony for a while. Territories were picked and fought over, bigger fish got bigger, and half chewed carcasses were fished out. As it goes, this type of fish doesn’t like newcomers to the tank, so for what seemed like decades the last remaining biggest hung around motionless, staring.
Mercifully, it moved on, blocking the toilet on it’s way out, and the palace was passed on to a friend. This photo was taken in those innocent days when the originals, ‘Fishy’ and ‘Fanny’ lived briefly in splendour.
