Fish Tales

Posted by Jen
Filed in City
September 25, 2006

Not long ago, I bought some pet fish. I'd never had pets before, but I'd always wanted some. (A dog, but whatever.) I decided to get a fish. Just one. Being a pet virgin, I was wary of anything that was likely to take up too much time or require too much care. Fish seemed like the logical choice.

I had a name all picked out. George. Alas. Things did not work out quite as I imagined. For one thing, while I do now have a fish named George, I also have eight others. Specifically, they are: Monty, Bob, Bubbles, Bumbledore, Judge Wopner, Princess Fancy Pants, Anderson Cooper and The Ugly One.

I blame Petcetera.

I bought nine fish because when I went to Petcetera, they had Betta Splendens (Siamese Fighting Fish) on sale for 3 for $5. The poor little guys were housed in tiny plastic beer cups filled with dirty water. There were row upon row and shelf upon shelf of them. And the shelves hadn't been cleaned in awhile (there was a shrivelled up fish carcass among the cups).

In short, I let Petcetera play me.

Since buying my Bettas, I've been to a quality local pet store for advice on care - Noah's Pet Ark on Broadway. When considered in context with those at Petcetra, the fish at Noah's live like kings. Staff at the little local store are knowledgeable and friendly and when I told them about the Petcetera situation, they totally got why I bought so many. So here's what I have to tell you: their own Bettas sell for a little more (about $7 for a single fish) and the store smells like a puppy barn, but if you get a pet there, at least you know you're buying from good people. They really seem to care about their animals.

I'm glad to have my Bettas. Changing the water is a pain in the ass, but I enjoy giving them a good home. I'm tempted to return to Petcetera to get some more. Not that I don't have enough to deal with, but I feel so sorry for the ones I left behind. Then again, if I do, wouldn't that just reassure the Petcetera jerks that their fish marketing ploy is working?