Elusive Friends

I can be a little superstitious at times and recently I was a little rocked by my Dad’s hospital admission to undergo a total knee replacement surgery. In the weeks before his surgery, M and I talked about buying ourselves a couple of black goldfish. Back in the previous century, we bought a book on Feng Shui and they recommended that black goldfish be kept as pets because they symbolize protection. The idea was to create a balance by having a minimum of three (two gold and one black) but we ended up buying two Black Moors. For those who believe in a little Feng Shui (like me), fish is like a baby dragon, creator of good luck and positive outcomes.

With my Dad’s original surgery scheduled for the 21st of March, we went to Victoria Market on the 19th. Because we were late, one pet shop was already closed. The remaining one has mostly tropical fish. I actually didn’t go into the fish department in the basement because I know the shop also sells snakes. By Friday (the 20th), we were desperate. So, while I browsed at Spotlight, M checked out the pet shop inside the South Melbourne Market. I was still at the scrapbooking section of the shop when M turned up with a plastic bag in one hand and a cheesy smile. He declared, “They had heaps and they were cheap too.” Mission accomplished.

The two friends were a little reluctant to leave the plastic bag at first. Known for their bad eye sight, the two Black Moors probably didn’t see their escape route initially. When they eventually settled into their new home, I noticed that one was dominant over the other one. They also liked to ‘wrestle’ and didn’t play ‘nice’. One fish is less dark. Depending on the lighting, its colour is more like a dark bronze at times. We named it Pepsi. The other one has a fantail and is very black. We named it Fanta because of its pretty tail. I have tried to take photos of them but found it difficult because they don’t pose for long.

I will blog more about them as time goes by. Although they are now our new pets, they do not take the place of our beloved Guinea Pig. The fish tank sits next to our little Guinea Pig’s ‘shrine’ to kind of accompany him at all times.