Abe Vigoda RIP

 

 

By Trixie

Abe Vigoda died November 12, 2010.  It is hard to explain the joy that my little betta brought to my life, but I wanted to bring some closure to the death of my beloved pet, and pay tribute to a flirty little guy who loved me.

 My childhood was filled with generic goldfish, but the relationship I developed over the 19 months with Abe Vigoda was very special.  He greeted me with "Jazz Hands" every time I walked into the office. He gave me kisses, he blew happy bubbles.  I was truly happy watching him swim around his tank.  I spent countless hours, mindlessly watching his happy laps.

I tried to replace Abe with a different betta about a month after his death, but it didn't take. She had a very different disposition, and didn't seem to or one way or the other if I was in the room.  She was a greedy girl, just like our cat, Griffin.

She soon moved to my office, and now greets people every day. Her personality is still very food driven, but she gets lots of attention from a variety of people, and I have begun to engage her in "Jazz Hands."  Her name has changed several times. First, she was Mrs. Greer.  Then she became Mrs.  T.  Right now, she is in between names, but has a full life.  She has the cool quality of chewing her food so loudly you can hear her crunch, like a dog eating a biscuit.  I pity the fool who gets between Mrs T and her food pellets.

I miss my fish every day.  I have moved his  tank from my office, and but it in a cupboard, I have looked at other fish at Pet World, but I am not sure I am ready to risk bringing another fish home that doesn’t fulfill my emotional needs. I realize Abe Vigoda was a one in a million fish, but I hoe to someday find another fish that brings me such joy.

 

RIP Abe Vigoda. You are missed.

Fish Friday! Betta Version

Bettas – The Perfect Pet 

by Trixie

I never had a pet fish before. They seemed like a great pet to have if you had a big, expensive tank filled with colorful, exotics, but I never thought about getting a betta. The appeal of having a single fish never occurred to me until I started shopping at Pet World. I saw the cool, half moon, wall mounted betta tanks, and realized it would actually be possible to protect a fishy from our four cats. I bought the tank, and took it home to prepare for the arrival of my new betta.

I planned where I would hang the tank, and read the betta fish guide. I got my tank prepared, and went back to Pet World to find my betta.

Some things are just meant to be, and I swear, once I saw “my” fish in his bowl, I knew that he would be mine. He gave me his patented “Jazz Hands” welcome, and we headed home. I immediately named him Abe Vigoda, and got him situated in his little tank.

The affection and love I felt for Abe were immediate. From the first day, he got very excited when I come into the room. No one else causes the level of enthusiastic waving I get! We have our morning, and after work rituals, where we dance and give each other “Jazz Hands” to show how happy we are to see each other!! We have four cats, and sometimes, Abe’s greeting is the most enthusiastic pet I get upon returning home! He blows me kisses, and really gets happy when he sees me! My husband gets a lukewarm welcome from him, because Abe knows who butters his bread.


He is beautiful, and has brought me more joy than some furry friends I have had in my life. There was a time when he was very sick, and I thought he was going to die. Turns out, I was using tap water, which has a non-evaporating chemical. His beautiful fins rotted off, but just the tips. He had a white fungus over his right eye. I cried when I went to sleep, thinking he wouldn’t be there to greet me in the morning. I felt like a bit of an idiot, crying over my fish. But he is an important member of my family, and the thought of losing him just broke my heart.

But thanks to the help of the Pet World staff, who fielded several emergency calls from a frantic fish mom, I found that, even though I changed his water every week, I wasn’t using the kind of water that he could thrive in. But once I switched to the clean and fixed up water from PetWorld, he started making gorgeous bubble nests, waving at me, and generally being the most awesome fish in the world. He is fully recovered, except the tips of his fins, and as frisky as ever.

Abe has since been upgraded to a 2.5 gallon tank, with a rotating array of fresh water plants, and he has a new roommate….a hitchhiking snail named Wojo. They seem to get along, and Wojo makes for some fun new video opportunities!

I have been madly in love with my Abe for well over a year now. Knowing he is going to be there to greet me when I get home makes me happy! And I can tell I make him happy! Bettas are beautiful friends, easy to keep happy with minimum work, and bring so much joy to life! I think it's important to bond with your fish, and really let them know that you picked them because they are special. But I am just kind of a freak that way!

Fish Friday!

Abe fAbe is the resident fish.  Named after Abe Vigoda, Abe has a prime place in the kitty's house.  He receives an enthusiastic greeting from Trixie every morning ("jazz hands!").  One could argue that he's one of the most spoiled betas in town. Even the kitties show him respect.

About a month ago, he had a case of tail rot that we quickly spotted and treated.  We used water that we had left out for a day or so, thinking that airing it out would allow the chlorine to dissipate.  A friendly worker at Pet World explained that water in our region is infused with chloramine, which can't be aired out.  Abe hasn't had any trouble since we switched to reverse-osmosis water.

Jazz hands!