I have two goldfishes named Willy and Comet. They can’t be cuddled or petted. And if I talk to them, they’ll likely show me their tails. Yet I still love those slimy buggers. They live for feeding time. In between, they search every rock and surface for anything edible. As an indulgent fish mommy, I strive to make them happy and healthy. But they don’t make it easy.

Strange Tank-Fellows

Comet is a pet store pretty boy with a mild-mannered disposition. His inclination is to wait patiently for food, eating slowly and expecting more when he’s ready for it. Willy, however, has fought for survival since being a wee fry. Escaping the bellies of more prized marine animals as a feeder fish, he became a cheap prize in a fraternity fair. After being abandoned by the college boy that won him, my daughter took pity on him. Eventually, he made his way to my tank. He lives a true rags-to-riches story, as he is now a pampered pet of ample proportions who should be in want of nothing. But he can’t relax. Willy approaches every meal as a life-or-death battle, gobbling as much as he can, as fast as possible. What happens when you put these two fishes together? Pathos and the absurd in a provocative microcosm.

After a few months of unsatiated appetite, Comet eventually realized that he must fight for his food. But the poor buddy neither has the experience nor the competence to go about it properly. The one thing he learned is that Willy is taking his food. So, his fishy brain decided that if he sticks with Willy, he’ll get some of it back. Unfortunately, his only goal is to stay close. Comet would butt up against Willy, turn him around, and even flip him over. But he doesn’t get any food. Sometimes, additional food is literally falling on his head, but he just cares about keeping up with Willy. Being the “street” fish that he is, Willy can engage and dodge Comet while still eating. Comet cannot. The result: Comet still doesn’t get enough food. Lately, I wait until Comet comes right under the feeder when Willy is distracted to drop him some morsels. Even then, he only gets a few bites (because he still eats slowly) before Willy brings his suction snout over. And once Comet decides to ride Willy down, there’s no chance of getting him to notice anything else.

A Fine Kettle…

Yet getting the lion’s share of food has done Willy no good. He never seems content, ever flitting around in search of more. If he were a person, he would probably need medication for anxiety. Also, the manic overeating is giving him swim bladder disease, enlarging the stomach, and floating him like a balloon. He needs to fast for a few days, but that would cause Comet to suffer more hunger. I could put him in a time-out tank, but for all their fighting, they need each other and would likely mope alone.

Any way you look at it, they have swum themselves into a corner, taking on unnecessary misery. Arguably, they are fish and could do no better. But I fear sometimes we, as people, live like that — grasping voraciously for the something that we want to our own detriment, all the while missing the blessings that are raining upon us. Could we do better? Food for thought as we head toward the new year. May it be one of peace and fulfillment.