Rest in Peace, Squishy

It is with a heavy heart that I share some sad news - news of one intrepid little fish who defied the odds and lived, lived and lived! Until he died, which he did, in his bowl on the counter at my parent's home in Tucson a few weeks ago.

I first saw Squishy in Pet's Mart, during the "Fish Habit" phase of my friendship with Liz (who I would link except her blog is private so it would only frustrate people). I believe we went for guppies, but we saw the two tiniest little orange fish we'd ever laid eyes on, and we had to have them. Into a bag they went, home to our tank they came and Squishy and Spec entered our lives.

There were some misunderstandings from the start. For one, we could never really distinguish between the two, so they were sort of interchangeable. For two, we knew they were female - it said right on the tank. Female Dwarf Somethingorother. But we always called Squishy and Spec "he."

Squishy and Spec, during their childhood in Flagstaff, AZ

In spite of these ongoing demoralizing factors in their lives, the two tiny fish prospered. They watched the coming and going of many a guppy. They survived the move to a new apartment, the departure of Liz to Santa Fe, and out-lived every other fish we had - even those purchased much later.

Eventually, it came time for me to leave Flagstaff, and I had a tank containing only two fish - Squishy and Spec. I packaged them up and hauled them all the way to Tucson. At this point the two were no longer tiny, and at least two years old - which is getting up there as far as small fresh-water aquarium fish go.

Spec, tragically, did not survive the journey. Squishy, (finally a distinct individual), did. My parents placed him in a bowl on the kitchen counter, where he participated in the daily rhythms of family life. He learned to anticipate his feeding time, swam to the edge of his bowl whenever people passed, and overcame a horrible disease that looked like it would claim his life.

Three years after he came to Tucson (two and a half years after my departure to Iowa), Squishy finally shuffled off this mortal coil. A nobler, more endearing, more enchanting tiny orange fish I have never known.

Rest in Peace, Squishy