tiffany brazel l

8/2/2019 Tiffany Brazel l

1/5

GloriousKingyo

Asix oot window o dazzling color lls my vi-

sion. Streams rom red and green spotlights

play through twin curtains o bubbles thirty

inches high and twenty-our inches across. uy anachari

and bright green marbled radicans sway gently in the cur-

rent. My gaze dris across the space rom the le to right.

A detailed resin ornament o the Great Wall o China ron

the bubbles until it snakes beneath a network o careully a

ranged driwood. On the other side, the acade o a chine

temple topped with curved acroterium and three wide ope

ings adds a sense o tranquility. Te scene is oset by a cob

background.

Just when I start to get lost in the cadence o water moving to and ro, the rst round body waddles

through one o the open temple gates. A pair o gigantic eyes protrude rom either side o his head. His ns sw

around him like buttery wings. Hes a telescope goldsh. He sees me just as I see him, and comes closer.

He is quickly ollowed by others, ten others to be exact, all in a renzied rush and myriad o color, shape

and marking. Tey orm a line across the ront o the tank with large mouths pumping uriously open and clos

and bodies wagging. All are saying the same thing: Feed us!

I remember the quick clomps my white tennis shoes made on the pavement as I rushed or home. I

clutched a small box against my stomach, a hard-won prize rom mountain-man dayin the ourth grade. Falls

crisp scent lled my nostrils and its cool air slid over my skin. Leaves crackled beneath my eet, but did not slo

me. I scarcely noticed the vibrant golds and crimsons that still adorned loy aspens and maples as I passed the

All I could hear were the plastic contents o my prize rattling with every bounding step. I couldnt wait

get home and tell my mother how I swindled Sarah Green into trading a two gallon sh tank with an

undergravel lter and lights or two crappy olders and a bandana.

By iany Brazell
http://www.travelchinaguide.com/china_great_wall/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acroterionhttp://www.exoticgoldfish.net/breeds-telescope.htmlhttp://xroads.virginia.edu/~hyper/hns/mtmen/home.htmlhttp://xroads.virginia.edu/~hyper/hns/mtmen/home.htmlhttp://animals.howstuffworks.com/pets/choosing-aquarium-equipment7.htmhttp://animals.howstuffworks.com/pets/choosing-aquarium-equipment7.htmhttp://xroads.virginia.edu/~hyper/hns/mtmen/home.htmlhttp://www.exoticgoldfish.net/breeds-telescope.htmlhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acroterionhttp://www.travelchinaguide.com/china_great_wall/


2/5

W

hen I le the house that morning, I had orgotten that it was mountain-man day. Every-

one was supposed to bring an object to trade with our classmates. I bowed my head in

shame when I walked into Mrs. York and Mrs. Wilkinsons class and the buzz o excite-

ment about the pending rendezvous lled my ears. I had nothing to trade.

I looked across the room to where my riend, Sarah Green, sat with a two gallon aquarium starter

kit. An imperious smile played across her ace when she caught my eye. Te colorul picture on the box

eatured a troubling o goldsh swimming around in a cubical tank made o clear acrylic.

I rummaged through my desk- there had to be something I could trade or that aquarium. I

ound two Star Wars Episode I olders, one depicting Anakin Skywalker at his podracer controls, and the

other displayed Jar Jar Binks on a pink background. I also ound an orange bandana.

Te bears, candies, hats, and other stu cluttering desks around the room seemed to disappear. It

was as though I stared down a long tunnel. At the end, I could only see the aquarium.

I negotiated with Sarah throughout the day as we went about our activities-we elt dierent ani-

mal pelts, learned how to do some old west cooking, and witnessed a crazy old codger in overalls re a

rie on the school stage just to prove how loud a gunshot can be. Fortunately, due to my hearing impair-

ment, I was not as traumatized as some o my classmates.Despite three recesses and hours o coaxing, Sarah kept me in suspense. Te end o the school

day drew near, and the nal activity, the rendezvous, was scheduled to take place. Everyone milled about,

oering this or that. I had almost given up. I sat at my desk, drumming my ngers on it. Tere was no

way Sarah Green would trade with me. Aer watching others exchange or several minutes, I rose and

approached Sarah once more. She barely suppressed a laugh when she saw me. She knew what I wanted.

I proered my wares another time. She shoved the coveted box toward me and said, Here. Ill

take the olders and bandana.

I set the cubical aquarium on the white desk in my room, comortably surrounded byStar Wars

Legos. I hooked up the lights and theundergravel lter. As I sat back and observed the empty device, I

wondered, what shall I put in it?
http://animals.howstuffworks.com/animal-facts/22-peculiar-names-for-groups-of-animals.htmhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FUsltuNO6l8http://www.thefurtrapper.com/rendezvous_sites.htmhttp://www.toysrus.com/family/index.jsp?categoryId=3686913&camp=ppc:43823142&affcode=823142&searchdef=2194806&k_clickid=5eb801c4-68e0-1fc9-423f-00002d65310d&002=2194806&006=10441423606&007=Search&008=&009=e&012=star%20wars%20legos&021=8823118346http://www.toysrus.com/family/index.jsp?categoryId=3686913&camp=ppc:43823142&affcode=823142&searchdef=2194806&k_clickid=5eb801c4-68e0-1fc9-423f-00002d65310d&002=2194806&006=10441423606&007=Search&008=&009=e&012=star%20wars%20legos&021=8823118346http://www.toysrus.com/family/index.jsp?categoryId=3686913&camp=ppc:43823142&affcode=823142&searchdef=2194806&k_clickid=5eb801c4-68e0-1fc9-423f-00002d65310d&002=2194806&006=10441423606&007=Search&008=&009=e&012=star%20wars%20legos&021=8823118346http://animals.howstuffworks.com/pets/choosing-aquarium-equipment7.htmhttp://animals.howstuffworks.com/pets/choosing-aquarium-equipment7.htmhttp://www.toysrus.com/family/index.jsp?categoryId=3686913&camp=ppc:43823142&affcode=823142&searchdef=2194806&k_clickid=5eb801c4-68e0-1fc9-423f-00002d65310d&002=2194806&006=10441423606&007=Search&008=&009=e&012=star%20wars%20legos&021=8823118346http://www.toysrus.com/family/index.jsp?categoryId=3686913&camp=ppc:43823142&affcode=823142&searchdef=2194806&k_clickid=5eb801c4-68e0-1fc9-423f-00002d65310d&002=2194806&006=10441423606&007=Search&008=&009=e&012=star%20wars%20legos&021=8823118346http://www.thefurtrapper.com/rendezvous_sites.htmhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FUsltuNO6l8http://animals.howstuffworks.com/animal-facts/22-peculiar-names-for-groups-of-animals.htm


3/5

I

named my rst ancy goldsh Jabba. He was a red ryukin

with eathery ns and a deep belly. He had golden eyes

lled with inquisitiveness. I purchased him rom

my local Wal*Mart along with a bag o purple gravel

to adorn his new abode.

He was the size o a ping pong ball when

I brought him home. He did well in my

acrylic cube despite its modest capacity

o two gallons or around a year and a

hal.

One day, as I approached and Jabba

begged or ood as was customary, waddling back

and orth with all eagerness and vigor, it occurred to me that

he had reached the size o the tank. I wondered how I hadnt noticed.

Goldsh didnt get so large, did they? I still had much to learn.

Sometime in high school, aer a long period o keeping oth

sh, I decided to take up goldsh again. I had suered a

mild traumatic brain injuryand spent a great deal o time

home with migraine headaches and other maladies associated wit

it.

I attended at most one or two days o school every week an

had trouble going to sleep at night. I always ound goldsh so soo

ing, particularly their ethereal ns and bright colors. I purchased

a thirty gallon aquarium with some Christmas money that year.

Watching them helped me relax and eel better.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ryukinhttp://www.traumaticbraininjury.com/content/symptoms/mildtbisymptoms.htmlhttp://www.traumaticbraininjury.com/content/symptoms/mildtbisymptoms.htmlhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ryukin


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he most important thing I discovered and observed along the way is that goldsh are highly intelli-

gent and social animals. Tey not only enjoy each others company, but that o their human care-

takers as well. I also came to the sobering realization that because o their low cost and widespread

availability, so many people exhibit an undeserved lack o respect or these amazing creatures.

Idecided to learn more about these animals that time around because I didnt know anything about them

other than that they were cute sh, and some very basic care parameters. I took up studying their behavior

and every text I could get my hands on. Fascination turned to obsession.

Beore I knew it, I became goldsh erudite extraordinaire- much to the chagrin o many around me. I

ound a tremendous wealth o inormation o which most people are ignorant or do not care about unless orc-

ibly prodded, some o which I will address at length in uture posts.
http://www.exoticgoldfish.net/breeds-oranda.html


5/5

Round bodied, and possessing a tendency to waddle-

very adorably- around the tank, I decided on gold-

sh, or kingyo as the Japanese call them. Ah yes,

glorious kingyo!

Last year, I closed a chapter. My amily moved rom my childhood home in Cottonwood Heights. Prior

to our move I owned nine aquariums. I bred halmoon bettas, kept marine sh, a Southeast Asian

biotype, and ancy goldsh.

I realized that I no longer had time or so many enclosures and it would be difcult to move them. O

all my reshwater sh, I could bring one variety and obtain a new system or it. Despite the attachments I had to

my many sh, some o which I bred mysel, I knew immediately which ones I would keep.
http://fish.mongabay.com/biotope.htmhttp://cottonwoodheights.utah.gov/http://www.atisonbetta.com/hm1.asphttp://fish.mongabay.com/biotope.htmhttp://fish.mongabay.com/biotope.htmhttp://fish.mongabay.com/biotope.htmhttp://fish.mongabay.com/biotope.htmhttp://fish.mongabay.com/biotope.htmhttp://www.atisonbetta.com/hm1.asphttp://cottonwoodheights.utah.gov/

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