Champagne Carousel

His name is Dream, and I bought him years and years ago at a mall in Toronto. He is a fighting fish (officially a "Betta Splendens"), and I saw him sulking in a little plastic baggie at the pet store and bought him on a whim.

Some people will tell you that Bettas like to be kept this way, but they're so wrong! I did a little bit of research and learned that my Dream's natural home would be in the rice paddies of Thailand. These paddies form warm little pools that fill up with bugs and eggs - choice treats for hungry fish. Bettas therefore need at least 1 gallon or two of warm water to replicate their natural homes.

Dream and I have spent happy years together with his aquarium, a 2.5-gallon that I filled with plants for him to perch on. When he stopped being able to swim, due to his swim bladder failing with old age, I emptied some of the water and added more leaves. I thought I was going to lose him, but instead he adapted: Dream now perches atop the leaves closest to the surface and hops from leaf to leaf. He still unfurls his beautiful fins to beg for food when he sees me walk by, and he still blows me bubble nests.