A Fish With True Grit

Hoover's home. 

Hoover.

My mom used to tell stories about my grandfather's fish tanks. How, living in a coal mining town in West Virginia, she would accompany her father on long trips to the pet store to pick up fish and returning home they would discover which survived and which went belly up.

 He would boil coral in my grandmother's cooking pots to later be placed in his aquariums and occasionally Grandpa would reach his hand into the aquariums's water and whisk all the gravel and algae around because he was certain it would benefit the fish's health.

I have a few fish stories of my own. As a kid I had a small hexagon shaped fish tank that featured an ever-rotating population of fish. I loved guppies. They had colorful tails that reminded me of flared skirts. My guppies always seemed to immediately get pregnant once they were introduced my aquarium and then quickly following that, they would pass away. The animal world is harsh and cruel but these characteristics seemed to be particularly acute in my small fish tank.

My mother had a great fish tank for a few years. It was huge and inside this tank was a hyposomus plecostomus. This fish was better than any guppie. First of all it was huge. It would press its belly against the side of the tank and you could see its suction-cup mouth puckered against the glass like it was giving the side of the aquarium a kiss. The fish's charcoal grey body was decorated with an intricate design of white speckles and its beady eyes seemed to hover above its head.

My mother named the fish Hoover.

Sadly, when my parents moved Hoover was not able to accompany them so my mother gave him to a local pet store. I remember helping her move the giant aquatic creature. I delicately held Hoover by his side fins so it looked as though he levitated from the aquarium to a bucket filled with water. Remarkably, Hoover was a model of good behavior. He didn't even seem to wince.

Fast forward some more years and my mother bought me another fish tank. I had some success with angel fish for a while but then my luck ran out. However, my own hyposomus plecostomus, or Hoover II, has stuck with me through thick and thin.

I constantly say this is absolutely no thanks to me. Despite all my efforts to fix it, the water mysteriously turned a permanent kelly green. Plus, the aquarium's lamp broke and I have never fixed it. So Hoover resides in a dark, green water home.

It's partly because of his resilience to all the obstacles thrown at him that I admire this sucker fish. He is not a beautiful guppie or angel fish. Actually, Hoover is extremely odd-looking but he is tough and has true grit. And given what I know from my and my family's history with pet fish,  that is what really counts.