how fish fall in love

Guppy didn’t like me when we first met. But then, he’s fairly picky when it comes to choosing a mate. His opinion on me was that I swam too fast, ate all the flake food given to us by ‘the hand’, and flaunted the under part of my fin to too many other guppies. Hmpf.

Over time, I showed Guppy with subtle, elaborate, and blatant means, that I like him. I looked him directly in the eye when we released bubbles with each other. I smiled and pursed my mouth to show my delight at his presence. When he showed interest in swimming in circles, I showed a similar interest (but ended up swimming much faster than he – though don’t tell him I told you). On days that his pigmentation was particularly bright, I complimented him. And when he had a bad day, I empathized with him or gave him a big hug.

All in all, I have to say, the seduction of Guppy worked quite well. He now yearns to swim in my circles. He’s always trying to look under my fin. And when we’re alone in the tank together…we speak poetically to one another: about why we swim in circles, why we blow bubbles, why the bacteria in the tank smell, and why he likes me so much. It’s so nice.