Fish Tale

Henry had what he felt was an extremely stressful job, fielding customer complaints for a major airline. To decompress after work, some of his colleagues would gather at the local pub to hoist a few, others took up kick boxing. Henry watched his fish.

Occupying one wall of his living room was what had to be the largest personal saltwater aquarium available for purchase. This miniature ocean contained coral, sea horses, a miniature nurse shark, angel fish, and a multitude of other aquatic life.  Henry wasn’t an ichthyologist, just a guy who enjoyed watching colorful fish.  It helped him destress after a long day dealing with irate customers.

During his recent visit to the pet store Henry spotted an unusually shaped fish.  This specimen was light gray with orange lateral stripes and a small mouth populated with needle-like teeth.  The name tag under the aquarium read Balistidae.  Henry knew this fish would make a great addition to his underwater utopia.  He completed the purchase and rushed home anxious to introduce his fish to its’ new home.

All seemed well in the aquarium world as the new resident settled in swimmingly.  Just before turning in for the night Henry asked Google what the common name was for his new fish; Triggerfish was the reply.  Henry went to bed content.

Upon returning from work the next day Henry immediately noticed a disturbance in his aquatic universe.  Several small pieces of coral were broken off and, even more disturbing, two smaller fish were floating belly up on the surface of the tank.  Nothing like this had ever happened before.  Suspicion immediately fell on the new fish. Further research revealed that Triggerfish were not only extremely territorial but aggressive as well.

What had he done! He had inserted Vishnu the destroyer into his Nirvana, Hades into his Elysian Fields, or Satan into what had been his Heaven. Henry knew what needed to be done. He reached for a long metal pole with a fishnet scoop on one end and inserted it into the top of the tank. Catching the Triggerfish was no easy task. It was as though the culprit could sense its’ impending doom, darting around the tank with lightning speed. Had it been the actual ocean the felon would have probably gotten away, but Henry’s dogged determination coupled with the tank’s size was too much for the fish to overcome.

Finally, after multiple attempts, Henry had the fish trapped against the tank wall and secure in his net. It was time! With a heavy heart Henry pulled the Trigger…. Fish.