Phil's getting old

Our Beta fish Phil did eat when I fed him. In the past summers, he would wake up in the early morning when I drew open the curtains. He would swim to the surface waiting to be fed. His appetite was very good as he could eat 3 or 4 pallets.

This summer, he is different. He sees the pallets, but does not bite. He simply swims away. He must be hungry because I saw him trying to take the pallets that have sunk to the bottom of the tank. Beta fish are surface eaters, not bottom ones. So this made me think that probably the pallets were no longer fresh.

I bought a new bottle of Beta pallets today. When I opened the cap, I was surprised to find the pallets twice the size of the the previous brand. I dropped a few in the tank. Phil was obviously interested in the new brown food. He dashed towards one of them, opened his mouth, but the pallet was too big to fit in. At first I was not sure it was the size problem, so I fed him a few more. He seemed scared of the sight of them, and quickly swam away.

Phil is getting rather old. He no longer can open his mouth big enough to engulf the pallets. After I crushed the pallets to tiny pieces, and sprinkled them in the water, he could not stop eating. After the feast, he circled around the tank several times happily before retired in the cave.

Phil is a smart fish. I think he can remember things. He no longer panics when I put him in a small container to change the water in the tank. When I move my index finger along the sides of the tank, he knows it is a game. He follows the finger when he is not lazy, or he just ignores it and continues his nap.

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This morning, a humming bird stopped by the yellow lilies, just for a second, but enough to send my heart pounding.

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Phil died Friday night Nov 1, 2013 in peace.

I got used to look at him while watching TV. I still do so, only that his tank is empty.