What an 11 year old girl learned from tragedy

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I remember my first real aquarium. I was 11 years old and it was a 10 gallon fish tank. I got daddy to buy me everything or so I thought. The tank, the fish (some Betas, Tetras, Angelfish and goldfish, if i remember correctly), the food, the lights and even some fish tank decor. I thought I was set, I was ready.

So I happily installed everything and when I finished, I simply watched. Staring in amazement, like any 11 year old would do at the cute little fishes swimming around in their newly built home. A home that I built.

Days passed by and everything seemed right in my little fishy world. Then the unthinkable happened. I woke up one day and as I was getting ready to go to school and bid my fishy friends goodbye I saw one of my angelfish lifeless and dead, floating on top. I screamed for daddy and I cried. He told me maybe the fish was just weak or sick even before we got him. Naively, I believed him.

To make the story short, days passed and one by one the remaining fishes started to die. We went back to the pet store and demanded an explanation. Believing all the while the guy was cheating us and giving us “weak” or “sick” fish, we came to the conclusion that we forgot one of the most important pieces of the puzzle, and that was the aquarium filter. Ever since that day, I’ve never had trouble remembering how crucial a fish tank filter is.