A woman buys a dying fish in a pet shop and in a few weeks manages to save its life
When Victoria Schild entered a household goods store, she noticed on a shelf a tiny bowl with a motionless fish inside.
It was a barely recognizable Betta Splendens male (what is commonly called a "fighting fish" due to the tenacity with which it defends its territory).
The pet fish had a faded color - so it was probably sick - and his body was probably disfigured by a clash with other fish. In fact, his tail, in particular, was totally absent.
Abandoned on that shelf, and surrounded by other fish in perfect health, he had no chance of being bought and taken away to have a real home. At least, not until Victoria decided to help him.
The woman started looking around in the store for a spacious aquarium to accommodate the unfortunate fish. She was convinced that the fish would not survive and would have died that same night, but she was determined to let him live his last moments in a dignified manner, and not inside a glass container on a dark shelf in a store.
So she took the Betta Splendens fish home, placed it in the heated aquarium, after adding to the water the disinfectants she had purchased to treat it, and waited. The fish did not move and was very still for a long time, and she feared the worst.
After a week of almost total immobility, the fish's willpower and the loving care of this woman began to display their effects. The Betta Splendens fish began to swim timidly in his aquarium ... which was definitely a good sign!
The loving care and abundant food began to stimulate the return of the fish's purple color, which slowly resumed the iridescent shades and tones typical of its species.
Slowly but surely, the tail and the other side fins began to grow back. It took about four weeks to see the changes, but the result was beyond expectation! In fact, Victoria had never expected that hidden beneath the guise of that sick, abandoned, and modest creature, was a spectacularly beautiful Betta Splendens --- that now swam proudly far and wide in the spacious aquarium.
When it became clear that the two would no longer separate, Victoria decided to give the fish a name, and she named it Argo. Its aquarium, initially empty and aseptic, has been transformed into a labyrinth of plants, stones, and branches. Argo now occupies an irreplaceable place in this woman's house, and every time, when he stops swimming in his tank, waits, and looks up at her, he seems to be thanking her for saving his life.
Unfortunately, very often these pet fish are treated as objects and are left in tiny aquariums. In reality, the Betta Splendens, as well as having a magnificent appearance, also have a beautiful personality and are perfect pets.
In fact, they do not need a lot of care --- they only require an adequate tank (not the small ones that we usually see being sold!), heated water, food ... and a little bit of loving attention!
