The Tropical Fish

By Zhong Wanting

I always enjoy watching fish swimming happily in water. As I watch them swerve around stones easily, I always think of my own fish…

They are beautiful creatures, with beady black eyes, slim and striped bodies and long colourful tails, but not two of them are alike. The Princess of Fire has a long, crimson tail and a pretty red dorsal fin dotted with black spots. Rainbow Lady is the most beautiful of all. She has the most colourful fins and body. As she swims around the tank, her wonderful tail shines with dazzling splendor. In the sun her gorgeous tail seems to be gleaming with all the colours of the rainbow. Smarty is not so handsome. However, he could be distinguished from all the fish easily with the black patch near his smart black eyes. Tiny Speckie’s numerous black or blue specks dotted here and there upon his red body stand out rather clearly. Mr. White is not so good-looking compared to the other fish. Yet, his red-rimmed blue-and-white tail and the black stripes on his whitish body might let you feel the aura of plainness and solemnity around him…

The fish are different in their characteristics just as they are unlike one another in their looks. Their varied nature adds colour to the fish community. The Princess of Fire is really a fiery, wild and active ‘girl’. She loves to chase other fish and never stops moving around swiftly. Speckie is very lovely and very brisk, though he’s tiny. He’s somewhat like The Princess of Fire, yet he’s never rude. Speckie, dynamic and speedy, often races up to the surface of the water and disappears in a flash, splashing away into the thick, flowing green weeds, dodging fish after fish, finally running into The Princess of Fire. He flees while she follows him at his heels, annoyed. Ducking sharply, he vanishes, leaving an irritated Princess of Fire snapping at the twisty weeds. Rainbow Lady is much more elegant. She enjoys swimming around slowly, brandishing her charming tail and swishing her fins. While she’s showing off her beauty, the others look on adoringly. Smarty likes to swim leisurely, carefully steering himself so that he won’t bump into the other playing fish. Sometimes, he would nibble at the weeds calmly and silently. Mr. White is the gentle and quiet sort. He hardly ever moves around a lot, and is usually seen floating in the weeds serenely, peacefully listening to the noise. Nobody ever disturbs the tranquil gentleman.

It’s always fun to watch the fish eat. When food is put into the tank, there is always a tumult. The fish all swarm toward the food, but usually the first ones launching out to reach the food are The Princess of Fire and Speckie. The Princess of Fire often snatches a few chunks, swallows them, and greedily gulps down more. Sometimes, she can’t wolf down all of the food, so she has to spit some out and eat slowly. Speckie would grab some food from below, shoot away into the weeds, devour the food with relish and lodge himself up for more. Rainbow Lady would be very graceful. She often eats slowly and swims around, proudly showing her long tail. Smarty frequently stays behind, unhurriedly biting the weeds. When he’s too hungry, he would get some food and sink back into the weeds again. As for Mr. White, he always eats his food quietly.

What interesting fish! They have surely added colour to my everyday life.

     Zhong Wanting, Class 1, Junior 1

    Guangdong Experimental Middle School

   广东实验中学  初一（1）班  钟琬婷