Do you find it fishy that someone would want to become a writer for a website like Give Me a Fin? Would you like to know what drives someone over the boundary between liking fish and being a finatic? In this bio article, we’ll learn more about writer Michaela Riek.
I can’t remember a time when we didn’t have animals in our house. The first ones I remember are a little dexter bull and a pond of koi fish.
My parents would take me out every day to feed the fish, and I would try to help clean the pond. Feeding the fish soon became my favourite part of the day, and my poor parents were plagued with chants of “fishie, fishie” every afternoon. The fish would nibble at my fingers and toes, and I remember being entranced by the shimmering colours of their scales.
A few years and many moves later, my parents decided to buy a 150-gallon tank. We kitted it out with pumps, filters, heaters, and plants, but we had no idea what kinds of fish to put in.
We started with a rope fish, common pleco, angelfish, and a small school of guppies. Any good fishkeeper would immediately see the fault there: our guppies were soon no more.
It took tons of research and trial and error, but we finally had a beautiful tank full of happy fish. Our bigger aquarium eventually contained the pleco, rope fish, angelfish, four elephant fish, and a few gouramis. I used to spend hours after school just watching them, studying them and their behaviour.
I haven’t been able to own a fish for a while, but writing for Give Me A Fin has given me an amazing opportunity to express my love.