The Pets of Mimi Green! Edition 1: My love, Kermie the goldfish

We are not only dog lovers here at Mimi Green, but major animal lovers. We don’t descriminate!  Here at the office we have a pet goldfish, lots of pet shrimps, 4 snails and our employees collectively have 14 dogs (of course!), 2 parrots, a dove, a gecko & 3 cats.

Our lovely black moor goldfish Kermie is, next to Chupa, the unofficial office mascot. I fell in love, and I mean head over heels in LOVE, with him last April because he looks like a pug (correction, he looks exactly like Chupa!)

He’s in a sphere tank called a Biorob, so it is super hard to get a photo of his beautiful face! But he has HUGE eyes, a stunning butterfly tail and is about as big as a softball. His mouth is crooked so his top lip doesn’t exactly match up with his bottom lip. Also, one of his gills doesn’t work quite right which could have been caused by not great water quality at his previous home (the pet store took him in from a customer) or he just has a birth defect.

Kermie Black Moor Goldfish
Kermie while he was still at the pet store

I think that no one wanted him from the pet store because he is older and totally imperfect, but that’s one reason I love him.

He is ALWAYS hungry so if you put your hand up to the tank he tries to bite you. And everytime I stick my hand in his tank he bites, err, kisses me all over my arm.

He totally knows my face and when I approach his tank he comes right over to say hello.

I’ve had some OCD decorating his Biorb though. I think we are on the 3rd aqua scape in the past year and getting ready for the 4th.

I love him so much I actually got a second tank to grow his favorite treat, narrow leaf anacharis.  They don’t sell it in town and it costs a ton to overnight, so complete with grow lights, I have a whole new set up. Blog post on that tank and its inhabitants soon!

Kermie, black moor goldfish in his Biorb
Kermie in his Biorb

Right now Kermie lives in the packaging/printing office, but next week when I move to my new and improved larger office in the suite next door, I’m taking him with me.

One other thing, he lives with 3 snails who I’ll tell you about later. Kermie deserved his own post 😉

 

I saved the best for last.

Not only is Kermie deformed, but he is half bind (see, just like Chupa! and no this isn’t the best part. Keep reading….) His big ol’ eyeballs have a foggy film over them that makes it very hard to see. I had no idea he was blind when I met him since he would come right up to the glass when I would visit him.

I quickly learned that my very hungry man couldn’t see the first time I fed him and he couldn’t find it! I tried everything, fish flakes, sinking pellets, a clip on the side of the tank and he could never find the dang food!

I wondered if he might be able to see color so I positioned a red tupperware lid in his tank and dropped the food right onto it.  After a few times of hand feeding him off the lid, he learned that there was food on the tupperware! He still has no idea when I feed him, but he checks for food on the lid many, many times a day.  I feel so proud that I was able to train my goldfish to eat off a plate! I like to say he has really good manners and that’s why he insisted on having a dish to eat from.

black moor
The current aquascape complete with his red Tupperware

Kermie has taught me things that at 31 years old I didn’t know about myself. A year ago I would have never thought a person could get so attached to a goldfish, but man has this little guy made his way into my heart.

He is such a strange and funny fish, everyone who’s met him finds him to be extremely charming.  Even the people who work at the pet store still ask about him.

 

 

 

 

 

He’s my baby and I probably spend way to much time hanging with him, Paula’s even asked me if I want to quit my job to take care of my fish.  I’ve thought that proposal over, but seriously, if I quit my job who will pay for Kermie’s food and decor!?!

Kermie, black moor