When my older daughter was 3 years old, we were given a ten gallon aquarium. We loved it. The fish were neat to watch as they swam back and forth, relieving tension in the viewer. We had some mollies, a couple cat fish, some neons, and a plecostomus. A plecostomus is a shy, prehistoric-looking bottom feeder that keeps the tank clean. Wikipedia says: “Plecostomus, pleco, or plec is the common name of several species of freshwater loricariid catfish commonly sold as aquarium fish.” He was very shy and would lose his color when frightened. I remember sitting by the tank one night and he was feeding close to the front of the tank. I moved forward and he moved back, growing pale. When I sat back, he swam forward to feed again. We repeated this action several times. I was fascinated by his shyness.

It only took a short time for my daughter to run around chattering about the plecostomus! It was fun to hear her converse about him!

When we moved a few years later, we gave away our aquarium and our wonderful plecostomus. To this day, he is a special memory.