Sometime in January of 1997, a woman working at a bar decided to bring a betta in to work. "Big Red" had a nice little bowl and all the patrons liked him, and so the owner of this bar decided to get a nicer home for "Red".
A ten gallon tank was soon purchased from a second-hand store, and of course it was far to large for just one fish, and so "Red"; got himself a girl to enjoy the new digs. This happened sometime in February.
Ten gallons is a lot of water for a pair of anabantids, and soon neon tetras, pristella tetras and a couple of guppies joined the party. Occasionally patrons would buy nice little fish to go into the tank, danios, some Otocinclus, other friendly little fish.
April was a bad month. Angelfish were purchased by a patron and they were sort of mean to Red and his peaceful buddies. By May there was a 20 gallon tank set-up next to the 10 gallon tank. Mean fish get to go on the left to attempt to hold their own, friendly fishies go on the right.
You know, we could have another tank up on that counter right there... the bar owner next bought a used 30 gallon hex. Sailfin Mollies might be nice. By the end of the year they were working on their 3rd generation... but I’m getting ahead of the story, we are still talking about what was happening in the summertime.
Sometime in June, Big Red checked out. Everyone who frequented the bar was pretty upset about that. By July "Big Blue" was courting the widow of Big Red.
In August, the mollies were dropping generation 2.
In September, someone thought adding a second female betta would be a good idea... unfortunately, "Big Blue" got the worst from both his girls and had to be removed to live out his days by himself... well, one male trying to keep two females happy doesn’t always work out for fish, either.
In October, a very strange thing happened. A golfing buddy of the bars owner walked into a fish store and asked to see the largest fish tank available that morning. It was a 90 gallon acrylic tank. How much does it weigh when filled up? About 900 pounds give or take a few. The golfing buddy slapped down the cash and asked for the tank to be delivered to the bar immediately. All the while this guy was muttering to himself "This will really piss them off!".
The tank was delivered and everyone at the bar was a bit baffled... Not that it was purchased for the bar, but by what on earth they were going to do with it. It wouldn’t fit anywhere very well. I wouldn’t say the owner was pissed off about it, just determined not to be outdone (apparently the two golfing buddies frequently played this sort of "joke" on each other).
In November a swap was arranged to trade the 90g acrylic tank for a used but fully equipped 45 gallon glass tank, and the 20 gallon tank went home to be kept by the bar owners young son.
In December the hex tank was broken and the mollies were moved to the 10 gallon, and the fish previously kept in the ten gallon where taken home by another bar patron. Also, the 45 gallon tank had generously sized fish installed; 4 Geophagus, and 2 Pacu. Of course all the patrons in the bar are certain that the Pacu are actually Piranha, and the bar keep doesn’t dissuade them from this opinion, explaining that the only way you can clean the tank is to first spray your arm with a sort of "shark-repellent" that keeps the piranha from attacking.
You can see the legacy of Big Red at the Redfront Tavern located in the International district at 5th Avenue and King Street.
Heather Candelaria is owner/operator of a fish store not far from 5th Avenue and King Street, and tells us she hears stories like this all the time.