He Bought A 10-Gallon Aquarium 'Just For One Fish' — His Wife Documented What Happened Over The Next Year
There's a name for what happened to him, and millions of people have it.
It began innocently: one betta fish, one small tank, one trip to the pet store. His wife started a photo log as a joke. Twelve months later, that photo log reads like a documentary about a man slowly losing a negotiation with himself.
Month two: a second tank appeared, 'because the water parameters were wrong.' Month four: live plants, a CO2 system, and a test kit more sophisticated than most home chemistry sets. Month six: he started referring to the fish as 'the residents.'
By month nine, the dining room had a 55-gallon centerpiece and dinner guests were given tours. He could explain the nitrogen cycle from memory but still forgot his own dentist appointments.
Aquarium veterans call it 'multi-tank syndrome,' and they say there's no cure — only bigger tanks. His wife's final photo caption says it all: 'We don't have a fish. The fish have us.'
