ABOVE: Sky Banana posing in her tank
CHRISTIE WILCOX
“What should her name be?” I ask my soon-to-be four-year-old daughter, Bianca. She and I had just picked out her first pet: a female betta fish. My daughter’s favorite color (for now, anyway) is purple, so even though the pet store had a whole display full of bettas to choose from, she was immediately drawn a lavender-toned variety of the “elephant ear” or “Dumbo” phenotype, so named because of its particularly large pectoral fins that resemble the ears of elephants.
“Sky,” she answers confidently.
“That’s a beautiful name,” I tell her. “A beautiful name for a beautiful fish.” But my daughter is not satisfied; she feels the fish also needs a middle name. “Banana!” she declares without hesitation and with copious giggles. “Sky Banana it is,” I say with a smile.
Most betta owners are drawn to the fish because of ...
