Piscine Survival

This is not their natural habitat though
they are to be found everywhere in the
world as aquarium pets in any child's
bedroom. From the East, they have found
diverse homes in the West, common and
popular, beautiful little creatures which
in Japan adorn every Temple pond, swim
in priceless porcelain koi bowls, their
presence treasured and admired, sleekly
full bodies glistening gold and silver as
they splurge in the clean, clear ponds
even inhabiting creeks and natural ponds
in rural villages, their very presence a
muscular ornament of aquatic life. It
seems that someone decided to vacate the
goldfish inventory of a pet store into a
local woodland creek, allowing these tiny
creatures the luxury of freedom simply
by ridding the shop of their unsaleable
presence. Perhaps with the knowledge that
over-wintering in a Northern climate would
be the end of them. Two winters later there
they are, robust now, growing larger with
each month, adapting, evading threats
foraging for zooplankton, bug larvae, and
managing determinedly their survival.