At a time while we were living in Minneapolis Pat and I were found ourselves managing an Aquarium Store.  We had only tropical fish, and supplies, tanks, etc. NO pets....other than a mouse in a habitrail.  The store was in a small strip mall in Robbinsdale, MN, a suburb of north Minneapolis.  How we got there was interesting.  We were living in South Minneapolis and we decided to buy an aquarium and put some tropical fish and see how that would work out for the kids and us.  We found an aquarium store in Bloomington and I became fascinated with the many varieties and colors of the little creatures.  The shop was owned by a couple brothers, and they were so helpful in making sure I got set up right, and that what I put into the aquarium was compatible with everything else in there. Being that it is a closed environment and there is really not much room to escape or "get away from it all" in a 10 or even 20 gal aquarium.

As a short time went on, the brothers had decided to buy store number two in the other side of Minneapolis in Robbinsdale.  They needed a manager at that store as they were pretty tied up in their first one, but wanted to expand northward.  I had been interested in tropical fish keeping now for SIX months or so.  One day I was in the shop and they asked if I would be interested in being the manager of "The Fish Pond" in Robbinsdale.  After quite a bit of discussion with Pat, we offered them a co-manager arrangement that they accepted.  We would manage the daily operations of the store and they would take care of any taxes and legal stuff.  The older brother wrote up the agreement as he was in his last year of Law School and off we were . . . Aquarium store operators!

It was a cozy store about 20ft. wide and about 40ft. deep.  Check out counter and supplies along one wall and the two tiers of aquariums along the other side wall with two back to back tanks coming out from the the wall in a kind of "W" fashion.  We had our smaller fish (guppies, neon and cardinal tetras, etc.) along the back wall with the store room, etc. behind.

It was a fun time for Pat and I as I would leave for our cross town morning drive from S. Minneapolis to the North end of town...and Minneapolis is not one of your rural type towns.  I got there and about 7:30 or so and did tank maintenance and feeding of the fish, while Pat got the kids off to school and came on up and readied the register side of the business and played with her 12" Red Oscar fish that loved to be petted before the day started with the hustle bustle of the day. It was the craziest thing to watch.  She was in a 40 gallon tank and would sit in the front corner staring at Pat as she worked at the cash register.  You could feel the piercing gaze. Pat would finally look up and the fish would slowly fade its colors and lean to on her side.  Pat would come over and reach in and pet it along its side, the color would brighten and after a minute or so, Pat would go back to work and the fish was good to go until the next morning. We had got her as a trade in on some smaller fish as I remember.  What a special animal that was.

After a little while, we figured we needed to live on the north side of Minneapolis, so our commute time would make more sense, especially with my schedule of long hours at the store.  We had such a wonderful time with our new responsibilities.  Since we were really new at the hobby, and didn't have a lot of experience with much of anything, it could have been disastrous if it hadn't been for a great deal of honesty and a great big "compatibility" directory, kind of like the auto parts catalog that has the pages on long horizontal rails.  This guide had every fish, their feeding habits, their compatibility issues, if any, water temperature, and much much more.  So when customers came in, we were able to take them over to "the BOOK" and make sure their choices wouldn't eat each other or rip fins from their neighbors. We got some very positive results with our honesty in what we were providing to our customers and from an almost empty store (inventory wise, hard goods and fish) to a full range of food, nets, tanks, accessories and FISH, because people were comfortable that their investment was  going to last and their enjoyment of the hobby would be wonderful. I wouldn't let the customer buy the aquarium and the fish at the same time.  Buy the aquarium.... get it set up right with temperature and water chemistry right....THEN introduce your fish into their new home.  We only did fresh water tropical fish as salt water systems are pretty complex for a "newbe" in the hobby.  Saturday seemed to be a big aquarium selling day and Sunday afternoon was at times PACKED with pet fish buyers!

I did order a black piranha once.  He came in a twelve inch x 3-31/2 inch can, in a plastic bag, and the can had a slot in the top.  Killer was our 'get them in the door' draw.  He had blood red eyes and I had him in a 15 gallon extra high tank on the top row facing the the back wall of the the showroom...right across the isle from the guppies and the fresh water sting-ray.  I also had about 3 or so pounds of rock on top of Killer's tank lid/light.  One day a nice couple with their little child came in the store and while Mommy and the little one were with Pat looking at the pretty guppies, the gentleman (wearing a leather sport coat) and I were admiring Killer. As we were standing there side, by side discussing Killers vivid eye color, Killer took a quick sweep around the tank and flashed upward, popping the lid and up and over the edge of the tank, doing a rather amazing tuck and roll (no not really, got carried away there) but he brushed the sleeve of the man's jacket! After that, it was all a blur of activity and I honestly can't remember what happened to the family or where they went...but indeed...the WENT!  I called my part-time helper from the back room and he set up the step stool and re-opened the tank lid.  I took two of our largest nets, scooped Killer up between them with one sweeping move, up the step stool and dumped him safely back into his humble home, Killer snapping his jaws verrrry rapidly!  After putting some medication in the tank for his scuffed scales, and securing the lid with several more pounds of rock, I wrapped the tank with brown wrapping paper to keep him calm and from prying eyes and unwanted movement from disturbing him.   Each night before going home I put his normal six feeder gold fish in for his dinning pleasure and in the morning they would be gone...so he was eating.  After a couple weeks he had given up his normal over night resting spot in the front corner of his tank, that I looked for him by peaking under the paper, I removed his wrappings and he was ready to show off, once again.

The kids (David and Amy) came with us on Sunday afternoon and played in the store until a customer would come in, then go to the back room and color or watch our TV we had for them back there.  They got a great education about tropical fish right beside Mom and Dad and even sometimes sneak out and show their knowledge to those that would listen.

The back room produced a mouse for Pat once.  She refused to go back there anymore and understandably was pretty firm with that decision.  After she went home that day, as she always did about three in the afternoon, so she would be home with the kids, I had our part time employee watch the store as I went over to visit our competition in a couple blocks away in downtown Robbinsdale, and purchased a mouse.  I also bought one of those habit trail clear balls that mice, gerbils, and other small rodents can move around in.   I called Pat up on the phone when I got back to the store and told her I had a mouse and it was in custody.  We were going to keep it as a store pet.  Pat not being too keen on that idea seemed to be ok with it though.  The story didn't make it to bedtime that night.  I just can't tell partial truths.  It is not in my make up!  I confessed, she forgave me, and the mouse stayed at the store...in, what turned out to be a SHE . . . so HER habitrail ball and playground "thingy". The reason we found out she was a she, is she had babies! What a time that was.  It was pretty exciting when I carried the mouse in my shirt pocket and a customer would come in and the mouse would peek her little head up.  We got a lot of conversation going from those special moments.

The younger brother owner of the store had developed Leukemia and passed away leaving his older brother needing to sell both stores, as he had just graduated from Law School and had his new career ramping up.  He offered us the opportunity to buy Fish Pond and after a lot of thought, we decided to move on in another direction.  After the store was taken over by the new owner and they got adjusted, Pat and I moved on to new adventures in the Retail Shoe Business, an MTC Bus driver, and beyond.  There are LOTS of stories in those alone, to fill a years worth of blogs!

The point of this story is: As we move through life, there are opportunities for some things you wouldn't have ever thought of doing or even considering. What a blessing we had for taking a chance.  Take that step into the unknown, and with FAITH that it will work out.  Our Aquarium Store experience didn't last very long, but it was a wonderful time of discovery, and loving people, and sharing a common hobby with others.   We grew in our knowledge of God's world, people skills, and our faith in the Lord that it is HE that provides.  We were new to the business world, and learned quite a bit during our Fish Pond time. We had fun visiting with our customers and giving them quality and good service for their investment.  It was a good time in our lives.

Blessings,
Gary