Paradise Fish

The area near Champa Masjid is always crowded, and Paradise Fish is right in the middle of it. When you step inside, the first thing you notice is the sound of the air pumps. It is a constant bubbling noise that fills the whole shop. We spend a lot of our time with our hands in water. Cleaning the glass tanks takes up most of the morning. There is a specific smell to a fish shop, a mix of water and fish food, and we don't even notice it anymore. We are located so close to Champa Masjid that we hear the calls all day long. Customers come in looking for something small for their homes. We have various sizes of tanks lined up against the walls. Some of the equipment is old, but it works fine. We keep the lights dim because the fish seem to like it better that way. The floor is often a little wet from moving nets around. We have a small stool behind the counter where we sit when there are no visitors. It is a quiet kind of work compared to the busy street outside. We watch the fish swim and it keeps us calm even when the shop gets busy. We don't have fancy signs, just the fish in the windows. It is a simple business in a busy part of town. We just make sure the fish are healthy and the water is clean. People stop by on their way home to see what is new.