By Alison McFerrin

The Selma Times-Journal

New fish friends splashed into the Selma-Dallas County Public Library Thursday.

“I’ve been talking to them for about the past five weeks, getting them hyped up,” Anessa Rader said. Rader was the fish expert who officially introduced the 11 new fish to the library tank.

Library Director Becky Nichols said this is a great addition to the children’s section.

“We want to enjoy a lot of fish, and that’s why we brought in such a variety,” Nichols said.

Big Fish, who retired in December, was a favorite at the library, but one of the additions was christened “New Big Fish.”

“He will go through a major color change,” Rader said. “He’ll lose all of his stripes, and he’ll be more of a bluish color.” Rader said the full transformation might take about a year. New Big Fish will also grow to be 6 to 12 inches long.

Nichols said the tank has been an integral part of the children’s section since 1995.

“We wanted to have a centerpiece that would — for lack of a better phrase — just blow the kids’ minds,” Nichols said. “I think we picked that because, the fish, they’re colorful, they’re not the same color as the bream and the bass in the Alabama River, so they say to the child, ‘Life can be different.’”

Rader said the new fish are great for the library because caring for them is easy.

“These are real simple fish,” Rader said. “They eat algae and the lettuce that Mrs. Becky puts in here.”

Nichols said she estimates that thousands of children have passed by the fish tank over the years, and maybe realized for the first time that a fish can be yellow.

“To a child I think that says that whatever your limitations, you can make your life different,” Nichols said. “You can make your life better.”