Fish represent the economy of B-Mor. The economic well-being of B-Mor is tied to the consumption of their products by the Charters, and when demand for the fish drops, so does their safety and security. Fan also cares for fish, and her whole tank dies when she leaves. At first, the citizens assume she has poisoned them; however, later this is questioned, and it is indicated that possibly her fish dying was just one more of the strange things that B-Mor experienced because Fan left. She took something essential about B-Mor, going against the status quo and deviating from the “normal” path. Once things have settled, when Fan is finally in a position of safety and has an entire universe of choices ahead, at the end of the book, only then have the fish gotten more hearty and healthy than ever. They represent the health of B-Mor itself.

Water is present throughout the novel. It is both a positive and destructive force. B-Mor is an island. The B-Mor economy relies on the fish tanks, with clean water being exceptionally important to their survival as a settlement. They are fearful of natural water sources, however, such as Cold Pond, and the hurricanes that bring flooding.