The state of Texas is in a state of emergency after extreme weather brought freezing temperatures and piles of snow. Many parts of the state are without power, at least 10 people have died, and COVID-19 vaccinations have been affected.
In a place that is accustomed to warm weather, the storm came as a shock, and Texans are scrambling to cope with the aftermath.
At Reni King's home in Amarillo, it was her daughter's fish who fared the worst.
King, 25, said the bad weather started last week with cold temperatures, and then the snow came.
"Ever since Sunday the cold has not let up, and the snow keeps coming down," she said.
Like many Texans, King and her family's home is not equipped to endure this kind of winter weather. They lost power a few times, their taps froze, and they ended up in a hotel for a few nights so they could properly care for their infant child.
A few rooms in their home are heated, so most of their pets have been fine. King's daughter's room wasn't. When they went home to get clothes two days ago, King discovered her daughter's fish tank had completely frozen.
Her TikTok of the tank now has over 23 million views.
"I was very much surprised. I never knew that that could really happen," she said.
King has lived in Texas for most of her life but has lived in Colorado before, too. Even there, she said it was never like this.
"We experienced 3 feet of snow, and it didn’t even get this bad. Our house over there, the pipes never froze," she said.
She posted a follow-up TikTok after getting some heat in the room.
As for the fish, which is a molly fish, King suspects he's a goner. She hasn't flushed him yet since people on TikTok have said there's a possibility the fish will make it.
"But he looks very much dead to us," she said.
King said she's surprised the video has gone so viral, and she didn't even realize how bad it was across Texas until she saw the comments people were leaving on her TikTok about their own troubles.
"I was like, Dang, this is all of Texas."