For awhile now the girls have been talking about their need for a pet fish. My argument against this has been that we have a pet dog who requires plenty of care and attention. Plus, I’ve just never really taken to fish. It’s not that I don’t like them. I certainly appreciate that they’re generally quiet and calming. It’s just that in this season of life I’m more interested in eating fish than raising fish.
But over the 4th of July weekend we were with some good friends who recently acquired a cute fish, and meeting their new pet was the straw that broke the camel’s back. The Spouse thought it would be a great idea for the girls to each get one of their own. After all, he insisted, they’re cheap and low maintenance. This would be no big deal.
And, off we went to the pet store.
Did you know {and maybe everyone knows this?} that you can’t just throw any three fish in a tank and be done with it? Well, you can. But, it won’t end well. Apparently Beta fish are very territorial and have to have private tanks lest they EAT EACH OTHER. This sounds more than a little barbaric. So, I asked the fish expert at the store how big a tank we would need in order for three non-Beta fish to live together? And, she said that would require at least a 10-GALLON tank. For the love! We’re trying to buy a pet fish or three, not a piece of furniture!
Moving on, I asked the clerk, “Well, what about these tiny 29 cent fish? Can we get three of those in a tank?” She replied, “Well, those are schooling fish, so you really need a large tank and a whole school for them to be happy.” Of course you do. I mean, we certainly don’t want any unhappy fish around here. {Sometime I would like to see the research that’s been used to determine the contentment level of these fish}. Who knew they had such complicated housing issues?
Since my hope that all three girls could share a small tank was dashed, we had to come up with an alternate and more economical plan than purchasing a commercial sized tank. So, here’s what we’re dealing with now. Three plastic bowls, three Beta fish, and three girls who are very likely to overfeed these fish in a matter of days.
Since we acquired these on the 4th of July, we went with patriotic themed names. The Preschooler’s multi-colored Beta is named Betsy Ross of American flag fame. She doesn’t know who Betsy Ross is and therefore can’t remember her fish’s name. But, I’m sure her fish knows who she is and that’s all that really matters.
You’ll notice you can’t really see Betsy Ross in the picture above. She’s a fast swimmer. Also, she blends in with the rainbow rocks. Right now Betsy’s biggest concern is that her owner likes to try and “pet” her when she feeds her and aggressively tap on the glass when she’s not active enough. I imagine that’s all a bit unsettling and may have something to do with why she prefers to swim at the bottom of her bowl.
The 1st Grader’s fish is named Sparkles {as a reference to sparklers}, even though she’s solid blue.
The 1st Grader is by far our most responsible fish owner. She diligently feeds Sparkles every morning and every evening and reminds her sisters, who already often forget they own a fish, to do the same. She is convinced her fish will lead an unhappy life until he has a much larger tank and an underwater castle to call his own. She plans to upgrade her fish’s living quarters as soon as she loses enough teeth to pay for a bigger tank. For now, Sparkles lives a quiet and modest life in his plastic bowl of only rainbow rocks.
The 3rd Grader’s fish is named Boomer {a reference to fireworks}, though he has yet to make any noise.
The 3rd Grader was the one most excited about getting a fish. Yet, she’s also the one who went to a sleepover at Mimi’s last week and completely forgot she had a fish. Boomer will soon learn that life with a 9-year-old girl is complicated. She may love you one moment. The next, you are nothing to her. Take heart, Boomer. She means well.
I was feeling like we had really gone too far with our pet situation until this past weekend when we ran into a man walking his gigantic pet pig on a leash in our downtown restaurant district.
While Spoon {that’s his/her name} is sort of cute in a Charlotte’s Web kind of way, I immediately realized I should be more grateful for our fish. Three little pigs would be an entirely different story.
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