As a belated birthday gift, Matt bought Chloe her first goldfish. Her first four goldfish to be exact. They went to Wal-Mart to rescue said goldfish from the sad looking store aquariums (seriously, do they ever clean those tanks?!?). And Matt spent a whopping 28 cents on each new swimmy addition to our family. Could that be foreshadowing of things to come?This fish thing is a daddy and Chloe project so daily they feed them and change the water. They also collected rocks for the bottom of our old-school-glass-fishbowl and spruced the fish's home with plastic seaweed.
The cutest thing was seeing Chloe watch her goldfish on their first day. She perched on the piano bench to watch them swim and soon I noticed her dipping her finger in the water. I quickly stopped her and asked what she was doing. Chloe's response? "I want to pet my fish, mommy!" Awwww.
I'm sure you all see where this is headed. Despite Matt and Chloe's efforts only one goldfish is still alive and swimming. The good thing is that Chloe doesn't seem too saddened by it. And at 28 cents a pop I think we can afford to get some new fishies.
I'm assuming this whole goldfish experience is a token one for young families. Have you ever gone through a goldfish phase?
5 comments:
Yes, we have! We bought a few around one of Gavin's birthdays and they were all dead in no time flat. I later found out at a pet store that they need to either be eaten by a predator (obviously not the fish's first choice) or they need to be in a tank that has the capability of oxygenating the water. The best fish for the good old fish bowl is a beta. They don't require oxygenation and can live for quite some time.
My sister's kids have a gold fish. So far so good & they've had him for about a year. They also have a beta. I think fish are cool but they are a little frustrating as a pet b/c you can't touch them. I understand Chloe's feelings ;-)
Adele: Thanks for the tip! Matt had a suspicion they weren't getting enough oxygen. We thought about buying a pump but I'm not sure how that works in an old style fish bowl.
Mary Ann: That's quite a record for a goldfish - your niece/nephew must take good care of that goldfish!
Young family phase? I love my fish! :-) Goldfish are the only pets our kids will have as long as we live in the city. I could be talked into barn cats, maybe.
Frank, my fan tail goldfish, has been alive for FOUR YEARS! I know, I can't believe it myself. I think that seriously has to be a record!
Unfortunately, we didn't go through a goldfish phase. That would have been okay with me. Instead, my husband promised the kids fish and they came home with a twenty gallon tank and a lot of fish that I have never heard of or seen before, but no goldfish. They lived with us for almost a year then we gave them to some friends before moving. Now we have a beta. As Adele said, they do great in a bowl.
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