A Fish Tale

Yesterday evening we took the big boys to the babysitter so that Erik and I could have a date (with Elijah, but a date just the same - seeing as Elijah doesn't do a whole lot of talking). We decided while we were out that we would run by the pet store and get the boys a fish. Fun!

I made sure that we talked with one of the employees and got all the necessary information about raising Bettas. How often do you change their water? How do you go about changing it? Feeding - how much? how often? And, the most important question. . . How many can we put in one bowl? The young girl assured me that we could put two in one bowl as long as one was a female. Two males would fight, but a male and a female should live in perfect harmony with one another. We'll see. . .

So, $40 later we left the pet store and headed toward home with Bettas secured in the cup holders of our beloved "Vannie." I decided to read about these new little guys on our way home. I couldn't help noticing that on the fish bowl's box twice this warning was written, "Due to the aggressive nature of the Male Betta, only one fish should be kept in a bowl." I instantly grew concerned for the little blue female we purchased. But, Erik assured me that she would be fine - after all, the teenage girl (Betta expert, I am sure) who worked there told us it would be fine. We'll see.

We went home, dumped the fish in their new bowl complete with decorative stones and fake foliage (which we later chunked), and took Sam (Joshua's pretend fish) in the untility room. We opted to take the advice JMom left in my comments the other day. She suggested that we switch the bowls and surprise the boys with a real fish when they expected to see the play fish. So, I put the new Bettas on the raised bar where Sam has been for the last 2 weeks. Then, Erik went to get the boys. . .

who had watched Nemo at the babysitter's house - how appropriate!

They walked into the house. And, as they were taking off their crocs and putting them away in their baskets, I asked Joshua if he had fed Sam today. He said, "No, I don't think so. . ." as he pushed his basket back under the bench. Then, he looked up at the raised bar to see Sam.

And. . .

I heard the sound that every parent begs to hear. . . the gasp. . . that loud, long, joyous, excited, Christmas morning-like inhaled breath of air. "HHHHhhhhhhh!" A satisfying sound to a parent's ear - more than satisfying. We did good.

Both boys ran to the barstools and climbed up in them to gaze into the fish bowl. Joshua claimed the large red male naming him Zack. Actually the full name given to him by my tender, loving little boy was, "Zack, the fish tank Killer." Then, JCT named the sweet little blue female, "Dora." And, so Zack and Dora have become part of our family. JCT kept putting his sweet little hand over his heart and saying, "You got me a weal fishy, a weal fishy for me!!" If you listened carefully, you could hear our home singing for all the joy that was dwelling within her last night! It was a good night.

Erik got up early this morning to ride bikes with his friends, so I had the great privilege of helping the boys feed their fish for the first time. We sat and watched them eat. I was happy to see that Zack the tank killer was allowing Dora to eat. I had a fear that he might eat all the food and that she would die of starvation due to his aggressive nature. They both ate to their heart's content as much as they could in two minutes - according to the box's instructions. Anyway, I offered the boys cartoons, but they declined saying that they would rather watch their fish. I opted to do something else. Diagnose me with ADD, but fish are just not stimulating enough to capture my attention for an extended period of time. So, I began to piddle around in the kitchen when I heard my sons exclaim, "Mommy look, Zack is gonna eat her! Look what he is doing!!!" I ran to the bowl. I am feeling a certain loyalty towards Dora. After all, we are the only females in the house, and we girls gotta stick together.

Zack was flaring up his bright red tail and swimming at her over and over, hitting her with his mad, red face. And, Dora, bless her heart, was just trying to get away from him, but in a tiny little fish bowl there really isn't anywhere to go. I began to wish we had left the foliage, simply so that she could at least attempt to hide herself. He was vicious. Joshua was quite intuitive - the tank killer was an accurate name for him. Poor Dora. I could see her holding still, scared stiff, just waiting for him to attack again. I am telling ya'll, it hurt my heart. Now I, myself, am afraid to touch these fish for fear of killing them. And, Zack has since backed off, but if he does it again, I am going to ask Erik to move Dora to her own bowl. I will not allow domestic violence to take place under my own roof and not do anything about it.

Zack, the tank killer. . . you have met your match!