Thursday, October 18, 2007

Swim Said the Mama Fish

For some reason I have always had a fascination with fish tanks. We have always had one set up it seems. For years! Not a huge one but just one that is fairly easy to maintain. The kids always seemed to love it when they were little. Now the g'babes. I love the hum of the flourescent light, the bubbling of the pump and I even like to sit and watch the fish. It's calming and it is right up there in my book with a roaring fire ( well maybe not ), candles lit, and good music on. I love my fish. EXCEPT. I am not having a lot of luck with my tank lately. I don't know what in the world is happening. I don't buy expensive $$$$ fish that I would hate to have to flush. But, even the cheaper ones at Walmart are almost $ 3. You can't even buy a good cheap snail. I feed them the best food. I have algae eaters. Last winter we kept getting this "funky" stuff in it and all the fish swam over to the river of life. To swim eternally. We emptied it out and then refilled it and left it up and running. It drove the kids nuts that we didn't have fish in there. And to tell you the truth, I just forgot we didn't have any in there. Everytime they would come they would run over and look. People would come in and say, "What a nice tank. But, where are the fish?" It got embarrasing. So, before the kids came the other day I went to Walmart and splurged about $ 30.00 on some new fish. The "fish" man at Walmart always asks me the same questions and acts like he knows everything about fish and tanks. I got about a 30 minute lecture on aquariums. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I said. LIke I already knew. But all I knew was, the tank had been empty and just waiting for new tenants so I bought 10 platies and 2 plecostamus ( algae eaters ) and gingerly drove them home. Every morning since, I have found one floating. Did you know you can take dead fish back to Walmart with your receipt? Sorry, I draw the line.. I am not standing in line at the service desk every morning with a baggie full of water and a dead fish. After this round of fish, I am packing it up. I give up! I think I'll take up fishing in the river.

4 comments:

Heather's House said...

Oh, don't pack it up! I love the fish tank. Sorry they are dying. Maybe my kids feed them too much when they are there! HA

And I got a good chuckle out of picturing you standing in line at Wally World with a baggie full of dead fish! HA

Love you.

Donna G said...

We have a very lovely outside fish pond. One year we had 4 new babies when we uncovered it for spring. Later that fall when David was cleaning the pond something got unbalanced...all the fish died. We still have a pond...Matthew always asks where the fish are....They are just as pretty without killing something.

Kelley said...

Well the good thing is if they are dead you don't have to fill the back up with water, just zip them up in a ziplock and haul their little fish bootys back in. I mean, a dollar is a dollar.

Kelley said...

That was supposed to be "bag" not back.