since kaya passed, mimi has been asking for another pet. another dog, a cat, a rabbit, a hamster...all of which DH and I vetoed (though, if it were just me, i probably would have caved sooner and gotten her a pet, but held strong only because DH was so vehemently opposed to any mammals joining the Im household any time soon).
so a few weeks ago, when mimi came to me to argue a case for why she should be allowed to have fish (and each week since then, brought home books from the library on caring for fish), it was hard for me to say no (funny how she knows which parent to work over to get what she wants). she read up on what it takes to care for fish, took notes, and shared with me random bits of information about different fish and why she liked them.
here's some of her notes (i like the part about when a fish is sick, she wrote, "fish lays at the surface." lol. yeah, that's a clear indication that something's not good with that fish. and the fish exclamation point is a fun design element!)
(the list on the right is a little hard to read. it says: "Fish information. -dont feed it too much because it might cause ammonia. -*always keep your tank clean and fish healthy. -when you dont know if a fish is sick, reasons could be: fins rotting, doesnt eat more than two days, fish lays at the surface, a fish that is active slows down, slow fish go fast. - if there is anything you dont know about fish look in a book. -too much sunlight causes algae (which is bad).
so i went to the pet store and priced the stuff needed to start. then i trolled around craigslist, and on the first look found someone selling their tank, everything you need, and their fish for $50, and jumped on it. we brought the tank home (with most, but not all, of the water drained out of it to ferry the fish home. surprisingly the little fish survived the harrowing ride to our home...it was only a 15-20 min ride, but w/every turn the water would sloosh over to one side and leave the fish flopping on the gravel on the other side for a few seconds before mercifully returning to wash back over them. as soon as they were back in the water, you'd see those little guys swimming madly back and forth, like, OMG! what just happened! why did it do that? 12-21-12!!!
so glad we arrived home and there were no dead fish. not sure about their mental state though.
we had just returned from our weekend in DC (Mandarin Oriental) for our 10th anniversary getaway, and were greeted with a huge chalk message on our driveway, courtesy of mimi and ozzy, wishing us a happy anniversary and welcome back. (LOVED it!) the kids were so happy to see us. and were even more thrilled by the fish! :) mimi ran to Rob after he set the tank down, to give him a big hug and a big thank you for the fish, then gave me hugs and thanks too. ozzy, not to be left out, was also running about hugging and thanking us, although, i think he was just doing it because he copies everything that mimi does. it's super cute, anyway.
so we are now on day 3 with the fish and so far they are doing okay. the kids love to feed the fish and mimi has named them all (there's 4 tetras and 2 mollies). she named the orange molly: orange blossom, the pale yellow and white molly: sun sparkle, and the four colorful tetras are the Rainbow Brothers and Sisters (dont let her hear you refer to them as just the Rainbow Brothers because she'll then stress "AND sisters!").
Mimi has her heart set on getting some goldfish, but i told her they were not good fish to take care of, so she's back to doing some research on good fish to care for. plecos are also on her list (because it will help w/the algae, she said), but i'm not sure they can live well in a 20 gal tank. anyway, once she figures out what she wants, she's going to use her own savings to buy her fish.
here's the current state of the tank right now...still waiting on the tank stand to arrive before i move the tank to its permanent position and pretty up the tank.
so a few weeks ago, when mimi came to me to argue a case for why she should be allowed to have fish (and each week since then, brought home books from the library on caring for fish), it was hard for me to say no (funny how she knows which parent to work over to get what she wants). she read up on what it takes to care for fish, took notes, and shared with me random bits of information about different fish and why she liked them.
here's some of her notes (i like the part about when a fish is sick, she wrote, "fish lays at the surface." lol. yeah, that's a clear indication that something's not good with that fish. and the fish exclamation point is a fun design element!)
(the list on the right is a little hard to read. it says: "Fish information. -dont feed it too much because it might cause ammonia. -*always keep your tank clean and fish healthy. -when you dont know if a fish is sick, reasons could be: fins rotting, doesnt eat more than two days, fish lays at the surface, a fish that is active slows down, slow fish go fast. - if there is anything you dont know about fish look in a book. -too much sunlight causes algae (which is bad).
so i went to the pet store and priced the stuff needed to start. then i trolled around craigslist, and on the first look found someone selling their tank, everything you need, and their fish for $50, and jumped on it. we brought the tank home (with most, but not all, of the water drained out of it to ferry the fish home. surprisingly the little fish survived the harrowing ride to our home...it was only a 15-20 min ride, but w/every turn the water would sloosh over to one side and leave the fish flopping on the gravel on the other side for a few seconds before mercifully returning to wash back over them. as soon as they were back in the water, you'd see those little guys swimming madly back and forth, like, OMG! what just happened! why did it do that? 12-21-12!!!
so glad we arrived home and there were no dead fish. not sure about their mental state though.
we had just returned from our weekend in DC (Mandarin Oriental) for our 10th anniversary getaway, and were greeted with a huge chalk message on our driveway, courtesy of mimi and ozzy, wishing us a happy anniversary and welcome back. (LOVED it!) the kids were so happy to see us. and were even more thrilled by the fish! :) mimi ran to Rob after he set the tank down, to give him a big hug and a big thank you for the fish, then gave me hugs and thanks too. ozzy, not to be left out, was also running about hugging and thanking us, although, i think he was just doing it because he copies everything that mimi does. it's super cute, anyway.
so we are now on day 3 with the fish and so far they are doing okay. the kids love to feed the fish and mimi has named them all (there's 4 tetras and 2 mollies). she named the orange molly: orange blossom, the pale yellow and white molly: sun sparkle, and the four colorful tetras are the Rainbow Brothers and Sisters (dont let her hear you refer to them as just the Rainbow Brothers because she'll then stress "AND sisters!").
Mimi has her heart set on getting some goldfish, but i told her they were not good fish to take care of, so she's back to doing some research on good fish to care for. plecos are also on her list (because it will help w/the algae, she said), but i'm not sure they can live well in a 20 gal tank. anyway, once she figures out what she wants, she's going to use her own savings to buy her fish.
here's the current state of the tank right now...still waiting on the tank stand to arrive before i move the tank to its permanent position and pretty up the tank.
Comments
Post a Comment