It's a sad time for our fish and family. Katie has died and been replaced (by Finny).
A few days ago we noticed Daniel and Finny getting all these black spots. After looking online we learned they were burns from too much ammonia in the water. We changed the water, fed them less (excess food causes ammonia build-up). Still, no improvement. More Internet research told us that keeping goldfish in a bowl is a myth. Thanks a lot Dr. Seuss (no disrespect, I love your books). The fish are so "dirty" they pollute their own water very fast. They simply cannot survive in such a small aquarium. People say they need at least 10 gallons.
Well, we were feeling bad for Abby and had a talk with all the kids. We told them what we learned and that both the fish were going to die, no matter how hard we tried.
So, I took the fish into our room for hospice care so that the children wouldn't have to find the fish dead, as that was pretty traumatic with Katie. Since we took them in, Daniel has passed on. Finny isn't looking too good.
We are considering other easy, apartment-friendly pets. I really would love any ideas you all have to offer. And please, tell your friends: no goldfish in bowls!
Monday, June 8, 2009
Hospice Fish
Posted by Katie at 10:23 PM
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11 comments:
bettas do really well in bowls. I have had several over my lifespan and they live a few years. Unfortunately, all of mine have committed suicide by jumping out of the bowl, but you know...no fish is perfect.
Bettas can only live one per bowl.
other tips: avoid mollies and guppies, they have live babies, lots of them.
Good luck.
get a Hermit Crab! I had one growing up and I loved it so much. They are way easy to take care of too.
how about a nice ant farm?
I was going to suggest beta fish also. I had one in college and one day our heater broke in the middle of winter, and my beta fish, Sushi, froze to death. I took him out of the water and even poked him with a paper clip and nothing. I put him back in for some reason, and the next day when our heater came back on, he thawed out and was swimming around again. We renamed him Lazarus.
We have a hamster and have loved it. My husband and I are allergic to and hate cats and dogs. We've tried the hermit crabs but Josh didn't like that he couldn't hold and pet them as much as he wanted. The hamster is cheap, cleans once a week and feeds cheap once a week food. Way way easy and the kids love them. We live in a super small condo and he fits perfect.
I love love the lazarus fish story. Hysterical
a turtle! i think that's what we'll get once the boys catch the pet bug.
so sorry to hear about your losses :( - give abby a big hug from us!
Hospice fish. That's funny. I vote fore Italian Greyhounds all the way!!!! Beta's are great too. Actually we have really loved our little african aquatic frogs. They go in a bowl too. not with a beta though. Anyways. LOVE YOUR IDOL CAKE AND PARTY! Dang, you and Daniel came up with some amazing ideas after we talked! The silhouettes were INCREDIBLE! I would leave them up forever too. I can't say enough! Hope one of my kids wants an idol party soon! Loved your football cake! So creative how you did his name as the stitching! I am proud to be your sister! Oh ya, and the green foil- field backround! CLEVER!!
Katie,
We went through the same thing with fish last summer! I can't tell you how many fish we went through before giving up. We also had a small fish bowl and after maybe two weeks the fish would die and we would try it again. It's sad I know! They want a pet too, preferrably a dog but we're waitng on that for a while!
I loved having a parakeet as a child and we've had one most of our married life. They stay contained and make a small mess with their seeds that can be easily vacuumed. You can teach them to talk. Just a thought!
fire-bellied toads are easy to care for! A 5-10 gallon tank and a pump filter and some crickets once a week! Tortoises are fun too. You can build a small tortoise table for them easily (or use a rubbermaid storage tub without a lid)...a heat/uva/uvb bulb and fresh greens and you're set! They are super cute and friendly, too. Pacman toads are easy to care for too. Good luck!
So sorry to hear about the sadness in your house. It sounds like you are a good hospice nurse though. I love the ant farm idea! Let's see...Jared and I had a miniature bunny in our apartment for a year (key word: miniature). Very easy to take care of, doesn't stink like gerbils and rats and the like, poop is small and easy to clean up, they eat produce scraps, and they love being chased around. We actually kept ours outside on the balcony most of the time and then just let it inside for running/play/exercise time. Not sure what animal (or person!) would survive a Milwaukee winter outside...but there are heat lamps, right?. Ok, this is waaaaaaaay too long. Good luck!
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