Carson loved his first Iowa men's basketball game!

Monday, March 21, 2011

One Fish, Two Fish, Dead Fish, New Fish

Really, the title says it all.  Last Thursday, on a whim, Emily (who was on spring break) and I took Carson to Cedar Rapids to get some fish.  The boy loves animals.  What he'd really like is a dog, and anyone who knows me knows that isn't going to happen.  When went to Wal Mart and got all of our supplies.  I decided to splurge and spend the extra $4.05 and get the small tank instead of the fish bowl.  I did this not only for the price, but the tank came with a started kit.  Believe me, I needed something for beginners.  As I was checking out the fish, Carson was loading the cart with all sorts of decorative accessories he thought he needed.  He was so excited to be getting the fish that he didn't mind at all when I told him we need to put some (most) of the things he picked back on the shelf.  I walked around the store trying to find someone to help us get the fish.  I finally reached customer service and they paged someone to come to the fish area.  As he was getting all seven fish out of the tank for us, I asked the two other customers standing near us who seemed to be "talking fish" what I should do to keep these fish alive.  They definitely gave me some useful information.  Carson held the fish in the car the whole way home.  He was so proud and excited.  After arriving at home, I was completely dreading this idea.  I had no motivation to set up this fish tank.  Finally, 11pm rolled around and we had gotten the fish in their new tank with the filter running.  The next morning, I got up at six and checked on the fish.  Three were no longer swimming.  I decided to ignore this and not mention it to Carson.  When he woke up, he checked on his fish and informed me that three of them were still sleeping.  I went with this.  By that evening at 5pm, no fish were swimming.  I decided that I probably needed to tell Carson and figure out what I did to cause these fish to die.  After discussing this experience with a few of my friends, I found that Wal Mart fish don't usually last long because of something called Ick.  I got the dead fish out of the tank and dumped them in the toilet.  Carson wanted to do the flushing.  I decided we'd go back and just get the cheap 28 cent goldfish, especially since I just made the investment in the tank and such.  We went back to Wal Mart and noticed that there were some dead goldfish in their tank.  I carefully tried to convince Carson that he needed healthy and strong fish and he agreed to leave fishless.  My mom picked up six more goldfish from Pet Co. for him.  He was once again, extremely excited about this.  Guess what?  They're all still alive!  I was thankful to find it wasn't just me, it was the fish before they arrived in my home!  Carson does enjoy these fish, but I'm sure it's not as much as he would a dog.  Poor kid, I know.  Carson has new names for them every day... Emily, Licorice, Memo, Sharky, Mommy Dragon, Orange, Simba, etc., etc.  The best part about all of this is that Carson doesn't fight sleeping in his own bed at night because he says he has to "protect the fish."  :)  So like the title states, it really has been a one fish, two fish, dead fish, new fish kind of week!!



1 comment:

  1. Love the fish story!! Glad the fish are still alive! I know he really wants a dog he tells me every grandma day he wants "just a little dog that's soft and furry like Sophie". And yes .I know that is never going to happen. I tell him that I will share Sophie with him. Some times he is ok with that idea.

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