FISH ADVENTURE ON LIFE AND DEATH

My children wanted to have an aquarium with turtles. I have always loved turtles and could actually see us having them, but, with 12 dogs and two lizards I thought to myself that having a small aquarium with guppies would be an easier undertaking. We had received a beautiful bowl from a friend and it looked great with burgundy sand in the bottom and an amethyst shining so gracefully. We even had a green plant, waving rhythmically back and forth in an almost meditative way.

We went to the store and I had read you had always had to have 3 guppies or 6 or 9 etc. I didn’t question why, and let my kids point out which ones they wanted. One Orange, one Yellow and one Black. The kids were fighting over who got to carry the plastic bag with the fish inside while I tried to zoom them out.  We got home and dropped them in the 24-26 c water and saw how they were swimming around happy (or so I thought).

The next day Olivia comes with her brother Max, crying that Black fish is dead. It’s right before their bedtime, with me exhausted, trying to stay calm in my head.  I’m struggling to not get irritated, to be a good mom to understand that they are grieving a guppy.  In my heart I am proud over them that they show emotions to all kinds of animals but being late after a long and busy day, I just wanted to fall into my bed myself.

I take the bowl and catch the Orange and Yellow fish into a cup. The Black fish is flushed down in the toilet.  I sense a vibration of horror behind my back when I suddenly hear the kids, in unison: “MOM!!!  How can you flush Black fish down  the toilet?  How bad are you!  You cannot be in Animals Without Limits if you don’t bury Black Fish properly.”  I didn’t know if I would cry or laugh, but I apologized and said I wouldn’t do it again --- “if” it would happen, I hurried to say when I saw their terrified eyes getting much bigger again.

With the fishbowl in my hands I climbed into the bathtub to fill it up with water. Suddenly, the whole bowl exploded in my hands!  

Now I was crying for real, and my children were quiet, just starring at me:

 “MOM!! You broke their home!”

Millions of glass pieces and burgundy stone were everywhere in the tub and on the floor of the bathroom.  And I cut myself several times. I knew it would be a long night.

The kids refused to go to bed until they were assured that Orange and Yellow had a home. I rushed down in the kitchen searching for the biggest salad bowl and one that I wasn’t so attached to since I knew I would not use it for salad again.

The kids were asleep when I returned upstairs, and I thanked the higher spirits for that. Orange and Yellow seemed curious when they were let down in their knew home.  Finally I could go to bed!

Next morning, I hear Olivia yell, “I cannot see the Yellow Fish! He is gone!”

“What do you mean he is gone, a fish cannot just disappear?!” I said, running into her room.

We looked down in the salad bowl. Yessirree, no Yellow fish.  Where the …?

I moved some of Olivia’s things on her desk, and there, there was Yellow Fish --- dead.  

Olivia busted out in tears, my stomach turned inside out from guilt.  I could just imagine him lying there alone during the night, slowly drying out.  I felt like the worst mom ever.

This time I didn’t flush this little guy down, I found one of the kids’ Kinder Egg capsules from the inside of the candy with a little toy inside.  I put Yellow fish in there and we buried him down in the garden, just like we had done with several of our dogs.  My children couldn’t see any difference with a dead dog and a dead guppy. (I applaud them for that.)

We went to the store again looking for a small aquarium and met the Fish Police Women. She had great knowledge of the EU law for keeping fish as pets. We were handed a big aquarium with pump, filter, thermometer, bio drops that would eliminate bacteria, and some other things. Her eyes were scanning us to see if we were a perfect match for the Guppy fish we now stared at. Olivia opened her mouth to tell the lady about our adventure back home. I laid my hand on her shoulders and said with a smile in Swedish, “Not now honey!”  Thank God for my native language.

We got home with a great aquarium, 100 euro poorer but happy, finally we can have happy Guppy.  That evening, my husband installed the aquarium and filled it with water, we were waiting for the temperature to be correct.  Wait, Fish Police lady had said we couldn’t put fish into their new home until 2 weeks had passed.   Eh? Two weeks, we have a salad bowl fish that needs to get into a bigger home lady!

Two days later, at lunchtime, I walked to pick up Max from his Kindergarten.  A Turkish lady greets me and asks me if we have fish?  I smiled and said my children have some; I didn’t tell her the story of the nighttime massacre! 

“I have one goldfish that is alone, would you like to have him?” 

What is this?  Am I now attracting orphan fish in my village?  My brain screams:  “NO!!”   But I heard myself say, “sure we could do that!”  What’s one more little fish, after all?  Right.

I went and picked up the Goldfish and tried not to show them my surprise over the huge gold fish that was handed over to me in a plastic bag.  He was truly huge!  He would never fit into a salad bowl!

Mr. Godlfish was immediately dropped into the aquarium we had been waiting the 2 weeks for Mr. Guppy to occupy (after all of 3 days).  With one fish in the premature water (?), I hesitated to throw Mr. Guppy in as well.  What if Mr. Goldfish would eat this little creature?  I ran down to my computer and Googled about it.  “Not a bright idea to put goldfish and guppy together, the goldfish might eat the guppy!”  I continued reading; the goldfish was a cold-water fish and the guppy was a warm-water fish.  Oh no!  We needed another aquarium and companions for both Mr. Guppy and Mr. Goldfish in each of their aquatic homes. Oh, and two more weeks for the new aquarium water as well! 

Now, we have two aquariums, with 3 fish each, far more fish than we ever expected, and really soon we need to buy a bigger aquarium for the goldfish, they are growing fast.  And we are still within the initial 2-week period we were supposed to wait, but the three new Guppies are swimming there, I guess they don’t can read a calendar.

I think itt would have been much easier with turtles, …..I guess.

That’s Amore!