And then there were seven...

As I've talked about previously in my blog, we were coerced into purchasing a fish tank this summer by our sweet children. We successfully kept all nine of our first fish alive for about two months. One green fire tetra, four red wag poly's, two neons, and two dalmation fish. Last week, while cleaning out the tank, we discovered our first loss. One of our little neon fish had perished. I had warned my children not to get attached to the fish as they had short life spans and would probably not be permanent house members. I also knew our record of plant growing in our house so these poor fish were not looking too lucky. So this first loss was not a big deal.

However, we've noticed the water looking really cloudy since that cleaning and wondered what was causing it. A water test today at the pet store showed the water to be not exactly friendly for our fish. We knew we'd be cleaning it out again tonight. But sometime during dinner, one of my personal favorites bit the dust. He was a black dalmatian fish and I really liked him and his sibling, a white dalmatian fish. They had longer tails and fins they kind of flowed in the water, and though they sometimes appeared a little aggressive or domineering towards the smaller fish, they were really fun to watch. I knew I went against everything I told my kids....I got a little attached and admit to feeling a little sad after our discovery.

So, my kids being the great kids that they are, decided we needed to bury the fish and have a service. (I think the first one just got flushed!) All five of us attended....in our pajamas...under our deck in the backyard as we placed the fish in his final resting place. Our precious dog Boo was nearby. The kids thought this was really sweet that she wanted to be part of everything. I think she wanted to remember the spot for a late night snack! But we said some parting words, my son placed some flowers, and we went back inside. The tank is on the way to being clean again, and now we have room for our next victims.