That’s all I can picture.
A fish out of water. Literally.
Lately Cuyler has been asking for “a little brown dog named Buster for Christmas”. I’m thinking he wants this particular dog:
Sean and I looked at each other for about half a second with the “should we?” look. And then common sense quickly returned and we realized that we could never bring a dog into our house. It’s too busy already. Also? We really aren’t pet people.
So…for about a week now he’s been asking for a fish.
He’s been watching Finding Nemo and really likes it. It’s getting his mind off of Toy Story which is a good thing.
So I thought…hmmm…maybe a fish.
We could handle a fish (right?).
Feed it once a day.
Get a nice light for some nighttime ambiance.
A bubbly filter might be soothing.
Last night I realized how much he wants a fish. When I got online to check my email last night there were several windows open. He had searched Nemo fish tank in google images.
There was image after image of fishtanks and aquariums.
Disturbing ones:
(this guy is cleaning his tank. umm. no.)
Funny ones:
Fancy ones:
And really, really cool ones:
I’m thinking ours will be more like this:
Judging by what I found in Cuy’s bathroom sink this morning, we probably shouldn’t invest too much into any fish that we get for him:
He has been reenacting the dentist scene out of Finding Nemo. Remember how that ends? Down the drain…
I really think I’d like a nice aquarium. Not too big. But enough for a couple of nice fish.
Perhaps a lock on the lid to prevent any further reenactments.
Oh and the big thing – one that I don’t have to clean very often.
His birthday is in November so we have until then to decide what’s best for us.
Any fish owners out there that can advise or guide me on how to proceed?
Things I need to consider?
Nice Shawn – you made me laugh out loud and want to vomit all with one comment!
Thanks for the advice!!
The only advice I have is to avoid serious trauma for your entire family: if you get one of those fish with the really bulgy eyes, do not also get a sunken ship with a pointy mast. As I foubd out the hard way, even fish can be clumsy and bump into things.
In our house, allergies are common, so cats and dogs are out of the question. Now that I know that I can crawl in and clean the tank from the inside, I know there is a HUGE aquarium in our future!
Good luck!
Meaghann – thoughts on a beta as a starter? I have several suggestions to get a beta on my fb link. Perhaps when I know the fish won’t be tormented and possibly killed I’ll think about a more involved aquarium.
Steph – couldn’t deal with all the hair from a dog (& miss you tons!!!)
Hey Christine, Read you post before work this morning! Love it! I personally find fish a ton of work!!! I would take my dog anyday. You know you can get dogs for children with ASD. They are usually service trained but did not qualify for seeing eye dog category. I have a few kids in NZ with dogs and the relationship and connection they have is incredible! Not sure you would be able to get a brown weiner style dog though 😉 ps. If I went with fish I would do the beta again as they were the least amount of work by far! Cheers, S
that visual of the green dragon in the sandwich baggy is going to stick with me for days…all morning I’ve been howling every single time I think about it…
Not even a fish at our house. EVER. We had to put our cat down a few years ago and the trauma for all of us was too much. They don’t even ask.
Surprisingly, the bigger the tank, the easier it is to maintain. A good starter size is a 20 or 30 gallon, with a dozen tetras or so in it. The general rule is 1 gallon of water for every inch of fish, at the minimum. It is also not a small investment though, as you need the tank, a stand, light, heater, filter, gravel, decorations, fish, etc. The reason though the bigger tanks can be better, is that if something goes wrong, you have time to fix it. Often, when something goes wrong in a smaller tank, it goes wrong fast, and you have all dead fish before you even know there is a problem.
With that route, you also have to keep in mind that you can’t just set up the tank and throw fish in. You set it up, have it running for 24 hours, and then add a few fish that are hardy, to “cycle” the tank. (Fish excrete waste that causes ammonia in the water, and over time, the ammonia builds up. Eventually, good bacteria appear that take care of the ammonia, but it takes time.) To cycle the tank can take anywhere from two weeks to 4-6 weeks. You have to watch the ammonia levels, and you’ll see a spike, and then the ammonia levels will fall, and disappear. That’s when you can add more fish. There is a product called “Cycle” that you can buy that is basically a bottle of good bacteria, and you can add that to help the cycling process happen quicker.
Goldfish are actually some of the dirtiest fish there are, as far as waste excretion and ammonia levels go. (The 1 gallon to 1 inch isn’t what I go by for them, it’s not enough.) Also, most of them you see in bowls, that only live for a year or two, die that quickly because they are living in a bowl. (When I was a kid, we had 3 fantail goldfish in a 10 gallon tank, and they lived for about 5 years.)
BUT, I also realize my first few paragraphs may be a bit overwhelming, and the idea of a goldfish is still intriguing. The perk of goldfish is that they are cold water fish, and do not need a heater, and that is one less thing to worry about. If so, I’d recommend a fantail or something of the like, by itself in a 5 gallon tank.
/totally way too long ramble. Sorry, this is one of my passionate topics! 🙂
p.s.-feel free to email me with any more questions, I’d be happy to help!