It was roughly three years ago when Hunter got the itch to try his hand at pet ownership. At the time we thought fish would be a great foray into this venture because how hard is it to keep a fish alive, right? Turns out we have a gift for short stories when it comes to tales of fish.
This experience was short lived as the two fish we purchased went from tank to bowl (toilet that is) in the matter of three weeks. Not sure what they call that in the aquatic field but it was the equivilant of having a black thumb. After we had the fish funeral and Hunter said a few words about the dearly departed, we packed up the tank and tucked it away in the garage for “another time”. Fast forward to today which is “another time.”
After swim lessons today I brought the boys home, got them changed and we headed to The Loop for some lunch at Wendy’s followed by a trip to PetCo. The previous day we got the supplies out of the garage, cleaned up the tank, and got the water ready to welcome some new additions to the house. Hunter was so excited about the trip that he couldn’t sleep the night before.
As we wrapped up lunch Hunter was bouncing in his seat in anticipation of PetCo. I can honestly say that the pet store is one of Hunter’s favorite places on the planet. Not only was he excited to see the fish, he also loved looking around at the reptiles and hamsters. We got some great help from one of the employees there who pointed us in the direction of the fish that have a fighting chance in our household, so I thanked him for that. We wanted to get a fish for both Sawyer and Hunter so they both picked out male beta fish, only to find out that they can’t be in the same tank together or they will kill each other. That would have been a fun one to explain over tears. We settled on two female beta fish and some food and we were ready to go.
As we were checking out we noticed that the rains were coming in and it started to pour before we finished checking out. We took the opportunity to take another lap around the store and see some of the slimy creatures for a second time. When the rain slowed we made a break for it, ran for the car and headed home.
When we got home we followed the acclimation advice that we received and let the new fish have their water meet the room temperature before transferring them into their new home. This allowed us time to admire the fun sign that Emily made for the new fish.
After much deliberation and change in direction we settled on the fish names, Arnold and HiroBaymax (Sawyer couldn’t settle so he just combined the names). I am writing this at hour six and am happy to report that, asside from a few squabbles, the fish are getting along swimmingly (too on the nose?).
Here is hoping that I am not updating you next weekend about our tank cleaning and storage project.