2007 has not been a good year for my fish. I’ve had several of my fancy goldfish die (only one is left and he looks absolutely depressed by himself), and I’m afraid to buy more. I’m not sure if it’s the store where I’ve been purchasing them, or if it’s something in the tank. I also have a little Beta fish that I keep at the store. The first fish was a beautiful blue Beta and he lived for nearly a year. Several months ago, after his demise, I replaced him with a lovely red Beta. This guy was spunky and had a lot of energy. Perhaps a little too much energy… The other night his water was changed. I came in the morning after and didn’t even think to check the bowl (I usually feed him before I leave) until someone commented that she couldn’t see the fish. It’s a small bowl and he often hides at the bottom so I assured her she was in there and probably just hiding amid the fake plants. Of course, when she left, I immediately took a closer look. Zinfandel was not his bowl. I got a little panicky — what happened? There’s no way someone would have stolen a freaking $3 fish. I started looking around and that’s when I noticed: about two feet away from the bowl, on the floor was a dark dried up… er… thing. At first glance, it looked like a dried leaf that had been on someone’s shoe. Upon closer inspection, it most certainly was not. Zinfandel must have jumped out of his bowl during the night. How sad!!! I felt absolutely terrible. I’m not sure if I’ll be getting another Beta to replace him. I can’t deal with anymore fish deaths this year.
crafts + recipes + existential dread
I’ve had the flying fish thing happen to me. Last time was a few years ago when I tried a simple beta in a bowl at home. First one died within a week of coming home, second one within two days, and then the third one took a flying leap out of the bowl, which I didn’t discover until the next morning. Gross. After that, I gave up on fish in bowls. Holding out for when we own a home that has room enough for a decent aquarium.