Friday, January 05, 2007

Fresh Fish Tonight

He may not bring home the bacon, but today there were two new gold fish and an algae eater friend for Algi, our only remaining fish. Our goldfish, Rock and Speed died over the summer. I was... was... was.....

WHY did they have to die...


Sorry about that. The BoyChild took the death of our fish pretty hard. We all did. I just told him I would finish this post so he could go visit Rock and Speed's marker stone in our garden cemetery. It was a bad day when OurDad woke the us with a gasp of, "Oh No." And there they were Rock floating and Speed sucking his last watery breaths over his pale little gills. He struggled to survive, but by the end of the day Algi was our only fish.

Rock and Speed had first stayed with us over the summers after the BoyChild, and myself two years later, were in Mrs. D's first grade class. When they retired from their several dedicated years of service to the WoundTight School District they came to live out there remaining years with us.

But that's behind us now. OurDad brought home a friend for Algi and Rock and Speed Jr. They are smaller than Rock and Speed were, but were gonna feed them up. New Fish! Three new fish for Algi top play with. He even cleaned up the tank and bought a water thermometer, water conditioner and very thing.

Not sure what made him do it, maybe we could start calling him GreatDad.

5 comments:

SourDad said...

I can’t live with this lie any longer. I found Algi in a less than animated state just after the mourners went off to school, and knew immediately that I had to pull the old switcheroo. if I wanted to avoid a repeat of last summer’s week of mourning for Rock and Speed, which was complete with handmade cement headstone with their names fingered in. I can only hope they cry as much when the reaper finds me.

I’m sure the pet store lady thinks I’m crazy. “No, no not that one. Catch this one. No he’s over here now. This one, he looks like Algi. Get him.” A tank with dozens of identical dark Plecos, and I’m telling her which one to net. Even then I wasn’t sure the replacement really looked like Algi. I wonder what she would have thought had I brought in the feckless corpse, “Can you match this color, and size?” Alas he’d already taken the great pipeline to the aquarium in the sky.

No matter how good the match I couldn’t risk detection of the bogus Algi. I needed diversions: Another Pleco that looked slightly more or less like the real Algi, and what the hell I threw in a couple of gold fish for added distractions. And it worked damn it, I’m not even sure which one they think is Algi.

How am I going to live with myself?

Miranda said...

I'm sure you'll think of a way whilst the BoyChild and GirlChild marvel at their new fishies. ;)

Stewart Sternberg (half of L.P. Styles) said...

I think it's time to start buying the kids pets called Stocks and Bonds.
"Here kids, we'll just put them over here..gently..and let's see if they grow...oh look..aint that cute...one just split."

I have three dogs. I think when my current bunch goes, that's that. Of course, I said that three dogs ago. But still.

SourDad said...

Stewart,

While the stocks and bonds aren't as cute they do last longer.

One of the plecos has already died. thank god they don't float. I'm off to the pet store to run the exchange.

Miranda said...

I am sorry, but I have this terrible story in my head of the original dead Pleco from this summer coming back over and over to exact his revenge on you. Think over the top Bruce Campbell type horror and less Stephen King.