- Don't lie and leave the dead fish in your kid's room until it goes to the doctor's the next day. You will then also have to transport the dead (possibly smelly) fish to the hospital in it's very own 'hospital bed' and try to distract your kid while you explain what happened to the employee.
- Do not replace the dead fish with the same fish to trick your kid. If the first fish died 5 hours after getting home, then the second one probably will too. Maybe all of those fish are sick or maybe it's something with your water at home but your best bet is a new fish. To get a new fish, you have to make sure you didn't make mistake #1. Unless you don't mind transporting the dead fish in a 'hospital bed' to the pet store on a daily basis.
- When the employee tells you that said fish is not durable, believe them. A non durable fish is probably not the best pet for a toddler. Unfortunately, we found this out after we made mistake #1 so we had no choice but to replace the not so durable fish.
Abby's fish, Nemo, was a Neon Tetra and he was her reward for doing her chores.
WORST. REWARD. EVER.
I, of course, was by myself when Nemo 2 died and had to break the news to her. Which I thought she handled well until she went looking for him in the washing machine the next day. She loved that fish (really 2 fish) for the 5 hours it was alive each day. It was heart breaking to hear her final good byes.
I promised her a replacement someday. First we have to get our tank ready and get the water tested before we pick something out so we pick a fish that will do well here. I have to admit that I'm a nervous wreck for her to ask for another because I just have this bad feeling it'll suffer the same fate.
Honestly, for the amount of money and time we invested (3 mornings at the pet store), I wish we would have promised her a cat... those have 9 lives right?
Or I found an even better alternative. One that I don't have worry about when we leave for vacation:
Through the wonders of magnets, this thing floats and evens moves (or shimmies as the site says).
Sad indeed. Poor kid.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was a kid we generally lived by or on the beaches of numerous countries.
One day my father announced that we were going to the beack (we lived i San Diego).
I was all excited. Naturally, I wanted to take things I could play with aside from a pail and shovel.
I placed my best army men and my pet fish Glenda in the toilet, and whoosh! sent them to the beach.
When we arrived and I began looking for my fish and toys, my mom asked me what I was doing. After I told her she went on to explain the errors of my ways.
Poor Glenda!