Our Tales From The Tank

  How it all started!! We love being fish keepers now but…  We never planned on becoming fish keepers. It all started on a family getaway to Vermont. The hotel we stayed at had a beautiful indoor pond that wrapped along the dining room. Every morning before breakfast, my youngest, Lucas, hurried over to the pond to visit them. What started as a curiosity soon became Lucas' love for these giant fish; nothing you would see in any home fishbowl.  By the second day something funny happened, the fish would swim over to him. Maybe thinking, "Does he have food?" Maybe just curious about this interesting giant. Whatever the reason, every morning they would school around him while he happily talked to them.  They had these big lips that would move like they were actually forming sentences. Lucas would turn around and say, "They love me."  He thought they were his friends, so he started calling them “his fish friends”.  Then it was the day we had to leave,...

  The first trip to the petstore  We walked into Petsmart for the first time full of excitement, expecting to spend maybe $20, a fish or two and a bowl.  We had no idea what we were getting ourselves into. The kids and I beelined to the fish section. We saw orange fish, white fish, tiny fish, big fish. We had no idea where to even start, nor did we know they need a current about of water. Lucas starts pointing from tank to tank, I then looked over to the employee and asked  "Can we get one of these fish and one of those." She patiently stated, “They can’t go together” “They need a 30 gallon tank” Then worker asking, “Do you have a tank?” Meanwhile Shane is shopping for tanks and learning about what we actually need. The kids and I? To excited to care, h ow much damn water they needed.  thinking, “Just give us some fish we will buy a bowl”  Well that was my thought anyway, two little fish and a...

Our first 5 fish home arrival! It was an easy set up. Shane followed directions that were in that expensive kit. Before we knew it, it was all together. Only thing missing was the fish. We plopped the bag into the tank and waited 30 minutes until we could open the bag and let them free into their new home. We watched them in the bag and tried figuring out each one of their names. They’re pets after all, they need names. My daughter, Lily, became excited too, she noticed how there was one yellow  “He needs a unique name.” she announced  We had two pink fish, two blue, and one yellow. While I was writing, I had to stop and ask Shane, “How many tetra did we first get again?” As we counted out how many colors we had, we realized we only got 5 fish not 7 but we ended up with 7 later. Anyway,  Yellow was noticed right away, we made a joke that fish are friends not food. It was only fitting we name them food names, so yellow became peanut butter, one pink was jelly and i don't r...

                                                                    The Great Escape   Now it’s time to open the bag and release them into the tank.  We take the bag out of the tank and put it on the desk. That's when we learned our first lesson, Opening a fish bag is not easy. “Why do they tie the knot so tight?” we all wondered. We passed the bag back and forth, taking turns trying to loosen the knot that wouldn’t budge. Victory the bag opened.  Now it’s time to take the black handled fish net and fish them out.  Shane volunteered to do the job. Holding the net in one hand and the bag in the other, with the bag still sitting on the desk.  The kids and I stand back and watch the net  Slowly… Go into the bag, with the bag almost flattens on the desk. While the fish are frantically trying to...

  Before we go any further… If you’re an experienced fish keeper, I am sorry for what’s coming next. Some things you should know before we continue..  We did not research anything beforehand.  We thought taking care of fish wouldn’t be this difficult.  We thought bottom feeders just ate algae and what's left over from the top fish.  (don’t worry… we figured that out eventually) We didn’t think fish could be so big- they are tiny at the store. We didn’t think fish grew, I know what your thinking “These idiots!!!” We didn’t know how much 20 gallons of water actually was. It looked big enough to us. Every little mistake taught us something,  and.. Google soon became our best friend.

                                             What is she doing? Dinner was done,  We cleaned up and couldn’t wait to go downstairs and check on the fish. I started down the stairs before the kids, there I saw Shane. The look in his face I could see his worry. He whispers to me, “I think we are going to lose one.” I looked at him in shock. “NO!!” I responded “How do you know?” I asked He pointed to the tank, “On the bottom.. one of the pink fish, is in the corner, she's not really moving, but still alive.” I didn’t know what that really meant. My mind immediately went to one thing. “See! you did hurt one!”  “You squished it with the net!” Shane insisted, he did not.  But.. I still wasn’t sure, if he did hurt it or not. I stared and stared hoping it would come around and swim around the tank. “I could not tell Lucas!” I thought But I could tell Lily  ...

  The cast from outside the tank Before we move onto season two,  Lets take a minute and meet the cast from outside the tank  Both casts matter!  You will get the opportunity to meet the fish soon. But first... The people Shane - husband/dad  Shane’s  the supervisor  The researcher, always bringing us the raw information, even when it is shocking!  Always optimistic, reminds us, “We'll figure this out together.” Kim - Mom, the story teller Hi Thats me!!  I’m the one that accidentally becomes the fish keeper i’m  the one doing the water changes, using up the test strips to make sure the water is safe for our little family. Lucas  The loving fish owner  He never seems to notice when the fish arent doing well. As long as their moving he’s happy. “Even if it is sideways" The whole reason we got them  Lily Assistant supervisor The worryward  If something doesn’t seem right,  She’s not shy to announce it immediately....

The day after the great escape!! I popped out of bed, I immediately thought to check the fish. I looked in and counted them all. Thankfully, they were all together in one spot. I remember thinking, “Thank god, that the pink fish has not passed away.” I sat there for a while and watched. I started to realize,  They were acting strange!  “Is this how fish swim?” I thought I started taking out my phone and recording. They were swimming in place,  Leaning to the side,  Then leaning to the other side.  I noticed, it's Pink Fish and Yellow Fish doing it. I didn't even realize at the time. But.. I was giving them their nicknames.  I stopped calling them by the names we gave them, but by their colors.  Pink Fish, Yellow Fish, Little Blue and Big Blue. I continued to sit and watch, Then I texted Shane the video because I needed someone else to see this! Again, bothering him at work, but this was important! I needed to know if this is how fish swim. Thankfu...