My mother is allergic to fur and feathers of all kinds so as a child we were never allowed to have a pet indoors and consequently my children cannot either. Otherwise grandma would never be able to come over. Because of my mother’s allergies we have had a number of fish and I have acquired some great fish stories.
My younger brother wanted a dog really bad, but had to settle on a fish. He named his favorite gold fish “Goldie.” He had had the fish forever. One week my mother and younger siblings, including my brother, went to my grandparents leaving my dad and I at home. We were supposed to feed Goldie twice a day. But I was in high school (which is why I didn’t go) and had a busy schedule. My dad was working everyday. Neither of us were used to having the responsibility of feeding a fish. Consequently we forgot and Goldie died. Knowing that my brother would be heartbroken not to mention very angry with us we went out and bought a new goldfish. We found one that resembled Goldie as closely as possible and vowed never to tell my brother. When Brian came home he never knew that Goldie had been replaced with Goldie Jr. He did comment that Goldie seemed especially energetic but attributed it to the fact that Goldie was happy to see him. Years later when he was an adult I told him the truth about Goldie and he was mad even then. Luckily he had matured enough to not hit me.
Goldfish rarely live very long. So we had a number of goldfish funerals at our house. He would not dream of flushing his pet down the toilet (although unbeknownst to him that’s were Goldie went). My brother would buy a candy coffin, eat the candy, and place his goldfish inside. He would dig a hole by the side of the house next to the pine tree where it would not be disturbed. Then the coffin would be loaded on his remote control car and driven to its burial site. While the rest of the family, except my dad who was at work, would follow behind. After the coffin was buried and a craft stick cross erected, featuring the goldfish’s name, we had to all say something good about the deceased fish. This was always the hardest part for me (my fall back was “He was a good swimmer.”) Have you ever had a funeral for any of your pets?
My son wanted a goldfish really bad. So for his fifth birthday we bought him two goldfish. They were both dead within two days. After doing some research on-line I found that goldfish are not the easiest pet fish to keep. They require more maintenance than many other fish like beta fish. But my son was determined that he would only have a goldfish. So his goldfish bowl sits empty in my closet until he decides to choose a fish that will live more than a few days. He doesn’t seem to mind too much since it has been two years.
If you do decide to get a pet fish, choose a fish that is happy living in a bowl or spend more on an oxygenated tank. Make sure that you are willing to accept the responsibility of feeding and cleaning the tank, or that your child is old enough to remember on their own. Fish are fun to look at but not very interactive. If your child wants a pet to actually play with buy a hamster or gerbil.
Do you have any fish stories?