The Fish ER

Just before our neighbors moved, they asked if we would take their betta fish, Zen, for them, as they could not transport him. We accepted Zen and his 1 gallon aquarium. We placed him on a side table where all the kids could see him and watch him. Our little "science pet". He's to be fed 2-3 times a day and at 1 year old, he was big, colorful and had long gorgeous fins.

Today, I came out of the bathroom to find Simeon, age 3, had fed Zen a whole bottle of betta food. The last time this happened, he killed the fish. So this time I made a mad rush to the sink, ripped off his aquarium cover, pulled the filter out and positioned him over a strainer and started to poor. Except that the water splashed into the strainer, moved it, and Zen over shot the strainer and flopped himself down the drain into the garbage disposal.

Isaac came to the rescue and got him out of the disposal. I filled up another vase to put him in while I tried to clean out all the food. When Isaac dropped him into the vase, his beautiful fins were ripped and torn. I don't know if it would have been better to let him go to his watery death, or watch him now, sadly float around his aquarium.

So, in the essence of the emergency, I loaded all five kids up in the van and raced to the pet store, 9 blocks away. I ran in there like I really had some kind of horrible emergency, all to buy some more fish food and some "Wound Care", kind of like fish band-aids. Hope it doesn't seal up his gills. We race back home and drop 12 drops into his water. I then turned my attention to his tank. I couldn't wash the food out of the rocks, using two different kinds of strainers and a high powered hose. I gave up, loaded all the kids up again. Jesse said a prayer for Zen, and we were off again in search of new rocks and some water conditioner to help relieve any more stress he may be enduring.

Never found the rocks. Out of three stores, no one had fish nets. I did find the water conditioner, but that was it. So we raced home again and got his tank put back together and drugged him.

Thank goodness I did not have to perform CPR.

Tonight I left him on the counter out of Simeon's eyesight so he can't cause more harm. While I was making dinner he swam to the side of the tank and looked pitifully at me, as if to say, "Can you get me a drink of water?" as pathetically as possible.

If there was such a thing as a fish ICU...I think Zen would be there.