maritime murders

Most important Christmas gift for Logan: a fish.

Most gruelingly awful gift ever to be withstood by her parents: a fish.

Our 3rd and 4th fish died this morning, in the wee hours of Logan's 9th birthday. Based on the fact that each of them has died exactly 48 hours after arriving in their new tank, you'd have thought we could have come up with better timing for this latest attempt. Oh well, I think she's getting more used to the losses as we struggle to entertain the thought of ever trying again.

We tested the water, bought a replacement filter and heater, added all the necessary supplements, bought the most hardy fish and still, 48 hours later, they die. I feel like a maritime murderer. The picture of Logan's first coming home in a bag with her beaming smile has become the prelude to aqua-pet demise in my mind.

After a long talk with a knowledgeable fish expert at an aquarium store last night, I suppose we will try again. She's worried that there may be a toxic level of ammonia in the water, which Petco does not test for. It's made worse by using flake food and as soon as the fish stop eating due to feeling bad, a few extra flakes of food can make the ammonia levels out of control. I hope she's right. I don't think Mike and I can handle killing another.

Ugh.

Didn't we all just have bowls with water and goldfish? I don't remember it being so complicated!

RIP Oreo, Rascal, Angel and Shadow.