Saturday, August 31, 2013

An adult with a fish

I woke up this morning full of energy and feeling like I should shape up, take responsibility and behave like a real adult. These days do not come along very often so it is best to take advantage of them when they do.
 
So I decided it was time for me to get another fish, having had sufficient time to recover  emotionally from the demise of Liam Neeson and Benedict Cumberbatch. I like fish because they are pretty and don't have any fur that makes me sneeze. 

Since my previous two dead fish had been Betta fish, I thought I should try a goldfish this time to shake things up and maybe rid myself of whatever fish killing curse I seemed to be under. Plus I had a goldfish named "Wiggles" when I was a kid, and HE lived to a grand old age (for a fish).

I decided to do some research first, in hopes of keeping the fish alive for more than a week this time, and I came to the horrible discovery that as far as the care and keeping of fish goes I was waaaay behind, like "the dark ages and the black plauge" far behind!!!


When I last had a goldfish, all he had was a glass bowl sitting on the kitchen counter with some rocks and a tiny castle thingy.
According to more recent studies, goldfish actually need at LEAST a 5 gallon aquarium! and the articles went on and on about preparing the water with ph testing for ammonia, nitrate, nitrite, and water temperature and tank filters....all for the care of an ordinary goldfish!

My idillic childhood memory of Wiggles the fish and his happy life came crashing down around me as I discovered that poor Wiggles had lived a life of monastic simplicity with the poor living conditions of an industrial revolution factory worker.....


I was completely intimidated by the whole thing and thought about scrapping the whole idea, but I was still under the influence of the "I'm going to be a responsible and productive adult" vibes i'd woken up with this morning and so I squared my shoulders and got to work.

1.) I cleaned my room and made space for a large aquarium, I even bought a bin to hold my DVD's.

Look at me! buying bins to hold my stuff like an adult!



2.) I grabbed a notebook and labeled it "The Fish Book" (which demonstrates my continuing failure at coming up with titles)
More research was done, lists were made, a budget was decided upon and items were price checked to make sure I stuck to the budget. And all of it was logged meticulously into The Fish Book.

I am on a roll!!! Writing things down and price checking like a real grown up!!!

3.) It took a crash course in chemistry to do it, but I eventually got the whole water ph thing figured out  and the proper ph testing kit purchased to ensure that the new fish will not die of ammonia poisoning.

4.) I talked with Tim at the pet store and he was able to educate me on the subject of water filters and fish tank thermometers.

Bonus Adult points for actual human interaction!!


The whole adventure took up most of my day and all I did was collect the supplies I am going to need to make a home for the new goldfish... So I am no where near done with this project. And I haven't even bought the fish themselves yet. But I am still very proud of myself for accomplishing stuff today.

I think I will name one of the new fish Tom Hiddleston...

Todays gifs
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