Death Watch - Battle Wracker Girl and Froggy Boy

I was inspired by the boys' classroom fish tanks yesterday.  They love their class fish so much and every afternoon when I go to pick them up Isabella goes over to say hello to them. So I thought I would surprise the kids and take them to the pet store to pick out their own fish.  They were so excited! I realized they haven't had much opportunity to be in a pet store before so it was quite the trip! They oohed and ached over the fish, reptiles and birds. And wondered why there were no cats or dogs to buy. And we steered clear of the rodent aisle.  I let them know ahead of time that we were only buying a fish.  No other animals. At all. Especially not birds, reptiles or rats, ugh!  They loved the idea and took great care deciding on fish together. We looked at EVERY SINGLE tank full first. And then with the help of a Staff Member they finally decided on the Betta fish. We got one male and one female.  Apparently they have to be housed seperately so we got a small tank with a divider.  We receive a little fish owner lesson from the sales person.  She gave the kids great info about Bettas and how to care for them and told them what a responsibility they had to feed and love their new pets.  The boys proudly carried the little Betta Bowls to the register and Isabella carried the net.

On the way home there was major discussions happening about what to name these new pets.  Cenzo got to name the female because he picker her out.  And so he crowned her Battle Wracker Girl.  I asked if that was Battle Wrecker, but NO. It's Wracker.  Ok. 

 Luccio decided to name his fish Froggy Boy.  Of course.  That makes perfect sense.

We were barely through the front door and they already had the little aquarium set up.  We put small rocks and a plastic plant on each side of the divider.  And then we had to add the fish. Not as easy as it sounds if you are afraid of fish.  I was wishing at that point that Hubby was home.  But, I put on my brave face and scooped the little fish into the net and dumped them into their new homes.  And I only screamed a little bit.  

After that we overfed them and then sat and watched them swim for almost an hour.  Every time the phone rang Cenzo invited the person over to "visit our aquarium."  He invited my parents, my Aunt and even Ms. Meeghan who lives about 6 hours away.  

When it was time to have dinner and start getting ready for bed everyone said goodnight to the fish and wished them happiness in their new homes.

And then Cenzo said, "so when are they going to die?" 

"Um.  Well.  The point of caring for a pet is to hope that they DON'T die."

"Oh.  But, they always die don't they?"  

I ended up making up a life span for Betta fish. I told Cenzo they probably live for a year. I had no idea how long they live. 

 I know I had one in college that lived 2 semesters.  He even lived through my wacky roommate leaving the window open in the middle of the winter when she left for the weekend and freezing him. When I got back I put him in warm water and he came back to life.  Big Poppa was resilient.

I looked it up online and found out they can live 2-3 years! Yeah!  

That was actually my fear in buying a fish for the kids was that the darn thing would die and we would have to eventually have that conversation.  I didn't think we would say "welcome home" and then sit and wait for them to die! 

First thing this morning Cenzo mentioned to his teacher about our new fish.  When he walked away I told the teacher about the Death Watch.  She laughed and said it was because the fish in Luccio's class tank keep dying!  ughh  That explained it.  

I think it's nice that they want to talk to and feed their fish.  And it is relaxing to watch them swim.  I wish Battle Wracker Girl and Froggy Boy a long life. "May the odds be ever in their favor."