Sunday, December 7, 2008

Okay, I thought of something

Grandpa Fish is dead.

For Smartie's birthday, we got her a fish tank and a beautiful red Betta fish which she first named Jellsea and later changed to Grandpa. The poor fish was kept in Smartie's room, which is the coldest room in the house. The tank thermometer never registered above 65! Bettas are tropical fish that prefer a temp 75 or higher. We tried putting a 2-gallon heater in a 1-gallon tank, with the resulting rise in temperature being around 80.

Papa Runner and I went to Seattle for a week. When we got home, we couldn't find the fish. It was hiding underneath the decorative castle. At least three times I told Papa it was dead only to notice the gills were still moving. It stayed hidden for four days. Then one day it came out and swam around for an hour or so. Dropped dead the next day.

Does anyone know of a good small fish that thrives in cold

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I would try the Betta again - they are so pretty!! My first TWO died right away, like within weeks of getting them (they were suppose to be Emma's but she really wasn't old enough to appreciate them)! The third one that I have has been though it all . . . and is still ALIVE!! It is currently in the boys' room which is a colder room in our house (don't have a temp. on the tank, but I am sure that it is colder than 75 degrees). Also, I don't alway do a great job with cleaning the tank and try to remember to feed it at least once a day. Anyway, this Betta has been with us for at least a year and is still going strong! Poor thing doesn't even have a name yet since the first two died so quick I thought I would wait to name it (it probably deserves a name now that it has proven it is a hearty fish)! Good Luck!