A few months ago, Nick and I got tired of the $300 pet deposit keeping us from having a pet to enjoy, and we did what every young family with too little extra money does - we got a fish tank.
Said fish tank has not been the most successful endeavor to this point. The first three fish we got were dead within the week. We then left the fish tank empty for several weeks. I don't think either of us could stomach the thought of fishing (sorry!) anything else out of the tank. Then, we decided to go look at fish one night. We came home with a couple, and about a week later added one more. They have been thriving for oh...maybe three or four weeks.
Last night though, the little white one we had (a mollie, if you know about such things) was obviously not doing so hot. As the evening progressed, it eventually got stuck in the filter but continued to breathe and swim as best it could. We would turn the filter off and let it out but it would end up there again. I gotta say...it's just a little fish, but it was heartbreaking. Nick finally got it out of there and flushed it. Watching it suffer was too hard.
I was thinking about it this morning. God gave us dominion over the earth and the animals. We're caretakers. I believe that includes the authority to keep animals for our enjoyment. But if we, the caretakers, can hardly stomach the sight of one tiny fish suffering, how does God handle it? They're His creation after all. Maybe that's what it means in Romans when it talks about the earth groaning, waiting for redemption. Death is a result of the curse and Jesus conquered death.
It's just been a while since the curse and the results of Jesus' resurrection made that much sense to me.
On our way home...Harvest Host
3 months ago
Sorry to hear about your fish. We bought a Green Puffer for our daughters 7th birthday... it lasted a week. I felt so bad for her, she cried the day before it died as we could tell it wasn't doing well. It had ich, a yucky slime that grew on its scales. She was more prepared the next morning when Spot wasn't swimming, he was just floating in the bowl. It was pretty sad.
ReplyDeleteWe took the dead fish back to Walmart and got a Beta. These fish are amazing. Since they get oxygen from the surface of the water (that's right, they come up to the top of the bowl and take a gulp!) I only have to clean the bowl once every two weeks! Yea for mommy!
He seems happy, but not as much personality as the puffer. Spot was really cute. He recognized my daughter as his "primary caregiver" and would swim to the glass to beg for food. Plus, they have a "smiley" mouth that just looks so adorable.
I would recommend a Beta, look them up on the internet for more info if you want to continue with experimenting with having a fish. I've heard they are easy to care for (translate: hard to kill). The kids really do enjoy having some kind of a pet and I can't give anything else the attention they deserve. Not for a few more years, anyway!