FFishy fishy ffish

... I always smile at that movie catchphrase!... Recently we inherited a Goldfish from my sister, because he had eaten a hole in her other 'more favoured' fish; and he .. well he had died as a result. So all packaged up with feed, a bowl, and some plants - a goldfish meets his new mummy and daddy, and toddlder.

A little trip to the fish supply shop to help build the momentum of a new fantastic pet, saw us decked out with new pebbles for the bottom of the tank and a couple bottles of fandangle chemicals or salts or whatever, which is apparently what goldfish prefer... But while stockpiling the goodies into the basket, we spy the big Goldfish tank and stop to think that if we are buying all this other stuff anyway - we may as well buy our first inherited fishy a playmate to keep him company. The pet shop owner reaches in and picks the fish from the tank, not the fish I would have picked - but I kept thinking 'they are so small - are they worth such a fuss!?"

Two beautiful goldfish swimming in our tank,
one got grumpy and ate the other ones crank... shit joke.
At first I thought Sticks (one was Sticks and one was Fingers - as in Fish Fingers and Fish Sticks) was just waiting diligently uptairs for the feed to come in. Then I thought he might have been having a nap before dinner - but upon some rapid finger tapping and some "ffishy fishy fish" tunes, I sadly realised Sticks was probably not just faking it for some attention. Crap. Now I had a situation on my hands as my toddler had noticed my vigorous attention at the tank. "Whats happened mummy"!!???

"... umm Sticks has died", sounding folorn yet trying to keep it upbeat. Like when Abba try and sing a ballad. But still not a lot of response from my toddler and I wonder just how much I should push the message of death and finality before trying to convince her that fish and chips is still a tasty Friday night option. In the end I asked my beautiful husband to use the fish n chip scoop to rescue Sticks from the tank in time for a fitting burial. Fingers was looking a little too hungry for my liking. Little fishy Sticks was now encased in an empty matchbox in my fridge ready for the burial the next day.

I thought my toddler might have wanted to 'send him off' or something, but appparently with every new dawn comes a new adventure and there has been no mention or recollection of that once-upon-a-time fish "Sticks' swimming around our tank. Well Sticks certainly got his comeupunce - he ate my sisters fish, got moved across town to my house and inherited a new flat mate - who may or may not have led to his demise. Needless to say fish "fingers' is now a solitary figure and will remain so for some time. At least until I get around to disposing of the dead fish in the matchbox sitting in my fridge. Seems my toddler didn't remember at all... small miracles!