all things bright and beautiful

while cleaning out the frog tank on saturday, i broke the filter, or more accurately, the filter just crumbled in my hand. so, off we bundled to the pet store for a new one. two hours later, we came home with much more than a filter. (i am indeed a sucker, for most things that live and breathe...)

first, we looked at ALL the animals. (pet stores are almost as good as going to the zoo.) and then, francis begged me for a ferret, then a canary, then a lizard. (no. no. and no.) i said we came for a filter. but then we started looking at fishes. so cute. their wide eyes, their little lips. now francis wanted a fish. so i aksed: is there any kind of fish that can live in a small tank, with an aquatic frog? turns out there was only one kind of fish there that could live in an unheated tank, that didn't grow big, and that the frog wouldn't eat: a white cloud fish. they were only $1.29, (such a bargain!)so we got two. francis named them batman and robin. not my first choice. i was all worried that the frog might eat them, but as it turns out, i should've been more worried for the frog. we've had him for about a year now, and he's managed to not die yet, a very amazing feat. but now i've introduced these new excited beings to his home, and i'm not sure he likes it. they are flashes of color and they never sit still. they inspect every inch of the tank continually. and they greedily go for all the food. while they are stuffing their faces, i have to try to sneak the frog food past them, and i wonder if he's getting enough. he just sits under his rock, and he looks very grumpy. i don't know if frogs can get grumpy, but, if they do, i'm sure he is. unfortunately, i don't have the heart to take the fish out, because that would mean their death, and i can't do that. so hoppy(or is it floppy?) is just gonna have to deal with the cards that have been dealt him, and buck up. i did buy him a real live aquatic plant, and took out the plastic one. he does like to sit under it, but i think he's waiting for those annoying fish to swim away, and unfortunately, they never do. (that's the problem with tanks; i don't know if he's realized it yet. i'd hate to break it to him; he seems hopeful.)



we also got a beta fish. it's been a few years and we are trying again. francis named him rainbow. (?again with the names?) but i just call him beta. or sometimes fishy-fishy. he is currently sitting on the kitchen table, and i'm hoping he'll last longer than a bouquet of flowers. he hasn't taken to his food that the pet store clerk convinced me to buy: freeze dried blood worms (-which just get bloated and float on top of the water; gross.) beta comes up to the surface, sniffs them, and swims away. he's also very grumpy, with an underbite like a bulldog. he's like an old man. i spend far more time than one would think reasonable just watching him. i got him an aquatic plant as well, and he swims thru the leaves, in the sad little circle that is his life. if only he knew, he brings joy to a little boy...