Meet Howard!

For our 1.5 year anniversary, we decided we'd had enough time as just a couple and needed an additional member for our family. So, we headed to PetCo! There were lots of cute shelter dogs there, begging us to adopt them. But, as cute as they were, after we passed them I remembered all of the many, many reasons we don't want a dog. We made our way back to the fish and looked all over for Howard (we decided he would be called Howard beforehand). We decided on a zebra danio (see pic) until the PetCo man convinced us otherwise.

He said that they only carried one fish that did not require a filter. Since we'd already bought our fishbowl at goodwill (of course) we weren't down for the filter idea. Thus, Howard became a betta fish.

This is NOT Howard. This fish probably cost a LOT of money.

We spent quite a bit of time debating over which Betta was to be Howard Tanner. PetCo had probably 40 or more Betta for sale and I think we looked at every one at least a few times. Well, we looked at all of the cheaper, male Bettas a few times. Frugality is a necessary trait to be a Tanner. Thus, the $15 fish weren't even in the running. After a pretty intense swimsuit competition, side-by-side color comparison, and swim-off, we found Howard!!

We love how he has a dark face but vibrant blue backside, big fins, and a little red accent underneath.

We also bought him a little buddy. This is Telly!! Telly is a ghost shrimp and my parents were 100% sure he wouldn't last the night (due to Howard's supposedly belligerent nature). We are proud to report that Telly is alive, active, and very hungry. He eats Howard's food... and we can see it inside of him because he's see-through... kinda gross... Oh, you can see Telly at the top of the bowl, just to the left of the plant. He has some kind of black food in him...

Howard loves his new home and the fact that he has lots of space to swim. They were keeping him in about a cup of water at the store so he is very pleased with his new parents for his freedom. His favorite activities so far are: swimming, keeping his eyes open, staring at the light when we shine the flashlight on him, and not eating. We've tried to feed him twice and he's not too interested. Telly's favorite activities are eating Howard's food, hiding in plain sight, (because he's see through), and swimming.