For the last few days Howard has been looking a little sketchy. You know those nasty toys whose eyes pop out when you squeeze them? Howard looks like one of those toys... while it's being squeezed... So today I did some research and found out that Howard has popeye. How appropriate.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYfyetMqS10Mw_2TBjd2VjE6FIv2QDiVdMDr6O5xdkefmEzLjqwCI0t5RnVKOl60BxQGVKNPlWBIDBQp_Dmxbl7dcQCqNYEONpqmC3qMnmtYlmv2vKJIuS4p_jNGZYXONeVA44UV78BpY/s400/popeye1.jpg)
Luckily, according to Betta Fish Facts Blog, "The good news is this new "look" that your betta is displaying isn't fatal and will go away if you do a few things." The first step to recovery is replacing water in Howard's bowl.
Normally, this is Grant's job. Although having a fish is nice and I enjoy looking at him, I'm not big on touching Howard, his food, or his water... gross. However, Grant has been muchos busy studying for his Series 7 exam. So, I decided to buck up and do it myself. BAD IDEA.
First, I put Howard in a cup so that I could work on his bowl. That went pretty well: no fish to finger contact, no messes. I poured all the water in the bowl down the drain and then poured the rocks onto some paper towels. All the gross stuff stays down in the rocks so I wanted to dry them off and get them cleaner. I proceeded to wipe out the inside of the bowl when I look over and...
HOWARD'S ON THE COUNTER! I instantly panicked, and of course, started screaming. I did NOT want to touch Howard, but I knew I'd be in trouble if Grant came home to a dead fish just because I was a weenie. So, I grabbed the cup and whatever was closest- the scrubbing brush for the dishes. I brushed Howard towards the edge of the countertop but instead of landing nicely in the cup, he fell on the floor!!
Again, screaming... I contemplated whether letting him die on the floor was worth it, and then screamed a little more. I gathered all my courage and tried to grab him. He flopped, I screamed, I retreated, he flopped again. I reached forward (screaming), grabbed him and aimed for the cup. Missed! One more try (screaming) and Howard was safely in the cup.
After breathing a giant sigh of relief, I looked down to check out the damage. The following text conversation then ensued:
K: I think I popped Howard's eyeball... but he still lives...
G: What did you do?!
K: He jumped out of the cup! I had to TOUCH him! It was very stressful and lots of screaming was involved. I think his eyes are okay now- the lighting is bad.
K: He's fine- just traumatized. But not as much as me...
Turns out, Howard's eyes are both in tact, although still both very pop-eyed. He lives, and amazingly, after that horrible experience, I live too. I still don't want to ever touch a fish again...
5 comments:
hahaha this is funny!!!!
Kelsey Beth! What happened to my brave little girl , who , at girls camp , took a bite of a dead fish that had washed up to shore? Remember you said " Dad would be so proud of me!" Where , oh where has our little girl gone? Oh where , oh where can she be
that. is. gross.
I loved that story. I wish I could have been there! Poor Howard.
M&D- Sorry I let you down. I guess I've been away from the weelderness for too long :)
Jill- I'm glad you agree with me. What will we do when our children want gross pets like lizards or snakes or, heaven forbid, tarantulas?!
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