March Break Day 5
Picking up where I left off, the water in the real goldfish bowl was looking very murky, and the pretty glass blobs were allowing the food granules to slip between them and pile up underneath. On the food bottle, it says the water can go cloudy. We tried feeding them a small amount of fish flakes, but by morning of Day 5, we had one dead neon tetra. It was clear to us the goldfish bowl was not the solution.

So, the Dad was coming over and he instituted a search for his childhood fish tank in the garage. It was there. We filled it up, and it held water. So he agreed to go to Walmart with Luka and Graydon to purchase a filter. For no more than $15. The remaining three neon tetras and the black sucker looked OK in the new/old, maybe two gallon, tank. Godspeed!

Back come the Dad and Luka and Graydon with a big box.

Hey! Is that how big a $15 filter is?

No, that’s the size of a 10-gallon fish tank, with everything you need but the fish, for $40!

Hey! I don’t really even like fish, except to eat.

The Dad passes me the bill and leaves Graydon to set up and fill the tank, which he does, with great speed and finesse. The gravel, the lamps, the lid goes on and in go the three neon tetras and the black sucker. But something is missing.

“The filter, Graydon. Where’s the filter?”

Ah, the filter. The $15 filter.

We consulted the big box, and it said there’s a filter included. But Graydon and I hunt around, and there is no filter. So then I’m on the phone to Walmart, to the manager, who is a very nice man and says, yes, come in with your receipt and we’ll swap one out for you.

The To-Do List for tomorrow has begun.