Sparkles Kicks the Proverbial Bucket

For Ian's birthday we bought him two goldfish, Plumpy and Googie, and a betta fish Sparkles. We were warned that they prefer warm water and to keep him as warm as possible. I didn't think it would be a problem, as we've had one before and he thrived. But... I kept that fish on top of the tv. Now we have a flat screen tv so keeping it on top is obviously not an option.

So, this morning poor Sparkles was found floating. He mananaged to stir himself a few times over the next few hour and all our attempts at recucitation failed. Don't worry, we didn't try mouth-to-mouth! But I put him near the stove to warm him up (and melted part of the container he was in!), Sean and I took turns poking him with a finger in order to shock him back to consciousness, and we swirled him around in his bowl. He would perk up for a second or two, then float back to the top or the bottom of the tank. Finally, I dumped him in the toilet. Just as he hit bottom, he stirred a bit and the guilt swept over me! But he stopped moving, and as Kristine, Ian and I stood over the toilet silently watching for more signs of life, Ian suddenly exclaimed gleefully, "I know! Let's flush it!"

Apparently he's not doing too badly with the death of his fish!

~Reese