As I drove home from a pet store visit with a new beta for my dariling daughter Sarah, I reflected back to the begining of this aquatic adventure. Last November Sarah and I were in a petstore and she found a beta fish that she "just has to get," "there won't be another like it ever!." I said that I thought we had enough pets,(a dog, fish, 2 guinea pigs, and 2-14 gerbils depending on how large the litter is....ithat's a whole 'nother story!) and she could get one in the future when our other animals had gone to their next estate. Now, jump ahead to December....we are getting gifts for our kids and I find a fun "toy" for Sarah. You buy an aquatic set up that includes two tadpoles that you then raise and take care of. After doing some research, we found that these frogs can live up to 35 years! We decide that that isn't for us and pursue other ideas.

This is when, while in the pet store I see that they have aquatic frogs that are more like betas....breathe air, minimal tank cleaning and live a short time. We buy the set up and two frogs (we gave her this gift a little early due to extenuating circumstances.) After about two days frog number one dies...we have a 14 day gaurantee on the little buggers so we go trade dead for alive and are once again up and running. Well, another frog dies, then the replacement frog dies and they allow us to trade in yet again and try our luck once more. At this time, we also add 4 guppies and a little algae eater. Well......yep, you got it both frogs bite it and our little algae eater and 2 guppies!

By now we are all fed up with this process and find a different pet store that might be able to provide some insight as to why we keep killing the little buggers. So, after some advice and looking at the fish, we decide to replace the frogs with new ones, but give them their own tank and different food. (It turns out that the guppies were attacking and stressing out the frogs and that, along with starving them to death is why they died.) We also buy 2 replacement guppies and a new algae eater.

Everything is going smoothly when out of nowhere one of the frogs dies!!! Now, Sarah is in a full tizzy and refuses to try more frogs, (do you blame her?!) And when the previous frogs died she said she would try only once more then she was going to just get a beta as a replacement. I agree to this, but forgot that she is amazing at getting around the little details. I had never specified that both frogs would have to die to get the fish...so off we go to the pet store AGAIN!!! She picks out a beautiful beta and a set up for it (yes, we are now onto 3 tanks!!) and head home.

At this time I realize that had I just bought her the beta in November I would have saved myself countless trips to the store, emotional trauma to my child and oh so very much money. I think that she might have had this all planned out to begin with!