One fish, two fish, three fish, dead fish

We recently obtained our first family pets: three small tropical fish, purchased for 300 yen each (about $3) at the Azabu Juban fish/turtle store near our house. The store also sold us a $40 fish-care pack with a glass cube, filter, gravel, plastic plant and fish food.


Here's a close-up view of our happy children on Saturday August 22. They've been hounding us for a dog, a cat or some fish, and we're starting small.


Lucinda named her fish Nibbles. My fish was Tut (as in King Tut). Arno's fish was Spot. All seemed well.

Until this morning -- 18 days later -- when only two fish greeted me for breakfast with less enthusiasm than usual. Arno's fish Spot had gone to the great fish bowl in the sky; his now-lifeless tail was being pulled into the filter's intake tube.

Alas. Arno cried big tears. We left for school. I put Spot into a container in the fridge and guiltily cleaned the bowl, a few days late. After school, Arno returned Spot to the sea via the toilet. This weekend, Blaine and Arno will buy two new fish, who will, we hope, live for at least a month.