Alva the fish*

*aka, how we got fleeced by the Topsfield Far

A few weekends ago I went to the Topsfield Fair with Erin, Matt, and Bob. There was a booth where you could win goldfish, and despite my questions that Ricky could win there... he did on the first ping pong ball. So we found ourselves with a fish named Alva (after this awesome guy).

For a night, Alva lived in a tupperware container because by the time we got back, it was too late to get him a house. The next day, I spent $30 on a 1 gallon tank, some rocks, a plant, and food. When he didn't like the food, I then went to get another thing of food ($4).

(Alva, in home #1)

Alva seemed happy for a bit in his new home... well, for about week. Then he sat on the bottom of the goldfish tank staring out as us sadly. He hid underneath his plant. And, worst of all, his fins started turning brown at the tips. Oh great, he's moody or sick. I compared him often to Beatrice in Best in Show, and wondered if I should get him a busy bee to cheer him up. (we didn't, but we did spend some quality time shopping in catalogs to makes us feel better about ourselves)

Last night, Ricky and I decided to get some medicine for him to fix his fin. Because we had no clue what to do, we asked the experts... who told us he was dying. It turns out goldfish create the most waste of all small fish and so he's living in tons of his own waste and poop. Goldfish's organs also keep growing, so the pressure of only 1 gallon of water is pushing on his organs, which is causing duress. They then told us we'd need to drop at least $100 that night to get him the right digs. Ricky said no, which I agreed. At this point, I was so annoyed I walked into the cat toy aisle.

After some intense deliberating and negotiations, we settled on a 10-gallon tank, a filter, more gravel, and another plant... for $50. We came home and spent an hour setting up the filter and filling the fish tank with water. Alva seems happy now, and is actually swimming and eating.

(Alva in his new 10-gallon tank. That wine was not consumed last night... but it was seriously debated several times.)

In case you were keeping tabs, this $2.25 fish has now cost us... $84.


That being said, Alva seems a million times happier in his tank. He's enjoying swimming around, playing in both plants, and not sitting in his own poop. I also put a small gnome in there (a house is not a home unless you got a gnome, says the wise Michnya) to encourage him to not die for at least 6 months.

He looks glum, but that's because the other pictures he was swimming too fast.