Fish are Friends Not Food

Picture this: I am in fourth grade and have just captured two salamanders (lets call them Pablo and Paco because I don't remember what their original names were) at the local (man made) lake. I am keeping them in a nice, comfy tank when...gasp! One of my salamanders disappeared. That's right, Paco is MIA. Of course, I sent out search parties right away; I looked under tables, I looked under chairs, but he was no where to be found. The main concern with salamanders, of course, is dehydration, so, I set little bowls of water all around the house. That didn't work becuase my dad stepped in one and made me clean them up. But then, miraciously, Paco returned! I put him back in his tank and he and Pablo lived a very happy life for about three months. Then they died. I think they were trying to hybernate and went too far.

I have unfortunate experiences with pets.

That's sad because animals seem to like me and usually, I like animals - except for dolphins and whales (I have my reasons). I mean, I do my best, but I just can't seem to keep them alive. Granted, I've had relative success with guinea pigs (probably because guinea pigs are just furry and cute and pretty much happy with everything) but, other than that..well, there's quite the little cemetery in my back yard. 

I used to have hermit crabs. They lived in a plastic container on my kitchen counter. Then, one of the crabs (lets call him Kermit) shed his skin and changed shells. My mom saw another one of the crabs (let's call him Elmo) eating Kermit's skin and thought he was being a cannibal (even though he wasn't - Elmo would never do that). Then, they all died. I'm still working on how that happened.

Something similar happened to my snail (yes, the same snail I got when I had my wisdom teeth out). His name was Diego Dorado Santiago de los Montes and he was yellow. He lived in my fish tank until he grew too big for his shell. Then, he died. He was a free spirit and could not be domesticated.

I'm not sure what I should take from all this. Clearly, I should not be allowed to own pets with shells. Also, its probably not a good idea to take salamanders out of their natural habitat. Not that I would go salamander catching now-a-days. When I think about that, every cell in my body just screams "ew!" I am such a girl.

Anyways, the point is that now I have fish. I like my fish; I'm very proud of them (in case you were wondering, that's why my username is IHaveAFishTank). Actually, I'm just kind of proud I've managed to keep them (well, most of them) alive. Quiquito is my favorite fish; he's kind of brooding - he never comes out of the castle (so, I have a castle in my fish tank - don't judge me). Sometimes, I look in the castle window at him and make faces.

I don't think he likes it. I also don't think I should be allowed near animals. Just sayin'.