December 1, 2012

  • You'd Have To See It To Believe It....

    TALES FROM THE BRAT FARM

    I'm sure you've heard of them.  People who can have one small, easy task and they turn it into an all day job?  That was the Beast today.  He had decided that WE need a fish tank but a smaller one.  So off he goes to the more upscale Walmart in the next town and he buys this tall, round fish tank.  It has changeable colored lights beneath it.  I thought it a waste since you put small rocks on the bottom and it would cover that part, right?  Well, it has this plastic column in the center of the tank that is actually the filter/aerator and THAT carries the color so that you can see it due to the varied surfaces the bubbling water provides.  It's very pretty when it's put together. 

    He bought us a betta of our own.  I kept calling it pink because it looks pink and dark pink to me but the Beast keeps calling it our RED one.  He only spent an hour or so putting it together then he looked over at the one he bought yesterday and decided he should clean it.  He made a mistake and just poured the stone and rock in it without rinsing it first so the water was cloudy.  He felt it had to be bad for the betta fish he bought for Chewlee so he sets out to drain it.  He remembers he's got a pump out in the barn so he goes out to get that.  When he gets into the house, he decides he needs new tubing for it.  That means a trip to the store.  Well, that takes him over an hour because he has to look around the fish department, decide on some plants for the tanks and lord only knows what else he got.  I don't even want to know.  He gets home and takes the fish out of the tank he wants to clean, puts it in the smaller tank and starts working on draining the water out of the big tank so he can clean it. 

    A little later, he sits down to have some coffee and is looking for Chewlee's fish.  It's down on the bottom of the tank.  Not hiding.   Our red is up around the top of the tank but it takes a bit to realize it's dead.  You can tell by the damage.  I say to myself, *Ut oh!  I KNEW it!  These are betta splendens....Siamese fighting fish!*  I google them and, sure enough!  He put two males (the females are not so splendid or so vividly colored) in the same tank.  Looks like Chewlee's fish kicked the red one's butt.  I really loved the looks of that one, too.  The red was really dark and the pink, on those feathery fins, just beautiful. 

    So off goes the Beast (again) to get another fish.  This time he comes back with what looks to be a female betta splendens.  He said he checked online for what to look for before he left and I figured (from what I read and the pictures I saw) that he had picked one out correctly.  Plop!  He puts the bag into the tank to let the temperature equalize before he lets the fish out of the bag.  Personally, I think he was too eager but you can't tell him anything so I don't even try. 

    At this point, he's managed to fritter away more than five hours and he's still not cleaned the big tank out.  He's managed to violate pretty much all the things they tell you to do....like let the water sit overnight after you've treated it and corrected the pH.  He's just too anxious to get the fish into the tank.  But what do I and the people that put the instructions out know about it?  Right?  Now it's time for a nap for him.

    After about an hour, Baron wakes the Beast to be let out.  I have no idea why he woke the Beast since I was up and my door was open.  I guess Baron thought he's napped long enough.    I feed him right away so he can get on with his *chore* and clear up all his crap from my kitchen.

    He gets on with it, finally.  He cleans the tank (and remembers no soaps, just clean, warm water).  Then he starts on getting it in place, spreading the rocks around, adds the plants he bought for that tank and puts the NEW filter he bought for it (the new/old one was too noisy) on then starts the filling process.  For that, he needs to involve me now.  I have to plug in the pump when he's ready and holding the tubing in place.  It takes three different buckets full before THAT is done.

    He tries to tell me there is absolutely no noise from the new filter and gets really upset when I tell him I can hear it but it's not bad at all.  He swears I am hearing the bubbler from the other tank and has to go unplug it and say, *See?*  When I tell him I can hear it, he gets this disgusted look on his face and I tell him, *Beast, I hear different noise levels than you do as we can tell by how loud you have your volume on your TV so you can hear it.  It's a hum but it's there.*  I walk away and into my room where I close the door and shake my head in disbelief.

    About an hour passes and by this time, it's 9pm and he's wasted the whole day.  He comes in to tell me that the pH tablets really DO act like Alka-Seltzers and fizz.  I told him, *That's why they are named Fizz tablets!*  Duh!  Sheesh.  I find out he's put the female betta into the tank with our male betta and she's hiding in the coral.  He hasn't attacked it/her so she might just be very cautious. 

    What cracks me up is the Beast is acting all exhausted now, like he worked a hard day's work.    Let him have his pretension of hard work.  He forgets I was here watching how much he slaved over the fish and fish bowls.

    It's cooled down from our high of 58.  Weatherbug keeps putting out updates because it can't make up it's mind what is going on from damn near hour-to-hour.  If it stays this bad, I may just get rid of it.  It's starting to bug the hell out of me and I haven't even quit smoking!  Anyway, they are saying it's only supposed to go down to about mid-40's tonight which isn't TOO bad.  I've kept my bedroom nice and comfortably warmed (I like to feel I can breathe but not have frosty breath).  With my light quilt on, I should be okay.  If it gets colder than that, there's my comforter folded at my feet.

    I hope you all manage to stay warm and comfortable.  Love you all and have a great Sunday. 

    PS:  Chewlee's fish and the new one are laying on the bottom of the tank, side-by-side.  A romance brewing?