26 August 2006

A Chip Off The Old Block

We found one of my daughter's goldfish, "Cutie," dead this morning in the tank. This was not unexpected. Cutie appears to have been suffering from swim bladder disease for a week or two, notwithstanding multiple remedies we applied based on internet fish care advice (peas, salt, food control, tank cleaning). Hey, at least the fish survived 65 days, much longer than the 72 hours or so the first time we tried to have fish. The other two goldfish in our tank seem to be healthy.

But, what was notable is how my daughter reacted.

Did she despair over the fate of Cutie's soul and insist on a proper burial? No. She asked if we could cut the dead fish open to see what a fish's organs looked like on the inside. That a girl!

We conducted the dissection later in the day observing the various fins, the gills, how the eyes were shaped and connected to the brain, the spine, the bones and the ruptured swim bladder. Afterwards, the remains were disposed of in the trash without objection.

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