Mr. Bubbles
Part 1, 2 and 3




Part One

Somebody decided Bean needed a friend. Her brother and sister are heading off to school in a few days and she would be left to her own amusement with only her Mommy as company. So somebody bought her a friend.

Meet Mr. Bubbles:

Mr. Bubbles quickly became a favorite of everyone in the house (including myself). Bean was absolutley beside herself with joy at having her own pet and Mr. Bubbles quickly became her bestest friend:
Sadly, Mr. Bubbles had not been a member of the house for very long when we realized that all was not well. It seemed that the cute kitchen table bowl was not large enough for such a rotund Mr. Bubbles and that he required a pump for extra oxygen.

So Sunday morning we piled the family in the car on a mission to upgrade Mr. Bubble's living arrangements. We bought him a spacious 5 gallon tank, complete with ceiling lights, filter and a central oxygen deployment unit. As a housewarming gift he received 10 ghost shrimp for pals and a water plant to set the mood in case there was ever a future Mrs. Bubbles. All seemed to be going well and good. Bean was very excited to show Mr. Bubbles his new house.

Once we got home though, our worst fears had been realized. Mr. Bubbles was sleeping with the fishes (I know..that's horrid..but it's too funny to pass up). Alex and Liberty were very upset at the loss of our newest pet and temporary chaos ensued.

Amidst all of the commotion and consoling we all realized that Bean was standing there talking to Mr. Bubbles and trying to get him to swim. We all stood there for a moment and then I made the executive decision to explain to Bean that Mr. Bubbles was very sleepy and taking a nap.

R.I.P. Mr. Bubbles

Part Two

Once I had Bean convinced that Mr. Bubbles was taking a nap, Alex, Liberty and I got back into the car and headed to Wal-mart to purchase a 'replacement' . We managed to find an almost exact clone and also purchased another fish so the (new) Mr. Bubbles wouldn't be lonely in his 5 gallon condo (ghost shrimp really don't take up that much room).

We arrived back home to put (new) Mr. Bubbles in his home and Bean promptly named the new fish 'Friend'. So now we have (new) Mr. Bubbles and Friend both happily living it up and partying with their ghost shrimp.

Bean went to bed easily and happily once she kissed them both goodnight and turned off their light so they could also go night night.

Catastrophe avoided.

Part Three


You thought the story was over didn't you? At this point you were getting ready to comment how lucky I was that Bean is only Two years old and bought the whole 'nappy' theory. You had visions of (new) Mr. Bubbles, Friend, and their 10 ghost shrimp living it up in style, floating happily and basking in the love and care of my adorable angel.

Well....Not so much.

This morning Prince Charming and I noticed that, once again, (new) Mr. Bubbles wasn't looking so good. He wasn't exactly green around the gills (OMG. I know. I just can't resist though), but it didn't seem right that he be swimming nose down and tail up.

I panicked. I worried. I wept (okay..I didn't really weep..but I was very very sad).

I kept a close eye on both (new)Mr. Bubbles and Friend. Oddly enough it only seemed to be (new)Mr. Bubbles that was affected. (The 10 ghost shrimp were fine. Brave survivors they are.)

I am sad to say that shortly after Bean woke up this morning and fed (new)Mr. Bubbles and Friend that we found (new)Mr. Bubbles had also gotten very 'seepy' and was also taking a permanent 'nappy'.

Now poor Friend is friendless and has been left to care for the 10 ghost shrimp all by himself.

Tonight I will be heading back to Wal-mart with receipt and frozen (new)Mr. Bubbles in hand to attempt find another replacement.

Stay tuned for the continuing saga of the (new)(new) Mr. Bubbles and Friend....

15 comments:

twetyz1 said...

LMFAO! Note to self, don't let you pet sit!! Love you!!!

Anonymous said...

Twetyz - HEY! SOOO not fair! Friend is doing just fine as are the 10 ghost shrimp!

Apparently Mr. Bubbles is just a defective fish and the clones carry the same defective gene!

I fully admit to having caused many pets to be lost in the past. But THIS is sooooo not my fault ;-)

Anonymous said...

I'd suggest a fish recount. Seems to me, that if you started with ten Ghost fish, and then lost two fish, (sorry Napped away two fish) you'd have twelve Ghost fish, albeit two are unseen. I mean Mr. Bubbles and Mr. New Bubbles would have left their little Ghost selves behind too, right? Who could give up the Ghost and not want to hang around for those little tank kisses?

Laurel said...

i think it's hysterical that you put the (new) Mr. Bubbles in the freezer. Good thing you didn't forget about him and then find him a few months later. That would have been traumatic.

Bananas said...

what IS it with fish dying all over the place? Our replacement replacements are looking sick again! Aarrghh!!!

Bee said...

I blame Walmart, let them know that one more fish death and their hands will be tainted with their murder! :o)

Andy and I buy our fish at Fish Stores, they tend to be taken better care of. Unfortunately the places we got to are either in Chicago or near one of it's burbs.

Anonymous said...

Diane - LOL. There are 10 ghost SHRIMP and there were a total of 3 fish. Mr. Bubbles, (new)Mr. Bubbles, and Friend. We are now down to Friend and 10 ghost SHRIMP.

L.A.M. - Well, the only reason I put him in the freezer was 'cause I forgot him in the bag on the window sill yesterday. This morning while doing dishes I smelled something..well..fishy. LOL. That seemed the best place to preserve him until he could be returned.

A.B. - I know I should wait to replace (new)Mr. Bubbles 'till we get the tank figured out. But one can only watch their two year old yell at a dead fish to 'wakey up' so many times. Thank goodness they are only $4.88 each!

Bee - We did try to find a 'friend' similar to Mr. Bubbles at Petco yesterday but they didn't have any :-( And at the rate we are going Wal-mart prices are better than regular pet stores! LOL.

Lisa said...

Oh a word of advice... Sometimes it takes awhile (like a month or 6 weeks) for the bacterial and ph balance to work itself out... (At least that's what they told me at PetSmart.) Often there are more "victims" as a result. Yeah, keep you receipts. heehee.

Anonymous said...

Lisa - Thanks for the tip :-) I know I shouldn't replace him for a while..but I can't handle having her yell at him to 'wakey up!' I'm a sucker like that..lol.

Pokey Puppy said...

Duh duh duhhdh duh duh duhhhh duh duhhh duh duhhhhhhh. that was that army song..donteven know the name.. sad i know...

Poor Mr. Bubles

Anonymous said...

Pokey - I think it is just called..that army song ;-) works for me!

Anonymous said...

LOL I don't blame you for going and buying a new Mr. Bubbles because I wouldn't want to deal with my 2yr old being upset. Good thing you kept the receipt.

Tracy Rambles On And On said...

R.I.P. Mr Bubbles and Mr. Bubbles The Second.
I had something very similiar happen in my house. After we had gone through three goldfish in less then two weeks, I ended up buying a Beta. They are beautiful and seem to be a bit more hardy. Although you can't put a beta in with other betas, our lived happily for a year with several goldfish, a snail, and a miniature shark. You might take this into consideration. Either that or you will end up spending your children's college fund on replacement goldfish.
I'm very sorry for all of your losses.

Tracy Rambles On And On said...

One more thing, you might want to consider naming the replacement something other than Mr. Bubbles, the name seems to be kind of cursed. Also, you will lose count and start to get all of the Mr.Bubbles confused. It'll be easier on you if you name it something else.
Something to think about.

Anonymous said...

Jesse - Yes, I did save the receipt. But apparently you are also required to have the bag that they were sent home in. (wtf?) So I just ended up spending another $4 last night. LOL.

Tracy - We did get another (new)(new) Mr. Bubbles last night. He is a different breed than the 1st two. He is the same breed as Friend. This seemed the best choice as Friend has survived. So far we are at 12 hours and have 2 living fish! WOOHOOO. ROFL.