A not-so-new pet

     When I started at the school I am currently employed (2+ years ago), there was a nameless goldfish who had survived the summer after being exposed to Kindergarten students that previous spring. He didn't do much, he was a goldfish. In that first year, he went from gold/orange to white, I did take care of him and changed his water when I could. He ended up in a plastic Mr. Potato Head box while I waited for his tank to return to room temperature.
     Well, he survived another summer (I was teaching summer school and would check in on him often) and I was back with him in K-room as a TA. I took care of him, changed his water, fed him. I had my son in April but was put on bed rest at the end of March so I didn't see him again until I was the Pre-K teacher and I passed him on the way to visit K-teacher.


     While on maternity leave no one loved his white-goldfish like I did and his tank got nasty! I mean unbearable for even a goldfish. I refused to take him, already having two Hermit Crabs whose bedding I was allergic to and could not do all the awesome stuff I had planned for with them. Somehow in the last two weeks, the goldfish a.k.a Mr. Potato Head ended up in my room. The almost 3 year old goldfish now as a clean tank and has been renamed to...NEMO. I know but it wasn't worth fighting after the time I spent cleaning the tank that morning. So to the top right is Nemo in his much cleaner tank, I know it still looks gross.

To the right and bottom are Lobster and Angie in their new coconut shreds bedding that I am not allergic to, next to their new neighbor Nemo. They seem to be a little more active with this new bedding. It could be that I'm not afraid of getting hives if I pick them up, so I handle them more with the kids around. I'm serious when I saw my hands were blistered and red after even cleaning the water bowl or picking up one of the crabs. The bottom picture has three shells in it. L to R: Lobster, empty and Angie. Hopefully, one of them will move into that bigger shell this year sometime. There is another shell in other corner of aquarium.

Someone tried to offer me guinea pigs two days later...really?