Saturday afternoon was one filled with potential disaster in the realm of pre-school aquaria.  I returned home from the grocery store to the sounds of a screaming toddler who had clearly been sent to her room, a concerned-looking four year old, and a calm but frustrated wife scooping tropical fish out of what appeared to be six gallons of toxic waste.  Anticipating an interesting story, I quickly grabbed some aquarium supplies to help with the rescue effort.

Apparently while I was out, Jaimee had grabbed the Crayola Bath Tints from the under the bathrrom sink and dumped them all into Katlyn’s fish tank.  The resulting hue was a very dark green; like green jello before it has set.  Now I have no idea what they make these things out of, but I’ve got to think that whatever it is can’t be great for fish (especially in mass quantities).  From what I could tell, a bottle of fish food has also been added to the tank for good measure (probably makes sense if you’re three years old).

After removing the fish from the tank, Jodie took care of vacuuming the rocks while Katlyn and I cleaned the plants and filter.  We flushed the tank a few times over until the resulting water ran clear, and then started to reassemble the aquarium.  While getting the newly cleaned tank prepped, Katlyn noticed something tiny hovering near the bottom of the tank.  It was a baby fish, couldn’t be more than a couple days old, and it had survived the near-complete destruction of its world.

We re-inserted the rest of the fish into the environment and crossed our fingers.  So far, after two days, the fish appear to have survived.  This includes the new baby fish that miraculously escaped the cleaning.  If he matures into a viable adult, I think Katlyn should call him "Nemo".