Fish, Beware!

Ok, so we have now owned 5 fish.  After Number 3 died, we went back to the pet store for another water test, a replacement voucher, and some advice.  They said to start over, clean out the whole tank, and let the water age for another 4 days, and then come back and get a different kind of fish, something coldwater rather than tropical.  Done and done.  Little Man picked out a paradise fish, a coldwater cousin of the betta that weren't hardy enough for our house.  Being told they can be shy fish and need companions, we brought home two.

Little Man named them Dash and Samuel.  When we told them they are females, he started to cry and said he wanted boy fishes not girl fishes.  So Dash and Samuel they remained.  Right from the start, they were way more active than the Unfortunate Three.  Soon they each had a favorite corner of the tank.  They bob to the top for air and then right back down again, straight up and down like an elevator.

But then, Disaster!!  One died on Saturday.  We don't know why.  The other is noticeably less active, and has taken over the corner of the deceased.  She hasn't moved from that corner, except to go up for air or food, in three days.  My hopes are not high.  But I don't think I can go through this again, so this is probably going to be our last attempt at a fish.  If she doesn't survive, we'll call it a day, fish-wise.

It's very frustrating, because fish are supposedly simple pets.  I've never had them die off like this before, and we've done absolutely everything we're supposed to, according to the aquatics staff at the pet store.  I've become resigned, I suppose, to their demise.