Frankie Frog, my daughter’s 4 year old froggy, was found floating upside down this morning in his tank that he shares with a couple of other fish.
I’m not quite sure what I should do to comfort Frankie. As you can see from the photo, we set him up in a smaller container and placed him under my desk lamp hoping to keep him warm. I tilt the water off of him occasionally thinking he needs some oxygen. That part, I’m unsure about, since he is under water most of the time and rarely comes to surface to breathe.
Earlier, before my daughter left for work, (I know, she’s 23 and still living at home and that’s a story for another time.) she googled to find out what may be wrong with him and what to do. The suspect may be the other young froggy she brought home several weeks ago in hopes of giving him a buddy. But it seems that froggies carry lots of disease and perhaps the new froggy, himself, was diseased, because he turned up dead last night.
So, Frankie Frog’s outcome is looking very bleak.
I sit here watching him ... occasionally there is a solitary kick. What is he trying to tell me. Does he need more oxygen? Need more heat or is there too much heat. Does he want to be out of the water, in the water, WHAT!!!!?
Argggghhhhhh!
Frankie Frog came to reside in our home shortly after we moved. Our daughter decided to start a fish tank and then went off to college. And you know who was left responsible for taking care of the little critters.
So I set up my reminders to feed Frankie his bloodworms every two days. And worried over him. I was always relieved when the daughter came home over breaks to check him out, make sure I was being a good caretaker. Oh, ye have so little faith in me!
Frankie has had his share of trauma though and each time he survived triumphantly.
He has endured attacks by other fish, crippling his left arm.
He lost of one of his foot flippers when my daughter accidentally pinched it off while trying to catch him when cleaning the tank.
And early on he became emaciated before we figured out that he was starving because he didn’t seem to be able to find his food. We figured he must be blind.
But he kept kicking, swimming, hiding in his little castle.
Until this morning.
I do not like this assignment I have been given.
missing the mom gene
