Last month, I was waxing poetic on the subject of triops. It's true that I'll never forget how cute Betsy was when she first spotted the little guys swimming around in their tank. We'd been sure that we wouldn't get any hatchlings and we were all more than a little thrilled that the experiment was actually working. We named the triops after the Penderwick girls: Rosalind, Skye, Jane and Batty.
On Tuesday of this week, I decided that perhaps we should have named them things like Rocko and Lefty, as these are tough little creatures. Aggressive little creatures. When I discovered, a couple of days ago, that we were down to two triops in the tank, my stomach did a flip. Somehow their cannibalism didn't seem quite as bad when they were tiny things ... since we saw no remains, and ... well, you get the picture. But now. Oh. Yuck. I told Atticus that not only did I no longer find them exciting or interesting, but I now actually found them to be repulsive. He suggested that we get the remaining two out of the house before they come after us. I had visions of our whole family bound and gagged while two mini-prehistoric crustaceans emptied our freezer and taunted us with "You're next!"
Next time I'm up for a living science experiment, it's Sea Monkeys. They're smaller. They only have to be fed once a week. They're kind. They don't eat their siblings. That's a rule in this house. Next time, our instant pets will be worthy of their names.
7 comments:
This is too funny, Karen!
I had a similar experience when our beloved Many-Headed Slime was attacked by a variety of molds. It was just awful, and there was nothing we could do to save it. Naming one of our little fellows "Lucky" turned out to be a big mistake.
thanks for the perspective! I was thinking of tucking a package of triops into an Easter basket, but now it seems all wrong! -Amy
Karen,
Our experience with Sea Monkeys was looooooonnnnngggg!
They lived for about 2 years. I figured they would kick the bucket after a week or two. The container became gross and you really couldn't clean it or you might kill the things. My animal loving family could never allow that. Several times when we thought we were down to one or two and knew they would die off, we'd see teeny tiny little critters swimming about only to re-start the entire cycle again.
They finally met their demise when one of the children accidentally knocked the container over spilling the contents into the sink and counter tops. The children cried, but they accepted their loss and mom has sworn to NEVER get Sea Monkeys again.
You know puppies are cute, fun, good watchdogs and will eat anything that hits the floor - but not humans! Plus I know first hand that Anne, Betsy and Ramona would LOVE one! Nancy
You should make a home movie: The Triops. You know, like The Blob!
Guess what! We're out of the bowl. Bwah-hahahahahahahaha!
Trio: Whatcha want to do today Oppy?
Oppy: Same thing we do everyday Trio. Take over the world!
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