Betta Testing (aka testing the waters)

Went to Wal*Mart, bought a 10-gallon aquarium kit and some betta food. Tonight I'll buy a stand, and some bettas (aka Siamese Fighting Fish) and maybe some gouramis.

I used to raise tropical fish. Had a 32-gallon tank with jeweled cichlids, jack dempseys, a couple of giant algae-eaters and a smaller tank with breeding pairs of bettas. When I moved to Seattle in '97, I sold them all back to the aquarium store (now defunct) on the corner of Rengstorff & Central Expressway.

Lately I've been missing having fish. Don't know why. Not sure where I'll put them. The best niche where I'll see them the most is next to the piano in the livingroom, but it's also next to the sofa, and in easy cat reach.

Bettas and gouramis are air-breathers, they spend most of their time at the surface. Perfect cat bait.

If I put them in the computer room, they would either be behind me or on the other side of my too-tall TV/VCR/mixer stack. Come to think of it, I need to take a photo of the newly arranged computer room and post it.

There's no room in the bedroom, not since I got the hamper.

Decisions decisions.