R.I.P. Dorothy Swimmey

Back in July I won a goldfish for Katie at the St Mike's fair. She originally named the fish "Swimmey" and then the next morning announced that she wanted to name her fish "Dorothy Swimmey" after Elmo's fish Dorothy. We went to the pet store and got a nice tank for Dorothy Swimmey. Dorothy Swimmey went to fishy heaven 5 days after we got her. I think I was sadder then Katie about the fish. We had a nice little ceremony in the bathroom while we all said a few nice words about Dorothy Swimmey before we flushed her down the toilet. I promised Katie a new fish after we got back from vacation. Right after getting back from Cape May, I had this bright idea that I wanted a dog. I wanted a little dog. I was interested in a yorkie or yorkie poo. I wanted to rescue a dog because I learned that puppy mills and pet stores were not good places to get a dog. Dan was not into the idea of getting a dog. I was never really into a dog either. But lately I really wanted a dog. Maybe it is the long wait for baby sister. Dan reminded me how busy were always are and that a dog may not be a good idea. I am putting it nicely on the blog. I threw a little fit(I was PMS'ing) and Dan said he hated dogs. So no dog for now. He is right but I am not admitting that to him(unless he reads this) we are VERY busy. So, Katie and I went to the pet store last week to get more fish for her new fish tank. We looked at the dogs at the pet store and even held a few. I was VERY tempted to get a dog but we left the pet store with 3 female beta fish. We looked at the beautiful male beta fish but Katie didn't want them. She wanted the 3 little fish that were in the tank next to the males. The man at the pet store said "I don't even know why they were ordered". Well Katie liked them and we got all 3. She named them~Ariel, Prince Eric(yes, the girl fish Prince Eric), and Belle.


This past weekend when we went to LBI we got 2 Hermit Crabs. We went to a store in Surf City called "Things A Drift". A very interesting lady named Cheryl sells beautiful shells, sea glass, etc. She also sells Hermit Crabs. She is very knowledgeable about her Hermit Crabs. They were the best looking Hermit Crabs I have ever seen. She had a Hermit Crab that was 19 years old. She was something to see! So I adopted a Hermit Crab named Pearl. I added my own name and she is now Petunia Pearl. Bailey and Brady went back and got Hermit Crabs too. Bailey got "Babs" and Brady got "Max". Brady had some excitement with his crab already. Last night it changed it shell. Jeff also wanted a crab to take to work. He got little "Fudge". Karen and I picked him out. Jeff didn't like "fudge" so I adopted fudge and Jeff went back to the store and got "Spike". The lady has about 50 Hermit Crabs and she has them all named. Katie is not really crazy about the Hermit Crabs.

Some Hermit Crabs Facts that I didn't know:

They have a life expectancy of 30-35 years

Hermit Crab(coeno bita clypeus's) comes from Haiti and best species for pets.

They eat table food. Sea Salt and Calcium must be added to their diet. You can give them Tums!

They like~corn on the cob, pizza, chicken bones, blue corn tortilla chips.

Hermit crabs do not carry diseases. Do not use a sponge in the cage this is how they get bacteria in their cage.

Hermit crabs grow by shedding their outer exoskeleton; this is how and when they grow. They molt or shed once a year usually in June or July. They will eat the skin and they be ready for a new shell.

Learn something new everyday!

Dorothy Swimmey in her new home

Katie happy with Dorothy Swimmey

Collage of new pets. Fish~Ariel, Prince Eric, and Belle. Hermit Crabs~Petunia Pearl and Fudge