Miranda, The Mermaid Fish

Miranda, The Mermaid Fish

 

 

Miranda the Mermaid Fish

Glynis Johns as Miranda the Mermaid

Just an old movie starring Glynis Johns as a mermaid that made an impression on me many year’s ago.  So much so that I wanted a mermaid themed fish tank in our kitchen so that I could look at her and enjoy her, seeing as how the kitchen is a room that I spend a lot of time in.

Sadly, I am on my 3rd. Miranda.  I will explain in just a bit but, all my Miranda’s are betta fish.  The betta fish are beautiful, but they are also fighting fish therefor you keep only one fish per bowl otherwise they will kill each other.  Betta’s are from the rice field’s of Asia and they can jump from puddle to puddle.  The males are far more beautiful than the females, but I have had some beautiful female’s.  The males take care of the eggs and prepare a bubble nest for them.  I do love their bubble nests.

My Original Miranda

She is quite lovely.  I only had her for under 2 months.  I made the mistake of forgetting to acclimate her to the water temperature after I cleaned the fishbowl out one day.  I removed her of course in order to clean everything.  I placed her in a small cup with a lid so that she wouldn’t jump out of it.  I then proceeded to clean out the bowl and rinse all the plants and items that I keep in there for Miranda to enjoy.  Then, instead of placing the cup inside the bowl with Miranda in it so that the water temp in the cup will reach the same as that in the bowl.  I just quickly dumped her inside of it.  She immediately went into shock and sunk to the bottom of the bowl.  In other words, she died instantly.  I was so sad because I was responsible for her death.  My negligence.  My not paying close attention and doing it the correct way led to her demise.  She is buried out back in our pet cemetery.  🙁

Mermaid Touches Throughout the Kitchen and Nook

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We even had a Mermaid Christmas in our nook.

Click Here For:  My Mermaid Lagoon Christmas in the Nook

Click Here For:  Weeki Wachee Weekend for Christmas

We spent a lovely weekend at Weeki Wachee State Park in Spring Hill, Florida.  (2019)

One of our favorite things to do was not only to kayak the springs, but to visit the Weeki Wachee Mermaids…..

Click Here For:  Mermaids at Weeki Wachee Springs

They are a Florida Tradition and a Favorite Attraction from my Youth.

This year for their Christmas program they did Hans Christian Andersen’s, The Little Mermaid.

We also had a lovely “Mermaid” picnic to finish out our day.  🙂

To visit our weekend just click on the Weeki Wachee Weekend for Christmas link above.

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Miranda 2.0

My second Miranda lasted a little bit longer than my first one, above.  I chose her because of her lovely coloring.  At first she was a bit standoffish but after a few weeks she started adjusting to her surroundings and because very friendly.

I honestly don’t know why this Miranda died.  After I cleaned out her fishbowl and placed her back inside it she just seemed to get a bit sick and stick to the bottom of the bowl.  Just sort of resting on the sand as if she were ill.  Then, after a few days I noticed her unresponsive.  I was so very sad and buried her in the pet cemetery with the other Miranda. 

My son-in-law has a lot of knowledge about betta’s and I talked to him about why my betta’s were dying?  He told me that a good source of bacteria for them lives in the sand at the bottom of the bowl, and to not thoroughly clean that sand.  Just dump the water out of the bowl and whatever gunk doesn’t drain out of the bowl then just pick it out and then leave the sand as is.  Then add the new water, rinse the plants and other items in the bowl with just water, place them back inside, add the water softening drops, place Miranda in the cup to bob up and down until she has acclimated to the new water temperature for about 20 minutes, then dump her back in and she should be fine.  (Or rather, the next Miranda should be just fine.)  🙂

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Meet Miranda 3.0

I do have to admit that “she” just happens to actually be a HE.  🙂

When I decided to try again and bring home another Miranda from the pet store there weren’t any female’s with the coloring that I wanted, but there was this one particular male that appealed to me.  I think he is quite lovely and just perhaps he may like being a female here.  Who knows?  Perhaps this is the first trans-fish.  🙂  Why not?

I am doing my best to care for my beautiful Miranda as I would like for her to be around for quite a while.

The average lifespan of a betta is 2 years however, the care that the fish receives before they even arrive at the pet store, and the care the betta fish receives while at the pet store, and the care the betta receives from you, determines how long the fish will live.

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The Bubbles……

The males just naturally make bubbles, but it is also a sign they are happy.

Swimming and Exploring

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Miranda brings me great joy.  I love seeing “her” in the kitchen as I cook and do dishes.  I hope she will be happy and be with us for a very long time.

Betta fish do have personalities and can recognize faces.  They can swim over and greet you and even interact with you.  Some betta’s are very friendly.  I do know that Miranda watches me as I do dishes.  🙂

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Rescue a betta from a pet store and give this very friendly fish a home.

Julie

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If you would like to know some of our past betta fish then click on their web posts below:

HURRICANE

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Jose Gaspar, Pirate Fish

 

Joses tank 2_small

Jose’s Tank

Jose Gaspars tank_small

Joses sunken ship_small

 

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Tasso’s Bubbles

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Miranda, The Mermaid Fish

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If you would like to check out our other Weeki Wachee and Mermaid pages:

Click Here For:  Kayaking in Florida With Julie and Gordon:  Adventure, Food and Fun Blogging

AND,

Kayak Weeki Wachee Springs, Florida

AND,

Weeki Wachee Weekend For Christmas

AND,

Miranda The Mermaid Fish

AND,

My Mermaid Lagoon Christmas in the Nook

AND,

The Chubby Mermaid

AND,

A Mermaid Halloween

AND,

It’s A Mermaid Thing

 

It’s a Mermaid Thing….  🙂