R.I.P. Sharmin =(

The late Sharmin, a Siamese Algae Eater

I just experienced my first major pet loss today. Sharmin, my Siamese Algae Eater was found floating at the top of the fish tank when I walked into my classroom. He has been with me for a little more than 3 years. I adopted him from one of my former students' family about 3 years ago, and we've been together ever since.

He was an addition to the fish tank after my first fish (Sparkles, who is still alive) was swimming in murky water. He remained nameless for a day, and I left it up to my students to name him. Before we decided on a name, I explained to them that he's an algae eater and that he keeps our tank clean, and all the green stuff that they see will be gone because he eats it. And then I said that he needed a name, and they suggested Tony or Rudy, which are the names of our school janitors. I suppose they wanted to name it after somebody who kept things clean. Then one student suggested Sharmin (Yes, like the toilet paper), and the rest of the group loved the name, so we went with that. The tank has been squeaky clean since he's lived in it. That summer, I didn't want to leave the tank in the classroom because the fish would not be looked after, so I moved the tank into my apartment.

When I moved out of my old apartment last month, I transferred the fish tank back into the classroom. Fast forward to today. Ardon and I stopped by my classroom today just to grab something. As soon as I walked in, I noticed that the fish tank looked a tad murky. I went over to feed the fish, and noticed a discolored Sharmin floating next to the filter. Sometimes he would float around like that, but when I'd put food into the tank, he'd move around. But this time, after I had put food into the tank, he didn't even move a fin. I knew we had lost him. I called Ardon over to come and scoop him out with the net (Ardon was across the room smuggling snacks out of the cupboard). As tears welled up in my eyes, Ardon was so great and graciously put him in a plastic bag, we brought him outside, and buried him under a tree. I'll miss the little vacuum fish. Now I have to get a new one because the algae is accumulating fast!

I don't know how to break the news to the kids. Wish me luck.