Kate gave us some fish, which were given to her by a friend who had moved. One is a red Betta, the other
was a blue paradise gourami. ;) They had apparently ben living in blissful domesticity with each other, but i did some reading and learned that both could be aggressive and that this particular gourami variety had a reputation for jumping out of its aquarium. Not encouraging information.
I decided to just let it play out, and all was well for about a week. The little fishies were happy living on my kitchen counter, until one day, while the girls were at school, I heard a wet flopping sound. You guessed it--the blue fish was flinging itself around my counter, headed for the sink. I grabbed a paper towel, scooped up the fish, and said "Your time here is up, pal. I don't have time for this!" Down the toilet he went.
The funny part of this story is that Evan was by my side the whole time. He was much impressed, and keeps climbing up on to the counter, determined to grab the remaining fish and flush it. I found him the next day, kneeling over the fish bowl, a tissue in hand. Oh goody!
I'll keep you all posted on the Betta's survival!