a little favor...

My neighbors left for 6 weeks for a Morroccan vacation.  The mom, daughter and son all took off about 3 weeks ago and the dad left a couple of days ago.  We asked if there was anything they needed while gone and they said no, everything was taken care of.  Phew, I was hoping mowing the lawn wasn't going to be asked.  About an hour before the dad left he called with one little favor... could we take care of their daughters 2 beta fish.  Of course we can!!  No problem at all.  We have a fish tank that I have to remember to take care of, 2 dogs and of course the kids to feed so taking care of the beta shouldn't be a problem at all, right?  Well, as he walked over he said with a nervous chuckle that he kinda neglected them since the rest of his family has been gone.  He didn't think they could go the next 3 weeks without food.  No, they need to be fed 3 times a day.  It says so on the food container.  And, the bowl (vase) should be cleaned once a week, not once a lifetime.  I took these two cuties in and decided they needed a cleaner home. I was slightly nervous that the bacteria from their bowls would cause us to all develop some kind of crazy infection.  For my defense, the fish were really sickly looking and the bowls were really nasty.  2 days is all that these fish have been with us and this is what I did:

I killed them, both of them...

It was one little favor...

 I am sorry Goldy

 I am sorry Silver

I am sorry, I can't help you with your one little favor and now I don't know what to tell your beautiful children when they return from their vacation.  I took care of their dog last year while they were away for 6 weeks!!  Dog survived just fine.  

I called my husband and he said to go find new ones and tell them that I took really good care of the fish so if they look a little different it's because of the care they received.  A BIG FAT LIE!!  I took pictures and will go to the pet store tomorrow to start looking for the perfect match.  I really think I need to tell the truth, especially since my kids are friends with theirs and the truth will eventually come out.  Even if it's not for 10 years, it will come out.  Personally, I think the best answer is to replace the fish but tell the truth.  Right? Friends, what should I do???