Many Many Things!

Well, many many things have happened today alone. Prepare yourselves, because most of it is negative. First things first, dear Augustus has passed away.

Here's the story:
So, I was at a camp all week. My family was taking care of my fish. When I got back, everything seemed ok, but I noticed Augustus wasn't around. My mom told me that she'd seen him last night when she fed them. After looking all around the tank, I began to worry. I knew he wasn't alive. If you remember how I found Poseidon dead, this should sound familiar. I saw a small whisp of what looked like fish bones with rotting skin. Accepting this as his dead body, I buried it. Gravestone and all. As returned to my tank, I was shocked to find another, fuller corpse. This one was defiantly Augustus. Feeling foolish, I went back (with my dear cousin) and dug up the false corpse (which was probably just some algae) and replaced it with the true one.

The false corpse

The false corpse

Augustus was a wonderful fish. He was friendly and accepting to everyone. His tail shimmered with every color imaginable and couldn't have been more beautiful. He will be missed.

Just to add to the pile of bad news, Socrates isn't moving. I'm not saying he's dead, he's just not moving. I keep telling myself this is another false alarm, and he's just sleeping, but I don't know. He's sucked into his shell and looks pale. I'm trusting that what I read about water snails when they die (that they stink) is true...

I also let Aphrodite out of confinement. I guess it's up to you whether that's good or bad. She was sure happy about it, swimming all over the place! I'm glad to see her happy, but also worried about my guppies.
 

Aphrodite enjoying all the new space

To make things worse, I'm leaving on a trip TOMORROW until August 7th, which means I won't be able to monitor or take care of my tank! I'm so worried about what I'll find when I return.

As far as good news, I cleaned my tank! YAY! It was so dirty and gross!

Lastly, tomorrow is the one-year anniversary of Tutankhamen's death. As one of the original fish, he will always have a place in my heart. We remember him tomorrow as a great fish who loved many.

'A Guppy's Tail'

Look at all the awesome tails my guppies have had through the ages! (Yes, I even put them in chronological order) Oh yeah, be sure to check out the 'Selected Photos' tab to see some new pictures! (I know, I know- you've already seen the Zeus ones at the top, but keep scrolling down!! :)

(From left to right: Napoleon, Tutankhamen, Poseidon, Eiosepa, Athena, Apollo, Hades, Hatchepsut, Constantine, Sparta, Akhenaten, Messala, Nefertiti, Augustus, Trajan, and Nero.)

All Sorts of Madness

A lot has happened recently in the Underwater Empire. Sadly, we have had a death. It came as a shock since we haven't had one in a while. RIP Trajan.

The rest is all to do with the snails. First of all, (as I have mentioned before...) both of them seem to have this magic superpower of floating. They'll be happily sliding across the bottom and then BLOOP! Air comes out of their shells and all of the sudden they go flying to the top. They float around for a while and then drop back down.... yeah... I know... weird, right? 

(Sorry for the lights reflecting on the glass..)

Secondly (Concerning snails...) It seems we have a rather scandalous situation on our hands....  Hippocrates has been somehow (I have absolutely no idea how he does it...) finding a way in the Aphrodite's separator. I take him out, but the next time I see him he's right back in! I haven't the slightest idea how he does it or how to deal with it. (Help in the comments??)  Are they in love or does Hippocrates just like the safety of the separator? 

(Well, if they are in love, Aphrodite doesn't seem to like Hippocrates much. She is always in the opposite corner with her regular shocked face.)

And lastly I would just like to quickly point out how much Hippocrates has grown since I got him.

WOW!

Zeus Photoshoot!

I've taken a lot of pictures of Zeus lately, just in case he is suddenly gone. Enjoy!

The Deed is Done

I've done it, Zeus is now officially up for sale! :O ahhhhhhhhhhh I just realized that Zeus is my last original fish! It just makes it that much harder.

Decisions Decisions... The Pleco Problem (Part 2)

So if you read my earlier post, "The Pleco Problem", you know that I'm looking into selling Zeus and buying a smaller pleco... I had pretty much decided on the pitbull pleco, but then I had a thought. Where on Earth am I going to get a pitbull pleco!?!?!?!?! So I did more research... A LOT more research. I found some locals selling some pretty adorable plecos for like $1!!! But now I'm freaking out about selling Zeus. AHHHHH! The ones they're selling are bushynose/bristlenose, some are albino, others are light brown and they're SO DARN CUTE!! Right now they are under 1" long! He'll probably only get to around 4" (just what I was looking for!) Help me! Has the time really come?! Should I sell Zeus?!

Probably my top choice...

The albino ones

Business

Here's a random picture of Zeus. He's getting so long! 

Hello again! Last week, I asked you how long Aphrodite should be kept in the separator. Here were the results:

It was a tie! One of you said 1 week, the other said 2. This week the poll will be the same, but the only options will be 1 week or 2 weeks. :)

Either way, Aphrodite will have to stay in confinement. So, yes. I put her back in. This time I put some nice red gravel on the bottom for decoration (I couldn't put too many or it would sink). I hope her stay is more enjoyable this time.

Trajan's nipped fin has just gotten worse and worse since I let Aphrodite out after the water change, so putting her back in to let Trajan's fin heal is probably a good idea.

(Sorry it's so blurry) This is Trajan's fin.

 Oh yeah, a lot of people have been asking me lately if I still have Zeus. The answer is yes. I just keep putting off putting an ad on KSL (probably because I don't want to give him up...), but I am frustrated with him right now. You know how I rearranged my decor so there's only one plant in the coliseum? My reason for doing that is because he always looked squished back there (between the plants and coliseum). Now that there's ample space, he hardly ever goes back there! Ugh! Instead, he squishes himself into the plants. Maybe plecos just like being squished?

In addition to this week's weekly poll, I'll be having a name poll going on until the end of the year. After this week's poll, I won't have a new one every week (Summer and school will keep me busy...). This poll will have some fish names that I like and you can vote for your favorites! Next time I get a fish, I'll name it the highest voted one. If you don't know the meaning of the names, feel free to use the Wikipedia gadget on the sidebar! (I do reserve the right to pick a different name on the list if the fish's appearance doesn't work with the name... i.e: I won't name a bright yellow fish Nyx, because Nyx is the goddess of night.) I have also already reserved the names Titus and Chronos for if or when I get two pitbull plecos.... so I'll take those off the list.....


Well, I feel like I still need to update you on a zillion things, but that's all that comes to mind! :)

Happy Independance Day, everyone! Put any questions in a comment!