If You Love Something, Let It Go & Repopulation

It finally happened. I sold my beloved Zeus. It was very sudden, in fact, it happened while I was at school so I couldn't even see him off. Zeus, although a little creepy sometimes, was an extraordinary fish. Anyone that visited was amazed by his size. He was so peaceful and cleaned my tank so well. He helped me gain so much experience in aquarium keeping and I'll miss him SO MUCH! It would have been selfish for me to keep him. He would be uncomfortable and unhealthy. Well, as they say- if you love something, let it go. I love you Zeus!

Well, now that he's gone, I have A LOT more space in my tank, allowing me to get more fish! After facing extinction during the 'black plague' of my tank, the Pachuses are back! I now have a school of five Pachi. I also got 3 new guppies- (I named them using the ones you picked on the poll!) Claudius, Persephone, and Artemis. I'm über excited to have new fish (it's been awhile...)! I don't currently have good pictures of them individually, but here's the one I took while they were acclimating: (sorry you can't really see anything, I'll add good ones soon!)

Bright solid yellow- Artemis, Greek goddess of hunting ( I chose the yellow one because in Greek Mythology, Artemis is the twin of Apollo, who (in my tank) was very similar in appearance.)

Blue/Silver swordtail: Claudius, Roman emporer

Red, purple, multicolor- Persephone, Greek Goddess of

False Alarm

Well, I got a call last Tuesday. It was someone who was interested in buying Zeus. They said they'd be over in an hour to pick him up. My mother and I went to work, tearing apart the tank in an attempt to capture Zeus. He almost jumped out of the tank multiple times! Well, long story short, we eventually caught him (after my floor was soaked and my tank torn apart...). I said all my goodbyes and then waited for his new family to show up. After about a half an hour, I had to be somewhere and left my mom to take care of it. When I got home, I thought he was gone and went in to my room to put my tank back together and to my utter surprise, found Zeus in his usual spot! WHAT? Turns out after my mom waited for an hour and they still hadn't come, she called them back and they said they didn't want him anymore. So all that for nothing! But then we got another call today and somebody else wants him! We're still working on getting back to them, but hey! These may be my final days with Zeus.

Here's just a FRACTION of all the pictures I took while I waited:
 

What I saw when I came home

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!

Zeus as a Mermaid? Ew.

The possibilities of Photoshop scare me sometimes.

I did it!

Yes! At last I have cleaned my tank! And while I was at it, I let Aphrodite out.... for now. I also did some slight rearranging. (The water is too cloudy to take a good picture right now, but I'll post one soon.) Below are  just a fraction of the promised pictures that I took before vacation (the rest are being cropped and such...), and a link to a video that is rather disgusting. While cleaning my tank, I witnessed Hippocrates climbing over Zeus' face. :O  It's pretty bumpy and moves pretty slow, so bear with me :) Also, there may or may not be background music when you watch it...

HERE'S THE LINK >>>>>>> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N8fsoZreBC4 <<<<<<<<

Check out that fin!

Socrates reaching for the sky...

Solitary confinement

Aphrodite in the seperator

ZEUS

Don't forget to vote on the weekly poll! >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Sorry! Have some pictures...! :)

Hey guys, sorry about my recent lack of posts.  I'll probably start up again when school is out. Not much to report, except that the guppies have been getting small nips in their tails (likely from Aphrodite...) , I cleaned my tank (for the first time in a while..) and that I haven't sold Zeus yet... Meanwhile, enjoy some never-before-seen pictures!

The Pleco Problem

As mentioned in an earlier post, I've recently been contemplating whether I should sell Zeus or not.... He's getting WAY to big and it's not good for his health. If I did sell him, I would most likely buy a different type of pleco that would stay small. (anywhere from 2-6") I did some research, and discovered a Pitbull Pleco. They're TINY! They only grow to 2" and (contrary to what the name suggests) are very peaceful. I also found the bristlenose pleco, the albino bristlenose pleco, and the clown pleco. I also found the Queen Arabesque pleco, the blue panaque pleco, the sunshine pleco, the gold nugget pleco, and the starlight bristlenose pleco, and although they're stunningly beautiful, they are SUPER expensive! I guess if I REALLY wanted them, I could shell out the cash... Anyways, that's whats on my mind right now. Leave a comment below of what you think I should do and vote on the weekly poll. 


 Just to clarify, my top choice is the pitbull pleco.

Zeus (as of today)

This is how I found Zeus when I woke up this morning.....

Dang, he must be really muscular!

Pitbull pleco

Queen Arabesque pleco

Starlight bristlenose pleco

Clown pleco

Bristlenose pleco

Sunshine pleco

Albino Bristlenose pleco

Gold Nugget pleco