Fear

Over the past few weeks, I've noticed small black spots all over Akhenaten's body and one of Messala's fins. I dismissed this as part of their coloring, but still looked for weird behavior. I didn't see any... Until now. Akenaten was rubbing up against a plant, hiding, and surface resting- all the warning signs of a parasite! Panicked, I started doing some research and it seems my tank has been attacked by 'black ick'! Ahhhhhh!!! I put in some ick treatment and his behavior is back to normal... But I dont think it will last long... every website has suggested a 'freshwater dip' but I am completely clueless about them. I'll look into it for my fish's sake. Well, we'll see how this goes...

The Black Plague and a Hopeful Revival

Nefertiti

Messala

Akhenaten

RIP

I have countless tragic deaths to report. My tank was stricken with an untreatable, deathly disease. Fish after fish, The Aquatic Kingdom nearly fell to ruin. It started out with the unnamed (let's call him Sparta) fish. He died the night after I got him, the next day, I noticed Constantine was acting very strange. His mouth seemed to be stuck open. He was hiding and staying close to the heater. That night, I found him floating around. He appeared to be dead, but as I got out my net, he twitched! He was alive! What could I do? He was paralyzed and beyond my ability to help. It was so very miserable and painful to watch him suffer. I later found him dead, discolored and still. Because I had gotten both the fish only two days before, I brought the corpses to Petco for a refund/exchange. I didn't leave with any new fish. The next week, I lost the two baby Pachuses. They exhibited similar symptoms, so I did some research and found out it was incurable  A couple days later, the last and oldest Pachus died, also showing the same symptoms. I was devastated. I couldn't bear to buy more fish. The ground was frozen solid so (like Hades) I froze the bodies. Just as I was beginning to recover, yet another died. This is probably the most tragic and heartbreaking death yet---- this morning I found our dear Xerxes dead. Unlike the others, he showed absolutely no symptoms. He was the favorite of many, with his adorable mustache and 'hair'. He was one of the original fish, and probably the most dear to my heart. We will miss him. Okay, so are you feeling really sad now? Because now I have some good news! I welcomed three new guppies today! Their names are Nefertiti, Akhenaten, and Messala (From Ben-Hur)  I am most hopeful that they will live long, happy lives in my tank.

Yet another tragedy

Even after all this happy news, yet another tragedy has come. The morning after I got my fish, I discovered one of my new guppy's dead body. I didn't even have time to name him! Anyways, Petco will replace him and test my water for free, so I'll be doing that tomorrow. Maybe he was just too stressed out or was sick when I got him. Who knows? Anyways, the good news is I have finally decided on a name for my other guppy: Constantine. The two new baby Pachuses are doing fine, still, every time I see them, I'm shocked at their smallness.

Just to Catch you Up....

Sorry I haven't been keeping you up to date lately. The summer has kept me really busy! Pachus has literally disappeared! He's nowhere to be found. I've cleaned the tank several times since he went missing, and still no sign of him. During all of this time,  Tut has been ill. It started with his fins rotting away, and a large yellow-orange spot growing on his fin. Then he was surface resting. I tried to help him up with the net, but he would immediately sink back to the bottom. I began to fear that he would die, so I did some research. I considered various diseases that fit his symptoms, and came to the conclusion that it was a parasite. I treated him for a couple weeks and, gladly, he is swimming again! I truly hope he makes a full recovery soon! I haven't noticed any new nips from Aphrodite, but Poseidon and Sepa's fins are not growing back! I have been treating them with different medicines, and still no improvement. Well, I guess I'll just have to wait. I've made two or three water changes since my last post. During one of these changes, I accidentally bumped into Zeus with my gravel vacuum, and boy did I startle him! He leaped an inch or two out of the tank before splashing back in. It scared me! A different time, I was putting the decorations back in. I was picked up some gravel to move, and instead grabbed Xerxes for a whole three seconds! It was a shocking, yet almost delightful experience, but it doesn't seem to me that he enjoyed the experience. He totally spazzed out! I must say, it was rather amusing to watch him recover for the next five minutes. Speaking of decorations, I got   a whole box of freshwater supplies from my uncle, who is starting a saltwater aquarium. I'm covered for the next five years! He even has a large filter and gravel if I ever can afford to upgrade tanks! One of my lightbulbs burned out, so my tank is only half lit... I was about to replace it, but I decided to leave it for a week or two. I kind of like it that way. I just hope they don't turn into vampire fish!! Well, I'm about to leave on a two week vacation, so we'll see how my fish do. Don't worry we'll hire somebody to feed them. I be sure to write about it when I get back.

Be sure to check out all new pictures of the fish in the "Fish Name Photo Gallery" tab!