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

New Arrangement

Pectoral Fins?

With all the recent new guppies, I thought I'd bring up the subject of pectoral fins..... guppies have them! Yes, yes, it's true. They are transparent, which explains why we have all lived in the dark all this time. Without them, guppies wouldn't be able to swim! (If you have no idea what pectoral fins are, they're like little fish arm-fins.... Tutankhamen has so kindly modeled his below for your visual enjoyment.) So yes, now you know.

One other thing I want to point out is I have discovered a way to clarify old pictures of fish such as Hercules, Napoleon, and Sharkbait, so be sure to check out the new pictures in the Fish Name Photo Gallery (Identification) tab above. Sharkbait's picture was so blurry that I just got a picture from the internet of what his species of fish looks like, though it's not really him :)

New Features!

Once again, I have added some fancy new features to the sidebar and bottom of the page. These include popular posts, pictures, the ability to share things on Facebook and Twitter, youtube videos, a clock, Wikipedia, music player, and a poll!

Yes, now you can

•  Share your favorite posts on social media!
• Answer questions on the weekly poll!
• Watch tutorials on youtube on fish related topics, such as how to do a water change and more!
• Know what time it is!
• Listen to music while you browse the blog
• Look up topics (or historical people) mentioned on my blog that you are unsure of on Wikipedia

I will be changing the poll each week, so be sure to visit and put in your answer!

New Picture of Augustus & Searching Made Easier!

I finally got a good picture of Augustus! (thanks to my dear sister:) I had to put him in the separator to get him to hold still for the camera. Even this picture doesn't do justice to his beautiful tail! He is also slightly more purple/pink. Enjoy!

If you haven't noticed, this blog has also gained a new search bar. Now you can search the blog and internet quickly and easily! My latest project has been to go back through all my posts (Oh, the memories....) and add labels to them, which will make it 10x easier to search this blog. Search results should appear at the top of the page. I organized it so it will bring up any article that I mentioned your search word(s). I encourage you all to use it. (It's really fun, actually...)

New Stuff, Snail Bonding, Clean Tank, and a Mystery.

Clean tank with slightly different arrangement!   

New algae-cleaning magnet

Hippocrates and Socrates feasting on algae wafer

New air stone!

Socrates cleaning Hippocrate's shell, how cute <3

New filter!

Mysterious thing I found floating in water after water change....


I'll probably add more text to this post once I have time that will provide a better explanation: ) Stay tuned!

BEHOLD!

Yes folks, the day has arrived! The Roman Colosseum have arrived in my tank! I had to take out the coral to make room for it, but a small price to pay, right? My sister was saying that it looks chaotic when I have both the Pantheon and the Colosseum in there at the same time because they don't match in color, but I think it's okay........ please tell me what you (yes, YOU) think in the comments. I'll probably change it around every once in awhile, taking things in and out, but this is how it is for now. I also attached a nice picture of Zeus, because I realize you guys haven't seen him in awhile. He's getting big, pushing 8 1/2 inches by now. (See the last photo in the tab 'tank arrangements through the ages to see how small Zeus was when I first got him! He's hiding behind the filter in the back.) Enjoy!

Highlights: New Photos!

Akhenaten

Aphrodite

Athena

Nefertiti

Messala

Tiberius

Tiberius again (I LOVE this one:)

So my sister finally did do a photo shoot of the fish, for which I am eternally grateful. These are some of my favorite portrait shots she did.

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.

BIG NEWS! Tank Upgrade! New Snail!

Big news!! My birthday is tomorrow, and as a gift, my parents bought me a new 20 gallon tank! It came with a baby pleco and a yellow apple snail. I decided to donate the pleco to Petco, but willingly kept the snail. His name is Socrates, and he is very fun and interesting! As for the tank, my new 20 gal will replace my 10 gal, and I will be giving my 10 gal to my cousin. I also got a fancy pH tester!

This is the baby Pleco that I donated to Petco

New tank!

Socrates

Socrates

Fancy pH testing kit

Both tanks next to eachother

New Lights!!

My old hood

Old Lights

New hood!

New lights!

My best photo of Athena

Caligula

Probably the best picture I have of Xerxes

I got new lights! They are brighter, cooler and bluer. I never noticed just how dim, warm, and yellow my old ones were. I also got a new hood. After I cleaned the tank, I noticed more nips on Zeus, so Aphrodite was put back in jail... :(  To my great surprise, the next morning I found that she had escaped her cage! It was rather funny to see her happy smirk. It seems that she was so thin that she slipped through the tiny bars in the night! I felt a little guilty when I had to put her back in. Two or three days ago, I became increasingly worried aboiut Eiosepa. I can't find him anywhere! Sound familiar? Yep, the odds aren't looking good. I got better pictures of Athena last night! Enjoy the non-orangeness of them! Tiberius and Xerxes are becoming good friends. The coral has become a cute little home for them and they fit right in it! Tiberius is also becoming way more social, it's not uncommon to see him out and about anymore! And for some final sad news- I'm selling Caligula. I'm afraid he is getting to big, disruptive, and ugly. He doesn't have a place anymore. :( We'll miss him.

Decisions & Discoveries

I decided to put Aphrodite in the separator before I left on a short 3 day trip because she wouldn't stop nipping at the other fish- even Zeus! I got back and found the Zeus' badly nipped fin had regrown completely! So she's still in the separator and doing well. I'm hoping I can keep her in there until all the guppy's fins grow back too. The new guy is doing well, I still haven't decided on a name yet. I'm leaning towards Tiberious. I came up with more, now the top 4 are Tiberious, Hatchepsut, Socrates, and Nefertiti.  I also did some research about Pachus' disappearance. Appearantly this isn't uncommon. I've come to the conclusion that he died from bad water quality and Zeus ate his algae-covered corpse. It's reassuring to know that plecos only are known to eat corpses, not living fish. So the mystery of the missing Pachus is solved! More pictures of the new guy are above.

Introducing.....

Pachus 4

Just to give you an idea about his size...

Yes! The rumors are true! I bought two new fish this morning! After the recent disappearance of Pachus 2, Pachus 3 looked very lonely. So I bought him a friend: Pachus 4!! He is very long and skinny. The other fish is a gorgeous julii cory catfish, he is so small!!! Now Xerxes will have a friend! I have left the naming up to YOU (yes, YOU!) all you have to do is vote for your favorite name on the sidebar. I will at last give him a name in one week, so vote ASAP! If you are curious about what all of the names mean here's a "guide":

Homer:  An ancient Greek epic poet who is believed to have written the Lliad and the Odyssey, inspiring the invention of the Greek language

Romulus /Remis: Twin Brothers who are central characters in Rome's foundation myth. After being abandoned by their mother, a pack of wolves apparently found them and raised them. They wanted to found a city on Palantine hill. They fought over who would rule the city, which ended up with the death of Remis. Romulus then name the city after himself, Rome.

Achilles: A hero of the Trojan war

Hades: God of the underworld, brother of Zeus

Sparta: A city in Greece, famous for their military power

Pan: God of Shepards and Pastures

Apollo: God of the Sun

Athena: Goddess of War and Wisdom

Iris: Goddess of rainbows

Nike: Goddess of victory

My personal favorites for this fish in particular are Homer-Pan (Homer, Socrates, Romulus, Remis, Achilles, Hades, Sparta, and Pan) I also LOVE the name Tiberious for this fish in particular, but I thought of it after the poll was made. It just fits! If you like that name too, don't vote and I'll probably just name him Tiberious.