Life, Death, and Other Noteworthy Things

Well, I officially pronounced Socrates dead when I saw his operculum (see picture below) had fallen off... There's been a lot of death lately, and it's really bumming me out. Now I have just two guppies, one snail, a mixed fruit tetra, and a pleco.

I'll really miss Socrates, and I'm sure Hippocrates will too. As some of you may remember, Socrates came with my 20 gal. I remember being so happy when I first got him, watching him slide all around my tank. I knew he was old and it was his time to go, but nevertheless I'll miss him.

His shell had already begun to rot away by the time I could bury him. (Below is his final picture. I don't usually post the pictures I take of the corpses before I bury them, but this one isn't too graphic.)

(Sorry it's sideways... )

So, as some of you may know, I've been gone on a trip for the past few weeks to the Oregon coast. (Possibly why so many of my fish have been dying, though my neighbor has been feeding them,  I haven't been here to monitor them.) While I was there, I did many awesome things like going to the Aquarium and visiting the tide pools and beaches. One of the things I noticed by the seaside was the sea foam. You may be asking why sea foam was significant to me... let me tell you with this mini history lesson! It just so happens that in Greek Mythology, Aphrodite was born from the sea foam! Cool, huh?

At the aquarium

Some of the sea foam I saw in Oregon

Speaking of Aphrodite, once again she's nipping Athena's fins again! So she's back in confinement. :(

While I was on my trip, I had my neighbor, who also has a 20 gallon tank, feed them while I was gone. When I got back, I saw that the tank lights seemed to have burnt out. I was planning to replace them when I had the thought that she might not have known that my lights turn off automatically, so I manually turned them on and voila! They're up and running again! I don't know why I'm telling you this, but I got a laugh out of it.

It has also been one year since Poseidon died! It was actually one year on August 3rd, but I was still traveling then... We remember him as a fantastic fish who lived a long, happy life.

And speaking of a long happy life, Athena's one-year-in-my-tank birthday was on August 4th! HAPPY BIRTHDAY ATHENA! I'll throw a birthday party asap for her...
She has some magic immunity to sickness and injury. She has survived the black plague, countless nippings from Aphrodite, and other hard times that no other fish (except for Zeus) has made it through! Which also makes her the only fish (except Zeus) who has lived a full year in my tank! Athena is a wonderful fish with the biggest, most beautiful tail around! (I hope I'm not jinxing it..)

-

Nipping Nonsense - Aphrodite Up to Her Old Tricks

Well folks, Aphrodite is back into her old habits. Recently, she's been nipping the fins of Athena and Trajan. I put her in the seperater and she's already mad at me. How do I know? She won't eat her food. My plan is to keep her in there until the guppies' fins heal, but she may starve before then. If I let her out now, she'll probably keep nipping them, which will eventually cause my guppies' death (I know from experience...). Ahhhhh! What do I do?! Not only that, but I'm leaving on vacation next week, so I won't be able to moniter what's going on..... :-/

And thanks to those who voted on the weekly poll... keeps things interesting! I'm changing it tomorrow, so don't forget to vote next week?

  (oh yeah, sorry for the sucky picture..)

Pachus gone missing? & What to do with dear old Aphrodite

I recently noticed that Pachus one has not been accompanied by his dear friend, Pachus 2. I looked everywhere, filter and all and he is nowhere to be seen. I'm hoping I'll find him when I clean my tank again. Hopefully alive instead of dead. Eiosepa's fins started to improve, but within the last few days have they gotten even worse than at first! I just don't know what to do!! I suppose I could put a fish muzzle on her, so she can't bite those tempting long fins. But I can't sell Aphrodite! I can't. I like her, and there would be a hole in the tank without her! Well, Caligula has gotten huge! I might even have to sell him eventually too!!! Or (which is the solution that I like better) I could buy a bigger tank. In my dreams. Advice is welcome. I hope to keep you posted!!!

Well, quite a lot has happened since my last post. I moved, so my fish tank is in a new spot! The fish corner didn't exactly work out because of room space. I put Aphrodite in "solitary confinement" for nipping fins. Now there is a huge tear in Eiosepa's fin! I bought some medicine that will help all of the guppies' fins grow back, I'm still treating them. After about five or six days, I finally let Aphrodite out, and boy was she glad! I was getting worried about her because while she as separated, she stopped eating and was surface resting all the time. She was fine once I let her out...but if she nips again, she's going right back in! I bought new fish food, and saved $4 at Petco!! I also put pictures of each of my fish on a digital picture frame! Now it run through a slide show of all their names and a picture of them. So fun! Well, I'll try to keep you updated.