Let me tell you the whole story, my dear readers. This memorial is for all my fishes who died.
It starts like this. I got a tank from my super from an apartment from the building I live in. The tenants moved away and they left a fishtank with a huge gourami inside and an even huger goldfish. I could guess they were very old. They were huge and the goldie almost lost all his color.
The tank was beyond filthy (likewise the tenants who moved away). I cleaned it, bought a filter (I don't know how they managed to keep a tank without). All was good. I had no idea about fish keeping. None whatsoever. I was thinking what fish need? Water and food. OK.
As days passed by I thought: Why only two fishes? Let's go to the LFS get something else. I got a Tetra. I know, I know one is not a number for Tetras, but I never even heard about schooling before.
One afternoon The Gourami was just laying down in the tank like an old withered leaf. I got soooo scared, cried and screamed. I even called the super, the neighbor and my landlord to take him out of the tank. I couldn't do it. He didn't have any visible sign of illness and eat good day before, I'm guessing he was just very old.
So I went to the LFS got a catfish. I still didn't know that I'm not suppose to take all of them out when I clean the tank. So I did. The **** claws of the catfish got stuck in the net badly. He was under water, somehow I got him out from the mess, cleaned the tank. I put them all in a big pot. Of course when I was ready to put them back the catfish was already upside down. I assume from stress.
In that point I really freaked out. I googled everything about fish keeping and slowly learned about biological filter, ammonia level etc.
Back to the LFS. I got a tire track eel. Of course first think he did is climbed out of the tank. He crawled all the way to the kitchen, top of the oven. Still can't imagine how he did it but fact I'm going to boil some water for tea who waits for me on top?? I was beyond scared then I was sure he was dead but actually he wasn't. My fiancee picked him up and put him back in the tank. He was perfectly fine. Weird. So I covered all the holes on the top that he can't climb out. Well next morning he was dead inside of the filter!!!!! How he climbed in that is another miracle but this point I was thinking to get a turtle to live a long life and give back the fishes.
So now I had one tetra and a goldfish. Bad combination but I checked the water all the time to make sure it is not to hot for goldie or too cold for mr. tetra.
I got another tetra and they were very happy together.
Last night i had a bad dream about goldie, the hunch back of Notre-Dame. I dreamed that he is trying to fight death but he is losing.
Of course first thing in the morning I checked on him. He was so decayed looking, dead a good couple of hours.
Do I do something bad? I know he was old but it is too many losses in such a short time.
Sorry about the
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