Sad Morning.

When we arrived home after attending midnight mass, I discovered that half of the baby fry didn't make it. When I got up on Christmas morning, I discovered the rest of the fry had died. My heart was so sad, I cried and cried. I felt so bad.

We had moved them into a one gallon tank. I had no idea that the fish were too young or ... I dunno, maybe the temperature fluctuated too much for them? That small of a body of water, while perfect for tiny fish, is imperfect in that the temperature just can't be regulated.

We buried the babies in my gardenia plant in the backyard.

Fish Loss.

See, yesterday… yesterday I had a “Monday.” We’ll start with the fish. Late Sunday night, we lost one of the Inherited Fish Fry. The poor baby just wasn’t strong enough, I guess. It was so tiny, barely bigger than a piece of rice. And I’m worried about Momma Inherited Fish, she’s active but has some of the skin scraped off her bottom lip. So maybe she’s fighting with one of the other fish? Should I do anything to help her lip heal?

Of course I took a picture of it… baby on the left and piece of rice on the right…

Then, yesterday we lost all three of our pretty little baby goldfish. It started with the calico one, the one that was acting weird last week. Remember, I couldn’t figure out what was wrong with it? Too late, I finally figured it out when I happened across this page on the Internet on “ich” or “ick” – a parasite that, from what I understand, is kind of to fish what ticks are to humans. Shortly after calico died, the other two followed, all because of ich. I felt so bad for them, I wish there was a way we could have just euthanized the poor fish – they were having such tough time. How DOES a person euthanize a fish?

On the flip side, we DO have TWENTY Inherited Fish Fry that seem to be healthy and happy in the baby tank (that I was able to count), that’s a whole lotta fry.

Top view of Fry Tank, 17 fry visible in this picture…

Yep. Baby Fish Are Here.

I kept worrying about the momma fish. My husband WAS able to collect her and put her in the baby tank. Although, even he had a tough time. I told you she was a smart little stinker! We had to remove all their toys and hiding spots and even then he had trouble. By my calculations, she was 20-21 days into brooding. They’re supposed to brood 21-28 days. One of the resources I read online about Inherited Fish informed me that we should wait until the last possible moment to move her because the stress would cause her to release the babies fairly soon. Which, as soon as she was in the tank, she did.

As best as I could count, there were 13 babies…

Within a couple minutes, though, the babies wanted back into her mouth. They came out for another minute or two and then back in they went. They haven’t been out again. She’s still not eating food, so I guess she’s incubating them for a little while longer. At least I hope so.

More Babies?

One of our goldfish is acting really oddly. It’s the little calico one. It hangs out under one of the plants and has spaz attacks, doing stationary swimming while opening and closing its mouth really fast. We’re either losing it, which would make me terribly sad or it has a jump on New Years Resolutions and has created its own version of a treadmill.

On the other side of the room, one of my Female Inherited Fish has been acting oddly. It started about a week before we moved the tank home from my office. She hangs out near the water intake, avoids the other fish, looks at food but doesn’t eat it and her jowls have become really large. I keep thinking she’s dying, too. In fact, after the move from the office to my home, I was really worried about her, as she just didn't seem to be doing very well.

So, last night I became obsessed with researching all things about fish. I didn’t figure out what’s wrong with our little goldfish, which really bothers me. I did, however, figure out what’s going on with my Female Inherited Fish. Imagine my surprise when, according to several sources (Source 1) (Source 2) on Inherited Fish (aka cichlids), apparently my female is breeding. Again. Uhhh, we JUST had babies in August… what’s up with this? As excited as I am, from a practical standpoint, I don’t know what I’m going to do with more fish. I mean, we already have EIGHT Inherited Fish in a fifteen gallon tank.

It was so sweet, though, when I went downstairs last night to check on them. I turned on their aquarium light and the breeding female was in the cave with the male fish, kind of snuggling with him, I guess. When she took off out of there, across the tank, he peeked out to keep an eye on her and make sure she was okay. Awwww… fish love.

So, today, when I went to lunch with a friend, we went over to WALMART and bought some breeding grass and a little baby tank. See what fun lunches I have? Don't you wanna be my friend, too?

Now I just need to figure out how to catch the momma fish and put her in there. She saw the net coming at her and took off. Smart little stinker.

Hmph. I’ve been outwitted by a fish.

Fish Came Home.

Today, I lost my job due to a corporate buyout and companywide reorganization. Even though my fish belonged to the company, they let me take them home. I was nearly in tears when I asked if I could take them. HA! I didn't cry over my job loss, but the thought of losing my fish brought me to my knees to beg. To think when I first inherited them they bothered me as an extra job responsibility. Ironic.

My husband drained the tank to 1/4 full and lifted it and put it in his truck's front seat to drive home. When we got them inside, we set up the tank and refilled it with bottled water. I was concerned because I knew the bottled water, while room temperature, certainly wasn't 74 degrees or anything close to that, which is how warm their tank was.

Also, one of the females looked like she was in shock -- they all did, but her moreso than the others. I was worried that she wouldn't make it. (sigh)