| April 02, 2007 |
| Goldfish |
As many of you know, two years ago for Easter, Gavin's Grammie got him some goldfish. Two of those goldfish have survived. One grew too big for the bowl we had them in and so we had to upsize to an aquarium. Our big fish is named Aragorn. Our little fish is named Frodo. Over the past two years, we have enjoyed watching our fish and learning all about their personalities. Yes, I know you think I'm crazy, but fish really do have their own personalities.
Aragorn is a bit like his name big and arrogant. He rules his little pond and at times can be a bit of a bully. If you are late with his food, he has a tendency to splash you with water. Frodo is tiny and timid. He spent most of the time in the fish bowl bobbing up and down inside the little rock. Many times we would think he was dead because he didn't appearing to be moving. Frodo has a bit of a problem. His tail fin is put on sideways. He has a lot of difficulty swimming like a normal fish and tends to roll around a lot. He can swim really good though if he has to swim straight up or down.
It was fun watching as the two fish adjusted to life in the new aquarium. Aragorn continued swimming all over the place and being pushy. Frodo came out of his rock and began to swim around more. He would still spend most of his time bobbing just above the rock bottom, but at least he was out moving about.
Then we decided that we needed to get a couple of algae eaters to help managae scum in the tank. So we acquired Spinner and Bait. They looked like little silver minnows only their mouths were on the bottom of their heads. Spinner moved fast, darting all over the tank with constant energy. Bait spent time going slowly from place to place often attaching in one place for a long period of time. He was typically only active when Spinner encouraged him to play tag!
The fish all seemed to be getting along well...that is until last Thursday. That is when I noticed Spinner latched onto Frodo like a little leech. I scared him off and went to do some research. I found out that algae eaters can turn against the fish in their tank, particularly goldfish, and once they start they don't really stop. So, when Darren got home, I told him we needed to do something, maybe find another home for Spinner and Bait. That night we did nothing.
The next morning, I found Spinner visciously attacking Frodo again. This time he caused serious injury. I chased Spinner all around the tank and finally removed him and Bait from the tank and placed them in a seperate container with plans to deal with them later. Unfortunately for Bait, Spinner took his name literally and attacked and killed him within an hour or so. By Saturday, Spinner was dead.
Now you remember me telling you about Frodo's injuries. Well, they got worse! An area of his flesh peeled off leaving him severely wounded and ill. Sunday we went to the pet store and got him some antibiotics (believe me, I never thought I would be doing this for a fish). He seems to be doing better now and actually comes out to eat. I think that his wounds are healing and hopefully before long he will be back to his old self.
I say all of this to warn you not only how dangerous algae eaters can be, but also to let you know it is possible to develop an attachment to your fish! |
posted by Dare @ 2:01 PM  |
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Name: Dare
Home: Mabelvale, Arkansas, United States
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