Fish Update....

Before we start with the story...Just thought I'd throw this recent picture of Aaron, Omner, and Himni. They are STILL doing really great. Getting big!

I know it's been a while since I've discussed my fish, and it's not because I haven't had much to talk about...(for fish, they are VERY active. At least as a "community", this tank ALWAYS has something going on. Good AND bad!) So here goes:

The weekend of Thanksgiving, I lost 4 fish. I don't know why, but I just did. Two of them being the beautiful guppies I had named Tango and Orange. This post will remind you. (I forget which other two...seeing how I go through them SO fast!) BUT, because I had lost some, I felt that it was time, (I waited a couple of weeks!! That's good for me.) to buy more. We got 3. Two Ghost Cats (super creepy looking but I can't decide all the time what kind of fish goes in this tank plus a little variety makes it more fun to look at. Not named yet)

AND, yes...one more guppy! (The guilt of killing as many as I have, hasn't reached the Don't-purchase-any-more-because-you -can't-keep-the-poor-things-alive stage yet. So I picked a BLUE one out! He was SO pretty. Navy blue tail fin and blue lips. I LOVED it/him/her. I even named it Navy (yea, I thought it was a cool name too. ;o) Yesterday, a friend of mine came to visit/cut my hair and we talked about my continuous hobby of "Killing/keeping" fish. I was especially excited for Navy and just enjoyed watching that little fish swim around. Cute thing that it was! And continued on with my day.

This morning when I went to feed/stare at them, I couldn't find Navy. HOW WEIRD was that!? There really aren't that many places for a fish to hide in my tank (ok, NONE really!) and could not figure out HOW my fish came up missing. I had the thought maybe it jumped out and landed on the counter. NOPE, I looked. And then I noticed the net wasn't in the exact same position that I usually place it when I'm done using it. (Obssesive compulsive issue I seem to have) and knew that it had been touched. My next thought was....ELI! But the net was not wet at all. So now I'm totally going nuts and thoroughly confused. My only possible conclusion is that sometime yesterday afternoon/evening, Eli decided to go "fishing" (he's done it before AT THE PET STORE... caught poor little HEALTHY Navy and flushed him! (I had made the mistake once of letting Eli watch me catch and flush a fish after having found one dead.) I tried to question Eli about it, but the kid just doesn't communicate in an understandable way. (He mostly repeats everything you say.) But he did point to the net and say fish, then run to the toilet and flush it! GUILTY!

SO...now with all that said and much whinning to Bonnie about what happened, she took all five kids and sent me to petco with a couple of bucks to buy another one. (I wasn't ready to replace Navy quite yet...but I was excited for the fact of being ALONE. So, Korah and I went shopping.

I found a cute little green one, big, fat and active (I thought that meant healthy and hearty) and named it Kermit. (clever, I know) and brought it home to acclimate it in the water. (e.i. Let the bag the fish is in float around till the water temperatures are the same for both tank and bag...) I hung out on the computer for a awhile and then drove to Bonnie's to get the kids. When I came back to introduce the fish into the tank... WELL... I stuck the net in to catch the little bugger, I saw poop and lots of it (or so I thought) but then the poop started swimming around. HOLY MOLY! Kermit had babies! 12 of them!!!!!!!!! I called Bonnie and she said that I needed a nesting net. Of course she had one (the fish supply store that she is!) and quickly brought it over. Making my tank equipped with "fish nursery" and all. How excited was I! (actually I don't really know what I'm going to do with all of them. 12 is WAY too many for the size of tank I've got, but it will be fun to see what they look like when they get bigger. IF they survive! (You'll have to double click on the picture so you can see how cute and little they are!

In about 3-4 weeks I will be giving away guppies for anyone interested.

It's an improvement, really!.....

Since I've been loosing more fish than I would have liked... (Ra has recently died as well. I was super upset about that one!!! My only thought is that he missed Sunburst so much, he died of a broken heart.)

I decided that enough was enough! Time to stop being so reckless and try to actually be successful at keeping a silly little fish alive. Really? Does it have to be THIS hard? (This has come a LONG way from just buying a "goldfish" for eli!) I've invested in the fish, tank, decor, rocks, fish, solution, more fish, even a "black light" (that didn't work) to make my neon fish glow, and did I mention more fish?

I finally took the time to research (that should've been done BEFORE hand) and found that ANY kind of tank, fresh or saltwater, has to go through a cycle. I'd attempt to explain it to you but I really wouldn't be able to, properly. I do know that ammonia is BAD, bacteria....GOOD! ;o) You can look up the process here. But through reading, I have since purchased a solution that encourages the process of cycling, quicker. (I'm having to speed it up because of the current residents residing ALREADY. i.e. prevent any more fish from dying.) I have been adding it for about 4 days now and my water is starting to look foggy, YEAH!!!! It's actually working! Because of that....I was feeling a bit confident and bought these three VERY beautiful (double click on the pics to see the super cool markings) fish! Yea, I know...reckless. Oh well. (Still working on names. Open for suggestions) AND....a LIVE plant. (They help speed up the cycling too!)

This one looks A LOT like Ra did, other than the tiger markings on the tail. I acutally bought him before the next two.

The orange one, I liked for the color. And the yellow one.....click on the picture and you'll see why.

Yo-yo and pip-squeak with the new 'furnishing'.

What a happy little active tank! At least until another one dies. :o)

I've fallen behind...

...when it comes to this blogging thing, I always feel that a picture is needed for each post and when I don't have one, I make sure the next posting has enough to make up for it. BUT...the world has continued to revolve and things continued to happen....

First off, Sunburst has "passed," and Ra (I TRULY BELIEVE) is mourning the loss of his friend. (They were the "guppies". Fish with really fancy tail fins. Reminded me of Figero) Everyday since he got the "royal flush" (hee hee hee), Ra only comes up from the bottom of the tank to eat and then nestles himself/herself back down in "it's" little spot. It just happened to be the spot that Sunburst took his/her last 'gulp of water'. Call me crazy, but I'm convinced that fish have feelings. (At least I think that mine do.) I just pray that Ra doesn't decide to join his friend due to a broken heart. I love watching him swim around.

Aaron, Omner, and Himni are doing absolutely fabulous. (Ishould be more careful throwing that optimism around too often, I believe I may have said that about Ra and Sunburst.) Omner's fins have grown back to ALMOST full size. (Remember when Jon was "feasting" upon them?) The triplets just swim around together like a happy little school. Makes me happy to see them so "content" (i.e. not dead!)

Oogie has yet to be replaced, still waiting for my tank to get super icky.

The neon's (yo-yo, pickle, pip squeak, and princess) still doing well. (Again, better watch those cursing words) Little pip squeak has settled down, "hormonally". (if you know what I mean.) My tank is still colorful and "active" and I thank those of you who have requested to see them when you have come to visit. The fish would be quite pleased to know of the fan base that seems to be accumulating. ;o)

Next on the list.... Is an update of Eli's Vegas trip with daddy. I was waiting for pictures to be developed before I blogged more about him, but unfortunately they were too dark and only about 5 turned out. Nothing of him "bititng" the "IBM big shots". I know....I'm TOTALLY bummed! I do have another "Eli fish story" from his adventure to the "shark tanks". This is how I found out about it...

Jared: "Did I tell you about Eli climbing into the pirahna tank?"
me: "WHAT!????"
Jared: "Oh, I guess I didn't. I'll tell you later."
me: "WHAT!??? Pirahna tank?"
Jared: "Yeah, it was pretty funny. But I'll have to tell you later."
me: "ELI CLIMBED INTO A PIRAHNA TANK!?"
Jared: "Yea, I gotta go. I'll call you later!"
Click.....
Ok...So of course you can tell that I may have been a little takin' aback and thoughts were racing through my head.....
"Well, he must not have gotten hurt because I've talked to him and nothing was said about the fish biting HIM!"
"I find it interesting that a place like Mandalay Bay in LAS VEGAS! would have access to a Pirahna tank by a three year old." and
"I'm SOOOOO NOT going to let Jared "forget" to tell me this story!"

When he finally decided to tell me the story this is what had happened.....

There was a Pirahna tank that was about 4ft high with a 2ft step at the bottom. (WHO ON EARTH KNOWS WHY!??? Maybe the "fish feeder" is only 2 1/2ft tall.) BUT, to be fair to the aquarium people...it WAS roped off and there WAS a "guard" standing there.
With a mischevious boy like ELI, his timing was perfect! Daddy wasn't paying attention and Mr. Guard man was "daydreaming". Eli was successful to the point of crawling up onto the "step" and pulling himself (I assume with one leg draped up and over) up to the edge of the tank to "reach" in and "catch a fish." FINALLY, at that point, daddy and Mr. Guard man took notice and the race was on! Poor Eli, having two grown men screaming at him, didn't understand what he could've possibly done wrong. "What daddy? Fish?"
Needless to say, I'm grateful that he didn't fall in or that the "flesh eating fish" weren't "hungry" enough to jump up and out of the water to nip a finger or HEAD off!

One more on the list....I woke up to about 6 inches of snow this morning. (With more in the forecast.) NOT something I'm ready for yet. The leaves haven't even fallen yet and I was waiting for the rain to stop and the leaves to dry up enough to go and play in them with the kids. I guess, we skip the fall play and head straight to angel making and snowball chucking! The only downfall....when unexpected storms like this roll in, it's a mad dash to the store for snow gear. Of course stores have that all thought through and hike prices up to the most possible amount, and IF anything is even left by the time I actually have shoveled my way out of my driveway...I can't swallow the cost of clothing and turn around and go back to my little igloo. (Of course not without grabbing a bit of chocolate on my way out!)
Side note: If there is anyone in my "area" (those of you who know where that is) that just happen to have size 11 or 12 children's snow boots, I've got some feet here to occupy them. If they're girls, I guess I'll take them. Nothing that spray paint can't fix! ;o)

That's about it for my silly stories and rantings. Stay tuned for more. (whenever that may be!)

And now for the bad news...

Gwen...I'm sorry, but the bragging rights I had "awarded" you for coming up with Oogie's name will need to be revoked, considering he/she is no longer with us.

I don't know what happened but the other day, Jade comes up one morning and mentions that Oogie looked like he was dying. I didn't think he/she looked that bad, so I brushed it off and continued on with my day. Later as I was taking a "breather" and staring at the fish (because I do that from time to time), he/she did start to look a little "not-normal-behavior-ish" to me and started to worry. I called my "fish expert Bonnie" and she said that with as clean of a tank as mine was...he/she was probably starving. OH! The horror I felt. Remember? I'm suppose to be the "RESPONSIBLE fish owner" and I have failed YET AGAIN! (We can't forget Elbow!) The advice was given to let the tank get "good and dirty" before purchasing a new one, and to buy one that was a little bit bigger/older.(Apparently Oogie was just an infant! I KILLED AN INFANT! I'm such an unfit mother. I think my own children have survived as long as they have ONLY because there's been a lot and I mean A LOT of divine intervention!!) *Food for thought, I make take the dirty tank to the extreme as well considering I'm probably be a bit dramatic with this whole Oogie thing. It's ok to emblish a little, right? Anyhow....to sum it all up, another fish died and to compensate for the guilt...I flushed him rather than trashing him in hopes that if he miraculously rose from the dead, he'd still be swimming and not rotting.

Fish update.

I felt like for a while there all I would talk about was my fish so thankfully we had family pictures and Eli had a birthday to break it up a bit. None-the-less, the tank is never calm....So here's the update.

The sucker's name is Oogie. I just couldn't live with Oscar. (Too common) Gwen, I now award you bragging rights to naming our trash eating neat freak. I just KNEW you'd be excited! (and, you're welcome!)

The "triplets" Aaron, Omner, and Himni...are doing GREAT! (I'll tell you why in just a minute.)

Jon has "moved". He is now at Bonnie's and hopefully doing well and being "humbled". (She has the same kind of fish but MUCH bigger. Maybe they'll pick on him like he was picking on the others here.) We had to get "rid" of him because not only did he nip Omner's fins to almost nothing, (I'm amazed the fish can still swim.) But he went after Ra and Sunburst's. (We couldn't allow that to happen...(that was the point in purchasing those fish in the first place!)....which brings us to those two.

Ra and Sunburst- doing well, I assume, because they are still alive. Ra, started hanging out at the bottom of the tank in the rocks, not swimming. I was worried that he/she wasn't doing well. BUT...during feedings he/she would come up and swim around and eat. But then to resume his lazy behavior shortly after. I stopped worrying too much about it, but now Sunburst does it too. They eat and swim spuratically so we will assume that that's what they're suppose to do.

Jared picked out a larger fish (Larger in comparison to the other fish in the tank) I've forgotten what kind it is, but looks similar to an angel fish. Big frilly fins is all that it really has going for it because it's an ugly gray color. He/she was named Dante'.

"Pip-squeak, yo-yo, pickle, and fish-that-has-no-name yet", are our latest and last, additions to our aquarium. (I promise. The satisfaction as been met. At least until one dies and I have to get a new one.) They are "neon" fish. Neon yellow, neon orange (although this one looks very yellow to me.) and Neon pink. The last one...black and white striped. I question this last bunch because they are SUPER active and my other fish have kind of had to move out of the way when it comes to these 4. PLUS...Black and white striped "Pickle", had little yellow "Pip-squeak" chasing HER around the tank doing some "funny" swimming maneuvers and she started dropping eggs. WHOA! Didn't plan on a breeding tank! Then, little horny pip-squeak went after pink "fish-that-has-no-name yet", luckily she hasn't dropped any eggs. (At least they got the right color when they injected these fish with the right gender. I was considering getting rid of them, but they have somewhat calmed down a bit. For now...they are all good.

I probably spend more time than what is necessary staring at them all but it's pretty cool to watch all their behavior.

Help!...I'm out of control...

...well, not yet at least.

So because I've got such a bigger tank I feel like I need to fill it with more fish. The options are endless and I now LOVE going to the pet store to see what other tropical fish I can get. Luckily I have to wait a week or more between each new fish, so I'm being forced to practice self control. Which is always a good thing.

Our two new "friends" are guppies. They have large silky, wavy, colorful, tails and that's why we got them. (It reminds me of Pinnocio's fish, Figero with the way it swims around.) One is orange and yellow named "sunburst" and one that is Black and orange named "Ra" (After the egyptian sun god.)

We have yet to name the sucker, but I liked Gwen's suggestion of Oogie. Jared would rather it be Oscar. So we'll see what the kids start to call 'him'. I've also had the thought that there are a LOT of "males" in the tank, so we could just say that 'sucker' is a girl and name her Princess. I like the contrast in naming something so disgusting to something so elegant. If only I could secure a crown on it's ugly head.

OH! and we got a new decorative piece too!

He's not being replaced....

....we've just made a "memorial" in his name. I'm sure Elbow would approve the changes that were made so that none of his "friends" would succumb to the same fate as he. We bought this "upgrade" today

and also purchased this "sucker" to help keep the place clean.

I know that I may be headed straight on the path to a VERY expensive addiction. But what joy it brings to me and my family! And there sooooo pretty!

We went to the pet store today and saw a lot of BEAUTIFUL fish that we could add to our aquarium. (Sounds expensive, doesn't it?) We are going to see how well these 5 do, and then go check out some other potential tank-mates. Stay tuned!

OH! and I would like some help naming this trash eating neat freak. Come up with as many as you can. The more options we've got, the better.

We are mourning a loss.

I woke up this morning and found Elbow dead. I'm sad because he was my favorite and I really liked his name. I don't know what happened, he seemed fine yesterday. (Spending a lot of time up by the bubbles.) I'm conflicted on what to do now. Jon still picks on the triplets and Omner's tail is getting shorter and shorter and I think that if anymore of it is bitten off, he won't be able to swim, and he too will die. I called my "fish expert" (Bonnie) and she said it could be a number of things. We are going to go for a bigger tank and see if that helps. (Too many fish in a small tank can throw off the ph balance and kill them.) I'm hoping that it will work. (I'm actually excited because it will be fun to put plants and figurines in with them. Maybe I'll get a treasure chest.) If Jon continues to pick on Omner, I may have to keep him in the small tank alone for isolation.

Jon and Elbow have 'tank-mates'

During one of my "breaks" (time that was spent all by myself), Jared took all the kids to the store and came home with "friends" for Jon and Elbow. THREE of them! I don't think he takes into consideration the amount of space needed for fish to survive and the little tank we had was already pushing it for just Jon and Elbow. And the new roomies were bigger in length. I figured, that we'd see what happened (actually thought that it would just speed up the process of their short lived lives....and unbelieveably, they are ALL still very much alive and well. At first Jon and Elbow showed there anger of having to share by nipping at their tails. I was starting to get a little worried because the tails were starting to look a bit tattered. I was considering buying a new tank just for "Aaron, Omner, and Himni." (Jared named them on the way home.) I guess they eventually gave in to having to accept what now invaded their territory and learned to appreciate them. The "triplets" (it's easier to say that when referring to them, than it is to say all their names.) are kind of boring and give Jon and Elbow something to pester when bored. They don't nip anymore, but will chase them every now and then. Kind of reminds me of herding cattle. J & E are very good at it.

Last night, they all moved into a new tank because their other one cracked. It's really nice!!! Not much bigger, but the triplets actually swim more, so I'm assuming they like it.

As I was trying to catch them to put in the new bowl, I put them in glass cups until I was ready to introduce them to their upgraded tank. Himni, was alone in a glass and I'm thinking that it was too full of water because he was no longer in it when I went to get him. I panicked and ran around the counter to look for him on the floor. There he was flopping around on the floor! OH NO! I , carefully as I could without ripping a fin off, peeled him of the ground and quickly placed him back into the cup. There he went,... belly up. Yikes!....he definitely wasn't going to last. I decided to keep him in the cup (Now with less water!) to 'monitor' him over night and see if he was still alive. He would be able to be moved to his new home once I knew his sick almost dead carcus wouldn't contaminate the others. (I actually had intentions of sending him flushing after I was finished cleaning the previous tank.) Jared kept poking him down into the water because he just kept floatin' up. After I was finished with all the rest, I checked on Himni. Miraculously....he was VERY much alive. I couldn't believe it! We decided that he was going to make it and put him in with the fresh clean water and all that "oxygen" (bubbles). What a glorious reunion the triplets had. (ok, not really but i'm sure he was happy to be with his buddies.)

ALL THOSE BUBBLES! A fishes dream. The striped fish here, is Elbow. The last stripe nearest to the tail is thin.

I have taken the time to name and identify each one for your enjoyment. (And because I had nothing else to do.)

Jon- (Tiger Barb) Fat with wide stripe

Elbow- (Tiger Barb) Thin with skinny stripe

Aaron- Biggest fish of that kind (I don't know what kind they are. Bonnie says they are a "darter fish".)

Omner- Smallest fish of that kind

Himni- Middle sized fish of that kind (And with a couple of scales missing because of the tramatic event that occured during "moving".)

Jon is the one hiding behind the filter tube. But you will notice that his stripe is thicker than Elbow's.

The triplets from top to bottom; Omner, Aaron, and Himni.

Stayed tuned for future stories!!!

Jon and Elbow...continued.

Thanks to Bonnie, I was informed that they are "Tiger barb" and that they need 'oxygen' to stay alive. Oops. I thought you could buy a bowl, stick a fish in it and watch it swim around. I guess the "bubble makers" (filters) are necessary. SO....being the fish pro that she is, brought over a MUCH better and fancier tank (pink, but i don't think the fish will mind) to move Jon and Elbow into. Bubble maker and a light too! Jared even bought little baby marbles to decorate the bottom. VERY cute. I have to say, they are definitely MUCH happier. They eat their food now and swim around. (You may be asking yourself, "they weren't doing that before!?" Well, no not really. They just sat at the bottom of the tank. (I was slowly killing them and Eli had nothing do with it!) Now....I'll happily extend their "life span" to about 1 month from the original 1 week. That may be stretching it, but I'm feeling lucky.

Jon and Elbow

With Eli's obsession with fish, (today he watched "coley fish", then pretended that EVERYTHING he played with was a fish or fishing pole.) I bought him and Ashton two fish. "Elbow" belongs to Ashton (They've been learning about the letter "E" at school) and "Jon" belongs to Eli. I kept asking Eli what he wanted to name his fish and sometimes I just can't understand what he is trying to say. The closet I could come up with, with what he said was "jon". SO....Jon it is! I give them 1 week. He's already tried to give them a french fry. I also had to hide them on my counter behind the bag of bread and a box of crackers and told Eli that they are taking a nap and that I put them in bed. He looked at me funny and went looking for them in all the beds. NOW...it's 'out of site, out of mind'.