The Fish

So, in case you don't know much about me, i have one great and constant love in my life (apart from Seb of course ;p) this happens to be my fish. we have gone through some trying times - including several deaths, lots of sex (between the fish and the other fish - not me), several successful births and many miscarriages, a few murders, attacks, isolation issues and cannibalism - but the love has always been there... somewhere. the most trying time, on my part at least, was leaving for three months and trusting them in the care of a dear friend. my fishies are guppies and of the three adults (quite old for guppies) and the 20-40 babies i left behind only one adult and 11 babies survived. this was better then i expected - not because of bad caring but because fish can be incredibly hard to keep alive and since the babies enjoy ganging up on each other and eating the loser i was impressed that 11 lived.

Now, instead of being microscopically small and without any colour, they are the length of my thumb nail and very brightly coloured (mixes of blue, gold and orange/red - i am such a good carer). the girls (6) all have gold bodies, blue fins and a gold tail with a tiny dot or a line of red near the top of the tail. the boys (4) are all identical to the adult - silver body with gold and blue dots (one of each colour) and a red/orange tail but, unlike the adult, they have a dark outline around their tails and fins. each one is marginally different.

i know you're thinking i can't add up because 6 + 4 does not make 11 babies but late last night tragedy struck. i was heading off to bed and on my way i checked on my beautiful fishies (just coz i love to look at them) and i caught them all swimming around and nipping the youngest and smallest fish. she had died and they had eaten her fins and tail off (I'm not sure if it was before or after she died). it gets a tad frustrating when they eat each other even though I've I'll ready fed them for the day. its seems fish are perpetually hungry. i was most sad and carefully removed her and put her down the toilet (fishy burial ground) feeling a tad remorseful that i hadn't had the chance to name her.

however the others are all still happy and healthy and being very social. Guppies are surface fish; meaning they hang round the top of the tank at the water line and rarely go onto the bottom - unless searching for food. when you approach the tank the immediately swim up to the glass and follow your finger. they love people and light and are total party fishies.

for my birthday Boy and Girl (aka my brother and sister) gave me a 3ft fish tank. it was the one I'd been dreaming of buying since i first got fish. it was the tank i had shown Girl in the store and said "when i get back from Sweden I'm going to get this one". it was the tank that i couldn't afford and now it was mine. you can imagine my glee and the euphoric state it put me in and i still get a buzz every time i lay eyes on it - even thinking about it gives me a thrill.

the day after i received the tank Girl took me to the fish store so i could buy the necessaries: gravel, heater, light, filter. i had the most fun setting it up. it was a way of getting my homework done; every time i completed something i could spend a little more time on my tank. it looks fantastic. i have red/brown gravel on the bottom (washed thoroughly by my papa), a big heater keeping it at approx 25-28 degrees (perfect for tropical fish), a MASSIVE heater which makes a wonderful running water sound until you push it under the water - it made such a nice sound that no one could sleep and made the boys need to pee - a few plants from the old tank and the center piece. the item that completes the tank: a pirate ship wreck. yes that's right a pirate ship. think Pirates of the Caribbean people! i put a plant in the bottom of it so it looks like it has been there for centuries and things are growing out of it... which they are.

so after i had set up the tank (completed on Monday night) and added the necessary elements to the water (hardening salts and ph up powder and good bacteria) i left it to mature for a few days. this is necessary to prevent shocking the fish and overloading the system when the fish are introduced. it gets the cycle going.

today was the big day. after working on my philosophy SAC for a few hours i approached the tank with care and checked its vitals (temp, light, water) everything was good. i then removed the lid. going over to the little tank (right beside the big one) i scooped out some fish with my scooping container and let them slowly swim into their new, improved and giant home. when they didn't die immediately i add the other fish. everything was OK!

i then go the pleasure of watching them explore and swim about. they didn't venture down to the ship but swam around the top and enjoyed attempting to swim across the filter outlet (where all the clean water comes out) without getting spun away. most amusing :)

this is far to long but i just wanted to convey how happy their happiness makes me, how much i missed them, how excited i am bout the new tank and how much I'm looking forward to going Fish Shopping.