Fish are food, not friends.
I'm off today. I should be doing homework (So.Much.Reading.) and catching up on housework, because I'm booked solid from tomorrow morning through Sunday afternoon.
So, what am I doing today, you ask? Well, after volunteering with my young adult group this morning...
I dismantled my beloved 55-gallon fish tank.
It's a sad day indeed, reminding me of my failure as a fish keeper. All I have left are two very sick goldfish (the new ones I don't even like, the ones that brought the disease in in the first place) and my 3 old golden barbs.
Do you know how annoying it is to dismantle a big aquarium? It starts with a garden hose, and then heavy lifting. It's smelly and disgusting and everything gets wet. Oh, not to mention the gnats. I decided yesterday that this dismantling had to be done, once and for all, the moment I turned on the aquarium light and realized the gnat larvae had taken over and the gnats were breeding like rabbits. No fish to eat them and keep them in check. :(
Thank goodness it's 53 degrees today and sunny. It was so frigid yesterday, I was dreading this dismantling process.
I've set up my old 15-gallon hexagon tank (with heater) to take in the barbs. This in itself has been an endeavor as well. The tank was in storage for a long time, so I had to clean it and set it up. The filter was leaking from the connection between the motor and the unit (it has to be water-tight) and after freaking out about that, got out another motor I happen to have and used that one. Will realized the o-ring on the first motor had dry rotted, so at least I know what's up. Yay for being a fish keeper for years and staying loyal to one brand of filtration devices (AquaClear by Hagen) - so I have all kinds of aquarium crap lying around, such as spare motors.
I'm letting everything settle, and then later I guess I have to throw in the barbs. It's never good to add fish to a brand new aquarium, but I have no other choice.
If they survive, I may eventually buy a few more tropical fish. I love me some tetras, and maybe...just maybe...another pleco. This is, after all, the tank I first had "Big Al" in, over 8 years ago, when I set up my first tropical tank.
Back to feeling like I work in a pet store...
So, what am I doing today, you ask? Well, after volunteering with my young adult group this morning...
I dismantled my beloved 55-gallon fish tank.
It's a sad day indeed, reminding me of my failure as a fish keeper. All I have left are two very sick goldfish (the new ones I don't even like, the ones that brought the disease in in the first place) and my 3 old golden barbs.
Do you know how annoying it is to dismantle a big aquarium? It starts with a garden hose, and then heavy lifting. It's smelly and disgusting and everything gets wet. Oh, not to mention the gnats. I decided yesterday that this dismantling had to be done, once and for all, the moment I turned on the aquarium light and realized the gnat larvae had taken over and the gnats were breeding like rabbits. No fish to eat them and keep them in check. :(
Thank goodness it's 53 degrees today and sunny. It was so frigid yesterday, I was dreading this dismantling process.
I've set up my old 15-gallon hexagon tank (with heater) to take in the barbs. This in itself has been an endeavor as well. The tank was in storage for a long time, so I had to clean it and set it up. The filter was leaking from the connection between the motor and the unit (it has to be water-tight) and after freaking out about that, got out another motor I happen to have and used that one. Will realized the o-ring on the first motor had dry rotted, so at least I know what's up. Yay for being a fish keeper for years and staying loyal to one brand of filtration devices (AquaClear by Hagen) - so I have all kinds of aquarium crap lying around, such as spare motors.
I'm letting everything settle, and then later I guess I have to throw in the barbs. It's never good to add fish to a brand new aquarium, but I have no other choice.
If they survive, I may eventually buy a few more tropical fish. I love me some tetras, and maybe...just maybe...another pleco. This is, after all, the tank I first had "Big Al" in, over 8 years ago, when I set up my first tropical tank.
Back to feeling like I work in a pet store...