Archive for the 'Aquarium' Category
Damn Domino Damselfish
August 8th, 2004After months of watching this chubby black damselfish terrorize all the other fish, scare away the other fish during eating time, and practically chew up another fish in the tank, I finally caught this fat bastard and removed him from the tank.You gotta realize that this was no small feat…I’ve tried this once a few months and went close to insane after I nearly emptied the tank and spent hours trying to lure him into my small net. I had to give up that time because Ricky felt my (mental) health would have been in jeopardy if I wasted any more time hunting down the fish.
But not tonight. The past few days, I’ve noticed that this chubby punk (named Blackie) was being more of a bully than usual, and when I saw another one of my poor fish almost chewed to deah (half his blue scales were ripped off and his fins were all eaten away) because of Blackie, it was time to finish him off. I drained half of the tank water, removed half of the live rock, and spent the next hour with both hands in the tank luring him with one hand into a net held by the other…and finally caught him.
What to do with him now? I was so ready during the long fight to squeeze him in my hand or feed him to one of our dogs or fry him up in a pan with oil, but in the end I couldn’t even bring myself to flushing him down the toilet. Ricky got me feeling too guilty, and I started feeling a little bad were he to be flushed down the toilet and end up exploding because of the fresh water (osmosis and stuff). So…reluctantly…I kept him. In a one-gallon milk bottle. Trying to decide what to do next with him. And I haven’t decided yet.
But something funny happened while I was refilling the tank with water. I poured so much water that it started overflowing out the top…and some dribbled down the back and poured onto the surge protector supplying electricity to all the electrical equipment in the tank. I didn’t realize until the tank lights blew out — and then I smelled smoke. After investigating, I noticed no equipment had really blown out, except for the surge protector itself. I guess it did its job, and saved the equipment, electricity, and our lives.
Stupid chubby black fish…it tries to kill other fish, so I try to kill it, and end up almost killing myself.
Dead Domino Damselfish
August 9th, 2004It looks like I won’t need to make a decision over what to do with this damselfish imprisoned in the milk container…he decided to die. So now I have a fat domino damselfish floating upside-down in a milk container. That’s the end of that, I guess.
Another Dead Damselfish
February 13th, 2005The past few days I’ve noticed that the domino damselfish in my tank has been terrorizing the other fish in my tank. Does this sound familiar? It should, because I went through the exact same thing a few months ago (check out my archives for the Damn Domino Damselfish entry). The damselfish I’m referring to NOW is another one I used to have, one that I had to keep in a separate, smaller tank because if he was in my main tank the big damselfish would bully him.
Well what do you know…the bullied becomes the bully. After the old damselfish died, I brought the smaller, frailer one into the tank, and within a few week he grew to about twice his size. Yada yada yada…the other fish were in trouble, so this damselfish needed to be caught too.
So Ricky and I went out and bought two nets (yes, two for some reason) and started to empty the tank…even though that morning I had FINALLY arranged my corals and rock into a formation I actually liked for once. At one point, I examined a large piece of live rock I took out and noticed the damsel was hidden in a hole! So I yanked the rock out, ran to the bathroom with it, and too soft-hearted to watch what I was about to do, I closed my eyes and shook the rock. Once I heard a splash, I flushed the toilet and left.
A little said, but I didn’t have enough time to take it all in. I just hope I didn’t flush down any other fish…
New coral
July 11th, 2005 |
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Today I bought 3 green Chromis and also my first SPS coral…a Stylophora. Hopefully he’ll get sufficient light and not die on me. It’d be a shame to have a $65 coral not last long.
Candy Cane Coral and Ricordia Mushroom
February 12th, 2006The latest additions to my tank: candy cane coral (Caulastrea) and a ricordia mushroom (Ricordea). Take a look…
Clown Goby and Firefish
September 7th, 2006After a long hiatus, I added some new members to my tank: a yellow clown goby and a firefish. Take a look:
Unfortunately, the firefish is always hiding, and the goby is constantly being terrorized by the other fish in my tank (a clownfish).