I've had a tank for a year now. I wasn't a fish person before my sister's fish unexpectedly gave birth (dalmation mollies). I bought a tank and saved what I could (two). They grew to be quite beautiful and I did a lot of research to try and keep them healthy. However, jobless and at the time I didn't have a car or license, I couldn't buy anything to test water, no water heaters, nothing fancy whatsoever. I just managed. One of them died after four months; the other died tonight, at one year old exactly.
I loved her, and the previous fish I had that unfortunately didn't make it. The others I've had were three guppies and a yellow fish I cannot, for the life of me, remember. Two of the guppies I got before I realized the tank was still too young for them to survive. I felt horrible and was intent on not getting anymore. After the second molly died, I was afraid my other would die without company. So when I was at the store I got a guppy, the yellow fish, a dalmation molly (that apparently was sick when I got him, and the transfer was just too much on him. :/ ), and the common pleco. The pleco was about 3 inches - I thought it was one of the small ones. When the dude handed the bag to me and I saw the big one, I wasn't sure what to think. I didn't know anything other than it was an "algae eater" (which, of course, I figured would help keep the tank healthy.)
The yellow fish died four or so months later when it got stuck in a crevice of a castle decoration and cut off his tail. It died and then the guppy died.
Back to two fish and again swearing not to buy anymore. Geldy, the dalmation molly, was just fine and so was the pleco. Except the pleco (named him Shinoda...) was bigger. I didn't notice, though; perhaps because I see the tank every day and his size wasn't much an issue?
Anyway. I went on putting less flakes in the tank since I didn't want to overfeed and kill Geldy. Smart move. Right? No. I got a weird feeling Shinoda wasn't looking too well. After research, I found out he's not at all what I thought he was all this time. He couldn't live off algae alone - especially when the tank is sparkly because of him! >.<
So I began feeding more, but I kept an eye on Geldy, making sure she wasn't getting bloated from overeating. I did my best, I'd like to think, but I know it wasn't enough. During water changes, I didn't know the water needed to be sucked out from the bottom, so I've been using a pitcher and scooping.
Geldy started getting less active a few weeks ago. This past week, on the only opportunity a week I have to go to the only store with semi-(or is psuedo the word?) sense in taking care of fish, I decided to talk to someone and figure out what I could do to make the fish tank better, that I was worried about Geldy. I came home with wafers for Shinoda and a pump to properly change the tank's water.
Geldy wouldn't move. I tried doing research, but by then it was too late. 11:20 pm of 11/9/2010, she passed away.
The whole experience, coupled with an already stressful schedule and this horrible, bad-luck-ridden day, has left me bereft. I want to take care of Shinoda like I couldn't for Geldy. It sounds so weird hearing it, because fish are fish, right? I don't think so. They might not want to snuggle (or even be compelling enough to snuggle if it were possible), but looking at them and watching them gives a kind of peace or calmness. With Geldy gone, it looks so empty.
I'm just afraid. I don't want Shinoda to die and I'm afraid I'm not making enough money to buy a bigger tank, that I may not have the space for it, that I may screw something up and he'll end up like the others.
What do I do? Should I try to make this work, or is it too risky and I should find him a home where I know he'll be taken care of the way he needs it? I would love to raise him right and keep him happy; I love looking at the tank and just knowing he's there. But at the same time...I don't want to do something wrong and kill him.
PS. I'm sorry if any of this is hard to understand. It's 1 AM here and I've had little sleep, so there's probably a bundle of horribly worded stuff and bad grammar above. Sorry. :/
PPS: My tank is 10 gallons, and Shinoda is now 5-6ish inches long. I don't know how long I have to make a decision/save up if I can afford it...
I loved her, and the previous fish I had that unfortunately didn't make it. The others I've had were three guppies and a yellow fish I cannot, for the life of me, remember. Two of the guppies I got before I realized the tank was still too young for them to survive. I felt horrible and was intent on not getting anymore. After the second molly died, I was afraid my other would die without company. So when I was at the store I got a guppy, the yellow fish, a dalmation molly (that apparently was sick when I got him, and the transfer was just too much on him. :/ ), and the common pleco. The pleco was about 3 inches - I thought it was one of the small ones. When the dude handed the bag to me and I saw the big one, I wasn't sure what to think. I didn't know anything other than it was an "algae eater" (which, of course, I figured would help keep the tank healthy.)
The yellow fish died four or so months later when it got stuck in a crevice of a castle decoration and cut off his tail. It died and then the guppy died.
Back to two fish and again swearing not to buy anymore. Geldy, the dalmation molly, was just fine and so was the pleco. Except the pleco (named him Shinoda...) was bigger. I didn't notice, though; perhaps because I see the tank every day and his size wasn't much an issue?
Anyway. I went on putting less flakes in the tank since I didn't want to overfeed and kill Geldy. Smart move. Right? No. I got a weird feeling Shinoda wasn't looking too well. After research, I found out he's not at all what I thought he was all this time. He couldn't live off algae alone - especially when the tank is sparkly because of him! >.<
So I began feeding more, but I kept an eye on Geldy, making sure she wasn't getting bloated from overeating. I did my best, I'd like to think, but I know it wasn't enough. During water changes, I didn't know the water needed to be sucked out from the bottom, so I've been using a pitcher and scooping.
Geldy started getting less active a few weeks ago. This past week, on the only opportunity a week I have to go to the only store with semi-(or is psuedo the word?) sense in taking care of fish, I decided to talk to someone and figure out what I could do to make the fish tank better, that I was worried about Geldy. I came home with wafers for Shinoda and a pump to properly change the tank's water.
Geldy wouldn't move. I tried doing research, but by then it was too late. 11:20 pm of 11/9/2010, she passed away.
The whole experience, coupled with an already stressful schedule and this horrible, bad-luck-ridden day, has left me bereft. I want to take care of Shinoda like I couldn't for Geldy. It sounds so weird hearing it, because fish are fish, right? I don't think so. They might not want to snuggle (or even be compelling enough to snuggle if it were possible), but looking at them and watching them gives a kind of peace or calmness. With Geldy gone, it looks so empty.
I'm just afraid. I don't want Shinoda to die and I'm afraid I'm not making enough money to buy a bigger tank, that I may not have the space for it, that I may screw something up and he'll end up like the others.
What do I do? Should I try to make this work, or is it too risky and I should find him a home where I know he'll be taken care of the way he needs it? I would love to raise him right and keep him happy; I love looking at the tank and just knowing he's there. But at the same time...I don't want to do something wrong and kill him.
PS. I'm sorry if any of this is hard to understand. It's 1 AM here and I've had little sleep, so there's probably a bundle of horribly worded stuff and bad grammar above. Sorry. :/
PPS: My tank is 10 gallons, and Shinoda is now 5-6ish inches long. I don't know how long I have to make a decision/save up if I can afford it...
it should be around $6 i believe....
