Sharkie and Poopie II have lived a nice peaceful life in their little 10 gallon tank. It was getting a little grimey with all the algae and what-not, so we got a plecostomus fish. It's one of those sucker fish, that eats all the algae and keeps you tank nice and clean...well sort of.
It turns out that I've been a bad bad fish owner.
This past Thursday evening, when The Boys were getting ready for bed, we noticed that Poopie had passed on. The Big One cried, and I silently said a prayer of thanks that it was not Sharkie, as he was "The Big Ones fish". The Little One was oblivious, only asking why I put Poopie in the toilet. He didn't cry, but he had a look on his face that said maybe he was thinking about it. Then it passed.
The Hubby & I tried to figure out why he suddenly died, and what we should do about it. We figured we'd take a trip to Pet Smart on Saturday have them test the water and go from there.
Friday afternoon rolls around and I go to check on the fish and Sharkie is just kinda hanging out in a corner, all Blair Witch like and Speedy (the plecostomus) was attached to the wall. That's when I realized that he wasn't sucking. Yep...dead fish floating. I called The Hubby in for a fish conference and it was decided that Sharkie was not looking so good and that Pet Smart could not wait until Saturday. We grabbed a sample of the water and picked The Big One up from school and off we went.
It turns out that the Nitrite (or -trate I can't remember which one) level was really high. Now I understand why you have to actually change the water and just not add to the tank as it evaporates...duh! It's a good thing kids don't need to be kept in a tank full of water.
So off we ran...back home to do a quick partial water change in hopes of saving Sharkie. With The Big One standing vigil, I changed the water and hoped for the best. Sharkie seemed to perk up a bit, and I thought all was well. Off we went to see Monster Trucks and have a good time.
When we arrived home, The Hubby quickly went to check on Sharkie...not looking good. His color was starting to change and he was kind of just sitting at the bottom of the tank. We had a talk with The Big One and tried to prepare him for the inevitable. He cried and said his goodbyes to Sharkie and told him he would miss him and that he loved him.
Saturday morning...he looked worse. He was turning white and it looked like his skin was flaking off. Almost like he was molting. As the day progressed, he looked worse and worse and he was barely moving. I put some food in and he totally ignored it. That evening we figured that would be it. Honestly we couldn't believe he was still alive at all. By bedtime, we tried to prepare The Big One again, that Sharkie probably wouldn't make it through the night.
Sunday morning, Sharkie was looking a little better...his color was returning and he appeared a little less fuzzy. He ate a little and while he wasn't swimming around he wasn't just sitting on the bottom of the tank either. As the day progressed he seemed to look better and better. By last night, The Hubby and I actually admitted that he might just make it afterall.
We've joked that, we should change his name to The Messiah or maybe Jesus, because he has apparently come back from the dead...but since we're Jewish, we'll just call it a Passover Miracle and do what all Jews do to celebrate their survival...Eat!
Sharkie & Poopie II
RIP Poopie...we'll miss you
(well at least til we get a replacement)
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