This morning I woke up ...

This morning when I woke up I looked and saw my fish tank was very very cloudy to the point where you could not see into it barely at all. It is on my dresser at the foot of my bed. I jumped out of bed, and dashed over, having seen one of my babies floating and very no longer alive.

I pulled off the hood (the thing with the light on it) and saw one of my other fish at the top, on his side, very nearly dead. I grabbed him (I know, fish out of water, but that water was killing him very very fast) and ran to the kitchen (naked may I add!!! -- oops, tmi??? ).

I found a big (salad) bowl, dumped in some water conditioner and filled with some clean water. I put him in and kind of moved him about to get the most water / oxygen past his gills. Then I remembered my snail and the other fish (which I hadn't seen yet).

So I walked as quickly as I could without spilling the water from the bowl and retrieved the snail (who was also barely alive and kind of bobbing at the top) and found that my other fish had passed as well.

I will be burying my two fishes this afternoon in the little pet cemetery I have in my back yard. Since moving back to this place (I lived here before I got married and moved back when my husband walked out at the end of last year), I have had now 5 pets pass, not including the fertilized eggs that have not hatched (a total of 4 now, between two clutches).

These fishes were goldfish, but I got them as little 1 1/2 inch babies. Now they were up to about 4 inches, maybe 5 a piece. The surviving fish is about an inch bigger. Even though they are "just goldfish" I had my cry.

I have an appointment (dropping something off), but after that I will be stripping the tank, right down to the gravel, cleaning the gravel, cleaning everything including the plants and re-setting it back up. I have also decided to name my surviving fish Lucky and the snail Fortune.

It will be very very sad seeing him all alone in there, but I am just glad he is alive. It appears to be a very very severe bacteria problem (I have been fighting this problem for months now and appeared to be winning).

Why did this happen? I think it is my fault for removing too much of the water last week when I cleaned it. If you take more than about 1/3 of the water out, then you throw off the balance in there too much even if you use the water conditioner. It's kinda like draining most of a lake, then filling it back up with "fresh" water. Most things in it will dye and it will be just like my fish tank (only much bigger).

I suppose looking at this from a bright side is good ... at least Lucky and Fortune will have more room *shrugs*.

I'm still sad.

I am so very sorry, I know what you are feeling right now.

I don't believe that any pet is "just a" because no matter what they are we still love them dearly. Whether they be the largest or the smallest, doesn't make it hurt any more or less.

I'm thinking of you and sending you loads of hugs at this dreadful time.

I'm so sorry for this misfortune Indigo...

My first pet was a goldfish which lived for 5 years in a bowl.
I was very young then and loved him very much and was very sad when he was gone..
A pet is a pet whether it is a fish or something else.
How much a loss hurts depends on the bonding you had and the time you've spent together...

I feel like a big baby but letting myself feel sad. I am keeping an eye on it though as I do have depression problems, and don't want this to really mess me up. Today is just not that happy of a day so far (and it is only 9:46am!). I hope it improves.

Ya know, whenever you start to feel a little down come on here, It really does put a smile on your face. When Charlie passed I came on here and found myself laughing even though I didn't think I would laugh at anything that day.

I know how you feel I had a little african cichlid I raised from 1/2 inch to almost 2 then one night I was like AHHH i forgot to feed him - so I stumbled across the room and poured some food in his tank (never do that when it's dark) when I woke of the next morning he was dead Dad says it wasn't my fault but I will always think it is.

Feel sad indigo! I still miss the cory I had when I was 9. My Dwarf African Frog is spoiled rotten and if anything was to ever happen to her I would be crushed. I even took video of her when I still had a working webcam

*hugs* no such thing as "just".

Yah I'm letting myself feel sad, but trying not to (I don't like feeling this way).

I went out and did what I needed to do and when I got home he was still fine (and still in the bowl) and with the snail. I had put some water plants on the top of the bowl so he had somewhere to hide and cooling racks (like when bread or whatever comes out of the oven) on top.

Okay so how I have things is this (or had): I had the 10 US Gal. tank with my fish and snail in it, then I had another smaller molded plastic tank I was using as a plant nursery (saves money to grow and "rehab" existing plants there than spending $5 a pop at the store).

So I remove the 10 gal. tank water (seriously threw up twice - no joke - I'm talking full body heaving - this bacteria thing causes an extremely strong rotten dead body type smell). The tank had been on my dresser so I got it empty enough to move and moved it to an old but working tv stand with wheels. I wheeled it out to the back porch and don't plan on sterilizing that until at least it cools down allot outside (aka once the sun goes down).

So anyways, short story long I set lucky and fortune up in the small tank and until I get to the 10 gal. tank they will be fine in there. If they are happy there, I may just leave them in that (for a while). If I do that then I will leave the empty and clean 10 gal. tank outside in the sun to kill any lingering bacteria.

Oh, this bacteria, when I dump the water on the grass (I bring it out the front door as it is closest) within a few days the grass is dead (that happened last time). The creepy bit is, it doesn't regrow there. Whatever this bacteria is, it is really nasty. Because of this, I wash my hands about 12 times during and after cleaning it up. Then I use Purell or bleach (this time Purell). Even still, I won't be handling the birds today. Better to be safe than sorry.

So yah, that's whats going on.

I'm sorry Indigo. What a horrible morning. I am glad that your were able to save one fish and the snail. What kind of bacteria is this? It sounds horrible. I can't believe that it grew so fast!! Lucky and Fortune are lucky to have sucha caring person.

Indigo,

I am sorry to hear about your loss

Some thoughts: Are you sure it was bacteria? What did the water smell like? What was the water like (cloudy, patchy, etc)? What chemicals do you use?

Just trying to help out...

So sorry about your fish. I heard the 'they're just fish' comments too.. when I had losses. I just tell them to leave me alone and cry anyway. Not everyone understands.
I have 2 aquariums currently, one little one with plants, baby feeder guppies and ghost shrimp, and one big one with a huge oscar named Clyde.
The cloudy water/death thing usually happened to me when I did too large of a water change, added new fish, and/or had a filter that was way overdue for cleaning or had areas on it that I missed cleaning.
These things do happen pretty fast, I have my oscar in too small of a tank right now (I hope to be able to get a new one soon, or find a friend with a larger empty aquarium who would welcome my crazy water dog into their home) So these things happen a lot more often than if he was in a proper sized tank.
Goldfish also require a lot of space, I know people sell em as 'goldfish bowls' but they really need a large tank to grow to their full size without being stunted and to handle the mess..they are slobs!
Not looking to start a fight with anyone, I'm sure many have kept goldfish in small aquariums and I, myself, have a fish in a too-small aquarium.. just suggesting what may have caused some of the problem.
When Clyde is listless or recovering from sickness, I usually add a small amount of aquarium salt to the water. When he's very sick, like the time I stupidly gave him some feeder guppies without quaranteeing them first and they gave him disease, I add a very small amount of finely chopped garlic to his aquarium. He probably thinks I'm trying to season him for dinner what with the salt and garlic but it works really well in clearing his problems.
Just have to remember to clean the garlic out the next day. (I usually leave it in for 12 hours or so) and remember that the only way to get rid of the salt is with water changes.
I didn't have a snail when I used these remedies so keep that in mind. Maybe need to look that up first if you decide to 'season' yours. lol.
I don't like to use the chemical treatments they sell for disease, I have always done better with natural remedies for my fish.
I'm so sorry about your fish and I hope Lucky and Fortune stay healthy for you.
Good luck!!!

Sarah

oh dear ((((indigo)))) ... I'm sorry to not write earlier, just off and saw this. I am terribly sorry for your loss ...

"Until one has loved an animal, part of their soul remains unawakened." ~Author Unknown~

There are no such things as "just a" ... we love those that are put in our charge and we feel loss when they leave us. Let yourself feel that now, so you can begin to allow yourself time to enjoy the memories.

And, this bacteria problem sounds gawd awfully persistent ... be very careful for your fids, but, also for yourself too!

((indigo)) ... (this is a "PS" to my previous post, an afterthought), I do understand and empathize with how you feel when others do not understand our loss. When I lost Sailor, my Parrotlet, my sister (who was responsible) thought of him as a "just a" ... it took me a long while to realize (and let go) that some people just "don't get it" ... and the hard part is letting that be "ok"; they don't have to get it. What is important is the loss that we personally have. Don't know if this helps, but you are not alone (especially here amongst so many, many animal lovers). Spend time in places and with people who support you ... steer clear of those that undermine you. (((hugs)))

Well, he is back in his regular (10 gal.) tank now and the water is just starting to go again .... I will be replacing the filter bits and see if that helps. I had the tank totally stripped down, cleaned with vinegar rinsed insanely with hot hot water then left in the sun for days. Did the same with the "toys" and the gravel. The filter bits are the only things not cleaned to that degree so they will be replaced. I'll keep you posted.

I am so sorry to hear about your loss. When i was younger i used to write a poem when my fish passed away, for i think about 5-6 of them. It was 1 silver molly, 3 siamese fighting fish, and 2 mudskippers. I cried while writing it but it sure did help. Goodluck, i hope the other 2 are gonna live a long happy live!

The remaining gold fish (a comet, I've named him Lucky) and the snail (don't know what kind he is but he doesn't have babies, I've named him Fortune) are doing well. They are back in their sterilized tank (had to kill the problem) and earlier I was thinking the water was clouding again but I think I was just being paranoid. That or it cleared up on its won *shrugs*.

I'm glad there doing okay now. To others they may be a "just a" pet, but to us they are part of the family.

Keep us informed on how there doing. :04:

they seem to be doing well. will keep you all posted though.

Fortune died this afternoon. He was the snail.

(((dear indigo))) I'm terribly sorry for your loss. I will keep you continued in my thoughts.