Tonight I found my big L014 Pleco, Frank the Tank (aka Frankie), dead. I was in tears. I was so sad to have lost my first and beautiful monster. He helped us win "Picture of the Year" from AquariaCentral.com last year as the center piece of our discus tank. He was already a big guy 12 inches tip to tip we we got him a year and a half ago. When I measured him tonight, I found he had grown to 13.5 inches. He's been struggling for the past several months, and nothing I've done has brought him back to full health. I do think the big guy was old.
I had decided at 9:30 at night to make sure the water in my 180/100 system was okay to find that the water was perfect, and yet I could not find my Frankie. I knew immediately he was dead, and sure enough he was floating at the top of the tank. I measured him, put him in a bag, laid him in a box, and reluctantly set him in the trash. I knew I could not handle finding him in my freezer.
This is his album I've had up here at MFK:
http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/album.php?albumid=1331
However, my night was not all sadness. Tonight I picked up a 385 gallon fiberglass tank/pond. (BTW the gallonage is the inside measurements). We're going to cut out the side and put in a piece of acrylic, build it into a plywood skinned tank, and give out big cats a great new home. It makes me feel better to know that we are moving forward and giving our absolute best to giving these fish the best home they could possibly find.
I guess it was a night of change...
I had decided at 9:30 at night to make sure the water in my 180/100 system was okay to find that the water was perfect, and yet I could not find my Frankie. I knew immediately he was dead, and sure enough he was floating at the top of the tank. I measured him, put him in a bag, laid him in a box, and reluctantly set him in the trash. I knew I could not handle finding him in my freezer.
This is his album I've had up here at MFK:
http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/album.php?albumid=1331
However, my night was not all sadness. Tonight I picked up a 385 gallon fiberglass tank/pond. (BTW the gallonage is the inside measurements). We're going to cut out the side and put in a piece of acrylic, build it into a plywood skinned tank, and give out big cats a great new home. It makes me feel better to know that we are moving forward and giving our absolute best to giving these fish the best home they could possibly find.
I guess it was a night of change...
The emptiness in my gut cannot be described when I go out to the pond and look for him only to remember that he is already dead.