Okay, I have never claimed that I "love" my fish, but I do feel strongly about providing them with good conditions and care. I have sold off a bunch lately...my Ameca splendens and Skiffia francesae breeding colonies, mainly...because they were taking up a bit too much space and time and detracting from other fish. I'll be doing that again in future with other fish, and that doesn't bother me at all.
But there are few things that upset me more than losing fish to mysterious or, worse yet, careless causes. And I have had a bad run lately. This past spring, I moved 6 Hoplo cats outside into a stock tank hoping for them to breed. Within days I found one...the only positively guaranteed male!...floating at the surface. Huh? These fish are as tough as nails; what happened? Today, I went out to check the tanks, and found another dead one, an obvious female this time! I have no idea what happened. The water is good, plants are luxurious, and the remaining live ones (and the dead one) have grown astronomically since going outside. I am lost for an explanation.
I have lost a few female Goodeids as well, but I think that it can be traced to excessive protein in their diets. They give birth to very large fry, and apparently too much protein encourages the fry to grow even larger than normal inside the female. So, when mixed with fish that eat a more omnivorous diet, the Goodies get too much protein and occasionally a pregnant female dies, either without warning or sometimes with signs of a prolapsed anus in her last days. It's one of the reasons why I rid myself of many of them.
A few weeks ago, I was doing some tank maintenance and re-organization, and removed the driftwood from one tank. As always, I carefully inspected it for hitchhikers before setting it on the concrete basement floor. Several hours later...there was my largest male Bristlenose Pleco, easily 5 inches, dead and dry. Utter carelessness, and very disturbing.
A few minutes ago, I went to feed my Red Wolf...and as I lifted the corner of the lid to drop in a grasshopper, the fish launched itself through the small opening, bounced off my chest and landed on the table top! I quickly replaced him and I expect he will be fine...but, again, carelessness on my part. Same thing with a couple of other fish, lost to jumping through unclosed feeding holes: a couple Green Swordtails, one or two Endlers, that sort of thing. Not financial disasters, nor environmental ones...but irritations. The wolffish thing is what got me on this depressing train of thought.
I don't own huge quantities of fish at any one time; I don't have dozens of tanks; I keep the number manageable so that it remains an enjoyable chore to maintain them well, rather than an onerous task to barely keep much larger numbers of fish "just alive". So, this number of losses may seem laughably small to some folks, but they piss me off nevertheless.
The way I look at it, when a fish dies in your care...it's your fault. You did something wrong, or didn't do something right, or got careless, or...something. It's common to hear many of these instances described as "bad luck" or "beyond our control" or some such...but the plain and simple fact is that the fish is only there because you brought him into your home, so after that, you are ultimately responsible.
But there are few things that upset me more than losing fish to mysterious or, worse yet, careless causes. And I have had a bad run lately. This past spring, I moved 6 Hoplo cats outside into a stock tank hoping for them to breed. Within days I found one...the only positively guaranteed male!...floating at the surface. Huh? These fish are as tough as nails; what happened? Today, I went out to check the tanks, and found another dead one, an obvious female this time! I have no idea what happened. The water is good, plants are luxurious, and the remaining live ones (and the dead one) have grown astronomically since going outside. I am lost for an explanation.
I have lost a few female Goodeids as well, but I think that it can be traced to excessive protein in their diets. They give birth to very large fry, and apparently too much protein encourages the fry to grow even larger than normal inside the female. So, when mixed with fish that eat a more omnivorous diet, the Goodies get too much protein and occasionally a pregnant female dies, either without warning or sometimes with signs of a prolapsed anus in her last days. It's one of the reasons why I rid myself of many of them.
A few weeks ago, I was doing some tank maintenance and re-organization, and removed the driftwood from one tank. As always, I carefully inspected it for hitchhikers before setting it on the concrete basement floor. Several hours later...there was my largest male Bristlenose Pleco, easily 5 inches, dead and dry. Utter carelessness, and very disturbing.
A few minutes ago, I went to feed my Red Wolf...and as I lifted the corner of the lid to drop in a grasshopper, the fish launched itself through the small opening, bounced off my chest and landed on the table top! I quickly replaced him and I expect he will be fine...but, again, carelessness on my part. Same thing with a couple of other fish, lost to jumping through unclosed feeding holes: a couple Green Swordtails, one or two Endlers, that sort of thing. Not financial disasters, nor environmental ones...but irritations. The wolffish thing is what got me on this depressing train of thought.
I don't own huge quantities of fish at any one time; I don't have dozens of tanks; I keep the number manageable so that it remains an enjoyable chore to maintain them well, rather than an onerous task to barely keep much larger numbers of fish "just alive". So, this number of losses may seem laughably small to some folks, but they piss me off nevertheless.
The way I look at it, when a fish dies in your care...it's your fault. You did something wrong, or didn't do something right, or got careless, or...something. It's common to hear many of these instances described as "bad luck" or "beyond our control" or some such...but the plain and simple fact is that the fish is only there because you brought him into your home, so after that, you are ultimately responsible.