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Well, I guess it's about time to take another shot at journal-making. I made one before, but I never really got past the first post (I'm so terrible at keeping journals/diaries/etc. anyway). Here's hoping I'm actually able to keep it up this time.
I suppose I'll start with a brief history on how I began fishkeeping and my past fish.
I desperately wanted a pet, but it seemed like it wasn't going to happen. I was, and still am, insanely busy all the time; and being alone all day long isn't a great environment for a cat or a dog. I mean, what can you do?
You can get a fish, apparently, and that's what I did. Not without intense research first, of course, as is typical of my getting a new anything. I researched every spare minute I got for about a week, and learned what I figured was everything I needed to know about betta fish. (I had chosen bettas because a friend of mine had recently gotten a very pretty one.)
I sent my mom out whilst I was in class with a shopping list for Petsmart. I got a 5.5 gallon tank kit, a heater, a test kit, gravel, a cave, and a pink plastic tree. After running the tank for a whopping two days to "cycle it," we showed up once again at Petsmart and I picked up my fish...a little turquoise VT which I fondly named Poseidon.
I made my fair share of mistakes with little Poseidon, that was for sure. The heater I had bought was not adjustable, and the water temperature fluctuated considerably, from 76 degrees to 86 degrees. The plastic tree shredded his fins to pieces. But I think the little guy knew was trying, at least.
Unfortunately, poor Poseidon came down with a serious bacterial infection which I just wasn't prepared for. I overdosed Epsom salt, fearing it was dropsy, and I now wonder if that didn't speed up his death. I was devastated. I hadn't realized just how attached you can become to something so small and scaly.
Desperate to fill the empty space on my desk which the tank had left, I quickly purchased a new fish. Poor little guy. We never named him, because he never ate. We just called him "Chicken," because he never came out of his cave. The poor little guy was sick from the start, I think, and he died only a week after Poseidon.
Enter: GABRIEL.
We had extra time on our hands, so we stopped by a little pet store which rarely had many bettas. To our amazement, we saw a brand new shipment of white elephant ears! Of course I couldn't resist. There were two I debated between, but I finally decided on Gabriel. He was swimming around in his cup like he was headed for the ocean! He seemed so interested in me...he'd press his little nose against the plastic to get a better look. His personality won me over.
And that was the beginning of the long and beautiful friendship the two of us now share...Gabey and I. There are all sorts of interesting stories I can tell between then and now, but I'll save that for a different post. Here's a picture of Gabey in his cup, to finish off:
![image.jpg]()
Hope you enjoy,
-OFL
I suppose I'll start with a brief history on how I began fishkeeping and my past fish.
I desperately wanted a pet, but it seemed like it wasn't going to happen. I was, and still am, insanely busy all the time; and being alone all day long isn't a great environment for a cat or a dog. I mean, what can you do?
You can get a fish, apparently, and that's what I did. Not without intense research first, of course, as is typical of my getting a new anything. I researched every spare minute I got for about a week, and learned what I figured was everything I needed to know about betta fish. (I had chosen bettas because a friend of mine had recently gotten a very pretty one.)
I sent my mom out whilst I was in class with a shopping list for Petsmart. I got a 5.5 gallon tank kit, a heater, a test kit, gravel, a cave, and a pink plastic tree. After running the tank for a whopping two days to "cycle it," we showed up once again at Petsmart and I picked up my fish...a little turquoise VT which I fondly named Poseidon.
I made my fair share of mistakes with little Poseidon, that was for sure. The heater I had bought was not adjustable, and the water temperature fluctuated considerably, from 76 degrees to 86 degrees. The plastic tree shredded his fins to pieces. But I think the little guy knew was trying, at least.
Unfortunately, poor Poseidon came down with a serious bacterial infection which I just wasn't prepared for. I overdosed Epsom salt, fearing it was dropsy, and I now wonder if that didn't speed up his death. I was devastated. I hadn't realized just how attached you can become to something so small and scaly.
Desperate to fill the empty space on my desk which the tank had left, I quickly purchased a new fish. Poor little guy. We never named him, because he never ate. We just called him "Chicken," because he never came out of his cave. The poor little guy was sick from the start, I think, and he died only a week after Poseidon.
Enter: GABRIEL.
We had extra time on our hands, so we stopped by a little pet store which rarely had many bettas. To our amazement, we saw a brand new shipment of white elephant ears! Of course I couldn't resist. There were two I debated between, but I finally decided on Gabriel. He was swimming around in his cup like he was headed for the ocean! He seemed so interested in me...he'd press his little nose against the plastic to get a better look. His personality won me over.
And that was the beginning of the long and beautiful friendship the two of us now share...Gabey and I. There are all sorts of interesting stories I can tell between then and now, but I'll save that for a different post. Here's a picture of Gabey in his cup, to finish off:
Hope you enjoy,
-OFL
