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when I checked the water late last week, one of the ways I observe and learn about FIS&HAENUSESAWTSRGSAOULICINAAENTAION
the pH was 7.8 (and yes, that difference the semi-natural world.
is significant). That large a pH swing could 1 GMaCFreodieenelttndsaiacNbtiSa:-tmtaurneorgaenflttia,shvBtliyCclaa.locutkrbtgbh, uern.
have triggered the change. Could the medi- Often in tanks, there are two things that
cation have exacerbated the problem? are killers; overt neglect and over meddling. AUSTARNSAASLTOIAICONINAKATIILLOLNIFISH
Entirely possible. One of the dangers of The middle ground is sometimes referred to
medicating a large tank is that the dosing as “benign neglect”, where we do the bare inMmeeetmsbBeir-sm’ ohnotmhleys.
is very hard to determine. What would be minimum necessary, and let them sort it out Call:
normal for one fish might be too little for for themselves. I’ve never been guilty (not Emma Jenkin 9442 3408.
another, or way too much for a third. This that I know of at least) of “overt neglect”,
is why it’s best to treat fish individually in a but yes, I’ve frequently been on the “benign EASTAEQRUNADRIISUTMRICTS
hospital tank if you can. Treating a whole neglect” scale. Sometimes, that’s just the SOCIETY
tank can have wildly varying results. It’s best way to deal with things, but it makes
also possible that the dosing of the tank us feel heartless when we do it. It seems MNeuPenOtaswBoaondxRtinh3oge0a0dC45,tihv,NiNcFuurnCindaeawanwyatradoedif,nitnWghg.ehim3te1oh3no1trhseat
was too late for Kite, who already showed this would have been a time where more
advanced symptoms. “benign neglect” would have been far more
beneficial. As it stands, I now have a recov-
Could I have done anything different? ery project underway. I will rebuild, and I
Sure, and the last option is the one that will renew this tank. New life will take root
really makes me cringe, but I know the here again, but sadly, it will be with a whole
truth of it, and didn’t heed it. I could have new family. All my “best friends” are gone,
left them alone. I could have resisted the and they are gone because I over-reacted.
urge to add some new fish to the tank after
a major “depopulation”. I could have not Update: I’m happy to report that both
bothered with the water change before
leaving for Sweden. I could have let the of the Green Terrors seem to be doing
disease just run its course. Yes it would
have likely killed Kite, but he was 12 years OK, even the one that’s missing half the
old, already beyond his life expectancy,
and having had a really great run. All sorts scales on the left side of his head. He’s
of coulda’, shoulda’ woulda’s, but no, the
thought of doing nothing terrified me. I did being feisty, sparring with the other Green
what any irrational pet owner would do
when their animals are in distress. I tried to Terror, and thankfully, he’s even eating,
fix it with all the tools at my disposal. The
net result is a ghost town. Over a dozen which means he really does have a fighting
valuable fish, but more to the point, fish
that were good and dear friends I’d raised chance. I tend to name the fish that stand AQUARIUM
for many years. Why am I mentioning all SOCIETY
this? Simple, this is my blog. This is one of out in my tanks, and thus, if this little guy
my biggest hobbies outside of testing, and OF VICTORIA
pulls through, since it’s likely he’ll have a
bit of scarring that will look like a Pirate’s
eye patch, I’m going to call this little fighter Meetsato2n9thGeralansttSTthreuerst,dCalyifotofnthHeilml. onth
“Harlock” after Leiji Matsumoto’s legend- Call:
Maddock:
ary space pirate. Here’s hoping I can make Daryl 9874 1850.
good on that. j
cichlidpower.org.au 23
