So, I now know why 40% of people who start saltwater aquariums quit in the
first two years. This thing is the biggest headache I've had to deal with in a long time. And
I'm good at making headaches for myself.
So this past week we've been trying to reintroduce the fish back to the main
tank from quarantine. I put the puffer in first, and then on Saturday I reintroduced Nemo 2,
who looks like he grew a bit while in quarantine.
Marc and I noticed that the puffer was acting a bit lethargic. Which is not
altogether unusual for him, as the puffer was always prone to "mood swings." But Sunday morning
I noticed something attached to Nemo 2's tail. Yeah, it was one of these buggers. I pulled him out and got it off, but later that night, when the lights were
off, I went to go look at the tank. And there were dozens of these tiny guys flitting around
the bottom of the tank. I noticed one on the puffer. So I pulled him out, and found three of
them on him, one of which had a big red spot in its body, from the blood. I ended up staying
up until 2:30 am last night, reacclimating the puffer to the quarantine tank.
The only way to get rid of these guys is to leave the tank fishless for 4-6
months so the bugs starve to death. Not sure what we're going to do, but I'm about ready to
pull my hair out.
We had a pretty lazy weekend. Bandit had his sheep herding on Friday night,
and Jan showed us the new lambs they had on the farm. Marc and I each got to hold one, which
was pretty cool...they had cute little hooves and really cute little faces. I'd forgotten to
bring the camera, which was a real bummer. I'll see if we can get pictures this Friday.
Saturday night we had dinner with my Dad and my brothers. On Sunday I bought
a pair of shoes, which may have been the highlight of my weekend. Sunday night we had dinner
with my uncle who was visiting, and my grandmother.
Yup, exciting stuff.
Talk about this in the forums!