My ankle hurts...

[mousme]

Yes, for no apparent reason my body is rebelling in the form of my right ankle and foot swelling up very nicely over the course of the day.

I haven't done anything strange to it lately, haven't even lost my balance in the street in over ten days.

Now my foot and ankle hurt and I have no idea why.

This makes me cranky.

Maybe ice will help.

Oh, forthright, I ought to be online at the appropriate time tomorrow, but if not it just means I'm running a little late.


In other news, one of my fish died yesterday. I'm very upset as I don't know what I did wrong. I think either the water's too hot (overheating in the apartment which has poor ventilation) or else there's something wrong chemically with my water.

*goes off to check on other fish*

Oh lovely, it died too.

I don't know what I did wrong. The water was dechlorinated, I fed them only the prescribed amount of food, and the water didn't seem *that* hot...

*sigh*

I suck. Won't be getting any new fish anytime soon, that's for sure. I can't even keep goldfish, fer crying out loud, and they're nigh unkillable.

Fuck.

Comments

[delicatesilence.livejournal.com]

Aww honey... :(


A think about goldfish: I had a tank a few years back, and I literally woke up every morning to dead fish. I'd walk to the pet store and buy more, and then they'd be dead the next morning. I did this, as well as adjusting water temps, chlorine levels, etc., for about three weeks (and 150 dollars in fish later) before deciding it wasn't in the divine plan.

Goldfish die very very very easily....that's they they're so inexpensive. How's the snail, though?

[joane.livejournal.com]

Goldfish unkillable? hell no - they practically off themselves if there's no environmental reason fo them to kick the bucket... as Rich is so fond of reminding me when I get annoyed at dying fish, "Fish go. Then they stop. Usually, for no reaon whatsoever. That's just fish."

Remember, we have no way of knowing how old a fish is when we buy it, nor what its health is like. I figure if you get a couple of years out of one, you're doing really well.

[djs-specs.livejournal.com]

*snuggles*

I wish I could think of something supportive to say, but I'm coming up a blank right now aside from the usual advice thing. And I'm sure you're sick to death of my advice :P

*offers an ice cream sundae* It'll cure what ails ya :)

[zipotle.livejournal.com]

My goldfish liked to kill themselves by jumping out of the tank. Maybe yours just decided to quit breathing.

Bettas can live in warmer conditions than goldfish. They're usually prettier, too, but you can only have one per tank. Eh.

Anyway, maybe try one of those? They keep them in dixie cups at the pet store for god's sake. It'd be like you were rescuing it.

I wanted to warn you

[paganmommy.livejournal.com]

I wanted to warn you off from golfish hon, but didn't realize you wanted them until you had them already. The only ones I managed to keep alive were the ones I was praying would just die already because I was tired of cleaning the damn tank already, since they are so filthy even my little tank clean fishies would die quickly in there due to their filth. It is NOT your fault, okay? Simply, it isn't. If you are smitten with the look, go with a Betta. You can only have one, but my Betta actually comes to me when I go to the tank to feed it. It is brilliant. Keep it out of direct sunlight, that isn't so good for any fish. There are a wide range of pretties that you can get at the store though, ask them about a more sturdy and less filthy fish to have in your tank. Goldfish are HIGHLY overrated, and most educated fish people will tell you that. *hugs to you* (take a look at which fish they use in the "feeder fish" tank one day)

[angelovernh.livejournal.com]

I have NO clue about goldfish.. or fish at all, sorry.. but I'm sorry to hear you lost them. :(

I did that same kind of weird foot thing to myself the other day. That is, I have NO idea what I did and I woke up with it so sore I couldn't put weight on it. WTF?! A few times of icing it helped.. I hope it gets better soon.

Pontification on Fishies and Such (this is kinda long, sorry)

[shenlo.livejournal.com]

Guess you've heard all the goldfish advice you need at this point, but to belabor the point, if I may...

Goldfish (and all fish, for that matter) are potlock. Sometimes you can spend $150.00 just trying to get one to survive the night, and other times you can't kill the scaley little bastards. For example: at work, we've got a small tank (about 1 or 2 gallons, I think. About the size of 2 milk cartons) and got 3 fish for it. The first one died only after a MONTH. The second died 4 or 5 months later! The last one is STILL alive after about 6 months. There's no filter, no light... just a small glass tank of water, a pinch of food every weekday morning (he fasts and stays in the office all alone all weekend) and maybe once a month or so Ian or Karine will change the water. On the other hand, with the SAME tank and the SAME conditions at CINAR, I tried to keep three goldfish. Two of the first three died after a single night. The second lasted maybe a week or so. Two of the third three died off, but that first little guy we couldn't KILL off. He lived and lived and lived. Alone. We'd put new fish in. They'd die. He lived on. Eventually, I had to take him home and give him to my mother to keep in the pond in the backyard. He lived with my mom for another 5 or 6 months. It is impossible ...IM-POSS-I-BULL to predict how long a fish will last.

The following things kill fish off most quickly:
1- Stress. Fish are easily frightened. Sudden sloshing around of the water, sudden changes in water temperature, strange movement outside of the tank that the fish sees as threatening (like, maybe a cat staring in and pawing at the glass?) Rapid changes in the light (fish have no eyelids and take longer to adjust then we do). All these things add to fish stress. Fish like also to have places to hide when they're scared. That's why decorations in the tank are often important.

2- Age. (As Hilary stated) There's no way to tell how old a fish is. They don't go grey, they don't wrinkle or even slow down. They just....die. The end. You don't know how long they've been swimming around in the pet store and you don't know how long they were alive before they GOT to the pet store. Your guys could already have been 2 years old! They only grow to suit their environment.

3- Diseases Contracted from other fish. Sometimes you can tell. Often you can't. Look for bloating, flattened or ragged fins. Missing or damaged scales. Long strings of fish-pooh (can indicate some serious intestinal problems like constipation or parasites).

4- Water chemicals. There's a magical stuff called Start Right (or one of a dozen other brands of water conditioner) that neutralizes chlorine and other tap-water chemicals. While you'd think that this would be VERY important, I've often completely forgotten to use it and I've never had a death resulting from chlorine poisoning. Not that I could tell, anyway.

And a miriad of other things.
(continued...)

Pontification on Fishies and Such (part II)

[shenlo.livejournal.com]

My basic rule of thumb in regards to fish ownership is thus:

Don't get too attached to your fish until they've been around a while. And for GOODNESS' sake don't name them. My fish have to live a long time to earn a name. Dug was my most beloved Albino Irridescen Shark who was around for 3 years or more before he got a name. He also reached 9 inches, and once your fish has become a 'big' fish (more then four inches long or so) they become a lot hardier and can survive a lot more. Dug was a victim of fishie randomness. He just was finished one day. And died. I accidently killed off all the others after I threw some
beach shells into the tank. Changed the PH balance (apparently) and wiped them out with a horrible fin-rotting disease.

Just recently killed off my Rainbow Shark (4 year old 'Sauron')by enclosing the tank and letting the temperature soar off the scale. Cooked him. *sigh*. Interestingly, Hilary's Pleco (Chaw) was big and strong enough to whether that with no problem. What's REALLY wierd, is that my teeny weeny little Irridescent Shark (too young to have a name) also survived while my huge Rainbow Shark and two Algae's didn't. Can you say "Throw the Dice of Fishie Randomness"?

As for Betas, Yeah, they'll survive in standing water. They really hate the glasses, BTW. Just cause they CAN survive in a glass doesn't mean they enjoy it. That kind of confinement can drive a fish insane. I don't know much about Betas, never really liked 'em myself, but Hilary's had three and she's got a little book about 'em. I don't think your chances with a Beta are any better then with a goldfish. They're as random as any other fish. They are, however, prettier. If you want any help with fishie selection or fish treatment, I'd be happy to lend you some of our literature and share my experiences!

See you Monday, and don't worry about the fish. You can't kill 'em, they just die.

Rich