New Life

Andrew and I have brought new life into our home.

We have decided to expand our pet family beyond Theodore and Brutus the Beta.

Once the tank was filled with black rock, plants, a snail, an Easter Island head, and pagoda, we went fish shopping. Here we are acclimating our new fish to their tank. Yes, Brutus is also preparing to enter his new home.

20 minutes later, it's time to introduce them to their new home.

So far, so good. They immediately began to explore their new environment.

Theodore immediately spotted his new friends. We're hoping he doesn't like them too much. But, hey, it's free TV for the gato!

Meet the Family:

Pictured in the corner is Rocket. We'll talk about him later. Above him is Brutus the Beta. He's almost a year old. He's my favorite. Then, there are the two guppies. They're waiting on names. Around them are the Groupies. There are too many of them (6 to be exact) to name and try to keep separate. Since they are always together, they are called "The Groupies."

At the top of the tank, you will see Raymond. We call him Ray. If you don't understand this reference- please watch Princess and the Frog. He's bright yellow. He's pretty awesome.

In the middle of The Groupies, you will see Evangeline. She's Raymond's girlfriend. Again, if you don't understand this... you know what to watch.

This blog wouldn't be complete without Andrew's Easter Island head. He's always wanted one. I can check this wish off of my list. The teal and orange guppy is checking out his own reflection. The other guppy is purple and orange.

Now, meet the fish that has shown us that hating a household fish is truly possible. In the lower corner, you will see our black and silver striped catfish. His name is Rocket. He is terrible. Who would have ever thought that a fish could have such poor behavior?! Not me!! He made tank life miserable for all of his other friends. In fact, I am surprised to see one of the Groupies hanging out on Rocket's side of the tank. You see, Rocket darts around like a madman. I was sure he'd give himself a heart attack. No such luck.

Finally...

We HAD to put him in solitary confinement. I am surprised I was able to capture this picture. It's the ONE time he was still. He continues to dart around like crazy even though he has no room to move. His behavior is horrendous. We're hoping to be able to trade him in for another fish that is a bit more calm and better behaved with other fish friends.

After we removed Rocket from the mix, tank life calmed down tremendously. In fact, the fish almost immediately spread out across the tank. They are all much happier now that they can swim around the whole tank without playing bumper fish.

Brutus is the happiest of them all. He despised rowdy Rocket... and it was evident on his little fish face. He now swims around like he did in his old home. More importantly, he still visits me when I am around the tank. I love that.

I am enjoying our new tank. Having a little more life in this house is a good thing! Now we're just hoping we can replace Rocket. He's lost his privileges in the tank due to continuous poor behavior and bad decisions.

Until then, I'm enjoying my calming tank.

*** UPDATE ***

Rocket the awful catfish is back at his original home. The pet store got a new shipment of fish in today, so he now has 3 other catfish to keep him company. This is a good thing for both parties involved.

New additions: Sunny the Dwarf Gourami, Playto the Plecostomus, and Fat Belly the yellow Balloon Molly. They are acclimating now and should be a beautiful, peaceful addition to our fish friends.