Solo

Way back in June, I told you about my momentary bout of insanity which caused me to set up my boy's aquarium and the almost immediate death of the newly purchased fish. I neglected to tell you that there was a little more to the story...

After I wrote that last post, I went back to the boy's room to clean out the contaminated tank. There was one remaining Black Skirt Tetra that had been adrift in the tank, unable to swim. Certain death was near. It was pitiful.

The boy, who was not home at the time, had asked me to save the little fellow in a jar so that he could do the flushing when he returned. I scooped the fish from the tank, placed it in a jar of water, and began the delightful task of cleaning the tank.

I drained the water, removed and thoroughly cleaned all of the plants, discarded the rocks, gave the tank a good scrubbing and replaced the filter. New gravel was added and the plants were rearranged. I then placed the tank in the boy's room before filling it with fresh distilled water and the necessary additives.

As I stood there refilling the tank, I noticed that the once lifeless fish was no longer dead. By some miracle, a little time in the jar had managed to breathe new life into the creature.

Puzzled, I gave the fish a little food and was stunned when it gulped down the flakes and began to dart around the jar. I decided to put the little guy back in the freshly cleaned tank and see what would happen.

When the boy came home, he was delighted to find out that his tank still had a single resident. I gently tried to pop his overly optimistic bubble so that he wouldn't be upset when the fish finally kicked the bucket.

To our surprise, the fish not only survived, it is actually thriving. The boy has given him the name "Solo," a partial nod to his love of all thing Star Wars. The name also highlights the fact that the fish was the loan survivor of the great fish massacre of 2009.

The boy is currently circulating a petition asking for a few tank mates for Solo. While I am not opposed to the idea, I am slightly nervous about messing with the delicate balance of the tank. Solo is doing so well, even growing. Do we really want to jeopardize his health by adding more residents?

For now, the vote is tied. The boy has managed to capture Brick's vote, but the hubby is still undecided. I'm sure it won't be long before I am outnumbered... I bet you can't wait to see the pictures.