So, Fishblr friends, I have some happy news and some sad news. The happy news, first, you might have

So, Fishblr friends, I have some happy news and some sad news. The happy news, first, you might have guessed - I welcomed a new friend into the tank! The little white telescope butterflytail is Snow Pea. I picked her up the same day I picked up my new tank stand; she was so active and friendly, and I couldn’t leave without her :) She’s been a great addition to the tank and everyone loves her! 

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Now, for the sad news. I held off posting here for the past few days since I knew how this was going to end. This morning I said goodbye to my goofy little pom-pom Chai. She developed dropsy out of nowhere about a week and a half ago. Knowing that dropsy is not something fish generally rebound from, I was worried. I treated the tank immediately with my usual meds (these will not affect the bacteria in the filter btw) and kept a close eye on her. She didn’t seem to be getting worse and had only slightly pineconed up until yesterday. I did not remove her from the main tank, as dropsy is not usually contagious unless it’s the result of a bacterial outbreak and I did not suspect that here. Only Chai was being affected, and she was still very active, eating normally, etc. I didn’t think it would be right to isolate her when I knew she had basically no chance of recovery in the event this was renal failure (I highly suspected it was). She would have deteriorated quickly in isolation, and spent her last days alone. I didn’t want that for her. The other fish were not picking on her, and she was not struggling in the main tank. I wanted her to spend her remaining time with her friends in the place she has always known…since I didn’t exactly know how many days she would ultimately have left. My criteria for determining whether it was “time,” were: whether she was responsive, eating, active, moving without too much struggle, and no external sores or lacerations. Last night, she was hungry but couldn’t chew. She had trouble maintaining equilibrium. The other fish were very obviously giving her space and leaving her alone. I knew this morning was going to be her time…and I am glad I didn’t wait any longer. After she was gone it was apparent how much fluid was filling her abdomen. She would have been in a lot of pain soon. I think I made the right choice. 

I will miss her. A lot. She was the last of my fish from Boston, and she made it through so many crazy times. She almost died in transit - twice! She came to me from Dandy Orandas…so I have no idea how old she really was. She spent 4 and a half years with me, and was from China before that. When I got her, she was only a little smaller than she was today. I estimate she was at least 6 years old, but she may have been as old as 8. I loved her so much and today has been sad missing her in the tank. But I also know she’s not in pain anymore, and somewhere out there she’s swimming around with Mr. B and having all the best fishy snacks she can dream up! 

Thanks for reading <3 I have a few more photos of her from a recent shoot, before she got sick, that I’ll post in the coming weeks.