Bizarre Clownfish Love Triangle
So my previous Clownfish story was quite popular... and frankly, the story gets weirder and weirder.
When we last left the clownfish, I'd introduced a new clownfish to keep the grieving clownfish company. The two were taking a liking to each other, but then all of a sudden, their relationship went sour. The new guy wasn't welcome near the old clownfish - so he'd taken to swimming by himself in the opposite end of the tank. I didn't see any sign of aggression from the old guy, but the new guy wouldn't go near him. Not a huge deal, except that the new guy stopped eating and wouldn't leave his lower corner of the tank.
Concerned that he might be sick or stressed, I scooped the new guy out and put him in a quarantine tank. I set up an extra 3 gallon tank and put the new clownfish in there. He spent the first day there refusing to eat and staying in a lower corner. I was beginning to suspect some sort of sickness that he might've picked up at the fish store, but the next day, he was back to his old self - swimming about and eating. I kept him in the quarantine tank for a few days to make sure he was fine - and of course he was. Heck, I started to see him as some snobby clownfish who'd weaseled his way into his own bachelor pad condo. So once I was sure he was okay, he went back into the big tank.
And so far, so good. Since re-introducing the new clownfish into the big tank, the old one has been swimming with the new guy. The final sign that things are better? The old one is letting the new guy sleep with him in his favorite upper corner of the tank.
The two guys are well on the road to happiness, right? WRONG.
Today, I swung by Petco to buy a new filter, since I'm struggling with keeping the algae from taking over the tank. So tonight, I installed the new filter and attached it to the back of the tank. This evening after I turned out all the lights, I looked around behind the tank to make sure the new filter was working right. I'd attached the filter next to the tank's overflow. Without boring you with details, the overflow is a tiny box that lets the water flow down into a water reservoir under the tank - it's about 2" x 2" wide and is maybe 1" deep with water.
Suddenly I saw it - a clownfish STUCK in my tank's overflow. I couldn't believe my eyes - somehow it must've leaped out of the tank and landed in the overflow. At first I thought it was dead, but its fins were moving. Wow, was I lucky that I'd seen him, since I never have reason to look behind the tank. I immediately reached down to turned off the pump and stop the flow of water. As I reached down, I couldn't help noticing... that my two clownfish were STILL IN MY TANK.
THE FIRST CLOWNFISH WASN'T DEAD. He'd survived over THREE WEEKS in a 2" x 2" space behind the fish tank. I managed to pour him out into a cup, where I immediately fed him and had my eyes checked. It was him! He was in poor shape - he wasn't swimming properly, probably because he'd spent three weeks swimming on his side in a tiny enclosure. It was a miracle he'd survived that long. I can only guess that he must have survived on some of the left over food that floated around. After debating whether or not to quarantine him, I put him back in the main tank. Within seconds, the three clownfish were swimming together.
Okay, let me put away my amateur ichthyologist hat away - and put on my writer hat.
CAN YOU IMAGINE what the conversation must've been like when the clownfish's original partner came BACK?!?! I imagine the phrases, "I thought you were dead!" and "Who's this, you two-timing @#$#*!?!?" would've come up. DRAMA! And now we've got a clownfish love triangle going on. Who'll be left out? Who'll get the clownfish?
Or if you're a sci-fi/horror guy, the question is... will the undead clownfish find true love?
I hope the three find happiness together. But somehow I think this will all end in tears.
When we last left the clownfish, I'd introduced a new clownfish to keep the grieving clownfish company. The two were taking a liking to each other, but then all of a sudden, their relationship went sour. The new guy wasn't welcome near the old clownfish - so he'd taken to swimming by himself in the opposite end of the tank. I didn't see any sign of aggression from the old guy, but the new guy wouldn't go near him. Not a huge deal, except that the new guy stopped eating and wouldn't leave his lower corner of the tank.
Concerned that he might be sick or stressed, I scooped the new guy out and put him in a quarantine tank. I set up an extra 3 gallon tank and put the new clownfish in there. He spent the first day there refusing to eat and staying in a lower corner. I was beginning to suspect some sort of sickness that he might've picked up at the fish store, but the next day, he was back to his old self - swimming about and eating. I kept him in the quarantine tank for a few days to make sure he was fine - and of course he was. Heck, I started to see him as some snobby clownfish who'd weaseled his way into his own bachelor pad condo. So once I was sure he was okay, he went back into the big tank.
And so far, so good. Since re-introducing the new clownfish into the big tank, the old one has been swimming with the new guy. The final sign that things are better? The old one is letting the new guy sleep with him in his favorite upper corner of the tank.
The two guys are well on the road to happiness, right? WRONG.
Today, I swung by Petco to buy a new filter, since I'm struggling with keeping the algae from taking over the tank. So tonight, I installed the new filter and attached it to the back of the tank. This evening after I turned out all the lights, I looked around behind the tank to make sure the new filter was working right. I'd attached the filter next to the tank's overflow. Without boring you with details, the overflow is a tiny box that lets the water flow down into a water reservoir under the tank - it's about 2" x 2" wide and is maybe 1" deep with water.
Suddenly I saw it - a clownfish STUCK in my tank's overflow. I couldn't believe my eyes - somehow it must've leaped out of the tank and landed in the overflow. At first I thought it was dead, but its fins were moving. Wow, was I lucky that I'd seen him, since I never have reason to look behind the tank. I immediately reached down to turned off the pump and stop the flow of water. As I reached down, I couldn't help noticing... that my two clownfish were STILL IN MY TANK.
THE FIRST CLOWNFISH WASN'T DEAD. He'd survived over THREE WEEKS in a 2" x 2" space behind the fish tank. I managed to pour him out into a cup, where I immediately fed him and had my eyes checked. It was him! He was in poor shape - he wasn't swimming properly, probably because he'd spent three weeks swimming on his side in a tiny enclosure. It was a miracle he'd survived that long. I can only guess that he must have survived on some of the left over food that floated around. After debating whether or not to quarantine him, I put him back in the main tank. Within seconds, the three clownfish were swimming together.
Okay, let me put away my amateur ichthyologist hat away - and put on my writer hat.
CAN YOU IMAGINE what the conversation must've been like when the clownfish's original partner came BACK?!?! I imagine the phrases, "I thought you were dead!" and "Who's this, you two-timing @#$#*!?!?" would've come up. DRAMA! And now we've got a clownfish love triangle going on. Who'll be left out? Who'll get the clownfish?
Or if you're a sci-fi/horror guy, the question is... will the undead clownfish find true love?
I hope the three find happiness together. But somehow I think this will all end in tears.
posted by Eugene at 12:55 AM
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