The Back, Back Stories
A little over two weeks ago Davis quit his job selling cars (insert Hallelujah Chorus here). To make a long story short, they were trying to steal his deals and his money, and he was working so much that his search for another job wasn't going anywhere fast. So, he's been on the job search since then.
I'm on vacation this week (gotta love winter break!) I set up my "wellness" exam with a doctor here in Oakwood. This wellness exam is required by my insurance so that I pay a lower premium. I figured that it would save me a couple dollars a year, and it can't hurt to know if you're "well" or not.
In the fall, we bought a fish tank and two oscar cichlids. Well, Oscar has grown too big for our little 20 gallon tank, and Einstein has stayed small to survive, so we figured it was time for a bigger tank - sooner rather than later.
Yesterday
While looking at the form that I had to bring to my doctor's visit, I realized that they were going to have to take some blood. Great. I asked Davis to come with me even though I had previously declined his help. The nurse, Crystal, and my doctor, Doctor Gibbs, were both incredibly nice and sweet. They made me feel very comfortable (yes, me - comfortable in a doctor's office!). The lady who drew my blood told me about her 2, almost 3, year old son the whole time - what a great way to keep my mind off the fact that she was sticking me and taking tubes of blood! I successfully did not pass out, but was light-headed enough that I had to eat some peanut butter crackers from the nurse and have Davis walk out with me. (Yes, I'm a wimp!)
Davis told me that he had been searching Craigslist for a larger tank while he was waiting for me. He found a guy with a 55 gallon tank, stand, filter system, heater, and a light for $100. The tank also came with 9 fishy friends. After convincing the guy to hold the tank for an extra $15, we grabbed our 5 gallon bucket from the house (for transporting the new fish) and headed to Snellville, GA. When we got there, we plopped the fish in the bucket, helped the seller drain the water, and loaded everything into Davis's truck. Once we got home, we moved the bucket'o'fish into the living room and took the tank, stand, and decorations (oh yeah, we got 2 castles, a dragon, and some pillars) to the local Spray'n'Wash car wash. I don't think the guy we got the tank from had cleaned it in about a year, so we needed the big guns. It took about 30 minutes to clean the tank and wipe down the stand at the car wash.
We brought everything home again, lugged it up 3 flights of stairs (why, oh why, did I want to live on the third floor again?!?). We cleaned the rest of the aquarium equipment in the sink, added some new rocks, and set the tank up by the window. Oh, and we had to rearrange the furniture in our apartment to make the tank fit. Because we needed the 5 gallon bucket and the tub to fill the tank, we needed a container big enough for all 9 fish (including a foot long sucker fish). Why not use the sink? (See picture.) Davis filled the tank while I scrubbed more algae and gunk off the light and monitored the fish in the sink.
Finally, the tank was full, running, and ready for fish. Davis carried them a few at a time from the sink in a net. Once in the tank, they freaked out for a moment, but then began to enjoy the clear water, clean filter, and open spaces to swim. We decided not to put in Oscar and Einstein until this new tank runs for a few days; also, we're about to head to the beach with Davis's parents for several days, so we don't want them in there unsupervised.
For size comparison, our new tank is almost
3 times larger than our previous tank.
Close-up of the new tank.
It sits where our love seat used to be.
Thanks to Davis's friend, Alex, we were able to identify some of the fish in the tank:
1 (very large) sucker fish
1 female convict (a cichlid, like Oscar and Einstein) (it's as large, if not larger, than Oscar now)
1 peacock eel (very tiny, likes to burrow in the rocks)
1 loach
2 knife fish
1 Jack Dempsey - we think (another cichlid, and one of my favorite due to his bright blue spots)
2 UFFs (Unidentified fish friends)
The sucker fish, named Herbert (Bert)
Bert greeted me this morning by hanging on the front glass of the tank.
The female convict
One of our UFFs
We may be trying to get rid of some of the smaller fish (eel, loach, knife fish, UFFs). We're not sure if Oscar and Einstein will try to eat them or not. So, if you know anyone who may want them, let me know.
In the meantime, I will be putting order back into our chaotic apartment...
Oh, and Happy Valentines Day!
