Fishy tales

Having proven that I could rear gold fish and different species of guppies without using a pump, I decided that I should try using one for a change.

It was nice to see a clear tankful of fishes for a change. Paul advised me on how to clean some river sand for the base which should improve its ecology. Bit by bit, various items were added, including some shells which Cheng had collected from Langkawi.

All went well for a couple of weeks. Last night, I had a look at the aquarium and found it strange. What happened to the nice red ones and those Mickey-Mouse-tailed ones which Clem got from Tambun? Altogether I must have some 20 guppies, yet I could only see one left! My immediate thought was the kingfisher but how? I had a wooden cover, though with big holes, it would have taken a very bold kingfisher to fish one at a time without being able to get into the water!

Then I thought about the pump. Before Paul left, I told him how I discover a couple of guppies, dead, stuck to the mesh where water is being sucked in for filtration. To my horrow, it was fully covered with the little fishes, some disintegrated, which explained why the water seemed to have stopped gushing out from the filter.

It took me a while to find other dead fishes among the sand and marbles and crevices. Though they are only fishes, I felt sad that I did not take precaution since I noticed the first two. I have yet to figure out how to overcome this problem other than leaving out guppies in this tank with a pump.

I also felt Clem would have been disappointed too if she knew about this.