The Fish Tank Chronicles

You might recall that we got some fish last week.  I had two notions about fish:  first, that they were low maintenance.  You just feed them and they swim around.  Second, that they die somewhat frequently, but it's not like you get that attached to them, so it's not a big deal.

SO WRONG.

May I now present to you the drama that is:
Day 2:  I came home from my morning walk to find Scott kneeling by the tank.  He looked up at me and sadly informed me that he had some bad news:  we lost one of the guppies.  NOOOOO!  I had known this guppy for two days and hadn't even named it, yet found myself practically inconsolable at its death.

Day 4:  Our black molly, Killer Bob, started attacking our dalmatian molly, Coop.  Aggressively chasing him around the tank and nipping at his tail.  It was straight up mean!  It also made me feel really bad that I had named him Killer Bob...perhaps that was a self-fulfilling prophecy.  Poor Coop kept getting chased into the back corner of the aquarium and any time he tried to leave or eat, Bob would attack him!  We did some research and found out that mollies can get a little bit alpha sometimes, so it's better to have 3 or more so that all the domination wouldn't be concentrated on one fish.  We resolved to go get a few more fish, but didn't have time to go to the pet store right away.

Day 5:  Bob's attacking continued.  I was now feeling really protective about Coop and I was ready to just get rid of  Coop altogether.  But then, I discovered that when I turned off the aquarium light, Bob immediately stopped his attacking!  But, we also need the light so our plant doesn't die.  What to do?  FISH ARE SO HARD TO HANDLE.

Day 7:  In the morning when I checked the tank, I could see only 4 fish.  The night before there had been 6 fish.  Uh....what is happening.  I was convinced that Bob had become a murderer/cannibal and that he had to be punished.  A few hours later, one of the fish miraculously reappeared.  I have no clue where he had been hiding before.  But, Scott did some investigating and, in his leaving literally no stone unturned, discovered the tragedy:  our 2nd guppy casualty.  We mourned again.

Day 8:  Things got even worse, as we noticed tiny white spots on our fish.  After some googling we discovered our tank has a gross fish disease!  NOT OKAY.  It's these tiny protozoan creatures called ich (and yes, it is icky) and they are infesting our fish and slowly killing them!  Scott ran off on an emergency Petco trip to get some meds, and we started our fish tank treatments immediately.  Now, we have to change 1/3 of the water every day and give them medicine for the next 10 days.

I will do anything to not let the rest of these fish die!  I am their mother now.  We've been through too much.  They will not be abandoned!