As the tank cycles

February 2, 2011.

Another episode in our aquarium saga. 

We got fish!  Three Zebra Danios.  One named Zebra, one named Spot, and another named Sunny.  We also got some live plants--which are a little bit of an experiment.  We'll see how they do.

 (Can you see them in there?  I know it's a lousy picture, but believe it or not, it was the best one I took!)

The kids were enthralled.  Sat and watched the fish for hours. 

Then, two days ago, I did a routine water change.

Life would never be the same again.

Zebra started doing flips, then rested on his/her side, panting.  Zebra did recover, but had a few relapses.  The kids watched Zebra like two little hawks.

Sadly, this morning, we found (after a long while of searching) Zebra dead.  Rest in peace, Zebra.

I suspect it had to do with some kind of shock from the water change, even though I did everything I could to prevent that.  The other two look fine. 

We would like to replace Zebra soon, since Danios do better in groups of three or more.  They're a schooling fish.  I would like to give the other two a little time, just in case something happens to them, too.

The Aquarium (So Far)

Slowly, slowly, our new aquarium is taking shape.  First we needed to wait until everyone left to clear out space for the whole shebang.  We set up the table with the aquarium (empty) and hood to see how it would look--and it looked great!

We liked the way it looked so much that we used it as a light in the evenings when we were downstairs.  Very cozy, even without anything in it!  After it was set up that way, we found a timer to plug the light into, so it turns on and off by itself.  Also, once we have fish, they will be getting the correct amount of light each day.

Once we did that, we needed gravel, plants, and a bucket.  We headed to the pet store and debated what color of gravel to get, and what kinds of plants we should have.  While we're definitely not done with the decorating, here's what we've got so far.

These pictures were taken not long after we filled the tank--so there are still bubbles on the glass in the pictures.  Those are gone now.  It's really difficult to get a good picture of the aquarium.

Once our tank had been going for about a week, our heater just quit.  So we have to see if we can get that exchanged.  It's a good thing we're taking it slowly getting this going--otherwise our fish might have been really stressed out and gotten sick from the heater dying in the middle of the night.  It was cold by morning.

We've got some ideas for fish now.  It's taken us a while to research what kinds of fish do well together, would fit in our tank, and how many of each kind we need (some are schooling fish and need to be together in groups, others fight if there's more than one in the tank).  There are still a few things we need to do and to get before we add the fish, and I think that's ok.  I've heard rumors of warmer temperatures by the end of the month, and that might be a better time to bring home the new family members!

Stay tuned for more...