No Really, We're Kind To Animals....

When I got back from my trip to Chi-town, I was saddened and surprised to see my fish, originally Lara's fish, a African Cichlid, laboriously swimming upside down in his tank. We bought the little guy about 8 years ago, with a brood of others, not knowing how territorial and vicious the little bastards would be. Within a few months, there were only two cichlids left. Then, there was one. It would kill anything we put in with it, so it was decided that I would put it in solitary confinement up in my office at work.

He has been happily living up there for over two years. He is probably close to 7 inches long, which makes him about the biggest cichlid I've seen home raised, and he is also among the oldest tropical fish we've ever had.

So, even though it's hard to get attached to a fish, he has been around for a long time, and it is clear that he has some kind of internal parasitic infection going on. As soon as I got back in my office, I went to the local fish store (Will and Vic's Fishnet, a Carbondale institution), and described the situation to one of the employees of the shop. "He's swimming upside down, his belly is distended, and he's got a raw spot on his chest. Also, pinkish, possibly bloody areas in the creases around his fins. Is there anything I can do for him?" To which the employee replied, "Yeah, you can kiss his ass goodbye."

It was said with sympathy. He said there really was little I can do, and as serious as the symptoms sounded, it was unlikely that he would respond to any treatments for the swim bladder, or any of the parasitic medicines they had. So, I respect the employee for not trying to sell me stuff that wasn't going to work anyway. But still, I expect that on Monday, another Pugh household pet will have met its maker.