Part Two
      Then The Time For Shopping And Research Came 
       

Around the late part of April, or early part of May, I started the next phase to getting my aquarium.  When I took a calculator with me , and we went to our Petco . While I browsed, and began to add up the prices. I had a nice lady come and assist me.  She was really excited that I was going to buy an aquarium , and she tried to find their octagon model, but I was interested in a five gallon aquarium that had a kit , the filter came with it, a lighted hood , so I went around and added other items up . 
She wanted to know if I was done with my homework, and I hated to tell her "No", but I had to. 
Because, I also looked around at Walmart to see what their prices were like. When I was not  browsing the stores, I spent time on the Internet looking up what types of fish I could have, what kind of water was needed, I also wanted to know how many fish I could have.  I kept up my research for several weeks , and I really was interested in the GloFish , and I read on some websites about them and how well they did in five gallon aquariums. 
I also found a website that told me how to take care of them .
 

Here are some of the websites that I found for the GloFish:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GloFish
http://www.glofish.com/faq.asp#CaringforGloFish http://www.glofish.com/care.asp#Feeding

The adventure will continue !

  Part Three
Then I Made The Room

During my decision process, I also thought about finding the perfect space for my aquarium. I looked around my room, and studied where the sunlight hit my room directly. Until, I decided that the aquarium would sit on my little table by my bed.  However, I changed my mind after reading about how much weight the aquarium could weigh.  So, I wanted a surface that was a little more sturdier and stable than my little table. I thought about other possible places, until one night when I sat on a filing cabinet in another room. Then, I tried the little table, and it also supported me , but I just did not want to take the chance of  everything crashing down later on down the road, so the filing cabinet idea was the winner.

Stay Tuned! 

   Part Four
My Aquarium Shopping Day Was In Early May

Stay Tuned!

 ‍        Part Five
The Final Steps Before My Set Up
After doing some more browsing for a filing cabinet, I finally found one that seemed perfect for what I wanted it for. I liked the cabinet because it matched my room, and it was very heavy. So, I knew that it would hold up and support the forty pounds my aquarium would weigh after gravel and water were added.  However, I could not set up my cabinet until after we had our carpets cleaned, but then one evening I moved things off of my little table, did some rearranging , and organizing before it was completely empty and ready to be moved out.
Once we had the little table out of the way, we carried in the filing cabinet and placed it where my aquarium was going to be. I put some things in the drawers, and I was even more excited as I removed my aquarium from the box complete with everything it came with inside . 

 I also found a nice looking blue towel to set underneath it , things were finally coming together and everything looked really nice. But, I did not want to take any pictures until after the gravel was in it, with the water, and all of the decorations.  We also went shopping for a powerstrip so that I had plenty of outlets to plug each piece of the aquarium's equipment  in safely.  I also picked out two reasonable and big white paint bucketsI would be using these to rinse the gravel in , and for future water changes .  I was still not ready for set up yet though, because I had to find out what kind of water was good, and if mine was  ready for use.  I wanted to make sure the quality of my water was safe, I had a lot of questions about water. The water was very important to me, because of all of the issues my dad and I had with our larger aquariums, the water always had to be just right. 

 I did look some websites up about aquarium water , and most of them suggested getting the water tested.  I also had an option that popped up in e-mails from Petco, where I could chat with someone, but I felt shy everytime, and that I was not prepared for the expert's questions. I thought that was a very nice option though.  So, I thought of some questions and I wrote down facts about my water before we went to Petco, one Sunday before my big set up day.

When I arrived, I was nervous, but there was a very nice sales associate who really put me at ease. 
I told her that I had a water softener and a reverse osmosis system .  While I was talking to her, I noticed a sign that said they would test the aquarium water for FREE.  I asked her about it, and she told me theywould do that after my aquarium had been set up . I thought that was really nice, and she told me I could use my tap water, with a water conditioner .
 I told her how I had helped my dad when I  was younger, but now I was a little rusty. 

She smiled and gave me an interesting tip about the living bacteria in the water, and how to use a pinch of fish food every other day to feed it and keep
it alive. I was amazed, I really never honestly knew about the living bacteria , and feeding it until I had my fish. 
I thanked her and then I felt a lot better and very glad that I had gone to Petco.


Stay Tuned For More!    

 ‍          Part Six
 May 17th Was My Big Set Up Day!


On the afternoon of May 17th, 2012 my five gallon water world adventure began the moment I opened the box and made sure everything  I needed was in the box.  Then, I pulled out my aquarium , and I gently and carefully wiped the lid cleanwith a soft cloth. Then, I wiped the lid dry with another soft cloth, before I proceeded to carefully and slowly wipe out any dust or dirt from around the inside walls. Then, I dried the inside of the aquarium, before I followed the instructions on the bag of gravel.  Before I opened the bag I grabbed one of my big white buckets , and I got the yellow food colander , and lined it with a paper towel, then I took some scissors and I
cut open the bag, and I poured it all out into a bucket, and I rinsed the gravel.

Then, I poured it all out into the yellow food colander, and I rinsed it again,until the water coming out of the yellow food colander came out clear. Once I was satisfied with the gravel's appearance, I poured it all out back into the bucket, and I rinsed it with cold water several more times, until the water in the bucket ran out clear as well. 
Once I was completely satisified with how the gravel looked, I scooped it out and I followed my aquarium's guide with set up instructions to
find out how to place the gravel inside to cover the bottom and how muchI needed in order to fill it half way. 

Then, I removed the tags from all of the aquarium's decorations, before I rinsed all of them in cold water. Once I had the aquariums decorations ready, I arranged them in the gravel,after I added some of the water.  I tried out their helpful tip, on how to keep my decorations and gravel from not being disturbed, and I did that by using a tiny saucer.  Then, I placed the incandescent light into its place on the hood.  After the hood was ready with the light bulb in place, I removed the fiilter cartridge , and rinsed the carbon with cold water to activate the living bacteria on the filter's carbon. 
Then, I wiped each part of the filter, and placed the cartridge in it's place at the top.  After that, I checked the heater over and installed it on the back wall.Then, I fiilled the aquarium with the rest of the water , then I plugged the light in,along with the filter, and the heater, and I had my first glance at how all of my hard work effort had finally paid off.  It was beautiful, I had forgotten how lovely everything looked when it was surrounded by water.  I also placed my two airstones in the gravel, but  there was little problem I did not have any air,so they did not work.  It took me a while to figure it out too lol, I was still rusty, but very proud of my little five gallon world.  Mom even loved it, the aquarium just made my entire room look different  it was a positive change for me and my life.


Next time, I will share my crazy adventure with putting up with my airstone's antics.

Until Next Time!

Enjoy Your Life! May God Bless You And Be With You Every Step Of The Way! 

                    Part Seven               
  My Antics With Airstones
 

My antics with airstones began after I realized that something kind of important was missing.  As I mentioned before, in my last installment when I noticed that my airstones were not making  any kind of bubbles.  Well, I suddenly thought, "Duh!  I need air in order for them to work!"  So, DUH, I needed to get an airpump!  Sometimes, I wish my dad was still around to help me during  the times when I feel very rusty, or even at other times when I feel lost.  However,  I came up with the solution to my airstone problem on my own.

So, I was proud of myself for doing that.  After I came up with the solution, I had to talk to my mom about purchasing the airpump.  She agreed, but she
also told me that she hoped it would not cost too much money.  I told a friend  at church, about my plans to include an airpump, and she thought I had a good idea. After the church service on Sunday, May 20th, and after I worshiped my Lord,mom and I went to Walmart where I did some browsing , before I found a fairly reasonable priced airpump that was from a brand I already knew well and trusted.

Then, I read the information on the back of the box for additional equipment that I was going to have to buy. One of the additional items was, airline tubing, and my airpump also came with a check valve. Then, since I had thrown out the other airstones, I bought some more at WalMart.  Then, I bought a two-way gang valve.The check valve's job was to keep the air flowing in one direction, and in case of a sudden loss of power, the check valve kept the water from going backwards and back into the airpump.

When mom joined me, we looked for a thermometer , I was just going to get one that was simple.  One that was less expensive, but my mom wanted me to get a floating one that could also be mounted with a tiny, green, suction cup.  After we paid for our purchases  at WalMart , we made another stop at Petco, where I had some help with my questions about airpumps, and gang valves.  I also found out that I was right in feeling that I could not own a pleco in my aquairum, eventhough they were small, they grow fast. So, I spent sometime looking at their fish, as she told me what kind of varities I could have . 

 I accepted her advice about the pleco ,because I did always want to put the fish and their health, along with their happiness ahead of my own desires to have them be apart of my little 5 gallon water world.  I was very happy when she told me I could have a couple of corydoras.  Then, we went home and I had some lunch, before I began my antics with airstones. 
I started out by removing the airpump, and other accessories from their box and packaging, while I read the instructions, and I tried to study their picture on the back.  The picture on the back did not tell me much, so I looked up information on how to set up an airpump, on the Internet. I did some surfing Online, before I came across a video a young man had from You Tube. 

He talked about the airpump, that was just like the one I had purchased, but he did not talk about how to set one up.  So, I did some more browsing, until I finally found a How To website and a video!  That, I watched very carefully as I went back and forth to my room and I worked on setting up my own airpump.  The first step of the entire process began with me cutting the proper length of airline tubing.  Then, I took my check valve and I connected the airline tubing to it on both sides , after I discovered which direction the air flowed through the tube.  Then, I connected the other end to the airpump while I waited for the hour long soaking the airstones I bought from WalMart had to take before I could turn on the airpump. 

While I waited, I ended up laying down on my daybed , and I fell asleep with my head on my big, fluffy, gray and white dog, Dixie. She really was a comfortable pillow , and I had no trouble at all dozing off on my daybed.  Mom even was wondering what I was doing, I explained to her that I was taking a nap, while I was waiting to see if my airstones were going to work.  Until, I woke up, and saw that my clock was letting me know that the hour was indeed up.  So, I finally plugged in my airpump into my power strip, and I watched to see if my antics with airstones was finally coming to an end.  Or if I had to go back to the drawing board so to speak.  After a few minutes had passed, I noticed that one of the airstones had come to life, and it was bubbling beautifully. 

But, the other one on the other side, was not working at all!  So, I gently played with the controls, turning them to the left, and then to the right.  Well, that just made matters worse, because after I did that, both of the airstones had stopped working!   I thought to myself, "Oh my gosh!"   "Oh no they didn't!"   "But. Oh my !  Oh yes they did!"  By that point, I was ready to pull out my hair.

However, I just took a deep breath and tweaked the controls until , I felt the heavens finally open up.  Because, I finally had both of the airstones working, and I really wanted to shout, "Halleujah!"  I was just so happy and filled with glee, along with some joy lol.  I dared not touch them, and I just observed them to see how the bubbles were coming out, and going up to the surface of the water.  Praise the Lord!  After all of my antics with airstones finally ended , I rested well that night lol.

Stay tuned for Part 8, where I get ready for my first fish!
God Bless You All!

Enjoy Your Day!

                   Part Eight
Before I Brought My First Fish Home


Before I brought home my first fish , while shopping in the fish section at Walmart, I found a background.I felt that my 5 gallon needed a background.  Mom looked at them with me, and we decided on one that was really pretty.  I also selected a fish net.  The background had plants and flowers that were red and they were set against a medium shade of blue.  However, I discovered one little problem when I started putting the background up, and that problem was that it was not quite the right size.
So, to fix that problem, I cut it down to the size that I needed, at least I did my best to accomplish that.

Then, my mom gave me some much needed assistance in hanging it up again , after my first attempt looked a little crooked.  She made it look really nice, and in our opinion at least it was straight lol.  After we had the background in place, during the last week of May we made a trip to Petco,after we looked at the fish at Walmart.  At Petco I looked for another decoration that I called, the "ruins." The "ruins" had tunnels and entrances along with neat exits for the fish to escape easily out of. I also bought some food for my fellow corydora catfish, shrimp pellets , and a book about aquariums.It was called, My Aquarium . 

 I was really excited and before the big day arrived, which the big day was June 1st, I spent time reading my new book to get ready for my new friend that I would soon be bringing home.
Next time I will share about my first fish , Pepper. 

Until Then!
Take Care!
God Bless!

 ‍                 Part Nine
          My First Fish Pepper
 

On Friday the first day of June of the year of 2012, I went grocery shopping with mom.  Only this trip to the store was different, because once we were finished shopping, we headed over to the
pet's department to get my first fish.  After we went into the fish area, we discovered that no one was there to help us .Mom and I tried our hardest to flag people down, before someone told my mom that we had to get some assistance from the cashier.  The cashier would make an announcement about customers needing help . So, I did my best to get some of their attention, but they were really busy. I did not have much luck , but my mom found someone after we considered leaving and going to Petco.

I told her that the idea was tempting, but a young man did come so it would have been rude to leave. The young man went and found the older man that was over the fish.  He got ready to catch my fish,and he informed me they were out of dragon fish.  I let him know that I did not want a dragon fish,I wanted a corydora.  He really liked the catfish , and he asked me which one I wanted. I did some looking and then I picked out a small spotted fellow .  He caught him for me and told me he wished he had ten more tanks with the corys in them.  He gave me the bag, and I named my new friend, Pepper.

While we were waiting in our check out lane, a little girl in the one next to ours saw Pepper, and she admired him.  I showed him to her , and then we were on our way home.  In the car I held tightly on to Pepper's bag, I don't know why I did that, but it made my hands shake.  Mom told me to relax, so I finally did , and the minute we arrived home I began his acclamation.  I let his bag float for a set amount of time, while I followed each step on a guide  I had.

Then, I opened the bag and I took a small measuring cup , before I carefully scooped water out of Pepper's bag, and I gently  poured water from my his new home into his bag. 
This process seemed to take forever, but the timer finally went off for the last time, and it was time for Pepper  to swim out of the bag and into his new home.  Once he was in, my mom wanted to see if he would eat, so I gave him a little food, while I kept the light off for two hours. 

He did eat a little, but not much and I tried not to be too concerned about it.  During his first night, I checked on him every hour , I noticed that he was swimming
a lot, but he was swimming fast, still I enjoyed watching him swim and I could not believe I had a fish again.


This part is really long, and honestly it was hard for me to write because Pepper was not with me for too much longer. So, next time I will share more about Pepper, but I will share the first picture I took of my 5 gallon after Pepper was gone.  
Until Next Time!
Take Care! 

 ‍                 Part Nine Continued


On the next day, I noticed that Pepper did not move around much , I was pretty tired too from checking up on him through the night. I was concerned because he did not seem to want to eat at all. He acted this way pretty much the entire day, but once I turned the light off for the night, he took off swimming again.  I watched how he swam, and he was swimming up and then speeding back down. I tried not to worry, he was swimming a little slower.

However, on the following Sunday morning was when my emotional roller coaster began.  We came home from church, and I saw Pepper was struggling to swim, and we made our first of many visits to Petco . The same nice young woman that got me started listened tomy description of how Pepper had been behaving and she thought it was stress. 
 My water test had good results, so we bought Stress Zhyme. This helped the fish and added more beneficial bacteria.  Once we returned home, I put some in and hoped Pepper would feel better. As the day wore on though, he seemed to be getting worse, and another very supportive young lady helped me out during another visit to the store. She prepared me for Pepper's burial, it was hard to take, but he was only getting worse.  Pepper fought hard , but he gave up the fight later on that same night. 

The following day, we laid him to rest in a box I lovingly prepared for him .  I had wrapped the box the night before, and even though it may seem silly I even put a bow on top of it.  I also lined the box with cotton and flower petals .  It was really sad, and yes I cried while we buried him and had a little funeral for him .  Where I promised him that I would not name another fish Pepper, he really was special.  He may have had a short time with us, but we recalled how he played with the floating thermometer , he pushed it around .  I also swore that he winked at me , and with those memories to treasure in my mind and my heart I was ready to move on and I was looking forward to having more fish.

Until next time!
Here is a picture of my five gallon tank.

        Part Ten
                  After Pepper Was Gone

After Pepper was gone, I had to whip the tank back into shape, and I was searching for the right cleaning tool.  Once I discovered on one Saturday afternoon, that the gravel vac I bought was way too big for my tank. I had really liked it because it just hooked up to kitchen sink's faucet, which eliminated the need for a bucket.  However, the hose was too long, and to our surprise it leaked!   It was quite the experience , so we took that back, got our money back from it, and I purchased a siphon.  Well, I was on the right track , but after I had another experience with trial and error, that had me feeling like I was churning butter , I pumped my arm up and down and nothing happened , except maybe getting splashed or having water get sloshed around.  

Which made me come to my senses again, and I returned to my favorite place , Petco.  Where I not only found a siphon, I found a siphon that was designed for my small tank .  So, I finally was able to do a water change, and give my aquarium the proper cleaning.I thought that I was getting ready for some more fish, but I had another little bump in the road.
I took my water in for testing around the middle part of June, and I heard her say a word that my dad and I always dreaded to hear when we had fish together.   The word that I did not want to hear was ammonia, and she told me that my nitrates were on the high side, which made us both perplexed. She asked another friendly worker there, and she said that I had to drain it , well my other helper was like, "But, then she would have to start over."  So, they came up with another solution, switch the source of my water , which I was using our reverse osmosis . 

Once, I knew that was going to be the plan , I told them I would be back, and the other member of the staff told me to bring samples of our tap water, our ro, the tank, and she also thought going to bottled spring water would be better.  So, we went to a store on the way home , bought some spring water, went home, and I gathered up some small plastic containers, before I filled up each one that I had labeled for each type of water.  One for the tap, another one for the tank , the spring water , and the ro.  We carefully placed the samples in a plastic bag , and headed back to Petco ,  even though I had them in a bag some water managed to spill out and got my pants very wet , so when I walked into the store, I looked like I had an accident, but I did not.

I told them that I did not, and my first helper was not available, but my second helper was and she patiently tested each sample of water. I was almost on my tippy toes while I anxiously waited for the results.  If I can recall, she told me not to use the tap, the ro was good, but the spring water sounded good to me.  I was ready for a fresh start, and I wanted the best environment possible for my future fish friends.  I told her that I did not bring a sample of our hose water, and she laughed at that.  She also made me laugh when she gave me the containers back and said, "Merry Christmas."   I told her that she was funny, and I thanked her for her help, before I went home and did another water change to add in the bottled spring water .  I started feeling better, but I was still also trying to figure out what caused Pepper to die, and I looked for answers everywhere on the Internet. To do this day, I still don't know, I can only guess that maybe since the fish had been treated before we got him, maybe he was sick already.  We did get our money back for him, and the lady at the customer service desk was very sorry about my fish .  I just decided from that point on Petco was the only place that I would go for all of my fish and their needs.
Next time, I will share about my two new fish , Casper and Jasper and tell their tale .

Stay Tuned!
God Bless!  

      ‍ Part Eleven Jasper And Casper's Tale

‍After I had made the switch over to the bottled spring water , I allowed my five gallon to set up again .  While I was waiting for that process, we had our first round with a system that was named Bonnie.  She dumped rain on us even before coming to Florida.  So, I was patient , but it was hard to wait, because then she hit us and dumped even more rain on us.  Until the rain stopped and we had our beautiful sun shine back.   I remember that it was on a Tuesday morning, in late June, and before we went to ‍Petco‍, my mom called them to see if they had the fish I wanted , and they had two spotted corydoras left.  I was excited, and we went to ‍Petco, ‍after I got another sample from my aquarium for them to test.  I wanted to make sure that my water was in tip top shape for my fish friends. 

A nice lady tested the water, once we got there and everything was good.  I was so happy, then we went over to their tanks, and she looked for the two spotted corydoras.  Until she found them both under a decorative rock, they always liked to hide.  Then, she got the fish net and went after them, she caught the first one, he was bigger and looked really healthy .  He also had a lot of energy, and bright clear eyes, his gills were pink or light red .  The other little guy, I mean tiny , was harder for her to catch, because he kept on wanting to bury himself, or hide.  She kind of had to corner him against the glass, so that he would go into the fish net and bag with his other friend.  He seemed a little slower, and maybe I should have asked for another fish, but he was so cute.  Mom really liked him too, on the way to the check out, the nice lady that helped me get my fish, gave me a very helpful tip about the acclamation process, she told me to just float their bag in my aquarium for the amount of time that I did before, then when the time was up, all I had to do was gently open the bag and guide the fish out.  That sounded like great advice to me and that is how I saw it done on the show , ‍Tanked.  ‍So, I was all for that , she also told me when I asked her when I should try to feed them again, she told me that they would probably take a day because they fed them already.  I thanked her, and then my mom and I tried to think of names for my new fish friends.

After some thinking, and tossing names around we came up with Jasper and Casper , we paid for Jasper and Casper , then we took them home.  I gave the bigger one the name Jasper, and the smaller one, Casper.  Jasper was super active in the bag, he swam over Casper really fast, and poor Casper was almost knocked off his fins..  I gently talked to them both , and Jasper settled down a little bit .  Once we came home, I got their bag placed into my five gallon aquarium right away, and I set the timer , and allowed them to check things out .  Jasper was exploring his new watery world, Casper was just chilling.  Then, the timer went off , and I gently opened the bag , and guided them out as best as I could, until they both swam out and entered into their new home.  After I turned the light off , I let them just get used to everything in their new environment.  Jasper did just that, he wanted to check out anything and everything once he was ready to, and Casper found himself a nice cozy place to hide, which that is what some fish did, so I was not too worried about it. 

Jasper and Casper's tale continues next .

Stay Tuned!  

    Part Twelve
                                Casper And Jasper 's Tale Goes On

The next day which was June 27th , 2012 ,  Jasper was having fun exploring his new home, he was so much fun to watch. As he swam around, and he even swam over the little bridge like area on top of the ruins.  Casper still hid , which I had read in my book that it was normal for a new fish to hide.  When Jasper was looking around for something to eat, I dropped a little half of the tablet in.  Casper did come out and up for some air , my mom was happy to see him .  I excitedly said, "Hey look who's joining the party!"    
After he took his breath, he went back into hiding, and that afternoon, I saw Jasper eating.  I was so happy, he ate his share and Casper's, so I was a little concerned . 

Yet,  I did not try to worry about it too much, still my heart stopped when I saw him in the ruins and not moving. I started to cry and I told my mom I could not go through it again .  She got our net, and gently touched him with the other end before he quickly scooted out of there.  I felt better, and I finally calmed down.  I was really excited that Jasper was eating and before I went to sleep that night, I encouraged Casper to eat, he came out more and he even gave me a wink.  I wished my new fish friends "Good night", and of course I did not leave out my precious Petie.  

 I slept better that night, I did not stay up all night like I did with Pepper, I put them in God's hands.  When I woke up for a little bit the following morning, I saw one of my friends swimming on my side.  I could not tell who it was, I thought it was Casper, but then I got a better look and saw that it was Jasper.  He was watching me watch him , so I slowly lifted my finger and moved it, and he started swimming with my finger. I am not kidding  I did not imagine this, and I am not making this up.  Jasper really watched my finger and swam with it!  He went to the left if my finger went to the left, I went to the right , he went to the right !  I went up, he went up!  I went down , he went down!  It was the coolest thing I had ever experienced with a fish.  I played our game for a little while, before I drifted off to sleep. 

 Later on, when I officially began my day, I did have a sad discovery, I noticed that Casper was in the same spot that he was in last night, and not moving,  I checked on him with a flashlight and he did not move, his eyes did not respond.  So, I turned on their light and sure enough he had passed away.  I told my mom, we quickly got him out and I removed the artificial plant he had been leaning on too.  I had a 30 day return policy, and I called Petco to tell them what happened.The nice worker there, told me to bring him back.  So sadly, the tale of Casper was short lived.  I should have chosen another fish, a bigger fish, he was just too small and he would not eat.  But, he was just so cute that I could not resist .  After breakfast and our morning routine, we went back to Petco, where my water sample was tested, after another nice lady working there told me Casper had a disease, she said, "Yep, he's diseased."

Or something along those lines.  I was glad that he was not suffering anymore, and I was thrilled when she said I could get another fish friend for Jasper.
Jasper's mood kind of changed after Casper was gone, he just looked at himself in the back of the aquarium.  So, we decided to look at a different kind of cory cat .  Mom and I looked at another tank that had albinos in them , they all were swimming around together, full of energy . I fell in love with them, they all looked pink and even with some peach , and a little green too.  Their eyes were a pinkish red, I thought they were pretty.  I watched this one that was very energetic and I thought he would be the perfect friend for Jasper . 

He was very hard to catch too, and when she put him in the container they use when they catch fish, he almost jumped out.  But I calmed him down by talking softly to him . On the way to the register, I tried to think of names for him.  I still liked Casper, that name had not been used for long, but my mom did not like it.   He also had fins that were long and they looked like they were flowing around him.  I also loved his long tail, so I kept on thinking until I remembered Sammy, a name of a loach I loved as a little girl when my dad and I had our fifty-five gallon.  So, I mentioned Sammy, and she liked it.  So, we paid for Sammy and he began his journey home with us by going into CVS with us.  I knew better than to leave any pet in the car, so I sat down inside with him in the bag, and told him what was going on.  Because, he was getting anxious , it was cool though because I got to show him to the gal that gave mom her prescription, and I told her how she could have an aquarium.  She thought Sammy was pretty too, then we took Sammy home .

More of Jasper and Sammy's tale will continue very soon!
God Bless!    

     Part Thirteen  When Sammy Met Jasper

Once we came home, I placed Sammy 's bag into his new home, and I also talked to Jasper.  He was hanging around the back and looking at his reflection. I told him that we brought home a new friend for him.  Sammy checked out his watery world from his bag.  He looked around and swam anxiously around , while we waited for the timer to go off.  Once it did, I carefully completed the rest of the steps, before I tipped the bag down into the water, and he quickly swam out.  For awhile, he seemed very excited, I still left the light off while he got used to his new home.

I will never forget how Sammy swam around his new space, he was really fast, he did not really pay attention to Jasper, until he settled down.  It was so funny when he swam in loops, nothing like my other fish, but still it was interesting.  Then, he calmed down, still loved to swim up and down, but still not like a fish in distress, he was just having fun.  Well, Jasper used to be the out going fish, but I watched his reactions to Sammy.  He was not aggressive, but he was more cautious around the rambunctious Sammy.  One night after they met, Jasper was hanging out in the gravel, not really moving much and minding his own business.  Sammy was doing his famous swimming up and down, and he landed hard on Jasper.  After that, Jasper kept his distance, so my mom came to his rescue when she bought him some Stress Coat.  Not long after that, Jasper started acting like his old self again, and Sammy was more careful around him and the two of them became wonderful friends.

They swam around together, and one morning they even raced each other to the food I put in.  They both had very healthy appetites , and really enjoyed hanging out .  I bought Sammy a bigger decoration so that he could swim through it , because I thought he was too big to swim through the opening in the ruins.  He loved his cave , that is what I called it.  He also surprised me when he did swim through the ruins, but he still hung out around his cave.  Things seemed to be going swimmingly well , and the two got to experience their first aquarium cleaning,  my mom helped me catch them, they did not seem to mind, but Sammy did squirm around in the net, so I quickly put them both in their carrier.  The bottom was slippery, and they slid around, but I worked fast, as I changed their water, cleaned the décor, changed their filter, and most importantly got their water changed.  They were happier when I put them back into their home, and I added some Stress Coat and Stress Zhyme to help replace their slime coat.

After a month or two had passed, I noticed that Jasper was doing some very strange things. He would go up to the surface and lay on his side.  He would stay up there and float , so I tried to find out what was going on, one of the other helpful ladies thought maybe my PH was off balance, so she showed me another addition in order to help with my PH issue.  Jasper seemed to improve a little, but sadly later that month after he got caught up in the air stone's gang valve , he got worse.  I did not want him to suffer, so that night when he was just fighting for his life to swim, I said a prayer for him, and I was willing to accept the probability that he would die too.  I still did not understand why my fish were dying, but I also knew that it was not my fault.  Sammy missed Jasper , he swam up to the corners where he would tap Jasper, and get Jasper to come down with him.  He seemed to be looking for Jasper, after we took him out.  So, I knew that Sammy was going to need a new friend , and I was hoping that it would be soon.  We also laid Jasper down to rest , and I talked about what flower that we would put in his pot.

Next time I hope to share a picture of Sammy, and maybe Jasper
God Bless!

 ‍     Last night I started searching for pictures of my fish that I wanted to share. I finally found Sammy's pictures on Photobucket today.  I think I sadly deleted the only one I had of Jasper, because of the quality. He was sitting on the heater when I took a quick picture and the flash bounced off of the heater and when I saw the picture, I saw a little fish, couldn't tell what fish , with a big glair .  I tried to edit it, but it was no use, so today I went searching for images and I found some, the fish at the top on the right side resembles Jasper.  He may have been a little darker , but that was close.  I just discovered that somehow the pictures of Jasper were on my Photobucket , so I am going to try to show them. 

Here is the URL:


http://seriouslyfish.com/species/corydoras-paleatus/

Here is the first picture.

Here is the second picture where I tried to edit.  
I hope to get some of Sammy's pictures posted soon! 

God Bless
Take Care

  I found my favorite picture of Sammy, I took it one summer night back in 2012 while he was swimming on his favorite spot his cave.   
 

Stay tuned for a few more pictures of Sammy!

 ‍  Here is another picture of Sammy, as he was just hanging around at the bottom chilling out in the gravel

After that I captured a moment when he was exploring the ruins.
 

The last picture for now of Sammy is of him while he was inside one of the tunnels I talked about.

I had forgotten that Toby was also in the picture, they both loved the ruins.

I will try to continue Sammy's story and share about his new friend Toby. 
When I do that, I will share another picture I took of  Sammy and Toby together.

Until Then!
God Bless!
Take Care !

 ‍   🐢🐢    Part Fourteen   
                                                A Spunky Friend For Sammy

      The same day we laid Jasper to rest, I was hoping that we would be able to bring a new friend home for Sammy.  I got the sample of water ready , and we headed off to Petco.  Once we got there, I explained what happened to Jasper, and another nice lady working there, did her best to test my water.  But, we were not sure if we were going to be able to bring home a new fish. I honestly was on the verge of tears, and mom thought we should just get another parakeet friend for Petie.  Maybe we should have, but she got someone for us, that always helped us, knew our situation and us.  She tested the water and it was fine, I could bring home a new friend for Sammy!  I was so happy, and I also bought a new gang valve, one that did not have areas where the fish could get caught. 

So, after that I bought some new airstones, I was not leaving anything to chance.  Mom was happy too, and we all laughed when some turtles in another holding tank started swimming up to my mom and following her.  We were told that they probably thought mom had some food for them. It was really funny though and a much needed comic relief from the fish drama.  After the funny turtle moment had passed, I was shown some important things to know for future aquarium care.  She showed me the boundaries for my water for each testing area for my water's properties.  She also took time to draw the bodies of fish, the corydora  so that I would be able to tell a male fish from a female fish.  Then, she led us over to an area where they sell home testing kits.  I thanked her, and she was so patient while I was choosing a new fish. 

 I watched the pepper cories , and the emerald green corydoras.  I thought they were so pretty, and one was really showing off, our helper even said, "See he is showing you his pretty sides."  They were very pretty and very shiny colors including green.  So, after I saw his colorful display I told her we wanted him.  He was not too small, or too big , and I could tell from his T pattern that he was a boy.  We were pretty sure he was a boy, and he was a fighter, very spunky.  She called him spunky , and I liked the name.  He gave her a workout, but she always caught her fish, and she caught him.

While, he was in his bag, he seemed very anxious , so I tried to soothe him by softly talking to him.  He seemed to really listen, and he calmed down, so after we thanked her, and paid for our spunky friend and the supplies,  we went home and I wasted no time in placing his bag in the aquarium.  He looked around and swam around in his bag, while he checked out his new home.  After the timer went off, I carefully helped him get into his new underwater world.  Mom told me she did not like the name Spunky, so I ran a bunch of names by him, and I don't think he liked any of them. 

When I was out of ideas , mom told me a name she liked from someone's husband's name she heard on the tv, I think it was the Olympics or something, anyway I repeated the name to him.  He blinked his eyes and I said, "Toby it is then."  Sammy seemed happier to have another friend, they got along pretty well.  On his first night, Toby explored the ruins, and he even found a place I never knew was there.  He swam inside and came out another end at the top, I asked him if he could get out, before he swam out , because he was going to freak my mom out if he couldn't.  Well, believe it or not, Toby swam out, and he wanted to show me what a clever fish he was.

He swam back in, showed me how he got in, and then he showed me how he could swim back out. I was impressed, that proved to me that fish could be smart too.  Mom was pretty impressed too, because I had her watch.  I was so happy that we picked Toby to be Sammy's new friend, and I was excited to see what the rest of the summer would bring.   Which, went pretty smoothly , Sammy and Toby were like best friends, and they did everything together.  As I mentioned before, I got Sammy his own decoration to swim through, when he seemed to be too big for the tunnels in the ruins.  He loved it, he swam on it, through it, and just rested his fins on its surface.  But, one summer day I was surprised when Sammy swam right through one of the tunnels in the ruins.  I made sure he went to the other side, I was proud of him and I had fun watching those two swim around and explore together.
Next time I will share more pictures of Toby, and I will also continue more from Sammy's story

Until Then!
God Bless! ‍

     Here is a picture that I found of Sammy and Toby took together around the same time I took the pictures of Sammy.  I wanted to share this before I continued Sammy's tale .  Thank you for visiting and for reading about my past aquarium adventures. 

Until then!
God Bless!

 ‍  Part Fifteen
    The Morning I Could Not Find Sammy



As I mentioned before, the rest of the summer went along pretty smoothly .  Sammy and Toby were really getting into the groove of their new home.  Sammy was always the easiest to catch between the two of them. He went with the flow, and I started to relax more and enjoy my two fish. I still took care of cleaning the aquarium inside and out when the time came, but there really were no real issues.  Until one Saturday morning in October.  After I woke up, and turned on their light, I noticed that Toby was swimming in a different way.  He seemed to me to be anxious. I also did not see Sammy with him, and Sammy was always with Toby.  I started to get a little scared, as I searched for him inside the aquarium.  I looked in his usual hang outs and he was no where to be found.  I poked around in the rock or gravel, I did learn that when fish had a health issue or they were sick, they would bury themselves in the gravel.  He was not there, he was not laying on any of the plants, I looked in the tunnels, and he was not there. 

So, then I continued searching for Sammy in the aquarium filter, he was not there.  By that point, I was about to cry, I went and told my mom that Sammy was missing .  She helped me look too, I started using a flashlight on the floor, thinking that he might have jumped out.  He was not on the floor, or on the towel under the aquarium .  So, Sammy had just vanished into thin air or water, and I was really scared that we were never going to find him, until it was too late.  However, I also went to the Lord in prayer, I had always been taught that God cared about everything in my life, no matter how small, or insignificant that I felt I could handle, but this time I called on Him.  After  I finished my prayer asking for the Lord's help in finding Sammy, I suddenly had a feeling that told me to look more around the ruins. 

So, I took my flashlight and slowly examined the middle part of the ruins.  That was when I saw Sammy's long fins and then I saw Sammy's body!  I had no idea how he got in there, but he got in there and he could not get out. I told my mom , and I swiftly lifted the lid, while I told Sammy that I was coming .Mom and I also praised the Lord, because I would not have found Sammy without Him.  Toby seemed relieved and he ate his portion of his food.  He still remained calm as I lifted the ruins out of the gravel .  Poor Sammy was still stuck , so I gently shook them , and he got out.  At first, we thought we had lost him, but he shimmied out and down to where Toby was waiting.  I noticed that he had lost some of his tail, and a few of his fins were torn . 

Yet, after his ordeal he still had his fighting spirit and I was so happy to see that he still had his very healthy appetite .  He was eating his food as if he was starving, he probably was. I asked Toby to keep a look out for his buddy.  Toby was a very good guard fish , he stayed around the ruins and he kept Sammy away from the ruins, until I decided to remove the ruins.  I not only removed them, I threw them away,  because the area where Sammy got stuck was made only of medal.  So, for Sammy's sake, Toby's sake and mine I put the log with the pretty decorative flowers back in.  


Stay Tuned! 
Until Then!
God Bless!

 ‍         Part Sixteen
                                                     A New Look For Sammy And Toby



The day after we found Sammy, I couldn't help but notice that poor Sammy had a hard time swimming.  Still, he did not let that stop him .  He found a way to get around, and he still wanted to eat.  Mom took a look at the aquarium, after we came home from church and she thought we should try another background.  She told me that maybe Sammy was trying to find a way to get to the rocks and shells I had behind it.  I agreed with her, and I thought that a background might help Sammy feel better.  We both wanted to see if we could find one with a brighter appearance to it.  The first background I tried when Pepper was in the aquarium was too dark. 

So, a little while later, we went back to Petco.  Where we looked around in the fish section, until I saw their selections of backgrounds.  One of the backgrounds looked beautiful to me because I loved the blue color that was also a lighter shade of blue.  It also had a solid color of blue that was a little darker, but it had white waves on it too.  My Petco pal helped us out by cutting the background to the size we needed .  I told her what happened to Sammy, and how Toby had been watching out for him.  She seemed impressed about Toby and the way he was acting by protecting Sammy.  We thanked her for her help, paid for our background, went home, and I placed the new background on the back and sides of the aquarium.  It was so pretty, and it really brightened up the environment in the aquarium.  Most importantly, Toby and Sammy loved their new look too.


The story will continue !
Stay Tuned!
God Bless!

 ‍      Part Seventeen
             Sammy Was On The Mend!

The new background did wonders for Sammy, but I wanted to know if there was anything else I needed to do in order to help him heal.  I also wondered if Sammy would get his tail and fins back.  After I read some other experiences about people Online who had fish get injuries just like Sammy's, I felt so much better.  Because, they said their fish healed and their fins or tail grew back. I also learned what these people did in order to help that process along, and that was to change the water a little more often than usual.  So, I took their advice and I did small water changes, where I just swapped out a little bit of the water each time.  Not long after I did the small water changes, I was rewarded for my efforts in helping Sammy.  I was so happy one morning, when I saw Sammy  and Toby swimming together again!  I also had positive results when I tested my water, the water was in good condition, so I just kept up the good work, and monitored how Sammy was doing.


It took some more time, but his fins did come back and his tail grew back , and his swimming continued to improve, I just continued watching him and I made sure he stayed away from any thing he could get caught in, or that was too sharp for him.  Mom and I were both very happy that Sammy was feeling better, and we prayed for him to continue his journey towards his recovery. Toby also helped him out while he was on the mend.

Stay tuned to find out what happens next !
Until Then!
God Bless!

         Part Eighteen
          As October Went On There Was Something Strange About Toby

    The following weeks during the last stretch of October went on and they were filled with me doing some more mini water changes, mini cleaning, and my hard work was paying off.  Because, my water tests were showing some really good results.  I did notice an interesting and strange change in Toby.  He was starting to look bigger and even fatter.  I did not want to be too concerned , but I still kept my eye on him to see if there would any more changes in his behavior .  He still ate his food, and Sammy was still eating his food too. So, I just continued observing Toby since I also did not want to take any chances.  Which led me to do another partial water change, and the water test I took not too long after that I did another water test and the results still looked really good. 

Even though my water tests were coming out with positive results, I still wanted to know if something was wrong with Toby.  So, one Friday morning we returned to Petco and we had a conversation with another Petco pal that had been helping me along on this adventure as well.  She thought that Toby might have actually been a girl fish, and could have possibly been expecting. However, she also thought that her co-worker who had some weird fish issues would also know what was going on with Toby.  She was also happy when we told her that Toby and Sammy really liked the background, and that we really did too.

On the way home from Petco, mom and I talked about female names for in case Toby was actually a girl.  The gal that helped us also suggested I try feeding Toby and Sammy some algae tablets.  I also picked out a new live plant, so I wanted to try those out before jumping to any conclusions about Toby.  But in case he really was  a she, we liked Tobet.  When we got home, I planted the live plant into the gravel and I also had Sammy and Toby try the algae tablets.  I was glad when I saw them eat them, they really seemed to like the new addition to their diet.  I also reassured Toby that no matter what happened, we would keep him or her. 

Stay tuned to find out what happens next, was Toby really a girl?  Just having a growth spurt?  Did he eat too much food?
The answers will be revealed soon!

Enjoy!    ‍

 ‍   Hello!  The next part in my aquarium story involved Petie , my pet parakeet I also had at the time I was taking care of my fish.  His cage's cracked tray started it, and he also had me in an interesting situation the following Sunday , while I was placing him in his new cage, and I saw an issue with Sammy.  I hope you all enjoy the next part, and the answers are coming up soon, I promise.

                                                  Part Nineteen
                                                      Petie's  Part In The Story   

   The  Saturday following Friday, while I was cleaning Petie's cage, I noticed that there was a crack in his cage's tray.  I was concerned about him getting hurt, so I showed my mom what the issue was and she agreed that Petie needed a new one.  Well, the only way we could get Petie a new tray was to buy him a new cage. So, at first we tried one we found at Wal-Mart, it was pretty, it had white and blue colors that would match my room.  However, when I put the cage together it was not very sturdy.  So, we both agreed that we would take the bird cage back the next day. 

Then, on the following Sunday we returned to Petco after we took back the other cage to Wal-Mart .  I took my time and looked around at the different cages, until we found a really nice cage that was kind of shaped like a house.  The color was green, and it was bigger, but I thought it was pretty, and that Petie would have had plenty of room to climb and get more exercise.
While, we waited to pay for the cage, I told another Petco expert about my fish issues, and she gave me two possible situations, that sounded like the ones my Petco gal pals gave me.  Toby was a girl and pregnant, or Toby was a boy and needed to move somethings along in his system. 

 We thanked her, and we paid for Petie's cage, and the cashier wanted to know about Petie, so I told her and she gave me an odd look when she asked me if I had fish too.  I said, "Yes, I do."  I wondered why she gave me that odd look, did she think I had too many animals?  I really didn't know, but anyway we thanked her and took the new cage home. That I put together a little while later that evening, and I showed Petie his new home, and I also slowly transferred his toys , and I was ready to move him into his new home.  Petie on the other hand was not ready or and he did not really want to go into his new home.  While that was going on, I saw Sammy while he started to get stuck on the new live plant we had. 

 So, there I was I had Petie in my one hand, and trying to get him into his new cage, while I saw Sammy struggling to get away from the new plant.  What was I to do?  Well, I apologized to Petie, before I said, "Get in there Petie,", as I quickly pushed him into the new cage.  Once Petie was in, I ran over to my aquarium and got Sammy off of the plant, I also threw out that plant, it had a hard middle, and it really was too big for my space.  So, when I got him off I noticed that he had some sores on his face, more like puncture wounds.  They bled for a little bit, but the bleeding stopped, so I returned to Petie , and I apologized again for doing what I did, and he gave me a kiss on my nose to let me know he forgave me, and he ended up loving his new cage. 

There was just one problem, that I solved on the following Monday when I was to talk to a Petco pal that had seen some weird and wacky issues with fish. I also saw Sammy was covered in white little spots and I had an idea what was wrong, but I did not forget that Petie needed some new perches.  He had some, but they were too far apart , and he did not like the long gaps in between his perches while he climbed down.  So, yep we returned once again to Petco, and she cleared up Sammy's issue, he had a disease called ick.  It was always very icky when my dad and I had fish, some fish survived it, and others died.  She pointed out a treatment, and for Toby she did not rule out him being a girl and expecting, but she thought he would benefit from the treatments too.  We thanked her, and paid for Petie's new perches, and the treatments that I  could not think of the names for, but they helped a fish fight parasitic diseases and did other good things.

So, the rest of the week was all about treating Sammy, and Toby did get better , I never saw any eggs, and I believe that he was just having a growth spurt and he might have needed some help in some waste removal , over time he looked more like himself, and we bought a nicer and softer live plant too, and I made sure Sammy had smooth surfaces , and that there was nothing for him to get caught on, or stuck in.

Stay tuned for more adventures about Sammy and Toby !

Enjoy!                       

   ‍      Part Twenty
                             Some Ups And Downs Before Sammy Got Better

    The following day after we went to Petco , Sammy seemed to be responding well to the first medication. Even Toby started looking better, which made me happy.  However, before Sammy got completely well, I had a day filled with ups and downs for poor Sammy.  That day was also Toby's 3rd month anniversary with us, so I was excited.  I finally had fish that were surviving more than just one or two months.  The day went down hill after I changed the air stones and did a partial water change.  I had Sammy and Toby in their carrier during that process. Then, once I was done, I continued taking some advice I was given to catch them in a plastic cup and not a net. 

Because, the net took off their natural slime coat, and the cup would help protect them and keep their natural slime coat on them.  I also was told at Petco that what I read Online was true, cories laid eggs, and they did not have live births like other fish.  So, I kept my eye out but I never saw any eggs.  Sammy was the easier one to catch in the cup, and Toby took some work, but I managed to catch Toby and place him back into his watery home.  Before I put Sammy back in, I added the measured drop of the second medication , then I put Sammy back in.  It was not long after that when I saw Sammy have a reaction.  He could barely swim, and he just floated at the top while the aquarium's current carried him wherever it wanted to take him.  He could not swim down either, it was very scary to watch.  So, I quickly got him back into the cup, and he barely put up a fight.

 I honestly thought that we were going to lose Sammy.  I told my mom what was going on and we dropped everything to pray together for Sammy.  I did put him back into the aquarium, and we waited to see if Sammy was going to pull through, until Sammy finally went down to join his buddy Toby.  I was so happy, I told my mom, "Sammy went down to be with Toby!"  We hugged each other and praised the LORD, Sammy also still had his appetite and he ate his portion of the shrimp pellet.  That night, before I went to sleep I thanked the LORD again during my bed time prayers, because I knew within my heart that God saved Sammy, and HE got me through Sammy's ups and downs.

Until the next part!

Enjoy!

God Bless!

 ‍         Part Twenty-One
      From The Last Day Of October Until The 9th Day Of November

The last day of October was Halloween, and I was very happy when I saw that Sammy and Toby were looking so much better.  The only thing I had to do was change the airline tubing.  Then we all entered into November, and the first few weeks were uneventful, I fed Sammy and Toby.  I also checked the water from their watery world, and it looked good!  Toby was even skinnier too!  I also performed a mini clean and a partial water change, I was just keeping up with the routine.  On the 8th of November, I noticed that Sammy was not moving around too much.  I was concerned, but I was glad when Toby ate his portion of the food, and Sammy's effort to try to eat his own portion, but I still kept on eye on Sammy.  The following morning when I woke up, I watched how Sammy was behaving and I noticed that he was still not moving around.  

I also saw that when he did want to move, he struggled to swim it was more like a shimmy with a crawl.  So, he just decided to take it easy, while Toby tried to get him to move.  But, Sammy just wanted to stay in one spot and rest, and I could not help becoming more worried when I saw how his fins just flopped over as he just stared out , sometimes while he faced the background.  I did check his eyes with a small flashlight to see if they still responded.  He blinked, but it was a much slower blink than his usual blinks. 

So, I told mom what was going on, and we decided to find out more answers at Petco.  I was hoping that I was wrong, but I just felt like Sammy was giving up the fight.  Yet, I still wanted to hold on to hope too, and see if maybe there was something we could do to help Sammy again.  I told our Petco pal and expert about everything I had observed, and she thought and felt the same way that I was feeling.  Sammy was not doing well at all.  I had seen the signs before, and just in case I started looking at other fish.  It was important for Toby to have a friend, if Sammy took more turns towards the worst possible outcome.  She also helped us find a softer live plant that was called a Wisteria, and some fertilizer tabs to help my plants along.  After we paid for our purchases, we went home , and before I went to sleep that night I prayed for Sammy and for peace and acceptance if Sammy was dying, because I did not want him to suffer anymore. 


To Be Continued
God Bless!  

                        Part Twenty-Two 
                 Sammy's Tale Came To An End On November 10th

 When I woke up the following morning of November 10th, my mom came in to check on Sammy. I had expected to find that Sammy had passed on, but she told me that Sammy was moving!  Still, I saw how he was struggling and I knew that he must have put up one heck of a fight the night before. So, I was sad but I also did not want him to suffer any longer than he had to.  I called his name, and he used every ounce of what strength he had to come over to the side where I was laying in my bed.  After his effort to get over to me, he gave up his battle and died.  Once I saw him pass away, my mom and I worked on finding him a place to rest in peace.

We had run out of the little cardboard and paper boxes, so mom found a pretty Christmas tin, that we lined with cotton, before I got him out of the tank with the net.  I showed Petie what happened and he got scared. I quickly apologized to him and I told him that it was going to be Okay.  Then, I carefully placed Sammy into the cotton lined tin, and we said our Good-byes, before I placed the lid on the tin.  After breakfast, I got dressed and we buried Sammy in our big flower pot that was in front of our house on the left side.  I also placed some aquarium beads I tried in the tank around the flowers on top of the dirt. 

They looked really pretty, and I was glad I could use them after I discovered that Sammy and Toby were not fans of them. I just loved the colors of blue, teal, and some were like crystal in color.  When we came inside, I took care of Petie's needs, and I checked  on Toby.  I was so relieved when he ate his food and seemed to still have his healthy appetite.  After lunch, I did some minor work on the 5 that included a small water change and changing the filter's cartridge.

Then, I took a picture  of Toby so that I could compare his size to a new possible friend and to make sure they would be compatible in size.  I also got a water sample ready to take to Petco .   At Petco, I shared what happened to Sammy, and I showed her my picture of Toby.  I was happy to hear that Toby had grown more, but the conditions in my water were not just quite right for a new fish.  She encouraged me to try again the following week, but I did buy some new decorations.  I picked out a bridge that I thought would bring a different look to Toby's home, and we found a colorful soft artificial  plant. 

 When we came home, I placed the plant in and Toby immediately went to it to rest under.  I felt badly for Toby, but I talked to him some more , and I remembered the good times with Sammy.  Like how funny he was when he always swam through the loop at the end of the net's handle, that I used to stir up debris and old food from the gravel before I used the syphon.  Then, how on his first few days with us when he used to swim in fast loops , and how his fins were so pretty and long .  I missed Sammy, but I still had Petie and Toby to care for, so I moved on while keeping the fond memories close to my heart.

Here are two pictures of Sammy's final resting place, I started out with writing the name and time of month that we got them and when they died.  As you all can see the sun and rain took their toll, so now I have pinwheels that I place on their resting places.  I also glued a name tag that said Sammy in this picture, with meaningful decorations unique to each fish. But, the weather wore those down too eventually.    

 In this picture I was trying to show what the paper attached to the little American flag said.
It says,  "Resting In Peace, Sammy".  Then,  6-28-12 - 11-10-12 .  
 

 Here is the picture that I took of Toby on that same day.

 I hope you all are still enjoying this story, brighter days are coming up .
I also hope you all have a wonderful and safe weekend!

God Bless!   

 ‍      Part Twenty-Four
     On Sunday November 18th, Joey Got A New Name

   When I woke up the following morning, I was happy when I saw Joey swimming with Toby.  I fed Toby, and I left a little for Joey.  Then, I went to my church and I shared about my new fish with some of the people before the service began.  Then, I focused on the worship service, and after the church service was over, I helped pass out the Thanksgiving baskets at a local elementary school to families in need.  During that time, it came to my attention that my mom was not too thrilled with the name Joey.  So, we had some help from a friend from our church and we all tossed around names when we were not busy talking to the families.

  Then, we just continued sharing ideas for his name, until we all came up with Tony and we all thought that Tony was a keeper.  After the families had left, and we had all said our farewells, mom and I came home. When I came into my room, I saw that Tony was not doing very well, he was acting like Pepper did ,only it looked as if he were struggling to breathe.  My mom thought that maybe I should do a little water change, so I did and it helped him a little.  However, Tony still did not want to eat, and he was really weak.  I was really impressed and touched when Toby looked after him.  One of the things Toby did was help Tony swim, Tony was even too weak to swim, so Toby stayed underneath him while he struggled to swim in order to keep him up.  So, I decided to leave Tony alone,  and I just kept my eye on him, while I hoped and prayed for the best for Tony.


To Be Continued

Until Then,

God Bless! 

      ‍Part Twenty -Five

                                                  On Monday November 19 th  , Tony Became Scooter

‍On Monday, I was still concerned about Tony, and my mom was not sure about the name Tony.  So, we watched him swim , and I was glad to see him swimming again.  We noticed how fast he was when he swam, so we thought of the name Scooter.   Because he could really scoot.  However, I also noticed that he did not want to eat.  Toby still wanted to eat.  So, I did not too much, I just observed Scooter, and when mom was worried that one of them or Toby would get stuck underneath the artificial plant .  So, I gently took the plant out, Scooter mainly liked hanging around the fake log I had in there.  After I removed the plant, I did not do anything else, but I did keep my eye on Scooter.  I also kept him in my prayers, before I went to sleep that night. ‍

Stay Tuned !

God Bless! 

‍       

Part Twenty-Six

On November 20th ,  Scooter Went Back To Petco

And Sebastian Came Home With Us

To Be Continued!

God Bless!