I was searching for some old pics and stumbled upon a post I made a number of years ago on another thread. It brought back some old memories and a bit of a chuckle. So I thought I would repost it here for anyone who has had a bad day of fish keeping... Or, just want to laugh at my expense
Hop
You know a few years back I read that it is usually a series of mistakes that gets one killed and a single mistake is supposed to be a learning experience. Well if that is true, today marks a day that I should have stayed in bed!
It was one of those mornings that even before you open your eyes, you know that you shouldn't get up. I can hear the kids being louder than normal getting ready for school. The boy yelling at his younger sister at the top of his lungs (Shhhhh Dad is still sleeping), dogs running around the kitchen and knocking things over. Well after getting up and sitting around the house and drinking some coffee, I decided that it is time to work on getting the rest of the equipment going on the 110 gallon tank. All that is left is to hook up the Co2, but it had been acting up over the last few weeks before I tore down the older tank.
So I get the Co2 regulator screwed on and hooked up and place the tank in the stand. As I attempt to turn it on and get it going as I have done so many times in the past, nothing. No bubbles, no mist no nothing. After fiddling with it for a while I finally get the solenoid to click, but still no bubbles. After a few minutes I start screwing around with all the knobs out of pure frustration. At about this time I get a little tap on the shoulder followed by "dad I'm hungry". Ahhh yes the three-year-old, home with dad this morning. I tell her it will be a minute and I go back to tinkering. Over the next few minutes I have a little sweet, evil voice behind me.... Dad I'm hungry, I want a burrito... I'll eat it all really, DAD DAD DAD.
Finally I get up and go fix an early lunch for Makenna. We discuss various things going on in her day like her toy dog and such and then she reminds me that she needs her medicine. So after she eats, we go take care of that and as I walk through the livingroom I notice that there is a movie on that I had not seen and I sit down for a while. So I'm sitting here waiting for my wife to get her act together and go to work and take Makenna to day care. After about an hour I realize that apparently my wife isn't really in a hurry to go anywhere and I finally get up to go back and fix the stupid Co2 regulator.
It is as I am walking down the hallway that I realize something is not right in the office. I hear a bunch of noise coming from a tank that is normally completely quiet. As I round the corner and see bubbles shooting out of the spaybar. I run to the tank thinking that something has come loose from the filter and as I poke my head under the tank it dawns on me that I forgot to unplug the Co2 regulator and Co2 is pouring into the tank. As I realize whats going on now I look into the tank and fish are upside down, jumping out of the tank and a few well... we have a few fatalities. So I reach down and start yanking plugs to get the regulator to shut off.
Well I begin to cuss up a storm as I'm running through the house to get a power head and anything else to help the situation. This was a mistake because now I have a three year old and a wife standing in front of the tank screaming for me to do something and how sad it looks that the fish are gasping for air and swimming upside down. So I finally grab a powerhead and get it plugged in, but I can't get the clip to hold it right and it just keeps falling into the tank.
So then I run out and grab my python, get it strung through the house and outside. As I'm trying to get the stupid siphon to start I realize that something is kinking the hose and I run the length of the stupid thing three times looking for an obstruction.... Nothing. On the last inspection I step on one of my dogs that decided the hose was a good place to lie down and watch as I ran through the house, pulling out his hair and sending him running through the house yelping like a Sioux battle cry. Well now I'm really yelling like a sailor and decide to just blow like mad through the stupid hose and somehow, it frees up what ever was clogging it and I am finally able to get the water siphon going. Whew, hold the powerhead and begin the 50% water change. As my wife stands there asking what seems like stupid questions (realizing later that she was trying to help) I hear what is remarkably odd around our house.... Silence.
I begin yelling for our three-year-old.... Nothing. I then begin running through the house yelling for her and still nothing. A quick lap around the yard looking for her and still nothing. By this time my wife is really freaking out and I get on some slippers and begin running around in front of our house looking for our sweet little missing girl. A few moments later I find our evil, wicked little devil witch hiding in between the mustang and the trash can, laughing historically with her hand over her mouth. GRRRRRRRRRR I hate this morning. So I yell at mom to get the wicked child and I run back into check on the tank. The friggen powerhead moved while I was gone and is now spraying water all over the lights and floor. After fixing this I notice that the water is not siphoning too good any more and inspect the hose. Of course I see a fish in the hose now, stuck half way in the middle and the dogs are trying to jump on it and kill the little sucker before he escapes the confines of our home.
Seeing as this is not my day I decide that 30-40% is a good amount of waterchange for the day and hook up the hose and refill the tank. Still can't get the fish out of the hose, even with 80 psi water pressure so decide to leave him. After the tank is full I hold the powerhead for an hour while a keep the fish moving near the surface.
I wound up loosing two bala sharks and the moron who swam through the hose, but every one else is still swimming. I am pretty sure that they have brain damage now and my tank is the Western Colorado tank for the mentally challenged, but at least they are alive. After cleaning up the mess and kicking a few things I realized again I shouldn't have gotten out of bed.
As I'm walking up the stairs my wife says "Hon maybe you should take a nap". The frustration was building in me, but a marriage would never last if I burst out with all the frustration I was feeling and simply said "yes dear".
