Hide and Seek

Cichlids are very interesting fish. They're active and colorful; you can spend hours just watching them and not get bored.

Problem is, they tend to fight with each other. A LOT. So at the end of a short period of time, you're left with the alpha male or female. And him/her alone.

I started with about 8 fish in a pretty big tank. Then I was down to 1.

Her name's Coldplay. And yes, she's yellow.

The Boi also had an aquarium filled with cichlids. Had is the operative word since he finally had it with his little kids behaving like they're on Survivor. So he gave his Alpha Male to me, with the hope that Coldplay, my Alpha Female, and his Alpha Male, which I had baptized Elvis, will bond over time.

But then Elvis, ever the shy kid, just spends his time hiding.

Ahh. Kids.

Project to have and to hold: a pet and a plant

According to a movie na napanood ko dati (28 weeks ata yun, basta yung kay sandra bullock), to be mentally, psychologically, and emotionally sane, or even healthy, you have to have a plant and a pet. Or something like that.

And so, since nilayasan ako ng cat ko dati (nagbakasyon lang ako, then pag uwi ko, wala na sha...), and mahirap mag alaga ng aso (kasi my greatest fear is mangagat sha ng ibang tao then the person will sue me for damages), and ayoko na mag alaga ng rabbits (super panghi ng ihi nila), hamsters (in-attack dati yung hamsters ko by rats), and white mice (baka kasi may rabies sila), i am now going to take care of fish!!!

So, last Thursday night, at approximately 9:00 pm, I rearranged the furniture in my house. I slept a fish-full sleep, woke up at 7:30am the next day, showered (and got dressed, of course), went to Carlo's place, got his basin of extra pebbles, dragged him to the pet shop (he was car-less for the day), bought a 35 gallon aquarium, a bottle of anti-chlorine, light, a powerhead filter/pump, and some decorative plants. We then went to Rona's Garden and bought sand and rocks, and spent the whole day setting it up. Without a water hose. Yes, so it was tabo and balde for us.

We cleaned the sand and scrubbed the rocks and submerged all decors in water for days (exag). Habang inaayos ko yung decors, rant ako ng rant kasi ayaw ibenta sakin ng Manong Taga-Bato yung rocks na may mga butas sa gitna. Tsaka di din niya ko hinanapan ng driftwood.

Since I didn't buy an aquarium stand (I just loathe the sight of those metal things with no appeal whatsoever), nilagay ko yung heavy heavy heavy aquarium dun sa office table which I had since I was 3 years old. Oo, nag-o-office na ko nun. Bakit kayo? Hindi pa? E nag-curve ba naman because of the weight of the tank. Buti nalang may lagare, martilyo, and extra wood ako. Nilagyan ni carlo ng support yung gitna ng table. Tanggal curve!!! Buti nalang, may Carlo. (Say cheesyyy. Sheesh.)

So that's my first step in accomplishing my "Pet and Plant Project", a.k.a. PPP. 2 weeks after pa daw kasi pwede lagyan ng fish. But I got a hardy fish and... sinabak na sha sa laban. His name is Cole. And he's going to help in establishing bacterial balance in my tank. Parang ang sagwa ata pakinggan nun...

Well, actually, it's a die-die situation rin naman kay Cole. He used to be Carl's hardy fish employed to break his new-tank circumstance a while back. (cont'd after the Note.)

Note: Since nag stabilize na yung tank niya, nilagyan na niya ng other fish. May pagka-weird: naglagay ng mga 5 ata na pacu sa aquarium niya. Yung aquarium niya, sobrang laki: 20 gallons. So kashang-kasha diba? Hinihintay ko nalang na basagin ng mga perpetually growing pacu yung tank niya. As of now, fish-lets (Ano ba tawag sa small fish?) palang yung mga pacu. Next month, monsters na sila.

(cont'd)
So since andun na yung mga fish-let-pacu-soon-to-be-monster-tank-busters, aping-api na si Cole. Kinakagat kagat sha. Hinahampas sa wall. Tinutulak papunta sa filter. Binabatukan (exag na ulit). Ayan tuloy, punit na yung fins and tails niya. So he was given a choice: to die a soap opera-like death in Carlo's crazy aquarium or to most probably die a hero's death - with dignity pa - in my aquarium. Carlo and I made the choice for him. Andito na sha ngayon, tinutulungan ako sa cycle ng aquarium ko. At masaya sha.

So, after two weeks, malalagyan ko na ng iba pang fish yung tank ko. Hopefully andun pa din si Cole. Next time na yung plant. Pero gusto ko sana bonsai. Magbabasa pa ko kung pano mag alaga ng plant. Then maghahanap pa ko ng murang "sacrificial" bonsai. I'll name the bonsai, Benjie.

Here are some pics and videos (sana magplay) of Cole. :)