Fishy Foo sadly died. A poem for him here:
Goodbye Fishy Foo
The tank lid is closed now
Pump and heater unplugged
The tank a silent grey rectangle of glass and air,
Empty of the sound of water,
Buzz of the filter,
The winding green of floating weed,
A resting place, a sheltering world,
Coarse gravel magnified by a modest depth of water,
Stained brown by the habitat of the sunken leaves he loved,
All too soon, existing only in memories.
A small blue body swimming calmly,
Trailing fins like the angel's wings,
Gliding about in peaceful delight,
Creating a space of beauty in my room.
Little exile, dream now of a warm, quiet river
Flowing into wide marshes
Smoothed by a gentle wind,
Tall trees soothing the life teeming under a boiling sun,
A true home where you have everything you need.
When you cross the bridge, they will say,
Welcome to the little one who brings us
The bright blue beam of the rainbow in your fins.
When I am lounging beside his tank he often rests with his tail on plants, as if he is joining me! They do love their resting places! I forgot to mention my little black shrimp (Boss). I had two, but sadly he lost his partner due to an outbreak of vorticella. I feed very sparingly now and give the shrimps plenty of Catapa leaves and they are clear of it now (touch wood). They are great little creatures!
The females carry batches of eggs (berries) under their bodies, fanning them with their legs to oxygenate them, until they hatch into tiny shrimplets.
