Love hurts...

[omard]

Esp. for posters who have recently reported losses...

Love Hurts

"...As in any relationship, loss can be painful. I've spoken with dozens of aquarists who, like me, admit to having shed tears at the death of one of their fishes. Virtually all aquarists speak of how they "love" their favorite fish or coral. This is an indication of the depth of their relationship and should be appreciated, not ridiculed. It should also serve to warn us that our hobby has its disappointments and sorrows as well as its victories and joys. Death is an integral part of the experience of life and will come to us all in time. We can learn from the deaths that will inevitably occur in our tanks and grow, or we can let Death beat us by seeing it as only an end and giving up our hobby rather than feel the pain again. Which will you choose?

Love also carries with it responsibilities. Beyond witnessing death, we may have to become unwilling players in the drama from time to time. Our priorities seem clear when we act to wipe out a pest algae or a parasitic infestation to enhance the environment for our other tank inhabitants. Right and wrong become less clear, however, when you have to brutally exterminate a seemingly harmless crab that has started to prevent your corals from opening or has been nipping at your fish as they sleep. Yet your love may drive you to grind the hapless crab into its crevice with a screwdriver (since traps seldom work). Or you may have to euthanize a terminally ill fish (the kindest method, by the way, is to put it in a mixture of one part vodka to four parts tank water). How will you deal with it? Will you learn something of value, or be destroyed emotionally? Or will you ignore the entire event as unimportant? After all, denial ain't just a river in Egypt.

If you stay in the hobby for any length of time, you'll have the opportunity to see how you react to death. Don't trivialize the experience..."

The Tao of Marine Aquaria
Tips for Our Hobby and Life

© 1997 Adam H. Whitlock
Edited By Elizabeth M. Lukan 11/25/00

[Nemo 22]

thats pretty deep there.

[baugherb]

How true.. Well put...

[Otty]

Was going to get all teary eyed until the screwdriver came into play.....

I thought you was going to show a youtube video of Nazareth!

[Otty]

Found it: My favorite is "Hair of the Dog"

[BaxterS80]

Thanks, Omard...It is so very true, we become, or at least I become very attached to our fish and corals. We always have our favorites...When it comes to the screwdriver, I hope I never have to get to that point. I know how upset I was getting as my Cherub Pygmy became more and more territorial and tormented my male clown..I was able to remove him with a trap. Once I moved him into another tank I started to like him once again. Omards suggestion for euthanizing is a good idea. Never put a sick fish into a freezer as many have suggested over the years

[sssnake]

...

Allrighty then....here goes.

When they die, they get chucked or flushed.

Before I make a purchase I check compatability issues and make my decision. If they must be removed for the sake of the others in the tank they will be given back to the LFS. If the LFS doesn't want them they are disposed of.

I love the hobby, not my damsels (if that makes sense). It does to me.

I don't get attached to fish, never did.

My two bits worth.....

[superclouds]

the kindest method, by the way, is to put it in a mixture of one part vodka to four parts tank water

LOL!