Pond Boss Forums GENERAL QUESTIONS Pond Boss Confession on a Sad Day....

At any given time in life when we embark upon a path of stewardship of another of God's creatures, we inevitably learn so much more about ourselves then the animal or creature we strive to care for.

Today, I learned that I am either:
1) Lenny from Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men, or;
2) JoJo the Idiot Circus Boy from the movie, Tommy Boy.

As some of you know, I've been raising a channel catfish, Diego, in a small home aquarium with the hopes of releasing him in one of our neighborhood retention ponds this spring.

Over the course of the last (8) months or so, Diego has had the benefit of mutual living with fatheads, bluegill, livebearers, Florida flagfish, and zebra danios. By and large, Diego had rejected all other fish save for one single fathead and one bluegill.

Several weeks ago, in what must have amounted to an overnight rage incident, Diego ended the life of the bluegill. This caused much sadness in my household, and I was grateful to find a willing ear here on the forum to express my sorrows.

At any rate, that left just Diego and this unnamed, yet robust fathead. I likened these two, catfish and fathead, to a Horse and Goat similar to what one might see at a given stable. You know, where they have a goat present to befriend the horse, or horses, as the long days pass.

Well, some disagreement must have occurred, or some malevolent spirit set forth, again overnight, thus resulting in the disappearance of the sole-surviving fathead as of yesterday morning. Yet again, our household was cast into sadness.

But always looking forward, we knew that spring was around the corner, and that Diego would soon be set free to kill and maim as he saw fit. Planning was underway for a great & festive party to commemorate this joyous occasion of liberation.

Feeling that Diego's imminent call for freedom and subsequent release was to occur in the next week or so, I endeavored to change his tank water thus enabling him to live out his remaining aquarium days in relative comfort.

As always, I added a bit of kosher salt to the new water. For some reason, I threw in an extra measure or two of kosher salt.

As is my ritual every weekday morning, I prepare the coffee and then check on the aquarium. The first thing I noticed was that Diego did not have the usual guilty look in his eye after having dispatched a fellow tank resident during the prior night. He did, however, have a very placid, sanguine look. This placid, sanguine look coupled with his apparent immobility told the story I did not want to hear. Diego was dead.

In essence, I think I 'pickled' him in water just ever so slightly too salty. So in essence, I raised this fish only to kill him in the end.

Damn Diego!

Traumatic.

Poor Diego.















"I think I 'pickled' him in water just ever so slightly too salty."

Might one inquire whether there were any alcoholic involvements involved in the water change? Were you also a little pickled when you changed the water?

Or, did you invite Diego to enjoy a little hops, barley, malt or natural grain spirits in his new environment?

Or, were there any tequilas to go along with the salt?

It sounds like maybe Diego was just too hungover to get around.

Don't be too hard on yourself.

Perhaps it wasn't the salt at all and just a coincidence.

He may have passed as a result of a broken heart.

Loneliness is a terrible thing......

even if it was by his own doing.

The salt didn't do it (at least 95% of the time it wont'. Its protective to an extent). There are some other factors that usually are not a big deal unless the fish was already on the way out soon anyhow. Probably a coincidence like fish and chips says.

Well on second thought forget about that crap. I like the salty catfish story. RIP Diego

I agree with Gflo. I don't know how much a "bit" and "extra measure or two" are or how many gallons the deceased's tank was, but in my experience with my RAS it takes a surprisingly large amount of salt to raise the salinity level.

Sunil,

Think Viking Funeral Pyre, its only fitting......

Wow its Actually

"JoJo the Indian Circus boy"

I always thought it was

"JoJo the Idiot Circus Boy"..

Ken (catmando) said that he's on the way - don't throw it out.

Corrected!

Sorry to read about the loss of your seemingly very close to your heart wisker faced friend. May Diego, along with his finned "friends" that he dispatched with his gluttonous mouth and stomach, RIP!

fry him up and eat him...he'd want it that way

He's already salted to boot

Catfish really don't like too much salt. Been there... and killed a few...

In light of this information, the rush to conclude that this was an accidental death seems premature.

Motive? If I recall, there was much wailing and gnashing of teeth at the demise of BG.

Suspects? Enraged,vengeful daughter? Envious canine? Jealous, neglected spouse? All would seem plausible.

Opportunity? Between travel and periods of Peroni-induced somnalence, there would seem to be plenty.

Case reopened!

I think it's a crime of emotional instability and revengeful passion

This also recently happened:


Just saying

At least you didn't drop him........

We don't really KNOW that, now do we, Sparkie?

Hmmm......Good point Yolk!

May have been some confusion as to pet fish, or pet the fish

After watching too many "Sasquatch" episodes followed by "Ghost Hunters," I think we have to consider the real possibility that the BG and Fathead came back.

Before we go any further, I'd like to hear the "other" story.

As I understand the facts so far, the poor soul was forced into the confinement of an aquarium tank... for some undertermined length of time... under uncertain conditions... Maybe really salty conditions... and for entertainment purposes!

Apparently, in the face of starvation the poor soul had NO OTHER CHOICE than to resort to the cannibalism of his dear friends... a bluegill, and what was it, a FHM? Anyway, they were his buddies!

And now we learn he's DEAD! Something about this whole thing sickens me...

Except for the idea of eatin him, though. Might as well, right? I'd suggest a nice cajun seasoning, and crispy on the edges, please. A little tartar sauce, and a cold brew. No, two cold brews. Yeah, sounds like he was a bully... I'm pretty sure he deserved it.

Fry the booger...


Tried copying Wedding Crashers YouTube here of the "dammit Roger" scene, but you have to imagine it playing here and now...

Sunil...use any dechlorinator in the water? More likely you bleached his gills over pickling them. Even in a 10 gallon aquarium, you would need more than a cup of salt to even get in a danger zone for a CC.