Well, final update on my Red Wolf. Yesterday evening I went down to the fishroom, did a bit of feeding and puttering, and noticed the Wolf was back into "hiding mode". No huge surprise, nothing new; I went about my business and then sat down to read. My wife was visiting a friend, so Duke and I made an evening of it. Had a beer, read a few chapters, tinkered with a couple of little projects I've been working on...wasted a couple of hours. Finally got up to leave the room, and only then noticed that the rock that had been holding down the Wolf's tank cover was now in the tank, the cover was a bit askew...yep, a few minutes of frantic searching produced the semi-leathery almost-dry fish, quite dusty and completely motionless, under the tank. I quickly flipped him back into the tank and observed a hint of gill motion, a flicker of life. He had been on the floor, motionless and silent, the entire time I was in the room, and who know's how long before that.
Long story short: there was no activity all night, nor this morning. A weak flutter of gill motion is the only indication of life; I'm astonished that so many hours after being returned to the tank, there was no change for either better or worse. The fish was upside down on the bottom the entire time. I gave up, couldn't bear to watch it clinging to life; I am assuming it wasn't exactly comfortable. I euthanized it this afternoon and my Jelly Cat, who had been sharing the same water system with the Wolf for several months now, had a nice meal.
I was already a bit bummed because of nearly losing a bunch of fish to an unexpected cold snap right after taking them outdoors, and another issue I have detailed elsewhere. This was just the icing on the cake. I don't believe in things that "just happen, nobody to blame". The fish was doing great up until the past few days, when its jumping proclivities appeared out of nowhere. I foolishly did not take sufficient precautions, and so the responsibility is squarely on my shoulders.
Long story short: there was no activity all night, nor this morning. A weak flutter of gill motion is the only indication of life; I'm astonished that so many hours after being returned to the tank, there was no change for either better or worse. The fish was upside down on the bottom the entire time. I gave up, couldn't bear to watch it clinging to life; I am assuming it wasn't exactly comfortable. I euthanized it this afternoon and my Jelly Cat, who had been sharing the same water system with the Wolf for several months now, had a nice meal.
I was already a bit bummed because of nearly losing a bunch of fish to an unexpected cold snap right after taking them outdoors, and another issue I have detailed elsewhere. This was just the icing on the cake. I don't believe in things that "just happen, nobody to blame". The fish was doing great up until the past few days, when its jumping proclivities appeared out of nowhere. I foolishly did not take sufficient precautions, and so the responsibility is squarely on my shoulders.
