The Liesel giveth, the Liesel taketh away.
I dismantled my fishtank today. Those of you who are not marine aquarium enthusiasts will probably want to surf away now.
Still with me? OK. Lemme start by describing my little underwater world. It was a 15-gallon Eclipse mini reef with a dual lamp hood and power head for extra water flow. Over the course of 4 years, I've made dopey mistakes in choosing livestock (eels = bad); I've tried mixing my own salt water (Tampa tap water = what IS that stuff??); and I've surrendered to the limitations of a small tank with limited lighting (no giant clams or exotic anemones -- *sigh*).
But in that time I cultivated a living, thriving community. If you're unfamiliar with "live rock," let me just tell you that it is, in itself, effing amazing. Unlike tropical tanks with plastic underground filters, live rock is natural filtration. Simply put, the creatures in the rocks consume the waste particles, keeping the tank water crystal clear. It really is LIVE rock--loaded with tiny animals. From miniscule snails to bristle worms, it is rife with critters that not only grow in the daylight, but house noctournal dudes which poke their freaky selves out after hours and peruse the tank for leftover food. Two worlds in one.
I've been avoiding it, but after many hours (and corresponding beers) my husband accepted the job in Denver. We're flying out this weekend to look at houses, and I don't have a sitter to feed the fish, so it seemed like the time was right.
Who thought it would be so hard to say goodbye to a bunch of FISH?
The tankmates included an adorable, perfect-in-every-way clownfish named Nemo (of course). The great thing about Nemo, aside from his seniority, was that I procured an anemone for 10 bucks (because the petshop guy didn't know what kind of anemone it was and predicted that it wouldn't live in a mini-reef). Hah! Nemo and his anemonic-life-partner have lived in total symbiosis for 2 years now. Nemo only leaves it to grab a mystis shrimp at feeding time, then snuggles back in. The anemone shrivels at night, and blossoms every morning.
My second love is Sebastian the Brown Tang. It was especially hard to say goodbye to him because of his personality. He was a fraidy-cat for so long. Then slowly he began begging for extra food--but only from me. When my kids or husband approached the tank, he'd zip into the rocks. But, believe it or not, this goofy fish would swim wildly back and forth, begging for snacks, whenever he saw me. ME!
I also had a pink Brittle Star and a Scarlet-Legged Hermit Crab, who have been in the tank since the beginning. Brittle Stars are cool because they have very long, thin legs and look like an octopus. With 5 legs. And mine was pink, which is especially snazzy. They're called "brittle" because when you touch them, as a weird defense mechanism, they go all stiff. ARMS STRAIGHT OUT IN ALL DIRECTIONS. I guess that makes them harder for fish to eat... I dunno. Nature is strange.
As I pulled apart the pieces of rock, unavoidably crushing newly grown coral groves and disturbing delicate feather dusters and tiny rock anenomes, I felt necessarily miserable. I cried the entire time, and all the way to the aquarium store. For some stupid fish.
But it was my world, and I had created it. Not quick and impulsive like so many other things I do, but slowly and with persistence and effort.
And I miss it, and everyone in it. Stupid fish.
