=(

Dagon has passed away lol.

I have to admit, I am extremely sad at the moment. I know some people will find it weird, but I really get attached to the stuff I love (which is a kind of curse I guess) and as shown in my last post I really love my pets. My sister took good care of him, but I guess something went wrong. She is pretty sad as well lol (she's like me)

Poor Dagon ... he was a beautiful Black Moor. I was hoping he will grow big, healthy and strong.

RIP

Here's a pic of him when I first got him. He grew quite a bit since then, and his dark gold tail and fins became so long and beautiful! I loved watching his tail and fins flow in the water as he swam in the tank.

Pets ... =(

I miss my pets lol. Like really really reaaaaaaaaally miss them.

I miss watching the Goldfishes at night while I sit in my room on the laptop or reading a book. I would look up and stare at the tank, watching Dagon and the rest of the gang swim around. There's something really relaxing about just watching them swim around.



I miss coming home from work and checking on Kami the tortoise, who currently lives in a big tub, filled with sand and plants and even a little cave for her to sleep in, out on the balcony due to her still being a baby and cats my attack her and stuff. I can look out unto the blacony from bedroom's window, and see her tub. Watching her eat her Prickly Pear Cactus or Aloe Vera was adorable as well =P



I miss feeding the Oscars and Snake Eels. Damn they were amazing to watch at feeding time. The know when feeding time is because I knock on the glass a few times before opening the of their tank. They would get so incredibly excited, coming to the top of the tank and almost jumping out of the water. When I feed them meat or chicken, I would drop the food piece by piece and watch how fast they attack their food. It really is awesome to watch lol. I espically miss Charlie the Albino Oscar. She was the bravest out of them all, always swiming curiosly up to my hand to investigate lol.



I miss the baby turtles, Sasha and Speedy. I espically miss Sasha, she is such a spoilt little princess! She always walks up to your hand when you put it in the tank, and she let us pet her head gently as she sat still. She would also follow me around when I put her on my bedroom's floor in order for her to get some exercise, crawling onto my foot or just staring up at me with that funny crooked look lol.



I miss the puppies =( I only got to see them a couple of times before I came to NZ, but oh do I miss them xD They would get so excited when they see us approach them and it brought joy to my heart to see them in that way. I bought so many treats and toys for them before I came to NZ.

Sasha, Speedy and Kami

Walking around the garden ^_^
















More piccies of the gang here

Random Snaps ...

... of my Palestinian Kofyeh, Sprite the the Goldfish and Kami the Tortoise (you can kinda see Dagon in Sprite's snapshots. He just would not get out of the way! Every photo of Sprite has Dagon in it xD)

Dagon isn't feeling well =(

A few days ago, while watching him swim around his tank, I noticed a little tear at the end of Dagon's tail. I was a little mystefied as to how he came to injur himself, as there are no other fishes in the the tank, nor any sharp objects for him to cut himself open, nor any trap areas of any kind.

I dismissed the tear and thought that it would heal by time, since there didn't seem to be any kind of infection surrounding it, not to mention Dagon was as vigorous as ever, swimming and digging all over the tank.

Two days ago, I noticed that his other tail was torn as well. Infact, his tail was really frayed, and there were red spots on the end!

I quickly googled the symptoms, and it turns out that Dagon has a bacterial infection called Tail Rot or Fin Rot, where his tail and fins are slowly being eaten away by bacteria. One of the causes of Tail Rot is a sudden harsh change in temperature, be it hot or cold. Well, there has been an incredibly cold front in Oman recently, and that was about the time I noticed the first tear in Dagon's tail.

Tail Rot can easily be treated using a special water treatment medicine. I finally managed to find the right medicine today (petshops in Oman are mysteriously under stocked), took out 50% of his tank's water, replaced it with fresh clean water and added the medicine.

The medicine colored the tank's water a BRIGHT GREEN! It looks so cool lol. And Dagon is swimming around the tank more and also digging again! I hope he'll recover soon inshallah =) The Medicine doesn't affect the other inhabitants of the tank (Bean, the water turtle, in this case) but it could have a negative effect on my plants =(

Some pictures:

Speedy

Some snapshots of Speedy the turtle, hanging out and stuff.

Click for larger.

Fishies!

Zohan, my new fishie, is a Japanese Shubunkin.

Shubunkins are very popular fancy goldfishes in Japan, mostly kept in ponds. Seems like Zohan is gonna grow to be bigger than Dagon inshallah =)

Shubunkins are known for being really fast and active swimmers (no wonder Zohan was like that last night xD) They are Calico colored fish, which means they can sport a number of colors in patches (Zohan is white, red, orange, and gold with black spots in his fins and tails). Shubunkins have nacreous scales, a mix of metallic and transparent scales that give it a pearly appearance.

Dagon, as I mentioned before, is a Black Moor, who also originates from Japan. His scales are metallic, a mixture of black, dark bronze and dark gold. Dagon’s gold scales are particulary more abundant around his tummy. It’s Japanese name is kuro demekin, and in China it’s Dragon Eyes (totally suits since they do look like Dragons lol)

Sweepy is a Chinese Algae Eater. They basically keep the tank clean, eating up all the algae that may grow as well as leftover food. Pretty shy fishies, that mostly hide in corners. They do well in a tank community when young, but become territorial as adults and may attack other fish (that does NOT sound good! Oh well, I’ll let future me deal with it =/)

So yeah, my three little fishies ^_^

Zohan and Sweepy

I finally got a big fish tank for Dagon. Installed it today, but he looked so lonely in the huge aquariam. So I got two new friends for him lol ^_^

This is Sweepy, the tank's Janitor.



This is Zohan. He is so incredibly hyper xD I could not for the life of me get a clear shot of him coz he just WOULD NOT STOP MOVING! He's multicolored; orange, red, white, black, gold, and has huge black eyes.



Dagon was asleep in the corner of the tank when I dropped Sweepy and Zohan in. Sweepy immediatly swam to the bottom of the tank and settled down. Zohan, to me and my sister's delight and amusment, began swimming all over the tank at super duper speed! He would zip from one end to the other, either having a look at the plants or digging at the stones in the bottom ( I better place heavy pebbles around the plants so they dont get uprooted by Dagon or Zohan) During all this Zohan hyperness, Dagon was still peacefully at the corner of the tank totally motionless and calm, until Zohan swam straight towards him with a headbutt, causing Dagon to swim upwards in fear xD Oh how I wish I had recorded that with my video cam!

Dagon was pretty creeped out for a bit. He stayed in the same corner of the tank, warily facing Zohan whom was still happily zipping around the tank. Finally, Dagon cautiosly swam towards Zohan, and kinda began following him around the tank.

Check out Dagon's bemused expression (love the green light reflection on his tummy). Zohan is a little blurry in the picture because he just WOULD NOT STOP MOVING AGAIN!



Am watching the two of them as I write this post. Dagon seems really happy, he's more active now! They are swimming around and following each other. If one goes to the top of the tank, the other follows, if one swims towards the plants, the other follows. Sweepy is still in the same position as when I first dropped him lol.

Dagon

Dagon is my new Black Moor fish ^_^

I got him yesterday, and I am determined that he lives for a long time, and not die like poor Mr.Fish (my previous pet goldfish). Come to think of it, I hope he isn't sucidal like Mr.Fish either ...

I saw Dagon yesterday in the petshop and instantly fell inlove with him.

He's so beautiful! Black and dark gold velvet like scales, and a mean face that looks like a dragon. My gothic fish lol. If taken care of well he can grow up to 10 inches! Just imagine how beautiful he will look with his long flowy tail and fins (He's currently about three inches). Hence the reason why I chose the name Dagon, he's a little fish god =P

I'm gonna get a bigger aquarium next week and place it in my bedroom. Dagon currently resides next to my Buddha lamp on my letter table. I've been waiting for our large aquarium to be installed in our hallway downstairs for over a year now, but to no avail. Hence, I will install one myself in my bedroom since I got plenty of space for a large one.

Dagon will have new friends soon, I've been reading up on fishes that he can live with and I think I will go with a white Veiltail as well as a red one. I want Veiltails that look just like the pretty ones in the 1940 Disney's Fantasia. How awesome would it be if my fishes could dance like them as well! I wish I could teach them to, but alas, if I was able to then the expression "Memory of a goldfish" would not exist =(

------------------------------------------------------------------
UPDATE

=O

Omg you can actually teach goldfish tricks!

Check this out http://www.fish-school.com/

I must admit I am incredibly surprised