At Last...

Last Saturday, I prepared to move Chet and Waylon to the big tank. After allowing them to adjust to the new water for a while by slowly adding new water to the bucket they were hanging out in, I tossed them into their new environment. Waylon looked good. Chet... not so much.

I decided to put Chet back into the 'hospital' tank for another round of treatment and let him recover from his illness for a few more days.

Waylon spent the rest of the day against the far wall of the new tank. He didn't seem as if he was under stress, just uncertain. When Chris got home that evening, I had him unplug the bubble wall we had along the back wall of the tank. Immediately, Waylon started to swim around. I guess there was just too much going on, and all that bubble chaos freaked him out. It has been so nice to see Waylon glide around in the tank, not having to stop short at close walls, or just rest with his fins floating gloriously.

Today, I put Chet back in the big tank. He has recovered nicely. There is still some fog remaining in his eyes, but I am hoping the clean, new, bigger environment will wash away the rest of his stress and eventually he'll be back to 100%.

Now that Chet and Waylon are reunited, they are keeping close: catching up, I suppose. There is a third fish in the big tank... a little feeder we bought to test the water the day before I moved Waylon over. Finley has named him 'Jim'. I feel a little sorry for the guy. Waylon chased him around the first few days, and Jim would hide behind the aeration tubes. Waylon isn't pestering him as much, now and Jim is gaining some confidence, swimming out to the middle once in a while. We'll see how it goes.

Oh, and isn't the stand fantastic? Chris and I designed it together, and Louie (Chris' stepfather) built it for us. We had thought about putting some plant life in the tank, but I'm a little worried that the fish will just tear it up. I'm not so fond of the castle. (It was Chris's from a past setup.) I have my eye on a Chinese dragon statue I saw at the pet shop, but I haven't been able to justify the expense yet.