Turmoil in the Large Aquarium   5-8-12
No sooner did we get the water in the 125 gallon fish tank cleared up than storm clouds appeared. I am referring, of course, to the two new Oscars that we adopted. After multiple assurances to the young man that responded to my ad on Craigslist that his pets would be well cared for, after 30 minutes or so I had severe doubts. There was a great deal of um...conflict when the new fish were introduced. Okay, okay, there was a WAR. The new fish were slightly larger than our two, but they were on unfamiliar territory after the stress of being removed from their home and transported. At first my Oscars just did some posturing. Then then started biting. Fortunately, Oscars do not have teeth. But their jaws are strong, and damage to fins and tails was soon inflicted to the newcomers in spite of their attempts to find elsewhere to swim. I separated them with a plastic poker as best I could. Just as it got ugly and started to turn into a rout, the timer clicked and the lights in the tank went off! The effect was almost immediate. The fish paired up in the gloom and drifted off to opposite ends of the tank. To be continued....