introductions.

Without further ado...allow me to introduce you to our dear fish pals. The first photo is of our three fish all together. You may wonder why in the last post we only had two fish and now we suddenly have three. It's a good question but it can be explained relatively quickly. We bought another one. 

Crush, Belle and Meeko (respectively)

 Crush (dominant male) and Belle peeking in the back

Fair Belle (fertile female)

Crush and Belle are both creamsicle lyretail mollies, although you can see that Crush has a much more vibrant orange hue and Belle is more subdued and yellowish. Their tails are what set them apart from other mollies (and Meeko) as the lyretail looks like a giant "C" that seemingly floats and glides through the water. These two are often inseparable, although that's not for lack of trying on Belle's behalf. Crush is quite the brute and since he is the only male in the tank, tends to chase the females every second of every day.

Sweet Meeko (peace keeper)

Meeko was our latest addition and is a beautiful silver molly. Although we wanted another lyretail, we arrived at the pet store only ten minutes before close and didn't have the heart to ask the guy to fish out a different molly after struggling for what seemed like forever to get Meeko into the container. So although you could say we didn't really want Meeko in the beginning, she has quickly become one of our favorites due to her curious behavior and quick wit. She is definitely a keeper, although her tail isn't the "fairest" of them all.

These three together keep things very interesting in our household; as I am sure you will soon find out.

fish tales.

Since I have absentmindedly ignored updating the blog for several months, I feel the need to get you up to speed on the latest happenings in our "house." Don't worry, I will keep it short; or at least I will try.

About two months ago, my wonderful husband finally convinced me we were ready for parenthood. NO, I AM NOT PREGNANT. But since we aren't allowed to have dogs or cats at our apartment, a perfect little ten gallon tank that has sat empty for many years, started calling his name. If you don't know that story, follow along.

Once upon a time, I had two beautiful roommates who blessed me with this complete ten gallon fish tank set for my birthday. It came complete with gravel, water heater, lid and decorations. I, of course, jumped the gun and immediately hopped in my car and went to the closest pet store. I carefully chose the "prettiest" fish and brought 14 of them home to my new tank. I named them all. And when I woke up in the morning, I rushed to that tank to greet my new scaly friends; and found a graveyard of what had once been neon tetras.

I tried out a few more fish, but those too died. The only thing I seemed to be able to keep alive was a pretty little beta, also a birthday gift, given to me by my good friend Brandon and appropriately named Sheena Fish. But eventually, Sheena Fish died too. And it was then that I swore I would never try to become a fish mama again; I just didn't think I was cut out for it.

Back to present day, I found myself staring aimlessly at the selection of fish at the pet store. We walked up and down and examined them all very carefully, knowing this was a large step we were about to take. I walked gingerly past the tank filled with neon tetras, remembering vividly the smile on my face as I brought them home and the sinking feeling in my stomach six hours later when I found them all lifeless and strewed about in miscellaneous fashion. Was I ready? We talked for a long time with the "fish expert" each time we visited the store before finally making an educated decision the fourth time around. Each person we talked to seemed to know just a little bit more than the other and so our knowledge, in turn, continued to grow.

Finally, we had made up our minds and decided we would begin with just two mollies based on their hardy nature and ability to fit well in a ten gallon tank. We were given a male and a female, which we didn't realize until many weeks later; one was a subdued yellow hue and the other, bright orange. Appropriately, they were given the names Belle and Crush, and they are the very beginning of our ever fascinating, fish tales.