The Latest Casualty

This is NOT my fault. It's Not! I promise.

I've done everything possible in my power over the past year to save the life of this clown fish who, I swear, is suicidal. And you know this! I've posted several times about the things I've done to protect his little life. But I'll recap it for you.

Shortly after we got the fish, the tiniest one came down with Ich - a disease that coats his little body with this fuzz. I quarantined him for like two months and finally healed him (little self pat on the back for me).

And then, well the actual tank and the filter are separated by a rather low wall and this little guy kept jumping over the wall into the filter where I'd spend literally an hour each time trying to fish (hehe, little play with words) him out and rescue him. He did this so many times that The Marshmallow told me just to leave him there until he died and floated to the top. Heartless - where's the Marshmallow now?

So to remedy that, I finally put some pieces of plastic over the top of the filter so that he couldn't jump up there anymore. That worked for a long time - like 6 months! Until yesterday.

I went in there to feed the guys and the little one was missing. No big surprise - last week he got himself stuck behind a rock and AGAIN, I had to save his miserable little life. I went in search of him. I had a bad feeling. I opened up the top and there he was - he had jumped up on top of the plastic and hadn't been able to flip himself down back into the water (something I was sure he'd be able to do should he find himself in that predicament. He was dead.

I'm done. I've lost 3 of 4 fish now not to mention all of the hermit crabs and snails that have come and gone. I'm surrounded in marine DEATH!

Each of those clown fish is like $25! SP wants me to buy another one so that the last one isn't lonely - I think not. I'm not a bank. I'm thinking the whole contraption should find a new home. I'm thinking Craigslist.