and we're back

So much has happened since I last posted! Well, not really, but I am going to claim it has because it has taken me much time to update.

First of all, the Von Trapps are still doing well in their tank. There was a period there where I was a little worried about Maria, because she had a parasite for a while. The best part about this is that I looked at her and went, "ew, she looks icky." Then I googled to figure out what was going on, and she was actually suffering from something called "ich." Of course.

Maria, looking ich-y:

Once her ich cleared up, however, then I had some concerns about her emotional health. While Captain Von Trapp continually sped around the tank, familiarizing himself with all the ins and outs (including wedging himself in a plant for a little while), Maria decided she liked the archway. And she decided to stay there, like a little fishy unibomber, for days. I thought I had photos of this, but alas, notsomuch.

But I do have Captain Von Trapp, practicing his camoflage:

Crouching Fishy, Hidden Seaweed.

But this was not the biggest concern. No, as many of you have heard (because I have told you. Because I have a big mouth.), I thought for a while that Maria might be pregnant. I still think she might be. But she might also just be chubby. I'm really not sure. And in my efforts to figure it out, I'm pretty sure I'm going to give her body image issues staring at the tank, so I leave it up to you.

Some photographic evidence.

Maria, before:

And Maria now:





The way I see it, this picture totally begs the question:





I honestly can't tell anymore. Post your votes in the comments, folks. Help me out here.

Stephanie

fresh beginnings!

Labor Day weekend, all! After which, you cannot wear white, and you simply, positively, cannot go without fishies any longer. This weekend, I went out to my grandparents' in the suburbs for our annual Labor Day brats cookout. (A meal complete with about 10 pounds of potato salad, because my inability to portion apparently extends to recipes.) It was wonderful, and with the cool, sunny weather, I decided it might be time to try again on the pets front.

In recent weeks, I have learned a great deal more about water chemistry than I knew when I first brought The Triplets home. I am hoping with my newfound scientific understanding (and a few water-conditioning tokens from Petco) my new charges will fare better than their predecessors.

I spoke a bit with the fish guy at Petco, and he helped me pick out two adorable platys to occupy my tank. Platys are small, live-bearing fish not unlike guppies. While there are many kinds, I decided to start out with one male and one female, in hopes that they will have wee baby fishes. (I was informed by the fish guy that "You know, if you want to sit and watch them all day, I guess you could see this happen." I mean, who would be so ridiculous as to sit on the floor of their apartment and watch their fish for hours at a time, possibly taking photos and writing entries for a blog on their lives? Pshhh.*)

So, audience, I present to you, fresh from their journey home, Captain Von Trapp and Maria.


Captain Von Trapp is a redtail dalmatian platy (the pink one with the spots), and Maria is a sunburst wag platy (the bright one with the black tail).

Unexpected fishy fact -- you can, in fact, tell males and females apart in certain kinds of fish. The fish guy showed me this. It's to do with their fins, apparently. (Their actual fins, for the naughty-minded among you.) If a platy's dorsal fin is thin and pointed, it's male. If the fin is fluffed and fanned out, it's female. This difference is best understood if you think of them as jazz hands v. spirit fingers, if only because I love movies about cheerleading competitions.

Also, because I have one of each, they are likely to spend a lot of time swimming together, in the fishy version of taking long walks along the beach. I hope to have more photos of this soon, but right now they're a little traumatized about their move into ze tank. And rightfully so. I mean, first they had to drive home on the highway in Philadelphia traffic (see also: Armageddon). Then they met their Uncle J briefly. . .


. . . before transitioning to their new home.


They've had a long, hard day,** but they seem to be having a good time so far getting to know their new home, so here's hopin'!

I'm scheduled to feed them tomorrow, so I will let you know how that goes. They have fancy food flakes for tropical fish! Ooh la la.

Till then, happy Labor Day weekend!
Stephanie


*I do have to attend class once and a while, after all.
** That's what she said.