Small wins

So, the inciting incident for me getting back into fishkeeping was adopting a 5 gallon tank from an undergraduate in my lab who was moving. The tank had a single neon tetra in it, the last of a small school. Since she was the only fish in the tank, I decided to name her. It would feel weird if I didn't. I ended up naming her Jelly, as in jelly bean, but she's also my little Jelly-fish (haha). The size of the tank kept me from getting friends for her, so I went and set up a 25gallon for the purpose of getting her a properly sized home and an actual school.

It's been a long road in making this a reality, but finally, the new neons finished their quarantine and Jelly is all moved into her new home. It's been a couple days since the move and she's been doing really well. She's much, much more active than she was in the 5gal and I've noticed her behavior has changed too. She's much more curious and spends a lot of time foraging around the tank, just like the other neons. I'm very happy for her

She's also huge compared to the other neons lol. It's hard to get a good measurement on her, but I wager she's right at the upper end of her species' size range at around 3cm (~1.25in). The littles definitely still have some growing to do, so we'll see if they catch up to her. I've started referring to all of them as Jelly and the Jellicles. I'm not expecting a costumed musical number anytime soon though.


(Don't worry, that spot on Jelly's second dorsal fin isn't ich. It's something benign, possibly an old injury)

Seisage said:

I've started referring to all of them as Jelly and the Jellicles. I'm not expecting a costumed musical number anytime soon though.

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C'mon give them a record deal

MattW3344 said:

C'mon give them a record deal

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If they make it onto the the next Broadway production of Cats, I'll let you know

Very cool ! The best thing about keeping tropical fish is watching them and seeing what they do and they really come alive when they get what they need . I like your aquarium . Want to see them really go nuts ? Feed them live newly hatched brine shrimp . That’s like crack to Neon Tetras .

I wouldn't say that's a small win, it's a huge win!

One you put a lot of time, research and work into, because you felt bad for a lone fish, and wound up creating a perfect set up and proper gang of friends for her! I love that you immediately noticed the change in behaviour once she had the space to spread her fins, and feel secure again with another group of conspecifics! If fish can feel happiness (and I believe many more species than are credited can feel a version of happiness, along with love, and fear, but that's a hypothetical topic for another day) then I'm sure Jelly felt it when introduced to all the others after being alone for so long! And no doubt appreciates the fresh clean water and room to move and swim in an environment so much like the ones they evolved to live in.

It's a very beautiful, ethical tank and attitude, and really endearing. It's sweet how attached we can get to a single, often undervalued fish, isn't it?

So it got you into this side of the hobby, a beautiful new tank and fish, the satisfaction of seeing Jelly and her new cohorts thriving in a lovely set up, and you joined the forum. Altogether, I'd count that as a big win!

Also curious about the ziptied wood! Is it until the wood hopefully waterlogs and remains submerged, or do you have other plans to weigh it down and secure it somehow, then remove the zipties? Because I love the spidery wood and shapes, but also have trouble keeping it in place, when determined to float!

AdoraBelle Dearheart said:

So it got you into this side of the hobby, a beautiful new tank and fish, the satisfaction of seeing Jelly and her new cohorts thriving in a lovely set up, and you joined the forum. Altogether, I'd count that as a big win!

Also curious about the ziptied wood! Is it until the wood hopefully waterlogs and remains submerged, or do you have other plans to weigh it down and secure it somehow, then remove the zipties? Because I love the spidery wood and shapes, but also have trouble keeping it in place, when determined to float!

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Thank you!
And yes, the zip ties are for attaching rocks to the wood to weigh them down. I actually have to move at the end of the month (it's a really short distance, but I'll still need to dismantle the tanks), so at that point I'll remove the zip ties and test the wood. If any still floats, I'll just replace the zip ties until I can figure out a different method of weighing them down. One of the smaller branches has already waterlogged for sure though, so I'm hopeful for the rest!

I think we all owe that neon a nice cool, 23 c drink for bringing you back into the hobby. You only recently joined TFF, but you've really enriched this forum already. Jelly deserves to be thanked.

GaryE said:

I think we all owe that neon a nice cool, 23 c drink for bringing you back into the hobby. You only recently joined TFF, but you've really enriched this forum already. Jelly deserves to be thanked.

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I really appreciate you saying that. And yes, Jelly absolutely should be thanked. It's been fun getting back into fishkeeping, albeit not cheap. I was really the only one who could've taken the tank and I don't know what would've happened to it if I hadn't. But the sense of obligation to improve the condition of an animal in one's care is very powerful. I think if Jelly had been a species that was more appropriate for small spaces and solitude, I wouldn't have gotten back into the hobby as much as I have.