Measle

Fishy in the brook
Jump upon my shining hook
You'll taste great with sauce

(bad haiku #134)

When I moved to Tennessee in 2007, it was the fist time since I was 8 years old that I didn't have a working aquarium set up.  I just don't have the gumption anymore.  Although it can look effortless taking care of an aquarium, it is no easy task.  One doesn't just feed the fish and turn the lights on and off, it's actually a delicate ecosystem that needs to be balanced.  The good aquarists are naturals at this and make it look easy. The rest might as well just put their money in a pile and light it on fire.

I prefer African cichlids. They're the most colorful freshwater fish, and fairly easy to obtain. They're fairly hardy too, as long as you keep their temperature up and the pH high.

On one occasion I was setting up a brand new 55 gallon tank. Setting up is a process...can't just dump all the crap in at once and expect it to work.  It takes several weeks for the water to adjust and the bacteria colonies to establish themselves before you can introduce fish.  I had planned to use this tank to house sunset gouramis. 

Before The gouramis came, I bought several aquarium plants, some of the floaty kind and some to plant, and one little upside down catfish - about an inch long.  I put the floaty plants into the water, and I see this tiny pair of eyes swimming toward me!  Seriously, it was such a tiny fish, I could only see his eyes - he had been a stowaway inside the plant! I decided to let him stay. 

I set the lights on a timer, and once a day threw a few sinking shrimp pellets onto the gravel in the bottom for the catfish. I never saw the catfish, but I suspected he was there since I hadn't seen his carcas floating on the top. 

About 6 weeks later, I prepare to go gourami shopping.  I take the lid off the aquarium to rearrange the rocks, and place a few plants in a more attractive location, and a huge splash greets me at the surface of the water.  I jumped about 3 feet straight in the air - it scared the crap out of me.   I put the lid back on and turned on the lights to observe. It was the catfish, who by that time had grown to about 8 inches long and had been living under a piece of driftwood.  Next I see "the pair of eyes" has grown to be a *pan-sized* spotted fish I would later identify as a turquoise severum.  I named him Measle and decided to forget about the gouramis. 

Measle would follow whoever happened to walk by the tank, and became a favorite of anyone who visited. And he kept growing, finally ending up dinner-plate sized.  Measle had a trick.  I would open the lid and say "Give us a kiss, Measle!"  He would come to the surface and make a big "smooch" sound, exactly like a huge kiss.   That was his feeding routine, not really a trick, but I swear it could have been on Letterman's stupid pet tricks, and Letterman himself would have handed him a prize.

Measle lived to be 18. When he died I kind of lost interest in moving the aquarium one more time.  I gave my remaining fish away and packed everything up. It sits in the garage in a crate. Waiting.