(ノಠ益ಠ)ノ彡 ┻━┻

Corydoras bitching 2.0...

I got a peppered cory and big emerald cory to live with my finless albino cory. (long story short, I was away for about a month and my parents over fed the fish, resulting in a bad nitrate spike which seemingly burned off it's fins... And it lived just fine once I fixed everything.)

The peppered cory had some kind of sore on its fin which I attributed to a bumpy car ride, but then it started spreading over the next day to all his fins and BAM, dead.

I check all my other fish, and they're absolutely vibrant and fine... Except for Mr. Albino. His fin stumps look funny. BAM, he's dead the next morning.

I have one cory left. Big fat happy emerald cory, no sign of any illness. We watch him closely and he's doing fine. Finally the tank is happy and healthy and blahblahblah.

THEN one morning I turn the fish light on and THE CORY IS GONE. I'm going nuts and my boyfriend shines a light under the dresser we keep the tank on, and there he is, fucking dried and mummified. HE JUMPED OUT THE 2x1 FEEDING HOLE IN OUR FISH TANK COVER.

FFFFUUUUUUUCCCCKKKK.
... I should really stop keeping fish.

 

Such freak accidents to happen so close together too. I'm sorry, Maddie.

 

Awww! I'm sorry to hear all of that...

For the future, it sounds like they got skin infections (duh, you say). There are a few things that can be done to help rehabilitate such a problem:

• Stress Coat and other similar products can be added to the tank to help replace a fishes' natural skin defense.
• Freshwater Aquarium Salt, it sounds funny, but most natural bodies of water have a nominal amount of salt in them. Tap water usually doesn't, so it needs to be added back in small amounts for an optimal environment. Adding salt to the water has a similar effect on the fishes' breathing as a human going to a higher elevation; it ups the oxygen concentration which can aid in healing and stress relief.
• Melafix is a topical tea tree oil solution for fish. It's antiseptic properties can help to kill off the offending bacteria/fungus and keep the wounds clean.
• Pimafix is a specifically anti-fungal medicine made to work alongside Melafix.

I didn't really intend to pimp put Aquarium Pharmaceuticals products, but in my limited experience they do work well in aquariums smaller the 100 gallons. If you use the salt, you can try something neat that we used to do at the store: put the salt dosage into a clear solo cup or glass, and place in on its side on the bottom of the tank. Fish will go and visit the little "decompression room" to hang out occasionally. If you notice one individual is in there a lot it can be an early sign of illness/stress.

About the poor fella that committed "suicide"; when a schooling fish like a Cory is alone they can get worked up and race around the tank, including jumping and bouncing off the lid (especially the corners, where access points tend to be located). It was probably just nervous about being alone and trying to entertain itself when *bam* it ended up on the floor.

My sympathies!

 

Thanks for the condolences, boo and Purple. It's been quite a bummer losing these guys.

I went to PetSmart (I really should stop shopping there but it's really closeby) but took your advice and picked up some Stress Coat and Melafix. I had Stress Coat to begin with and always put some in when I got new fish, but I think it's something like 8 years old... So I bought a new bottle to be on the safe side. Also got an emerald, albino, and julii cory.

I'm playing it super safe this time, putting Melafix and Stress Coat, floating the bag, taking out the filter so the Melafix can circulate... And keeping the damn receipt this time around in case they all kick the bucket anyway.

Got my fingers crossed.

And oh hell, that is so immensely depressing that my emerald cory got lonely and became a nervous wreck... I knew they were social little buggers, but I didn't think being without another cory would be so hard on the little fellow. Never going to keep a cory solo again!

 

Fuck I am so tired but can not seem to sleep a full night or day.......

Do electric sheep care about a dreaming Android?

SLEEP why are you so elusive? I have not got a good nights sleep in
almost 4 months now. Totally serious I sleep in 3- 4 hour shifts at the
very best. I am not a fan of pills but I am considering trying sleeping
pills to see if it will help. Anyone take these on a regular basis?

Any problems waking up or side effects otherwise?

 

I've been having similar issues since the beginning of summer. I sleep in a 3 hour shift, wake up, am up for about an hour to three hours, then I get sleepy again... Except that for second shift, I can sleep up to 10 hours. If I don't sleep enough for second shift, I'll get sleepy midday. If I don't take a nap midday, I'll have a terrible headache by the evening.
Talk about a vicious cycle...

I've tried Benadryl and melatonin to no avail. I've tried staying awake for 16 hours but I still wake up 3 hours after going to sleep. Nothing seems to work so I've just had to learn to live with it and use the early hours that I'm awake constructively.

As for pills... I really don't recommend them. I used to be on Lunesta back in high school and it was awful but necessary. (Had trouble falling asleep, not staying asleep.) Most sleeping pills don't put you to sleep, but instead turn you into a zombie by affecting your mind. I would sometimes take Lunesta and make the terrible mistake of going on the computer to check something, and then 3 hours later I'd remember that I was supposed to go to sleep. You just completely zone out. If you don't get a full night's sleep while on Lunesta you sometimes feel weird in the morning, like a little electric sensation in your head. It's unpleasant. :/
Not to mention all those crazy stories of sleepwalking and cooking food while on Ambien!

 

Ever try time release melatonin? It may help as it releases more as u sleep. Regular melatonin just helps u become tired or fall asleep but wears off quickly so it doesnt help u stay asleep.

 

Dang, they have that? Guess I either wasn't looking hard enough in the vitamin section, or maybe the place I bought my melatonin from didn't carry it... But that sounds like an awesome idea to try, falling asleep isn't an issue, it's waking up for no reason three hours later!

Thanks so much, I'll definitely have to look into that!

 

I dont know how popular it is...all i know is the last time i bought melatonin i almost bought the time release by accident. And im sad to say it was at walmart

 

I've had insomnia my whole life but I'm convinced some people just need less sleep than others. Don't fight your body on that. The myth everyone needs 8 hours is bullshit. I routinely get only 5-6 hrs, which is ok but sometimes my sleep patterns are disrupted and I keep waking up. Usually the result is 3-4 hrs sleep max and in shifts. I dread those days because I'm tired all day and keep dozing off fighting sleep when I need to be awake in lecture.

I use to take melatonin which would help me fall asleep but not necessarily keep me asleep longer. I think most sleeping problems are related to stress. For instance if I'm thinking about all the papers I have to write and freaking out about finishing them, or I'm excited for the next day (because of something happening) those factors tend to keep me up thinking and preventing sleep. Or if I ignore my body at night telling me to go to sleep I miss my opportunity and have trouble falling asleep later. I think the key is just listening to your body and shutting down all stimuli. I've been taking Tylenol PM recently help establish a sleep patten with mixed results. I try not to take it every night because I want my body to naturally acclimate itself to a bed time. Unfortunately my work/stress level varies from week to week. Mainly use it like a force shut down option on a computer and not have that 3-4hr keep waking up horrific sleep lol.

 

This is me as well Coffee helps some but then I end up going to the bathroom a lot

 

I used to be an insomniac. I would never feel sleepy even if I was tired. ANd when I fell asleep anything would wake me. I went to a sleeping disorders clinic. They gave me pills for two months. They said they 'activated' my sleep. And it worked! After that I would sleep anywhere at any unsuspected time! But then I went back and they gave me different pills for another month to regulate my sleeping needs. It worked perfectly, now I sleep almost immediately when I go to bed, and don't wake up as easily. They also gave me a list of 'sleeping hygiene' to dos. They included doing a list of things you have pending or stressing you. Not drinking water 3 ahours before goint to bed, having some nice blinders, courtains, etc... ear plugs if necessary, only using your bed for sleeping. No t.v., working, reading (which I actually do), eating... it included others but I really can't remember, it was 8 years ago and I really stopped doing all of them when I discovered I could sleep pretty well now.

 

Huh, never been to a sleep clinic. And stress is definitely a huge problem for me at the moment. Lots of family bullshit going on.
Maybe I'll give the sleep clinic a shot if this continues into my next semester, seems a lot more constructive than just saying "hey doc, I can't sleep" and getting prescribed some pills without knowing the actual cause.

 

I've found it can also help to condition yourself to sleep with a noise machine/white noise. This always helps me as I have trouble sleeping anywhere but my own bed (maybe I'm over condition!) and I always take a noise machine or use an app on my phone when at a hotel or elsewhere. I definitely suggest following the rule of only sleeping in bed (well maybe not just sleeping ) but no tv or any other stimulus that may keep you awake... unless of course you have conditioned yourself to fall asleep to the tv. You can pretty much train yourself to associate anything with sleep.

 

sometimes i just do not have words to relate how
much it eats me up inside. a simple FU really is
not as effective in any such relevant contexts

man's inhumanity and destructive nature seems
oblivious to others where as it has always hurt
me to the depths of my personal existence

i wish at times that i could just really get away
from everything but the impact would simply
just hang on and feed like a true parasite

i used to try to focus on anything that would
distract the negative unproductive thinking
then over time got consumed- am i a ghost?

its like trying to see the sunlight and feel its
warmth while standing on the bottom of the
ocean. like holding on to grains of sand.......

nothing can soothe the bitterness this has
caused and continues to gnaw way at the
foundation of reality itself until i am drained

i can neither accept this nor alter the damage
to some semblance of acceptable living. as if
there were an alternative- what a fool i am?

i will not hold my breath for the respiration no
longer sustains the part of me that cared at
all. please understand it was not as i wished

no not FU i will not give you the satisfaction
of taking pleasure in your perception of the
results of what you did- i withdraw you lose

thank you friend for offering the kind words
and suggestion to stay in the light. may you
find peace and your dignity be untarnished

ghosts are unaware they remain which is
why they seek the light and if that light
can not be found they will never really die

 

Fuck Pasadena meter maids. You gave me a ticket for parking more than two hours even though I moved the car down the street and onto the other side. I will fight this bullshit

 

FUCK YOU whoever did this to toothaction.

 

^Seconded!

FUCK THEM!

 

Well thank fuck school is over! But now the big fuck you of moving begins today...... urgghhhhh

I've got to move over 500 toys, and transport those 4 detolfs (fuck unwiring that light set up I just did!) not to mention disassemble the largest 25 shelf expedit, box 3000 records and then try an reassemble that expedit- place records back on shelves (I'm sure the by label order will get messed up in the move) and re-shelf those toys. And that's just my collectable shit which my significant other hates and will just give me the eye secretly saying "Why is that not packed? Just move it already or throw it away!" I'm sure everyone here knows this already. You can't just throw everything in a box and say it's moved like they want or as they hope- you'll just toss it- never!

As is the only toy I'm carefully packing in bubblewrap is the Giant Butanohana Spaceman which can be prone to scuffs. The rest I'm packing in giant sterilite bins and using t-shirts/clothes to prevent scratches. Worked last time I moved 6 years ago, when I had about 150 toys. I just don't have the time to individually wrap every toy. Then I'm personally transporting that shit in my small Camry. Fuck it if I have to make 10 trips. At least we have till the end of January but Kim is so gung ho 24-7. I'm a lazy fuck.

I so hate my life

PS Did I mention it's winter in Buffalo? Yeah, so much fun to move in winter around x-mas... where's the emoticon with the gun blowing my brains out?

I donned my Daniel Day Lewis 'Last of the Mohicans' voice as I wrapped this guy : "I will protect you..."

 

Geez, I have never moved before, but it sounds like the most stressful thing ever. Heck, I get stressed out when I have to move a tiny portion of my stuff around the house... Multiply that by a whole house/apartment/whatever, and I think my brain might fry itself from anxiety.

...that being said, FUCK MY FAMILY.
I know that sounds terribly grinchy, especially with the holidays fast approaching, but I can't stand them. Today my second cousins (or something) are coming over, who are both female. Manners dictate that as a female around their age, I'm expected to be their main source of hospitality... Except my father completely failed to tell me that they were invited UNTIL THIS MORNING, and I HAVE ZERO IN COMMON WITH THEM. One of them is party-crazy bimbo who has probably fucked a guy in every European country she's visited (I like to say that they "stamped her passport" if you know what I mean ) and the other is a singer/songwriter whose musical tastes are basically nothing I have ever heard of. (Musical hipster, I guess?)
The thought of having to socialize with these two is PAINFUL. And of course, I'm going to have to answer questions like "What school are you going to?" (community college, that's kind of a conversation-killer right there) "So what's with those photos you keep uploading of toys?" (Explaining the toy community isn't even worth wasting my time on, because it will undoubtedly result in eyerolls) and undoubtedly the subject of my boyfriend's mom's death will come up, which I am not looking forward to talking about. My extended family fails at any semblance of sympathy, and frankly any attempts at them trying to understand our grief absolutely enrages me.

My only saving grace at this point is that I will be escaping Connecticut (and more family gatherings) the morning of Christmas Eve, and will be spending Christmas Day with my boyfriend's family in Delaware. They are the most normal, happy, and sweetest family ever. (Is that weird that I actually LOVE spending time with my someday-will-be inlaws?) And I get to order Chick-fil-A, so I have that going for me too.

 

^^^^^ FUCK Chick-fil-A !!!
One of the most homophobic businesses on the planet.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chick-fil- ... ontroversy

 

Yes but it's sooo good (I only went twice tho..) !
And it's a Christians organisation, what do you expect anyway ? At least they are not beheading ppl or shooting kids in school to please some imaginary friends.

 

I have to agree with nefasth the original chick-fil-a is so friggin good! Every time I go home I get one. Their belief system is a little askew but what do expect from right wing super christians?

Man I love my g/f but after de-shelving and putting all of my toys carefully in 6 giant plastic tubs bringing downstairs, making 2 trips in my car, bringing them upstairs where they will go she made me move those things 3 times today! Now they currently rest in a cold attic till I can set up the deathstar detolfs again. I was cursing like a banshee today.