Since I’ve been missing my puffer boys lately, I decided to dig around for some pictures of them.
These guys were actually my first fish... and by first fish, I mean the first fish I chose on my own and bought all the stuff for with my own money from my first ever real job. This doesn’t count the fish my parents had around the house in various tanks (or, vases with peace lilies... *shudders*).
Now, because I was an inexperienced teenager and I had no real idea how to find a lot of good information on the internet, I didn’t take care of them the best.
For starters, they never should have been housed together. In the years I had them, Pip only bit Merry once, and really only by accident during a feeding frenzy. It was by pure luck that they weren’t aggressive towards each other.
Second, I didn’t understand how to give them a brackish environment until I had already had them for about two years. I don’t even think I knew they were brackish until long after I got them... 99% of pet stores tell you they’re freshwater. They’re not!
Third, they were never really in a proper sized tank. I’m pretty sure they were in a 10 gallon tank for those first two years until I commandeered my dad’s 45g. A 45g might have been sufficient for one single juvenile puffer... but not two growing boys.
Don’t even get me started on water parameters. I don’t think I owned any sort of water testing kit or strips until years after I had my puffers. I DID do weekly water changes with dechlorinator though! I knew that much!!
I’m not even 100% sure if they had a heater.
And yet somehow, between about eight moves including two across the country, they stayed with me (and Chris!). It was only when they were four-ish years old and about three inches long that I lost my two boys. We were moving once again, and the stress was too much for them this time. I was heartbroken.
Thinking back, I’m surprised at how well they did. They never got grey tummies and I never had to clip their teeth (hooray for free pond snails at the pet stores!). I never had to deal with attack wounds or nipped fins, which is good because I had no idea how to take care of that. They were my puppy fish, always following me around the room and trying to rub up against my arm when I was fiddling with the tank. I loved their dumb little faces.
However, this is not a story of “Look how well my fish did even though I was shitty about their care.”. It’s more of a reflection on how far I’ve come as a fish keeper. In the five years since they passed I’ve gone from, well... that... to someone who frets about water parameters, always has extra heaters and filters on hand in case one gives out, owns more fish medication than human medication, has 1/3 of her freezer filled with frozen fish food (aaaand some snake food. lol), and meticulously researches fish/inverts/plants before purchase.
I miss my boys, but I’m happy about how far I’ve come and I’m glad I had them there to start me looking in the right direction on fish care.
