Steady Tank Decline

Our beta, "The Dude" was one of the first to go

This morning I chopped off the head of a "Cori" catfish. It was very sad (and a little gross). Catfishes are tough and it took awhile to get the knife through him.

It was a mercy kill- he was very sick, and like many of the other fish in my tank, I performed the beheading with the best intentions.

I've spent the last few months pulling "morts" out of our tank (that's fish hatchery talk for "moralities"). It is so depressing to have to use a pair of tongs to pull a rigor mortis fish off the filter intake, or to have to dig behind the fake plastic plants for a dead body. Can you imagine how the rest of the fish must feel to see the big green net descending- yet again?

What astounds me is that a degree in marine ecology, five years of water quality monitoring experience, and a summer of working at a fish hatchery has not equipped me with the knowledge to prevent these deaths. This is the second tank in two years that has experienced this "steady tank decline", as my wise (ass) husband likes to call it. I've medicated, filtrated, cognated and advocated for these fish, and still they die off.

I wouldn't want a tank so badly if our baby SJ wasn't so into it. The sight of the bright fish swimming (or, in our case, twitching in the throes of death) and the sound of running water immediately soothes and lulls her off to sleep (the tank is next to her crib).

Good thing I'm aspiring to be an inland farmer. If anyone has any advise, I'm open!