Saving Fish

My husband has a large 55 gallon fresh-water fish tank. He has about eight koi of various types and all of them are different. Earlier one of them became ill and it was my job to sit with a bowl of treated water while my husband ran to the store to pick up a few things he needed for the tank. Along with holding the fish I had to make sure and keep prodding the fish (gently I assure you) so it would keep breathing and not die.

All of our fish have names and this one's name is Dart because he is one of the ones who go running around the tank at high rates of speed and then, usually, will jump his head out of the water or rise up like a dolphin and make as big a splash as possible. Dart is about six inches long now and he is a nice looking fish. I didn't mind baby-sitting him.

Now my husband is finishing up cleaning the tank just to make sure that none of the other fish get sick. As for Dart, well his condition is still undetermined at this time. He is still alive. He is swimming on his own. But he seems to be blind or unable to see very well.

Dart is one of the larger fish my husband has, but, to be honest, he is one of my favorites. I have three of them - Dart, DirtyNose, and JJ. They actually seem to have personalities. Maybe I am just projecting personalities on to them, but they are some of the larger fish we have had for a while and since I am the one home most of the time I get to benefit from watching them more than my husband gets to.

Sometimes, when I'm really stuck on a story, really in pain, or sometimes just have the blahs, I go sit quietly in the living room and watch the fish. Sometimes, a lot of the time, I will mute the TV just to have the quiet and the sound of the water splashing in the tank. And I sit there and watch the fish. Usually the dogs will come close and lay beside me. It makes for a pretty content scene and setting.

I have never worked hard to save a fish before. It has made me feel quite good. I really hope Dart makes it. I really do.