Nido aru koto wa Sando aru

Or "If it happens two times, we'll have it three times". Which sums up recent events perfectly. I lost Rex when he jumped out of the bucket while moving to my new apartment. Then the new companion fish I bought for Albi, Roary, died last Friday. Now, this morning, I find Albi has died. He'd become ill on Monday evening and was covered in white spots. I think Roary might have been a carrier of 'ich', apparently a common disease in fish, and when I put him in the tank last week the infection had passed on to Albi.

When I noticed syptoms in Albo, Musashi (japanese B&Q with pet section) was already closed so I couldn't get any treatment. The only thing I could do was put Albi into the clean water I was preparing for a water change. After school yesterday I checked Albi and he was showing signs of fin rot too. He was really ill. I went with Keiko to Musashi and she explained the problem to the guy in the fish section. I bought the treatment he recommended so and added it to the big tank. The pet section guy also said to return Albi to the big tank to so he could be treated too. And that's how I left him when I went to sleep, swimming in blue water.

When I woke, I found him still and lifeless in the middle of the tank. Another fish, the third one, dies in my custody. Eventhough it was just fish, I feel upset. Albi and Rex were given to me by a student last year. I'd given them a home and they've been a silent part of my life for the last 10 months. Maybe I should be impressed that something managed to live for so long under my supervision (longest age of a pot plant in Martin's care: twelve weeks).

So, I'll make another trip to the Shinano and that will be the end of the Albi and Rex story. Then the question will be what to do with the tank. Do I leave fish for the time being and get rid of the tank? Or do I fill the tank with new fish?