quite a sensitive subject...

[AquaGem]

Well, still a good thread.

Anyway, I had this snail, my first snail. I called her a she even though I new it was a he because I gave her a girl name (esme) and she was gold and IDK. Anyway shortly after I got her I got charlie. So esme started growing a LOT. Charlie grew a lot as well, but I could see this growth mark on Esme and would check it all the time Then when I fed my fish in the tank, I noticed she'd come up to the top. I reached down at her with some shrimp, and she ate it off of my hand! Then I picked her up very gently, rested her on my hand, and put a bit of shrimp there and she ate it! It was amazing So after that she'd always come to the top and I'd hand her some shrimp. Well, the other day I noticed she was haning out of her shell and just sitting there. Then the next day she hadn't moved. I reached in and touched her, and she didn't close her "door". I took her out of the water and she feel out of her shell! It was horrible. Even though I'm not the crying sort of girl, I cried for her/him. I still have charlie and many others now though. She started my love of snails.

I also cried for my pregnant guppie that died. Oh man, that was horrible. She was really, really close to having her babies (any day), and she was young and it was her first batch. Well, she died before giving birth. I read online that you can attempt to extract the babies from her. So I did and it turned out she miscarried. But oh, it was so horrible. I was crying the entire time but wouldn't let anyone else do it. She was MY fish.

Well, those are my stories.

 

[Dopehand]

When my first fish I ever bought (halfmoon betta) died recently, I was grouchy the entire rest of the day. The poor guy went through my learning process and STILL came out looking like a champ.

 

[laurenrocksth]

I'm a complete mess when it comes to animals...

I used to work full time as a paramedic (still do per diem). I was once at the scene of a house fire and a firefighter comes running up to me with a limp cat and says, "can you do something?" I tried to save that slowly dieing cat for about 20 minutes until it finaly died in my arms. I then began crying in the middle of the street surrounded by big manly firefighters. Kind of embarassing in retrospect.

When I first started keeping fish, I had no idea what I was doing. I listened to an LFS employee that told me that I should cycle my 36g tank with a 6" JD. I named him and would talk to him (don't laugh). When I could no longer care for him in the tank I had (way before I got a big tank) I brought him to my favorite LFS. I watched them acclimate him to the new tank for 30 minutes. When they put him into his new tank I promptly began sobbing inn the middle of the aisle.

I haven't lost a fish in a long time but I know that when my oscars or my pleco go, I'll probably need therapy

 

[serissime]

I have not yet had a death of a fish that I would cry over. But one day my female betta (in my avatar!) was looking not so good, and my (now ex) girlfriend said, "Well, she's definitely the oldest out of everyone... she might be getting old..." and went on to say when I stopped talking, "Well, you KNOW she's the oldest.. she's going to die first..." and I started crying.... (she ended up being okay thankfully)

She's the only one I really love. I know I will cry when it's time. I will cry when she's gone. It makes me tear up to think of it....

Your boyfriend might have laughed because he didn't know what to do. Sometimes I laugh in slightly inappropriate situations because I am uncomfortable. I can't really help it. It's a natural thing, even if it's an unfortunate reaction. I don't know if that was the case in this situation... but it might be.

 

[bettaobsession]

Yep, i think it would be unusual to find someone on aquaria central who DOESN'T cry over their fish.

The first fish i ever lost meant a lot to me, he had two brothers/sisters. They were a trio of Tiger Barbs. Named Splish Splash and Cucumber. Cucumber passed away from ich. I loved that little guy. To this day i bury my fish with a little headstone in the garden. And you bet i cried! I kinda feel bad for my parents....

 

[groovitudedude]

Okay, so I'm a dude, and i cry. call me a wuss, but i love all of my pets, no matter what size or shape they come in.

Yeah, I'm a dude and I cried when my two 11'' lemon-finned barbs died. When one of my puffers passed away, I cried too. I don't cry about fish that I didn't like or had no personality, even if I had had them for a long time.

There's nothing wrong with having feelings for your pets, it means that you're a good fish keeper

 

[Stargazer53]

Well, I'm really glad this post was bumped up for all members to read because it shows that regardless of how much time has passed (5 years), human emotions are all the same, wherever in the world we are and male or female, etc. I think tears are wonderful and I think many of my close friends and family can attest to the fact that I am one of the first to cry. I think crying is important. I think it's an important aspect of human emotion. I cry when I'm happy, when I'm excited, when I'm sad, and sometimes when I'm mad.

I remember when I was 8 years old, my parents got me my first aquarium and my first pair of guppies. At the time, I was not aware that guppies were livebearers. I was so captivated by the beautiful colors of the male guppy and the playful courtship and "flirting" between the female guppy. Needless to say, the female shortly after became pregnant and gave birth. I still remember that moment in my fish-keeping history lol....I actually watched her giving birth and it was my first time seeing fish procreate and I cried......I cried because it was beautiful.

Quite frankly, I don't cry over every single fish I've had that has passed on and gone to the rainbow bridge. However, there have definitely been many many fish that I'd grown very attached to that really will always have a special place in my heart. One that is very close to my heart is a fantail goldfish that I had for 7 years, Ronnie. I wasn't sure if "Ronnie" was a he or she so I gave her (I considered him/her an "her") a name that could go both ways. Ronnie was a gift from a very serious boyfriend I had at the time and I really wanted to keep Ronnie alive and happy because for some silly reason, I thought if I kept Ronnie alive, I could keep the love between my boyfriend at the time alive. Haha lol *thinking of the scene from 'How To Lose a Guy in 10 Days' --- "A: Our love fern! You let it die? B: No, it's just sleeping A: You let it die! Are you going to let us die?!"

Well, needless to say, the love between my serious boyfriend at the time and I, faded over the years over amicable differences and then-boyfriend was out of the picture, but Ronnie stayed. Ronnie was so special -- she recognized me, almost seem to follow me with her eyes whenever I walked around in the area where her tank was located, and she went crazy whenever I would come over when it was supper time. One day, for reasons still unknown to me, I discovered something was wrong with my dear Ronnie. She lay on her side, breathing but weak, and she died in my submerged hands. I buried her in my place near my house where there is a lake. I wanted her to be close to the water.

Ronnie's passing was symbolical in so many ways. I felt that with her passing, my faded love finally went with her as well. Ronnie came into my life when I was younger, less wiser than I am today, a bit more foolish and naive, and when I took so much in life for granted. With her death, I learned to appreciate life more and to treat all animals, creatures, and people with more love, kindness, and care because you never know when it'll be the last. She was beautiful, she was giving, and she was love.....that goldfish taught me so much.....


And for all the men that admitted that they cry, I love you all. I think real men cry -- and I don't think I could love a man that didn't. I think it's such a shame that society shuns and ridicules grown and even young men who cry -- talking down on this beautiful form of human expression and behavior as 'weak' and 'unmanly'. Tears are a way of cleansing our souls, bodies, and minds. It refreshes our inner and outer selves and is a utmost important way of humans to celebrate and mourn. I cry when I lose a loved one, whether it be a family, friend, or beloved pet. I think I'll cry when I finally marry the man I love. And I think I will cry when one day, there will be life within my womb. Love is great and it can be found in all places. Don't hold back and let those tears roll on by.

"There is a sacredness in tears. They are not the mark of weakness, but of power. They speak more eloquently than ten thousand tongues. They are messengers of overwhelming grief and unspeakable love." - Washington Irving