Long ago when I was 9 or 10 I had a 20 gallon standard, tropical community.
Had a pretty 3" sunset angelfish that I named "Sunny" because I was dreadfully clever, a small black catfish of some sort (which I now know would probably have gotten huge with time and had no business in that tank -- thanks LFS!) that I again oh so imaginatively named "Sharky", a small common Pleco, and I think some hatchet fish or tetras or something. It wasn't crazy stocked, but most things would've outgrown it eventually. I didn't feed a lot and everyone was good in there for a year or more. Then we went on vacation and the kid down the street agreed to feed my fish.
Came back to the heater on full blast and the tank over 90F. Tons of uneaten food. Stupid kid had decided they "looked cold" or something and turned the heater to max, and overfed like mad on top of that. All but the angel was dead.
I got another pleco and the angel lived for another 6 months or so, at which point the same heater failed in the "on" position (properly adjusted this time) and cooked everything over night. The angelfish jumped out in the middle of the night and I found him by stepping on him the next morning. I'll totally admit I cried and refused to go to school. Loved that stupid fish.
I was distraught enough that I refused to keep fish for 12+ years. I've had a few deaths since then (my first Green Spotted Puffer died to a massive internal parasite infestation, and I've lost some small angels, a couple Corys, and the occasional Neon becomes someone's dinner) but I try to keep it in perspective and learn from my mistakes... when they are my mistakes. The environments we set up are really fragile and the equipment used not all the reliable despite many years of theoretical improvement. I do sometimes question if I should stay with the hobby or not.
Had a pretty 3" sunset angelfish that I named "Sunny" because I was dreadfully clever, a small black catfish of some sort (which I now know would probably have gotten huge with time and had no business in that tank -- thanks LFS!) that I again oh so imaginatively named "Sharky", a small common Pleco, and I think some hatchet fish or tetras or something. It wasn't crazy stocked, but most things would've outgrown it eventually. I didn't feed a lot and everyone was good in there for a year or more. Then we went on vacation and the kid down the street agreed to feed my fish.
Came back to the heater on full blast and the tank over 90F. Tons of uneaten food. Stupid kid had decided they "looked cold" or something and turned the heater to max, and overfed like mad on top of that. All but the angel was dead.
I got another pleco and the angel lived for another 6 months or so, at which point the same heater failed in the "on" position (properly adjusted this time) and cooked everything over night. The angelfish jumped out in the middle of the night and I found him by stepping on him the next morning. I'll totally admit I cried and refused to go to school. Loved that stupid fish.
I was distraught enough that I refused to keep fish for 12+ years. I've had a few deaths since then (my first Green Spotted Puffer died to a massive internal parasite infestation, and I've lost some small angels, a couple Corys, and the occasional Neon becomes someone's dinner) but I try to keep it in perspective and learn from my mistakes... when they are my mistakes. The environments we set up are really fragile and the equipment used not all the reliable despite many years of theoretical improvement. I do sometimes question if I should stay with the hobby or not.
