And the Theory Is........

Hi there, (yup, the one or two of ya...lol :) )

First of all, hope you guys had a good New Year with hopes of things becoming more to your liking on the horizon for the year of 2009 ! I know I'm looking forward for things to be better. Afterall, how the heck can things get any worse ??? Well, except for this situation, things just have to be better :)...lol

Let me explain and I am sure you too will agree that this situation is horrible ! :)...lol ( yes, I'm laughing eventho it's not a funny (ha ha ) thing ! )
I've been raising tropical fish for many a decade (4 or more ),mostly 'fancy tail guppies', altho I've raised many of the other common tropicals as well. Along with many of the 'oddities' and not so common type spiecies and I've never run into a situation as I have had since being down here in Florida in the process of doing so. Over the past 6 yrs. I've 'grown and regrown' several tanks and bred hundreds of fish from purchasing usually only a couple at a time; usually male and female of the guppy species in order to raise 'offspring' and perpetuate the tank. It's not unusual for me to have hundreds of fish in the tank at any given time. Fish dying off for one reason or another is not an uncommon event and when that happens, I remove the 'bodies' as to not to pollute the tank that might cause a catastrophy of a total 'wipeout' due to whatever killed off the dead fish(s)!. I'm very faithful in making sure their 'water' and 'enviornment' is as natural and as perfect as can possibly be. With that being said, here comes my dilemma.( State of uncertainty or perplexity especially as requiring a choice between equally unfavourable options )

I just recently, right before Christmas reset up a tank, again with a couple of pairs of guppies and two mini plecos ( minature (alge eaters and suckers) variations of the more larger and quickly growing spiecies) which will never grow more than a couple of inches in length and no more than 3/4 inches in girth. The water and tank is setup as usual and the fish are placed inside after being removed from its plastic bag from carrying them home from the fish store. So far, so good, huh ?..You with me ?
Well, I purchsed this one particular female guppie ( Tequila Sunrise ) because I thought she was prego despite the store clerk telling me she is not and it's impossible because she is young and they isolate the males from the females to prevent this event. Ok...hmmm..but I knew better with my years of experience;so guess what?? Low and behold on the 24th she delivered 9 babies of which are all doing well....thank you :)..lol ( she probably delivered 10 because they deliver in pairs, leaving me thinking one was eaten. Yes, they eat their young!)
Ok...I'm getting there...hang on ! Today, is the 9th of January being only a couple of weeks from setting up the tank and I'm experiencing a very odd thing.
About 4 days ago, I noticed I didn't see the smaller of the mini plecos around. Now that in iteself isn't such a shock for they often like to 'hide' in places that aren't so visible to the human eye. When I realized a day or so later that I just don't see it any longer, I went on a 'scavenger hunt' trying to locate 'my little sucker' ( no comments please ! ) Well, I turn the tank upside down and inside out. That 'thing' was no where to be found. No body, no evidence, not even a 'paper trail'.
The tank has very little area for the fish to 'hide' with only 4 items ( one hollowed out rock and log and two solid decorative 'rock-like items )and I'm using 'pebbles' vs 'sand' which pretty much eliminates any fish wanting to dig under the 'sand that isn't there'....lol. So whatever happens to the fish (going dead, slow breathing, or just gave up) should be fairly visible laying on the pebbles, or seen in one of the two hollowed out rocks, if they aren't 'floating'. Makes sense so far...huh ? lol
Ok, so now that you have a 'history' of this situation, let me bring you up to 'speed' as to why I am 'blogging' about this! Today, the 9th of January, I noticed that my 'larger' of the remaining pleco is not being 'visible' despite the fact I saw it last night. So, guess what kiddies, I tear apart the tank..again, looking in the hollowed rocks and log ...checking the 'pebble gravel' and scrounging around the solid rocks. Tore apart the water filler tube for the filter, even knowing the grill around the opening is just too darn small with its narrow slatted grill. Checked the filter reservoir and even scoured the bottom hoping to find some 'crumb trails' leading me to the whereabouts of the last and final pleco. Again, no luck. No traces, no residue, no remains and not a single shred of evidence that would suggest the plecos were ever in the tank. Gosh, give me a break, the tank is just about 'sealed' except for a small 1 inch by 3 inch area near the auto food feeder. Even if the plecos found the opening...why isn't it or they external to the tank ? Not on the rug (which would freeze the fish in place being wet and the dry rug would hold it like glue...lol.) They just 'dissappeared' ! lol :) ( nope,,,, guppies aren't aggressive carnivores,particularly to larger fish. Plus there would be some remaining evidence because not all parts of the fish are edible!!) Ok...so here goes the 'theory' or 'theories'...tell me what you think !!!
First theory is :.....My tank is in the 'Bermuda Triangle' and fish routinely misteriously dissappear without a trace. The more I populate it; the more the event will happen; starting with the larger fish and working it's way down to the smaller !
The Second theory is a bit more plausible, I think and I am relying on this one before I completely loose my mind ! My 'tank' and 'fish' are being 'visited' by UFO aliens and being 'abducted' for lab experiments basesd on the lower complexities of life since after doing it for so long on 'humans' and realizing that we don't have a f'n clue about how life works, they decided to look to a species that at least knows how to procreate within their social structure without any of the 'hang ups'...lol :)Now this one 'works' for me...how about you ?? lol

So, with my remaining 9 babies and two guppies, I am 'camping out' with camera in hand to put to rest once and for all...that 'aliens' do exist ! Once I gain a 'photo', I'll quick as a bunny, put it in my post for all to see.....:)

So there you have it....a fish not in the tank is a fish .....not in the tank!

Till next time America,
Smile and be smiled upon, God knows these damn fish are smiling at me ! lol

SMUGS,
Always,
Steve