Fish Doing Great -- Couldn't Leave Him Alone Today

Well, I came home and was delighted to see that the fish was doing very well. He had blown some bubbles at the top of the tank on the sides. He was swimming around pretty good, and using both fins. He ate his food, about four or five pellets.

Well you know, I couldn't leave well enough alone, so I had to have a little fun with him. So, I took him out of the tank in the cup, emptied the water. Then, I let him flop around for a few minutes. Then, I proceeded to poke him with the toothpick and watch him squirm around the cup. I got the toothpick in his mouth a couple of times, just a little bit.

Then I decided, enough is enough, and I have to have my limits with this fish. So, I put him back in the tank to see how he'd do. He started swimming around, somewhat nervously, and with one fin again. Now it's a couple of minutes later, and he is somewhat calmer.

The fish is swimming a little slower than before, and with one fin only, but he is definitely still swimming. I think he will definitely recover from this. Maybe I should have left him alone tonight; that way, I could still be watching him swim at normal speed like he was doing before. He's breathing heavier than normal. I know that is from his recent incident tonight in the cup.

I could take him out again and poke him some more, but I know if I do that he will swim even slower, and that might distract me as I am trying to relax. Anyway, I think he is doing good and will definitely recover from this, it was just a little bit of fun. I'd like to do more another day, get him really tired, and then see what he does. He'll probably just sit around in that case until he gets his energy back.

I see that he is floating a little bit near the plant. Is this because he has lost some energy? He definitely swims a little slower with only one fin, but he definitely gets around. I think he is going to recover just fine. Still, I wish I'd left him alone so I could watch him swim normally. I think he'll be alright by tomorrow. Does he even realize why this is happening? I wonder what the fish thinks about all of this, if he can understand, what his thoughts are? In truth, it probably gives him a lot of anxiety when he's in the cup with no water being poked around. I don't blame him. Maybe he needs some anti-anxiety medication to cope with these situations? Maybe if he were made more comfortable, he could get through these situations better without panicking. Hmmm.

I would like to weaken the fish some more and take him out, poke him, watch him move around, put the toothpick in his mouth, or even get him in the cup against the side of the tank. But I know if I do this he will slow down and it will take him longer to recover.

At least this way, he's swimming around the tank somewhat, although one finned, and I can watch him. I wonder what he's thinking at this moment? In a few minutes I'm going to get up close and check his breathing. He's moving at times, other times he just floats around for a little while. I liked his behavior better before I took him out of the tank tonight. If he's better tomorrow, and I think he will be, I'm just going to leave him in there and not do anything to him.

I wanted to add that he's staying near the top of the water more, near the plant. Now he's kind of standing in place and taking breaths at the top. I think he's trying to get his energy / stamina back. I'm sure that he will succeed.

The fish's fear of me is back. I put my finger on the side of the tank and he quickly darts away. I'll have to test this again tomorrow after he's a little calmer and hopefully recovered.