Bully

I found my little blue convict cichlid on the bottom of the tank Friday morning. He had been nibbled on. An eye was missing.

I knew it was coming - the orange cichlid has been chasing him around the tank for months. I noticed Thursday night that the little convict was almost completely devoid of fins - most likely due to nipping from the orange bully.

I squinted and lifted the little guy for his flushing funeral.

I'm planning a trip to the local high-end tropical fish store this weekend to purchase a tank mate for orange bully. If I can't find one that is at least as large as the bully I'll leave said bully alone in the tank.

This wasn't my first experience with pet cannibalism. I had two pet gerbils (Chester & Clyde) as a child and I found one of them missing an entire head at one point. Quite disturbing.

I'm willing to speculate that I am affected more than the average aquarist by the loss of a fish. Maybe it's silly, but I always feel the tinge of failure when I lose a tank buddy. Farewell little blue fish.