My new Budo-Goromo

  This is a story that needs telling, not one that I am proud of, but one you need to hear. I got this Budo-Goromo when a good friend came down to look at Grant and Penny’s pond. It was the first part of January and, as you may remember, it had been very cold for Charleston, with a couple of nights in the low thirties. Well, I figured he was coming from Virginia so it was still colder up there than here, so I didn’t have a warm place for the fish. We all drove to my house to drop off the fish, pick up Linda and then go out for dinner. We got to the house I was  asked what the water temperature of the tank was, - it was 40 degrees. ‘Why?’ I asked, ‘What temperature is the fish in? ’75 degrees’, he replied. I hadn’t thought about his greenhouses! Well, with no other choice, we put the bag in the tank and went to dinner.

  When Linda and I got home I went to release the Budo from the bag thinking he had had all the time he was going to get to acclimate. I got to the back and he was belly up in the bag! Just then I remembered I have a heated tank in the shed, up by the house that I keep my algae eaters in over winter.  Well, I snatched the bag up and ran to the shed, cut the bag and in he went (What choice did I have? One way or the other he was a dead fish). He started swimming around spiraling and darting into the walls of the tank. He would be dead in the morning I guessed, so I went in and went to bed. Let’s don’t forget 75 degrees, 40 degrees then 82. To my surprise, in the morning he was swimming around just like nothing had happened.

  It continues, but I do want to repeat I’m telling you this, not because I’m proud of myself nor do I want you to think this is something you should do, but to let you know that stuff happens to all of us. I have been working a lot the last several weeks, and haven’t paid much attention to the quarantine tank in the shed. I just tossed in some food and was out of there. Last night I went out to feed the fish like normal and the Budo was again belly up! The ph had crashed (dropped below 5 from 7.5); the ammonia reading was around 5.0. This is what I did; 90% water change (this is about a 300 Gallon system), added 12 oz of Amquell, then I added baking soda till I had a ph of 7.6 and salt till I had a reading of 2.5. Now I don’t know if this fish is going to live or not, but when I went to bed he was upright and swimming!

  So there you go, not something you want to do but when you are on fire you will do anything to put it out.  A little knowledge, the right products on hand and quick decisive moves are the reason this fish is still alive today. When you have a major problem like this, make a plan quickly and follow it through. I was lucky on this occasion, but doing nothing would have surely ended in disaster.

Robert Lewis (big time KHA) Ha Ha !