Day 305: RIP Dmitri

My little Dmitri is dead!

:-(

And even worse, I watched the whole thing unfold before my very eyes. I saw him go down, and watched him struggle and take his last breath. It was an awkward and messy death. No silent trip to the heavens in his sleep. This was a death full of pain and anguish. Poor little guy!

When I got home he was looking *even worse*, and so I decided that maybe I could help by cleaning his bowl. It was time for a water replacement anyways, and maybe the fresh supply of clean water would rejuvenate him. Well when I put him in the new clean bowl he suddenly became VERY alert.

He began racing around and around and around the bowl. He'd dive to the bottom of the bowl, sit there for like half a minute, and then CHARGE up to the surface. He'd do this over and over and I was convinced he had become suicidal and was trying to launch himself out of the bowl. The water was clean and non-toxic - I cleaned it the same way I always do - so I don't know why he reacted this way.

Then it got even weirder. He turned totally psycho and began swimming crazily, crashing into rocks, shells, and the sides of the bowl. At one point he was even swimming *upside down* for a while. I've never seen a fish do that before. And he was still doing his 'surging for the surface' routine.

Finally one time during one of his dives he went and wedged himself in between a rock and a shell and just sat there. It was like the squeezed himself into the tightest point he could find, and then just sat there. And then he was dead! I kept hoping maybe he was resting from his aquatic aerobics or had come to his senses and was feeling remoreseful for his disturbing behaviour, but alas, he was already gone. I poked him just to make sure, and he indeed was dead.

I am now "boy with fish" no more. I live alone in a completely empty apartment. My finned room-mate is now dead. May you rest in peace, Dmitri. I'll miss you little buddy!