the fish I regret

The mistake I regret the most

In life, I tend not to regret very many things. I tend to be a thoughtful (not in the he’s a thoughtful guy way but more in the he thinks things through way), and I pride myself on thinking thing through and making the best decision at the time. But there are a few things I regret–and I’ve found that they’re usually things I wish I spent more time thinking about.

the fish I regret
the fish I regret

I got the idea for this post from Reefthreads podcast 153 on Reefthreads.com where the hosts posed the question…what is the fish you regret putting in your tank? I suppose we all probably have fish we regret putting in our tanks (for me, it was the flame cardinalfish that came as ‘free additional livestock’ from an online order–the fish is still in my tank, and he or she is cool, but he has caused big problems with other fish I intended to keep).

But while I regret adding that fish because of the destruction he has caused, I at least feel a bit ‘off the hook’ because I didn’t order him, ask for him or even want him, per se–he literally just showed up on my doorstep.

For me, my biggest regret is not having secure, tight-fitting lids on my aquaria at all times. I’m ashamed to admit that I’ve lost a fairy wrasse, dartfish, royal gramma and 2 clownfish who have all gone carpet (or concrete) surfing–and it still bugs me, to this day. It actually bothers me to the point where I’m a little bit OCD about it on my big display tank now–because my most recent casualty (probably 9 months ago) was a clownfish that jumped out with the lid ‘mostly on’.

The reality is that many fish, like the six-line wrasse, Melanurus wrasse and Purple firefish are extremely prone to jumping.

The solution was so simple:

Step 1: Ensure I have a tight-fitting lid.

step 2: Ensure the lid is on properly.

Step 3: Keep lid closed, yet it eluded me for longer than it should have taken. Now, those losses occurred over years and years…but still…it’s unacceptable.

How about you–what is your biggest regret?


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