Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Tragedy @ D407

Death in a bowl

Even the best of us make mistakes at times and I was no exception.

The day was the 4th of September 2009. The night was young and the corridors of Blk D were silent. I had IFG swimming the next day (which on hindsight now I didn't have... but that is a tale for another day...) and I needed to retire early for the night. The 5 runny nose tetras, 2 Harlequins, 2 bumble bee gobies, 2 Yamato shrimps and 3 Cherry shrimps needed to be fed before the day was out. As these young things had just moved in, they weren't too comfortable with feeding in fast moving, disturbed water just yet. I switched off the ventilator and fed them their food before hitting the sack. That would be the last time I'd see some of them ever again.

Fast forward to the 6th of September. The night was late and my sister needed to head back to school before the clock struck 12. It was supposed to be a drop and go... (drop the groceries in the fridge and go to the car...) I never imagined that the night was going to take a turn for the worse and D407 be turned into a crime scene. I crossed the room and I could sense that something just wasn't right. The water level of the tank had dropped drastically and the erie silence only meant one thing... I dropped the groceries and shoved my sister aside as I rushed to the tankside... I was too late... 38 hours too late... The shrimps lay on their sides... their shells a bright red hue. Astaxanthin, a hidden pigment within the shells of prawns, becomes visibly pink after the protein "hiding" them breaks down after death. One of the Yamato shrimps was still grey indicating that... it had died not too long before. 2 red nose tetras lay floating at the surface as the remainder showed signs of a sever fungus infection which had set in during the incident... My hands shook as I reached into the tank and removed their lifeless bodies from the comforts of the tank. Nothing could prepare me for the trauma I had that night. The death... the stench... the agony of watching S$9.00 worth of Aquarium life go up in smokes... or should I say down the toilet bowl just like that. I had no one to blame but myself. My carelessness... I made a vow never to let such an event ever happen again under my watchful eyes. To my dead comrades of the deep (or 20 cm deep aquarium...)... this I promise you.

The ride to NTU was solemn and silent as I mourned the lost of what I'd like to call... my loyal "desk-mates". Rest in Peace my cheery friends...

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