Petco's fish weren't the healthiest specimens, but Mel bought an Apple Snail, a Betta and nine Neon Tetras on Tuesday. At last count this morning, 5 of the neons have died. We've narrowed down the cause to a gill disease probably stemming from stress; it seems that the popularity of the tetra is leading to over breeding and subsequently a general lack of hardiness. Petco does have a guarantee, but we've only been able to recover three of the fish corpses; our snail seems to be 'magnetically' attracted to dead fish and ravenously feasts on the bodies, leaving naught but a few chunks of bone or fin. Regular treatments of a broad-spectrum antibiotic should cure the tank.
Also on Tuesday- roadside Bonsai. That's right- we found a Japanese dude selling Juniper Bonsai from a van on a roadside corner across the street from Petco in the parking lot of an abandoned Blimpie. I got a 7 year old, well-formed tree for only $25! He also had bottles of specialized fertilizer for sale- two for $5.50. rad.
