jbf16falcon
12/21/2001, 11:23 AM
Ding Dong the witch is dead,
Which old witch,
The wicked Witch,
Ding Dong the wicked Witch is Dead,
She's gone where the goblins go,
below,
below,
below,
Ding Dong the wicked witch is dead..........
Sorry just humming a tune that all the other fish are humming in the tank this morning. Heck even the anemones are seem to be dancing.
Mine was eventful day,yesterday. Yes, the great white hunter, Jim, loaded his trapping supplies and
and embarked on another adventure into the underwater realm of the dreaded 3-spot damsel ( Dascyllus trimaculatus ), even better known as "That Damn Black Fish From Hell". The waters were teaming with signs of a recent visit of the killer fish, so I gathered up my stowed trap, rolled my sleeves up and got to work. My mind still wheeling over my last two visits to this site where the D. trimaculatus had outwitted me.
The first time I had prematurely sprung the trap and had to retreat cussing as the giant thing swam back and forth taunting me over my failed attempt. Whipped and worn out I shook my finger at the beast and swore to return.
On my second visit to the site I exercised great patience and spent hours in hiding with my finger poised over the clip that would release the line holding the trap doors open. The Great Black fish was leery of entering the trap to feast, but four hours of hovering at the door for a few seconds then swishing away, gave way to a quick attempt to snatch the bait and run with it. In a few mere nano seconds, with perfect hand to eye coordination (forget that first miss), I was able to process the exact moment the fish was in "The Zone of No Return". Swoosh, the doors were released. YES, is it, could it be? Yes!, there it was, trapped and looking quite surprised. I danced the dance of the great white hunter!! I shouted for joy. While still dancing, my eyes shifted back to the trap, in my horror the Great Black turned it's head in a downward position and in three quick flips of its tail and nods of its head, raised the trap door an shot out. My prideful joy turned to a fit of rage and line upon line of obscenities rose in my throat and were projected from my lips. The Great Black once again posturing and showing his full finage danced his "Dance of Defiance" in front of me. It was too much, my head pounded, my spirit broken, I slithered away to find my pillow, to dream and free my mind from my tormentor.
On this third attempt I moved the trap to a new location, covered the bottom with sand and waited a few hours for the great Ice Cap Sun to bring daylight to the underwater realm. I expertly prepared my bait and with great care placed it in the proper position in the trap, stretched my trap line to my concealed location, amassed the supplies near me that it would take to sustain me through this ordeal.
A thermos of coffee to keep my trigger finger steady, beef jerky for sustenance, the remote controls for the stereo, TV, dish, and DVD. What better movie to watch than the old classic "Jaws". Two hours into the ordeal and every critter had made it's rounds of the trap and cleaned the bait out. The Giant Black Fish had only hovered at the door. I thought, "Yeah, you've figured this deal out you #%()*#%*!"
Well in a last ditch attempt I went for an underhanded surprise bait, MYSIS. I knew I wouldn't be able to use the bait clip in the trap to hold it, but I could leave a trail of it through the front door of the trap, through the trap and out the back door of the trap. It was hard to keep the current from moving it away as I carefully laid it on the sand but finally I had the trap laid. The Great Black Fish always goes crazy for this stuff. I knew this was my last resort and could only hope and pray it worked. I was a little skeptical though. I was back in concealment and he was taking the bait. He worked the trail right up to the front door and then stopped. He then worked on the trail up to the back door and then stopped. Just my luck. He showed no further interest for about two minutes. Looking back I guess he was just building up his nerve. He returned to the front door and began shooting forward, grabbing a shrimp and shooting backward with it still hanging from his mouth. He would then eat it outside the trap. Each mouthful took him further and further into the trap. I was going to wait till he was three quarters of the way in the trap and then spring it. After he had made about five trips forward in the trap he was only nearing the half-way mark and the water current was moving the rest of the bait toward him. I was losing the battle. I don't know what happened next as I think my nerves gave on me. He went for a piece that was being carried to him by the current and in a fit of desperation I just pushed the clip. He had backed almost halfway out of the trap and back of his dorsal fin was caught by the falling door. It must have been a reflex action because he then shot forward into the trap. The doors fell to the shut position. I jumped from concealment, ran to the tank, plunged both arms into the tank. Took the line attached to the door and pulled them underneath the trap and wound them around the trap, thus locking the doors shut. Soaked to the armpits and with almost tears of joy running down my face, two years of trying to catch this fish ended. His killing sprees in my tank are now a thing of the past. It wasn't his fault that the LFS that set my tank up had placed him in the tank to cycle it almost 5 years ago. His fate is not to leave this world yet, as in a fit of compassion and all the things I would have liked to do to this fish, my heart won out and I gathered him up and made a 20 mile trip to my local LFS with him. They were astounded by his size (7.5 inches). They put him in his own display tank to show him off. Back home things are quieter now and the other fish are happy now that their version of the Taliban has been driven from their land. Life is good.
I added a Tomato Clown to the tank and it's in anemone heaven. I think it's checked out about 30 of them and just slides through them, from one to the next. I guess he'll settle on one but for now he's exploring them all.
Which old witch,
The wicked Witch,
Ding Dong the wicked Witch is Dead,
She's gone where the goblins go,
below,
below,
below,
Ding Dong the wicked witch is dead..........
Sorry just humming a tune that all the other fish are humming in the tank this morning. Heck even the anemones are seem to be dancing.
Mine was eventful day,yesterday. Yes, the great white hunter, Jim, loaded his trapping supplies and
and embarked on another adventure into the underwater realm of the dreaded 3-spot damsel ( Dascyllus trimaculatus ), even better known as "That Damn Black Fish From Hell". The waters were teaming with signs of a recent visit of the killer fish, so I gathered up my stowed trap, rolled my sleeves up and got to work. My mind still wheeling over my last two visits to this site where the D. trimaculatus had outwitted me.
The first time I had prematurely sprung the trap and had to retreat cussing as the giant thing swam back and forth taunting me over my failed attempt. Whipped and worn out I shook my finger at the beast and swore to return.
On my second visit to the site I exercised great patience and spent hours in hiding with my finger poised over the clip that would release the line holding the trap doors open. The Great Black fish was leery of entering the trap to feast, but four hours of hovering at the door for a few seconds then swishing away, gave way to a quick attempt to snatch the bait and run with it. In a few mere nano seconds, with perfect hand to eye coordination (forget that first miss), I was able to process the exact moment the fish was in "The Zone of No Return". Swoosh, the doors were released. YES, is it, could it be? Yes!, there it was, trapped and looking quite surprised. I danced the dance of the great white hunter!! I shouted for joy. While still dancing, my eyes shifted back to the trap, in my horror the Great Black turned it's head in a downward position and in three quick flips of its tail and nods of its head, raised the trap door an shot out. My prideful joy turned to a fit of rage and line upon line of obscenities rose in my throat and were projected from my lips. The Great Black once again posturing and showing his full finage danced his "Dance of Defiance" in front of me. It was too much, my head pounded, my spirit broken, I slithered away to find my pillow, to dream and free my mind from my tormentor.
On this third attempt I moved the trap to a new location, covered the bottom with sand and waited a few hours for the great Ice Cap Sun to bring daylight to the underwater realm. I expertly prepared my bait and with great care placed it in the proper position in the trap, stretched my trap line to my concealed location, amassed the supplies near me that it would take to sustain me through this ordeal.
A thermos of coffee to keep my trigger finger steady, beef jerky for sustenance, the remote controls for the stereo, TV, dish, and DVD. What better movie to watch than the old classic "Jaws". Two hours into the ordeal and every critter had made it's rounds of the trap and cleaned the bait out. The Giant Black Fish had only hovered at the door. I thought, "Yeah, you've figured this deal out you #%()*#%*!"
Well in a last ditch attempt I went for an underhanded surprise bait, MYSIS. I knew I wouldn't be able to use the bait clip in the trap to hold it, but I could leave a trail of it through the front door of the trap, through the trap and out the back door of the trap. It was hard to keep the current from moving it away as I carefully laid it on the sand but finally I had the trap laid. The Great Black Fish always goes crazy for this stuff. I knew this was my last resort and could only hope and pray it worked. I was a little skeptical though. I was back in concealment and he was taking the bait. He worked the trail right up to the front door and then stopped. He then worked on the trail up to the back door and then stopped. Just my luck. He showed no further interest for about two minutes. Looking back I guess he was just building up his nerve. He returned to the front door and began shooting forward, grabbing a shrimp and shooting backward with it still hanging from his mouth. He would then eat it outside the trap. Each mouthful took him further and further into the trap. I was going to wait till he was three quarters of the way in the trap and then spring it. After he had made about five trips forward in the trap he was only nearing the half-way mark and the water current was moving the rest of the bait toward him. I was losing the battle. I don't know what happened next as I think my nerves gave on me. He went for a piece that was being carried to him by the current and in a fit of desperation I just pushed the clip. He had backed almost halfway out of the trap and back of his dorsal fin was caught by the falling door. It must have been a reflex action because he then shot forward into the trap. The doors fell to the shut position. I jumped from concealment, ran to the tank, plunged both arms into the tank. Took the line attached to the door and pulled them underneath the trap and wound them around the trap, thus locking the doors shut. Soaked to the armpits and with almost tears of joy running down my face, two years of trying to catch this fish ended. His killing sprees in my tank are now a thing of the past. It wasn't his fault that the LFS that set my tank up had placed him in the tank to cycle it almost 5 years ago. His fate is not to leave this world yet, as in a fit of compassion and all the things I would have liked to do to this fish, my heart won out and I gathered him up and made a 20 mile trip to my local LFS with him. They were astounded by his size (7.5 inches). They put him in his own display tank to show him off. Back home things are quieter now and the other fish are happy now that their version of the Taliban has been driven from their land. Life is good.
I added a Tomato Clown to the tank and it's in anemone heaven. I think it's checked out about 30 of them and just slides through them, from one to the next. I guess he'll settle on one but for now he's exploring them all.