Did another water change last night with my new Python. I hope whoever invented Pythons made a bazillion dollars and retired happy, because it's just about the greatest invention I've ever encountered in the aquatic world. I think back to the "olden days" of fishkeeping when I lugged buckets from bathtub to tank and back again, and started siphons by sucking on the tubing (often getting a mouthful of dirty tank water in the process, yuck!) and I just shudder. Never again will I be without my trusty Python by my side.

Astro and Hula are done with their QT and are thriving. The two of them seem to like each other a lot -- they're rarely apart in the tank, but instead swim almost everywhere together. Astro (the calico butterfly) has a teeny bit of wen on his head, and it seems to be yellowing. I think it must be the New Life Spectrum that I'm feeding them. I don't mind it, since he's a calico, but if he was solid white I'd be ordering some Pro-Gold pretty darn quick. Pro-Gold has never discolored my fish, and I like white fish to be white-white-white. But anything looks good on a calico, you know?

Speaking of calicos, this ranchu just bowled me over when I saw it listed for auction last night. The black fins and the vivid red coloration are way beyond stunning. Whoever bought this fish is lucky indeed.

I need to take updated pics of my fish already -- they've grown! Hula's bubbles are mostly orange now, and they're noticeably bigger. And Astro is beefing up and getting a nice big tummy. It's amazing what plenty of food and good clean water can do, isn't it?