A comedy of errors

[squiddly]

Hello WAMAS, and welcome to Squiddly's comedy of errors.  As with al plays based on a Shakespearean slant, there are winners and there are losers, and this play is no different.

 

It all started, as things like this often do, with a bright idea.  An idea that, under normal circumstances, would be ordinary, and bereft of anything interesting at all.  However, today was different.  There was something in the air, although many may wonder if something was added to the bloodstream of our protagonist to cause the mirth and frivolity to follow.

 

"Why look, the tank needs a water change," quoth Squiddly.  "I think I'll just jump right in and do that."  

 

And so it was that Squiddly gazed upon the 24 gallon Aquapod and its inhabitants, the starry blennie and two false peculiars (sic) who gazed back.  But wait, what was this?  Something yellow popped up in front of the Tunze protein skimmer in the sump area in the back of the tank.  

 

"Strange," quipped Squiddly to herself.  "THAT'S not supposed to happen."  This was not the last time that Squiddly would say this.  

 

Upon investigation, it was found that the yellow thing was a head.  The head belonged to a body, that body being of a yellow watchman gobi, long thought perished, having disappeared in a space/time rift six months before.  "What," said Squiddly to the gobi.  The gobi's response was in an unknown language, having been taught to the gobi by the space creatures he obviously met along his journey.

 

Water change suddenly n the back burner, Squiddly set about dismantling everything in the sump.  Out came the pump, the sponge filter, the temperature probe, and the thermostat.  Out came the skimmer, albeit in three pieces, one for the skimmer cup, that's supposed to detach, and one for the bottom for which the same is not true.  "THAT'S not supposed to happen," quipped Squiddly as she gazed upon the powerhead dangling at the bottom of the skimmer where there used to be a bottom holding it in.

 

Armed with a net, a kitchen spatula and a flashlight, Squiddly set about attempting to capture Mr. Gobi to return him to a part of the tank that at least was regularly fed.  Squiddly shined the flashlight into the water and found it reflected back due to an inadequate cleaning schedule.  "GAK!  It's GUNK!," said the Squiddly, and while balancing with the flashlight, fell off the riser behind the tank, knocking the Sunpod off the top of the tank, detaching one of the little bracket things (its scientific name) from the body of the pod.  "THAT'S not supposed to happen," Squiddly yelled through the house, along with "What" without the "W" or the "T," as it did hurt a bit.

 

Coming to the rescue, Mr. Squiddly appeared.  Not having much new to say, he repeated both "What" and "THAT'S not supposed to happen."  Squiddly quickly explained the facts as she saw them, including Mr. Gobi as she didn't see him.  Having a penchant for the obvious, Squiddly said "Gee, what a great idea it would be to clean some of this up." Using the handy siphon, some of the vast array of yuk was removed, turning the water flowing into the bucket an unsavory shade of gross.  Luckily, this brought down just enough water and removed just enough gunk to see Mr. Gobi.  Unluckily, the alien abductors had infused Mr. Gobi with enough intelligence to evade us for quite some time before Mr. Squiddly captured Mr. Gobi and redeposited his yellow backside into the main tank.

 

But our tale of woe was not yet complete.  For an encore, while attempting to reinstall the sponge, thermometer and probe, our Squiddly plugged in the wrong device and sprayed salt water everywhere.  

 

Casualties:  Squiddly, lights, protein skimmer.  

 

Mr Squiddly has tried gluing the bracket back onto the Sunpod housing.  Given my day, it will fail.  

 

 

[Sharkey18]

Oh my...... but thanks for the lovely write up! 

[John Ford]

It's always nice to find something or in your case someone who you thought was gone forever

[JR-Tanked150]

What a great story. Hopefully your yellow goby will stay in the dt and not want to return to his home in the sump.

[Origami]

Casualties:  Squiddly, lights, protein skimmer. 

 

Yes, but...

 

Beneficiaries (for now, at least): Mr. Gobi

 

The Hero / Heroine: Mr. Squiddly for his perseverance and Mrs. Squiddly for her determination.

 

Great write up!

[Coral Hind]

Nice story. Have you figured out how the goby ended up in the sump?

[wildcrazyjoker81]

Wow this story had me hooked. Didn't know whether to laugh, cry, or cheer. Good luck getting everything fixed and praying the goby stays put. I remember a fairy wrasse that Isaac had gotten from Scott not too long ago that thought the overflow was an amusement park ride in both tanks lol.

[squiddly]

Nice story. Have you figured out how the goby ended up in the sump?

No.  I really wish I did.  From all we can see, he jumped in there.  You likely know how the Aquapod is set up, with the sump being in the back, with a plastic "wall" that's higher than the water level. There is nothing that would have caused a current that would have pushed him over the edge.  I'm just confused as to how he possibly thought it was a good idea to just go exploring.  Must have been the aliens :-)  Now if I can fix the darn lights.....

[smallreef]

What a talent you have for writing! And thankfully, for Mr. Gobi, perseverance also!