Spike is starting to behave feebly like Cheese did D: What baffles me is how his condition could suddenly deteriorate within half a day. He was still relatively okay this morning, even though he was starting to look a bit subdued. I thought I handled the heat issue pretty well though. Wouldn't rule it out (probably contributed) but it seems to be the ammonia and nitrite levels again. Don't know if the blackout a few days ago affected anything. Power cut means the filter isn't going, which means death of the useful bacteria I've been trying to revive. I did leap into action and try to salvage the situation by trying to simulate a suitable environment, but I don't think there was enough oxygen to sustain it because the air pump needs electricity. My water tests did indicate that ammonia and nitrite levels rose a tad though... although I'm trying not to blame anything I can think of XD

I couldn't stand watching Spike deteriorate like Cheese because I know what happens at the end, so I was willing to try anything. The current of the filter was sweeping him around a lot so I put him in a bucket. It's a lot easier on him because it's still and peaceful. I added a bit of aquarium salt to try a salt bath, but I'm iffy about how much to put. Hopefully I didn't put too much because then leaving him in for too long would do much more harm than good. So yeah, I left him in for about fifteen minutes but taking water from the tank meant that it was not filled to the brim, and so the water splashing from the filter was making a lot of noise. So I put him back into the tank and he was like swoooooonnnnnn and I was like gaaaaaahhhhh and scooped him back out :L He was like flipping and stuff! He kept flipping and turning even in the bucket, but he perked up a bit and righted himself after I added in some aquarium salt. Decided to leave him in the bucket overnight. He has less oxygen in the bucket than the tank, but the tank was clearly bad for him. I pegged one end of the air pump to the edge of the bucket and directed a fan at it as well. Hopefully it'll be enough to sustain him.

So yeah, gonna have to see if Spike makes it. I wish I'd helped Cheese this way. Even if he doesn't make it, I'd much rather he went peacefully in a bucket than get swept by the current and wind up stuck against the side of the filter like Cheese.

... Uh oh. Just went out to check on Spike and I seriously don't think he has much longer. He's floating on his side now, like he's dead, but his gills are moving just a little and he occasionally flips around for a bit of a swim and then floats on his side again. I think it's going to be an RIP in the middle of the night ): I must be a horrible fish owner TTwTT Alice is going to whack me again... I'm not as depressed this time because I went through Cheese already and learned to detach myself a little, but I'll still be heaps sad. Spike and Cheese were my first fishies and they were speshul. I don't want to go out and check on Spike because I practically know he'll be gone tomorrow morning and I don't want to be watching him in his last moments ):

Spike and Cheese have already retired to my memory because I can't associate Spike with the near-lifeless fish in the bucket. The good days when I first met them, was a total noob with fish and loved to watch them nibble my finger XD If they weren't my first fish, they would have had longer lives, but because they were they had to pay the price for the steep learning curve.

My life was so much easier without fish to worry about, but at the same time I learned a lot and gained experiences. Fishkeeping is pretty cool as long as no problems crop up - but when something does, it goes downhill really quickly. I'm going to make sure I do it right with the second generation though. I'll completely reset the tank and cycle it properly, which could take weeks. Going to minimise any chance of problems before I introduce Spike and Cheese Jrs. I'm already in the mindset that Spike is gone, but I don't wanna check until tomorrow morning. 3% chance he'll surprise me and turn out healthy :L But nah, letting go is an art. I'm just confused by how quickly Spike deteriorated though. Did my best to keep the water temperature at a safe level, but heat probably played a hand anyway.

Oh boy, I hope I'm not an incurably horrible fish owner... sorry Spike and Cheese TTwTT