OK - I get the hint . . . so the moral of the story is . . . never feed your
pet crayfish meatballs! (LOL)
Sue

"Lee Brouillet" wrote in message
...
Once upon a time, the kids brought back a teeny-tiny little crayfish they
found in a stream, and plopped it into the aquarium. It looked so cute,
and
took up residence in the "castle". I fed him itty-bitty meatballs made
from
ground beef. One day I found his skeleton, and wondered how the fish had
picked his body so clean. Several days later, VIOLA! A larger crayfish! Ah
HA, says me: they molt! More meatballs, more molts, BIGGER crayfish.
Eventually he couldn't fit in the castle anymore, and perched on the
parapets, like King Kong on the Empire State Building. Then one day, I
noticed that my bottom layer fish were diminishing in numbers, then they
were nearly gone. It seems that at night, when the lights were off, Mr.
Crayfish went a'huntin'. I eventually gave him to a guy down the street
who
kept pet bass in tanks. Mr. Crayfish was too big for them to eat, and
vice-versa.

End of storytime.

Lee
"Sue Alexandre" wrote in message
news:xXbHa.9059$8p2.4206@lakeread04...
Hubby bought me a new, improved 1.5 million candlepower rechargeable
spotlight for my "midnight pond checks" and I saw three different things
tonight,not sure if they're good or bad.

First, found a dead fish. I NEVER see dead fish in my pond, and this
guy
is
a bottom sucker or something that has been there for 3 years that I
think
my
kids caught in a nearby brook. It was about an inch long when they
brought
it home, and it was probably 7 inches long tonight. It bothers me and
scares me that it died, since I don't know why.

Second discovery was kind of strange, I found a bird sitting on the
grass
under a hosta. Since when do birds sleep on the ground???? I'm not
even
sure what kind it was, it happened so fast. I was sliding my foot under
the
plant to get a closer look in the pond, and then there was this flutter
and
a bird flew out and away! What in heck was he doing in there? It was
right next to where the UV light is - think there's any connection?

Third thing I then spotted in the pond was a fairly large crayfish. I
knew
my kids had put two in there last year, and I found one "body" when
opening
this spring, just kind of assumed they both had died. Now WHERE this
guy
seems to be hanging out is right where I found the dead fish. So I
can't
help but wonder if the fish got attacked, but he looked perfectly intact
when I removed him.

Any ideas why birds sleep on the ground, why fish die, or why crayfish
attack fish? OK, skip the last one. I guess even crayfish have to
eat!
Sue