Plague!Officials urge calm as body count increases

Our freshwater fish are dying in droves as a plague continues to, well, plague our community fish aquarium.

The body count has reached stellar proportions. Our two new white lyretail mollies died Dec. 22. That staggering loss, which officials had not expected, was followed one day later by the loss of an orange and black molly.

Over the holiday weekend, all but one neon tetra died and Tonic, our new dojo loach, developed a severe parasitic growth on his midsection. Tonic was transported to Dorothy Jean Memorial Hospital on Monday morning. Doctors say they are losing hope that the young fish can be saved.

"Right now he is critical as to life," said Dr. Gill Dorsal, chief pathologist at Dorothy Jean Memorial Hospital. "We can literally see the life draining out of him with each passing moment."

Tank officials added newer, stronger medication to the aquarium today. If more deaths occur, tank officials may consider enacting the Emergency Contingency Plan, or ECP, which involves moving fish into medically treated containers while the main tank is detoxed. Such a plan has never before been necessary. Experts claim such a last-ditch effort would likely be catastrophic for our fish population.

"This is our most desperate hour," TankKeeper said. "We are putting our last hope in the strength of the medications, the abilities of our staff and the resilience of these fish."