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Gertie- my girl is gone.

FlowerMama

By FlowerMama,
in Nano Reef Journals

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FlowerMama

FlowerMama

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Forgive me for not responding to each of you.  I'm really having a hard time.  I put her in a ziploc in the freezer and when I take out the rose up front and put in a yellow euonymus  I'm going to put her underneath.   

 

Image result for yellow euonymus

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J-Ranko

J-Ranko

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Sorry to hear. I see you started this tank for her back in November 2013, back when she just 0.5 inch big.  I'm sure she had a good life under your care. :tears:

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Christopher Marks

Christopher Marks

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Sorry for your loss @FlowerMama:( 

 

Gertie brought a lot of happiness to you and all of us here. She has and will continue to inspire many hobbyists to keep mantis shrimp of their own, not to disregarded as simple pests. We've all learned a lot from you sharing your experiences there with us, thank you :flower:

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FlowerMama

FlowerMama

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Thank You, when I heard people say when they found one in their live rock that they would  catch and throw them away, that irritated me to the core.   Didn't even give them a chance, buy a $10 gallon tank, learn about it.  They're such cool creatures.  They certainly didn't get asked to get plucked out of the ocean.   I was very inspired by Islandoftikis peacock shrimp Betty.  And I cried too when I heard Betty passed on last year.  Actually I wailed like I did for my own today.

I knew from that I could teach her to trust me to feed her.

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Sunstar

Sunstar

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This is terrible. Oh man you loved her so much. But think of all the joy you had, and she had a great life and was loved by all those who watched her through your videos.

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lkoechle

lkoechle

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I'm so sorry about gertie.  Has it really been almost 4 years?  I remember telling my husband, check this out.  Maybe we should get one!  

 

Like Christopher said, you really have inspired us to look at them differently.  And tbh, I didn't notice many "pest" tanks on NR and then after you started with Gertie and her short-lived sister, they started popping up like daisies.

 

You gave her a great home and Gertie inspired people to look at incorporating them into our hobby instead of just throwing them away.

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FlowerMama

FlowerMama

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Everyone Thank You so much for the empathy & heart felt words.   I did fine at work until I told my friend & local reefer.  Now as I read all your notes, it brought me to tears again.  I feel like I lost my dog.  If you have one, you will get attached, maybe attacked (all depends on how much you push the limit).  She did give me a light punch once to say back-off.   What you'll enjoy and miss the most is interaction, even these green Wennarae s.   Believe me when I tell you they're not boring.   I loved her blue underneath.  You can tell she paid attention, watched ever move.  She was most incredible to me and I'd like to think she liked me too.  

 

 

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vlangel

vlangel

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Our aquatic pets that really capture our hearts are the ones that we somehow connect with.  I am sure she liked you too from watching the videos of you feeding her.  She must have seen you as a provider and that is a good thing.  She overcame her natural instincts and accepted gifts of food from your hand.  In accepting your gifts, she gave back a gift.  Today I was thinking and writing about how painful it was to lose Adam.  The things that are most precious are the ones that hurt the most and yet the joy and love they brought to our lives is what makes it worth it.

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FlowerMama

FlowerMama

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1 minute ago, vlangel said:

Our aquatic pets that really capture our hearts are the ones that we somehow connect with.  I am sure she liked you too from watching the videos of you feeding her.  She must have seen you as a provider and that is a good thing.  She overcame her natural instincts and accepted gifts of food from your hand.  In accepting your gifts, she gave back a gift.  Today I was thinking and writing about how painful it was to lose Adam.  The things that are most precious are the ones that hurt the most and yet the joy and love they brought to our lives is what makes it worth it.

 

Well said!!!I appreciate that.

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FlowerMama

FlowerMama

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6 hours ago, StinkyBunny said:

Always take solace in knowing she had a much better and longer life with you than she would have in the wild.

 

Thank You.  She had a large impact on me.  One of which was the topic of trust.  It took a  long time for her to trust.  But at one point, if she didn't, she wouldn't eat.   She was a baby mantis.  But as baby she was, she was still very leary, observant, careful.   Compare to humans, babies and kids are very open right away- maybe it's more instinctual to them, but people, I think as we get older, we give up that feeling, we trust less right off the bat.  Or maybe I'm wrong.  But right now for example. I don't have anyone in my life, on my own, recently purchased a gun.   I'm not in immediate danger, so why do I trust less?  I'm not even dating anyone.  No one has given me reason to not trust them.  I admired Gert's strength and that no matter how many months or years went by, she was very reliable & predictable to be leary, observant, and careful.   I hope this made sense to someone.   I don't know if I captured what I meant.  

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Weetabix7

Weetabix7

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6 hours ago, FlowerMama said:

 

Thank You.  She had a large impact on me.  One of which was the topic of trust.  It took a  long time for her to trust.  But at one point, if she didn't, she wouldn't eat.   She was a baby mantis.  But as baby she was, she was still very leary, observant, careful.   Compare to humans, babies and kids are very open right away- maybe it's more instinctual to them, but people, I think as we get older, we give up that feeling, we trust less right off the bat.  Or maybe I'm wrong.  But right now for example. I don't have anyone in my life, on my own, recently purchased a gun.   I'm not in immediate danger, so why do I trust less?  I'm not even dating anyone.  No one has given me reason to not trust them.  I admired Gert's strength and that no matter how many months or years went by, she was very reliable & predictable to be leary, observant, and careful.   I hope this made sense to someone.   I don't know if I captured what I meant.  

 

I actually completely understand this, and have dealt with it myself at times. 

I went through a period in my life where uncertainty & my fearful response to it guided my actions and choices. 

It still requires work on my part, but I'm happy to say that that has changed for the better. 

That change is a part of what is behind my current approach to Reefing. 

(see first post in tank thread linked in Sig)

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