I accidentally killed a fish :(

So, today I accidentally killed a fish I have had for a while... luckily it was only a guppy, but I felt horrible nonetheless.

I was doing a water change on my 20 gallon, doing what I normally do with just the bare tube part of a gravel vac, and apparently got too comfortable. I usually keep my finger partially over the lower end of the tube so that if anything comes too close, I can stop the flow so they don't get sucked up. I was I guess getting too comfortable with this process, and was just holding the top end of the tube, when all of a sudden my big momma guppy swims up and gets her head wedged right in the tube. Instantly I knew I had killed her.

As soon as I could, I lifted the bottom of the tube to release the suction, but it was too late. She lived for only a couple of minutes after that, quickly becoming less and less active until she was motionless but upright. I felt terrible watching her expire, and couldn't think of anything to do except reach in and hold her near the surface until she was gone.

Just let this be a cautionary tale: Don't get too comfortable in your routine, and for dog's sake use some kind of diffuser for your water change tube!

That's rough. I've definitely done it before and it feels horrible.

I keep one hand on the tubing while vacuuming and kink it to stop the flow if necessary. Works well when shrimp get caught or too much substrate gets lifted. I've had quite a few fish enter the big tube but never lost one. I Have lost many from other mishaps and it's always painful!

I feel better about it now that I told everyone about it, I'm one of those people who really gets relief from talking about things.

R.I.P. Big Momma