I know this is an obvious statement, since most of us are keeping the fish we like, right?
However, I've recently come to the realization that there have been tanks I've kept with fish that I did not necessarily like, but that were appropriate for a setup that I liked. There are quite a few common aquarium species that I simply don't like, and I avoid those, since it is easy enough to do, with the myriad species available these days. On the other hand, once you've kept this type of setup and that type of setup, the community planted tank and the rocky Malawi cichlid tank, the species tank and the mixed tank, you start to have a desire for specific setups that appeal to you, or just ones that you've not kept before.
A couple of years ago I got a great deal on a large tank, a 150-gallon, with hood and stand, and suddenly I had new options. Fish that I could not keep before suddenly became a possibility. I started thinking how cool it would be to keep a large "tankbuster" type fish that would come up to me, begging to be fed; a fish that could be given a name and treated like a real pet. I thought about Astronotus ocellatus, the oscar cichlid, but they can be tough on tankmates and tough on aquarium decor. As mentioned, I like my aquariums to be as much an attractive display as a habitat, and I've heard stories of objects being banged around by oscars, heaters broken, plants uprooted, etc. Hmmm. Maybe not for me this time.
I've always had a thing for Tanganyikan cichlids, and the idea of a frontosa tank began to take hold. They get large and are relatively peaceful. The concept was born. I began my research and saw photos of grotesque humps on the foreheads of mature specimens, and was not terribly thrilled. Some people really like the humps - the bigger the better - but this did not appeal to me. These seemed to be most prevalent in the Burundi variety, and I set my sights on some other collection points, like Moba and Kapampa, which have a richer blue and less prominent humps, typically. I admired the look of some of the Moba setups, with rocks, dim lighting, sand and the graceful large blue striped fish cruising around. The tanks have a minimalist, simple look to them that appealed to me, after so many busy, high-light, heavily planted tanks that I've kept.
Since the frontosa get so big, it is not advised to keep smaller species with them, but often people have success with the Altolamps, (calvus and compressiceps), as long as you stick to the larger males. These are fish I truly admire, with their sloped foreheads and downturned mouths - the bulldog look that I like so much! So I set up the tank with frontosa and altolamprologus species, hoping that as the altolamps grew they'd hang out in the rocks for safety.
I had a lot of trouble with the frontosa. My first shipment of very young specimens died almost immediately - which was quite a bit of money down the tube, though the dealer replaced the fish. I was out shipping, and that was not a small amount, at least for me. I lost almost all of the second shipment too, but 4 survived out of 10. *Sigh* So, nothing but stress from the beginning with these fronts. Constant worry about whether they'd survive and thrive, and whether I could get this tank to where I wanted it. I had the monolithic rock formations, the dim lighting and the sand, and all I needed was the fish to grow and glide around!
One thing about Tanganyikan cichlids is that many of them are shy and dash for cover when you approach the tank. This has never bothered me too much, since they get used to you and will gradually come back out so you can see them. For fish like Brichardi sp., this was well worth it, with their interesting coloration and fin extensions - gorgeous. Same for the calvus and the comps. Such an impressive look to them, and some with polka dots and red or yellow hues. I could watch a mature calvus all day long.
Well, here I am with this large tank in my living room, and it looked completely empty! I had 4 Kapampa frontosa and about 11 various small Tang cichlids in it, most altolamps but 6 Paracyprichromis nigripinnis and one Neolamprologus leleupi. All of them hide, including the frontosa. While the fish were small they hid in the rocks with the rest of them, and would only dart out at feeding time, grabbing a mouthful and dashing back into hiding. Oh well, I told myself, once the fronts get big they won't be able to fit behind the rocks and they'll be forced to stay out in the open where I can see them.
Then came the recent dreadful tank disaster (I still do not know the cause of this tragedy!) and I lost all the Tang cichlids in about 12 hours. The idea of starting over crossed my mind, but slowly I realized the truth: I don't really LIKE frontosa! They have a blunt, bloated look to them that I don't like, but they needed to be the centerpiece to my Tanganyikan display tank, so I went with them anyway. Add to this the fact that Tang cichlids are sensitive to any change in water parameters, diet, etc., and I always had an underlying worry that something would go wrong with the tank; this was enough to lessen the enjoyment I got out of watching it.
This came into sharp focus when I got my new additions, the Geophagus sp. orange head "Tapajos." They gave me a very familiar scare initially (I was instantly brought back to the failed frontosa shipment) but came around once I raised the temperature, and now they are doing great. These are hardier fish than Tang cichlids, and I don't see a reason why I won't get them to maturity. They come rushing over to the glass at your approach, begging for food, and will follow you back and forth.
Also, I really LIKE the Geophagus and Satanoperca species complex, with the sloped foreheads, spangled and striped coloration, and oftentimes long, trailing fin extensions. Mature specimens are gorgeous. A couple of years ago I saw a mature Satanoperca daemon at a shop in Lynchburg, and ever since then I vowed I'd keep them someday. Fish that have a wild or native look to them definitely appeal to me more than some of the more ornamental species available now. No long-fins, balloon bellies, or koi colorations for me, thanks. I am not particularly opposed to hybrids, but I prefer fish as they'd be found in the wild.
I am now evaluating my tastes and preferences more carefully, and realize that I really like wild or wild-type angels, be they scalare, altum or leopoldi. I don't have much interest in domestic angels. I have come very close several times to purchasing some Apistogramma species as well, since my 40-gallon is a very appropriate setup for them, but I now realize that Apistos are not very appealing to me, surprisingly. They can be gloriously colored and have interesting personalities, but I don't really like them, much like I don't care for Kribensis (Pelvicachromis pulcher). I can't explain why I don't like them, but something about the torpedo body shape turns me off.
I do like my Bolivian ram, perhaps mainly because he's actually alive (if you've kept rams before you may know what I'm talking about) and because he's wild I consider him to be like they'd be in nature. That's as close to a dwarf cichlid as I'll likely get anytime soon.
Another admission I'll make: I'm not such a big fan of catfish. I like cory cats in planted setups where I'm not trying to raise a spawn, and I had a whiptail cat that was absolutely fascinating and a gorgeous specimen (look back in the blog to see that amazing fish), but currently I have no catfish at all, and though I'm not ruling them out completely, they are not a species I need to have. For many years I considered some type of catfish to be essential to most any setup, to occupy the bottom and to "clean up" leftovers. I've had some interesting catfish before but I don't require them. Maybe I've just not kept some of the more interesting species, like Hara jerdoni, or the Asian Stone Catfish. My friend has those and they are absolutely adorable! Maybe I'll limit myself to Corydoras species and hold out for a truly interesting specimen catfish.
This entire post is silly but I wanted to share my ideas and where I am in the hobby these days. I tend to set up tanks hastily, without a lot of planning, and just think it would be neat to have certain fish in a certain type of setup. Now I think I'll consider more carefully - not only because I have less time to devote to the hobby but also because I don't want to waste time on fish that don't make me happy. All my tanks, save the pair of N. leleupi that don't seem to want to spawn for me, make me happy, truly happy, including my two tanks of wonky round goldfish, and that's a good thing.
Friday, December 9, 2011
I've Got Sunshine - In a Cloudy Tank
The Tapajos are still doing great, and showing more hints of color. They are very, very active, almost manic, and spend a lot of time doing what geophagus do - digging through the sand.
When I set up this tank with the frontosa, I rinsed this sand as well as I could, but eventually tired of the rinsing and gave up on it. It is extremely fine sand and contains a great deal of dust. Every time I would stir the sand to keep it aerated it would produce a mild cloud that would soon dissipate with the heavy filtration. For years the sand was no problem, without any fish disturbing it, so hours of rinsing was not required for the setup
Now, with the sand being constantly disturbed by this eartheater species the tank carries a constant haze. I was alarmed about it at first - thinking my water quality was suffering somehow, but diligent testing of all parameters showed normal and desirable results, confirming that there is no ammonia or nitrite, and 5 ppm nitrate. Hardness, buffering capacity and pH are all as expected - a little higher than a typical SA cichlid might prefer, but not too far off. I don't even suspect a bacterial bloom, since this tank is past that stage, which I went through with the goldfish..
So, the sand is the culprit, and I'm not sure what to do, if anything. I'm tempted to aggressively dig through it myself, attempting to release all of the dust at once, do a big PWC and see if that helps, or I can simply let the fish do it slowly over time, which might be the more sensible approach. My tanks are, for me, an artistic display as much as a habitat, so a cloudy tank is hard for me to ignore, but I don't want to cause problems for these wee fish, either. Massive disturbance of the substrate followed by a large PWC could upset the bacterial colonies enough to cause a mini cycle.
I'm sure over time the dust will be filtered out, but it could take a while. Right now the sifting of the sand by the fish is superficial, since the fish are so very small, and as they grow they'll dig down deeper and take bigger mouthfuls as they sift, searching for morsels.
In spite of all that, my little orange heads (the sunshine!) are content and give me a lot of pleasure, and this minor issue is one that will resolve itself before too long.
When I set up this tank with the frontosa, I rinsed this sand as well as I could, but eventually tired of the rinsing and gave up on it. It is extremely fine sand and contains a great deal of dust. Every time I would stir the sand to keep it aerated it would produce a mild cloud that would soon dissipate with the heavy filtration. For years the sand was no problem, without any fish disturbing it, so hours of rinsing was not required for the setup
Now, with the sand being constantly disturbed by this eartheater species the tank carries a constant haze. I was alarmed about it at first - thinking my water quality was suffering somehow, but diligent testing of all parameters showed normal and desirable results, confirming that there is no ammonia or nitrite, and 5 ppm nitrate. Hardness, buffering capacity and pH are all as expected - a little higher than a typical SA cichlid might prefer, but not too far off. I don't even suspect a bacterial bloom, since this tank is past that stage, which I went through with the goldfish..
So, the sand is the culprit, and I'm not sure what to do, if anything. I'm tempted to aggressively dig through it myself, attempting to release all of the dust at once, do a big PWC and see if that helps, or I can simply let the fish do it slowly over time, which might be the more sensible approach. My tanks are, for me, an artistic display as much as a habitat, so a cloudy tank is hard for me to ignore, but I don't want to cause problems for these wee fish, either. Massive disturbance of the substrate followed by a large PWC could upset the bacterial colonies enough to cause a mini cycle.
I'm sure over time the dust will be filtered out, but it could take a while. Right now the sifting of the sand by the fish is superficial, since the fish are so very small, and as they grow they'll dig down deeper and take bigger mouthfuls as they sift, searching for morsels.
In spite of all that, my little orange heads (the sunshine!) are content and give me a lot of pleasure, and this minor issue is one that will resolve itself before too long.
Sunday, December 4, 2011
The Tapajos are Here!
My shipment of Geophagus sp. Orange Head "Tapajos" have arrived, and they are marvelous specimens. I ordered 20, but our best count keeps coming up 26, so that's quite a few extra!
Initially they were cold, and I was concerned for an hour or two but once I got the temperature up to 82 they perked right up, and have been right as rain ever since. They are always ravenous, and seem happy.
Once they get some size I'll definitely need to remove at least 16, since I think 10 individuals will be plenty for this tank, but we'll wait and see. They're already showing a hint of the red coloration they'll have as adults, and are literally all over the tank exploring. I look forward to moving my leopoldi angel into this tank, and finding more wild or wild type angels, and am considering catfish, maybe panaque types, but not if I hope to raise a spawn, so that decision will come later. I may stick to only cichlids, and keep the geos for the bottom and angels for the top. I' may also move my Bolivian ram down into this tank as well to give the blue rams a little peace in the 40-gallon.
Right now the geophagus are settling in and I don't want to disturb the tank at this point, but will watch as they grow and the tank matures a bit.
Initially they were cold, and I was concerned for an hour or two but once I got the temperature up to 82 they perked right up, and have been right as rain ever since. They are always ravenous, and seem happy.
Once they get some size I'll definitely need to remove at least 16, since I think 10 individuals will be plenty for this tank, but we'll wait and see. They're already showing a hint of the red coloration they'll have as adults, and are literally all over the tank exploring. I look forward to moving my leopoldi angel into this tank, and finding more wild or wild type angels, and am considering catfish, maybe panaque types, but not if I hope to raise a spawn, so that decision will come later. I may stick to only cichlids, and keep the geos for the bottom and angels for the top. I' may also move my Bolivian ram down into this tank as well to give the blue rams a little peace in the 40-gallon.
Right now the geophagus are settling in and I don't want to disturb the tank at this point, but will watch as they grow and the tank matures a bit.
Monday, November 21, 2011
Geophagus sp. Orange Head "Tapajos"
Also known as "red head," these eartheaters (they are bottom dwelling cichlids that spend a lot of time sifting through the sand for morsels) are a species that don't get too large, up to about 6-7" for domestics, and have gorgeous red coloration. I plan on starting out with #20 1.5-2" fry next week and will grow them out in the 150-gallon, then sell off the extras later, when they start to get some size to them.
They do well in groups, so I hope to retain quite a few of them in this tank long-term. They are relatively peaceful, as cichlids go, and are not secretive, so they won't be hiding in the rocks. I had my eye on Satanoperca (they've their own genus now, out of the Geophagus genus for the time being) daemon, since I see them locally, but the more I read the more I find them to be particularly prone to bloat, and are much more sensitive to water quality. They also reach about 10", which is fine for my 150 if I limit them to about 5, but then I have to be very careful about sex ratios. I am not intimidated by fish that demand clean water, since my water change regimen makes my tanks clean and healthy (see below ember tetra and black neon spawns in my community 40-gallon!) but my recent mysterious disaster with my Tang cichlids has me a bit gun shy. I also prefer the red coloration of the Tapajos.
I will post pics when I get them. I'll likely move my wild P. leopoldi angel down into that tank with them, and try to locate more wild or wild-type (F1-2) angels for this setup - they will go well together.
For the purist making aquascaping recommendations for an eartheater tank, my setup has much too much rockwork - a shameful waste of space! When you look through Google images for eartheaters the tanks you see will most often be rather spare, with sand, a few flat rocks for spawning, a piece or two of driftwood, and that's it. This lends a great simplistic look to the tank, and is something I admire and tried to recreate with my Tanganyikan setup, but ultimately, in practice, I find the look too simplistic (maybe I'm doing it wrong) and my eye demands more vertical interest, with zones that draw the eye. Somehow this will need to work for the fish and for my stupid "eye," and I hope I can make that happen. Some of the Acaras are cavedwellers and I could stock some to inhabit the caves, but I might just stick with angels and geos (maybe some larger tetras?) and perhaps Peckoltia sp. catfish for the caves at some point, or even cories. That's for later - right now I'm going to concentrate on the geos, then angels, and see where things go from there.
They do well in groups, so I hope to retain quite a few of them in this tank long-term. They are relatively peaceful, as cichlids go, and are not secretive, so they won't be hiding in the rocks. I had my eye on Satanoperca (they've their own genus now, out of the Geophagus genus for the time being) daemon, since I see them locally, but the more I read the more I find them to be particularly prone to bloat, and are much more sensitive to water quality. They also reach about 10", which is fine for my 150 if I limit them to about 5, but then I have to be very careful about sex ratios. I am not intimidated by fish that demand clean water, since my water change regimen makes my tanks clean and healthy (see below ember tetra and black neon spawns in my community 40-gallon!) but my recent mysterious disaster with my Tang cichlids has me a bit gun shy. I also prefer the red coloration of the Tapajos.
I will post pics when I get them. I'll likely move my wild P. leopoldi angel down into that tank with them, and try to locate more wild or wild-type (F1-2) angels for this setup - they will go well together.
For the purist making aquascaping recommendations for an eartheater tank, my setup has much too much rockwork - a shameful waste of space! When you look through Google images for eartheaters the tanks you see will most often be rather spare, with sand, a few flat rocks for spawning, a piece or two of driftwood, and that's it. This lends a great simplistic look to the tank, and is something I admire and tried to recreate with my Tanganyikan setup, but ultimately, in practice, I find the look too simplistic (maybe I'm doing it wrong) and my eye demands more vertical interest, with zones that draw the eye. Somehow this will need to work for the fish and for my stupid "eye," and I hope I can make that happen. Some of the Acaras are cavedwellers and I could stock some to inhabit the caves, but I might just stick with angels and geos (maybe some larger tetras?) and perhaps Peckoltia sp. catfish for the caves at some point, or even cories. That's for later - right now I'm going to concentrate on the geos, then angels, and see where things go from there.
Sunday, November 20, 2011
Another Tetra Spawn
I am happy to report that my 40-gal planted tank has new black neon fry! This is really amazing to me, on the heels of the ember tetra spawn. It is my experience that spawning tetras requires specific conditions and dedicated setups, but here they are.
I also have a couple of new additions to this tank, a pair of electric blue rams. They were given to me by a fellow hobbyist in Virginia Beach (thank you, Justin!) and have settled in very well in this heavily planted tank. There is a Bolivian ram (wild) in this tank as well, which looks absolutely beefy and monstrous next to the wee blue rams, as well as a wild leopoldi angel, with the ember tetras, black neons, het rasboras and a couple of cardinals. This setup is quite well established and is one of only two tanks I have that have remained as is for years, without getting bored with it and redoing it (or killing off all inhabitants....) so I think this goes a long way to making the environment hospitable for a tetra spawn. It's hit the "sweet spot," so to speak, and I'm just delighted. If the population of tetras can raise one or two of the fry to adulthood on any kind of regular basis I can maintain the colony for a good while.
I also have a couple of new additions to this tank, a pair of electric blue rams. They were given to me by a fellow hobbyist in Virginia Beach (thank you, Justin!) and have settled in very well in this heavily planted tank. There is a Bolivian ram (wild) in this tank as well, which looks absolutely beefy and monstrous next to the wee blue rams, as well as a wild leopoldi angel, with the ember tetras, black neons, het rasboras and a couple of cardinals. This setup is quite well established and is one of only two tanks I have that have remained as is for years, without getting bored with it and redoing it (or killing off all inhabitants....) so I think this goes a long way to making the environment hospitable for a tetra spawn. It's hit the "sweet spot," so to speak, and I'm just delighted. If the population of tetras can raise one or two of the fry to adulthood on any kind of regular basis I can maintain the colony for a good while.
New Incarnation
Here's the 150-gallon, redone for my SA eartheaters and others. The water is cloudy because I just finished rearranging rocks and the sand being stirred up creates billowing clouds of tiny particles.
I really had to manhandle the rocks quite a bit, not happy with the first 50 placements of them or the wood, but finally got something that I'm happy with. The wood could be pointing 10 degrees up or down and look "off" visually, so I messed with it until I achieved some sort of visual balance, at least to my eye. I removed quite a few rocks that were cluttering things up. I don't need much in the way of rocks at all for this setup (maybe some acaras, since they like to use caves? Peckoltia compta or another "leopard" pleco type would work as well).
I will be looking for a species of Satanoperca (depending upon availability) and some wild or wild-type angels. I think they will look great in there together, with the angels occupying the middle and upper strata and the eartheaters the bottom.
I scored a sweet piece of branchy driftwoodrecently from Fin & Feather. Sometimes they don't have much in the way of wood and decor, other than plastic and colored gravel, but that time they were loaded up with wood, so I got it relatively cheap, since it was not the curly heavy Mopani wood ($$$$!!!) but just plain old driftwood. It was soaked first and is being held down with a rock for good measure.
When you go back to the beginning of the blog it seems like this tank has been so many things, and I suppose it has. I will say that I don't sit around and lick my wounds, though, and I became absolutely inspired by the idea of this next setup. The empty tank is like an artist's canvas, and I work with it and work with it until I achieve visual appeal. The aquarium hobby is an expression of art for me - living organic art - and my last project had the hardscape just like I wanted it but I was waiting for the large, full-grown frontosa to set off the monolithic rock structure and slate background - moving slowly around an almost moonscape of dim cool light, sand and rocks. Never got to see that.
Many aquarists consider themselves to have "arrived" when they are successful breeders, especially of the more delicate and unusual species. They set up fish rooms with row after row of tanks, nursing a mated pair and coaxing them into a spawn. It is almost as though this is the be all, end all for the hobby, and if you're not heading for that then you are not really serious. I don't really desire that at this point in my life, but rather I want to incorporate graceful living fish into my day to day life, like art on the wall. If the tank does not have visual appeal and does not fit in the room with the other functional and nonfunctional decor, then I don't like it.
So, for now, this tank is set up, and I'm waiting on a cycle to introduce some interesting cichlids, and I will continue to attempt to keep them alive!
I really had to manhandle the rocks quite a bit, not happy with the first 50 placements of them or the wood, but finally got something that I'm happy with. The wood could be pointing 10 degrees up or down and look "off" visually, so I messed with it until I achieved some sort of visual balance, at least to my eye. I removed quite a few rocks that were cluttering things up. I don't need much in the way of rocks at all for this setup (maybe some acaras, since they like to use caves? Peckoltia compta or another "leopard" pleco type would work as well).
I will be looking for a species of Satanoperca (depending upon availability) and some wild or wild-type angels. I think they will look great in there together, with the angels occupying the middle and upper strata and the eartheaters the bottom.
I scored a sweet piece of branchy driftwoodrecently from Fin & Feather. Sometimes they don't have much in the way of wood and decor, other than plastic and colored gravel, but that time they were loaded up with wood, so I got it relatively cheap, since it was not the curly heavy Mopani wood ($$$$!!!) but just plain old driftwood. It was soaked first and is being held down with a rock for good measure.
When you go back to the beginning of the blog it seems like this tank has been so many things, and I suppose it has. I will say that I don't sit around and lick my wounds, though, and I became absolutely inspired by the idea of this next setup. The empty tank is like an artist's canvas, and I work with it and work with it until I achieve visual appeal. The aquarium hobby is an expression of art for me - living organic art - and my last project had the hardscape just like I wanted it but I was waiting for the large, full-grown frontosa to set off the monolithic rock structure and slate background - moving slowly around an almost moonscape of dim cool light, sand and rocks. Never got to see that.
Many aquarists consider themselves to have "arrived" when they are successful breeders, especially of the more delicate and unusual species. They set up fish rooms with row after row of tanks, nursing a mated pair and coaxing them into a spawn. It is almost as though this is the be all, end all for the hobby, and if you're not heading for that then you are not really serious. I don't really desire that at this point in my life, but rather I want to incorporate graceful living fish into my day to day life, like art on the wall. If the tank does not have visual appeal and does not fit in the room with the other functional and nonfunctional decor, then I don't like it.
So, for now, this tank is set up, and I'm waiting on a cycle to introduce some interesting cichlids, and I will continue to attempt to keep them alive!
DISASTER!
This is hard. Really hard! Difficult to tell, I mean. This is the story of how I lost all of my Tanganyikans from my 150 gallon tank. Well, not really how I lost them, because I can't say, but the story of the death of an entire stocked tank in a matter of hours.
Here's how it went:
I did my weekly PWC on Sunday afternoon, 4-ish, and I do only a 1/3 change because these are sensitive fish and any more than that seems to stress them. My other tanks get 1/2 PWC once a week. I did not disturb the decor or sand at all this time (it remains relatively clean without debris accumulating), but I simply placed the Python siphon hose into the water and started draining, then when it was 1/3 gone I tested my new tap water for temperature match and started refilling, taking care to add the correct amount of Prime. I have to be careful about temperature in particular because, again, they are sensitive and they show it when you are not careful about it. I have a pretty solid routine down, since this is a valuable tank in terms of the cost of the stock, as anyone who keeps or has kept Tanganyikan cichlids can attest. I've made mistakes with Tang cichlids in the past and treated this tank like the prima donnas they were.
Everything went fine, and we went out to dinner. No one was at home while we were out. We come home later and I fed them, and they all ate normally. We went to bed, and when I got up Monday morning everything looked fine, and we all left for work and school. We were all gone all day, with nobody home. When I got home from work my daughter alerted me that some of the fish were lying on the sand. Uh oh. What could this be?
I did a big PWC, thinking that something got into the tank, even though another PWC this soon after the first is risky, but I had to do something to try to save the tank, which was in obvious distress. All members were either dead or dying. Every last one. This included four 3.5-inch Kapampa frontosa, six Paracyprichromis nigripinnis, one 3-inch N. leleupi, and about 10-12 Altolamprologus species of various sizes, from 1.5" to 3". The water tested fine, in that there was no ammonia or nitrite, and very low nitrate (it hardly ever measures much nitrate, considering how small the fish were for this much water). This did not look like a case of not adding enough dechlor, since the times I have done that the water starts to cloud up and you see the params go wonky, and the fish start suffering immediately. I suppose this may not always be how it presents, but just in my own experience. Chlorine present in the water is not something this group of cichlids would take their time to react to, in other words. Cross that mistake off my list.
What then? I tested the pH and the tap water is the 7.6 it always is, with the tank measuring only a tiny bit higher at 7.9. Sometimes I reach 8 but as the tank matures the sand is buffering the water less and less, it seems. At first I thought the tap was measuring way low, at 6.2, but my pH meter needs to be calibrated and the liquid reagent kit proved it to be more alkaline, as always, at 7.6 (I'm sending the meter off to Milwaukee to be properly calibrated, as the adjustment screws are not solving the problem).
Over a matter of hours all fish dead. Monday night I tore the tank completely apart, removing and cleaning all the rocks (there must be 300 pounds of rock!) and cleaning out the sand, then taking apart the filters, a Fluval FX5 and a Rena Filstart XP4 and sterilizing them, loading with all new media. This took hours to complete, and was quite a physical strain, but I could not sit there and look at this giant glass testament to my failure.
What went wrong? What happened to slowly kill off every last fish? I've been over it and over it, and even my husband, who was present during the PWC procedure, can't come up with anything that does not match with my recollection. When I fed them I used the New Life Spectrum cichlid pellet, like always, and this time I did not use any frozen food, which could potentially go bad and perhaps sicken the fish. I think it must have had something to do with the water change, but with these fish any mistakes made in that procedure are typically evident quite rapidly, in my experience, and not 24 hours later.
I suppose I will never know, but I will continue to beat myself up over it, and not only because of the massive financial investment that went down the drain. I feel like I ought to have been able to get this tank mature and grow out the frontosa to their potential size, and this goal is not going to be achieved, at least not in the near future. I just don't have the funds to invest in replacing the fish and starting over. Maybe someday I will git it another shot, but not now. It would be easier to take if I knew what happened, so it could be mitigated in the future, but I just can't think of what happened.
Incidentally, when I did the water change on the 150 I also did one on the 20h goldfish tank in the kitchen, and they never had any problems whatsoever. Not a ragged fin, cloudy eye or red gill in the bunch. That tank, in fact, was cleaned aggressively (this tank was cleaned after I was done with the 150) and I moved decor around to siphon out the copious debris that collects with these filthy fish, and wound up with about an 80% change of the water. This is a typical change for that tank, and the goldfish seem to thrive with this weekly routine. They are fantails, and their fins are in perfect shape, with no signs of any water quality issues. I would not dream of that kind of maintenance on a Tang cichlid tank.
It could be there was something in the tap water that affects Tang cichlids and does not affect goldfish, which is definitely possible - goldfish are known to be much hardier - but I won't likely ever know. Copper leaching into the tap water would affect many species, but with the higher range pH that is less of an issue. If we had soft, acidic water then that would be high on my list.
In the past when I have called the water treatment plant to inquire about certain values (some systems contain levels of NO3 -nitrate- that cause aquarists some problems, for instance) I am usually met with defensiveness, as if I'm trying to blame the water treatment people for health issues, which I'm not. I just like to know what I'm dealing with when I put tap water into my tanks. This is a huge part of the process and I don't have any control over what comes out of the tap. If they said to me, "oh yes, Sunday we registered a higher than normal level of ________ in the system. That might explain it" I'd be grateful and go on with my life. Maybe they could even tell me to avoid doing PWCs on a certain day of the month, perhaps. I just want to be informed so I can manage my livestock the best I can.
So, now I'm setting my sights on a less pricey species from the other side of the world, in South America. I'm going to turn this tank into an "eartheater" tank, with Satanoperca daemon, which sounds awful but actually is the designation of a species of cichlid that is attractive and peaceful. It has been known as Geophagus jurupari, but there is a lot of work being done on the taxonomy of the genus so it covers quite a few species. I have added wood and plants to the tank, but only plants that attach themselves to the wood and rocks, and nothing planted in the sand, because it will be uprooted by these sand-sifting cichlids. I will consider angels and acaras as well for this tank, which are other peaceful cichlids that are appropriate tankmates.
Right now the tank is cycling with some shubunkin (if you have been reading this blog you'll know that I do cycle tanks with fish and I'm not ashamed of it!) and after things have settled in the goldfish will go into a friend's pond. I'm doing large PWCs during the process, and we're about halfway there. The fish are about 3" long and there are only three of them in this huge tank, so nobody needs to get uptight about animal cruelty. I did the same thing with the goldfish I currently have in the kitchen, which started out cycling the 150 themselves a couple of years ago before I added my Tangs, and they are doing great to this day.
I am really trying to move on but will be affected by this traumatic event for a good while. I do feel like a failure but I'd sure like to know what I did. No broken heaters, no electrical shock, nobody spraying chemicals, painting nearby, etc. There was nothing in the water that I have a test kit for to explain it, so I guess it will always be a mystery, and be, to date, my biggest DISASTER!
Here's how it went:
I did my weekly PWC on Sunday afternoon, 4-ish, and I do only a 1/3 change because these are sensitive fish and any more than that seems to stress them. My other tanks get 1/2 PWC once a week. I did not disturb the decor or sand at all this time (it remains relatively clean without debris accumulating), but I simply placed the Python siphon hose into the water and started draining, then when it was 1/3 gone I tested my new tap water for temperature match and started refilling, taking care to add the correct amount of Prime. I have to be careful about temperature in particular because, again, they are sensitive and they show it when you are not careful about it. I have a pretty solid routine down, since this is a valuable tank in terms of the cost of the stock, as anyone who keeps or has kept Tanganyikan cichlids can attest. I've made mistakes with Tang cichlids in the past and treated this tank like the prima donnas they were.
Everything went fine, and we went out to dinner. No one was at home while we were out. We come home later and I fed them, and they all ate normally. We went to bed, and when I got up Monday morning everything looked fine, and we all left for work and school. We were all gone all day, with nobody home. When I got home from work my daughter alerted me that some of the fish were lying on the sand. Uh oh. What could this be?
I did a big PWC, thinking that something got into the tank, even though another PWC this soon after the first is risky, but I had to do something to try to save the tank, which was in obvious distress. All members were either dead or dying. Every last one. This included four 3.5-inch Kapampa frontosa, six Paracyprichromis nigripinnis, one 3-inch N. leleupi, and about 10-12 Altolamprologus species of various sizes, from 1.5" to 3". The water tested fine, in that there was no ammonia or nitrite, and very low nitrate (it hardly ever measures much nitrate, considering how small the fish were for this much water). This did not look like a case of not adding enough dechlor, since the times I have done that the water starts to cloud up and you see the params go wonky, and the fish start suffering immediately. I suppose this may not always be how it presents, but just in my own experience. Chlorine present in the water is not something this group of cichlids would take their time to react to, in other words. Cross that mistake off my list.
What then? I tested the pH and the tap water is the 7.6 it always is, with the tank measuring only a tiny bit higher at 7.9. Sometimes I reach 8 but as the tank matures the sand is buffering the water less and less, it seems. At first I thought the tap was measuring way low, at 6.2, but my pH meter needs to be calibrated and the liquid reagent kit proved it to be more alkaline, as always, at 7.6 (I'm sending the meter off to Milwaukee to be properly calibrated, as the adjustment screws are not solving the problem).
Over a matter of hours all fish dead. Monday night I tore the tank completely apart, removing and cleaning all the rocks (there must be 300 pounds of rock!) and cleaning out the sand, then taking apart the filters, a Fluval FX5 and a Rena Filstart XP4 and sterilizing them, loading with all new media. This took hours to complete, and was quite a physical strain, but I could not sit there and look at this giant glass testament to my failure.
What went wrong? What happened to slowly kill off every last fish? I've been over it and over it, and even my husband, who was present during the PWC procedure, can't come up with anything that does not match with my recollection. When I fed them I used the New Life Spectrum cichlid pellet, like always, and this time I did not use any frozen food, which could potentially go bad and perhaps sicken the fish. I think it must have had something to do with the water change, but with these fish any mistakes made in that procedure are typically evident quite rapidly, in my experience, and not 24 hours later.
I suppose I will never know, but I will continue to beat myself up over it, and not only because of the massive financial investment that went down the drain. I feel like I ought to have been able to get this tank mature and grow out the frontosa to their potential size, and this goal is not going to be achieved, at least not in the near future. I just don't have the funds to invest in replacing the fish and starting over. Maybe someday I will git it another shot, but not now. It would be easier to take if I knew what happened, so it could be mitigated in the future, but I just can't think of what happened.
Incidentally, when I did the water change on the 150 I also did one on the 20h goldfish tank in the kitchen, and they never had any problems whatsoever. Not a ragged fin, cloudy eye or red gill in the bunch. That tank, in fact, was cleaned aggressively (this tank was cleaned after I was done with the 150) and I moved decor around to siphon out the copious debris that collects with these filthy fish, and wound up with about an 80% change of the water. This is a typical change for that tank, and the goldfish seem to thrive with this weekly routine. They are fantails, and their fins are in perfect shape, with no signs of any water quality issues. I would not dream of that kind of maintenance on a Tang cichlid tank.
It could be there was something in the tap water that affects Tang cichlids and does not affect goldfish, which is definitely possible - goldfish are known to be much hardier - but I won't likely ever know. Copper leaching into the tap water would affect many species, but with the higher range pH that is less of an issue. If we had soft, acidic water then that would be high on my list.
In the past when I have called the water treatment plant to inquire about certain values (some systems contain levels of NO3 -nitrate- that cause aquarists some problems, for instance) I am usually met with defensiveness, as if I'm trying to blame the water treatment people for health issues, which I'm not. I just like to know what I'm dealing with when I put tap water into my tanks. This is a huge part of the process and I don't have any control over what comes out of the tap. If they said to me, "oh yes, Sunday we registered a higher than normal level of ________ in the system. That might explain it" I'd be grateful and go on with my life. Maybe they could even tell me to avoid doing PWCs on a certain day of the month, perhaps. I just want to be informed so I can manage my livestock the best I can.
So, now I'm setting my sights on a less pricey species from the other side of the world, in South America. I'm going to turn this tank into an "eartheater" tank, with Satanoperca daemon, which sounds awful but actually is the designation of a species of cichlid that is attractive and peaceful. It has been known as Geophagus jurupari, but there is a lot of work being done on the taxonomy of the genus so it covers quite a few species. I have added wood and plants to the tank, but only plants that attach themselves to the wood and rocks, and nothing planted in the sand, because it will be uprooted by these sand-sifting cichlids. I will consider angels and acaras as well for this tank, which are other peaceful cichlids that are appropriate tankmates.
Right now the tank is cycling with some shubunkin (if you have been reading this blog you'll know that I do cycle tanks with fish and I'm not ashamed of it!) and after things have settled in the goldfish will go into a friend's pond. I'm doing large PWCs during the process, and we're about halfway there. The fish are about 3" long and there are only three of them in this huge tank, so nobody needs to get uptight about animal cruelty. I did the same thing with the goldfish I currently have in the kitchen, which started out cycling the 150 themselves a couple of years ago before I added my Tangs, and they are doing great to this day.
I am really trying to move on but will be affected by this traumatic event for a good while. I do feel like a failure but I'd sure like to know what I did. No broken heaters, no electrical shock, nobody spraying chemicals, painting nearby, etc. There was nothing in the water that I have a test kit for to explain it, so I guess it will always be a mystery, and be, to date, my biggest DISASTER!
Sunday, October 9, 2011
The Puffers are Running!
This weekend the family had a gathering at my childhood summer cottage on Mobjack Bay in Mathews County, Virginia, which is now owned and has been lovingly restored by my sister and her husband. Typically the cottage is closed for the season this time of year, but it was a special occasion and the weather was gorgeous, so we all met down there for boating, fishing and feasting.
The tide was out during most of the afternoon, and considering how shallow and treacherous most of Mobjack can be during low tide, we fished from the pier. We had lots of action, but ALL of it from puffer fish! We must have reeled in 25 of them over the course of an hour or two, sometimes two on one rig. All were promptly released back into the water, and considering that fact, maybe we were catching the same puffers over and over, but you could easily see them in the water from the pier, and there were many, many of them in the vicinity.
This is the Sphoeroides maculatus, or the Northern puffer, and is common to the Chesapeake Bay. Most of the specimens we caught were about 8-10" and for the most part they did not puff up, which made me feel better! I am torn in situations like this, since I truly do enjoy fishing, and eating fish, for that matter, but puffers are near and dear to my heart and I hated for them to be stressed in this way! However, try as we might to catch other species that we typically catch off this pier, nothing was biting but the puffers. The kids put several in a bucket to observe them more closely for a few minutes, and they are indeed fascinating to watch.
Since I already keep a brackish puffer at home, I was very interested in the possibility of keeping several of these in a tank at home, though I'd have to devote a very large tank to them, like my 150-gal. If I did decide to create a setup for them, I'd want to get them as babies and raise them in the tank, rather than try to transport these adults into captivity. However, since I'm sure they spawn in much deeper water, the chances of me finding juveniles is very slim, so I'll just have to enjoy them from the pier.
Incidentally, these puffers were a popular food source from the Chesapeake until about 40 years ago, when their popularity faded, though locally you'll see them offered as "sugar toads." Their meat is apparently very sweet and delicious, and they allegedly do not contain any toxic organs like some marine species, so you don't have to worry about this when preparing them. I've never eaten them, but my mother recalls doing so, and they used to be a popular fish to serve children, who might not enjoy fish otherwise. She said they were easy to clean, because they are simply skinned and the strip of tender meat is removed from each side of the spine.
We certainly caught enough of them to have made a meal for our entire crowd, but they all went back into the water, to puff another day......
Since I already keep a brackish puffer at home, I was very interested in the possibility of keeping several of these in a tank at home, though I'd have to devote a very large tank to them, like my 150-gal. If I did decide to create a setup for them, I'd want to get them as babies and raise them in the tank, rather than try to transport these adults into captivity. However, since I'm sure they spawn in much deeper water, the chances of me finding juveniles is very slim, so I'll just have to enjoy them from the pier.
Incidentally, these puffers were a popular food source from the Chesapeake until about 40 years ago, when their popularity faded, though locally you'll see them offered as "sugar toads." Their meat is apparently very sweet and delicious, and they allegedly do not contain any toxic organs like some marine species, so you don't have to worry about this when preparing them. I've never eaten them, but my mother recalls doing so, and they used to be a popular fish to serve children, who might not enjoy fish otherwise. She said they were easy to clean, because they are simply skinned and the strip of tender meat is removed from each side of the spine.
We certainly caught enough of them to have made a meal for our entire crowd, but they all went back into the water, to puff another day......
Monday, October 3, 2011
Snails and Puppy Dog Tales
This is a snail tank where I cultivate food for my F8 puffer, Otis. It is working out great! They are filthy little critters, though, and the tank needs much more attention than my others. A 50% water change weekly is not enough! Otis is a happy fellow, though, and I don't have to dig through my planted tank trying to find a hidden snail to feed him.
I hosted our local aquarium club meeting yesterday, and we had a good turnout. We are just getting started with the Central Virginia Aquarium Society, and building membership while working out a routine for our meetings and auctions. This was mainly a social gathering, with burgers on the grill and a little bit of swapping of items, including fish. I met new people and saw old friends after a summer break from our meeting schedule. We did not really handle any business and due to the absence of some board members we didn't really settle on a meeting date for the next one, but we all agreed we'd likely wait until January. Typically we try to meet every other month, but December is not good for most of us.
I was kidding about the puppydog tales. I thought I'd have a cute story about one of the dogs, but I don't..... Here's Sirius. He's awesome too.
Thursday, September 1, 2011
Post-Irene
We fared just fine through hurricane Irene, though many have not.
There was a lot of damage here in the central Virginia area, and many people are still without power nearly a week later. That is a familiar situation to what we experienced with Isabel in 2003. I moved to my current neighborhood not too long after Isabel, and they had power the day after the storm, but my old neighborhood, just a mile or two down the road, was without power for 6 days in 2003. That was not fun, what with all my fish tanks! I used a large plastic cup to stir the water, scooping it up and pouring it back into the tanks, aerating it. I lost no fish during that time, happily.
This time, the power went out around dinnertime on Saturday night, August 27, and was back on the next day about noon. Not too bad. Even so, as the storm was approaching I got out surge protectors and long outdoor extension cords, putting a surge protector in the middle of the floor of my office and connecting it to an extension cord that ran down the stairs and plugged into a surge protector in front of my 150 gal tank in the living room. This surge protector had a cord running outside to the small generator (800 watts). The minute the power went out I had my tanks running on generator power, since I did not wish to take any chances, and that generator is too small to run appliances with heating elements or the refrigerator. We have a large generator that we used for that.
So, my fish fared just fine this time, and hopefully the rest of our area will have power restored soon.
There was a lot of damage here in the central Virginia area, and many people are still without power nearly a week later. That is a familiar situation to what we experienced with Isabel in 2003. I moved to my current neighborhood not too long after Isabel, and they had power the day after the storm, but my old neighborhood, just a mile or two down the road, was without power for 6 days in 2003. That was not fun, what with all my fish tanks! I used a large plastic cup to stir the water, scooping it up and pouring it back into the tanks, aerating it. I lost no fish during that time, happily.
This time, the power went out around dinnertime on Saturday night, August 27, and was back on the next day about noon. Not too bad. Even so, as the storm was approaching I got out surge protectors and long outdoor extension cords, putting a surge protector in the middle of the floor of my office and connecting it to an extension cord that ran down the stairs and plugged into a surge protector in front of my 150 gal tank in the living room. This surge protector had a cord running outside to the small generator (800 watts). The minute the power went out I had my tanks running on generator power, since I did not wish to take any chances, and that generator is too small to run appliances with heating elements or the refrigerator. We have a large generator that we used for that.
So, my fish fared just fine this time, and hopefully the rest of our area will have power restored soon.
Saturday, August 27, 2011
Earthquakes and Hurricanes
Tuesday, August 23 our area experienced a 5.8 earthquake, which was a dramatic and very rare event for us. I was at my desk (where else?!) and the house began to shake with a rhythmic pattern, and the noise was deafening. I could not understand what was happening, and at first did not think of an earthquake. It is just not what comes to mind when you grow up in the mid-Atlantic area of the country. I tore downstairs as quickly as I could, since my reptilian brain wanted out of that house, pronto, and when I got to the kitchen I saw my sister, nephew and the twins in the pool, gawping up at the house in wonderment, mouths hanging open. I truly thought for a second that one of those large personnel carrier helicopters was landing on my roof or something, lol. Then I realized the sound and shaking was coming from all directions, and it must be an earthquake.
I made it outside, and they told me they could not feel anything while floating in the pool, but they saw the house and the plants and furniture on the deck shaking violently. The dogs were not particularly alarmed, though they were eager to head outside to confront this potential threat, until they got out there and could not determine where the threat originated! They were confused but not at all upset. I was very surprised that there was no damage to my house. The shaking was such that I immediately felt like my solidly built and well constructed home was the flimsiest thing ever built. Nothing even fell off the walls like they did in 2000 when we had a much smaller quake here.
Next up, Hurricane Irene. Today is 8/27/11 and the hurricane is pretty much here, at 4:18 p.m. A lot of gusty wind and we've had a ton of rain since early this morning. The pool is overflowing. A few branches down but not too bad. We still have power, but I expect that to change pretty soon - it has flickered off and back on several times already.
Rick is at the boat in Kinsale, where the storm is going to be much worse, and I wish he'd come home. He wants to be there to adjust lines on the boat as the storm surge causes the water to rise many feet higher than normal high tide, but I think it will be dangerous for him to be there. Also, if the gusts get more than 50 mph they'll close the bridges, and he needs them to get home. I don't want him to be injured or trapped in the direct path of the storm, where "devastating" winds are forecasted. We've got "damaging" winds forecasted here. This storm reminds everyone of Isabel in 2003, which caused us to be without power for 6 days, though not all neighborhoods had it that bad. My sister, who lived no more than a couple of miles away, lost power for only one day with that storm.
So, with Isabel fresh in our minds, we've made quite a few preparations, and I think we've done what we can. We have two generators, a small one that is relatively quiet and can be expected to run all of my fish tank filters, since they all have pretty low wattage, and also a fan or two, and then we have a very large generator we got when Isabel hit, and that one can run the refrigerator and a few other things if it looks like power will be out long-term.
Maybe I've got selective memory, but I grew up here and I don't recall hurricanes. Not at all. I'll have to ask my mother, who will be able to tell me more, but since we've moved back here after living in Florida for 9 years we've had more trouble with hurricanes here than in South Florida. In fact, the reason we moved back to Virginia at all was because of the devastation of hurricane Andrew in Homestead, which alarmed my husband enough to want to move away. He was in construction and volunteered his time to inspect homes there to determine if they could be saved or were a total loss from the storm. It hit him very hard to see first-hand what a storm like that could do to a community. Then we move back to Virginia and have had several hurricane scares, and a tropical storm (Gaston) that caused widespread flooding here.
I will check back in when all is said and done.
I made it outside, and they told me they could not feel anything while floating in the pool, but they saw the house and the plants and furniture on the deck shaking violently. The dogs were not particularly alarmed, though they were eager to head outside to confront this potential threat, until they got out there and could not determine where the threat originated! They were confused but not at all upset. I was very surprised that there was no damage to my house. The shaking was such that I immediately felt like my solidly built and well constructed home was the flimsiest thing ever built. Nothing even fell off the walls like they did in 2000 when we had a much smaller quake here.
Next up, Hurricane Irene. Today is 8/27/11 and the hurricane is pretty much here, at 4:18 p.m. A lot of gusty wind and we've had a ton of rain since early this morning. The pool is overflowing. A few branches down but not too bad. We still have power, but I expect that to change pretty soon - it has flickered off and back on several times already.
Rick is at the boat in Kinsale, where the storm is going to be much worse, and I wish he'd come home. He wants to be there to adjust lines on the boat as the storm surge causes the water to rise many feet higher than normal high tide, but I think it will be dangerous for him to be there. Also, if the gusts get more than 50 mph they'll close the bridges, and he needs them to get home. I don't want him to be injured or trapped in the direct path of the storm, where "devastating" winds are forecasted. We've got "damaging" winds forecasted here. This storm reminds everyone of Isabel in 2003, which caused us to be without power for 6 days, though not all neighborhoods had it that bad. My sister, who lived no more than a couple of miles away, lost power for only one day with that storm.
So, with Isabel fresh in our minds, we've made quite a few preparations, and I think we've done what we can. We have two generators, a small one that is relatively quiet and can be expected to run all of my fish tank filters, since they all have pretty low wattage, and also a fan or two, and then we have a very large generator we got when Isabel hit, and that one can run the refrigerator and a few other things if it looks like power will be out long-term.
Maybe I've got selective memory, but I grew up here and I don't recall hurricanes. Not at all. I'll have to ask my mother, who will be able to tell me more, but since we've moved back here after living in Florida for 9 years we've had more trouble with hurricanes here than in South Florida. In fact, the reason we moved back to Virginia at all was because of the devastation of hurricane Andrew in Homestead, which alarmed my husband enough to want to move away. He was in construction and volunteered his time to inspect homes there to determine if they could be saved or were a total loss from the storm. It hit him very hard to see first-hand what a storm like that could do to a community. Then we move back to Virginia and have had several hurricane scares, and a tropical storm (Gaston) that caused widespread flooding here.
I will check back in when all is said and done.
Monday, August 8, 2011
What goes up must come down
This past weekend I decided I had to take down the 45-gallon with the leopoldi angel, black neon tetras and cardinal tetras. My work schedule is such that it has become tricky to maintain all these tanks, and the tank itself was not enjoyable for me. I had planned on stocking it more to make it more interesting, but I am going to have to put together a snail tank for Otis, so something had to go.
Since I'm down to only one leopoldi it was hard to justify keeping this tank up, when he could be moved to the 40 heavily planted community with tetras and one wild ram. My wild ram and the wild caught leopoldi angel are both snail eaters (more so than a domestic cichlid, interestingly) and I cannot keep a population of snails going for my puffer, Otis.
I've therefore taken down the 45, and relocated the angel into the 40, along with the black neons and cardinals, and all is well, for the time being. I'm not terribly optimistic about the angel, since this is a wild caught fish who has difficulty settling into new situations and does not like to be moved. On top of that I put him into a relatively brightly lit, heavily planted tank, and this is really not the ideal setup. He should have a deep, dim and branchy tank with floating plants only, but I can't really do that for him at the moment. We shall see. I put the 45 into the eaves for my next adventure!
I kept a dedicated snail tank once before, but it ran aground at some point due to my inability to keep it as clean as I'd like - the water likely became too acidic and the snails died out. I kept it on the floor (no available lateral surfaces!) so I had to use a Python to do PWCs, and this would suck up eggs and babies, but I could not get a siphon going with a regular siphon with it so low to the floor. *Sigh* Anyway, I obtained a very large supply of snails from an Aquabid dealer and she was VERY kind and informative, and gave me full instructions on maintaining a good healthy colony. She can be found on Aquabid under Nelly's Fishy Friends, so hit her up!
I have resurrected Otis' old 10-gal and set that up with calciferous sand, rocks and driftwood, and a lance-leaved anubias plant. This is home to some of my new ramshorns, most of which are a very good pencil-eraser size and larger, which impressed me. I have put about 25 of them into my tank at work, which is where I have been harvesting snails from for Otis of late, though they are thin on the ground. Now that I'm going to be working full time I can take special care to feed that tank and support the new population of snails.
Now I want some tankmates for the snails in the 10-gal at home, and envisioned a nano setup with celestial peal danios or some of the nifty micro rasboras, for instance, but I am picturing the wee fishies snacking on tiny snail babies, and decided I needed to rethink this. What about shrimp? Crystal reds? Would they eat eggs and babies enough to prevent my snail colony from thriving? I'm off to email Nelly and get her advice on this.
Update: Nelly does not see any reason why I could not keep shrimp with the snails, but she has not done it. She keeps guppies with hers. I do think I'll try some very small shrimp species and see what happens. I like shrimp anyway, and this will be a suitable setup for them. She mentions that the most important thing for a snail tank is the GRAVEL, since that's where they breed and the babies can safely hunker down in the crevices, but this is, as mentioned, already set up as a sand tank. I'm hoping this is going to be okay! There is irony in the reality that so many aquarists have nuisance snails they have trouble getting rid of, and here I am, trying desperately to cultivate them.
I've said it before, but here it goes again: If you have an uncontrollable snail population I promise you are overfeeding your tank. If the fish get all the food the snails will die right out. This is why I have had poor results at work - I'm there only three days a week and the fish don't get fed during that time, and they go 4 days without food when we aren't there every other Friday. I'm not getting the molly babies I'd expect, either. That's not such a big deal, but I'd like to have more than one tank for snails, since if something goes wrong I'll have a backup. My schedule is switching to 5 days a week at work, so I am positive this will result in a thriving snail population (that is a gravel tank!) and more molly babies.
The jury is still out with regards to the angel in the 40-gal, but this was the right choice for me right now and hopefully he will settle. An interesting thing is going on, though, and that is that these fish suddenly do not like flake food. I watch carefully and they all take it up and spit it right out. I'm not sure what's up with that. They also do the same with the tiny NLS "growth" pellets that are about 1-2 mm in diameter. I don't really know what kind of food they want.
Since I'm down to only one leopoldi it was hard to justify keeping this tank up, when he could be moved to the 40 heavily planted community with tetras and one wild ram. My wild ram and the wild caught leopoldi angel are both snail eaters (more so than a domestic cichlid, interestingly) and I cannot keep a population of snails going for my puffer, Otis.
I've therefore taken down the 45, and relocated the angel into the 40, along with the black neons and cardinals, and all is well, for the time being. I'm not terribly optimistic about the angel, since this is a wild caught fish who has difficulty settling into new situations and does not like to be moved. On top of that I put him into a relatively brightly lit, heavily planted tank, and this is really not the ideal setup. He should have a deep, dim and branchy tank with floating plants only, but I can't really do that for him at the moment. We shall see. I put the 45 into the eaves for my next adventure!
I kept a dedicated snail tank once before, but it ran aground at some point due to my inability to keep it as clean as I'd like - the water likely became too acidic and the snails died out. I kept it on the floor (no available lateral surfaces!) so I had to use a Python to do PWCs, and this would suck up eggs and babies, but I could not get a siphon going with a regular siphon with it so low to the floor. *Sigh* Anyway, I obtained a very large supply of snails from an Aquabid dealer and she was VERY kind and informative, and gave me full instructions on maintaining a good healthy colony. She can be found on Aquabid under Nelly's Fishy Friends, so hit her up!
I have resurrected Otis' old 10-gal and set that up with calciferous sand, rocks and driftwood, and a lance-leaved anubias plant. This is home to some of my new ramshorns, most of which are a very good pencil-eraser size and larger, which impressed me. I have put about 25 of them into my tank at work, which is where I have been harvesting snails from for Otis of late, though they are thin on the ground. Now that I'm going to be working full time I can take special care to feed that tank and support the new population of snails.
Now I want some tankmates for the snails in the 10-gal at home, and envisioned a nano setup with celestial peal danios or some of the nifty micro rasboras, for instance, but I am picturing the wee fishies snacking on tiny snail babies, and decided I needed to rethink this. What about shrimp? Crystal reds? Would they eat eggs and babies enough to prevent my snail colony from thriving? I'm off to email Nelly and get her advice on this.
Update: Nelly does not see any reason why I could not keep shrimp with the snails, but she has not done it. She keeps guppies with hers. I do think I'll try some very small shrimp species and see what happens. I like shrimp anyway, and this will be a suitable setup for them. She mentions that the most important thing for a snail tank is the GRAVEL, since that's where they breed and the babies can safely hunker down in the crevices, but this is, as mentioned, already set up as a sand tank. I'm hoping this is going to be okay! There is irony in the reality that so many aquarists have nuisance snails they have trouble getting rid of, and here I am, trying desperately to cultivate them.
I've said it before, but here it goes again: If you have an uncontrollable snail population I promise you are overfeeding your tank. If the fish get all the food the snails will die right out. This is why I have had poor results at work - I'm there only three days a week and the fish don't get fed during that time, and they go 4 days without food when we aren't there every other Friday. I'm not getting the molly babies I'd expect, either. That's not such a big deal, but I'd like to have more than one tank for snails, since if something goes wrong I'll have a backup. My schedule is switching to 5 days a week at work, so I am positive this will result in a thriving snail population (that is a gravel tank!) and more molly babies.
The jury is still out with regards to the angel in the 40-gal, but this was the right choice for me right now and hopefully he will settle. An interesting thing is going on, though, and that is that these fish suddenly do not like flake food. I watch carefully and they all take it up and spit it right out. I'm not sure what's up with that. They also do the same with the tiny NLS "growth" pellets that are about 1-2 mm in diameter. I don't really know what kind of food they want.
Monday, August 1, 2011
Tank Updates
Yesterday was devoted to tank maintenance in my office, where I keep a 40-gallon planted, which contains a single wild caught ram (the mate died recently of bloat - I may have mentioned I have horrible luck keeping rams alive, like many people), the ember tetras and het rasboras. This tank gets overgrown very easily with the plantings, and the floating salvinia needs to be scooped out regularly. There is a curious substance all over the sand that I can only describe as an algae, but the rest of the tank has no algae whatsoever. It is a debris that is dark and coats the sand in clumps, and it is not possible to suction it out with a siphon. I stir the sand regularly, what little there is, and I'm not sure why this tank suffers from it, though it does make the sand look "natural," lol. I'm increasing the PWCs in an effort to gain control of it. If that does the trick then I'll know there is some kind of nutrient imbalance.
I did a PWC for dear Otis, who is just a dream in his 20 long. No issues there other than the persistent diatom algae, but this tank easily gets higher nitrate levels due to his meaty diet, and the brackish water seems to have this problem more than a similar tank that was fresh. No worries, though - he's looking great and I'm content.
The HOB filter on the 37 gets clogged quickly and I'm constantly having to clean it out, when it does not seem that dirty. At least not dirty enough to cause the clogging. Even after I rinse everything out and put it back together it seems to run as if the filter pads are clogged. I don't have any extra media trays in it at all. Recently I noticed that the water level was dropping dramatically - more so than the other 3 tanks in the room, and yesterday I found out why: the curtain hanging next to the tank was being splashed by the filter, which was clogged and not flowing properly, and the curtain was sucking up the water up its entire floor to ceiling length! I cleaned out the filter, again, and did a big PWC, and took down the curtain.
The reason I did such a big PWC was so that I could pull the rocks and get out the extra leleupi, which was cramping the style of the pair that has formed. Slowly but surely all six have whittled down to two, and now that they have the tank to themselves they are much calmer and hopefully will spawn for me. Even the one stunted little leleupi left in there was a huge distraction for them, despite the fact that he kept to an upper corner, completely out of their way. They took turns all day long chasing after him. I sold (what appeared to be) an extra dominant male initially, once that situation made itself clear, then one day my daughter happened to find a leleupi on the floor next to the tank, and my husband was able to save it and got it back into the tank alive. It was quite clear that the fish was being bullied and chased and needed to go, so I put it downstairs in the 150 with the other Tanganyikans since I had nowhere else for it to go, and the frontosa and Altolamps in that tank are of a decent size now so as not to be bullied by the wee leleupi. That left 3 fish in the 37, and it soon became obvious which fish were the pair, and yesterday I got the third one out and put him downstairs as well. I'm not sure how that is going to work out, but, again, I have nowhere else for him to go and he is very small still, so he'll either sink or swim downstairs. I fear the leleupi and the Paracyprichromis in the 150 are doomed once the frontosa get bigger, but we shall see. It is remarkable how relaxed the leleupi are in the 37 upstairs now that they are alone together. They can concentrate on making babies now! If one of them decides it wants to "own" the tank and bullies the other, then I'll just sell the pair off and take down the tank.
That leaves the 45-gallon in the office, and sadly I lost another leopoldi angel last week. It was wasting away and looked like it had been beaten up, though I did not see the other bullying it. I think it was just ill, or old, and it did not make it too long after I noticed its deteriorating condition. I now have one single leopoldi left, with some black neons and a few cardinal tetras. This tank is a puzzle to me because I don't like the looks of it and would just as soon put all the fish in the 40 with the others, but I don't think the 40 is a good place for the leopoldi. Too many plants and too much light. I think I will create a community in the 45, with more tetras and perhaps some catfish of some type. Deborah will help me determine which species would work.
This week I'll need to do a PWC on the 150 and the 20 high goldfish tank (love this tank! Too cute!). The frontosa are getting big and it is nearly time for me to swap out the small, fussy stacked rocks for larger boulder type rocks so they don't knock everything over. I'm looking forward to going rock shopping, which is something I very much enjoy, lol. I've got a great landscaping place right up the street and they've got a huge pile of the right type of rock for me to look through.
I still have all of the Altolamps that I originally put in this tank, so there are 8 of them, and the 5 Paracyps, 4 Kapampa frontosa and now the two small leleupi. I just went down to check on the new leleupi addition, and what do I see? He's somehow gotten behind the overflow box where the filter intake is located! How on earth did he squeeze into that spot and how on earth am I going to get him out??? I just swore and walked back upstairs when I saw that..... I've got work to do first before I even begin to tackle that. The hood is in the way for me to lean over at the right angle to get a net back there, so I might have to get Rick to help me take the hood down first, and then I might be able to get him if I stand on a high stool. I suppose he was chased and he was able to squeeze back there. The gap is only big enough for fry, so I'm not sure how he pulled it off. I suppose I should have them siliconed in place but I wanted more flexibility with the setup so I have it wedged, hiding the filter intakes and heater. *Sigh* I knew there'd be something, since it is hard to add a fish to a well established setup without something happening. I'll need to get some pictures of the 150 soon to show how the frontosa have grown, and how great they look. I'm really eager to see them reach their final size, when the tank will really show off well.
I did a PWC for dear Otis, who is just a dream in his 20 long. No issues there other than the persistent diatom algae, but this tank easily gets higher nitrate levels due to his meaty diet, and the brackish water seems to have this problem more than a similar tank that was fresh. No worries, though - he's looking great and I'm content.
The HOB filter on the 37 gets clogged quickly and I'm constantly having to clean it out, when it does not seem that dirty. At least not dirty enough to cause the clogging. Even after I rinse everything out and put it back together it seems to run as if the filter pads are clogged. I don't have any extra media trays in it at all. Recently I noticed that the water level was dropping dramatically - more so than the other 3 tanks in the room, and yesterday I found out why: the curtain hanging next to the tank was being splashed by the filter, which was clogged and not flowing properly, and the curtain was sucking up the water up its entire floor to ceiling length! I cleaned out the filter, again, and did a big PWC, and took down the curtain.
The reason I did such a big PWC was so that I could pull the rocks and get out the extra leleupi, which was cramping the style of the pair that has formed. Slowly but surely all six have whittled down to two, and now that they have the tank to themselves they are much calmer and hopefully will spawn for me. Even the one stunted little leleupi left in there was a huge distraction for them, despite the fact that he kept to an upper corner, completely out of their way. They took turns all day long chasing after him. I sold (what appeared to be) an extra dominant male initially, once that situation made itself clear, then one day my daughter happened to find a leleupi on the floor next to the tank, and my husband was able to save it and got it back into the tank alive. It was quite clear that the fish was being bullied and chased and needed to go, so I put it downstairs in the 150 with the other Tanganyikans since I had nowhere else for it to go, and the frontosa and Altolamps in that tank are of a decent size now so as not to be bullied by the wee leleupi. That left 3 fish in the 37, and it soon became obvious which fish were the pair, and yesterday I got the third one out and put him downstairs as well. I'm not sure how that is going to work out, but, again, I have nowhere else for him to go and he is very small still, so he'll either sink or swim downstairs. I fear the leleupi and the Paracyprichromis in the 150 are doomed once the frontosa get bigger, but we shall see. It is remarkable how relaxed the leleupi are in the 37 upstairs now that they are alone together. They can concentrate on making babies now! If one of them decides it wants to "own" the tank and bullies the other, then I'll just sell the pair off and take down the tank.
That leaves the 45-gallon in the office, and sadly I lost another leopoldi angel last week. It was wasting away and looked like it had been beaten up, though I did not see the other bullying it. I think it was just ill, or old, and it did not make it too long after I noticed its deteriorating condition. I now have one single leopoldi left, with some black neons and a few cardinal tetras. This tank is a puzzle to me because I don't like the looks of it and would just as soon put all the fish in the 40 with the others, but I don't think the 40 is a good place for the leopoldi. Too many plants and too much light. I think I will create a community in the 45, with more tetras and perhaps some catfish of some type. Deborah will help me determine which species would work.
This week I'll need to do a PWC on the 150 and the 20 high goldfish tank (love this tank! Too cute!). The frontosa are getting big and it is nearly time for me to swap out the small, fussy stacked rocks for larger boulder type rocks so they don't knock everything over. I'm looking forward to going rock shopping, which is something I very much enjoy, lol. I've got a great landscaping place right up the street and they've got a huge pile of the right type of rock for me to look through.
I still have all of the Altolamps that I originally put in this tank, so there are 8 of them, and the 5 Paracyps, 4 Kapampa frontosa and now the two small leleupi. I just went down to check on the new leleupi addition, and what do I see? He's somehow gotten behind the overflow box where the filter intake is located! How on earth did he squeeze into that spot and how on earth am I going to get him out??? I just swore and walked back upstairs when I saw that..... I've got work to do first before I even begin to tackle that. The hood is in the way for me to lean over at the right angle to get a net back there, so I might have to get Rick to help me take the hood down first, and then I might be able to get him if I stand on a high stool. I suppose he was chased and he was able to squeeze back there. The gap is only big enough for fry, so I'm not sure how he pulled it off. I suppose I should have them siliconed in place but I wanted more flexibility with the setup so I have it wedged, hiding the filter intakes and heater. *Sigh* I knew there'd be something, since it is hard to add a fish to a well established setup without something happening. I'll need to get some pictures of the 150 soon to show how the frontosa have grown, and how great they look. I'm really eager to see them reach their final size, when the tank will really show off well.
Sunday, July 31, 2011
American Cichlid Association Convention
My friend, Deborah, and I traveled to the 2011 ACA convention held in Washington, DC a couple of weeks ago. This was a much anticipated trip for me, as a long time keeper of cichlids, and though I've wanted to attend this event for many years, it has never been this close to where I live.
Though the convention lasts for four days, we were interested only in attending on Saturday, so we left early that morning and made our way up I-95. There was traffic, as you'd expect, particularly in the Tyson's Corner area where there is a great deal of construction underway, but we made very good time and found our destination easily. We also found free underground parking just a few blocks from the hotel, which was a plus considering the nearly 100-degree weather; we knew the car would at least stay relatively cool while we were inside.
We registered and were given a very, very generous goodie bag, which contained our meeting credentials on a lanyard, a raffle ticket, a t-shirt from Drs. Foster & Smith, and quite a few samples of food and water treatments from various vendors, as well as periodicals, posters, coupons, stickers, etc. Not too shabby! The only downside to this was that the bag was heavy and we'd have to carry it around all day.
We then proceeded to browse the commercial tables where all of the familiar aquatic products were on display for sale at a reduced price. All the big names were there, and I must praise Aqueon for giving away full-size containers of food, water treatments and liquid plant food. They were very generous, though many of us were timid about taking two or three containers of food, as suggested, when the adjacent tables were selling their wares. Aqueon is really trying to make a name for themselves as they have expanded their product line, and they felt the patrons of the convention ought to come away with something to make the trip and the stay in DC a little more worthwhile. I agree, and these small gifts wound up being worth more to me than I realized at the time.
We wandered around, looking at the tanks set up in the hallways up for auction. They were pretty typical setups, though I think they were my favorite part of the convention, since you got to see some creative aquascaping (though some ho-hum setups were on display as well) and some interesting species mixed with other non-cichlid species, in some cases. I'd have really liked to have seen some more unusual cichlids, though, like Altum angels, for instance, and I was really expecting that, but did not see anything I had not seen before.
The main area was downstairs on the first floor, and there were also rooms set up on the 4th floor where if you rummaged in your goodie bag you'd find a ticket to receive a free t-shirt from the Capital Cichlid Association, who hosted this event. This giveaway was for a limited number of T-shirts, so at the specified time we all lined up to receive our shirts. I'm truly not sure why I wanted a T-shirt, since I don't wear that type of shirt, but I thought it might be an interesting momento, and perhaps Rick would wear it, or I could put it in one of my own local club's goodie bags at an upcoming meeting.
We finally get up to receive our shirt and see that they are standing you against a background and they have a photographer taking a picture of everyone who gets a shirt, and this was, apparently, required to receive the shirt. I'm not sure what this was about, other than some mention of the pictures going up on Facebook, but I thought it odd that you were not able to receive a shirt without getting the picture taken. I don't like getting my picture taken, so I asked, and was told that I HAD to if I wanted the shirt. I am a rebellious type but I went along anyway, and once I agreed two young men, 15 or 16 years of age, who were obviously assisting in the process of handing out T-shirts, asked if they could be in the picture with me. I readily agreed, and thanked them for the offer. I'm not sure why they did that, but they probably wanted to be in as many Facebook pics as they could.
Anyway, off we go, eagerly seeking out new gems, hoping to see more fish, and wanting to sit in on an interesting lecture. We happened upon the conference room where the lectures were being held, and we caught the beginning of what we thought would be an interesting lecture on pike cichlids, a variant that neither Deborah nor I knew much about. We were not impressed with the bawdy style of the speaker, whose manner would have gone over great in a hall full of college students, perhaps, but I'd have preferred more science and fewer "wink, wink, nudge, nudge" off-color humor. Our speaker is a chemist and runs a pharmaceutical company and may indeed have biology credentials, but we we left early, lol. We are SUCH snobs!
Let me interject at this point that a mitigating factor to our so-so reaction to everything was that the hotel's air conditioning system was not functioning properly, and, as mentioned, the temps were approaching 100 degrees F outside. Air was moving, but it was not cool, so we were a bit crankier and harder to please that day than we might have been.
We then made our way to the auction room, which had many tanks set up, stacked from the floor to head height, all with number designations and in many cases a species ID for the fish within. There were no lights on the fish so you had to really know what you were looking for in order to make a bid. This again reminded us of our own club auctions, where people bring in fish in bags and float them, and if you don't know the person to ask you might not know what fish you were bidding on.
I honestly can't say what I expected, and why I was disappointed. I guess I expected Heiko Bleher to be there with a beautiful river biotope containing Altum angels, rummynose and cardinal tetras, leaf litter and floating plants placed strategically to mimic his personal recollection of the cichlid's native home. Maybe I expected displays of fish with descriptions, like a public aquarium. Why did I think the whole thing would be bigger and more interesting? I can't tell you - nobody ever told me, but I thought there'd be more fish for sale, rather than the tanks of discus, oscars, jack dempseys, jewels and assorted mbuna like you'd see at any decent fish store. Don't get me wrong - they did have some less common species, but in the dim stacked tanks they were hard to see, as many of them hid behind the sponge filter or other structure, naturally, after their ordeal of being moved.
I think once you return time and again you begin to recognize the people who are putting the fish up for auction, and plan ahead as to what fish you want, so you can bid on them when you get there. I would have loved to have gotten some interesting Apistogramma species, which is something I'm in the market for, but there were only A. cacatuoides, and though I would not mind having that species I was hoping for something a little less ordinary (the specimen they did have was in marvelous shape, though!).
We wound up leaving earlier than originally planned, and made a side trip to Pristine Aquariums in Alexandria, since one of our favorite things to do is to visit hole-in-the-wall fish stores wherever we go. It left much to be desired, though when I checked the web before heading over there they got rave reviews. It was on the way home, so no biggie, but we'd have sure been pleased if they had some Apistos or catfish that caught our eye! It is a very nice, clean shop, and a large one, so maybe they were low on stock and having a bad week.
Next up will be the Catfish Convention hosted by the PVAS next year, which I hope to be didactic and fruitful, though now I'm jaded! I know very little about catfish in general, though, so I'm looking forward to it.
Though the convention lasts for four days, we were interested only in attending on Saturday, so we left early that morning and made our way up I-95. There was traffic, as you'd expect, particularly in the Tyson's Corner area where there is a great deal of construction underway, but we made very good time and found our destination easily. We also found free underground parking just a few blocks from the hotel, which was a plus considering the nearly 100-degree weather; we knew the car would at least stay relatively cool while we were inside.
We registered and were given a very, very generous goodie bag, which contained our meeting credentials on a lanyard, a raffle ticket, a t-shirt from Drs. Foster & Smith, and quite a few samples of food and water treatments from various vendors, as well as periodicals, posters, coupons, stickers, etc. Not too shabby! The only downside to this was that the bag was heavy and we'd have to carry it around all day.
We then proceeded to browse the commercial tables where all of the familiar aquatic products were on display for sale at a reduced price. All the big names were there, and I must praise Aqueon for giving away full-size containers of food, water treatments and liquid plant food. They were very generous, though many of us were timid about taking two or three containers of food, as suggested, when the adjacent tables were selling their wares. Aqueon is really trying to make a name for themselves as they have expanded their product line, and they felt the patrons of the convention ought to come away with something to make the trip and the stay in DC a little more worthwhile. I agree, and these small gifts wound up being worth more to me than I realized at the time.
We wandered around, looking at the tanks set up in the hallways up for auction. They were pretty typical setups, though I think they were my favorite part of the convention, since you got to see some creative aquascaping (though some ho-hum setups were on display as well) and some interesting species mixed with other non-cichlid species, in some cases. I'd have really liked to have seen some more unusual cichlids, though, like Altum angels, for instance, and I was really expecting that, but did not see anything I had not seen before.
The main area was downstairs on the first floor, and there were also rooms set up on the 4th floor where if you rummaged in your goodie bag you'd find a ticket to receive a free t-shirt from the Capital Cichlid Association, who hosted this event. This giveaway was for a limited number of T-shirts, so at the specified time we all lined up to receive our shirts. I'm truly not sure why I wanted a T-shirt, since I don't wear that type of shirt, but I thought it might be an interesting momento, and perhaps Rick would wear it, or I could put it in one of my own local club's goodie bags at an upcoming meeting.
We finally get up to receive our shirt and see that they are standing you against a background and they have a photographer taking a picture of everyone who gets a shirt, and this was, apparently, required to receive the shirt. I'm not sure what this was about, other than some mention of the pictures going up on Facebook, but I thought it odd that you were not able to receive a shirt without getting the picture taken. I don't like getting my picture taken, so I asked, and was told that I HAD to if I wanted the shirt. I am a rebellious type but I went along anyway, and once I agreed two young men, 15 or 16 years of age, who were obviously assisting in the process of handing out T-shirts, asked if they could be in the picture with me. I readily agreed, and thanked them for the offer. I'm not sure why they did that, but they probably wanted to be in as many Facebook pics as they could.
Anyway, off we go, eagerly seeking out new gems, hoping to see more fish, and wanting to sit in on an interesting lecture. We happened upon the conference room where the lectures were being held, and we caught the beginning of what we thought would be an interesting lecture on pike cichlids, a variant that neither Deborah nor I knew much about. We were not impressed with the bawdy style of the speaker, whose manner would have gone over great in a hall full of college students, perhaps, but I'd have preferred more science and fewer "wink, wink, nudge, nudge" off-color humor. Our speaker is a chemist and runs a pharmaceutical company and may indeed have biology credentials, but we we left early, lol. We are SUCH snobs!
Let me interject at this point that a mitigating factor to our so-so reaction to everything was that the hotel's air conditioning system was not functioning properly, and, as mentioned, the temps were approaching 100 degrees F outside. Air was moving, but it was not cool, so we were a bit crankier and harder to please that day than we might have been.
We then made our way to the auction room, which had many tanks set up, stacked from the floor to head height, all with number designations and in many cases a species ID for the fish within. There were no lights on the fish so you had to really know what you were looking for in order to make a bid. This again reminded us of our own club auctions, where people bring in fish in bags and float them, and if you don't know the person to ask you might not know what fish you were bidding on.
I honestly can't say what I expected, and why I was disappointed. I guess I expected Heiko Bleher to be there with a beautiful river biotope containing Altum angels, rummynose and cardinal tetras, leaf litter and floating plants placed strategically to mimic his personal recollection of the cichlid's native home. Maybe I expected displays of fish with descriptions, like a public aquarium. Why did I think the whole thing would be bigger and more interesting? I can't tell you - nobody ever told me, but I thought there'd be more fish for sale, rather than the tanks of discus, oscars, jack dempseys, jewels and assorted mbuna like you'd see at any decent fish store. Don't get me wrong - they did have some less common species, but in the dim stacked tanks they were hard to see, as many of them hid behind the sponge filter or other structure, naturally, after their ordeal of being moved.
I think once you return time and again you begin to recognize the people who are putting the fish up for auction, and plan ahead as to what fish you want, so you can bid on them when you get there. I would have loved to have gotten some interesting Apistogramma species, which is something I'm in the market for, but there were only A. cacatuoides, and though I would not mind having that species I was hoping for something a little less ordinary (the specimen they did have was in marvelous shape, though!).
We wound up leaving earlier than originally planned, and made a side trip to Pristine Aquariums in Alexandria, since one of our favorite things to do is to visit hole-in-the-wall fish stores wherever we go. It left much to be desired, though when I checked the web before heading over there they got rave reviews. It was on the way home, so no biggie, but we'd have sure been pleased if they had some Apistos or catfish that caught our eye! It is a very nice, clean shop, and a large one, so maybe they were low on stock and having a bad week.
Next up will be the Catfish Convention hosted by the PVAS next year, which I hope to be didactic and fruitful, though now I'm jaded! I know very little about catfish in general, though, so I'm looking forward to it.
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Back From Purgatory
I must have been a bad girl because it indeed felt like punishment to be without my computer for three weeks while... (hmmm, should I give up the name of the esteemed personal computer megacorp as I tell my tale? No, better not. For ease of reading, however, let's say it rhymes with Hell) I waited for technical service and support to ship and install a new power supply.
Yes, the rare and elusive power supply that few IT people are ever able to get their hands on. Wouldn't you know that this was the very part that went bad on my machine while under warranty? Dang it! It stands to reason there would be a delay, since these crucial components are spun from the distilled condensation of the exhaled breath of the endangered Mauritius Kestral, then shipped to Bequia in the Grenadines for assembly by Rumpelstiltskin, who is the only individual capable of fitting the delicate parts together. Well, it takes a village, after all. So I waited patiently.
In all seriousness, the chap from service visited me twice after my initial call to Hell on 7/1 when my computer would not boot up at all. He came and identified the problem as the power supply, not the motherboard, as the chap on the phone in New Delhi diagnosed. In all fairness, the local service person said that it is typically one or the other, motherboard or power supply, and in his experience they always ship both, so there would be no delays, but wouldn't you know it - this is the one time they did not. "Oh well, they'll overnight it and I'll give you a call tomorrow to set up my return to get this all taken care of."
Ok, my business is almost impossible to run without my data (my careful backups I've been performing for years on an external hard drive are not recognized when I install the HD on my spare computer - that is an entirely different story!), but I'm remaining patient, cobbling together what I can from emails and my vendors to try to function with a fraction of my usual resources, slowing me down to a snail's pace but not letting my customers know there is anything amiss.
A few days later he returns with the box under his arm, and opens it to find, *gasp!*, no power supply. What the....??? He's just baffled. They sent another motherboard. He showed me his order form that clearly requested a power supply, but at this point I can't even deal with this fellow. I have no clue what the problem is but I need to complain about this. He said he'd place another order and apologized profusely. I'm frustrated and hobbled by an inferior spare computer (thank goodness I have one of those, I must say....) and I'm tired of this.
I call New Delhi once again and am told so many, many nice things. There is a script for the apologies, and also a script that goes something like this: "Let me give you my personal email, and you must use this from now on - do not call the number and get in the phone queue - I am taking personal responsibility for this case and I will see this through to resolution. My manager is also putting this as a top priority and in a moment I will put the call through to him so he can reassure you that he has taken personal responsibility to see that you are satisfied." I was told I'd be getting a call from him in the next few days to be sure my machine had been fixed. What can I say? I talked to his manager and asked to speak to HIS manager, and someone else got on the phone, etc., but they really can't say a whole lot to me except to express empathy for my situation and promise to rectify things.
Another week goes by, and I call again. They thought my problem was long since resolved! They thought I had another issue. Oh no, no resolution, no phone calls, no nothing. We go through the thing again, and I again get the same scripted "taking personal responsibility" thing, and I'm not having it. I explained that someone needed to get over here and put a new power supply in my machine so I can get on with my life. Their customer service had failed and I was not going to be quiet about it. Enough with New Delhi.
I went to the Hell website and began to search for someone who handles complaints. There are no individuals who do that - you can post feedback, which I did - but if you can't get any satisfaction there are simply no people who take responsibility for customer service, at least not that I could find on the website. I took myself over to the public forum, where you discuss with other Hell owners various computer problems and fixes for this and that. I ranted, and got some responses that essentially said I ought to have just fixed it myself and went on with my business, because this is nothing new. I suppose it is the principle of the thing now.
I got a call a few days later from New Delhi informing me that the power supply was on back order. That's right, back order. That's like going to Goodyear and being told they don't have tires because they're all on back order. Or Dunkin donuts has empty shelves because the flour is on back order. My &*%$ the power supply is on back order! They have power supplies stacked 25 deep, I promise. Contrary to my very immature opening of this post, power supplies are not fancy, not unusual, not an elite component whatsoever, and are as basic to a PC as a keyboard.
My feedback on the Hell website, which was comprehensive, sarcastic (you're kidding!) and lengthy, got someone's attention, but it was a very generic email asking me to provide contact info so they could call and get to the bottom of this issue. Hah.
Well, yet another week goes by and this morning my good buddy showed up again with yet another box under his arm, which did, in fact, contain a power supply and a motherboard, both of which he installed in just a few minutes. My computer is up and running, and I am giddy with excitement to be back up to speed. I have to update with all that went on while it was down, but that's no biggie. I'm an expert at this now. And all this only took 25 days! Amazing.
The best part? My monitor now works only at half brightness, so you can barely see what's on the screen. Perfect. Oh, wait, it was purchased at the time of my computer and is still under warranty! Thank goodness. Let me find that 800 number.....
Yes, the rare and elusive power supply that few IT people are ever able to get their hands on. Wouldn't you know that this was the very part that went bad on my machine while under warranty? Dang it! It stands to reason there would be a delay, since these crucial components are spun from the distilled condensation of the exhaled breath of the endangered Mauritius Kestral, then shipped to Bequia in the Grenadines for assembly by Rumpelstiltskin, who is the only individual capable of fitting the delicate parts together. Well, it takes a village, after all. So I waited patiently.
In all seriousness, the chap from service visited me twice after my initial call to Hell on 7/1 when my computer would not boot up at all. He came and identified the problem as the power supply, not the motherboard, as the chap on the phone in New Delhi diagnosed. In all fairness, the local service person said that it is typically one or the other, motherboard or power supply, and in his experience they always ship both, so there would be no delays, but wouldn't you know it - this is the one time they did not. "Oh well, they'll overnight it and I'll give you a call tomorrow to set up my return to get this all taken care of."
Ok, my business is almost impossible to run without my data (my careful backups I've been performing for years on an external hard drive are not recognized when I install the HD on my spare computer - that is an entirely different story!), but I'm remaining patient, cobbling together what I can from emails and my vendors to try to function with a fraction of my usual resources, slowing me down to a snail's pace but not letting my customers know there is anything amiss.
A few days later he returns with the box under his arm, and opens it to find, *gasp!*, no power supply. What the....??? He's just baffled. They sent another motherboard. He showed me his order form that clearly requested a power supply, but at this point I can't even deal with this fellow. I have no clue what the problem is but I need to complain about this. He said he'd place another order and apologized profusely. I'm frustrated and hobbled by an inferior spare computer (thank goodness I have one of those, I must say....) and I'm tired of this.
I call New Delhi once again and am told so many, many nice things. There is a script for the apologies, and also a script that goes something like this: "Let me give you my personal email, and you must use this from now on - do not call the number and get in the phone queue - I am taking personal responsibility for this case and I will see this through to resolution. My manager is also putting this as a top priority and in a moment I will put the call through to him so he can reassure you that he has taken personal responsibility to see that you are satisfied." I was told I'd be getting a call from him in the next few days to be sure my machine had been fixed. What can I say? I talked to his manager and asked to speak to HIS manager, and someone else got on the phone, etc., but they really can't say a whole lot to me except to express empathy for my situation and promise to rectify things.
Another week goes by, and I call again. They thought my problem was long since resolved! They thought I had another issue. Oh no, no resolution, no phone calls, no nothing. We go through the thing again, and I again get the same scripted "taking personal responsibility" thing, and I'm not having it. I explained that someone needed to get over here and put a new power supply in my machine so I can get on with my life. Their customer service had failed and I was not going to be quiet about it. Enough with New Delhi.
I went to the Hell website and began to search for someone who handles complaints. There are no individuals who do that - you can post feedback, which I did - but if you can't get any satisfaction there are simply no people who take responsibility for customer service, at least not that I could find on the website. I took myself over to the public forum, where you discuss with other Hell owners various computer problems and fixes for this and that. I ranted, and got some responses that essentially said I ought to have just fixed it myself and went on with my business, because this is nothing new. I suppose it is the principle of the thing now.
I got a call a few days later from New Delhi informing me that the power supply was on back order. That's right, back order. That's like going to Goodyear and being told they don't have tires because they're all on back order. Or Dunkin donuts has empty shelves because the flour is on back order. My &*%$ the power supply is on back order! They have power supplies stacked 25 deep, I promise. Contrary to my very immature opening of this post, power supplies are not fancy, not unusual, not an elite component whatsoever, and are as basic to a PC as a keyboard.
My feedback on the Hell website, which was comprehensive, sarcastic (you're kidding!) and lengthy, got someone's attention, but it was a very generic email asking me to provide contact info so they could call and get to the bottom of this issue. Hah.
Well, yet another week goes by and this morning my good buddy showed up again with yet another box under his arm, which did, in fact, contain a power supply and a motherboard, both of which he installed in just a few minutes. My computer is up and running, and I am giddy with excitement to be back up to speed. I have to update with all that went on while it was down, but that's no biggie. I'm an expert at this now. And all this only took 25 days! Amazing.
The best part? My monitor now works only at half brightness, so you can barely see what's on the screen. Perfect. Oh, wait, it was purchased at the time of my computer and is still under warranty! Thank goodness. Let me find that 800 number.....
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
A bit of catch-up...
It has been a while since I've updated the blog, and there are many reasons. Kids, especially those who plan on entering college next month, have taken a lot of my time (don't. even. mention. money.), plus rising 5th graders out of school and needing to be kept busy when I'm not working myself, which is not much of the time.
My tanks are all still up and running, and I am proud to say, right off the bat, that Otis, the adorable F8 puffer, has now been upgraded to a double wide, with his 10-gal swapped out for a 20! The tank looks virtually the same, with his central rocky cave and tower structures so he can explore on both sides, but there is a ton more room and this is the right amount of space for the little bugger. I used to think it would be too big, but honestly these are very dirty fish, messy eaters of heavy proteins, so the water quality is much easier to stay on top of with more water, and I truly believe he needs the space to stay sane. He uses every last inch of the tank, too.
I have also had some pretty major computer issues that have cropped up recently and I'm trying to get those resolved. My spare machine cannot recognize my camera and won't load the software to run the driver, so I can't upload any pics, so I will hopefully get that resolved soon.
The big news is that I have ember tetra fry, in a community tank, no less! This is the first time I've ever been aware of spawning tetras. The only other fish I've spawned in a community tank that was not one of the usual suspects (cichlid or livebearer or invert) was white cloud mountain minnows, but I'm much more excited about the embers. I noticed a subadult lurking in the java fern one day, and he was just too small to be one of the ones I purchased. I was scratching my head over that one when I noticed a wee tiny little group of fry! About 4 mm long. I got very excited and took a pic but, alas, I can't post it until I get my computer back. As of today I seem to have only one fry left (wahh!) but that is to be expected in a community setup. Current residents include het rasboras and a pair of wild caught rams. The rams truly stick to the bottom and I never see them even in the middle of the tank, and the ember fry stick right up to the very, very top, so that's why it worked out as well as it did so far.
Keep in mind, I did not plan on spawning the embers. I did not do extra water changes or prime the breeding pair (I don't even know which fish are the pair...) but simply kept the tank like I normally do, with weekly 50% water changes and daily feeds of quality flake (Omega One) and pellet (NLS Grow). This was a pure accident, and I could not be more delighted.
I'll post pics soon.
My tanks are all still up and running, and I am proud to say, right off the bat, that Otis, the adorable F8 puffer, has now been upgraded to a double wide, with his 10-gal swapped out for a 20! The tank looks virtually the same, with his central rocky cave and tower structures so he can explore on both sides, but there is a ton more room and this is the right amount of space for the little bugger. I used to think it would be too big, but honestly these are very dirty fish, messy eaters of heavy proteins, so the water quality is much easier to stay on top of with more water, and I truly believe he needs the space to stay sane. He uses every last inch of the tank, too.
I have also had some pretty major computer issues that have cropped up recently and I'm trying to get those resolved. My spare machine cannot recognize my camera and won't load the software to run the driver, so I can't upload any pics, so I will hopefully get that resolved soon.
The big news is that I have ember tetra fry, in a community tank, no less! This is the first time I've ever been aware of spawning tetras. The only other fish I've spawned in a community tank that was not one of the usual suspects (cichlid or livebearer or invert) was white cloud mountain minnows, but I'm much more excited about the embers. I noticed a subadult lurking in the java fern one day, and he was just too small to be one of the ones I purchased. I was scratching my head over that one when I noticed a wee tiny little group of fry! About 4 mm long. I got very excited and took a pic but, alas, I can't post it until I get my computer back. As of today I seem to have only one fry left (wahh!) but that is to be expected in a community setup. Current residents include het rasboras and a pair of wild caught rams. The rams truly stick to the bottom and I never see them even in the middle of the tank, and the ember fry stick right up to the very, very top, so that's why it worked out as well as it did so far.
Keep in mind, I did not plan on spawning the embers. I did not do extra water changes or prime the breeding pair (I don't even know which fish are the pair...) but simply kept the tank like I normally do, with weekly 50% water changes and daily feeds of quality flake (Omega One) and pellet (NLS Grow). This was a pure accident, and I could not be more delighted.
I'll post pics soon.
Central Virginia Aquarium Society!
It is finally here, the Central Virginia Aquarium Society, or CVAS. Someday soon we'll launch our website, cv-as.com.
I've been working with some awesome folks in the local Richmond and Tidewater aquarium hobby to make this thing happen, and we've had a few meetings already, which have been a success. Now our Tidewater contingency have broken off to start their own regional club, which I think is a rational decision considering what a pain it is to drive to Richmond for our club meetings - I belong to the PVAS and they have to have something pretty darn interesting happening for me to drive to Northern Virginia to attend. I can certainly understand. We will likely combine our chapters several times a year for a large meet and greet, but both our clubs need to get our footing.
We've mainly focused on holding swaps and auctions to raise money to fund things like our website, business cards, etc., and now that we finally have a club name (very recently) we can proceed with a logo and get our internet presence established.
This all could not have been possible without the aquarium hobby website USA Fisbhox, where we all met and realized that there are quite a few hobbyists in the central Virginia area.
It has taken quite a bit of time to get things organized. Right now we have a board, a secretary and a treasurer, but otherwise we don't have a constitution or a mission statement, bylaws, or any of that. I think we need to keep things simple right now as we grow.
This weekend is the big American Cichlid Association convention in Washington, DC, and I know I will be in attendance. This is my first ACA ever, though I've known about it for many years. This is the first time it was close enough to me and I did not have any conflicts. Love a road trip! I will try to post pics here upon my return.
I've been working with some awesome folks in the local Richmond and Tidewater aquarium hobby to make this thing happen, and we've had a few meetings already, which have been a success. Now our Tidewater contingency have broken off to start their own regional club, which I think is a rational decision considering what a pain it is to drive to Richmond for our club meetings - I belong to the PVAS and they have to have something pretty darn interesting happening for me to drive to Northern Virginia to attend. I can certainly understand. We will likely combine our chapters several times a year for a large meet and greet, but both our clubs need to get our footing.
We've mainly focused on holding swaps and auctions to raise money to fund things like our website, business cards, etc., and now that we finally have a club name (very recently) we can proceed with a logo and get our internet presence established.
This all could not have been possible without the aquarium hobby website USA Fisbhox, where we all met and realized that there are quite a few hobbyists in the central Virginia area.
It has taken quite a bit of time to get things organized. Right now we have a board, a secretary and a treasurer, but otherwise we don't have a constitution or a mission statement, bylaws, or any of that. I think we need to keep things simple right now as we grow.
This weekend is the big American Cichlid Association convention in Washington, DC, and I know I will be in attendance. This is my first ACA ever, though I've known about it for many years. This is the first time it was close enough to me and I did not have any conflicts. Love a road trip! I will try to post pics here upon my return.
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
They Ought to be in Pictures
Well, for the legions of folks NOT reading this blog (actually, I think of this as simply a journal to keep track of my tanks, so do not feel bad for being one of the millions of people not reading it) I will post pictures of my tanks as they are currently.
10-gallon: Figure-8 puffer, "Otis"
45-gallon: 2 P. leopoldi, 6 Hyphessobrycon herbertaxelrodi (black neons). Will likely add more neons and also some rummynose if I can find some nice ones. Considering Corydoras sp. Will be adding domestic silver angel from 40-gallon that gazes longingly into their tank almost constantly.
40-gallon: One P. scalare (domestic silver, bred by me), Hyphessobrycon amandae (ember tetras) and Het rasboras (not sure exactly which species). Soon to add 6 juvenile Apistogramma cacatuoides, when the lone silver angel will go next door to be with his mates in the 45.
As you can see, the angel is always found on the far left side of the tank looking over.
37-gallon: Neolamprologus leleupi, young colony (I hope). This is the feisty bunch that I suspect were the downfall of my Moba frontosa fry in the 150, but who knows about that. They need to be by themselves, unless you have a large enough tank and appropriate feisty species that can put up with them. They are pretty in this white tank, at any rate. If they spawn for me I MIGHT forgive them.
The adorable kitchen goldfish tank. This tank now sports two silicone "jellyfish" that are tethered to an invisible length of fishing line buried in the substrate, and they float in the water. Goofy, but I like them!
150-gallon: 6 Cyphotilapia gibberosa (Kapampa), 9 Altolamprologus sp. (gold head compressiceps, mystery compressiceps, black calvus, inkfin calvus).
10-gallon: Figure-8 puffer, "Otis"
45-gallon: 2 P. leopoldi, 6 Hyphessobrycon herbertaxelrodi (black neons). Will likely add more neons and also some rummynose if I can find some nice ones. Considering Corydoras sp. Will be adding domestic silver angel from 40-gallon that gazes longingly into their tank almost constantly.
40-gallon: One P. scalare (domestic silver, bred by me), Hyphessobrycon amandae (ember tetras) and Het rasboras (not sure exactly which species). Soon to add 6 juvenile Apistogramma cacatuoides, when the lone silver angel will go next door to be with his mates in the 45.
As you can see, the angel is always found on the far left side of the tank looking over.
37-gallon: Neolamprologus leleupi, young colony (I hope). This is the feisty bunch that I suspect were the downfall of my Moba frontosa fry in the 150, but who knows about that. They need to be by themselves, unless you have a large enough tank and appropriate feisty species that can put up with them. They are pretty in this white tank, at any rate. If they spawn for me I MIGHT forgive them.
The adorable kitchen goldfish tank. This tank now sports two silicone "jellyfish" that are tethered to an invisible length of fishing line buried in the substrate, and they float in the water. Goofy, but I like them!
150-gallon: 6 Cyphotilapia gibberosa (Kapampa), 9 Altolamprologus sp. (gold head compressiceps, mystery compressiceps, black calvus, inkfin calvus).
Friday, January 14, 2011
In Other News
Well, if you go back you will see a posting I made about the 150-gallon and the rock situation. I am interested in taking out some of the smaller, lighter colored rocks and replacing them with more like the one on the far left side, a dark grey boulder-like stone, which is very large and a great color. I went to Pete Rose Landscape Supply today, where I got that rock, and their stock is very low... DUH! .... it is only the dead of winter and about 19 degrees. Who is outside building rock walls now? I was very disappointed, because when I get an idea in my head it is hard to shake, and I had already planned out how I was going to rearrange things. I will have to wait until the spring when they will have quite an assortment to choose from, and hopefully they will have the same type of stone I got there previously. I do love picking through rock piles!
Also, I have placed an order for six Apistogramma cacatuoides for my 40-gallon. I'm interested in a male and several females, so I figure this is the best way to get that, waiting to see what I get as they mature. I remind you that I am an aquarium snob and the cockatoo Apisto is one of the most popular and commonly available (a "beginner" Apisto), but I can't help but admire its looks, and I'd like to start out with them. They are a bit more adaptable to various aquarium conditions, and though I am keeping wild caught angels without difficulty I don't want to start my Apisto adventure with the most exotic or challenging. The bottom line is that I admire them quite a bit and I think they will make a very nice addition to the 40, which is a bit bare currently. There are no species that spend much time in the bottom areas, and there are lots of caves and zones for small cichlids to claim territory. At the same time I'm going to build my stock of ember tetras, which seem very happy in this tank and have great color. The rasboras may still get some size on them and I'm not planning on adding to their number at this point.
That is about it. Otis the F8 puffer continues to thrive and for some reason I'm able to grow Java moss in his tank now (it would turn brown and melt previously - go figure) and it looks cool, almost like a marine grass, since the tank is 'scaped with coral rock. The leopoldi angels are holding their own in the 37, with almond leaves tinting the water and willow sticks providing reedy interest for them. The frontosa, leleupi and Altolamps are all doing well in the 150, though the leleupi (no surprise) are quite boisterous and may be a bit much for the rest of the fish. I don't see any particular trouble, but they have a very dominant presence. This will change as the frontosa grow and they don't! I'm watching things carefully, like a mother hen, I tell you.
I have recently joined an aquarium club that is the spawn of the forum USAFishbox.com, and our local chapter has quite a few interested participants, even after just one meeting. It is something we've needed around here for a long time. We'll see how it goes as we get out of infancy and develop policy and routines.
Also, I have placed an order for six Apistogramma cacatuoides for my 40-gallon. I'm interested in a male and several females, so I figure this is the best way to get that, waiting to see what I get as they mature. I remind you that I am an aquarium snob and the cockatoo Apisto is one of the most popular and commonly available (a "beginner" Apisto), but I can't help but admire its looks, and I'd like to start out with them. They are a bit more adaptable to various aquarium conditions, and though I am keeping wild caught angels without difficulty I don't want to start my Apisto adventure with the most exotic or challenging. The bottom line is that I admire them quite a bit and I think they will make a very nice addition to the 40, which is a bit bare currently. There are no species that spend much time in the bottom areas, and there are lots of caves and zones for small cichlids to claim territory. At the same time I'm going to build my stock of ember tetras, which seem very happy in this tank and have great color. The rasboras may still get some size on them and I'm not planning on adding to their number at this point.
That is about it. Otis the F8 puffer continues to thrive and for some reason I'm able to grow Java moss in his tank now (it would turn brown and melt previously - go figure) and it looks cool, almost like a marine grass, since the tank is 'scaped with coral rock. The leopoldi angels are holding their own in the 37, with almond leaves tinting the water and willow sticks providing reedy interest for them. The frontosa, leleupi and Altolamps are all doing well in the 150, though the leleupi (no surprise) are quite boisterous and may be a bit much for the rest of the fish. I don't see any particular trouble, but they have a very dominant presence. This will change as the frontosa grow and they don't! I'm watching things carefully, like a mother hen, I tell you.
I have recently joined an aquarium club that is the spawn of the forum USAFishbox.com, and our local chapter has quite a few interested participants, even after just one meeting. It is something we've needed around here for a long time. We'll see how it goes as we get out of infancy and develop policy and routines.
Bubbles for the Advanced Aquarist
I added a fake plant and some driftwood to the goldfish tank in the kitchen to give it a bit more interest, but I'm still trying to keep it very simple. I had a bubble wand on hand that would go across the entire back of the tank, and would solve the "issue" of no tank background. I do not want a background on this tank, but something to add visual texture would help, like a curtain of bubbles.
For the life of me I can't understand why goldfish and bubbles seem to go together. I can't recall the last time I deliberately put bubbles in an aquarium, except when I got these goldfish recently. For me, the ultimate aquarium snob, bubbles are just tacky, don't actually add oxygen to the water, outgas precious CO2 in planted tanks, disturb the fish, etc. I've gotten to a point where I strive for natural appearance in an aquarium, where it might look like a slice of nature. I don't want to see hoses, cords, plastic of any kind, or other evidence that the tank runs on electricity. Bubbles were abandoned years ago!
However, I keep trying to put bubbles in my goldfish tanks. I don't understand it, but it is what comes to mind and I can't shake it. There is something goofy and "plastic" about goldfish, maybe, that demands the decor follow suit. Years ago (many) I had a rather fun goldfish tank, my first aquarium, with plastic decor and marbles. I had mostly plastic kid's toys, with some cake decorating toppers and other items that reflected a childish playfulness. And a beer bottle reflecting.... what? I was 21! What do you want from me?
I ought to come up with something clever like that again for this tank, but I will need to search very carefully for just the right items. Meanwhile, I do not care for the lack of background, with the wall needing to be painted and all, yet I don't want to tape a piece of patterned plastic sheeting on the back of the tank. I don't want to see something taped on, like kindergarten art on a refrigerator. No matter how carefully you tape it on, you can always see the tape, and the background never lies smoothly, and it bugs me - I want to rip it off. This tank is not tucked in a corner, but is quite visible on most sides, and when you walk by it you can see the back of the tank, so there is no way I'd be able to ignore the imperfection.
What I'd like to get is an Oceanvisions background, which is applied with soapy water and a credit card to squeegee out the bubbles, so it is sticking down completely to the back of the tank. I will have to mail order that item. You take a sharp knife and cut away the excess, so it is completely adherent to the back glass and a part of it, though it can be removed easily later.
In the meantime, I spent quite a while trying to get the green Top Fin bubble wand to work. You know the kind I mean - it seems like it is made of dense styrofoam or something, in a tube shape, and can be connected together for varying lengths. No bubbles come out with the small pump, none with the medium sized pump, and none with the GIANT pump. OK, I'll try soaking it for a couple of hours. No deal. I blow into the air hose and can barely get any air to come out, so I know this was made too dense and won't ever work - product defect - and I'm sure I'm not the only one who has experienced this!
I poked holes into the entire length of the tube, and that, of course, did the job, but the bubbles are huge and disruptive, and I can't get the thing positioned properly, so I got annoyed. Who needs bubbles? I did have a round pressed sand airstone that I am now using on the far left that is adequately operated by a completely silent small air pump, so that will have to do for now. I did not like giving up on my dream, the ultimate competitor that I am (!) and purchased a flexible sinking bubble wand from Drs. Foster & Smith, my dear friends. This won't need suction cups and alleges to work right out of the box. We shall see. I think it would be nice to have a gentle curtain of small bubbles across the back of the tank, so that's what I'll have, dammit! What has come over me???
In other related news, I'm just waiting for the algae to take over this tank. It is the first tank I've had in many, many years, maybe ever, now that I think about it.... that gets natural sunlight to any degree. This tank gets full morning sun, and the fish really seem to like it. I think it is good for fish to get sun, which is what would happen to them in the wild. Well, not like these goldfish ever roamed the rivers and lakes of our planet, but you know what I mean. It is proven that fish raised in outdoor tanks in tropical locales have great color, especially goldfish, and when we put them in our tanks with only artificial lighting this great color fades. At any rate, when the sun starts moving across the tank the fish always keep themselves where the sunbeam is, like a dog or a cat might.
I am a notorious algae grower, and I currently have, for the first time ever, 5 tanks without algae problems! However, this is most certainly not going to be the case here, with the 20 in the kitchen. It looks pristine now, but just wait. I am going to do what I can, by not using the fluoro light in the hood, and by doing plenty of PWCs to keep nutrients in the water to a minimum, but if the tank belongs to me I can pretty much guarantee it will have algae at some point. I'm expecting the diatoms to arrive any time now, this being a new setup. More on that as the brown and then green slime develops....
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
20 high! 20 high!, 20 high!......
I have placed the three wee goldfish in a nice new home - a 20-high in my kitchen. This is more than suitable for them right now, as they are pretty small still, as you can see in the pic. You can see I took the pic not too long after setting it up, as those are bubbles on the glass in the tank.
It is a very simple setup, little in the way of decor, and I may keep it that way - not sure. I like things simple and clean-looking these days with my tanks, though I still have the busy, heavily planted ones as well. Somehow the goldfish inspire a simple, minimalist look. There is a bit of Anubias in the far left corner, along with some smooth river rocks. An Eheim Ecco canister is running the show, set on the lower shelf of a wire plant stand that sits next to the tank. It is not very visible, which is important to m
e.Here is a pic of the tank in the room, the kitchen eating area, where I think it fits in pretty well. It will be nicer when the fish get a bit more size on them, as they seem a little lost in there at the moment.
I like how there is just about no equipment visible, which is important to me.
Don't know what to do with the decor - bubble curtain across the back? I want to keep things simple, without a fussy fake background. A mirror background would be cool if I can find a piece of mirror the right size.
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