Tank birthday, 47+ years

[Railcar79]

My clowns are actively spawning and they eat pellet food, and frozen maybe once a week, or 2

 

[gregcoyote]

That's really cool. But they aren't Mandarines. I think clowns are among the easiest SW fish to get to spawn. Now raising the fry is another matter. But the fact they are spawning is a shout out to you that you're doing something right.

 

[gregcoyote]

I have a pod that is 30. Sally, Sally Pod. Here is her picture---------------> . <--------------- She doesn't look as good as she once did as the skin on her knees is all wrinkled.


That may be the same people who get tired of their wife's and girlfriends. I have given plenty of fish away when I tire of them or they get to large. Some went to public aquariums but I never wanted one to die just so I could get another one.
I tried to give my wife to the New York aquarium but they said she was to high maintenance with all the shoes she needs and all.



My fish also never get sick, like Taylor Swift said "ever". (Yes I know who she is) Ich is a non issue as is just about any other ailment. It all comes down to food and stress. I still have fireclowns over 20 years old and they are still spawning like they were made to do. People ask me all the time, will freeze dried worms work. Like, No. They will not. It takes longer to feed fish correctly as the worms will not take a bus to my house from the store and they didn't build their own worm keeper and the whiteworms didn't Google themselves and jump a cab to get to my house. The worms also didn't feed themselves and then jump into my tank. I also spawn mandarins, clown gobies and bluestriped pipefish. They are spawning from the brine shrimp I hatch every day. They also don't come to my house by themselves or hatch themselves. There is a little work if you want your animals to live a long time and testing for PO4 and alk ain't going to do it.

My knees are a little wrinkled too. Next time I am in NY I will look you up. We have too much in common. I was also pilot for most of my life, as well as a commercial photographer/diver and I also operate a boat here in the Midwest, not much coral though. Best I can show you is a fine bass. Glad to meet you on this forum.

 

[vlangel]

I have a pod that is 30. Sally, Sally Pod. Here is her picture---------------> . <--------------- She doesn't look as good as she once did as the skin on her knees is all wrinkled.


That may be the same people who get tired of their wife's and girlfriends. I have given plenty of fish away when I tire of them or they get to large. Some went to public aquariums but I never wanted one to die just so I could get another one.
I tried to give my wife to the New York aquarium but they said she was to high maintenance with all the shoes she needs and all.
.

I too have given away fish that outgrew my tank and I have a pair of anthias that I'm kind of sorry I chose. But then through 33 years of marriage I wasn't always happy that I chose my Dave, but 99% of the time I was. Such is commitment!

 

[Paul B]

Greg from the time I had freshwater fish in the 50s I have been either growing or collecting my own food. I used to collect daphnia, mosquito larvae or worms. It does take some time to get live food but it takes immeasurably less time than trying to treat a sick fish, quarantine or leave your tank fallow for 72 days which I never had to do. It is also more fun to post that your fish are spawning or living to 20 years old rather than posting in a disease forum which is what happens if you don't feed correctly. This hobby is very easy but many people make it difficult. Yes the chemistry of water is confusing if you are keeping corals but even that can be simplified as I hardly do anything. I realize I don't have the nicest or most colorful tank on here. I get that. But it has nothing to do with testing or lack of knowledge. My tank is an ongoing experiment and was never meant to be the words greatest tank. But that sucker is healthy and I don't have to quarantine or worry about sick fish. Not for a year or even ten years, but for decades. I am also not that smart (or good looking) but I have common sense and I learn by doing, not by Googling. Put the correct food into fish and they will live long enough to collect Social Security.
I have never posted on a disease thread except once when my Moorish Idol got Pop Eye and I cured it in 5 seconds. There are quite a few people that are dying for my tank to crash from ich to downgrade my ich theory. But even if it does, it has had one heck of a run.

MyDaughter called me this morning to tell me she was walking past a high end shoe store in Manhattan with my 19 month old Grand Daughter Greta. Greta saw the store and said "Buy boots Mommy" (She is a real Girly Girl)
My Daughter said to her, I don't have any money Greta. Greta said "buy boots, Cwedit Cward"

 

[Paul B]

Greg, That is cool. I was never a pilot. I was not allowed to fly this thing but in Nam they were not that strict and the pilot was my friend so while we were up, he would let me take over. I couldn't land or take off or anything but a hermit crab could keep it in the air once it got up there.
Railcar, your clowns are spawning because you know what you are doing and your fish are very healthy. But damsels, including clowns are the easiest fish to spawn. The fact they are spawning for you is a thing not many people can do.
You are a good aquarist. People that have pairs of clowns and they are not spawning is because their clowns are not very healthy as healthy clowns always spawn all the time. That's what healthy fish do and that is the reason that practically all my fish are spawning. Threadfin cardinals, striped cardinals, bluestriped pipefish, watchmans, mandarins, clown gobies, fireclowns and manta rays have been spawning in my tank for years. OK maybe the manta rays have not spawned yet. But you get the idea.

 

[Paul B]

Glad to meet you also Greg.
This is mine in my marina on Long Island. I don't own the marina but you know what I mean.

 

[gregcoyote]

One of my little birds. Loved the shot of the Hughes.

While I dont collect mosquito larvae, not that dedicated, I do prepare my own foods. I have become addicted to growing hard corals over the last few years, so I've made some changes to accommodate that.

 

[gregcoyote]

I have a friend at your marina, Frank Herman. He is the brother of one of our best friends.

 

[Paul B]

I don't know the name but I am sure I would recognize him if I saw him. Tell him to come by and say hello, my boat is Euphoria. ( How do you know what marina I am in?)
Nice bird you got there. I don't own one but when I wasn't in the little LOH I was in this thing. They fly like a brick and really don't feel like they want to stay in the air. I also crashed in this one, but we hit a rice paddy and they are kind of soft so I obviously didn't croak. That thing may still be there today. I only crashed twice, once in this and once in that LOH so that is a pretty good record.

We just got back from an all you can eat sushi restaurant. We don't normally go to all you can eat anything because they are usually garbage. But this one is very good and only a few blocks away. I like that they don't have a liquor license so we can bring our own wine. We normally eat fish and very rarely eat meat, except for some chicken. My uncles would walk on a beach and anything that moved, they would eat. Live and raw. That is not me but I will eat practically anything from the sea.



This was taken in my marina last year.

 

[gregcoyote]

I may have made the wrong guess, I don't know the exact marina. He use to work on people's boats, did repairs and his girlfriend has a pretty nice yacht there. I love summers on my old boat.

Sold the biplane a few years ago and am considering helicopters, always wanted that license and got pretty good at flying RC helios, which are squirrelly as heck. Your shot of the heavy lifter is very cool. But flying and diving were big deals in my life.

Looks like you might be a proud grandpa.
I want to also know mor about your worm farm.

I live a weird life, but get to work with these guys every now and then. This was the last launch.

 

[gregcoyote]

Can't do the oyster thing. I'm a Midwesterner that wants everything BBQ, or at least fried in a pan.

 

[MrDJeep123]

lol, Viva La BBQ!

 

[Eienna]

Can't do the oyster thing. I'm a Midwesterner that wants everything BBQ, or at least fried in a pan.

Hmmmm. Someone should try barbecuing oysters.

 

[Paul B]

Barbecuied oysters are very good. I like them any way and can eat them out of the sea like M&Ms. I eat them or clams every week. Had some last night at a sushi place. Our main meal is always seafood and we live on an Island so that is easy. We go to dinner at least once a week and I never ordered a steak in my life even though we have plenty of steakhouses. I like it, but I just prefer seafood. I was stationed in Colorado for a few months and the only thing to eat there is steak which was not good for me. But I realize they are a million miles from the sea.
I never worked on a space shuttle or flew in one) but that would be cool. I once owned land near Cocoa Beach where I could watch the launches.
My worm keeper is on here in a few places I am sure. If not, search on here for blackworms as I put it on here all the time.

 

[Paul B]

Here are the bluestripe pipefish at the feeder.

And the possum wrasse sneaks by also.

 

[gregcoyote]

Are those worms in the feeder?

I didn't get very involved in shuttle, I worked on a launch safety system I designed for them.

 

[vlangel]

Glad to see the bluestripe pipefish appear to be adjusting well. I always breathe a sigh of relieve when my additions begin to eat well.

 

[Paul B]

There are new born brine shrimp in the feeder. Vlangel, I don't have to sigh much as my new fish usually eat. I rarely have any problems with that but I do see them eat in the store before I buy them and I ask the store guy to feed something besides brine shrimp as I will even eat those.

 

[vlangel]

You know, it never occurred to me to see them eat something besides brine shrimp. One of my challenges with new fish is helping them find their place in the tank's hierarchy. When you have fish for years in a 36g they can get a bit bully-ish, especially if ones a tomato clown. I recently added 2 new fish and I dealt with the bullying by choosing fish that occupied different areas of the tank, keeping them in a baby net a few days to let them see each other and finally by giving double the amount of food so no one had to scrap to get food. Something work or it was dumb luck but everyone is peacefully co-habitatingl