Tank birthday, 47+ years

[atoll]

Must admit tried it but nope not for me. I am talking minimalistic reefscaping. Sooooo I was offered some live rock that has been kept in the dark for years FOC by a nice lady. So off I went on a 40 min drive to pick it up. 2 hours later it was in my tank. Looks very new and white at the moment but we all know it will colour up in time. I now have more caves, overhangs and places to place more frags on. I am convinced my fish much prefer more rock and places to hide or retreat to. I also believe they are healthier and less stressed when the have plenty of bolt holes.
Before.

And now.

 

[Paul B]

Thats great. I have so much rock that I can't find anything and almost none of it touches the gravel because I built a concrete frame for the rock before I moved here.

I just went to an LFS here who promised me copperbands, male mandarin, male bluestripe pipefish etc and You know what I got? Nothing. Zippo.

He had tangs, damsels, very common, boring stuff that everyone has.

Then a friend of mine told me of a brand new store near my wife's Doctor so we went there.
The place is very new and clean. A beautiful store that I would like to live in, but the same boring stuff.
This place is also more expensive but not out of sight.

He charges $49.00 for a copperband (if he had one) and the other guy charges $29.00 (if he had them)

This place also gets in fish every 3 weeks which is weird, but they quarantine them for 2 weeks before they sell them.
I asked the Mgr. if I could get the fish before he quarantines them. I will even pay more for them. They are going to let me know by E Mail so I will see how that works out.

 

[atoll]

Thats great. I have so much rock that I can't find anything and almost none of it touches the gravel because I built a concrete frame for the rock before I moved here.

I just went to an LFS here who promised me copperbands, male mandarin, male bluestripe pipefish etc and You know what I got? Nothing. Zippo.

He had tangs, damsels, very common, boring stuff that everyone has.

Then a friend of mine told me of a brand new store near my wife's Doctor so we went there.
The place is very new and clean. A beautiful store that I would like to live in, but the same boring stuff.
This place is also more expensive but not out of sight.

He charges $49.00 for a copperband (if he had one) and the other guy charges $29.00 (if he had them)

This place also gets in fish every 3 weeks which is weird, but they quarantine them for 2 weeks before they sell them.
I asked the Mgr. if I could get the fish before he quarantines them. I will even pay more for them. They are going to let me know by E Mail so I will see how that works out.

You mean the manager is going to tell you when he gets his next shipment in before he tries to poison them for you with copper.
All my previous tanks had lots of rock because it's natural to the fish I keep. Natural environment is best IME. Why then did I try minimalistic? 2 reasons.
1/ I moved up from a Red Sea Reefer 250 to my much bigger thank and just moved what rock I had over.
2/ Seeing as I had the rock from my RSR I thought let's see how it goes and looks.
I often try different things as I am curious and like to experiment a little.
So I tried it, didn't like it so binned it. Now my tank is similar to my previous tanks and am much happier with it that way. Am also much happier as I am sure my fish are also and that's what matters move than anything.
I have some fish I don't see so much of but that's fine as long as they are happy.
Minimalistic might be aesthetically pleasing to the eye but IMO this is case where more is more not less is more.

 

[atoll]

OMG. I have never looked at a certain forum on here until now, it's like the chamber of horrors for marine fishkeeping. If any of it gets out to the conservation hatters the hobby will be closed down lock stock and barrel for sure. The forum should be rated adult only and not for the faint hearted to say the least. One guy has a thread called too many fish drying in QT. I couldn't look into it for fear of what I would read. The forum in question is the diseases forum of course. They have all manner of ways to kill fish but mask it with the term treatments.
There is something sinister, macabre and just not right in there it should be closed down on inhumane grounds.

 

[Lowell Lemon]

;Wacky ;Wacky;MehYes I know I just received a very public flogging for making a strong comment on how voicing a different opinion can get you kicked to the curb...and yes they delivered the kick lol! It is appalling the low success rate in that forum and yet no one accepts their might be a better way. The stores I designed only had 1-3% loss rates instead of close to 30% before the remodels. But then again I am old and a boomer so what do I know?

 

[Paul B]

You mean the manager is going to tell you when he gets his next shipment in before he tries to poison them for you with copper.

Thats right. I feel that the fish from the sea or wholesaler is stressed enough. Leave the poor creature alone.
I want it right from the box and I don't care what is wrong with it. It will fare much better in my tank than in a bare tank with a bunch of other, unrelated fish and if he uses copper on it, he will kill a good portion of them.
I don't want those stressed, medicated fish.

 

[Timfish]

Can't remember last time I wished you a happy birthday . . . so . . . Happy Birthday!

 

[atoll]

Thats right. I feel that the fish from the sea or wholesaler is stressed enough. Leave the poor creature alone.
I want it right from the box and I don't care what is wrong with it. It will fare much better in my tank than in a bare tank with a bunch of other, unrelated fish and if he uses copper on it, he will kill a good portion of them.
I don't want those stressed, medicated fish.

Spot on Paul.

 

[lapin]

Fish are like used a used car. I bring them home. Wash them = TTM. I then change the oil = de-wormer. Then they are ready to drive.

 

[Paul B]

For some reason many people don't realize it is stress from quarantine, dipping, medication and just plain displaying in a LFS that sickens fish. We are doing that to the fish, they are not sick when we get them or if they are, it is temporary from all that I said.

Get the thing to feel safe and comfortable as fast as possible. PVC pipes are not the answer as fish hate new white PVC.
I can't believe how easy this is and how so many of us make it so hard and purposely are making the fish sick.
Then we medicate them which makes them worse, then they croak and we blame everyone but ourselves. I am fed up to here (my hand is under my chin) by so many fish dying by our stupidity.

 

[atoll]

For some reason many people don't realize it is stress from quarantine, dipping, medication and just plain displaying in a LFS that sickens fish. We are doing that to the fish, they are not sick when we get them or if they are, it is temporary from all that I said.

Get the thing to feel safe and comfortable as fast as possible. PVC pipes are not the answer as fish hate new white PVC.
I can't believe how easy this is and how so many of us make it so hard and purposely are making the fish sick.
Then we medicate them which makes them worse, then they croak and we blame everyone but ourselves. I am fed up to here (my hand is under my chin) by so many fish dying by our stupidity.

And yet is all quite simple straightforward and understandable. Time some woke up and thought outside the box (the box others have put them in) Perhaps because out philosophy is very simple people think it's stupid as it costs nothing, no extra tanks, equipment, medications anything really just a bit of understanding and a bit of thought.
I have just been watching a YouTube by a well known guy who suggests copperband are unlikely to survive beyond a few weeks in most peoples tanks. He bought one and it died within a few weeks. Yep you guessed he QTd it and medicated it. He went on to say only if you are an experienced aquarist with a bit of luck do you have much chance of keeping one alive. He was right about something's though esp that many die in captivity, well they will do if you try and keep one as he did.

 

[Paul B]

The ones in the sea aren't dying in a few weeks, I wonder why.

 

[Paul B]

The LFS I went to the other day didn't have any copperbands but they did have 2 long nose butterflies which I like almost as much as copperbands and I almost bought one as they were only $29.00.

But they just had too many gill parasites which doesn't bother me but there comes a point when there are just to many parasites and the fish may not make it into a healthy tank before they croak. Maybe even in the bag on the ride home so I passed on those.
And sometimes copperbands don't get along with long nose butterflies so If I get one of those I may not be able to put in the copperband which I still hope to get this or next week.

I just thought of another Viet Nam story.
After that battle of Firebase Illingworth (which you can Google if you like) there wasn't enough of us left to secure the place but Life or Time magazine was coming out to take pictures and they couldn't have all these "offensive" sights around so they sent out Vietnamese girls to fill sand bags to cover the bloody sand bags. They also gave us clean uniforms, boots, helmets, haircuts and planted flowers. (no Really) so it looked like we just had a day in the park.

They also air lifted out two huge bulldozers to push away all the bloody dirt and put new soil around the firebase.
It was Surreal.

Anyway, they sent us for a 3 day "stand down" to "relieve our tension" as the only thing we had was aspirins and it wasn't working. There wasn't that many of us left that were not wounded much and I was one of those.

So they fly us to this place that was surrounded by barbed wire and took away our weapons. There was no place to sit or sleep but they pushed in trailers of hot beer. (all beer, if you could get it, usually from the air force was hot as there was never any electricity, running water, roof, walls or reef tanks) I don't remember if they gave us food but if they did, it was C Rations.

They also had a few young Vietnamese girls behind very high barbed wire singing rock music even though they didn't know a word of English.
There were many fights and a lot of screaming but it got out our frustrations. I think they do it a little differently now.

After 3 days they gave us our weapons back and we all went to where we were going which in my case was another LZ or firebase to do the same thing all over again.

Here is the General a day or two after the Battle giving me a Bronze Star. I think he was the Cav Commander as I was in the First Cavalry Division. The picture is faded because it was a Polaroid picture fifty years ago and I carried around for a year there. I look like a basic trainee with my new clothes.

 

[Victoria M]

You must have been very cute.
I was never been in the Boy Scouts, but I am not really a joiner, Although I have many friends, some from grammar school, I am generally not a joiner. I prefer to do things on my own, hence my Steam Punk things.

I also did not go to college. I probably could have but I was drafted as soon as I turned 19.
That was the best event in my life because if I had not gotten drafted and gone to college, instead of becoming an electrician, I may have been an electrical engineer making half my salary, working twice the hours and still being working because like most office jobs, they don't get a pension or have a retirement plan

Even in the Army, I did my own thing. I was a Sargent in Nam attached to a field artillery battery but I was the only one who was "not" artillery. I was the Commo Chief so when we moved the LZ (which we did 14 times) I set up the communications which were radios that needed antenna's installed and we needed a wire connected to each of the 6 artillery guns so they could aim and fire them.


When we would take incoming (the enemy bombing us) Which happened constantly, I would crawl out there and splice the wires together in the mud so we could fire.

When we took a ground probe (the enemy running out of the jungle in mass to over run us) I would either help on a gun (howitzer) because our guys were getting wounded or killed or I would run to the perimeter to "help" there so the enemy didn't get into our firebase which they did once. It didn't fare to well for them.

But after I got everything running and it didn't seem like we would get attacked I had a friend with a helicopter and We would grab some "Wild Turkey" which I think is bourbon, and fly to different firebases to trade things or meet old friends.

This was all in the jungle as I never came out of it until came home.
I loved flying even though I was in 2 crashes. Not when I was steering ;Bucktooth
My friend taught me how to fly the thing, which is very easy and I did my thing.

Of course I was not supposed to fly it and he was always with me. I also did not know how to start it, take off or land so it was like if you are in a 1969 Oldsmobile Vista Cruiser and someone asks you to steer for a while.

I also couldn't "auto rotate" which you need to know in a war and because he knew how to do that, I am here today.
I once crashed in this little LOH. (Light observation Helicopter) and when the engine stops, for whatever reason, the pilot can make the thing fall very fast, then engage the rotors to allow for a "slower"
landing (crash) Because of PTSD I don't remember the exact cause or result but it must have been fine, because I am here.



PTSD which I didn't realize I had, is a weird thing. In my case it caused a few odd things but one thing it did was cause me to forget traumatic events of the war, which is a good thing.
The VA psychiatrist told me thats where my creativity may have come from as it makes your mind work differently. (Think reverse UG filter) ;Meh

I barely remember that crash or another one involving a much larger Chinook Helicopter, and also Thank God I hardly remember what I did in that battle I was in which was supposed to be the 6th bloodiest battle of either the war or that year. I forget.
I was awarded two Bronze Stars for Valor so at least I hope I wasn't hiding under a sand bag. But I am sure for some of the time, I was.

That 6 hour battle totally eludes me and that memory is just not there except for the very beginning and very end.

I don't know where I was going with this but you must have made a great Boy Scout.

I did manage to see some red tailed sharks in a bomb crater there, for some stupid reason, I remember that. But those little fish were not to ferocious. Maybe they were but my PTSD removed that too.

I do remember one thing from after the battle. This guy Ed was one of the first injured and his injuries were very severe. So severe that when the medivac helicopter came to take out wounded, we didn't put him on the chopper as we didn't think he would make it and the thing was over loaded.

The pilot said, lets try one more, so we put Ed on. The helicopter, which was a Huey, couldn't take off as it was overweighted.

The pilot yelled for us to lift the skids and run which a bunch of us did. It worked and they flew, barely, over the trees.

He took off and I never heard from him again.
Until about 10 or 15 years ago.
I got a call. It was from Ed. He was in a hospital dying of Agent Orange cancer caused cancer.
He managed to live, get married and have two Daughters.

He wanted to know who saved him and dug him out from under many or our dead GIs.

I knew it was our First Sargent. He was a very tough, black guy almost 7' tall. Actually the toughest guy I have ever met.
Ed told me all he could remember after the blast (which was about 40 tons of artillery shells exploding from a rocket) that all he remembered was being buried and he saw the biggest black guy he had ever seen throwing bodies off him and carrying him to safety.

Here is that story about Ed Collins if you are interested. I posted something after this story on there about Ed

ED COLLINS

April 9, 2011, Ed Collins finished his last battle here on earth and passed on to be with our God. Ed Collins was one of my heroes in this life. Ed was the man I told about loading on a chopper th…

we-were-soldiers.com

Oh, Paul, I just loved reading this post. XO

 

[Paul B]

Victoria, I just love it when you love my ramblings.

 

[Paul B]

I will try to think of or remember another story. But I am running out and my memory isn't getting any better.

 

[User1]

The LFS I went to the other day didn't have any copperbands but they did have 2 long nose butterflies which I like almost as much as copperbands and I almost bought one as they were only $29.00.

But they just had too many gill parasites which doesn't bother me but there comes a point when there are just to many parasites and the fish may not make it into a healthy tank before they croak. Maybe even in the bag on the ride home so I passed on those.
And sometimes copperbands don't get along with long nose butterflies so If I get one of those I may not be able to put in the copperband which I still hope to get this or next week.

I just thought of another Viet Nam story.
After that battle of Firebase Illingworth (which you can Google if you like) there wasn't enough of us left to secure the place but Life or Time magazine was coming out to take pictures and they couldn't have all these "offensive" sights around so they sent out Vietnamese girls to fill sand bags to cover the bloody sand bags. They also gave us clean uniforms, boots, helmets, haircuts and planted flowers. (no Really) so it looked like we just had a day in the park.

They also air lifted out two huge bulldozers to push away all the bloody dirt and put new soil around the firebase.
It was Surreal.

Anyway, they sent us for a 3 day "stand down" to "relieve our tension" as the only thing we had was aspirins and it wasn't working. There wasn't that many of us left that were not wounded much and I was one of those.

So they fly us to this place that was surrounded by barbed wire and took away our weapons. There was no place to sit or sleep but they pushed in trailers of hot beer. (all beer, if you could get it, usually from the air force was hot as there was never any electricity, running water, roof, walls or reef tanks) I don't remember if they gave us food but if they did, it was C Rations.

They also had a few young Vietnamese girls behind very high barbed wire singing rock music even though they didn't know a word of English.
There were many fights and a lot of screaming but it got out our frustrations. I think they do it a little differently now.

After 3 days they gave us our weapons back and we all went to where we were going which in my case was another LZ or firebase to do the same thing all over again.

Here is the General a day or two after the Battle giving me a Bronze Star. I think he was the Cav Commander as I was in the First Cavalry Division. The picture is faded because it was a Polaroid picture fifty years ago and I carried around for a year there. I look like a basic trainee with my new clothes.

And yet Jane is still getting headlines in the US about who she endorses....what the heck is the world coming to.

 

[Paul B]

Amazing isn't it!.
She does that instead of being shot like we used to do to traitors.

 

[Paul B]

29 year old Fireclown with eggs.


My new guy.

 

[Paulie069]

That is a different one and near another of my wife's doctors offices so when take her there, I will go there.

I also don't remember how to get there unless I am coming home from her Doctor

If you can only find things by going to your doctor would they call that the senior citizens GPS app