Tank birthday, 47+ years

[Paul B]

OMG, I just found a filefish in my tank, perfectly healthy that I haven't seen in months and I thought was dead.
He was just vacationing in the back.

 

[GBRsouth]

Some waves today behind my house.

Got this wave behind my house Paul.

Which wave will create more havoc!?!!

Good luck with the storm Paul.

 

[ReefGrammie]

OMG, I just found a filefish in my tank, perfectly healthy that I haven't seen in months and I thought was dead.
He was just vacationing in the back.

Very nice about the filefish! I hope the storm didn't cause much havoc.

 

[Paul B]

Good Morning. I am happy today for a couple of reasons. The Hurricane fizzled out like I figured it would, and I found that filefish that I thought died as I have not seen it in maybe 6 months.

Here he is.

 

[Lowell Lemon]

Glad you are all okay and the "science" and politicians were wrong about the storm! ;Facepalm

 

[Paul B]

You never have to worry if they make a big deal about it and keep sending alarms to your phone.

They just want you to go nuts and have something to put on the news.

 

[Paul B]

I like this picture.

 

[Zarabyte]

Very impressive indeed I remember my first tank way back when I used to run it in 18 florescent tubes big thick ones but unfortanaly after 26 years the tank started leaking I still have it though but t is empty now. I will take a day or 2 and read through this entire thread. Well done very impressive I think I might still have actual photographs still of my tank way back in the day.

 

[atoll]

I like this picture.

I like it to

 

[Paul B]

I think I might still have actual photographs still of my tank way back in the day.

In this thread a few places I have pictures of this tank in 1971. It was in a 40 gallon glass then and it grew.

26 years for yours is impressive and one of the oldest tanks around. No one keeps a tank for a long time any longer. I don't know why.

 

[GeoSquid]

In this thread a few places I have pictures of this tank in 1971. It was in a 40 gallon glass then and it grew.

26 years for yours is impressive and one of the oldest tanks around. No one keeps a tank for a long time any longer. I don't know why.

I can tell you in my case, the years 2008-2016 were pretty rough professionally and financially. Had to move a lot to find work. Everything went to one year contracts instead of companies actually hiring people. If, maybe, someone else might have been in charge of our country/economy my tank would be close to 20 years old by now.

 

[Paul B]

When this hobby started it was so easy. No computers or cell phones so you did anything you wanted and if it worked, it worked,if it didn't, you bought another blue devil or domino which were about the only fish imported.

Of course I lived near the sea so I could always get baby flounder, eels, minnows, fiddler crabs, hermit crabs and everything else in the New York sea.



Those tanks were very interesting and when those creatures got big, I could bring them back to the sea and find something else.

















If one of your very expensive blue devils laid eggs like this male over his nest in that barnacle shell
, you yelled and screamed, but no one heard you because no one with in a hundred miles had a salt water tank and the stores would call you for advice. I did write a few articles in a Magazine (FAMMA) but it took a long time for your article to come out and by that time you got married, had kids and were planning retirement.



His eggs.


When these guys were imported it was like Wow as they, along with arrow crabs were the first crustaceans sold.



Then these two laid eggs and they hatched. There was no controlling me but again, no one to tell so I was a legend in my own mind. ;Meh

Then someone invented computers and it was all downhill from there. Thats when diseases started and all the different and sometimes ridiculous treatments.
Not as ridiculous as some of the stuff I used. ;Nailbiting
But there was nothing except Alka Seltzer and maybe Vaseline.



Eventually we got a little better at it and our tanks looked a little like the ocean.



Then we could open a beer and relax.

 

[Paul B]

I feel deeply saddened that 13 American Servicemen were killed in Afghanistan. It is really bothering me.

 

[Jekyl]

I feel deeply saddened that 13 American Servicemen were killed in Afghanistan. It is really bothering me.

Agreed. Regardless of political beliefs, it just shouldn't have happened.

 

[Paul B]

What a frightening walk I had this morning ;Nailbiting I got up in the middle of the night as I couldn't sleep. I can never sleep. So I went for a walk even though it was pitch black outside and the sun wouldn't rise for at least an hour.

I walked about half a mile and I heard this wild animal that I assumed was a bear. We normally don't have bears here on Long Island New York but there is a train that comes here.

The thing got closer and closer and now it was so close to me that even though it was to dark to see, I could smell penguins and peanut butter on his breath. I think it was Jiffy peanut butter.

All I had with me was my designer, aluminum walking stick with this sexy little strap on top and a rubber tip. I raised the stick hoping to scare the beast but the smell of the peanut butter just got stronger. Now I could hear it's stomach rumbling and I knew I was in trouble.

In the inky darkness it lunged for me and I could feel it's thick fur on my legs. (I also had sexy shorts on that my wife bought me last year)

I stabbed at him with my aluminum walking stick which just made it madder and faster.
My left hand was busy fighting the thing off with the stick while my right hand was trying to put the code in my cell phone so I could take a picture. I just changed the code last week and was having trouble with the last two digits. 7,8,,,,no,,6, 5,,,49?

I took a few pictures but they didn't come out in the dark melee.

I finally put the phone in my mouth so I could reach out with my right hand to try to poke him in the eye, but I missed and grabbed a hank of hair. I think it was his eyebrow. ;Blackeye

I yanked as hard as I could and my hand was full of fur. The creature screamed and seemed to rear up because I could feel him brush my head as I assumed he was falling. I then heard him crawling off into the forest, defeated and broken.

He never tussled with a bald, retired, electrician I guess and he never will again.

On my way back I had to walk through that same place. I expected to see a blood trail heading off into the trees but all I saw was this little squirrel with no tail.

The squirrel was eating a jar of peanut butter. Now don't think this squirrel had anything to do with my "bear" encounter because this squirrel was eating "Peter Pan" peanut butter and not "jiffy" which smells completely different.

If any of the pictures come out I could prove it.

 

[ying yang]

Ha ha funny story.love reading some your posts ^_^

Im rubbish with technolgy and we mortal enemies with each other ( tech usually wins) but i found this out last month.on my home screen which outlined in picture is phone icon so if need take picture /video fast then can just drag the icon up the screen and can take picture or video without entering your code for phone.
This would help you proved you thought a big fearsome bear instead of a namsy pansy squiggle ^_^
Just thought id share as may come in handy if get run over and as all your insides all over pavement you can get the car reg quicker ^_^

 

[Subsea]

When this hobby started it was so easy. No computers or cell phones so you did anything you wanted and if it worked, it worked,if it didn't, you bought another blue devil or domino which were about the only fish imported.

Of course I lived near the sea so I could always get baby flounder, eels, minnows, fiddler crabs, hermit crabs and everything else in the New York sea.



Those tanks were very interesting and when those creatures got big, I could bring them back to the sea and find something else.

















If one of your very expensive blue devils laid eggs like this male over his nest in that barnacle shell
, you yelled and screamed, but no one heard you because no one with in a hundred miles had a salt water tank and the stores would call you for advice. I did write a few articles in a Magazine (FAMMA) but it took a long time for your article to come out and by that time you got married, had kids and were planning retirement.



His eggs.


When these guys were imported it was like Wow as they, along with arrow crabs were the first crustaceans sold.



Then these two laid eggs and they hatched. There was no controlling me but again, no one to tell so I was a legend in my own mind. ;Meh

Then someone invented computers and it was all downhill from there. Thats when diseases started and all the different and sometimes ridiculous treatments.
Not as ridiculous as some of the stuff I used. ;Nailbiting
But there was nothing except Alka Seltzer and maybe Vaseline.



Eventually we got a little better at it and our tanks looked a little like the ocean.



Then we could open a beer and relax.

Paul,
I was already laughing from “legend in my mind” when I read the peanut butter episode. All this laughing hurts good.

Your ability to collect stuff adds so much more of a dimension to this hobby. Glad you are exercising your titanium knee on land.

 

[Paul B]

I took a video

 

[ying yang]

Excuse my ignorance paul but in video above are them creamish looking fluffy things gorgonians? If so are they all started from same colony / frag ? And i read copperbands need not so much flow as delicate fish bit looking yours then it seems in high flow,maybe we molly cuddle are fish to much and dont appreciate actually how hardy they really are and can handle more than we think im starting to think.
Tbh even though i done lots research my experience is very low and confusing times for me at moment as so many ways to get same result and doing things and so many recomendations that contradict each other,but sure as time goes by i will work it out myself and decide for myself whats right and what isnt.
Anyway i digress the gorgonians,theres some that shouldn't be taken out the water correct? Whats your take on this or am i thinking totally different coral pffft ?

 

[Subsea]

Excuse my ignorance paul but in video above are them creamish looking fluffy things gorgonians? If so are they all started from same colony / frag ? And i read copperbands need not so much flow as delicate fish bit looking yours then it seems in high flow,maybe we molly cuddle are fish to much and dont appreciate actually how hardy they really are and can handle more than we think im starting to think.
Tbh even though i done lots research my experience is very low and confusing times for me at moment as so many ways to get same result and doing things and so many recomendations that contradict each other,but sure as time goes by i will work it out myself and decide for myself whats right and what isnt.
Anyway i digress the gorgonians,theres some that shouldn't be taken out the water correct? Whats your take on this or am i thinking totally different coral pffft ?

Sponges are sensitive to air getting into internals.