Tank birthday, 47+ years

[Paul B]

How did it go?

We won't know for about 6 weeks.

 

[Paul B]

I think I am going to change some water today. I haven't changed it in some months to eliminate a massive algae growth but it is almost gone now so I think it's time.

I wrote to the EPA today because as I was trying to collect amphipods I have been noticing that there is absolutely no life under the rocks at low tide and there should be an abundance of life.

Nothing, no worms, snails, crabs amphipods, Godzilla Larvae. Nothing. And last week I found a dead sea lion.

 

[MikeyZo]

I see Predator blood on the rock though… Did you kill one for sport while you were out there? Maybe took out your frustrations on one?

 

[Paul B]

Yes I did, but I didn't spill his blood, I got him in a "Rickey Nelson" and chocked him.
(Google Him)

 

[MikeyZo]

Yes I did, but I didn't spill his blood, I got him in a "Rickey Nelson" and chocked him.
(Google Him)

Good for you!!

 

[Paul B]

I just changed some water because I haven't done it in some months and fron eliminating algae I was waiting for all ther nutrients to ebb.

I checked the salinity in my tank to match what I was changing and noticed that my salinity was so low that I could have kept kissing gouramies, Koi and bullfrogs.

I have been busy with my wife and didn't take the time to check the water.

 

[Paul B]

6:00 this morning on the beach I made an amazing discovery that will change history.

As I walked looking for sea lions or horseshoe crabs in distress something rusty caught my eye.

It was an oarlock most definitely from one of Columbus lifeboats. I realize history tells us that Columbus never made it to Long Island New York but this proves that there was a glitch in his GPS and he landed here behind my house.

This is Earthshattering news.

 

[Paul B]

These beach walks early in the morning are my life. I go there just about every day in the summer and can look 5 miles east and west and almost never see another Human. Not that I have anything against Humans, but I worked in Manhattan most of my life and now I like the peace and solitude.

It gives me time to think and reflect on my past life and ponder the future.

I check out the horseshoe crabs and wonder what they are thinking, especially when they are up side down and have hungry seagulls checking them out. Sometimes I see deer and wonder how they climb the sheer cliff of loose sand when even beetles roll over backwards.

I see birds there that I don't see other places, sometimes tiny bright yellow birds but more often cormorants who dive down in the sea and emerge with a fish.



This morning on the wooden walkway to the beach steps there was a huge Osprey, or sea eagle eating a fairly large fish. I'm not sure if it had ich but I know if it was in some aquarist tanks, they would douse it with Prizapro.

 

[JumboShrimp]

Wow, that last photo looks a LOT like the beach where I grew up, in Wading River, NY. (?)

 

[MikeyZo]

And you caught proof of life after death in that picture! Man Paul, you’re walks are full of oddities and discoveries!

 

[Paul B]

Wow, that last photo looks a LOT like the beach where I grew up, in Wading River, NY. (?)

I am right next to Wading River in Baiting Hollow. It's the same beach.

 

[JumboShrimp]

Yes! My wedding reception was at the Baiting Hollow Country Club. This is the house where I grew up... we owned property that extended to the beach-- every 10 years they would recalculate the High Tide Line, and that's where our property would end for the next decade. Lol. Such memories. Even as a young teenager I could sleep in a sleeping bag directly on the beach and my parents knew I was safe-- you could go 3 weeks and never see another soul.

 

[Iremember]

40 years. I can't believe it. I'm out of the hobby now, after falling into a tank. Early days back in the 60's I had friends that ran the Marine Tropical Imports. Even went collecting with them in the Keys. Still I remember visiting fish stores but seemed like their display aquariums always crashed within 2 years. Did have a friend that had some fish spawning in his tanks but I was more interested in keeping fresh water fish to the point of sending packages of fry across the country and only temporary kept anything marine, well there was an octopus that I enjoyed as well as a banded cat shark. In the near past I found it was possible to keep a 2 gallon reef and I did play with corals, shrimp and anemones Through the years I have seen many changes but I still never thought any one could keep a tank going for 40 years and that includes public aquariums.

 

[tbrown]

40 years. I can't believe it. I'm out of the hobby now, after falling into a tank. Early days back in the 60's I had friends that ran the Marine Tropical Imports. Even went collecting with them in the Keys. Still I remember visiting fish stores but seemed like their display aquariums always crashed within 2 years. Did have a friend that had some fish spawning in his tanks but I was more interested in keeping fresh water fish to the point of sending packages of fry across the country and only temporary kept anything marine, well there was an octopus that I enjoyed as well as a banded cat shark. In the near past I found it was possible to keep a 2 gallon reef and I did play with corals, shrimp and anemones Through the years I have seen many changes but I still never thought any one could keep a tank going for 40 years and that includes public aquariums.

Except 40 years was almost 15 years ago. He's closer to 55 now I believe.

 

[Paul B]

I can't do the math, but I started my tank in March 1971.

JumboShrimp, why would you leave such a place?

I want to give away my Watchman Gobi. He has gotten a little larger than I like in my tank and I think he ate all my yellow clown gobies as I am missing about 5 of them. I still have blue ones, black ones, green ones and a gray one but the yellows, which were smaller, are gone and he smiles a lot.
He's a lot younger here and now is brown.



There is no way I could catch him with a net so I will have to use a hook and fish for him.

 

[MikeyZo]

 

[Paul B]

2 days ago, about 8:30 in the evening I was ready to jump into the shower. OK, I don't jump any more, but I was just getting into the thing.
Our doorbell rings so I yell to my wife to get it. She yells that she is also ready to get into her bath.

I yell, "I WILL BE RIGHT THERE" and quickly put on a bathing suit because very few people want to see me naked.

I looked out the window in the door and see a tuft of blond hair and I didn't recognize the person. Normally, at that time the only people who would ring my bell is a friend who sometimes brings me fresh fish he just caught, or my neighbor next door who bakes a lot and often brings us some cake or pie.

It wasn't either of them, so I opened the door and saw a woman about 55 years old who I didn't recognize, and I assumed she wanted me to sign a petition for something that I was probably against. That wasn't the case.

She said she saw me on the news from last year about my Vietnam story of a little girl who wrote me a Christmas card while I was in Nam.
She lives behind me here in the same development and she asked people playing pickleball if anyone knew me and where I lived.

I said: Can I help you? She wasn't holding a cup, so I figured she didn't want to borrow a cup of sugar, and she wasn't a Supermodel asking directions, so I had no idea who she was. She proceeded to explain to me that she was writing a fiction book about some guy who went to Vietnam to find his girlfriend or something like that. I wasn't paying too much attention as I wanted to take a shower.

My wife yelled "COME IN". which she did. She said she took a creative writing course, and although she knows nothing about the Vietnam War, she wanted to write this story about it and needed some input from someone who was there. She also said she ordered my Vietnam book.

She asked me many questions about the war and I lent her a book about a severe battle I was in but explained to her that it had a lot of military jargon in it and even I didn't understand much of it but she wanted to read it anyway. My book is much simpler because I am a simple guy.

She stayed about 45 minutes, and I hope to read her book if she finishes it.

 

[Lowell Lemon]

I heard a rumor she thought you were a swimsuit model...just a rumor I am sure

 

[Paul B]

I heard a rumor she thought you were a swimsuit model...just a rumor I am sure

No, It's true.

 

[Paul B]

These guys are always having babies. I'm surprised the oceans aren't filled with them.