Tank birthday, 47+ years

[Paul B]

NY_Caveman, that looks impressive. But remember the hobby started in 1971 when I started my tank. We knew nothing of bacteria, most test kits, medications or anything else except bell bottoms and Ringo Starr.
I didn't now pH, Po4, calcium, ORP, or mush else. It looks like I was trying to cure HLLE here. :D

 

[NY_Caveman]

NY_Caveman, that looks impressive. But remember the hobby started in 1971 when I started my tank. We knew nothing of bacteria, most test kits, medications or anything else except bell bottoms and Ringo Starr.
I didn't now pH, Po4, calcium, ORP, or mush else. It looks like I was trying to cure HLLE here. :D

LOL, I was born in 1970. We did have guppies back then. The town I grew up in was famous for typewriters (Smith Corona headquarters). You probably still have one in its case somewhere. :)

As you can probably guess, the town did not do so well as the rest of the world modernized and SCM resisted.

 

[Paul B]

LOL, I was born in 1970. We did have guppies back then. The town I grew up in was famous for typewriters (Smith Corona headquarters). You probably still have one in its case somewhere. :)

As you can probably guess, the town did not do so well as the rest of the world modernized and SCM resisted.

NY_Caveman, the socks I am wearing are older then you. And I am typing on a Smith Corona now. :cool:

 

[Hal3134]

Paul, have you ever had any trouble keeping snails alive with your high nitrates? I figure if you haven't had any issues then LA's warnings are overblown.

Also, I read and enjoyed your book. Thank you for writing it.

I think your next book should be titled "How to get Supermodels to clean your fish tank." With lots of pictures. I don't know how you would write it, but I guarantee it would be a bestseller.

 

[Hal3134]

doublepost

 

[Paul B]

I never had a problem with snails except if you want to kill them you have to run them over with a school bus filled with those Sumo wrestlers coming back from a hot dog eating contest.

Thanks for reading my book. I read it too and didn't understand most of it. :eek:

I am interviewing Supermodels for the book now. So far I only have Nancy Pelosi.

 

[Paul B]

Here is me speaking at that Veterans talk. The guy in the foreground, Phil Keith, wrote the book about Fire Support Base Illingworth. The battle I was in and why they asked me to speak.
He was in the Air Force and was shot down and had a bullet go right through his chest. He received a Silver Star for that and in my mind, a Hero.

 

[TheHarold]

@Paul B: I was wondering earlier, how does one start the journey to an" immune" reef? For example, in my experience fish such as tangs die quickly after initially contracting something such as ich or velvet. Is it based off whether one is "lucky" and the can get over it initially?

 

[Paul B]

Te Harold, it has nothing to do with luck. Keeping fish with the quarantine method is based largely on luck because those fish must be kept away from pathogens their entire life. Immune fish won't get sick so there are no problems. You should start by reading this thread I started on Immunity. https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/a-discussion-on-immunity.209701/

It will be more difficult to take a tank of quarantined fish and try to get them immune because as I said, those fish are weak and have no functioning immune system unlike fish in the sea which are all immune.

You should also never feed dry sterile foods like flakes or pellets no matter how "good quality" they are supposed to be. Fish need living bacteria to get and stay immune. Clams that you freeze yourself or live worms should be fed a few times a week. Commercial foods such as LRS foods can be fed every day with those "supplement" foods which are fed for the disease bacteria and possibly parasites which should be living happily in your tank as they are in the sea. Remember fish in the sea eat live parasites with every meal and they need those parasites to stay immune from them.

Tangs like any other fish get immune from everything and live 15 or 20 years. But they need to be fed the foods I mentioned and never quarantined. I feel quarantining is the one thing in this hobby that causes all the disease problems. We need to use parasites, bacteria, viruses and algae to help us just like they do in the sea and not try to eliminate them which will be a losing battle in the long run.
I doubt there are any old tanks on here or anywhere else where everything was quarantined for 72 days and all the fish never got sick, they are spawning and only dying of old age. Look for one and see how much luck you have. An old tank is not 5 or 10 years old.

 

[Paul B]

I am very happy to say that the Magic Juice that I kind of invented for my wife is still working much better than medication and has no side effects. With MS she used to have terrible pains all over mostly at night. Those pains come from inflammation and the juice which is mostly made from fresh beets and berries seems to have completely eliminated them. She still has all sorts of other issues such as electric shocks but maybe that has to do with her being married to an electrician.
I wish I could help with those but unfortunately I can't. I think we are going to try Gamma Knife or anti inflammatory shots in her spine which is dangerous but there doesn't seem to be a choice.
(My wife named it the Magic Juice, she drinks a shot 3 times a day)

To make this about fish, my favorite LFS got in a few Dragon faced pipefish and I will pick them up in a few days (if they are still alive) I love those guys

 

[Janci]

Congrats on the Magic Juice.
If it is made by an electrician, it must be good and effective.
MS is a terrible disease and I wish you both all the best.

 

[Paul B]

Thank you Janci.

 

[norfolkgarden]

I am very happy to say that the Magic Juice that I kind of invented for my wife is still working much better than medication and has no side effects. With MS she used to have terrible pains all over mostly at night. Those pains come from inflammation and the juice which is mostly made from fresh beets and berries seems to have completely eliminated them. She still has all sorts of other issues such as electric shocks but maybe that has to do with her being married to an electrician.
I wish I could help with those but unfortunately I can't. I think we are going to try Gamma Knife or anti inflammatory shots in her spine which is dangerous but there doesn't seem to be a choice.
(My wife named it the Magic Juice, she drinks a shot 3 times a day)

To make this about fish, my favorite LFS got in a few Dragon faced pipefish and I will pick them up in a few days (if they are still alive) I love those guys

That is fantastic Paul! Glad it is helping her! Would you mind posting a recipe? Sometimes it is amazing what simple healthy things can do so well.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving.

 

[Paul B]

We just got back from a 6 hour drive to Vermont for Thanksgiving so I will try to get to that very soon. We still have to un pack :D

 

[Victoria M]

Oh, so you were having a life! That where you have been! lol.

 

[Paul B]

Would you mind posting a recipe? Sometimes it is amazing what simple healthy things can do so well.

Norfolkgarden. The Magic juice is made out of about 4 big fresh beets. Like the size of apples. Blueberries, maybe a cup or two, mixed berries, the same amount (they can be frozen) Carrots, maybe 4 or 5 big ones.
Fresh Ginger, maybe a 5" piece or bigger, Horseraddish, about a tablespoon unless you like it more spicy. The liquidy part is unsweetened Tart Cherry juice. About 3 cups but it varies if the stuff is to thick. Sometimes I throw in an apple for taste and I normally add this stuff called Kifer which is a liquid yogurt but I don't think it is necessary.
The main ingredients are the beets and juice. Everything but the berries I put in a juicer. The berries disappear in the juicer so I put them in a blender.
You can add more stuff but all of these things reduce inflammation and thats what I am going for.

Thats it. She drinks about an ounce three times a day. More would be better but that amount seems to work to completely eliminate her pains.
I am sure it won't work for a broken leg, rotten tooth or the heartbreak of psoriasis. :rolleyes:

 

[Paul B]

Vermont was fun but cold. They have a huge fireplace there and unlimited wood. The only thing in the tiny town is a fair held in the school, I think everyone in the area from miles around goes there because it is the only thing that ever happens there. I don't think I could ever get used to living in such a small, rural town. They don't even have a restaurant.
This is the view from the window.



Today I finished my Christmas lights and installed a central vacuum cleaning system. We had one in our last house and my wife, who is a cleaning fanatic loves them so I installed one here. The thing is so powerful it will suck the ear wax from your head from across the street. :eek:

You get this 30' hose which is very light that reaches all over the house. The hose has electric in it so it also runs the brush over any carpets you have but you can also brush your teeth with it. :cool:
In this new condo I only needed one outlet in the center of the place and it reaches everywhere. :D

 

[Paul B]

On a fishy note, my male bluestripe pipefish will probably die. He has something that is very common in pipefish and seahorses. Sometimes when they get very pregnant, one or more of the babies die and gets infected killing the rest of the fry. They decompose and form gas pockets which eventually kills the fish. It's a mechanical thing with these fish because males were never designed to give birth and they can't expel the dead fish.

If I could catch him I would do a C Section, or in a pipefish a P Section and clean out the pouch. But unfortunate, he is not a fish that is catchable. I have performed that operation a few times on seahorses when their insurance paid for it and never lost a patient. It's a shame as these two are really into each other. She had a brief fling with the Janss pipefish but I think that is over.

 

[NY_Caveman]

On a fishy note, my male bluestripe pipefish will probably die. He has something that is very common in pipefish and seahorses. Sometimes when they get very pregnant, one or more of the babies die and gets infected killing the rest of the fry. They decompose and form gas pockets which eventually kills the fish. It's a mechanical thing with these fish because males were never designed to give birth and they can't expel the dead fish.

If I could catch him I would do a C Section, or in a pipefish a P Section and clean out the pouch. But unfortunate, he is not a fish that is catchable. I have performed that operation a few times on seahorses when their insurance paid for it and never lost a patient. It's a shame as these two are really into each other. She had a brief fling with the Janss pipefish but I think that is over.

Sad but also interesting.

 

[Janci]

On a fishy note, my male bluestripe pipefish will probably die. He has something that is very common in pipefish and seahorses. Sometimes when they get very pregnant, one or more of the babies die and gets infected killing the rest of the fry. They decompose and form gas pockets which eventually kills the fish. It's a mechanical thing with these fish because males were never designed to give birth and they can't expel the dead fish.

If I could catch him I would do a C Section, or in a pipefish a P Section and clean out the pouch. But unfortunate, he is not a fish that is catchable. I have performed that operation a few times on seahorses when their insurance paid for it and never lost a patient. It's a shame as these two are really into each other. She had a brief fling with the Janss pipefish but I think that is over.

That is interesting and disturbing as well.
I hope somehow it turns out well for he male and he makes it.