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Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more; | 13 comments (13 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)

More food for thought, There has been (none / 0) (#6)
by unclescott on Thu Feb 09, 2006 at 02:18:57 PM PST

a thread on the ALA (American Livebearer Association) mailing list today on what goes into a fishroom. For many of us on GL, attempting that (at the moment) might be grounds for domestic mayhem.

But there are some neat ideas being batted around. Some could be scaled to the activities of someone with one or two aquariums. If you go to http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AmericanLivebearer/messages/791?viscount=-30
and look at Mike Hellweg's post for about 2:46 this afternoon, what he does to prepare his water may be instructive.

I'm sure many GL people think I am anal retentive when it comes to seasoning water. However look at what one of St. Louis's most active aquarists (and ALA-VP) does with his water. Notice how little he worries about pH or altering that water. (Of course they have tap water I would kill for.) Notice what he sees happening when he takes the time to monkey with the water's chemistry. (There will be a quiz later.)

The way he changes water, you'd think he has been hanging around Charles. ;)

All the best!
unc

[ Parent ]

Re: More food for thought, There has been (none / 0) (#7)
by budgie on Thu Feb 09, 2006 at 05:44:05 PM PST

Scott; I stood in Pets Unlimited the other day making a decision. There was the cutest puppy, sitting pretty, staring at me with big old baneful eyes and she was on sale for $699 plus tax = $803 plus you have to have a dog carrier or they won't let you take it home (another $100).

A lot of money but the pup was cute and I had almost decided yes when the puppy squatted and completely brought me back to reality.

I walked over and priced the fish tanks as I don't ever remember having to clean fish S*** off the carpet.

:-\

However; I didn't expect to run into such a advanced and required pool of knowledge on the care of my new pets.

In hindsight I'm grateful because guppies , which used to be, - males , 12 for a dollar and the females were usually given to me for free - but not anymore.

Tonight I paid $5.98 for one male (good color but only a medium sized tail) and $4.98 each for two females and the kid threw in a ½ babies for free. (Giggle).

All I'm saying is fish , even guppies are now expensive and an investment to protect. Some species though are even cheaper then they were in the 70's.

I was amazed to see females with color and pretty good color also. That was not the case in the 70's I never saw a colored female guppy (black tail excepted).

I purchased as starters, the guppies, one pregnant redtail sword, one blue fin molly also pregnant, one Red tail Shark, whose making a complete liar out of me, by hiding under a rock. One Sucker mouth catfish, name known, but unspellable with this spell checker.

I wanted 10 tetras, which looked fat, healthy, real colorful and on sale 10 for $18.00 but when I asked him to dig me out 10. The kid said that the fish in the tank, with the sign were NOT the fish on sale, as he'd just put them in there, as he didn't have any place to put them.

I was thinking of telling him where he could put them but deferred to my better nature.

I then asked him if he had any isolation tanks for the babies but he didn't understand what I meant so I got him to show me where the cheapest plastic goldfish tanks were kept , which he did.
There was a size to price guide there, ranging from $6.98 to $32.00. I picked out 2 of the smallest and he said they were $6.98 . .no $10.98 . . .no $15.98 . . . at which point I just stared at him, turned my back and fled with my fish and my obviously open and about to be pillaged wallet.

Total cost, starter colony $51.00

Total investment now around $550.00

By the way, plants at this store were 4 for $30 putting the lie to the other stores sale but this store had dead visible fish in 1/3 of their tanks and ich visible, in as many more. I fear for these poor ones I have purchased even though I based my purchase decisions on the state of the visible health of the tank's occupants.

Old rule; if there is one sick or dead fish in a tank, don't buy any of em. Period.

I let my new pets climatise for a couple of hours then scooped the fish out of the bags into the tank, making sure to carry over none, or as little as possible, of the store's water.

Speaking of which.

I guess I have to learn about water. We're on city supplied water and probably do have a report available someplace.

I noticed the test kits available but never thought I'd need one. Oh well.

Not too sure about a local show for tropical fish, perhaps there is one but when your not in a hobby, you don't pay no never mind to it's goings on. I can get any books on anything locally from our local library however I expect to be able to acquire them on line as well by asking around.

Pictures coming

Budgie
So many hobbies, so little time.
[ Parent ]

I've had fish poop on the carpet. Boy did that (none / 1) (#8)
by unclescott on Fri Feb 10, 2006 at 01:00:30 AM PST

bucket flip! ;)

Also left a male golden lyretail in a small bowl where I'm afraid our thirsty dog - who follows me around waiting for the errant flake which falls to the floor - drank him. :(

Look at www.aquabid.com if you want to talk about expensive guppies. Yours do sound, price wise, similar to some Angelhologram reported upon recently. I think we paid $5 at our favorite shop for a real pretty pair of gold bodied, red delta-tails in '73. (Actually a wedding present of sorts.) Your fish did of when inflation and the cost of living is figured in.

"I was amazed to see females with color and pretty good color also. That was not the case in the 70's I never saw a colored female guppy (black tail excepted)."

I do think they are even more impressive today. However I also recall some awesome long finned, light blue finned females from the '70s.

For some neat images, go to the IFGA site http://www.ifga.org/
and look at their show photos. Also go to their store and look at what some of their members have for sale. Once you start jumping from link to link, you are off to the races.

"... one Red tail Shark, whose making a complete liar out of me..."

Time will tell. :)

"One Sucker mouth catfish, name known, but unspellable with this spell checker."

Hypostomus plecostomus? They can be museums of diseases, so watch him. If that is what that is, they also theoretically can grow to well over a foot long. (Popular in soups in the Amazon Basin.) They are fond of cooked peas, blanched zucchini, cucumber, algae tablets...

"I wanted 10 tetras../ The kid said that the fish in the tank, with the sign were NOT the fish on sale..."

Give him the benefit of the doubt. Maybe that shop actually quarantines new fish.

"I then asked him if he had any isolation tanks for the babies but he didn't understand ..."

Yeah, it scalds my mind what any kind of bowl costs today! Wait for the spring garage sales.

"Total investment now around $550.00"

Cha-ching!

"Old rule; if there is one sick or dead fish in a tank, don't buy any of em. Period."

Second old rule, if they move nets between tanks, run like heck out the door.

"I let my new pets climatise for a couple of hours then scooped the fish out of the bags into the tank, making sure to carry over none, or as little as possible, of the store's water."

Bless you!

"I guess I have to learn about water."

'fraid so.

"I noticed the test kits available but never thought I'd need one."

I am a real hypocrite on this one because I do few tests. I start new tanks from old ones, importing waterm gravel, plants etc and stock low in the new ones. In that I'm importing the nitrogen cycle, I don't do that appropriate testing. If I was starting out and had the mollah, I'd like to think that a test kit for ammonia/nitrites/nitrates would be included.

"Not too sure about a local show for tropical fish"

Google Ontario Guppy club, Ontario Aquarium Societies , Ontario Guppies...

Doug White lives a ways down the road from you. Great site. Check his Gallery. After you have your drolling under control, check his Links.

http://www.deltaguppies.com/

"Pictures coming"

Great!
u.s.

[ Parent ]

Re: I've had fish poop on the carpet. Boy did that (none / 0) (#9)
by budgie on Sat Feb 11, 2006 at 08:13:31 AM PST

Google Ontario Guppy club, Ontario Aquarium Societies , Ontario Guppies

<---1253 miles away Scott. I'm in Halifax, 600 miles or so from Boston which is a much better city to shop in.

Mind you my sister and a daughter and a son are in the Toronto area and I do need to go up there probably this summer to pay them a visit.

----------------------

I identified my male as probably a poor cousin to the "Texas" strain.

----------------------

Lost my female red tail sword - sigh! She could not take the shock of being squished against the tank side in the store.

----------------------

I see Guppylog doesn't ship to Can. Sigh! Probably wouldn't get pass the border anyway or if so, they'd want to put them in quarrentine for a month or so :-/

----------------------

Thanks for the guppy photo sites btw - loved them

----------------------

I see either I never did post my commment to Alicia? or it was purged. In reflection I was commenting on males breeding display and this site may run a wide guantlet of age ranges and I must remember to moderate my reflections to suit.

(I have 5 children (adults now) and 14 grandkids so I have no difficultly with the concept of protecting small fry from preditors.)

----------------------

Enough for now off to the store to return one demised fishy before the storm hits.

Budgie

So many hobbies, so little time.
[ Parent ]

Halafax! Wow! (none / 0) (#10)
by unclescott on Sat Feb 11, 2006 at 10:34:49 AM PST

You had mentioned the Great Lakes and Toledo. I mistakenly guessed you were still somewhat in the neighborhood.

I fear your observation about shipping to Canada is correct. It is hard. The only time I shipped fish to a Canadian gentleman, they arrived weeks later and dead. Some Canadian aquarists will go across the border and maintain a postbox in a post office. Americans on the border will drive across and mail their fish in Canada.

It is easier going to Canada than going to the U.S. with fish these days, if one has more than a pair or two of guppies or whatever. A number of Americans who belonged to one of the two Montreal Aquarium Societies have let their memberships slide because of the avarice of U.S. Fish and Wildlife. (They’d like to charge for an import license ($100) and an inspection fee at a port of entry ($50). If people are up front and only have a pair or two, they may be recognized as small time hobbyists and waved through.

Even Montreal is a very long haul for you. There is a Montreal Aquarium Society which seems especially strong in killies and livebearers. (That according to a correspondent on the ALA livebearers mailing list.)
http://www.geocities.com/RainForest/Canopy/6977/

There is also the Quebec group: Association Regionale des Aquariophiles de Quebec
http://www.oricom.ca/pierdes/

And the Soc. D'Aquariophilie de Montreal, which is long on cichlids. 2450 Workman, Montreal, QUE, Canada H3J 1L8

There is also a form to be filled out for fish entering the US. It is available in PDF at F&WL’s website. I do not think Canada has similar requirements.

Having mentioned all of the bother taking fish over the border, it probably isn’t worth your bother investigating the big NE Council show coming up. I include the April 7-9 event for the benefit of lurkers. http://northeastcouncil.org/

In the Toronto area your have:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/tasociety/
Toronto A.S.

There is also a Toronto Extreme Fishlovers’ list. Certainly not trying to get rid of you, but if you also check with them you might be able to make requests and cut a deal.
http://www.extremehub.com/phpbb/index.php?pf=27&h=1&start=0

Doug White, the guppy guy also lives in “the greater Toronto area.”
http://www.deltaguppies.com/index.html

I hope the shop has some sort of return policy on fish. I know that is tricky, because sometimes shops make blunders. However, after listening to war stories from a friend who had a shop, a lot of aquarists get in their licks too.

Resubmit that response you didn’t see. It is easy to save it to preview and then forget to submit a comment. Sometimes, as you know, things just disappear while typing on-line.

I’m typing this in Word and saving before every third phone call. That preserves what is being typed a little more. In my case it spots some of the many typos and miss-spellings I generate too.

The only problem with cutting from Word and pasting into Guppylog (unless I remember to save first to text only) is that a lot of punctuation shows up as goofy code, which then needs to be corrected.

I am grateful for that delete button under a story or comment. I will highlight and save, then delete (hitting the initial request and the do you really want to delete? button). Pasting in gives one a fresh start.

Watch out though if others have made comments after you. If you then delete your comment, you delete what ever came after you as well. Then I have to live with my blunders. ;)

Ah! Enough administrivia! I hope you beat that storm to the shop and got a new female swordtail.

All the best!
unc

[ Parent ]

Re: Halafax! Wow! (none / 0) (#11)
by miskairal on Mon Feb 13, 2006 at 12:09:08 AM PST

" It is easy to save it to preview and then forget to submit a comment." - Oh how true unc. Done it several times and it's always when you've written the most, never on a short comment.

Unc, it looks like you have competition in the "Who has written the longest post" here at GL, although some of PeterW's were biggies :)

Hi budgie - you're not native to Oz by any chance?
What Americans call parrakeets (?sp) we call budgerigahs or budgies. The native version is a tiny green bird with yellow and black, not like the bigger ones found as pets and that now come in many different colours. I think they are only found in central parts of Oz, not near the coast anyway.

Cheerio
miskairal
--
Repeat after me,
I will read the Immediate Help
[ Parent ]

"It is easy to save it to preview (none / 0) (#12)
by unclescott on Wed Feb 15, 2006 at 10:47:55 AM PST

and then forget to submit a comment."

By the bye, if you catch that, you can often back-arrow to where you left that comment/ diary/ log and resurrect it. So long as that frame, or window or whatever it is called, is not closed, one can redeem their comments.

Sometimes there was too long a title or introduction. The red ink will tell you. A little adjusting and it will save.

Elsewhere, I just posted a diary (as opposed to a dairy) and went to the GL everything page to see if it was recorded. Sure enough, the comment was NOT in evidence. So it was "green arrow time" back to the preview (frequent previewing also helps insure that something will still be there) and a click on the post button.

Previews are also easier to save to Word, so the spelling can be checked and grammatical atrocities (first spelled gramatical atrocies) hunted down. Comments are easier then to save to file then too.

The last hour or so just became more worthwhile. ;)

All the best!
uncle-gee-I'm-glad-I-double-checked-for-a-change

[ Parent ]

Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more; | 13 comments (13 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)

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