LOL! Laugh all ya want but I was getting a bit frantic as this, including shipping, was like a $75.00 fish.

Thinking expensive fish I have a bucket list fish that will never happen. I would absolutely LOVE to have a leopard shark! Unusual fish as it seems that it will restrict its growth to ~6 inches per 50 gallons of water. It is also one of the very few if not the only shark that can 'breathe' without movement. Most sharks have to move to put water through their gills but not a leopard shark as they can breathe while stationary. Absolutely beautiful critter but way too aggressive. You just can't have anything else in the tank that is not food. Before I left Ohio I knew a doctor that had one in a 400 gallon tank. At the time the beastie was between 1 and 1.5 feet in length; possibly larger. He even tried putting in groupers that were MUCH larger than the shark. The groupers didn't make it.

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I was laughing at the fish's ability to hide from you! I can imagine the worry about not finding him and looking everywhere inside and outside of the tak, too.

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stephen boots
Microsoft MVP 2004 - 2020
"Life's always an adventure with computers!"

Oh, I know that you were not laughing at the situation. I was just picking back.

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At least he's back.

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Joan Archer
http://crossstitcher.webs.com

Been playing with a head shot photo of Clyde, rope fish. The first is the original, the secone mirrored and the third is spherical. I REALLY like the third!



The two headed beastie.



Its true! Fish CAN live in a marble!

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Just saw the following on the fish forums I use. I am SO jealous! The following is a painting! The only way that I could paint a fish would be to take it out of the water and run a paint roller over the thing.

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That is amazing! Some people are so artistically talented -- I'm not one of them.

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stephen boots
Microsoft MVP 2004 - 2020
"Life's always an adventure with computers!"

Me either! The only time I can draw a circle is if I'm trying to make a straight line.

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Sigh, I can't even blame Petco for this one. I killed my Panda Garras through being careless. I was doing a water change and am sure that I forgot to condition some of the new water to remove chlorine. Next day all 4 of the Pandas were dead. My rope fish and cichlids made it but they are much less sensitive to chlorine than the Pandas. Chlorine could still kill the other fish but would take a larger concentration. I'll replace the Pandas but it may take a while as my local source is out of stock and, even if I found another source, I would never have live fish shipped in the winter.

I'm also considering getting another small tank, mayhaps 5-10 gallon, to raise sustainable live food for my cichlids and rope. The live food would be tiny little critters called Freshwater Scuds. They breed like crazy and cost almost nothing to feed as they are totally happy with veggie type table scraps. I think they are also sort of cute. Following is an image of the little beasties and a link as to how to handle.

Video link:
https://dansfish.com/product.detail/396/Freshwater-Scud-Starter-Culture-(Amphipods)

Here is an image of the little beasties. I think they are sort of cute.

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Aw -- that's unfortunate.

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stephen boots
Microsoft MVP 2004 - 2020
"Life's always an adventure with computers!"

So sorry to hear this Jay, I know how proud you were of them. Those new ones do look cute, how many would you have to have in your tank?

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Joan Archer
http://crossstitcher.webs.com

Things happen. I'll replace the Pandas when available.

As to the 'new' scuds as many as I happen to scoop would go in my tank. Most would be in a different small tank. These would be food for my other stuff.

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Good luck with that, at least you'd have some cheap food to start you off.

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Joan Archer
http://crossstitcher.webs.com

From what I've researched they are easy to breed. Actually they are garbage disposals eating just about any veggie table scraps.

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Looks like I'll be replacing my Pandas sooner than expected. My local source, Dan's Fish, just got in 36 of the beasties and I have ordered four. I asked for my picking up next Monday or Tuesday and they responded that they were VERY busy next week and if Thursday would be OK. I told them that I was in no hurry and if it would be better for them I could pick up the following week. I haven't gotten a response on that yet so don't know exactly when I'll get but it will still be a lot sooner than I expected so I'm a happy camper.

I expect that it will be next Thursday as I'd be surprised if they took my offer for the following week but, if they do, that is totally fine. I have a really good association with this outfit and want to keep it that way hence my offer to put back a week.

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Very good!

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stephen boots
Microsoft MVP 2004 - 2020
"Life's always an adventure with computers!"

I could have started a new thread on this but the aquatics is my thing so should keep it all together...

I hope that Ohio throws the book at this idiot woman! She has sold through eBay and such an invasive type of crayfish to like 36 states. These things are asexual and all are 'female' with a male never having been found. One of these things can lay up to 700 eggs that will develop as clones. The eggs will even survive being flushed down a toilet and going through a water plant. Do a water change or gravel vacuum on the tank and you are sucking up eggs that will survive being put down a drain.

This is just totally irresponsible!
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/may/12/ohio-woman-marbled-crayfish-invasive-species

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Got my new Pandas today instead of the expected tomorrow. They are so little. Didn't realize how much the others had grown.

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How many did you get Jay? Let's hope these last for you.

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Joan Archer
http://crossstitcher.webs.com

Four

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Just ordered a wall shelf for my tank. Think if I use large butterfly wall anchors the drywall should hold up to 20 gallons of weight plus the actual tank weight, gravel and stuff... Just kidding but I DID order shelving for the tank.

The shelving is for safety more than anything. I use dual air pumps for my under gravel filtration and right now the only place I have to put the pumps is equal with the bottom of the tank. If there were to be a power failure that my tank's battery backup could not cover it is possible for a siphon effect to occur that could put a LOT of water on the floor. With the shelving I will be able to put the air pumps above the water level of the tank removing any possible siphon effect. I could just use valves on the air lines that would not allow back flow but my understanding is that they also restrict air flow. Regardless, I would rather have the air pumps above the water level.

Here is what I ordered. Actually a key holder/shelf combo. Had to order 2 as just 1 was just a little short on width to hold both air pumps. May look like an odd choice but is perfect for this usage. A lot of the bottom section will be below the bottom of the tank's hood still leaving the pumps above the max water level to avoid any siphoning. This will make it seamless as there will be no white wall between the shelf and tank top. The 'knobs' for hanging keys is also perfect as I can use them to make loops in the power cords and air lines preventing any water on the surface of the lines due to condensation or leeching following the lines back to the pumps or electrical outlet.

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Glad you were kidding about the tank on the shelf with wall anchors.
Looks good for the pump plan...

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stephen boots
Microsoft MVP 2004 - 2020
"Life's always an adventure with computers!"

As is obvious from another thread I detest the bi-annual time changes. What a lot of people don't realize is the impact on their pets. Animals have built in clocks as to wake/sleep and feeding times. When there is a time change it throws off the animal's built in clock unless their human realizes this and changes feeding over a little time. As to myself I adjust the feeding and sleep times over a week. For instance I normally feed my fish at ~6:00 PM. Today I fed at 6:50. Tomorrow it will be 6:40 and so on.

The above is more noticeable when clocks are set back than forward as no critter minds being fed early as would normally happen when clocks are set forward. However they DO mind being fed late. The black lab I had in Florida taught me this. It was a fall back time change and I went to feed him and he went nuts jumping all over me. This was not normal behavior as he would normally just sit and wait while I filled his dish. For a while before I fed him he sat by me with a forlorn look on his face. It took a while but it finally dawned on me that according to his internal clock I was an hour late in feeding. Boils down to the fact that animals know nothing about time changes. They only know their internal clock. As responsible animal keepers we have the responsibility to know this and gradually change such things as feeding times when there is a time change.

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Jay, you are so correct. As you know, I feed and photograph a lot of animals and critters nightly. For the deer, I try to feed them about 2 hours before sunset regardless of clock time. Then they can come eat when they are ready. As for the raccoons and foxes, I normally put their food out about 2 hours after dark. I feed the squirrels their peanuts throughout the day.

As for my dog, she comes and tells me when she is ready for supper. Plus she gets a few treats throughout the day, regardless of clock time.

EDIT: Plus I keep several bird feeders filled with seed, so the birds can eat when they want. And I normally have different bird species during the summer than I do in the winter.

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BB
http://barrypatch.net

Good for you on your animal treatment. Just a thought but, if you buy meat in bulk and freeze, Never turn down the suit. Melt it down and mix with seed and let solidify. During winter months your birds will love you, Just hang it from a branch.

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