You're in at $10
Last Thursday Terry said "So, what are you doing on Saturday"? I replied "Nothing - but at least sleeping past 5 am - Why?".
Wanna go to a Fish Auction? What?? Seriously??
Yep...a Fish Auction...hosted by the Eastern Iowa Aquarium Assocation. I said "What do they auction?". He said he had no idea, but "viewing" is a 9 am and the auction starts at 10 am. Wanna Go?
I said "Sure"..."Why not". So we invited our Fish partner in crime, Kath, and proceeded to make plans for the day. I visited the EIAA website for more info ( http://www.finflap.com/ )and found the "rules" of the auction, and if you were interested in purchasing live fish, you would need to bring a cooler. A Cooler? What are they...on ice??
So Saturday morning, we got ready, picked out a cooler to take along ( the playmate which holds a 12 pk) and I said - "are we taking the car or the truck"? "Well, the truck of course", (which was the reply)...just in case we find a tank". OMG OH NO.
So we loaded up the truck and moved to Beverly...Fish Hills that is...(just kidding).
First on the day's agenda though was every hungry man's dream: Breakfast at Riley's on Centerpoint Rd. Pretty good home cooked food and lots of it. Who knew what we for in for so we needed a nutritious filling breakfast. Met up with our fish addiction enabler (Hi Kath!) and once we were done with breakfast - set off to find the church the auction was hosted in. Can't be that bad since a church was hosting right?
Got to the church about 9:15 where we found nine tables of various items of fish aquarium paraphernalia. There were heaters, floating logs, air hose, filter floss for DIY filters and yes...live fish double bagged so there would be no "leakage" during the day.
So the procedure was to look around a write down on a tablet the number of the item(s) you were interested in. That way, when they came up during the auction, you knew which items to bid on. So I drew a line on my 8x10 piece of paper and it quickly filled up with both Kath's numbers and Terry's numbers. So about 30 minutes into the viewing Terry said..."How bout I go out and get you the notepad that's in my truck? That way you have more paper to write on." Good thinking big guy!
You can see where this is headed right?
Buy the way, you should probably know that auctions are really Terry's thing. He LOVES them. So once the viewing was concluding, Terry got in line to get a number. Surrendered his drivers license for "security" purposes and brought me a lovely yellow paddle with luck number 136 on it.
I should mention that people are still bringing in items when the auction finally starts about 10:30. Periodically Terry gets up and finds another number to add to the list. Kath had to run to a meeting but gave me strict instructions not to go more than $2 per fish on the bags that she wanted...and no more than $30 total. She said I'll text you when I'm done with my meeting to see what you've got.
By 11:30 they had only finished one table. I should also point out that Terry loves to help the auctioneer get things started by early bidding. One of our first purchases ends up being a box of "stuff" he got for $2. (He usually gets a couple of these during the day). Would you believe the next one had drift wood in it and after I signed for it, the guy who brought it came up and told him - that it would probably take a while to water log it because it was in a reptile tank. So geez...another but load of driftwood that won't sink. It's now posted on craigslist for sale. LOL.
So the auction is underway and up comes a new top for a 55 gallon tank (which we just happen to need). OMG I want that - but wait - It's not on the list! Terry starts to bid at $5 and get's out at $13 so I look over and he's in line to get a friggin hot dog! So I jump into the bidding and get that sucker for mere $18. He comes back and says "Did you buy that?" I sure did. It's the steal of the day.
Pretty soon, some of our numbers finally start to come up and Terry starts bidding and jumps out as the bid goes above what he's willing to pay. This is soooo exciting! So I start bidding on stuff - and the auctioneer says "do you two communicate"? cuz your bidding against each other. Of course the room errupts into laughter and its just a fun atmosphere. So I had to start paying attention to when Terry was bidding and keep the paddle down. It's not fair cuz he was just bobbing his head up and down. Must be some kind of silent "guy" language at auctions.
So the live fish come in every so often and the hotest item of the day seemed to be these beautiful baby angel fish - about the size of a nickel. I so wanted some of those - but Terry made we quit at $8. He said "We really have no place for angel fish because they need a tall tank".
I said, "That's ok. There's a tall hex tank in the back - at least 30 gallons and I wrote the number down so I can bid on it." HAH! By this time, Kath returned and it became a lot of fun watching her try to bid on fish. She has a beautiful tank of African Chiclids all different types and colors.
Apparently Chiclids are the hottest fish in this area - so the few tropicals that came up were bid on furiously. But as I said, auctions are Terry's thing and six bags of fish later (that's 18 total fish) we were going to add Neon Green, Blue pearl and Pineapple swordtails to our community tank. At the end of the day, he bid on a got a bag of Angel fish (5 total). They are so cool - orange, black and silver. So the plan was to bid on the hex tank - yep another tank.
OMG - Matt was right - we ARE becoming fish hoarders.
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Tales from the Tank #13
Games on Facebook are Educational
I know, you're asking "what on earth is educational about games on facebook?".
When I first started a facebook page, I got involved with a little game called "ZOO". You build your zoo by completeing different levels from the number of bee's in an exhibit to how many animals you adopt, and how many "zoo friends" sick animals you help and or heal.
So how does this intertwine with Tales from the Tank? This past week, we found the black Dalmatian Mollie swimming vertically in the 40 gallon tank. He little side fins were moving opposite each other and his poor little top fin was down and his back tail was sort of curled up. He just wasn't able to propel himself around the tank. We decided he must be sick. He doesn't look like he has "ick"....so the detective work begins.
That night we began to "investigate" what could be wrong. Ya gotta love the Internet. Tropical fish can suffer from all sorts of disease - just like people. From tail rot and fin rot to anchor worm and yes...constipation. You can also take your fish to the vet and yes...if they die, it is recommended you freeze them if you intend to have an autopsy done to determine the cause of death. BK do you think dad could make a pine box small enough?
The disease Terry liked the best was "swim bladder disease". Apparently with swim bladder disease your fish swim erratically, lose their equilibrium and are unable to maintain buoyancy. This isn't what's wrong, because it affects mainly goldfish. Dang it. I really was hoping for some type of rare and exciting disease. With my luck it's probably constipation.
So like any good parent or caretaker, the only thing we could think of was to quarantine him (just in case it was ick), so out from the basement came the extra 10 gallon tank the last seller "gave" to us because he was so happy to get rid of all his fish stuff. Are we suckers or what?
We put about 3 gallons of water in it, Terry rigged up an air hose (for oxygen) and we put the needed chemicals in it - even some "cure all" drops, that were a bit dried up - but stain your fingers like green food coloring anyway. The only thing we don't have is an extra heater. I told Terry, "I'm not spending $15 dollars to buy a heater to try and save a $3 dollar fish." So we agreed....we would just quarantine him and if he lived that was good. If not....oh well.
Then we had to get the fish out of the big tank. Ever tried to catch a 2 inch fish in 40 gallons of water with rocks and plants and a frigging bridge in the way? Well it ain't easy mister! But as always...working as a team we tricked the little sucker into the net and hauled him out and dropped him in the 10 gallon tank.
The I took water samples to the pet store - go figure - the water is just fine. All the Ph, nitrate, nitrite, ammonia blah blah blah is just fine. So what could be wrong with the fish? The pet shop owner said just put a little salt in the water and he should come out of it - but make sure you keep the temperature warm. (OMG I am not buying a heater).
So as I relayed this information to Terry over the phone, he said...we'll just plug in the little ceramic heater and set it outside the tank - it should keep the water warm enough (not to mention it made the the living room a sauna). Then one of our friends came over to drop off girl scout cookies and Terry proudly showed him our little "HOSPITAL". Frankly he thinks we've completely lost our minds.
So... just like the Zoo on Facebook if your animals get sick from ick or constipation, you can take them to a "HOSPITAL" or create one if you don't have one. All you need is a little ingenuity, and extra 10 gallon fish tank. If you need an extra 10 gallon tank, call me we have two.
I know, you're asking "what on earth is educational about games on facebook?".
When I first started a facebook page, I got involved with a little game called "ZOO". You build your zoo by completeing different levels from the number of bee's in an exhibit to how many animals you adopt, and how many "zoo friends" sick animals you help and or heal.
So how does this intertwine with Tales from the Tank? This past week, we found the black Dalmatian Mollie swimming vertically in the 40 gallon tank. He little side fins were moving opposite each other and his poor little top fin was down and his back tail was sort of curled up. He just wasn't able to propel himself around the tank. We decided he must be sick. He doesn't look like he has "ick"....so the detective work begins.
That night we began to "investigate" what could be wrong. Ya gotta love the Internet. Tropical fish can suffer from all sorts of disease - just like people. From tail rot and fin rot to anchor worm and yes...constipation. You can also take your fish to the vet and yes...if they die, it is recommended you freeze them if you intend to have an autopsy done to determine the cause of death. BK do you think dad could make a pine box small enough?
The disease Terry liked the best was "swim bladder disease". Apparently with swim bladder disease your fish swim erratically, lose their equilibrium and are unable to maintain buoyancy. This isn't what's wrong, because it affects mainly goldfish. Dang it. I really was hoping for some type of rare and exciting disease. With my luck it's probably constipation.
So like any good parent or caretaker, the only thing we could think of was to quarantine him (just in case it was ick), so out from the basement came the extra 10 gallon tank the last seller "gave" to us because he was so happy to get rid of all his fish stuff. Are we suckers or what?
We put about 3 gallons of water in it, Terry rigged up an air hose (for oxygen) and we put the needed chemicals in it - even some "cure all" drops, that were a bit dried up - but stain your fingers like green food coloring anyway. The only thing we don't have is an extra heater. I told Terry, "I'm not spending $15 dollars to buy a heater to try and save a $3 dollar fish." So we agreed....we would just quarantine him and if he lived that was good. If not....oh well.
Then we had to get the fish out of the big tank. Ever tried to catch a 2 inch fish in 40 gallons of water with rocks and plants and a frigging bridge in the way? Well it ain't easy mister! But as always...working as a team we tricked the little sucker into the net and hauled him out and dropped him in the 10 gallon tank.
The I took water samples to the pet store - go figure - the water is just fine. All the Ph, nitrate, nitrite, ammonia blah blah blah is just fine. So what could be wrong with the fish? The pet shop owner said just put a little salt in the water and he should come out of it - but make sure you keep the temperature warm. (OMG I am not buying a heater).
So as I relayed this information to Terry over the phone, he said...we'll just plug in the little ceramic heater and set it outside the tank - it should keep the water warm enough (not to mention it made the the living room a sauna). Then one of our friends came over to drop off girl scout cookies and Terry proudly showed him our little "HOSPITAL". Frankly he thinks we've completely lost our minds.
So... just like the Zoo on Facebook if your animals get sick from ick or constipation, you can take them to a "HOSPITAL" or create one if you don't have one. All you need is a little ingenuity, and extra 10 gallon fish tank. If you need an extra 10 gallon tank, call me we have two.
Saturday, March 5, 2011
Tales from the Tank #12
One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish - How many Gold Fish are too Many Fish?
You can probably already figure where this is going. In my husbands' addiction to craigslist, he is finding all types of interesting items for sale, from puppies, RV's and yes of course...FISH!
But not just any fish. These were Gold Fish. The person posting needed to find a home that would adopt her two Ryukin Goldfish. She had a Black Moor that was picking on them. So the discussion started "Should we adopt them? Could we adopt them? Would they fit in with our current fish family?" Of course the discussion lasted as long as it took me to type the reply "We will take them if you still have them".
So last night, I met the young lady who was putting them up for adoption and brought them home. They are beautiful. One is a shiny gold with a large fantail and is very plump. The other is the more colorful black, gold and white and looks a little off balance when swimming.
I introduced them to the tank and they started to swim around their new home checking things out. It wasn't too much longer though, when the three current residents of the tank started to chase the large gold one around. It was almost as if they were attacking it - saying "this is our tank-you stay away".
When ran out to get pizza and some groceries, and when we came back we went downstairs to check the fish. The three resident fish, who we'll call Winkin, Blinkin and Nod, were chasing the heck out of the gold ryukin. So the super connoisseur of the Internet ran upstairs to Google goldfish.
Apparently the gender of goldfish is a bit difficult to determine. It has to do with fin size (imagine that), at if the fish is plump or more slender when looking at them from the top of the tank (hum...). Apparently we pretty much dropped the honey pot of all goldfish into the tank. When you have multiple goldfish in the tank, the goldfish being chased is likely to be female and is omitting some type of pheromone that either attracts or repels the male of the species.
Realizing this is somewhat "normal" behaviour for fish (you would have thought we learned it with the mollies), I went upstairs to put my jammies on and Terry stayed to keep an eye on the fish. About 10 pm he comes upstairs and says, "if those three goldfish kill her I'm gonna flush them all". "She better not be dead in the morning or I'm flushing those fish".
So I jumped up, and thank goodness we had left the 10 gallon tank in Matt's room. I grabbed a 5 gallon bucked and started putting that tank back together. Terry said, "What are you doing?" I replied "I don't want any fish to die so I'm gonna move them back". So we got the pump and the tank going, added the chemicals and then went downstairs to the tank.
Working together we successfully captured the two most aggressive goldfish and put them into solitary confinement - back in the 10 gallon tank they've been out of for two weeks.
So much for bigger digs....
You can probably already figure where this is going. In my husbands' addiction to craigslist, he is finding all types of interesting items for sale, from puppies, RV's and yes of course...FISH!
But not just any fish. These were Gold Fish. The person posting needed to find a home that would adopt her two Ryukin Goldfish. She had a Black Moor that was picking on them. So the discussion started "Should we adopt them? Could we adopt them? Would they fit in with our current fish family?" Of course the discussion lasted as long as it took me to type the reply "We will take them if you still have them".
So last night, I met the young lady who was putting them up for adoption and brought them home. They are beautiful. One is a shiny gold with a large fantail and is very plump. The other is the more colorful black, gold and white and looks a little off balance when swimming.
I introduced them to the tank and they started to swim around their new home checking things out. It wasn't too much longer though, when the three current residents of the tank started to chase the large gold one around. It was almost as if they were attacking it - saying "this is our tank-you stay away".
When ran out to get pizza and some groceries, and when we came back we went downstairs to check the fish. The three resident fish, who we'll call Winkin, Blinkin and Nod, were chasing the heck out of the gold ryukin. So the super connoisseur of the Internet ran upstairs to Google goldfish.
Apparently the gender of goldfish is a bit difficult to determine. It has to do with fin size (imagine that), at if the fish is plump or more slender when looking at them from the top of the tank (hum...). Apparently we pretty much dropped the honey pot of all goldfish into the tank. When you have multiple goldfish in the tank, the goldfish being chased is likely to be female and is omitting some type of pheromone that either attracts or repels the male of the species.
Realizing this is somewhat "normal" behaviour for fish (you would have thought we learned it with the mollies), I went upstairs to put my jammies on and Terry stayed to keep an eye on the fish. About 10 pm he comes upstairs and says, "if those three goldfish kill her I'm gonna flush them all". "She better not be dead in the morning or I'm flushing those fish".
So I jumped up, and thank goodness we had left the 10 gallon tank in Matt's room. I grabbed a 5 gallon bucked and started putting that tank back together. Terry said, "What are you doing?" I replied "I don't want any fish to die so I'm gonna move them back". So we got the pump and the tank going, added the chemicals and then went downstairs to the tank.
Working together we successfully captured the two most aggressive goldfish and put them into solitary confinement - back in the 10 gallon tank they've been out of for two weeks.
So much for bigger digs....
Tales from the Tank #11
Water Water Everywhere...
In the last post, you found out that we purchased yet another fish tank. A lovely 29 gallon tank to hold just three gold fish. Granted they had "outgrown" their former lush 10 gallon home, and needed a bit more room to swim in.
We got the tank all set up, applied the chemicals and planned to move the fish on Tuesday, giving the tank 24 hours to cycle the water treatment.
On Tuesday morning, Terry got up for work, went down to check on the tank and found soggy carpet. Yep, you guessed it - water next to the tank. So when he got home he emptied the tank, moved it and re-filled it while it sat on the linoleum floor (to see if it leaks). He pulled up the carpeting, took off the panelling, and started to dry out the basement. I should explain: Our basement is a solid wall poured foundation - and we have NEVER had water in the basement in the 20+ years we've lived here. Not even during 2008 when Cedar Rapids was hard hit by all the rain and flooding.
The next day, after letting the tank run 24 hours in a different spot, it was determined that it doesn't leak. There was no water anywhere on the floor. So two days later, once the carpet was dried out and the walls put back in place, he emptied the tank and moved it back to where we wanted it. And filled it again. I'm waiting for the utility company to call and say "Mrs. Schrafel, we think you have a water leak somewhere, you haven't used this much water since Jared moved out and stopped washing his car three times a week". LOL (Love you Bear).
Since the boys are both gone and there is no explanation as to how the carpet got so wet, we decided to blame the dog. ;-)
In the last post, you found out that we purchased yet another fish tank. A lovely 29 gallon tank to hold just three gold fish. Granted they had "outgrown" their former lush 10 gallon home, and needed a bit more room to swim in.
We got the tank all set up, applied the chemicals and planned to move the fish on Tuesday, giving the tank 24 hours to cycle the water treatment.
On Tuesday morning, Terry got up for work, went down to check on the tank and found soggy carpet. Yep, you guessed it - water next to the tank. So when he got home he emptied the tank, moved it and re-filled it while it sat on the linoleum floor (to see if it leaks). He pulled up the carpeting, took off the panelling, and started to dry out the basement. I should explain: Our basement is a solid wall poured foundation - and we have NEVER had water in the basement in the 20+ years we've lived here. Not even during 2008 when Cedar Rapids was hard hit by all the rain and flooding.
The next day, after letting the tank run 24 hours in a different spot, it was determined that it doesn't leak. There was no water anywhere on the floor. So two days later, once the carpet was dried out and the walls put back in place, he emptied the tank and moved it back to where we wanted it. And filled it again. I'm waiting for the utility company to call and say "Mrs. Schrafel, we think you have a water leak somewhere, you haven't used this much water since Jared moved out and stopped washing his car three times a week". LOL (Love you Bear).
Since the boys are both gone and there is no explanation as to how the carpet got so wet, we decided to blame the dog. ;-)
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Tales from the Tank #10
Calling Dr. Drew....
I admit I sometimes watch Celebrity Rehab on VH1 with Dr. Drew. Not sure why, but trying to understand how and why people become addicted is educational...and fulfills some voyeristic need I apparently have.
Last night, I realized that my husband is seriously addicted to fish tanks. He was scrolling craigslist again and found another tank. He apparently was holding out hope he would somehow still find a larger tank for Matt's - I mean our - Goldfish.
So last night I responded to the advertisment for him and within a few minutes his cell phone rings. After a few questions, negotiating the price...OMG....we are now the owners of another fish tank. This time we did not have to move the fish...just the tank, and all the trimmings. So last night after quick bites of dinner, here we are again, setting up yet another fish tank.
I finally told him.."WE ARE DONE!". You have one in just about every room in the house except the bathroom, our bedroom and the kitchen. Enough!! "But Honey," he replies, "You could get a mini tank for the kitchen"....by this time all I can do is laugh. He's like a kid in a candy store and seems to enjoy it. I do enjoy sitting watching them. It's rather peaceful -- not that I need anymore peace and quiet. I seem to recall that is what got us into this mess in the first place. Thank goodness Matt is coming home this weekend. Maybe he'll talk some sense into us. Jared thinks we've gone off the deep end. All he could do last night is shake his head.
I admit I sometimes watch Celebrity Rehab on VH1 with Dr. Drew. Not sure why, but trying to understand how and why people become addicted is educational...and fulfills some voyeristic need I apparently have.
Last night, I realized that my husband is seriously addicted to fish tanks. He was scrolling craigslist again and found another tank. He apparently was holding out hope he would somehow still find a larger tank for Matt's - I mean our - Goldfish.
So last night I responded to the advertisment for him and within a few minutes his cell phone rings. After a few questions, negotiating the price...OMG....we are now the owners of another fish tank. This time we did not have to move the fish...just the tank, and all the trimmings. So last night after quick bites of dinner, here we are again, setting up yet another fish tank.
I finally told him.."WE ARE DONE!". You have one in just about every room in the house except the bathroom, our bedroom and the kitchen. Enough!! "But Honey," he replies, "You could get a mini tank for the kitchen"....by this time all I can do is laugh. He's like a kid in a candy store and seems to enjoy it. I do enjoy sitting watching them. It's rather peaceful -- not that I need anymore peace and quiet. I seem to recall that is what got us into this mess in the first place. Thank goodness Matt is coming home this weekend. Maybe he'll talk some sense into us. Jared thinks we've gone off the deep end. All he could do last night is shake his head.
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Tales from the Tank #9
To Boldly Go ....
After six months, fifty-two days, thirty-seven minutes and thirty-two seconds, he found it. Had to have it so badly he ventured into the unknow world of yes....EMAIL. After scouring pages and pages of items on craigslist he finally found the fish tank of his dreams...for a price he was willing to pay. I wasn't home to reply to the email so this man, who is now addicted to acquiring fish tanks, did it all on his own. Boldly entering into that unknow abyss call the INTERNET.
He hates to email, he hates to text, but this fish tank was calling his name. So he opened up his g-mail account and created his own email reply to the ad. It said, "if you still have the fish tank, I'm interested. I don't email well, so call my cell'. When I got home at 5pm, he said, "I think I did it right, but come check it". He did an awesome job, but was worried it didn't go through, so he sent it again. I checked it and told him "yes honey, the email sent, you did a good job". Two hours later he said, "Should I send another? What if it didn't really go through?"
I replied "Terry, not everyone comes home from work and relaxes in front of craigslist. Give the guy a chance to get home and eat dinner and look at his replies". Finally at 8:30 he got the call. They still had the tank, but Terry's was the first response - so it's his if he still wanted it. So, after a few minutes all I heard was "Yippee, Wooo Hoo!!". I'm getting the tank and everything goes with it for a mere $75.00".
Wow.
Then it was "Don't make any plans for Saturday - we're going to pick it up - fish and all at 9am". All I could say was "You better see if Jared can come and help".
After that, the investigation was on. What's the best way to move a tank, how much of the water should we keep, do we know anything about these new fish....yadda yadda yadda. So we borrowed seven 5 gallon buckets and bought two new ones (for the fish), made arrangements for Jared to help (bribed him with breakfast and gas (the kind you use in a car - LOL).
So at 9am we show up to get our "new tank". (Although unlike a brand new tank that you have to "dirty up", this one was already to go. We just had to move it - UGH.) So 35 gallons of water later, we are again the proud owners of a 55 gallon tank which is now at home in our "office", and contains 3 silver dollars (not monetary kind) about 5 inches wide, four red tetras, one red and black tiger barb and a large pleco who has become very very lazy about eating algae and cleaning up his environment. Humm.....
The tank also came with some interesting rocks and a piece of driftwood (OH NO - not driftwood you say?) But YES! it sinks!! it's also smaller and weighs less than the slate it's attached to. Go figure.
We hadn't quite finished setting it up when Kathi and Joel came to see it, but when Terry mentioned he didn't like the mirror on the back, Joel whips out his handy pocket knife and they pull the tank away from the wall, and before I could say...don't cut yourself - they had the mirror off the back.
We of course needed more air hose and a pump because we had to put a bubble curtain in the back, and then we needed a background, and of course more plants (I like plants). Oh and isn't that bridge cool - plus it's on sale, and ohhhh look at that purple plant - it's 50% off and would look great under the ultra violet light when it's on at night. Basically, another $75.00 or so later, we were up and running and the fish were back in their "home" hiding behind the new plants and did NOT want to come out an play.
So since the large pleco is lazy - we moved Hoover into the 55 gallon tank to see if (a) he can help and (b) grow and (c) so the Gold fish leave him alone (they won't let him eat an algae tablet on his own).
Wait....how did the heater fall off the back? Ut oh....so Terry takes it out of the tank and says...can you wipe this off and it's OUCH...that thing is hot and then he puts it back in the water and CRACK SNAPLE POP - the heater cracks, I see electricity and it shorts out. It was still plugged in.
Apparently you can't remove the heater from the tank unless it's cooled off and you definately can't put it back in the water once it's out (and not cooled off).
So....Happy 50th Birthday to my wonderful husband....happy fishing and may you never crack another heater.
After six months, fifty-two days, thirty-seven minutes and thirty-two seconds, he found it. Had to have it so badly he ventured into the unknow world of yes....EMAIL. After scouring pages and pages of items on craigslist he finally found the fish tank of his dreams...for a price he was willing to pay. I wasn't home to reply to the email so this man, who is now addicted to acquiring fish tanks, did it all on his own. Boldly entering into that unknow abyss call the INTERNET.
He hates to email, he hates to text, but this fish tank was calling his name. So he opened up his g-mail account and created his own email reply to the ad. It said, "if you still have the fish tank, I'm interested. I don't email well, so call my cell'. When I got home at 5pm, he said, "I think I did it right, but come check it". He did an awesome job, but was worried it didn't go through, so he sent it again. I checked it and told him "yes honey, the email sent, you did a good job". Two hours later he said, "Should I send another? What if it didn't really go through?"
I replied "Terry, not everyone comes home from work and relaxes in front of craigslist. Give the guy a chance to get home and eat dinner and look at his replies". Finally at 8:30 he got the call. They still had the tank, but Terry's was the first response - so it's his if he still wanted it. So, after a few minutes all I heard was "Yippee, Wooo Hoo!!". I'm getting the tank and everything goes with it for a mere $75.00".
Wow.
Then it was "Don't make any plans for Saturday - we're going to pick it up - fish and all at 9am". All I could say was "You better see if Jared can come and help".
After that, the investigation was on. What's the best way to move a tank, how much of the water should we keep, do we know anything about these new fish....yadda yadda yadda. So we borrowed seven 5 gallon buckets and bought two new ones (for the fish), made arrangements for Jared to help (bribed him with breakfast and gas (the kind you use in a car - LOL).
So at 9am we show up to get our "new tank". (Although unlike a brand new tank that you have to "dirty up", this one was already to go. We just had to move it - UGH.) So 35 gallons of water later, we are again the proud owners of a 55 gallon tank which is now at home in our "office", and contains 3 silver dollars (not monetary kind) about 5 inches wide, four red tetras, one red and black tiger barb and a large pleco who has become very very lazy about eating algae and cleaning up his environment. Humm.....
The tank also came with some interesting rocks and a piece of driftwood (OH NO - not driftwood you say?) But YES! it sinks!! it's also smaller and weighs less than the slate it's attached to. Go figure.
We hadn't quite finished setting it up when Kathi and Joel came to see it, but when Terry mentioned he didn't like the mirror on the back, Joel whips out his handy pocket knife and they pull the tank away from the wall, and before I could say...don't cut yourself - they had the mirror off the back.
We of course needed more air hose and a pump because we had to put a bubble curtain in the back, and then we needed a background, and of course more plants (I like plants). Oh and isn't that bridge cool - plus it's on sale, and ohhhh look at that purple plant - it's 50% off and would look great under the ultra violet light when it's on at night. Basically, another $75.00 or so later, we were up and running and the fish were back in their "home" hiding behind the new plants and did NOT want to come out an play.
So since the large pleco is lazy - we moved Hoover into the 55 gallon tank to see if (a) he can help and (b) grow and (c) so the Gold fish leave him alone (they won't let him eat an algae tablet on his own).
Wait....how did the heater fall off the back? Ut oh....so Terry takes it out of the tank and says...can you wipe this off and it's OUCH...that thing is hot and then he puts it back in the water and CRACK SNAPLE POP - the heater cracks, I see electricity and it shorts out. It was still plugged in.
Apparently you can't remove the heater from the tank unless it's cooled off and you definately can't put it back in the water once it's out (and not cooled off).
So....Happy 50th Birthday to my wonderful husband....happy fishing and may you never crack another heater.
Tales from the Tank #8
Caution: Material Contained Below May Not Be Suitable for Young Readers!
In this edition of today's update, we have successfully created a nice community of fish in the 40 gallon tank. Although we successfully added more fish, Terry kept wondering why the large male black Dalmatian Mollie kept chasing the smaller female white & black Dalmatian Mollie. After repeated questions to various fish /pet store employees, the consensus is clear: He's just trying to "get a little" from the female in his life. Sound familiar?
Apparently having just one female to male ratio is not good in a community tank. The male will never leave the poor female alone and according to the local pet store, the poor thing can have up to three pregnancy's at one time. YIKES! Alas, she is getting fat again...so we think she is expecting. Makes sense since the male never leaves her alone.
So it's no wonder that the other day I finally saw a baby Mollie. So I was so excited - instead of being "Grandcats" to Jared and Ashley's Chance, we were going to be fish Grandparents. OMG...so off to the pet store we went to get a breeder net. You use breeder nets to separate the females from the males so the other fish don't eat the 'fry' before they get a chance to reach the safety of cover (such as the live plants we've added and some extra ground cover so they can hide). Haven't seen it since, so I'm thinking the sharks had a juicy midnight snack.
Terry has been very diligent in his quest to learn all there is about freshwater fish in our tank. Just this week he read that a 1:1 ratio is not good for the mollies. You actually need to have more females in the tank than males, otherwise the females are never left alone - which we have seen first hand.
So off to the pet store we went....and came home with four females. Two dalmation mollies and two of the red swordtail mollies so the males we added a while ago have something to do instead of chase each other. LOL.
A bit later, we were observing the activity and the black male mollie seemed to be swimming around aimlessly and rubbing his head against the bridge and acting weird. Terry said "I wonder what's wrong with him?". To which I replied "Well, there are more fish in the sea to choose from now".
Apparently we are now promoting "fishing" around...
In this edition of today's update, we have successfully created a nice community of fish in the 40 gallon tank. Although we successfully added more fish, Terry kept wondering why the large male black Dalmatian Mollie kept chasing the smaller female white & black Dalmatian Mollie. After repeated questions to various fish /pet store employees, the consensus is clear: He's just trying to "get a little" from the female in his life. Sound familiar?
Apparently having just one female to male ratio is not good in a community tank. The male will never leave the poor female alone and according to the local pet store, the poor thing can have up to three pregnancy's at one time. YIKES! Alas, she is getting fat again...so we think she is expecting. Makes sense since the male never leaves her alone.
So it's no wonder that the other day I finally saw a baby Mollie. So I was so excited - instead of being "Grandcats" to Jared and Ashley's Chance, we were going to be fish Grandparents. OMG...so off to the pet store we went to get a breeder net. You use breeder nets to separate the females from the males so the other fish don't eat the 'fry' before they get a chance to reach the safety of cover (such as the live plants we've added and some extra ground cover so they can hide). Haven't seen it since, so I'm thinking the sharks had a juicy midnight snack.
Terry has been very diligent in his quest to learn all there is about freshwater fish in our tank. Just this week he read that a 1:1 ratio is not good for the mollies. You actually need to have more females in the tank than males, otherwise the females are never left alone - which we have seen first hand.
So off to the pet store we went....and came home with four females. Two dalmation mollies and two of the red swordtail mollies so the males we added a while ago have something to do instead of chase each other. LOL.
A bit later, we were observing the activity and the black male mollie seemed to be swimming around aimlessly and rubbing his head against the bridge and acting weird. Terry said "I wonder what's wrong with him?". To which I replied "Well, there are more fish in the sea to choose from now".
Apparently we are now promoting "fishing" around...
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