10/04/2013

New to the hobby and completely in love! We have several tanks throughout the home, all are at different stages of production, but since my husband seems to have been bitten by the bug as well, the remaining projects will probably be gaining more momentum =) Do not know anyone locally that is interested in aquia so very excited to have found this site. Look forward to talking with others with the interest and learning what I can!

Current Tanks

60 gallon Tropical Community Tank with few live plants

- We call this "Ward 6" because of how absolutely goofy every fish in there is.

55 gallon Celebration Tank

- Peacock Cichlids! Slowing bringing the collection together

30 gallon high Lg Goldfish Tank

-This was our "oops baby" we suddenly had three very large feeder fish and threw this tank together. So it needs a lot of work!

28 gallon bowfront

-Ageing water for water changes

-Prospect for Marine Tank

10 gallon

- Bubbles had to be separated...

10 Gallon

-Empty

5.5 Gallon

-Using for holding while a tank is redone

2.5 Gallon

-Empty

Critter Keeper

-Using for holding while a tank is redone

2 x CRT monitors we're working on making tanks out of.

Gotta stop typing and startin Tankin!!! 

"TANK ON!"

Update on Bubbles

I'm happy to report that Bubbles is doing really well and acting more like his usual self. Gill movement has improved slightly and so has fins, still not  much of an appetite. But hes getting better folks! Yay! So Happy!!

Also, Raider is doing well in his new home. The giant feeder fish aren't quiet sure what to think of him and nudge him from time to time but then they leave him alone and everyone goes about their day. 

10/03/2013
Late tonight night our sons goldfish, "Bubbles", who has been residing in the 60 gallon community tank didn't look like he was doing so well. The Black Skirt Tetras have gotten a little bigger and have decided that they do not appreciate Bubbles play chasing the White Skirt Tetras and have taken action. At that point he was removed and put into the 10 gallon "Plant ICU" tank since the temperature and other parameters were practically identical. One thing that I did not pay as much attention to as I should have was the filter. The filter that we have on this tank is rated for up to 30 gallons. It also does not have the pre filter grid on it as I have scraped it out to another tank. Previously this hasn't been an issue because there are only plants in this tank and they are on the other side of the tank.I foolishly thought, mind you it is very late and I'm rather tired so I was not thinking fully, that Bubbles is a big boy and he'll stay away from it enough to stay safe. He swam by it, felt the pull, and scampered off and I thought everything was fine. A few minutes later I had asked my husband if he had seen Bubbles yet and seen the minor fin damage, he had not and walked away to go see him and I went to another room to get something he needed. When I walked back into the main room my husband has his arm in the tank, sleeve and all, and there are wires, hoods, and the top of the filter strewn around the area.

"What on Earth are you doing?????" I asked more confused than concerned"

"Bubbles.... Bubbles... he he's.... he had.... his head ... his head was stuck in the filter!"

"Okay calm down, did you get him out?"

"Yes, but I don't know if I got to him in time he looks terrible and hes so slippery I had to pull him by his tail gawd I hope I didn't hurt him more"

"Okay, calm down, go finish what you were working on and I'll look at him and get everything put back together."

"He looks terrible, is he going to be okay? I don't know if I got him in time, he looks terrible!'

Poor thing, hubby was freaked out about the poor fish. To be honest I would have been too had it been myself that had found him like that, but when I got a look at him, he didn't look, "terrible". His eyes were blood shot, his head was a little slimmer, his gills weren't moving much, not enough to see without really trying, and he was very upset. He would still rub on me if I put my hand near him but not nearly as much as usual, and wasn't interested in anything at all but rest, which he have him time to get. Turned on a near by light, kept his filter and light off and left him be so that side of the house would be quiet. 

About 20 minutes later I find my husband sitting on the couch next to Bubbles just staring at him, his eyes glistening. I tried to assure him he would be okay but the only response I received was that he looked terrible and he doesn't know if he got there in time. I asked him in if wanted to go to the store and get him an orange and he said he did... so we did.. 

Bubbles has never had oranges before so it really isn't much of a surprise that he wouldn't eat it unless it was hand fed to him. He's a spoiled rotten little fish. But even then he wasn't much interested in it. Hand fed him a few bits every five minutes or so for about thirty minutes then let him go to bed for the night. After my husband sat with him and said a prayer for his health and comfort. 

Of course that couldn't be the end of it. We finally get to the bedroom to feed "Ward 6" and then go to bed. The nights we feed the ward everyone lays at the foot of the bed and watches everyone since it takes about 30 minutes to feed them. Everyone including the dogs! And yes they get very upset if they are not allowed to join, I'll try to upload a photo soon. During the feeding, Raider, our Spotted Sailfin Pleco, is doing his dolphin act of grabbing... more like stealing... a shrimp pellet and "standing" up moving backwards eating it. Entertainment for all ages... til he tries to do it with one of our 6 week old fry. No one interfered as much as we wanted to, and the fry managed to not only get away but survive. At that point Raider, who has now fully lived up to his name since he was named after my husbands favorite football team, was moved to the 30 High Oops Baby goldfish tank where he went from being the biggest thing in the tank, to the smallest. Take that you big bully!