47 year old tank

[Origami]

Glad to see you muddling thru these times, Paul. Say hi to Dale for me.

[paul b]

I will tell her Tom.  

My new copperband seems fantastic and now eats everything. This is the first living thing I ever ordered through the mail.  

I had linguine with clams last night but I decided not to give him any so I gave him cake instead.

 

He is about 2 1/2" long, just as I asked foe, is inquisitive and hunts all day. He eats just about anything he can fit in his mouth and didn't jump out yet. :cool:

 

So far he doesn't like to come to the front of the tank while I am there, maybe I will try it while I am not wearing my Speedo.

[paul b]

To update my copperband is doing fine and he seems to think he died and went to heaven.  I notice a lot less aiptasia but I have a few very large ones and one that is bigger than my copperband and he is actually afraid of it.  I would be too. 

The thing is like  the Godzilla's of aiptasia's and probably thinks it is a carpet anemone andI think my fireclown will host in it soon. 

 

I injected it with all sorts of things but I may have made a mistake and injected it with Regain which would account for it's unbelievable growth.  I rubbed some Rogain on my head and have started to grow aiptasia out of my ears.  

 

My Janss pipefish I think is way older than it's lifespan is supposed to be but I have no idea what that is. 

My bluestripe pipefish is still trying to mate with him but being the Janss is three or four times larger, he is way out of her league.

 

My rainsfords seem to be constantly spawning and my watchman goby female has not come out of her burrow in a couple of months so she is also probably tending multiple batches of eggs.  I can see her in there and she seems to be very content but the male doesn't allow her out so I "shoot" worms in through the back of her cave so at least she can eat.  Being married  to a fat bully who won't let you come out to have some fun is just mean.  He seems to want to keep her barefoot and pregnant.  Or bare finned and pregnant.  

I am not sure what to call a Watchman female, maybe a Watchgirl, or a Watchbabe I don't know. 

 

My SPS for some reason are growing like that aiptasia and reaching for the stars as are "most" of my LPS.  One LPS I think it was an elegance go completely covered my a Hammer coral which seemed to grow overnight.  Now the thing is touching the front glass as is a very old gorgonian.

Last week I "Very gently" pushed the entire reef structure back from the glass a few inches because I was hitting some montipora that was making it hard to clean the front glass.  

I need to do it again but I hate to do that as I hear things breaking and I don't like the sound of that.

 

I don't do much to my tank so I have no idea why some things are growing so good, but I have been playing quite a bit of Vintage Linda Ronstadt lately.  I have to clean the front glass every day and really could clean it twice a day.  I don't get it. 

 

My tank is not all great, I also have some bristleworms that almost qualify to be moray eels.  I really need to trap some of the ones over a pound. 

 

This is my Daughter and has nothing to do with this post, but neither does anything else. 

 

[paul b]

As I was sitting in my workshop/Man Cave a little while ago, this woman walks in.  (I have my door open so people out on the street can see me)

 

She was a nice looking woman maybe fifty or so so I figured she wanted to date me, take me out to dinner or sue me.

It turns out she is starting a salt water fish tank and a neighbor told her that I have fish.

 

So we talked for about 45 minutes and she has a small, like 30 gallon tank and unfortunately is listening to LFSs and is having all sorts of problems and really wants someone to explain to her what she should do.

 

I hate to start Noobs on this because I can tell that she wants a tank full of corals, moorish Idols, achilles tangs, SPS corals and she wants it all by 2:00 Tuesday.

 

Well, she wants a couple of damsels anyway.

I went through the entire speech of the no dry foods, no corals, now anyway, no whale sharks etc.  I think she is getting it and she wanted to borrow my book, which I gave her even though it is my own and only personal copy.  I also told her that it is not for Noobs which it says near the beginning of the book.

 

In a couple of weeks I am taking her water collecting because she lives behind my house so she is on the same beach and didn't realize you could collect water.  Of course the LFS told her she couldn't do that because she is buying water from them.

 

I will also give her some rocks and bottles from my tank because she is using bacteria and ammonia from a bottle.  I told her that is OK if you get your fish in a bottle otherwise that is not my method and she can choose which way to go.  But she loves my tank so she is going with my system.

 

(which of course may be a problem unless you look like me, and she doesn't) 

 

I am thrilled to know someone with in fifty miles of my house with a salt tank.  I will let you know how this goes. 

[paul b]

I have two of these little gobies and they always hated each other. Now all of a sudden they "like" each other, "A Lot" and this one is pregnant as all fish should be. They will spawn soon as all healthy, paired fish will.
 

[paul b]

Stupid anemones even taking over the back of my tank

[paul b]

We now live in a condo and,they uncovered the pool yesterday but it has no water in it so swimming is difficult and noisy. The walls of it are also filthy. Apparently there is a leak in the thing someplace and they are repairing that. After they do that and fill it, I would imagine they will have to throw a clean up crew in there for a few weeks until it is cycled. I saw the maintenance guy dumping a few dead shrimp in there to start the cycle. 

 

Then when they allow us to go into the pool, we first have to dip ourselves in fresh water for 3 minutes in case any of us harbor flukes.

When they finally allow us to get into the water, we can only go in one at a time and before anyone else can go in, that person has to stay there by themselves for 72 days. If God Forbid a person is seen to have spots, the process has to start all over again.

 

This is going to be hard because many of the people have freckles. 

 

It' better be a long summer. 

Edited July 1, 2020 by paul b

[GraffitiSpotCorals]

Haha good one!  I would love to see a new fts when you can take one. Also, have you had the same rocks for a long time too or have you swapped out portions of rock for new live rock at points in time? 

Edited July 1, 2020 by GraffitiSpotCorals

[paul b]

Most of the rock has been in there for many years.  In the beginning of the hobby we didn't use rock, only dead coral skeletons so all the rock was added over the years.  Occasionally I will either find in the sea or build a rock so some of it changed.

 

These pictures were taken last week.

 

 

Edited July 1, 2020 by paul b

[paul b]

Yesterday I threw about 25 small mud snails in my tank. Today,I can't find even one. 

I am waiting to go out to dinner and I was watching my tank with the room lights off.  (Yes,i am weird)

 

I noticed my new, smaller 6 line wrasse which I have not seen in the week or two since I added him.  If you have a pair of fish it is hard to know if you have two unless you see the both of them at the same time.  In my tank I can go months before that happens as the structure is a huge system of caves that go from one of the tank to the other.

 

The smaller 6 line wrasse looks pregnant although I didn't think she was old enough to spawn.

 

I also found my new little bi color bleeny but I am pretty sure she is to young to spawn.  A few more months maybe.

I am pretty sure my Rainsford gobies are spawning as they "live" in a hole in the gravel next to an undergravel filter tube.  They may even be going under that filter plate but I am to stiff to get under the tank with a flashlight to look for them. 

 

 

I don't have pictures of the 6 line wrasses because they are to fast, but these guys are also spawning.

 

[GraffitiSpotCorals]

I love the sponge growth in that last pic. 

[paul b]

Thanks.  There is no places in my tank, not covered in sponge where there is no coral. 

 

[paul b]

We did have a great "driveway" party yesterday after boating.  We all brought, or bought food and set up tables and chairs in my driveway.

I made the fireworks and most of the drinks and we had a nice turn out.  It's not like the old parties because the Virus put a damper on that   

 

But we do what we can do.

 

I found out the pool, which is huge and 12' deep is being "fixed" and should be filled and opened soon.

 

But with the Mandated Covid rules it is not going to be much fun.

 

WE have to hire security guards that will take your temperature before you go into the large fenced in area and sign you in.   You have to be a resident, no guests.  (Or Grand Children) 

 

Only a certain number of people are allowed in and you have to bring your own tables, chairs and umbrella's.  Normally, all that stuff is there.  (I am surprised we don't have to bring our own water for the pool, but maybe that is in the small print)

 

The tables have to be 12' apart and they will count the people in the pool, maybe one of the guards will wear SCUBA gear to make sure you aren't swimming near someone.

 

If you walk near another table, you must wear a mask. 

 

I think I will just stay home.

 

WE have this large pool because this land used to be some kind of summer camp and Telly Sevellas owned most of it.

[elbowdeep88]

Hi Paul.

Just wanted to drop a note to thank you for advocating a food-based program for fish acclimation and health rather than a treatment heavy approach.

 

As I cycled and seeded my tank I made up a batch of high quality food. All the usual suspects, but with copious amounts of live whole oyster and clam, with the guts and juices.

 

I got a clownfish. It spent days swimming straight into the current. A google search finds many people saying that behavior must be gill flukes. I didn’t treat it, it eats like a pig, and is a happy camper. (I seriously doubt there were any flukes.)

 

I got a flame angel a few weeks later (known for coming in with all sorts of diseases). Noticed white spots on tail and fins next morning. Rather than attempting to diagnose the pathogen, tear apart my reef to catch it, and administer some stressful/toxic solution, I just kept feeding it. Next morning, still some white spots, and some on my royal gramma too. I just kept feeding. By day 3, no spots anywhere. That was several weeks ago.

 

Anyway, I appreciate your approach of helping fish be healthy enough that their own immune systems can fight problems so the aquarist doesn’t have to. Much more natural and far less stressful on the fish and the fish keeper in my opinion.

 

I think this approach helped me not over react. And I think it worked to help get the fish healthy, fat, and destressed enough to heal themselves.

 

Or it was my cleaner shrimp

[paul b]

Elbowdeep, thank you.  I am glad it all worked out.  I have not visited here in a while. 

 

I took a video eating some white worms.  The fish, not me.  Those little Bangai cardinals are new.  I have them two days.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e6xcO9ybMcM

Edited September 19, 2020 by paul b

[paul b]

I have so many white worms I may start to eat them myself.  I have been feeding them a dry cat food and although they don't spit up hairballs, they grow very large very quick.  My fish are all doing the macarana.

[paul b]

 

This Tuesday is our 47th Wedding Anniversary and I just received a gift from our Daughter.  Three bottles and one is my favorite.

 

[paul b]

As I am waiting to go out I started to look at my tank and I couldn't find my pair of Rainsford gobies that I thought were spawning.  I grabbed a flashlight and snuck around behind my tank.  It's a little dark there and as I was looking through the rocks, I noticed something on my gravel.

Thousands, or maybe millions (I didn't count all of them) of worms.  I don't know what kind of worms but they are not bristle worms.  I got thousands of them also and know very well what they look like.

 

These guys are smaller, grey and don't move much.  It seems only the front half of them moves, or thats all that I see move and they don't move much.

 

They seem to be doing the Michael Jackson robot dance as they move in jerky "twitches".  Looking at them with a jewelers loupe  (yes I am weird) I didn't notice a feathery plume so I don't think they are tiny feather dusters and I have no idea what they are.

 

They seem to shun light as none of them are in the light and I assume they are filter feeders and they live all through my gravel over my reverse undergravel filter.

I also notice back there that my gravel is "awash" in copepods which is good.

I am going to research these things but I am all excited about them as I get excited whenever I find something new.

On a day that it is not my anniversary I am going to try to remove some to put under a microscope.  For now I took some pictures which wasn't easy as I had to hold the camera and a flashlight and take the pictures from an inch away.

If anyone knows what they are, let me know. 

 

PS I did see my Rainsford Gobies.

 

[paul b]

This morning like most mornings I got out of bed at 5:15, got dressed to go out for a walk and immediately got a flashback from Nam because there is a monsoon outside.  In Nam I had no choice and had to live in it but here I have a nice warm house so I decided not to walk today.

 

I decided to bake muffins like I often do for a few reasons.  I like them, my wife likes them and I can't go out so what else an I going to do at 4:15?

 

As I am waiting for them to bake I was thinking of all the times I do walk in the morning and all the deer I see so early.  These things are all over the place.  I wish purple tangs were so common. 

 

Most people here think of the deer as a big problem because they don't look both ways when they cross streets and don't make good hood ornaments.

 

I am quite sure the deer think of us as pests but I am guessing as although I can read the mind of a copperband butterfly, deer minds confuse me and I don't get much incite from what they are thinking.  Looking into the black eyes of a deer is like looking into the eyes of a flounder.  Not much going on. 

 

They did put "Deer Crossing" signs all over the place but many times the deer ignore those signs and cross the streets in other places. 

 

 

Over the years there have been plans on how to limit the numbers of deer but with 4 or 5 million people with opinions, nothing gets done.  It's like fish forums, everyone has an opinion and the outcome is almost always to change the water.

 

At one time the government hired hunters to cull the population.  Of course that is only a temporary solution and people cried out about the cruelty.

I myself don't shoot deer or even deer ticks and also don't like that idea.  I don't eat deer meat but I do eat hamburgers which are humanly grown in a supermarket

 

Even if they killed 100 deer, there are tens of thousands of them and more of them get hit by cars than that every month.

 

There was a plan to feed the deer birth control pills.  They would drop bales of food by helicopter laced with birth control pills.

That didn't work because the way a deers hoofs are built, they have a hard time getting the pills out of those little round plastic containers they come in and the deer never knew what day it was so even if they could pry the pills out, the dosage was off. 

 

Also the bucks, or male deer were eating them and it started to make them grow long eyelashes and many people would complain that when they were watching Oprah, the deer would look at the TV through their window instead of running after females like bucks are supposed to do.

 

[URL=https://app.photobucket.com/u/urchsearch/a/0aecb164-96ce-4c85-ad43-aef2e707f671/p/77d62044-0ccb-4877-8240-40ca11334bd6][IMG]https://hosting.photobucket.com/albums/hh270/urchsearch/.highres/IMG_27071_zpsagimpc5u.jpg[/IMG][/URL]

 

There is an Island here called Shelter Island and a lot of wealthy people lived there.  Many of them got rich from whaling.  (They killed all the whales then started to kill other things but that is for another useless thread.)  Anyway they wanted to grow gardens and they couldn't because the deer would eat everything, so the residents came up with a plan.

 

The Island isn't that big so they hired these people to come to the Island with huge fishing nets.  They got a few hundred people and started walking the nets through the Island trying to force the deer all to one side where they would have a barge waiting.  The idea was to herd the deer onto the barge and let them go on the mainland.  (Originally they were going to shoot them but the people started protesting.  They figured it was much more humane to pry the poor animals from the grill of a 1929 Oldsmobile )

 

At first it looked like it was working and almost all the deer were in the nets going on to the barge.  Thats when the Island occupants learned that deer could jump six feet and swim like Johnny Weissmuller  (Tarzan) 

 

There were Deer swimming all around the Island and the Coast Guard had to be called to chase the deer out of the water because now they were a hazard to navigation.  Inadvertently, all the deer ended up back on the Island and now, after swimming all day they were hungry so the little vegetation that was still on the Island was quickly devoured by the deer. 

 

Now the Island residents were here.

 

[URL=https://app.photobucket.com/u/urchsearch/a/0aecb164-96ce-4c85-ad43-aef2e707f671/p/1c126516-48cc-4462-81f4-ad94163611d0][IMG]https://hosting.photobucket.com/albums/hh270/urchsearch/.highres/2013-03-06%2007.36.20_zps3gxtkagv.jpg[/IMG][/URL]

 

 

[paul b]

I am going to try this again because the pictures didn't come out and there is no "edit" for some reason

 

This morning like most mornings I got out of bed at 5:15, got dressed to go out for a walk and immediately got a flashback from Nam because there is a monsoon outside.  In Nam I had no choice and had to live in it but here I have a nice warm house so I decided not to walk today.

 

I decided to bake muffins like I often do for a few reasons.  I like them, my wife likes them and I can't go out so what else an I going to do at 4:15?

 

As I am waiting for them to bake I was thinking of all the times I do walk in the morning and all the deer I see so early.  These things are all over the place.  I wish purple tangs were so common. 

 

Most people here think of the deer as a big problem because they don't look both ways when they cross streets and don't make good hood ornaments.

 

I am quite sure the deer think of us as pests but I am guessing as although I can read the mind of a copperband butterfly, deer minds confuse me and I don't get much incite from what they are thinking.  Looking into the black eyes of a deer is like looking into the eyes of a flounder.  Not much going on. 

 

They did put "Deer Crossing" signs all over the place but many times the deer ignore those signs and cross the streets in other places. 

 

 

Over the years there have been plans on how to limit the numbers of deer but with 4 or 5 million people with opinions, nothing gets done.  It's like fish forums, everyone has an opinion and the outcome is almost always to change the water.

 

At one time the government hired hunters to cull the population.  Of course that is only a temporary solution and people cried out about the cruelty.

I myself don't shoot deer or even deer ticks and also don't like that idea.  I don't eat deer meat but I do eat hamburgers which are humanly grown in a supermarket

 

Even if they killed 100 deer, there are tens of thousands of them and more of them get hit by cars than that every month.

 

There was a plan to feed the deer birth control pills.  They would drop bales of food by helicopter laced with birth control pills.

That didn't work because the way a deers hoofs are built, they have a hard time getting the pills out of those little round plastic containers they come in and the deer never knew what day it was so even if they could pry the pills out, the dosage was off. 

 

Also the bucks, or male deer were eating them and it started to make them grow long eyelashes and many people would complain that when they were watching Oprah, the deer would look at the TV through their window instead of running after females like bucks are supposed to do.

 

[URL=https://app.photobucket.com/u/urchsearch/a/0aecb164-96ce-4c85-ad43-aef2e707f671/p/77d62044-0ccb-4877-8240-40ca11334bd6][IMG]https://hosting.photobucket.com/albums/hh270/urchsearch/.highres/IMG_27071_zpsagimpc5u.jpg[/IMG][/URL]

 

There is an Island here called Shelter Island and a lot of wealthy people lived there.  Many of them got rich from whaling.  (They killed all the whales then started to kill other things but that is for another useless thread.)  Anyway they wanted to grow gardens and they couldn't because the deer would eat everything, so the residents came up with a plan.

 

The Island isn't that big so they hired these people to come to the Island with huge fishing nets.  They got a few hundred people and started walking the nets through the Island trying to force the deer all to one side where they would have a barge waiting.  The idea was to herd the deer onto the barge and let them go on the mainland.  (Originally they were going to shoot them but the people started protesting.  They figured it was much more humane to pry the poor animals from the grill of a 1929 Oldsmobile )

 

At first it looked like it was working and almost all the deer were in the nets going on to the barge.  Thats when the Island occupants learned that deer could jump six feet and swim like Johnny Weissmuller  (Tarzan) 

 

There were Deer swimming all around the Island and the Coast Guard had to be called to chase the deer out of the water because now they were a hazard to navigation.  Inadvertently, all the deer ended up back on the Island and now, after swimming all day they were hungry so the little vegetation that was still on the Island was quickly devoured by the deer. 

 

Now the Island residents were up here.

 

[URL=https://app.photobucket.com/u/urchsearch/a/0aecb164-96ce-4c85-ad43-aef2e707f671/p/1c126516-48cc-4462-81f4-ad94163611d0][IMG]https://hosting.photobucket.com/albums/hh270/urchsearch/.highres/2013-03-06%2007.36.20_zps3gxtkagv.jpg[/IMG][/URL]

 

 

[paul b]

Pictures aren't working, it must be me. 

 

I just got back from the Bone Doctor. I went for cortizone shots in both knees because my knees are sucky. Commercial construction in Manhattan for 40 years messes up your knees because everything is 1,000lbs, even lunch. 

So I get there and roll up my two pants legs, I actually wore sweats for this and the Dr, assistant said why did I roll up both legs. I said, both knees don't work and both feel like I have tiny sea urchins playing polo in there.

She said, she can't do anything with the left knee which is a titanium one because there is no more arthritis in there, just inflamed tendons and she can't fix those.
Another knee replacement, like the original knee doc wants to do would only make it worse so I am stuck.

I asked if she could fix the right knee and she said, any small amount of meniscus left in there is shreaded and it is bone on bone so I am just pinching the nerves when I move. Nothing can be done except a new knee.

I told her the other one didn't work out to well and I can't be laid up because my wife has MS and I even have to put her shoes on. She can't live without me for a day, much less a year.

So she told me I am in between a hard place and a rock covered in long spined sea urchins so a new knee is the only option.

I can take over the counter pain meds like Tylenol or Dr Pepper.
She gave me the cortizone shot and I can take them every three months until I croak, so that was good news. 

[paul b]

Playing with my new lenses. I got this Hippo when she was very small. She has never eaten seaweed, algae or nori.

 

Very pregnant Watchgirl 

 

[paul b]

I also posted this on another forum because someone asked me if my method would work in a small tank of 29 gallons.

 

Dkmoo, my tank was started in a 40 gallon tank.  I started it with ocean water from the East River near Manhattan because thats what I had and I couldn't get ASW.  I also used rocks from jetty's in New York.  I fed worms and things I could find as there was no salt water food sold at the time.  Remember, the hobby didn't even start yet.

 

That 40 gallon tank had some problems for sure.  Ich was everywhere and there was no copper medications because we didn't use that in fresh water.  I found a scientist who told me about copper so I got pennies and put them in.  I found out from Robert Straughn, (The Father of Salt Water Fish Keeping) to use 20 pennies to the gallon.  (pennies are no longer made of copper so don't try this)

 

My old log book tells of all the problems I had and the medications I used were for humans and didn't work well.

 

 

I had a lot of fish then as fish came on the market, I bought them.

LFSs were popping up in the 80s but no one knew what they were doing and I bought all the new fish anyway and experimented until I could figure out what the fish needed.  At the time I was also SCUBA diving in the tropics and in New York for lobsters.

 

 

Remember this was way before computers cell phones or the internet so there was also no bad information.  As far as I knew, I was the only one with a salt tank.

 But eventually I figured out what to do and I accidentally started feeding my 7 blue devils live worms that I used to feed to my fresh water tanks of which I think I had 14.

 

 

They started to spawn and lived for 7 years.  Then I discovered that I didn't need the pennies any more and all my fish were living for many years.  Of course I had accidents and lost fish as I barely knew what I was doing and when you do things by trial and error, you will fail more then you win.

 

Blue devil eggs circa 1972

 

It took until the early 80s when I think I had it down to a science and stopped losing fish to communicable diseases. 

Then much later the internet came out and everyone had an opinion.  Thats when the problems started and no one any more experimented, they all asked for opinions.  Opinions now are fine but to ask for opinions from people who started the hobby last Tuesday and have kept one damsel for a couple of weeks on life support was not a good idea.

 

I wrote a few articles in the paper magazines then and like now, people would ask me questions.

(remember, even in those days I still had the oldest tank around)

 

I would say to feed live worms and clams etc.  People would write back and say:  Oh thats great, I can't get that so I will feed corn flakes is that OK?..

 

 

And thats the way it has always gone.

 

But getting back to your question of a small tank.  For many years I kept a 5 gallon salt tank using NSW and rocks from New York water.  Much of it was asphalt, cinder blocks and bricks,

 

I hatched out these octopus in a small tank.

 

 

And kept cool creatures.  Most of which I collected in the sea

 

 

This was my tank I think in the 80s

 

Those small 5 gallon tanks using bricks,NSW and local creatures never crashed or had any disease problems.  Not once.  Don't tell some of the people on here because it would be an argument as they can't grasp having healthy fish by using parasites to control parasites.

 

Of course none of those people can show their still running tanks from when the hobby started.

Remember us Geezers invented quarantine, copper and medications, that is not a modern thing from the internet.  It was because we were un informed and didn't realize that the fish could stay healthy if we stayed out of their way and dealt with diseases the way they have been for millions of years. 

 

[paul b]

I found my Log book.  It seems that in 1982 I got a computer.  An Apple 2C.  But that didn't go on line.  (I don't think there was an internet to go on then but I don't remember. 

The thing only typed so it was an expensive typewriter.  

 

It would also make Christmas cards, banners etc.

I kept the log until 1992.  Most of it is just when I got a new fish or lost fish.  The medications I used and stuff like that.  I didn't write the every day mundane things and sometimes I went for months before i wrote anything. 

[RubberFrog]

I loved every word of this