Fish, babies, hurricanes
Sep. 6th, 2004 03:11 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ximinezI have apparently been ordered to update my journal, because I am missed. (You know who you are: *smooch*)
Haven't really been in a writing mood lately, partly because I've just plain been busy, partly because of hurricane chaos. So, a brief update.
About two weeks ago, we purchased and set up a new 65 gallon aquarium. It's something we wanted to do for a long time, but was spurred by the discovery that one of the 3 inch cichlids that we put in our small outdoor pond last year was not only alive, but also gorgeous and way too big for that little pond (5-6 inches). So he's now in our old 15 gallon tank, and I suspect my upcoming birthday present is going to involve yet another larger tank and a few tankmates for him.
On the downside, this week, we had a die-off in our 65 gallon. It looks like the Hatchets we bought at Petsmart (Note: don't buy fish from the Aventura, FL Petsmart. This is the second time we've bought fish from them, and both times resulted in the loss of an entire species.) brought in some kind of disease. We've lost our Ram, our Flame Dwarf Gourami, and six Hatchets. Luckily, we got everybody that looked suspicious into our isolation tank, and it looks like it saved our White Skirt Tetra and one Hatchet. Everybody else in the main tank seems to be doing well, too.
In other news, we had a bit of a storm come through. But you probably know all about that one. For the first time since we left, I'm feeling a little grateful that we don't live in Port St. Lucie anymore. I would like to try and find out how our old house fared, though.
Our current house and neighborhood fared very well. Firstly, of course, because the main part of the storm was so far away that we essentially only got a mild to moderate tropical storm. But more significantly because the handful of trees that did fall down somehow all managed to miss cars and buildings completely. (So far - a lot can still happen with the ground this wet, and I don't want to jinx it by bragging.) So far, the only property damage we saw was one roof tile, one mailbox, and one mostly decorative fence. There's a lot of debris around, mostly leaves and small branches, but we're fine for the most part. We never lost power for more than a couple of seconds, and there was no flooding (other than the usual slow storm sewer drains).
The two impressions I've come away from this storm with are:
And now we've got Ivan marching across the Atlantic in our general direction. But, on the bright side, at I don't have to hurry to take the storm panels down. :)
Haven't really been in a writing mood lately, partly because I've just plain been busy, partly because of hurricane chaos. So, a brief update.
About two weeks ago, we purchased and set up a new 65 gallon aquarium. It's something we wanted to do for a long time, but was spurred by the discovery that one of the 3 inch cichlids that we put in our small outdoor pond last year was not only alive, but also gorgeous and way too big for that little pond (5-6 inches). So he's now in our old 15 gallon tank, and I suspect my upcoming birthday present is going to involve yet another larger tank and a few tankmates for him.
On the downside, this week, we had a die-off in our 65 gallon. It looks like the Hatchets we bought at Petsmart (Note: don't buy fish from the Aventura, FL Petsmart. This is the second time we've bought fish from them, and both times resulted in the loss of an entire species.) brought in some kind of disease. We've lost our Ram, our Flame Dwarf Gourami, and six Hatchets. Luckily, we got everybody that looked suspicious into our isolation tank, and it looks like it saved our White Skirt Tetra and one Hatchet. Everybody else in the main tank seems to be doing well, too.
In other news, we had a bit of a storm come through. But you probably know all about that one. For the first time since we left, I'm feeling a little grateful that we don't live in Port St. Lucie anymore. I would like to try and find out how our old house fared, though.
Our current house and neighborhood fared very well. Firstly, of course, because the main part of the storm was so far away that we essentially only got a mild to moderate tropical storm. But more significantly because the handful of trees that did fall down somehow all managed to miss cars and buildings completely. (So far - a lot can still happen with the ground this wet, and I don't want to jinx it by bragging.) So far, the only property damage we saw was one roof tile, one mailbox, and one mostly decorative fence. There's a lot of debris around, mostly leaves and small branches, but we're fine for the most part. We never lost power for more than a couple of seconds, and there was no flooding (other than the usual slow storm sewer drains).
The two impressions I've come away from this storm with are:
- hurricane panels suck, and we're going to get some accordions installed ASAP. I'm still sore from wrestling with those things.
- toddlers get cabin fever even worse than their parents. Thank goodness Grandma got her power back by Sunday afternoon, because she got an overnight visit last night...
And now we've got Ivan marching across the Atlantic in our general direction. But, on the bright side, at I don't have to hurry to take the storm panels down. :)
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Date: 2004-09-06 04:44 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-09-06 08:09 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-09-10 05:06 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-09-10 05:30 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-09-06 07:04 pm (UTC)i am glad to see your actually expanding tank space. i have not been terribly impressed with my own tank maintenance lately, and it's nice to know there's some hope.
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Date: 2004-09-06 08:43 pm (UTC)Thanks - I wish I could take more credit for its current state. Where did you hear about them becoming invasive? Not that I don't believe it, but I didn't know it was a problem. Also, there are a lot of different kinds of cichlids from lots of different places. I think there are even a few native to North America...
i am glad to see your actually expanding tank space. i have not been terribly impressed with my own tank maintenance lately, and it's nice to know there's some hope.
Larger tanks are easier to maintain - they just require a larger investment up front. But even that is not that much of a difference if you stay with freshwater. If you haven't already, find a good local, small fish store, and pick their brains. Most owners are very enthusiastic about education and conversation, and will love the opportunity to talk with someone who knows a little (even if it's very little) something about what their doing. Ask 'em to quote you a full setup. Our guy acutally worked backward (more or less) - we told him our budget and he helped us get the best setup for that money. There were some snags along the way when his supplier didn't have what he ordered, but it worked out for the better, in the end.
And, since I know the kidling is a major distraction, consider that she might be getting to the age where you can let her help. Anna loves feeding the fishies, and holds on to that lidful of food very carefully while I lift her up to the edge of the tank so she can dump it in. And it doesn't hurt that she thinks our Clown Loaches are "Nemo!"
:)