CaptainWacky
I want to smell dark matter
We had goldfish when I was a child. They didn't do much. I can't even remember if they had names. Kind of sad.
Troll Kingdom
This is a sample guest message. Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!
The 40 gallon dream tank
- Thread starter Cassie
- Start date
Eggs Mayonnaise
All In With The Nuts
KRILL /kril/
noun
a small shrimplike planktonic crustacean of the open seas. It is eaten by a number of larger animals, notably the baleen whales.
Volpone
Zombie Hunter
When I was in college I had a roommate who would get dogs. But he wouldn't commit to having dogs so I got dogs. When I got my own place I wound up with a cat, which I figured would be less of a commitment than dogs. And it was. But in the end I wound up joining the Marine Corps and they don't take cats at OCS so I wound up leaving the cat with a friend. Then, after being commissioned, finishing school, and being assigned to a duty station, I wound up with a manipulative roommate who claimed to be allergic to cats (he miraculously was no longer allergic to cats when he couldn't find a place and needed a roommate and then, once we'd found a place he realized he was still allergic to cats) and I realized what it entailed to get a cat from Minnesota to California so I never wound up getting the cat back. So when I decided I wanted a pet again, I got a Betta. There was kind of a Betta fad at the turn of the century and I figured it would be even lower maintenance than a cat. Turns out Bettas need to be fed, like, twice a day. And because they live in little unfiltered bowls, they can get things like fin rot and you spend all your time trying to cure whatever they happen to have next. After failing to make a go of Portland, Oregon the first time I wound up having to take a job with the Marines in Hawaii and pawned the Betta off on kyle from The Other Place because with the liquid limitations on TSA era airplane travel I couldn't figure out how to get the Betta to Hawaii--and I couldn't just kill it. That said, it had a Leader-style brain tumor thing going on on its head and I think it croaked before my plane landed in Hawaii. I feel bad for having it happen on kyle's watch, but truth be told, it was within the typical Betta lifespan.
Then I wound up with goldfish in Portland. Oh, man, that's a story. So I had a sort of courtyard to my little 789sf cottage. The house was "L" shaped" with an attached detached 1 car garage (the garage shared a wall with the bedrooms but to get to it you went out the back door (with the garage, the house was kind of "C" or "U" shaped and there was poured concrete in the space between the back door and the door to the garage. Well the way the roof was setup, water poured off the corner between my bedroom window and the backdoor to the house so I stuck a big vase there and put "lucky bamboo" in it. I hadn't done my research and lucky bamboo isn't really bamboo and can't really survive even the relatively mild Oregon winters. At any rate the other problem was this big vase of water (think 3' tall or so) was a literal breeding ground for mosquitos. I could see the little larval fuckers swimmin' around in it. So I got a pair of "feeder" goldfish. And I added a few more plants and some snails and put a cinder block in the bottom of the vase so they had a place to hide from predators and it was a happy fun time. Until we had the coldest winter in the 13-ish years I lived in Oregon. One night the vase froze enough to break. I was awake and realized what happened early enough that both the goldfish were still living when I got them in the bathtub but one didn't make it. And of course I was stuck relying on tap water, which has chlorine in it so efforts to maintain goldfish failed.
Prior to getting goldfish I was totally underwhelmed by the idea of fish as pets but I really enjoyed popping out onto the deck from the kitchen to watch them swim around in their vase and come up for fish food. They made me happy and I miss them. I feel like they had names but I can't remember what they were (they were sufficiently different colored to be distinguishable and had different personalities, if you believe a fish can have a personality). Hang on.
Then I wound up with goldfish in Portland. Oh, man, that's a story. So I had a sort of courtyard to my little 789sf cottage. The house was "L" shaped" with an attached detached 1 car garage (the garage shared a wall with the bedrooms but to get to it you went out the back door (with the garage, the house was kind of "C" or "U" shaped and there was poured concrete in the space between the back door and the door to the garage. Well the way the roof was setup, water poured off the corner between my bedroom window and the backdoor to the house so I stuck a big vase there and put "lucky bamboo" in it. I hadn't done my research and lucky bamboo isn't really bamboo and can't really survive even the relatively mild Oregon winters. At any rate the other problem was this big vase of water (think 3' tall or so) was a literal breeding ground for mosquitos. I could see the little larval fuckers swimmin' around in it. So I got a pair of "feeder" goldfish. And I added a few more plants and some snails and put a cinder block in the bottom of the vase so they had a place to hide from predators and it was a happy fun time. Until we had the coldest winter in the 13-ish years I lived in Oregon. One night the vase froze enough to break. I was awake and realized what happened early enough that both the goldfish were still living when I got them in the bathtub but one didn't make it. And of course I was stuck relying on tap water, which has chlorine in it so efforts to maintain goldfish failed.
Prior to getting goldfish I was totally underwhelmed by the idea of fish as pets but I really enjoyed popping out onto the deck from the kitchen to watch them swim around in their vase and come up for fish food. They made me happy and I miss them. I feel like they had names but I can't remember what they were (they were sufficiently different colored to be distinguishable and had different personalities, if you believe a fish can have a personality). Hang on.
Attachments
Someday I will get a betta, but the ones at the stores near me all look half dead, and I don't want one I need to put in a hospital tank. Maybe I will rescue a betta eventually. They are cool fish. I wouldn't put him in a bowl, though. They need a proper tank to swim around in.
I am lucky that I have a private well, so I don't have to worry about chlorine, chlorimines, or ammonia in the tap water. There are lots of brands of water conditioners, though. You just put a tiny bit in the water and it causes the bad chemicals to dissipate. Not sure how it works. SCIENCE. A lot of people who have municipal water use it for the initial start up, add dechlorinator, get their tank cycled, but then use reverse osmosis water for top ups.
Those feeder goldfish get huge. They look so little and cute at the store, and they're so cheap. I stock my pond with rosy minnows, they're the other feeder fish, usually right next to the goldfish at the store. They stay pretty small, and if I'm lucky they make babies.
OH and I do think fish have personalities! I have a dojo loach who is a goofy asshole, he's constantly trying to snuggle with the golden algae eater, and I have Bertha who is a gigantic common pleco. She is also an asshole, and also a murderer, but sometimes she lets me pet her nose.
I am lucky that I have a private well, so I don't have to worry about chlorine, chlorimines, or ammonia in the tap water. There are lots of brands of water conditioners, though. You just put a tiny bit in the water and it causes the bad chemicals to dissipate. Not sure how it works. SCIENCE. A lot of people who have municipal water use it for the initial start up, add dechlorinator, get their tank cycled, but then use reverse osmosis water for top ups.
Those feeder goldfish get huge. They look so little and cute at the store, and they're so cheap. I stock my pond with rosy minnows, they're the other feeder fish, usually right next to the goldfish at the store. They stay pretty small, and if I'm lucky they make babies.
OH and I do think fish have personalities! I have a dojo loach who is a goofy asshole, he's constantly trying to snuggle with the golden algae eater, and I have Bertha who is a gigantic common pleco. She is also an asshole, and also a murderer, but sometimes she lets me pet her nose.
