Friday, February 20, 2009

Tuesday, February 17, 2009
My hardiest fish Category: Pets and Animals
I've only had fish for 2 years now. I've also had some 25 years ago. But that seems like history. So my first tank recently was 40 gallons. I like to start big. The fish that are still around are 3 bleeding heart tetras, 2 plecos, and 2 blue goramis. Unfortunately I made some mistakes at the beginning and it seemed like I lost a fish every month. So as time goes on, I am not losing as many. I added a 55 gallon aquarium to my collection about a year and a half ago. The jack dempsey cichlids, pleco, and silver dollars are doing well in there. So for me, these are the hardy fish.Pleco, Bleeding Heart tetra, blue gorami, Jack Dempsey, and Silver Dollars.

Tuesday, February 17, 2009
How to select fish Category: Pets and Animals
I went to the pet store Monday. I'm not naming names, but it was one of those chain retail stores with the word "pet" in it's name. The first thing I do when selecting fish is check on the condition of the fish in the tanks. And these tanks were terrible. I will not buy fish if there is a dead fish in the tank. And this place must have had at least dead fish. Even my 6 year old kept saying, there's another dead one, and another. A store should be able to remove the dead. I can understand 1 or 2 dead fish in the whole store. But this was rediculous. Then the live fish and snails start feeding off them and I'm sure any disease is spread. I also don't buy fish from a store with the letters "Wal" in the name. The one by us was so bad, they shut down the fish department, and we actually saw the employees Killing the fish. Disgusting. I'm not saying don't buy from these places, but you should buy only if the fish are healthy or taken care of properly.Sick fish are also what I look for. Are there any spinning helplessly out of control. I saw a couple of those. If you see any white spots, missing eyes, fin or scale problems, or anything else wierd, DONT buy from those tanks. You want a store that sells healthy fish. Also way over stocked tanks, I'm talking fin to fin crowded tanks should be avoided. That is like forcing 10 people to live in an elevator with hardly any air. Just go to a different place.Ok, so when you find a healthy tank and good looking fish, what's next to look for. Size. Not what size they are now. A cute little pacu in the store, can grow to be 3 Feet long very quickly. What size is your tank. 10 gallon tanks have a some good choices. I recommend fish that don't grow bigger than 2 inches. Rasboras, guppies, a betta. I hate seeing bettas live in little jars. I have one betta living with 9 rasboras in a 10 gallon tank. Tanks 20 gallons to 40 gallons are good for fish 4 inches or less. And there are so many good choices. Just don't overcrowd.Tanks 55 gallons and up are good for fish that get 6-12 inches. The bigger tank the better for these fish. They produce a lot of waste. 12 inch fish would rather have a 100 gallon tank. Koi can get 2 feet long.The important thing, know how big, do some research, before you get the fish.

Wednesday, February 04, 2009
Why do I work
Why do I work my Job.At lunch I escaped from the office and made my way to the lake down the road. I only had 30 minutes. Kind of silly to go for such a short time, but I've been wanting to go there for my new hobby. I got into fossil hunting which I will write about at another time. As I was sitting at the lakeside looking at rocks a thought ran through my head. Why do I sit in my office all day and do accounting when I am perfectly happy outside looking for fossils. Or I can be happy breeding and caring for fish. I could even get into conservation and work outside to clean our environment.I guess the number one reason I work in an office is for the money. This job is secure and I am comfortable doing the work. I can spend all my free time doing what I enjoy. Maybe if I could make enough money in my free time with my hobbies, I wouldn't have to work in an office any more.

Friday, January 02, 2009
Cory Catfish had eggs Current mood: excited
For the first time I know of, my cory catfish had eggs. New years eve I saw about a dozen eggs sitting all together on the glass. I tried to remove them with a razor blade and they all started floating away. So I scrambled for a fish net and the baby nursery. I dropped the nursery and it broke a little. Not good. And I was only able to scoop up 2 eggs. So if I get any babies, It will be a miracle because I messed up gathering the eggs. I was just so excited I had some.
I think the trigger that led up to this was I had 5 catfish in 2 tanks. So when I did my water 25% partial water changes, I put all the catfish in one tank. These are peppered corys by the way. I refilled the tank with cold water which brought the temperature down to around 68 degrees. It started around 78 degrees. Within hours I did see the smaller male hovering over a female and shaking its body and fins. Obviously he was frisky. And I think I only have one male. So the next thing I know there were eggs within the next 24 hours. Now I always thought there would be a lot more eggs. So I don't know if there are some in the plants or if the fish ate them.
My corys are now in a 40 gallon tank with 3 blue gouramis, 10 guppies, 3 tetras, and a nice big pleco. Maybe I'll get a few more corys.

Monday, October 20, 2008
Fossil Hunt 10/18 Current mood: adventurous
Saturday morning I started my drive to Cumberland Gap National Park from Knoxville, TN. On Hwy 25E around Clinch Mountain there were several places to stop and look around. So I did, at the side of the road where tons of rock sat. I started flipping over small rocks looking for some types of fossils. The rock was limestone, shale, or sandstone From the Devonian period through the Mississippian period. I found coral, brachiopods (shells), and trace fossils (some kind of worm trails.) There were other places to look along this route but I was worried that construction guys would yell at me. It's the paranoia in me. There was a lot of construction along this route. I should have worried more about explosions because there were signs for blasting. I'm sure if I did stop along the construction, there were a lot of areas to look at.
I then drove to the campground at Cumberland Gap National Park. I set up my camp, found the nearest trail, and started hiking. Not far up the trail was a bridge that went over a dried out creek bed. I thought, cool. So I spent the rest of my day walking along the center of the creek and looking at rocks. It seemed like every rock I flipped over had a spider on it. And one rock had a lizard that that left the area quickly. I flipped a lot of rocks. And then about 100 feet down the creek I found the best fossil of the day. I said Bingo. It was a limestone rock about 10 pounds. This rock was loaded with shells and coral. There must have been at least 100 shells in this thing. I foze at my camp that night. I guess the temp got down to 34F. Brrr. Even my dog was shaking. The next trip I get warmer bedding. When I got home I researched what I found. They were older than dinosaurs. 350-400 million years old.

About Me

I have been working in accounting and purchasing for 12 years. I really enjoy helping businesses get the most out of their money. I am able to research other companies to find out where I can get the best prices for goods and services. I am able to serve companies all over the United States and Spanish speaking countries.

Other interests I have are aquariums. I have 5 fish tanks with guppies, Jack Dempseys, tetras, sword tails, tinfoil barbs, plecos, cory catfish, silver dollars, rasboras, a beta, a platy. They aren't all in the same tank. I am trying to develop my own strain of guppy. And I'd like to breed the cory catfish. I'll probably get a couple more tanks. One for salt water and a bigger tank for the big fish.