Well, not really. I'm still me, just very busy, which is why I haven't been posting in this blog for a while. I'm still at work on my Metazoic site. I want to finish as many families as I can while I am still in the mood. Since my last post, I've completed about 3 more families. I'm still on a role and I am hot! But for the past week, I've been preparing myself for my latest birthday gift, from myself AND my sis. I got a fishtank! It's a 65 gallon tank, and it is used, but no leaks and most of the equipment that came with it is usable. I got my sis to get me a stand to put it on, and for 3 days I worked on it off and on. It wouldn't have taken so long, except that I am not used to doing that kind of hard labor now, and my hands would hurt after several hours of hard use of a screwdriver! But once I would get the feeling back in my hands, I would go back to work on that stand. Finally yesterday, I finished it completely. This is the finished stand...
And of course, Mya was by my side during the whole journey...
The only thing wrong with it is one door is kinda crooked, but it's not something I cannot live with. It still opens and closes smoothly, and it has no affect on how the tank sets on the stand. It just looks terrible and that's a cosmetic thing. I can live peacefully with that. Shoot! Look how ugly I am and it doesn't bother me! LMAO!!!
Well, since the tank and accessories are used, and rather old, I expected there to be some flaws. The person I got the tank from said she had a pleco in there for 18 years! So, the tank and accessories are at least 19 years old. She said the fish just finally died a year ago, and the tank has been sitting empty ever since. It was dusty and dirty, but I cleaned it up. I got some rocks and put in it, which you can see in the pics. I also got some plants in it. They are not live plants, they're plastic, but that's all that is needed. Fish just need hiding spots, not necessarily live plants, as long as they are fed good. I'm using Chewy's autoship thing for fish food, so I know I'll have a plentiful supply. Probably more than I'll really need!
I hooked up the filter that came with this tank and turned it on and MAN!!!! It was LOUD!!!! That, I could not live with. It was way too loud!! So, I turned it off and went back on Chewy and ordered a new filter. This time, I made sure it's a quiet one. I also found out there was only one portion of the tank's hood in this box I got with the accessories. And the light bulb was dead. So, I had to order another light fixture and another bulb for the lid it came with. So, that was extra money there spent. I also noticed she did not include any powerheads with the tank, and that is essential for me. Need something to oxygenate the water at all times. So, I have those things on their way. Between getting those things and some decorations so the tank looks homey to my upcoming fish, I spent every last penny I had for this month!! In fact, I went a little over. I had to ask my sis for some financial assistance last night so I don't get overdrawn. My sis is a real trouper!! I've got to hand her that! She is amazing!!
Well, I spent so much on decorations and accessories to replace the ones that don't work, all I need now is fish! Which I will not be able to get until next month. But I've got my eyes on a few places that sells a decent selection of tropical fish. One of my favorites has where if you get $159 worth of fish, you get free shipping! When I look for tropical fish, I like to get small fish. Other people go for larger cichlids, plecos, arrowanas and simply larger, aggressive and semi-aggressive fish. But not me! I prefer small tetras, pencilfish, rasboras, and small, non-aggressive oddballs like that. The harder it is to find, the more I love it!! I enjoy looking into a large fish tank and seeing the small splashes of color and uniqueness of tetras like neons, glowlites, and porkchop rasboras. I like that. I tire of the relatively dull colors in oscars and the larger cichlids. Besides, everybody has those, and I am just not fond of them myself. The only cichlids I would ever have is kribensis and I once had a checkerboard cichlid a pet store clerk once gave me by accident. Those are the smaller species and more suitable for a community aquarium of non-aggressive fish.
When I lived in Montana, there were actually very few fish stores. And those that were there had mostly saltwater fish. I remember in Billings I found a fish store, and I went inside hoping to find equal amounts of salt and freshwater fish. But no, it was ALL saltwater fish. The same kind of thing at the fish shop in Bozeman, only they had like 3 tankfuls of freshwater fish, and those were mostly cichlids, guppies and platies. Basically your run-of-the-mill tropical fish. All the other tanks were nothing but saltwater fish. I remember asking this man why no one in Montana sells freshwater tetras and other small tropical fish. His answer was "Why do you want to own a toilet?" He said those fish live in lakes and streams, which is equivalent to having a "toilet" in your living room. Personally, I don't feel that way.
I may be an oddball myself, but I DO NOT want a saltwater tank! Yes I agree saltwater fish are beautiful, but they are also outrageously expensive!! Let's say I buy a saltwater fish for $80, I bring it home, go through the proper steps of introducing it to my tank, it lives for one month, and then gets sick for some reason and dies. I'm out $80!! And that's not even enough to make that month I had the fish worth the money!! I'd be screaming and spitting blood if that happened to me!! That is why I do not get saltwater fish, ever! The most I've ever paid for a freshwater fish is $10 a piece, which if I lose it, is not as bad. But looking online, I've found that one place that may charge $10 for that same species of fish, may be $4 somewhere else. That's a better deal and I usually go for it. I don't know what kind of fish I'll be getting this time, but I am not likely to go outside the tetra and rasbora families.
And of course, Mya was by my side during the whole journey...
The only thing wrong with it is one door is kinda crooked, but it's not something I cannot live with. It still opens and closes smoothly, and it has no affect on how the tank sets on the stand. It just looks terrible and that's a cosmetic thing. I can live peacefully with that. Shoot! Look how ugly I am and it doesn't bother me! LMAO!!!
Well, since the tank and accessories are used, and rather old, I expected there to be some flaws. The person I got the tank from said she had a pleco in there for 18 years! So, the tank and accessories are at least 19 years old. She said the fish just finally died a year ago, and the tank has been sitting empty ever since. It was dusty and dirty, but I cleaned it up. I got some rocks and put in it, which you can see in the pics. I also got some plants in it. They are not live plants, they're plastic, but that's all that is needed. Fish just need hiding spots, not necessarily live plants, as long as they are fed good. I'm using Chewy's autoship thing for fish food, so I know I'll have a plentiful supply. Probably more than I'll really need!
I hooked up the filter that came with this tank and turned it on and MAN!!!! It was LOUD!!!! That, I could not live with. It was way too loud!! So, I turned it off and went back on Chewy and ordered a new filter. This time, I made sure it's a quiet one. I also found out there was only one portion of the tank's hood in this box I got with the accessories. And the light bulb was dead. So, I had to order another light fixture and another bulb for the lid it came with. So, that was extra money there spent. I also noticed she did not include any powerheads with the tank, and that is essential for me. Need something to oxygenate the water at all times. So, I have those things on their way. Between getting those things and some decorations so the tank looks homey to my upcoming fish, I spent every last penny I had for this month!! In fact, I went a little over. I had to ask my sis for some financial assistance last night so I don't get overdrawn. My sis is a real trouper!! I've got to hand her that! She is amazing!!
Well, I spent so much on decorations and accessories to replace the ones that don't work, all I need now is fish! Which I will not be able to get until next month. But I've got my eyes on a few places that sells a decent selection of tropical fish. One of my favorites has where if you get $159 worth of fish, you get free shipping! When I look for tropical fish, I like to get small fish. Other people go for larger cichlids, plecos, arrowanas and simply larger, aggressive and semi-aggressive fish. But not me! I prefer small tetras, pencilfish, rasboras, and small, non-aggressive oddballs like that. The harder it is to find, the more I love it!! I enjoy looking into a large fish tank and seeing the small splashes of color and uniqueness of tetras like neons, glowlites, and porkchop rasboras. I like that. I tire of the relatively dull colors in oscars and the larger cichlids. Besides, everybody has those, and I am just not fond of them myself. The only cichlids I would ever have is kribensis and I once had a checkerboard cichlid a pet store clerk once gave me by accident. Those are the smaller species and more suitable for a community aquarium of non-aggressive fish.
When I lived in Montana, there were actually very few fish stores. And those that were there had mostly saltwater fish. I remember in Billings I found a fish store, and I went inside hoping to find equal amounts of salt and freshwater fish. But no, it was ALL saltwater fish. The same kind of thing at the fish shop in Bozeman, only they had like 3 tankfuls of freshwater fish, and those were mostly cichlids, guppies and platies. Basically your run-of-the-mill tropical fish. All the other tanks were nothing but saltwater fish. I remember asking this man why no one in Montana sells freshwater tetras and other small tropical fish. His answer was "Why do you want to own a toilet?" He said those fish live in lakes and streams, which is equivalent to having a "toilet" in your living room. Personally, I don't feel that way.
I may be an oddball myself, but I DO NOT want a saltwater tank! Yes I agree saltwater fish are beautiful, but they are also outrageously expensive!! Let's say I buy a saltwater fish for $80, I bring it home, go through the proper steps of introducing it to my tank, it lives for one month, and then gets sick for some reason and dies. I'm out $80!! And that's not even enough to make that month I had the fish worth the money!! I'd be screaming and spitting blood if that happened to me!! That is why I do not get saltwater fish, ever! The most I've ever paid for a freshwater fish is $10 a piece, which if I lose it, is not as bad. But looking online, I've found that one place that may charge $10 for that same species of fish, may be $4 somewhere else. That's a better deal and I usually go for it. I don't know what kind of fish I'll be getting this time, but I am not likely to go outside the tetra and rasbora families.
No comments:
Post a Comment