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| a delicate operation |
| 03.28.04 (2:18 pm) [edit] |
I haven't been around much lately because my sense of humor took a vacation while I've been withdrawing from some prescription meds. I hate to inflict humorless-flaring on anyone. But now I'm feeling better, my medicine cabinet is emptier, and who should waltz in this morning? Flaring's Humor! Armed with a big suitcase of laughter to replace all the whining and self pity that's been going on around here. What a relief! Even the fish were getting sick of it.
And, an added bonus: with the laughter was packed a little golden box containing...my intellect! It's been so long, I hardly recognized it! What a handy thing to have around! So many useful parts... logic, vocabulary, organization, even decisiveness. Full re-installation might be time consuming, but even operating in safe-mode is a vast improvement over the recent blue-screen-of-death days.
It's so nice to feel well. I hope to god it lasts.
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| concerted attack |
| 03.18.04 (4:19 pm) [edit] |
I have ten betta girls in a 29 gallon, and I'm trying to get the tank planted. I've got hygrophila polysperma in there which is growing like gangbusters, the anubias nana gave me a little flower (awwww...) but everything else is having some problems. The corkscrew Vals I bought has just failed miserably; I don't even know if the roots are still alive, which is a shame because I pictured a really pretty stand of waving spirally grassy forest. I count the anubias as a success but not the hygro, as hygro would grow in a ziplock baggie in a dark closet.
When I was changing the water today and messing around in the tank trying to see if the Vals was even salvageable, I felt the unmistakable poke of a betta bite.
If you take a ball point pen and thump yourself with the business end hard enough so that it leaves a dot on your skin but not so hard that it actually hurts, that's what it feels like when a betta fish bites you. Fortunately, the fish don't leave a mark.
So this litle grrl betta sees this huge thing (my hand) in the tank that is clearly the territory of her and her sisters, messing around with her plants (stunted though they may be) and, to add insult to injury, not offering any food, and she decides to Take It On. This is the delight of bettas. Poke poke poke poke..a little grrl not 1.5 inches long weighing less than 2 ounces furiously attacking the Giant Pink Hand. I ignored her. UNTIL... she got five or six or her sisters involved.
They basically launched a no-holds-barred carpet bomb attack on the Giant Hand, poking and poking. One latched onto the nail of my little finger and started pulling and shaking. I felt fully gulliverized, and decided to leave the plants alone. For now.
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| back up and running here |
| 03.16.04 (9:55 am) [edit] |
I tripped and fell off the edge of the world for a while, but I'm better now.
I'm slowly moving toward breeding Splash and his spawn sister Maggie. The spawn tank is up and running and the water is aging nicely. I've got an HOB filter with peat in it to try to soften and acidify the water. So far, it's softened it a bit, but the pH is still stuck at 7.5. GH is 9 and the KH is down to 5.
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| Giant Communist Crabs on the Loose! |
| 03.03.04 (3:30 pm) [edit] |
Millions of giant Pacific crabs, whose ancestors were brought to Europe by Joseph Stalin in the 1930s, are marching south along Norway's coast, devouring everything in their path.
The monster crabs, which can weigh up to 25lb and have a claw-span of more than three feet, are proving so resilient that scientists fear they could end up as far south as Gibraltar. [More]
Or, as Neil Gaiman says:
It is, to put it bluntly, THE END OF THE WORLD AS WE KNOW IT.
And furthermore, and most importantly, THIS ISN'T FROM THE WEEKLY WORLD NEWS! Which means it's TRUE!
PANIC! HEAD FOR THE HILLS! DESPAIR!
Personally, I think some melted butter and lemon juice are in order.
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| Poodle's new friend |
| 03.01.04 (8:35 am) [edit] |
This is an otocinclus catfish:
His name is Otto. He's a sucker-mouth catfish who's very well-behaved around plants and other fish (he won't eat either), and, also good, his adult size is only around an inch long, so he can live in a five-gallon tank.
Poodle has been very respectful of his new tank-mate. Not, of course, to the extent of sharing food with the little guy (after all, Poodle is a self-respecting betta), but insofar as not chasing Otto (too much) or trying to eat him, Poodle is well-behaved.
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I'm reading:
Aquamaniacs
Picture of the Moment
Betta Links
Betty Splendens
BC Betta
Bettas R Us
Biloxi Bettas
Classic Bettas
Jeff Hiller
Phil Lafferty
Majestic Bettas
Sailor Johnny
Jim Sonnier
Aquarticles
Dr. Tim's Library
Hypertextbook: Mendelian Genetics Chapter Directory
DIY CO2 Systems for Freshwater-Planted Aquaria
Member of
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