Tank Thread Tank reached 38 years old...in 2009!

[Paul B]

Yesterday we were at an art gallery where my SteamPunk "Art" pieces are displayed along with other artists and there was a photographer there because it was a huge crowd that could barely fit in the small gallery.

The photographer noticed my pieces and apparently liked them so she took pictures of myself and my wife in front of one of them for "Dan's Papers".

Dan's Papers is the largest free paper on Long Island NY and covers all of eastern Long Island . About 2,000,000 people. It is in every restaurant, bar, supermarket, card store, laundromat and lfs.

So they tell me that this Thursday I will be in there. Christie Brinkley I am sure gets that paper so I am sure she will want me to make her a piece. OK, Maybe not.

 

[Paul B]

I really love this one and hope it doesn't sell. :p


Today I went for acupuncture for my knee. The thing was replaced but it didn't work and they won't give me a refund and put my old one back because they had it bronzed and it is hanging in the Smithsonian.

The Surgeon said he needs to operate again to replace one part that is the wrong size. I thought they were like "Fruit of the Loom, " one size fits all, but I guess I was wrong, so when the guy was installing it and asked the nurse for the knee joint she handed him the wrong one because maybe she was applying lip stick, doing her nails or texting her boyfriend what she wanted for dinner.

I am not sure but either way he said if he operates to fix it, it will get worse which was not the outcome I was looking for because I wanted to continue my career as a bungee jumping fish Geek.

So my wife asked (made) me go for acupuncture. Now I believe in acupuncture as much as I believe in quarantine with the same degree of success but I like to talk to Asian Ladies so I agreed to go.

(The acupuncturist lives in my old neighborhood so we had a lot in common)

I was always trying to date Asian Girls when I was young because I was drawn to them but they were mostly repulsed by me.

I still am but my wife frowns on that sort of thing.

Of course I was drawn to any girl with a pulse.

So I go into the office and fill out the forms. Do those forms seem silly to anyone else. If I am going for acupuncture for my knee do they really have to know why I quit smoking in 1969 or what is my favorite alcoholic drink? (Singapore Sling)

So I am sitting there with my pants leg rolled up and the lady comes in carrying a handful of
"Screwdrivers"!!!!

I said WWWOOHhhhhhh. I thought you use those tiny needles that go into your ying and yang and they don't hurt.

She says, Oh yes, these are to tighten up that heat lamp that I am going to shine on you.

OK, So we talk a while because as I said, I like talking and can talk the fuzz off a peach. A good peach, not one of those over ripe, mushy ones.
She pokes around until she finds the nerves that are inflamed and sticks 9 or 10 needles in them.

Then she shines the heat light on me and disappears for 15 minutes.

When she comes back in we had a nice light chat about Shanghai where she comes from and about the Corona Virus. Which I am sure is not on these needles.

So now I am home with the same pain and have to go back in a week for another nice talk. I mean session.
I am sure this will have me doing double axles at the ice skating Olympics in a few years.

 

[Paul B]

OOOOOOOhhhhhhNNNNNoooooo. My Fireclown has cataracts.
His eyes are also a little cloudy.
I think it's because he constantly spawns, like every day and it is affecting his eyes.

He is about 29 years old but I lost his birth certificate.
His mate is only about 21 or so but I could be off by 4 or 5 years because I got her when I bought my last pair of socks, and I don't remember that either.

 

[Paul B]

 

[Paul B]

I took a video. I think I have about 26 fish, 20 of which are hiding here. I don't think they like me.

 

[LongIslandAndy]

Looking Good Paul

 

[Paul B]

Here is something I just finished. It has the most movement yet.

YouTube

Share your videos with friends, family, and the world.

studio.youtube.com

 

[Actinic Atoll]

Is that a 2-stage regulator on there because I am lookin for one lol.

 

[Paul B]

I doubt you would want this one. I kind of hollowed it out.

 

[Paul B]

Last week I put in another Sunburst Anthius and I haven't seen hyde nor hair of him. I searched every day behind and under the rocks even at night with a flashlight and still couldn't find him.
I looked at the screens on the powerheads and all over under the tank on the floor. Still couldn't find him.

That is until now. I fed a bunch of live white worms and he came out to say hello. I don't know where he was hiding but I have a lot of fish that do that. Probably half my fish I rarely see.
But this one is happy and healthy and I will get another one this Sunday I hope. Really nice fish.




How do I get the title of this thread changed? It's 49 years old now.

 

[Paul B]

Tonight I got the first good look at one of my Gecko Gobies. They have been in my tank over a year and I have never seen the entire fish as they are always hiding in a cave where they live.
I have an enormous supply of white worms now and I shoot a bunch in the back of the tank. I looked through the algae overgrown back glass and saw one of them sucking up worms.

They are one of the best looking fish I have ever seen, I just wish they would come out at least every 6 months or so.

 

[Paul B]

I just went to an LFS here who promised me copperbands, male mandarin, male bluestripe pipefish etc and You know what I got? Nothing. Zippo.

He had tangs, damsels, very common, boring stuff that everyone has.

Then a friend of mine told me of a brand new store near my wife's Doctor so we went there.
The place is very new and clean. A beautiful store that I would like to live in, but the same boring stuff.
This place is also more expensive but not out of sight.

He charges $49.00 for a copperband (if he had one) and the other guy charges $29.00 (if he had them)

This place also gets in fish every 3 weeks which is weird, but they quarantine them for 2 weeks before they sell them.
I asked the Mgr. if I could get the fish before he quarantines them. I will even pay more for them. They are going to let me know by E Mail so I will see how that works out.

 

[Paul B]

29 year old Fireclown with eggs.


My new guy.

 

[Paul B]

I took another video. About half of the fish are hiding but I have a lot of those types of fish. Not seen here is a
Hippo tang, bluestripe pipefish, mandarin, 2nd sunburst anthius, 2nd possum wrasse, 2nd watchman gobi, 2 gecko gobies, 2 rainsford gobies, green clown gobi, 2nd striped cardinal, 2 six line wrasses, 5 fish that I have no idea what they are and an arrow crab.

I took this to show a natural tank. You can see tufts of hair algae, cyano, aiptasia, asternia stars, dead corals and Godzilla larvae.
The 29 year old fire clowns are tending their eggs as they lay them every few days.

Tank now is all NSW taken right from the surf with nothing added and nothing has ever been quarantined, medicated, dipped, de-wormed or anything else.

 

[Paul B]

I can never get even most of the fish out at the same time and many of them just never come out. The Gecko gobies I have never seen an entire fish so I may have 1 or 2, I can't tell. The same with the possum wrasses. I had 2 of them but they are so secretive that I have never seen both of them and they look exactly the same. 6 line wrasses also. There is a matting pair of watchman gobies but they are usually both at the entrance of their cave.

I designed this tank so that almost the entire reef structure is raised off the bottom an inch or two and in there is all interconnecting caves/tunnels so fish can and do hide for months.

It's not so good for me, but great for the fish because I know they don't want to see my ugly mug every day.
I also only buy the more odd, unusual fish and they tend to be secretive.

This new guy is at the very beginning at the right in the back, you can hardly see him but he is behind that black fish that I forget what it is.


This guy is hard to photograph but stays in the front in the montipora.


The Hippo was still sleeping and doesn't get up until about 9:00.



I am not sure where this guy is.


I forgot about the big decorator crab. He only comes out at night.


Hiding



Hiding.


The female is hiding, she hunts on the back glass


I could probably go on.

 

[Paul B]

I have about a dozen of these guys, but I rarely see any of them. The crab to the right, not the coral.

 

[Paul B]

This is the crankshaft I made to operate that last piece.

 

[Paul B]

New Lamp


This one only took a couple of hours.

 

[Paul B]

My tank is doing great but I have about 2,372 aiptasia. I guess my copperband was eating them, who knew?

I have been tying to get a new copperband and they are normally very common but for the last couple of weeks I have not been able to get one.

3 LFSs promised me last week that they will have them today, so tomorrow I am going on a quest.
I am getting my taxes done tomorrow and that is about 40 miles west of here so I will try some stores there.

I hate it when I can't even get a common fish. If I find some I may get two of them.

I gave up trying to get the types of fish I really want as all stores only stock silly common fish like tangs and some wrasses.

I have one Mother of all aiptasia about 4" tall and If I can find a spare tank I would like to keep that one for study as I never seen one that big. Nice looking animal.

 

[LongIslandAndy]

Get an aiptasia eating file fish . It took mine a month to start but he demolished them and he is easy to feed , he eats everything