OnlyGenusCaps

For me right now it is the Hawaiian cleaner wrasse (Labroides phthirophagus). That is, of course, assuming I'll still be able to get a hold of the species when I have the experience under my belt to try to breed them. I wouldn't get them until I think I might be able to breed them. There are a few records of folks successfully breeding this species - so I have reason to believe with enough experience I could succeed. Anyhow, that's the dream right now.

The second photo is more like the majority of them I have seen. I thought they looked cool too, but if I recall they can't be bred at home. So, I never explored them further. Perhaps a skilled breeder on this forum could be the first though...

Lovely photographs, of what I am sure is a beautiful land! I've been lucky enough to spend quite a bit of time in places around the eastern North Atlantic and North Sea, but I've not yet had the chance to go to Ireland. Your photos make me think I need to find a reason sooner than later. Thanks for sharing them, and it's wonderful to have you back!

I'm headed to get our new Dal pup tomorrow. I've only ever had dalmatians. My last one died 4 years ago. We are finally ready to love one again. Nice tinc azurus pair there! I've got pum basties RFB 1:4:0. I'm trying to increase that last number. Good luck with your darts!

I got to see Buddy Guy in Arizona in 2006. He walked through the audience while somehow shaking hands and playing! At first I thought it was a recording, but then someone bumped him and it threw him off. Dude is a legend!

Well when you make the inevitable trip up to Sax-Zim for winter owling, let me know. I'll take you to Punch Pizza for the good stuff!

No worries. Don't worry, I definitely wasn't attempting to get into a semantic argument. I think I understand what you are doing a little better now. Thanks for taking the time to further explain! I think I got a bit confused because I was building a FW skimmer for a while to test out. Long story... So, it's acting more like a skim trap of sorts? That's cool! You have the settling tank first (when I was planning a large FW sump, I was thinking of using one of these taken from the designed used for storm water, and then adding a refugium to it as well), which knocks out denser waste, and then this nameless wonder extracts the less dense waste. I can imagine they pair well together. I've never thought of an air driven skim trap, that's a neat idea!

I'll be interested to hear how the skimmer ends up working for you. I have a half built one for FW that I was working on for a bit. Koi pond folks use them to effect, but with FW less likely to froth than salt they tend to need to be larger/taller, and require rare more air flow (essentially you need to create larger numbers of bubbles with greater contact time to get a stable, and concentrating foam). From the diagram yours seems to site quite low to the water level. That's a different approach than I have seen before. Maybe that's the key? I don't know, but like I said, I'm excited to hear how it works out!

I just finished reading "The Comedians: Drunks, Thieves, Scoundrels and the History of American Comedy" by Kliph Nesteroff. The writing style was unusual, with loads of quotes. I ended up liking that once I got accustomed to it. It had a weird intro and end that felt tacked on, as if some editor somewhere wanted it all tied together with a bow. And the end also felt a bit like a love letter to a single comedian; and awkward one at that. Still, if you like comedy, the subject matter is so compelling and the quotes bring it to life. I really enjoyed this book, and it gave me a new perspective on a topic I like.

Hi @LindaOi! I'm a MAS member as well. Didn't even know we had a social media director. Glad to hear we do, and thanks for your work with the club! I've been posting stuff on this forum for MAS over here: Feel free to contribute to that thread as you see fit. Glad to have you here!

Been checking out the newer punk bands. There's some good talent there! Here is one by The Oozes called "Swallow". Unfortunately, the song I like best of theirs I suspect I can't really post here. But this is decent as well.

The GCCA is a monster of a presence for sure! But Rick Borstein at the GCCA is a live bearer nut too. I think the GCCA sort of acts as a meeting spot for more diverse interests as well. There is a planted tank group, but I don't know if that's the one you were to that meets to far away (they also got to the GCCA swap meets, if memory serves). I think there is also the Greenwater Society, which I ran into at Aquashella last weekend. If none of those 3 groups are your place, they will know who else is out there and I'll bet you'll find someone who would be willing to help you figure out if the right group exists. Good luck!

Wish I'd know others from the forum were going (clearly I missed this thread). Would have been good to meet a few people in person. It was a good event! I had a good time there! And I too bought some wood from the big vendor. Great prices indeed!!!

Tomorrow, tomorrow, tomorrow!!! October's MAS meeting is at 7pm. Register here. As always, you do not need to be a member to attend the monthly meetings, they are open to all! Please feel free to attend. I hope to see you there! Meeting details: "60 Tips in 60 Minutes" by the illustrious cichlid and livebearer legend Rick Borstein! See and hear — in rapid fire fashion— tons of tips to make it easier, faster or more fun to manage and breed your fish. The presentation is picture-driven and offers tips on better ways to feed, change water, pack and ship fish and lots more. Some do-it-yourself projects are included. Best of all, all the tips are published in a concise PDF online for you to refer to after the talk. Rick Borstein is the webmaster of the Greater Chicago Cichlid Association (GCCA) and President of the Chicago Livebearer Society (CLS). Rick was the Chairman of the successful 2006 American Cichlid Association Convention held in Chicago, IL. Rick has spawned over 250 species of cichlids and is one of only sixteen people to hold the title of Master Breeder in the GCCA. Rick’s basement fishroom has 42 tanks ranging in size from 10 gallons to 240 gallons. Rick is primarily interested in cichlids and livebearers.

It's a pretty intense week for me, but my ears were burning, so I had to come over here. Pupfish you say?! Yes, I love pupfish! I have some. Different species, though same section of the clade. Nice find on the C. nazas! Full disclosure, I am no pupfish expert. There are some older folks who have been at it decades, some of whom have literally been the reason species didn't go extinct. I have been lucky enough to have them give of their time to mentor me. So anything I do know really goes back to them. Anything I get wrong... Well, that's from me! @Fish Folk is right that they tend to be a bit cantankerous. With juveniles, would will have a few months before you have to worry about that though. Part of the reason they "do well in tubs" is just the larger space. Also, having enough males to spread out the aggression is handy. Pupfish are tolerant of a wide range of conditions, but different species have various optima, from all I understand, and if you hit that sweet spot they will reward you much more. Tracking down a successful keeper, in your case your source, can be really helpful in that regard! Two things seem to be consistent when i talk to folks doing pupfish when it comes to successful breeding: rock bottoms, and hair algae. Both of these seem to be universally agreed upon for helping with breeding - although there are also the folks who can just keep things in tubs year-round, and they tent to tell me "you just put them in a tub and they breed". For those who have to use tanks at least part of the year, I heal a lot more trial an error. I imagine if the two factors were included in tubs, it could only help. Was that helpful, @Ninebreaker? I feel like @KentFishFanUK might have gotten your hopes up too far for what I know. Baseline, for really just about anything, is it is best to assume I know very little. 😆

Central-Southern Oregon and northern California are home to the enigmatic species Darlingtonia californica - the cobra lily. Easiest spot to see them is at the Darlingtonia wayside near Florence, Oregon. There are many other sited, buy because of very real poaching concerns, folks tend to keep those quiet. But DM me if you are headed that way, and I can let you know if you will be near any.

I loved having the dwarf lotus in there! It didn't bloom for me, but I suspect that has to do with the amount of sun I can provide it where the tub is located. I've not yet dug the tuber up, but there was substantial leaf growth, so I am hopeful. I'll post what I end up being able to extract from the tub when I take it down; both for fish and lotus.

Well, my first season is definitely drawing to a close. I want to get a few more days, maybe a week or so out of it, but I needed to get through a freeze to do that. So, I plunked a heater in to try to precent the water from getting too cold. Set it at 10C. Then I covered it with a painters tarp folded a few times Worked out well as it turned out. Now I have a 10 day forcast that suggests I can keep the fish out there a while longer. Hopefully enough time to get a tank together for them to over winter in my basement. Off to PetCo!!!

Nice Sarr lecus @Patrick_G! Thanks for sharing the photos!

I would suggest not ruling this out totally yet. I have virtually zero building skills. However, I was able to build two different rooms in my basement out of the 2" thick foam insulation panels (blue board, I think, although mine is purple). All I had to do was cut/or get cut a few board and attache them to the exposed boards that hold up the floor above (probably a construction-y name for those... Joists?), and then I used Liquid Nails and some screws with big washers to attache the foam to the boards. Presto! I now have a reasonably well insulated room. If you are curious about this "method" (if you can call it that), let me know and I post photos here. It's shockingly easy!

That is my style, but in this case what happened was I tried to send out a quick e-mail with too little time to type (or proofread). Actually, that works in both cases too. 🤔 Yup, that one. I must have been thinking rotary drum filters when I hurriedly typed that. So, yes please! More on your radial flow filter. Thanks! I'll check out the vid. I think for this guy, I am going to have to import. I sure hope none of the rare fish I end up having to get end up being accidentally bred in my tanks and at a MAS auction... That would be a shame. 😏

I don't know how I missed this! I love the filter schematic. Indeed, I'd like to learn more about the radial flow filter component. I'm traveling right now, but I'm also going to send you a DM in the coming days because I'd like to learn more about the fish themselves. It seems you know quite a bit about the different varieties, and have access to a group who does as well. I have a client for whom I am likely to have to import some fish from Japan, and I'd like to learn more so I can target a quality, and hopefully unique, strain.

If you look through the products I linked to, that supplier has a corner sock setup. It's saves a ton of space! I have one of those running, and I love it! What a fun sounding project!!! So, tidal shifts could be accomplished with a second small pump set lower on a timer. Or a second tank to be pumped slowly into the display, but you'd need an overflow from the sump to the auxiliary tank so there wouldn't be a chance of a flood. For the salinity changes... I have no idea, and I look forward to hearing what you come up with! If this is for your mangroves, Reef Builders has a video out from the aquarium in Nouméa, New Caledonia. They have a mangrove display with tidal water changes. Larger scale, but still cool to see.

I've used DIY kits before, and I can't recommend them enough! In my mind there is absolutely no reason to pay for the prefab acrylic sumps. They are just so expensive! The DIY kits are the best of both worlds, cost effective and functional, while not being too much work. If you use the GE 100% silicone for acrylic sheeting (in the red tube), you will even get a good bond with the acrylic directly. I've liked the kids from this eBay seller in the past. He now even has adjustable gates in some of his designs, which was the one piece of kit I thought was missing from the DIY versions. The only down side is if you have an unusual stand size, as everything is set to go into Aqueon tanks. Also, if you are looking at building a bigger sum, over a 40B, then you are out of luck too most often. If you go for it, I'll be curious what your thoughts end up being on the results.

Could be! I also thought of you when all of the deep sea tanks were covered in condensation from the low temperatures they keep the water at to keep the critters healthy - despite the very thick acrylic! Took me a few thanks for it to occur to me why all of them were fogged up. 🤪