OnlyGenusCaps

I did stop by to check out the sea otters. But I'll say that because the Minnesota Zoo has some, I didn't feel too deprived in that front. It's not as weird as it seems to have them in MN. They are part of the Russian Far East exhibit, which shares a similar climate with that part of the state. I think the sea otters there are from Kamchatka. The aquarium does have a research center in Moss Landing, but I haven't been there. I've kayaked the slough, but not been to the center there, sadly. They have a tank of those at the Minnesota Zoo (part of the indoor "Discovery Bay" exhibits. I might show off the aquatic life there sometime too. If I do, I'll definitely take a shot of that tank for you! FYI, I'd watch a vid of that. If you made one... I really liked your tour of the Steinhart! I like that place, but I never really got up there growing up as it was all the way up in the big bad City, and the bay is so close.

As I am visiting home for the first time in almost 3 years (thanks COVID! 🙄), I had the chance to go back to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Other than the prices there now being on par with a Disney visit (I'll take the aquarium any day over the mouse-trap though!), the aquarium is just as amazing as ever! I thought I would share a few photos here. Gotta start with the classics, and the jellies are as impressive as ever: Currently, the rotating exhibit space is home to a deep water exhibit. It was fantastic, and I would highly recommend it! Photos were hard to take because the lights were so low, but here we go anyhow... The deep water crabs were amazing I was also excited to see live hagfish! If you aren't familiar, I recommend a quick YouTube search of videos. There were a bunch of comb jellies that I couldn't get good shots of. But the highlight of the deep water exhibit was probably the giant, deep-water isopods, which they let you touch! I had to include the behind the scenes shot for those of you who want a tank so big you can dive with your fish. Looks like way, way too much work to me. The sandy bottom exhibit had a few things I thought were interesting. First off, who know while alive sand dollars sit on their sides?! Also, though the anemone here looks concerningly like aptasia, this was a cool little tank. I always love the sardine school on the circular tank above everyone's head. It's just mesmerizing. I got to see the sardine school being fed in the million gallon tank too. That was like watching something out of a nature documentary, but in real life! No photos, though. I was too awestruck to remember to tank any pictures. I always like moray eels. They just look so cool! I took a photo of the seagrass tank because I know @eatyourpeas and I had discussed cultivation of seagrasses in the dark and distant past. And for @Zenzo , I took a shot of these leaping blennies, which reminded of en even more acrobatic version of his mudskippers. Not the best shot, and I totally failed at all attempts at actions shots of them. Sorry. Perhaps the only thing I would critique was the coral reef exhibit. Their tanks were stuffed with fish in what I call the "living screesaver display". For me, I like the hobbyist tanks with more live corals and fewer, more appropriate levels of fish. But there were clearly loved by many! Lastly, i will leave you with the California State Fish - the garibaldi. A golden fish for the Golden State. It's good to be home!

Sorry for the slow reply. I am back home in California visiting my family right now. I'll check him out. Thanks! I'm not typically a big fan of podcasts (one I like, but it comes out every few months). That one sounds likje a good means of discovery though. I'll check it out! Thanks! Hey, hey, hey, now! There is nothing unusual about marzipan. Just ask the Germans, or the north Italians, or the Danes. Typical every days stuff. Elsewhere. 🤪 Thanks! Hard lessons learned to get there.

I think in my case it was because of a supervisor and coworker who realized they were in way over their heads. They lashed out for fear they would be discovered. I felt a bit bad leaving knowing the impact it would have on operations, but I take some solace knowing it was the catalyst to the personnel changes that were needed to potentially salvage the operation now that they are gone. I am sorry to hear that. If you decide to go in that direction, I wish you the best of luck with it! I don't get to go to clubs these days, so learning about new folks has been largely curtailed for me for the past few years. I've been dependent on YouTube. I like Mekki Leeper's stuff, but he doesn't have much up. His one episode of "Control Room" where he sold Væv tissues was a master stroke though. And I like Taylor Tomlinson. Her crowd work is amazing! Do you have any recommendations?

I should be prepping for my next meeting, but... 1.) Favorite [I performed a "u"-ectomy on all the "favorite"s] fish? You will find throughout this list that I'm not good at picking a "favorite" for very much. My interests change over time, and rarely focus on one thing even at any one time. In general for fish, I suppose I find the Dipnomorpha, or the lungfish, to be really interesting as they are more closely related to us than to other fish; their poition on the evolutionary tree interests me. Their ability to breath air has also given them the name of "salamander fish", though when I think of that, I think of the exquisitely adapted Lepidogalaxias salamandroides, which I searched for, but was unable to fine when I was last in Western Australia. In terms of keeping fish, I suppose I really like little survivors, like my Chlamydogobius eremius, desert gobies; also from Australia. And though I can't keep them I do like the western lineage of Cyprinodon, pupfish, for which their are interesting congener substitutes. But, I am planning to start marine keeping, so a whole new world of keeping and breeding await... And I can't predict where that will take me. 2.) Least favorite fish? Grotesque hybridized or line bred fish (think flowerhorns, "balloon" anything, or the weird goldfish types).3.) Favorite fish YouTuber? I used to never miss any of Zenzo's stuff, but as I am exploring marine keeping, I like Matthew from My First FIshtank, who is now at BRS (I'm a fan of Ryan who started BRS as well). 4.) Favorite non-fish YouTuber? For my the most time I've sunk in watching, it's either going to be one of the stand up comedy aggregators, or a channel with loads of ancient military history like "Kings and Generals". Though for sheer awesomeness I would have to say that I always look forward to anytime new vids come out on "Stuff Made Here"!5.) Favorite food? Steak! I even have documentation that was my favorite food as far back as 1st grade. No candy and cookies for me as a kid - I wanted flesh!6.) What fish would you like to be the most? An oceanic white-tip shark, I suppose. I'd get to travel the world. Although there is that nasty business of finning to worry about!7.) What was your scariest moment? I can't compete with @mountaintoppufferkeeper here, by any means, or even you @Odd Duck. But I have had a few exciting and lucky moments; falling off a cliff with my mountain bike and fortunately being the object an errant bush grabbed while watching my bike get trashed on the rocks far below; getting sucked over the falls on an unfamiliar reef with my board ending up, somehow, back under me again just as I was dashed on the rocks, losing the board but remaining personally intact. I had a couple of adventures when on ranches in Southern Arizona down on the border. Swarms of Brazilian bees. Finding unfortunate migrants who had expired in the area. But probably the most notable from then was when, despite warnings from several law enforcement agencies, my boss decided we were not headed back to the bunkhouse that night so we could get an early start, and we camped in a box canyon. There ended up being a middle of the night drug swap from a cartel to the local runners (military style humvees came up across the border - we were real close to the border! - and transferred the loads to guys on ATVs who then fanned out north across the desert). I suspect if we'd been caught, it would have been a bad night. Next morning Customs shows up with a couple trucks, a helicopter, and a "we told you so" for my boss asking if, and then what, we'd seen. I imagine they must have caught at least a few of them, they seemed to have a decent idea of what was going on. 8.) What country do you want to visit the most? I have been fortunate in my life to travel to many of the places I've wanted to see; as obscure as some of them are. But I'd still like to get to Caope Town and up the west coast of South Africa. 9.) Cats or dogs? Dogs. Allergic to cats, and I'm okay with that. 10) Describe yourself in 3 words. No thank you 11) Pancakes or Waffles? I can make a mean batch of either. My pancakes are less work, but my waffles are more decadent. Hard to say. 12) What is your favorite song? Okay another possible favorite question. I can't even pick a favorite genre. I have extremely eclectic tastes; from northern European fiddle music to punk rock, from classical to calypso, heavy metal to tin pan alley. It's a mixed bag. I don't really do country/bluegrass or rap/hip hop though. 13) What do you dislike most about the aquarium hobby, and why? Just when you think you have a handle on what is happening, some disaster happens and you have to figure it all out again. 20) What do you love most about the aquarium hobby? Ibid. 14) What is your favorite TV show? I miss comedies. Sometimes stupid ones. I liked "Scrubs" and "How I met Your Mother", or "Fraiser" from when I was a kid. I'll always pick a comedy over a drama. 15) What is your greatest fear? Wasps, I guess. I am super twitchy around them. Although, to be fair, I get stung quite regularly (though only 11 times this summer so far - knock on wood!). So if that's it, then I suppose at least in my case it's a fairly rational fear. 16) What is or was your favorite subject in school, and why? Science. All of it. Philosophy. Western. History. Ancient. Geography. Any. 17) Do you keep live aquarium plants? If so, what types? I do, but I'm not super excited about them. I keep a few as blinds to reduce aggression for one of my species. And I keep moss for fry hiding places. Otherwise, I can proudly say the rest of my tanks are plant free! 18) Do you love or hate pest snails? I've worked pretty hard to keep them out of my tanks. 19) Do you enjoy gardening? Used to. I even ran a university botanical collection for years. I left not long ago thanks to what became my first toxic work environment. It's soured me on growing any plants, and I used to be internationally know for some. So, I've gotten rid of most of my collection. I am however the president of a hydroponic produce company now, so... Growing plants is still a thing I do. 21) What was the biggest mistake you've made so far in the hobby, and what has it taught you? Don't let MTS become more than you want it to be. I was really proud of Cory when he posted we was evaluating his build. The thing about this forum, and YouTube, and local clubs, is they can be really supportive and exciting. That excitement can trigger the all too human emotion of "more" (for outside references, see all of consumer culture). This should be fun, but it has the potential to be burdensome. The last MAS meeting, we had one member tell a guy who just purchased 6 tanks that "if you did that every month for a while, it would be a good start". There is a lot of pressure on folks to do more in this hobby, to "take it to the next level", to over-commit. I wish I could still surf, or mountain bike, or maybe I should get back into archery. Those are all pursuits that you can put down and walk away from for a while when other demands on your time present themselves. Not true of keeping anything alive, whether it is fish, reptiles, or even plants. It has taught me that the right question is not how many tanks you have room for, but how much maintenance you have time for. Realistically. And not on your best days, but on your worst. 22) Burgers or Pizza? I'll eat a good version of either, but it seems there are more truly bad pizzas out there than the equivalently bad burgers - so I'd err on the side of burgers in an unknown situation. 23) What is your favorite aquatic animal? Maybe, sea otters? They remind me of home, so they carry a lot of nostalgia value. 24) What is your dream tank or something you want to accomplish in this hobby? I own my dream tank. A custom 300gal acrylic tank has been sitting empty in my basement for almost 2 years. I'll get to it eventually. I hope. But, see reply to question 21. 25) Favorite candy? I'm not a big candy guy. Does marzipan count? 26) What is your favorite book? This like music or fish is an impossible task. I think we can safely restrict it to the non-fiction section of the book store though. I've rarely ever been drawn to or enjoyed a fiction read. 27) What other things do you do for fun outside of the hobby? That's a good question. I'm so busy with my young kids and the family life that comes with that, and a new business these days, that I have asked myself that often of late. I'd like to do more... I suppose that's the truth of the moment.

This is a baffling response to me. Although, I mostly make yeast-leavened, Belgian waffles that you have to start the night before. Thus, pancakes are way easier! Even worse, when something should work from first principles but fails because of some unexpected emergent property. Amiright?! Solid answer! Then may I recommend: "The Rise of Early Modern Science: Islam, China and the West" by Toby Huff

That first photo - 😍 Now I want to move to the PNW. Okay, I kind of always have.

I think this is an excellent idea @FishPlanet! I want no part of it personally, but I am enjoying the replies from others!

All we hear from you is "I'm old", "I'm old". But, no! Now we hear you are doing flips on jet skis. Running mock combat in paintball. And I'm guessing doing aeronautic tricks in flight-suits in the Alps too (just reading between the lines here). I'm older than you are! Maybe not in years, but certainly in attitude. Suspect I always have been too. I'm not buying any more of that "I'm old" garbage from you! 🤣 I do look forward to hearing about your next skydiving adventure though. 😎

Seriously?! Seriously, @mountaintoppufferkeeper?! Who is going to want to follow you after those stories?! I know I can't compete. Your amazing life may have ruined this concept. I hope you are happy! 🤣 Honestly, now I just want to read your memoirs.

Your updates are such a mixed bag, that I can't use a single emoji response for them. So I think in order it goes: 😩 😢 🤗 😍 & finally a 🤩 to the new air pump and tank. I've had a Clear4Life tank for years and love it! It was my first foray back into the hobby after years away. It's been a planted Endler's tank, a community tank with driftwood, is currently my P-Salt tank, and soon to be my first SW tank. It's changed with me and followed my interests, and I've been happy with it throughout. My only frustration has been that with my own lack of knowledge early on. This was the first tank I drilled for a sump (under a bowfront in a similarly shaped cabinet, which was a learning experience on its own). I loved that the acrylic allowed me to make my own mods easily, but looking back wish I had done a few things differently. Still, it's now completely quiet in its operation, and ready to change over to my next keeping adventure. I am sure yours will bring you as much joy and be a companion along your own journey in this most dynamic hobby!

Nice touch!

Hooray! I new sump friend! 🥰 I've heard good things, but I've never worked with predrilled or "reef ready" aquariums (but I have one waiting in the wings). I've always had to create mine entirely DIY. But I do love planning sump configurations. I am plotting for two right now, and one is even in process. These will both be marine, so I get to use all the fun kit! Just got my first skimmer delivered today. To me that's about the sexiest piece of kit you can get. Just elegant. When you are ready, DM me; I'd be thrilled to hear what you are working on!

I'd be curious to see/hear/read that if you can track it down. Thanks again for all of your help!

Thanks for the heads up! I'm on well water. Does that work the same way? I won't be changing much water while I wait on the medication to work anyhow. Hopefully that delay will help too. I don't know that the fibers/worms are part of the problem of a symptom of the problem. The filter sock has worked a treat whatever they are though! I'll turn it off while I feed them vinegar eels, obviously. If the fish are looking like they are turning a corner with the meds in a few weeks, I may try adding a bit of salt to finish off whatever was causing this. This species should tolerate it well. I'm not sure if I need "aquarium salt" though, or if I could equally use the tub of Tropic Marin marine salt I have on hand.

I had a lot to catch up on! That is some serious resilience in the face of adversity. Inspiring! I really like those AIO tanks. I am surprised that Red Sea makes them that big because I assume that for reefing once they get to that size they really need a sump for all the kit. This does assume some more challenging species being kept in the larger set ups, but I digress. If you ever want to chat about sumps/sump designs, you just let me know! 🤩 I'm always up for sump filter talk. I like the manifesto! I think I need one as well. Maybe there should be a manifesto thread... So people can declare their big plans en masse.

Thanks! I do have copious quantities of vinegar eels. I'll give it a go. I very much want to save these little guys. That was it! That was the search term I needed. Thank you so much! With that I found this link, which described my situation perfectly. I'll bet @Guppysnail is correct, and despite the fact they don't appear to be alive, they might be detritus worms because the food has not been eaten. So, now I believe I have a reasonable idea of what is going on, why they were healthy in the tank they were in, and a course of action. That's about as good an outcome as I could hope for with what started out s a mystery yesterday. Thanks all!

Thank you both! It's good to know I might be on the right track. @quikv6, I'll look into Flubendazole as well.

Nope. They do not move, except to flex with the flow from the Jetlifters. They otherwise seem inanimate. An interesting point! I have two Jetlifters going behind two corner matten filters in the tank. They move a lot of water! I had to turn them down so the fish didn't get blown around, so I think my circulation is decent. I also haven't seen the fish gasping at the surface. Flashing against rocks, yes. But surface gasping, no. Still, I could lower the water temperature by a degree or two and see if it makes things better. It's 26C in there right now, so maybe 25 or 24 would be good. Synthetic is an interesting idea. I've decided I should test that hypothesis. Therefore, I have hooked up an ACO powerhead in the tank, attached the output to a tube running into a 200micron filter sock, which is held in place by a magnetic sock holder. If they are synthetic fibers, they should get pulled out by this. If they are worms, I anticipate them being able to wriggle their way out. I suppose I'll know in a day or so.

I got some fish in the mail a few weeks ago. They arrived in good health from a breeder who has been keeping and breeding them for decades. I hit them with med-trio anyhow as I have had issues with these in the past. Despite this they are refusing all foods (I've tried over a dozen flake and pellet types, brine shrimp, bloodworms, blackworms, etc.). They are pecking at algae in the tank, but these are supposed to be unfussy eaters. They are looking thin and starting to waste away. I'm observing a little flashing on rocks, and they seem eager to eat, but then spit everything back out. One other odd thing is that there are little white "fibers" floating through the water. Here is a photo: I don't know if these threads are harmful, benign, or otherwise. Or if they are even related to the situation with the fish not eating at all, but I don't have them in any other tank. Parameters are all good. On point, in fact. I'm open to all potentially useful ideas on what might be happening, and what could be done. As the subject line says, this one has me stumped! I've just added Expel-P, hoping this might help, but it's a complete guess.

I've been quite lax in my efforts to keep this thread up to date recently. My apologies to anyone who liked getting this updates. This month though, the topic of MAS seems like it will be of interest to many here: Keeping and Breeding Shrimp by Grant Eder "Grant will discuss what he thinks you ought to know about keeping and breeding shrimp. A large part of the presentation will focus on cross breeding for Neocaridina and Caridina species of dwarf freshwater shrimp." Meeting at: Thu, Sep 08, 2022 7:00 pm (central) If the topic sounds interesting to you, please remember you do no need to be a member of MAS to attend our monthly online meetings - so please consider attending and register here.

I feel that this is, no joke, a community service announcement! It may well be why the "thanks" button was created. So, thank you for your service to the community!

When you are feeling a bit homesick and you are from California, you have lots of songs to choose from. Despite the crappy "The Graduate" riff in the video, the song vibes right now:

Agreed! I am trying to get MAS involved in more marine stuff. There has got to be a community in the Twin Cities, I men we have BRS in town here! If not, it would be like having ACO in town and not having a planted FW community. Unthinkable! Actually, Ryan, the founder, reminds me a bit of Cory: cares about getting folks started in the hobby, was a hobbyist himself first, and started from scratch to build something bigger (in Ryan's case, I think he was working at a steak restaurant when he quit to start BRS). I guess I'd not thought about that distinction in your case. I could see tht making a significant difference - though I haven't heard anyone else talking about that. I know World Wide Coral uses filter mats that the water strains through before draining into the rest of the sump. I don't know if theirs are entirely above the water line or not. I'm guessing the submerged socks is to reduce noise, but I wonder if that puts them at a disadvantage in that regard? I did not know that! Shores up my desire to include rock flower anemones in my first tank. This brings us back to our very first conversations on forums. Memories... I wonder if browns are more efficient than reds overall. If I meet them, maybe I'll see if I can convince the BRS folks to do an investigates on it! I fully plan on having chaeto fuge. No question. There seems to be no downsides in my case, except maybe some unwanted algal growth in parts of the sump from light spillover. Not necessarily - I'm told. I'm still going to make efforts to avoid them, thank you very much! I might fail, but it won't be because I'm a quitter. I'm fine with other "pests" but BWs, not so excited about them. We'll see... 🤪

So, the layers aren't acting as an ammoina and eventual nitrate source for your tank, then? That's interesting. The BRS investigates video on it suggested 3 days is about optimal to prevent those things from happening. Bu then again, I can't recall if they were washing and replacing socks (meaning they were cycled material), or if they were putting in new. Are you tossing the floss mats and poly?*** Also interesting! I know most reefers reply on mechanical filtration and say the rocks are enough as biofiltration. I'm still trying to wrap my head around this. I mean the mechanical I get, but converting the N that is in there to a less toxic forms shouldn't be an issue in an of itself. Maybe I just need to see this in action?*** Nope. Nope. Nope! I know folks say they are inevitable, but I'd prefer to do without them. I'm not on with the idea there is something I need to avoid being essentially stung by in my tank. Nope. Nope. Nope! ***I have so many questions for you, but I fear they will take away from this thread. I'll DM you once I am somewhere with a better internet connection.