Minanoras adventures in fishkeeping

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

On 11/28/2022 at 10:06 PM, Minanora said:

Woke up this morning to find that one of them threw up a BUNCH of candy wrappers. -

I guess that was Halloween candy?

On 11/28/2022 at 10:06 PM, Minanora said:

When you do things like riding dirt bikes or OHV riding.... you're likely going to break something. Hahaha. Worth every minute. It was a fantastic ride. Sometimes when you're 4x4 crawling, you swear you're going to tip over. Well that's how I hit the tree. I was coming out of a rut, hit the gas and the front caught as the back slid and pulled me into the tree. The thing that matters is that nobody was hurt. Radiators are cheap. Memories are priceless. Coming off of the trail and seeing my dirt-stash and matching dirt-beard was priceless. Helmet hair, goggle tan line, dirt in my teeth. Awesomely funny. My husband thought it was pretty funny as well.

Somewhere I have a photo of when I went muddin’ on the 4 wheeler - after a heavy rain! Head to toe covered in mud, but it was so fun. Going through the puddles is like making 2 tsunamis. 🤣

I saw the yellow shrimpy in the photo! 😍

[Minanora]

@Chick-In-Of-TheSeayeah it was Halloween candy. My dogs are crafty little escape artists... And Reno is almost acrobatic. I've found him on the kitchen table more than once.

4wheelers are fun. A good workout, too.

I saw two shrimp last night! Which is a good sign that there's likely a few more in there. There's just a lot of places for them to hide.

The pandas were spawning last night, so I'm betting that @nabokovfan87is right. Hopefully in the next few months I'll see tiny pandas come out at meal time.

[Odd Duck]

In vet ER we all dread the coming wave of chocolate vomit after holidays.  This Halloween wasn’t quite as bad as usual, so I’m thankful for that.  Thanksgiving is never as bad as Halloween for chocolate, but it’s bad for pancreatitis.  Maybe owners are actually wising up a little because we only had to hospitalize about 6 for pancreatitis this year.

Last year I think we made at least a half a dozen dogs bring up their chocolate indulgence on my shift alone so you can figure a full dozen through the whole day and at least 6 times that through the week after.  The year before was even worse.  We had 3 dogs vomiting at once that year and it was pretty much a continuous parade of emesis dogs.  Aaaallllll the chocolate!  🤦🏻‍♀️ 

For anybody that doesn’t know, chocolate can cause everything from GI upset, pancreatitis, elevated heart rate, tremors, seizures, even death in dogs if they get enough of the toxic ingredients.  Milk chocolate isn’t as bad, white chocolate won’t cause the severe cardiac or neurological symptoms but can still cause pancreatitis, but dark chocolate, especially extra dark, is where they get into serious trouble.  Plus some dogs are much more sensitive than others.  I’ve seen a very small miniature dachshund that got muscle tremors from only a very small amount of milk chocolate, maybe 10 grams?  I’ve also seen a big Labrador get tremors from a single, regular Hershey bar.  Theoretically, those doses shouldn’t have caused the symptoms they did, but if the dog is extra sensitive, they can.

Then there are dogs (one of mine, while I was in vet school, for instance) that eat nearly an entire, one pound bag of Hershey’s miniatures - including special dark - in the Christmas holiday wrappers.  I induced emesis and got a fair amount back up.  She didn’t even get any GI upset.  🙄  I must say that it was, ahem, interesting, seeing the bright, shiny, holiday-themed foil wrappers come on through over the next couple days.  😆 😂 🤣 

Edit to add that it can also cause symptoms in cats and other species.  I’ve only ever treated one cat for chocolate toxicity, though.  Super sweet, young, goofy, little boy.  😆  I’ve almost had to hospitalize a couple pet rats but both they did OK with outpatient treatment.

Edited November 29, 2022 by Odd Duck

[Minanora]

@Odd Duck Yup. I feel like dogs sometimes want to test themselves to see how close they can get to kicking the bucket... Rainy, the small long haired dachshund, ate the most of the chocolate, I'm sure now. They also ate a handful of dum-dum pops. "dum dum give gum gum", I think not, more like, "dogs, you're dumb, DUMB!". I weighed what was left of the candy and guestimate that they ate about 25oz of candy. Not including the suckers. Fed them bread soaked in the appropriate amounts of hydrogen peroxide. Rainy was the first to vomit. Smelled like chocolate, there was plenty of peanut butter cup foil in it. I hosed it all out into the grass and picked up all of the foil and wrappers. Rainy is lucky to still be with us imo. She weighs about 11 lbs. I've still been watching them closely. They are eating as usual, playing as usual, but still. Scared me half to death.

What is upsetting is that they used their bed to get on top of their food container, then out of their gated space, knocked over a chair, then scooted out another chair, got up on the table and took the candy outside. -_-

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

On 11/29/2022 at 12:19 PM, Minanora said:

@Odd Duck Yup. I feel like dogs sometimes want to test themselves to see how close they can get to kicking the bucket... Rainy, the small long haired dachshund, ate the most of the chocolate, I'm sure now. They also ate a handful of dum-dum pops. "dum dum give gum gum", I think not, more like, "dogs, you're dumb, DUMB!". I weighed what was left of the candy and guestimate that they ate about 25oz of candy. Not including the suckers. Fed them bread soaked in the appropriate amounts of hydrogen peroxide. Rainy was the first to vomit. Smelled like chocolate, there was plenty of peanut butter cup foil in it. I hosed it all out into the grass and picked up all of the foil and wrappers. Rainy is lucky to still be with us imo. She weighs about 11 lbs. I've still been watching them closely. They are eating as usual, playing as usual, but still. Scared me half to death.

What is upsetting is that they used their bed to get on top of their food container, then out of their gated space, knocked over a chair, then scooted out another chair, got up on the table and took the candy outside. -_-

Omg how sneakyyyyyyy! & @Odd Duck God bless you for caring for sick animals. It must be difficult at times, and I imagine other times it can be very rewarding.

I use these locking jars for candy. 
 

@Minanora did they eat the sticks from the suckers also?

[Minanora]

On 11/29/2022 at 9:37 AM, Chick-In-Of-TheSea said:

Omg how sneakyyyyyyy! & @Odd Duck God bless you for caring for sick animals. It must be difficult at times, and I imagine other times it can be very rewarding.

I use these locking jars for candy. 
 

@Minanora did they eat the sticks from the suckers also?

@Odd Duckis totally awesome. I completely agree.

And no they left the sticks. 😂

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

On 11/29/2022 at 12:40 PM, Minanora said:

no they left the sticks

Thanks goodness for that.

 

I was looking through a veterinary textbook the other day, flipped the page and learned some terminology.

 

The next chapter was on smaller animals and had this diagram.

Hey @Odd Duck. How come dogs take a piece of food out of their dish, carry it a distance away, and then eat it there, and continue to do that through the whole meal? Back & forth, back & forth. Maybe we could do that and burn off some calories. 🤣

I should’ve done that at Thanksgiving.

Edited November 29, 2022 by Chick-In-Of-TheSea

[nabokovfan87]

On 11/29/2022 at 7:50 AM, Odd Duck said:

 I induced emesis

What is this, how do I do it!?  LOL.  Spent the week terrified the pup ate a pine tree needle or something.

Why is it that I always feel like I'm the only one picking trash up off the floor so the pups don't get it.....

[Odd Duck]

On 11/29/2022 at 11:19 AM, Minanora said:

What is upsetting is that they used their bed to get on top of their food container, then out of their gated space, knocked over a chair, then scooted out another chair, got up on the table and took the candy outside

Clever and inventive.  But at least they took their mess outside.  Fortunately, if it was mostly peanut butter cups, those are mostly peanut butter and not that much chocolate.  Plus they’re nearly all milk chocolate unless you get the dark chocolate ones.  So overall chocolate content is fairly minimal.  Pancreatitis is the only major risk this far out (well past the cardiac/tremor/seizure stage) and you would likely already be seeing symptoms if pancreatitis was starting (2-5 days after ingestion).  Pancreatitis usually starts the same as GI symptoms.

I once owned a basenji and I could swear you could watch the gears turning as that dog was thinking through a problem.  The usual problem being, “How do I get onto the counter (or into whatever it was keeping him from what he wanted) to get XYZ that I want.”  I finally had to put a basket muzzle on him when we left the house.  He was absolutely horrible in a crate and would destroy the crate and anything in there with him.  This is what I get for always ending up with “used” dogs.  😆  He would stretch up on his hind legs and paw around on the table blindly until he got something off (usually a pen or pencil), then work it between the openings in the basket muzzle to destroy it out of spite for being left home.  Stinker.  Put up with that for 16 years!  He was about a year old when rescued.  🤦🏻‍♀️ 

[Odd Duck]

On 11/29/2022 at 11:37 AM, Chick-In-Of-TheSea said:

It must be difficult at times, and I imagine other times it can be very rewarding.

Yes, exactly this.  Although cranky owners are the most difficult part.

On 11/29/2022 at 11:43 AM, Chick-In-Of-TheSea said:

How come dogs take a piece of food out of their dish, carry it a distance away, and then eat it there, and continue to do that through the whole meal? Back & forth, back & forth. Maybe we could do that and burn off some calories. 🤣

Good question and there are at least a couple possibilities.  Some think it’s to grab their bite, then take it where they can eat in relative peace and safety.  As if a chihuahua needs to grab their bite of the carcass and move away from the ruckus of the pack that’s devouring their kill.  🙄  A lot of dogs are fed in the kitchen (hard, often slick floors) and will take their morsel to the carpet or a rug to eat with better footing or more comfort.  When there is more competition and only enough food to maintain weight, this is less of an issue.

My dogs don’t walk away from their food dish unless they are sick.  If they don’t eat, they automatically go to work with me for a full evaluation.  I allow them a little extra “cushion” as they get older but mostly I keep them lean.  Dogs live on average almost 2 years longer, and they live more comfortably with far fewer health issues, if they are kept lean.

I wish somebody would control my intake for me.  Maybe I need to do Nutrasystem again.  😆 

On 11/29/2022 at 12:15 PM, nabokovfan87 said:

What is this, how do I do it!?  LOL.  Spent the week terrified the pup ate a pine tree needle or something.

Inducing vomiting. We use apomorphine for dogs, morphine for cats.  Oddly, because cats are literally built to vomit (striated, voluntary muscle though nearly all of their esophagus) they are harder to get to vomit when we want them to do so.  🤦🏻‍♀️ 🤷🏻‍♀️ 

I don’t actually recommend inducing at home with peroxide unless there are no other options.  Peroxide is very irritating to the GI tract and can cause bigger problems than whatever was ingested.

Safer to have your vet induce emesis.

Oh, and the pine needle isn’t too likely to cause a problem.  Typically will pass uneventfully.

[nabokovfan87]

On 11/29/2022 at 11:45 AM, Odd Duck said:

On 11/29/2022 at 9:43 AM, Chick-In-Of-TheSea said:

How come dogs take a piece of food out of their dish, carry it a distance away, and then eat it there, and continue to do that through the whole meal? Back & forth, back & forth. Maybe we could do that and burn off some calories. 🤣

Expand  

Good question and there are at least a couple possibilities.  Some think it’s to grab their bite, then take it where they can eat in relative peace and safety.  As if a chihuahua needs to grab their bite of the carcass and move away from the ruckus of the pack that’s devouring their kill.  🙄  A lot of dogs are fed in the kitchen (hard, often slick floors) and will take their morsel to the carpet or a rug to eat with better footing or more comfort.  When there is more competition and only enough food to maintain weight, this is less of an issue

I had a pretty terrible experience with this yesterday.  Someone the pup does not like came downstairs.  I assume why, but needless to say the pup does not like to be around, doesn't trust, and is anxious and afraid of this person.  Body language is a big thing and his body language around the pups is very intimidating, they bark, the cycle repeats.

Anyways, person came downstairs, went back upstairs. 2-3 minutes later of pup being upset and eyeballing the door she tried to eat her lunch. She was so anxious that she didn't want to go near the opening on that side of the room, get her food, and then run across to the other side of the room.  She did that for about.... 10+ trips and I just felt so bad for her. She ran to my arms and was able to calm down.

I moved their food to a better location so she's not afraid like that anymore.

I think a lot of that behavior comes from not wanting to have their back against a wall. Especially smaller pups, they just have a lot of issues with loud noises moreso than other breeds.  They do get their laps in though for a variety of reasons going around the room or house.

 

On 11/29/2022 at 11:45 AM, Odd Duck said:

Safer to have your vet induce emesis.

That's exactly what I was assuming.

On 11/29/2022 at 11:45 AM, Odd Duck said:

Oh, and the pine needle isn’t too likely to cause a problem.  Typically will pass uneventfully.

Good to know. Thank you. She's doing ok today.

[Odd Duck]

Never trust a person that doesn’t like dogs or that dogs don’t like.

Doesn’t count when they’re at the vet.  That’s often a scary experience no matter how gentle we try to be.

Also doesn’t count if they’re scared of everybody and everything.  😃 

[nabokovfan87]

On 11/29/2022 at 12:06 PM, Odd Duck said:

Doesn’t count when they’re at the vet.  That’s often a scary experience no matter how gentle we try to be.

They do good at the groomers and the vet 🙂 Just anxious, but who isn't. I'm very thankful they are able to get groomed and all that without issues. We are working on training them moreso these days. Definitely working on training the humans to not challenge them and actually have peace.

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

On 11/29/2022 at 2:45 PM, Odd Duck said:

A lot of dogs are fed in the kitchen (hard, often slick floors) and will take their morsel to the carpet or a rug to eat with better footing or more comfort.

Of course they take it to the carpet!  😂 They probably notice the carpet doesn't have enough crumbs in it and try to "help".

My mom's dog does this.  She just goes a few feet away from the dish, from the tile to the carpeted area, and then eats the food.  I grew up w/ dogs but I have cats now.  I adopted a cat when I was in an apartment in PA and I wasn't supposed to have pets (can sneakily keep a cat but if it's a dog, it barks and you need to walk the dog, so the landlord finds out. LOL).  Or should I say the cat adopted me.  Was a stray cat.  Kept following me around.  So that was that.  Haha.  Now it's been cats ever since. 

Edited November 29, 2022 by Chick-In-Of-TheSea

[Odd Duck]

On 11/29/2022 at 2:26 PM, nabokovfan87 said:

They do good at the groomers and the vet 🙂 Just anxious, but who isn't. I'm very thankful they are able to get groomed and all that without issues. We are working on training them moreso these days. Definitely working on training the humans to not challenge them and actually have peace.

Good plan.

On 11/29/2022 at 2:32 PM, Chick-In-Of-TheSea said:

Of course they take it to the carpet!  😂 They probably notice the carpet doesn't have enough crumbs in it and try to "help".

My mom's dog does this.  She just goes a few feet away from the dish, from the tile to the carpeted area, and then eats the food.

Of course!

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

On 11/29/2022 at 3:26 PM, nabokovfan87 said:

Definitely working on training the humans

I'm sure that's more difficult.

[xXInkedPhoenixX]

I'd change the word from dog to animals. I get healthy fears born out of actual experience and respect for animals that could potentially hurt you. Any time I've ever heard someone say "hate" in the same sentence with an animal as a blanket statement with no actual experience they are immediately suspect. 

On 11/29/2022 at 12:06 PM, Odd Duck said:

Never trust a person that doesn’t like dogs or that dogs don’t like

I believe Twain had a similar saying but his was about cats. 

[Minanora]

@Odd Duck I completely agree with not making use of the peroxide. If we had another option we would have taken it. Our ER vet is understaffed and they had a 4+ hour wait for our situation since we "couldn't be sure how many hours ago they ate the candy" though I told them there was candy outside in the sun that was not melty... They were extremely busy and I could hear the receptionists stress in her voice. So I called up our vet friend and that's what she recommended we do, given the situation. We need more vets and primary care doctors. It's crazy how short staffed everywhere is. At least in our area.

@Chick-In-Of-TheSea I miss having cats. I used to always have cats but I married someone who can't have an indoor cat. And we have neighbors too close to have an outside cat, I respect their yards too much, and mine. Even with an outside litter box they still leave garden bombs.

@xXInkedPhoenixX I totally agree. Animals are intuitive. I have only met a few that I don't like but that's because of their people, not them. 🤣

[Minanora]

Once again I saw two shrimp in the Plaza! I imagine there's at least 3. 🤣

[Minanora]

The pandas know when it's feeding time... 😂 They all come out when I sit in front of the tank.

Got all 9 in the frame!

They have been spawning like crazy.

[TheSwissAquarist]

On 11/30/2022 at 4:59 PM, Minanora said:

They have been spawning like crazy.

Congratulations!! It seems that everyone’s fish are spawning these days😁!

[nabokovfan87]

On 11/30/2022 at 7:59 AM, Minanora said:

They have been spawning like crazy.

They're all waiting for you to leave to have secret meetings. 😂

[Minanora]

The regulator for the plaza and my dry fertilizers arrived yesterday. Monday or Tuesday the co2 tank arrives and I'll take it and the one for the 75 down to get filled/refilled.

I've consolidated all of my regular aquarium keeping supplies into one location. I feel really good about that. It's been a while since I had everything all together. Makes it easy to see how much stuff I have. I'm apparently prepared for fishegeddon. 🤣 I just need to organize everything now.

I have 3 10g and two 20g high tanks set aside that will go in the (temporary) fish room. I'm starting my purge of collected crap to get my lean-to ready for plumbing and electrical. This also means I'm working on the garage... So I have a lot going on. I dig it though. My fish hobby makes other stuff get done faster so I have time for my fish. 😁 I'm starting with the lean-to over the shed because we're talking about extending our back patio and tearing off part of the roof of the house to extend over said patio and install solar on said roof. The covered/enclosed patio means more room for fish! That's my end goal for every project these days.... "If we do this then I'll have more room for tanks! I'm sold, where do I sign?" 😂

[Guppysnail]

On 12/1/2022 at 12:38 PM, Minanora said:

It's been a while since I had everything all together. Makes it easy to see how much stuff I have. I'm apparently prepared for fishegeddon.

I FEEL this in every fiber of my being 🤣

[Minanora]

So! I did a 30% water change on the 75 this evening. No big deal right? WELL, I saw a cory egg... then another, and two more on a leaf, so I decided that it's time to try to hatch some out. I pulled 7 eggs from the 75 and put them into a cup with a drop of methylene blue. Same method I did with the eggs I pulled from the back of the boat. However I'll be putting an air stone in with these and changing the water every two days and keeping them warm by keeping the cup inside the 75.

There's at least 3 eggs that are viable. SO, I'm officially trying to hatch three stripe cories! I'll keep pulling eggs as I see them. It's raining so.... yeah, all the cories are doing the dance. Huzzah!

In other news, Mr Swimmy.... he's being a butt. My poor guppies can't get away fast enough when he's in a bad mood. I think it may be because I'm not feeding as much right now, but I think I'm going to make him a new home soon. Either that or rehome him if my husband doesn't like the idea of another 5.5G or something similar. I love the little guy, but I can't have him tearing up the boys tails like he is. I watched him do it several times today.... bummer. I turned up the flow yesterday to see if he'd hang out further away from the boys, it's helping, but he still gets them when they go to take a break as well.