Chick-in-of-TheSea journal

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

Geppetto’s rock hide was added 2 weeks ago. Yesterday was the first time I saw him use it.  It’s nice he had something to explore and discover. Glad he likes it! 

Front view of tank:

Side view of tank:

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

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

Kratos’ progress.

Thur:

Fri:

 

I’m starting to think we should have named him Galactus.

[TheSwissAquarist]

He’s fast when he wants to be….reminds me of a lazy dog seeing a hot dog on the other side of a room 😂.

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

On 12/30/2022 at 7:05 AM, TheSwissAquarist said:

He’s fast when he wants to be….reminds me of a lazy dog seeing a hot dog on the other side of a room 😂.

Yeah I mean I never see him actually travel. Sometimes I will see him turn. Later I find him in a different spot. He’s very efficient at his job and has been enjoying a buffet fit for a king. 

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

Rough couple of days for Chick-In-Of-TheSea. Tony got dental on Thursday. All went well. He had to have 2 teeth pulled, so he has to take some medicines and eat soft food for a couple days. Meanwhile, Mouse has been hissing and screaming, I mean SCREAMING at him. At first it was when she smelled him, I think, and he smelled like the vet. But now it’s every time she even catches any glimpse of him. So the petting them both with the same towel hasn’t worked because even at a distance she freaks out. Since Thursday the screaming has stopped more or less, replaced by multiple hisses. She acts like her sole mission is to track/hunt him and just keep him in her sights at all times, ignoring everything else. So the poor fella stayed tucked as far back in a corner as possible in the living room all day yesterday. 😢

But today he moved around the house more and both of them were wanting to look at birds out the window, they got too close to each other and things went south. I had to restrain her and I got hurt. It was 2 punctures and it took time and pressure to get the bleeding to stop. And I needed ibuprofen too because man, this one hurt. my intervention was foolish, yet necessary because my fellow on the meds cannot defend himself right now and walks wobbly. 

 

Might I note that neither cat has EVER shown any signs of aggression. They’ve been very sweet cats, and best friends, for years.

So we are backtracking social progress and confining her to the bedroom periodically. She gets to come out every so often and is carefully watched. On the plus side I got to try these new bamboo/charcoal bandages. In the background my first coffee of the day awaits, not even sipped yet. 

 

 

For ease, I just fed raw cucumber to the inverts today. First on the scene were these two ladies:

Edited December 31, 2022 by Chick-In-Of-TheSea

[TheSwissAquarist]

Sorry to hear about your cats; I remember once my dog mistook me for a burglar and bit me just above my heart. Had to be put down a month later after biting 2 delivery men in the same week…RIP Patch

in this case I concede cats are better than dogs 😅!

Do you grow your own veg for the snail/shrimp population or do you just buy and rince? 

Edited December 31, 2022 by TheSwissAquarist
Speling

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

On 12/31/2022 at 9:21 AM, TheSwissAquarist said:

Sorry to hear about your cats; I remember once my dog mistook me for a burglar and bit me just above my heart. Had to be put down a month later after biting 2 delivery men in the same week…RIP Patch

in this case I concede cats are better than dogs 😅!

Do you grow your own veg for the snail/shrimp population or do you just buy and rince? 

Wow, I’m so sorry about Patch. Glad you’re ok.

Today I took a cucumber slice off the salad, rinsed the cheese off, and served it to them. 😂

I just buy the veggies. I used to grow veggies but with the rainy season here the plants 🪴 would get too soggy and end up with disease and bugs. Not to mention due to the heat we have to be very careful not to water any foliage or the leaves will burn.

Edited December 31, 2022 by Chick-In-Of-TheSea

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

Water change day. His colors always seem more vivid when he is at mid- or bottom-level. I did a trimming on the dwarf sag but somebody was very involved. I had to be careful with my scissors. This gent might be as nosey as Snoopy!

Over the last few days my hand swelled up, is painful, and I lost some functionality. Especially turning things (jars, twist-on flashlight, bottle of Prime). So I have to take it easy and keep the tasks to a minimum.

The cats seem to be getting along for the most part. Almost back to normal. An occasional hiss. But if they both see a bird out a window Mouse completely forgets she’s mad at Tony, and they share the viewing area.

Edited January 2, 2023 by Chick-In-Of-TheSea

[nabokovfan87]

On 1/2/2023 at 8:06 AM, Chick-In-Of-TheSea said:

Over the last few days my hand swelled up, is painful, and I lost some functionality. Especially turning things (jars, twist-on flashlight, bottle of Prime). So I have to take it easy and keep the tasks to a minimum.

The cats seem to be getting along for the most part. Almost back to normal. An occasional hiss. But if they both see a bird out a window Mouse completely forgets she’s mad at Tony, and they share the viewing area.

Hopefully the inflammation goes down.  Feel better! 😞

On 1/2/2023 at 8:06 AM, Chick-In-Of-TheSea said:

Water change day. His colors always seem more vivid when he is at mid- or bottom-level. I did a trimming on the dwarf sag but somebody was very involved. I had to be careful with my scissors. This gent might be as nosey as Snoopy!

Have you ever used those "spring scissors" before?

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

On 1/2/2023 at 12:28 PM, nabokovfan87 said:

Hopefully the inflammation goes down.  Feel better! 😞

Have you ever used those "spring scissors" before?

Thanks!

I’ve seen these for nail care or for pruners. Haven’t seen them for fish tanks.

My reply went up in the quote box for some reason. ⬆️ 

Edited January 2, 2023 by Chick-In-Of-TheSea

[nabokovfan87]

On 1/2/2023 at 10:13 AM, Chick-In-Of-TheSea said:

My reply went up in the quote box for some reason. ⬆️ !

I have the fluval ones, my first experience with them.  They are very handy for nosy fish! (especially the curved ones)

[TheSwissAquarist]

On 1/2/2023 at 7:41 PM, nabokovfan87 said:

I have the fluval ones, my first experience with them.  They are very handy for nosy fish! (especially the curved ones)

Wouldn’t mind having those in my pencil case 😍…do they work well?

[nabokovfan87]

On 1/2/2023 at 11:02 AM, TheSwissAquarist said:

Wouldn’t mind having those in my pencil case 😍…do they work well?

I with they had tweezers intended for plants like that, but.... yes they do!  The jaws are about 1/4" or so long which means you can easily guard them in your hand and get into very tight spaces to trim. That's the advantage there.  For something external to the tank like moss I like using them because I can be a bit more precise.  It's the "pairing knife" of the aquascaping tools if you're familiar with that analogy.  It just does a few jobs really nicely.  I would suggest for "fine pinsettes" and for the spring scissors, try to get a decent pair because the cheap ones are..... cheap.  I have been waiting for the black "fancy ones" to be back in stock a few places for over a year now it feels like. Straight ones are in stock, but not the curved.  Honestly, $20-30 for one tool you'll likely never replace, I use some of these things once a week if not daily.

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

Good morning! It’s a nice day today, even thought it’s been in the 40s and 50s at night.

Did tank maintenance this morning. Figured I would start with nitrate tests first though just to see where we are at. 2 tanks were high, but Geppetto’s was the real concern. Last nitrate test was last week, Monday, and nitrates were in ideal range, so this spike happened quickly.

Some of his plants (grasses) died, and so I guess the nitrates are not being sucked up like they usually would be. Not only that, but Kratos ate a massive MASSIVE amount of algae out of there. I can’t believe that little snail ate so much so fast, so the algae is not there to utilize nitrates either. Not to mention Kratos is a waste factory so that’s a factor..  but I love him anyway.  And Geppetto leaves him alone.

I changed 50% water for them and also threw in an additional anubias barteri to help out. Which means more little beds for Geppetto. ☺️And fortunately the grasses (dwarf sag) that died made runners and baby grasses came up before they died. But since those plants are small, they are not using many nutrients yet. This is a 5.5 gallon and as we know, smaller tanks are more sensitive with regards to parameters. Lastly I put a big ol, catappa leaf in for the fella to hang out under. He loves those. I don’t use the big leaves all the time though so as not to shade out the cryp.

Will test nitrates again later as well. 

Also!!!!  How cool is this?!!  One of the bulbs that @Guppysnail sent is trying to make a flower in the 29g! (Aponogeton)

 

 

[Guppysnail]

On 1/11/2023 at 8:44 AM, Chick-In-Of-TheSea said:

Good morning! It’s a nice day today, even thought it’s been in the 40s and 50s at night.

Did tank maintenance this morning. Figured I would start with nitrate tests first though just to see where we are at. 2 tanks were high, but Geppetto’s was the real concern. Last nitrate test was last week, Monday, and nitrates were in ideal range, so this spike happened quickly.

Some of his plants (grasses) died, and so I guess the nitrates are not being sucked up like they usually would be. Not only that, but Kratos ate a massive MASSIVE amount of algae out of there. I can’t believe that little snail ate so much so fast, so the algae is not there to utilize nitrates either. Not to mention Kratos is a waste factory so that’s a factor..  but I love him anyway.  And Geppetto leaves him alone.

I changed 50% water for them and also threw in an additional anubias barteri to help out. Which means more little beds for Geppetto. ☺️And fortunately the grasses (dwarf sag) that died made runners and baby grasses came up before they died. But since those plants are small, they are not using many nutrients yet. This is a 5.5 gallon and as we know, smaller tanks are more sensitive with regards to parameters. Lastly I put a big ol, catappa leaf in for the fella to hang out under. He loves those. I don’t use the big leaves all the time though so as not to shade out the cryp.

Will test nitrates again later as well. 

Also!!!!  How cool is this?!!  One of the bulbs that @Guppysnail sent is trying to make a flower in the 29g! (Aponogeton)

 

 

If the Aponogeton is happy it sends those up almost weekly when you pinch them off at the base. It was my understanding that pinching the bud shoots as soon as you see them keeps the bulb awake longer so it doesn’t go dormant as quickly. I don’t know if that is correct but I did it so I never actually got to see them bloom before they went dormant 

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

On 1/11/2023 at 8:48 AM, Guppysnail said:

If the Aponogeton is happy it sends those up almost weekly when you pinch them off at the base. It was my understanding that pinching the bud shoots as soon as you see them keeps the bulb awake longer so it doesn’t go dormant as quickly. I don’t know if that is correct but I did it so I never actually got to see them bloom before they went dormant 

Well, only one bud so far.  I want to see what it does!  🤗  There are other Aponogeton in there too, so if one goes dormant, no big deal.  

Also there are reeeaaaaallly little pink leaves coming out of 2 of those lily bulbs.

[TheSwissAquarist]

Would the flower give rise to a fertile seed?

Or do Aponogeton do twin bulbs instead? 

[Guppysnail]

On 1/11/2023 at 9:01 AM, TheSwissAquarist said:

Would the flower give rise to a fertile seed?

Or do Aponogeton do twin bulbs instead? 

I’m not 100% on Aponogeton but many bulbs do both

[Theplatymaster]

On 1/11/2023 at 9:01 AM, TheSwissAquarist said:

Would the flower give rise to a fertile seed?

Or do Aponogeton do twin bulbs instead? 

im pretty sure apongeton flower, and drop seeds.

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

The lily bulb has little pink flowers! Geppetto may have some lily pads soon. 

@Guppysnail

Edited January 12, 2023 by Chick-In-Of-TheSea

[Guppysnail]

On 1/12/2023 at 5:26 AM, Chick-In-Of-TheSea said:

The lily bulb has little pink flowers! Geppetto may have some lily pads soon. 

@Guppysnail

Those are the leaves. That one looks like the dwarf red tiger lotus. I’m glad it’s sprouting. 

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

On 1/12/2023 at 6:38 AM, Guppysnail said:

Those are the leaves. That one looks like the dwarf red tiger lotus. I’m glad it’s sprouting. 

Oh yeah that’s what I meant! I had flowers on my brain since the Aponogeton was making one.

Also, here’s a video I “tried” to make…. About Geppetto using his favorite plant as his beds. But!!!  Well, this is a floor tank and the video was hard to make. I wonder if @Odd Duck , @Guppysnail, and @xXInkedPhoenixX can relate!!!

 

[Guppysnail]

Oh my yes. My cats think my crouching down is just for them. That is very typical for me trying to video floor level tanks, or anything 🤣

[xXInkedPhoenixX]

Yep. THIS one always tries to interject.

...as he is interjecting now with my sleep... 

Edited January 12, 2023 by xXInkedPhoenixX

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

On 1/12/2023 at 10:37 AM, xXInkedPhoenixX said:

Yep. THIS one always tries to interject.

...as he is interjecting now with my sleep... 

my orange one “monster trucks all over me” at 5 AM wanting wet food.