Chick-in-of-TheSea journal

[nabokovfan87]

ORD, I was actually learning about humminbirds yesterday.  There's one that has an iridescent throat, crazy to see.  They mentioned in the video that hummingbirds are one of the few that can see red, that's where the whole food dye thing came from.  I wonder if the difference between the feeders was just light and the shade of red.

[Guppysnail]

I’m glad you found one that they like. I’ve often found things I love and thought were super dupet that critters were not nearly as impressed by 🤣

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

On 9/6/2023 at 2:33 PM, nabokovfan87 said:

that's where the whole food dye thing came from

I think my last feeder was just too busy of a pattern. They didn't understand it at all.  The red dye is bad, even though many commercial nectars still contain it.

On 9/6/2023 at 2:33 PM, Guppysnail said:

I’m glad you found one that they like. I’ve often found things I love and thought were super dupet that critters were not nearly as impressed by 🤣

Yes, true @Guppysnail. My cat will not play with a $15 toy but will play with a wadded up piece of paper.

[Guppysnail]

On 9/6/2023 at 2:36 PM, Chick-In-Of-TheSea said:

My cat will not play with a $15 toy but will play with a wadded up piece of paper.

That is so my cat. Boo has 3 electric toys $$$ that roll about the house he ignores. This is his all time favorite toy. A bottle cap from a gallon water jug 🤪

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

On 9/6/2023 at 2:39 PM, Guppysnail said:

That is so my cat. Boo has 3 electric toys $$$ that roll about the house he ignores. This is his all time favorite toy. A bottle cap from a gallon water jug 🤪

My cats absolutely love tissue paper - the kind that goes in gift bags.  If I lay a sheet on the ground, they stomp all over it, and one runs full speed and acts like she's sliding into home plate, but ducks her front paws and head under the tissue paper on the slide.

[Guppysnail]

My cat does that with the kitchen rugs. 

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

Dancing after brine shrimp

 

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

Lots and lots of hummingbird visits today in the thunderstorm! The rain washes away nectar from flowers, so feeders become desirable. After feeding they would stand on the perch and take a shower in the rain, ruffling their feathers around and looking up. It was really fun to watch. And one bird had a meal and just took some time to simply rest a bit before flying off.

Also saw a crow take a bath at the end of someone’s driveway where there was a puddle. 

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

I got a bit overwhelmed this week with the exams, so I decided I would go on a nature walk today. I haven’t been out of the house much in months except for work and grocery commutes. Just a few photos from a park that is nearby.

The woods were filled with songs of insects, and it was very therapeutic. I finished just before the thunderstorm hit, at which point I went home and discovered all the hummingbird activity on my feeder.

On 9/8/2023 at 4:38 PM, Chick-In-Of-TheSea said:

After feeding they would stand on the perch and take a shower in the rain

Also got 2 water changes done today.

Edited September 9, 2023 by Chick-In-Of-TheSea

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

Art museum photo dump. A creation by one of my favorite artists of all time, Dale Chihuly.

Many things going on in this. Zoom in to see.

Crocheted fabric

 

Just paint on canvas. But it looks SO 3D it’s incredible.

Can you see the lady?

Upon closer inspection…

…we can see this is made of pieces of skateboards.

 

The guy on the right is kind of sneaky and sus.

 

From Vietnam War times.

These last exhibits are ancient artifacts, some BCE and others early CE.

 

Edited September 10, 2023 by Chick-In-Of-TheSea

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

Not sure if I need to replace my sand in the 29gal. It is compacted and when I siphon, the surrounding sand just stays there, like cliffs or something. Any cons to this other than aesthetics?

[nabokovfan87]

On 9/12/2023 at 3:32 PM, Chick-In-Of-TheSea said:

Not sure if I need to replace my sand in the 29gal. It is compacted and when I siphon, the surrounding sand just stays there, like cliffs or something. Any cons to this other than aesthetics?

It sounds like normal sand things.  Just move it around with your fingers/hands/chopstick/net handle to mix things up each time you do a cleaning.  It helps to get stuff in the water column too (after a siphon).

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

I have been popping into a hummingbird feeder livestream for like 10 minutes a day. I’ve been learning little facts about hummIngbirds there. I’ve got 2 birds so far, but the male is territorial and doesn’t want to share the feeder with the female (so I have to add another feeder). 

Interesting thing is, the folks on the hummingbird stream began to visit my channel, and are super curious about all the aquarium creatures, asking questions about random videos there like, what does it mean “saved eggs from a shrimp molt”, etc. And I have the pleasant opportunity to teach them. ❤️ Also they enjoy the videos of the trumpet snails and mystery snails and are commenting. Is it possible we could have future NERMs here?? 🤗 What if the bird NERMs convert to fish NERMs? LOL

[TheSwissAquarist]

Nature fanatics be nature fanatics 😂.

 

[nabokovfan87]

On 9/15/2023 at 2:37 AM, Chick-In-Of-TheSea said:

visit my channel, and are super curious about all the aquarium creatures, asking questions about random videos there like, what does it mean “saved eggs from a shrimp molt”, etc. And I have the pleasant opportunity to teach them. ❤️

That's awesome.  I love the good stewardship. I wonder what is the hummingbird of the fish world.  Something that helps spread corals I would imagine... Hm.....

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

On 9/15/2023 at 3:37 PM, nabokovfan87 said:

That's awesome.  I love the good stewardship. I wonder what is the hummingbird of the fish world.  Something that helps spread corals I would imagine... Hm.....

Corals spread themselves. I’ve seen it happen on a dive. It’s kinda weird!

[nabokovfan87]

On 9/16/2023 at 3:00 AM, Chick-In-Of-TheSea said:

Corals spread themselves.

Oh right! That reminds me.... for movie club.

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

He’s building a nest today. I was watching him early this morning and he was building it really fast, as compared to his usual one bubble every minute method. I guess he felt motivated. He did get a water change yesterday and some objects had been moved around a little bit to the left or right. He got a new (fine) sponge filter as well that had been seasoning in the 29 for a month, and some stronger airflow, since detritus was settling on things and looking unsightly.

 

[TheSwissAquarist]

Did he have a look in fish Tinder? 😂

He looks so much better than when he had fin rot.

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

A charming visit from a tiny bird.

 

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

So I started this hummingbird hobby too late in the season; now they are all migrating - a big big journey over the Gulf of Mexico. Destination: Honduras.

I somehow got into a small niche group of hummingbird NERMs who are tracking the migration, and the last bird from Statesville, NC left yesterday. I suppose certain ones are tagged, and that’s how those NERMs know. Birds who visit my feeder from this point on will be on their journey. I had one yesterday. She had a meal and continued on. The males left first and so I no longer see them. I made the nectar a little sweeter. That is recommended because they need the extra calories. It felt nice to help out, but I was sad to see her leave too.

I don’t know if I will get any more footage, but I got this lovely footage last week that I’d like to share. These are 2 female ruby throated hummingbirds. The females do not display the ruby color; only the males do.

Please relax and enjoy!

Also! Anyone from SoCal - get a feeder up! Many of you guys have hummers year round. See? Click here Also another SoCal vid showing the migrating birds. They come right through there. (Note on second link: not everyone will have that result - that lady goes to great lengths to attract them with fountains, [a lot of] feeders, and flowers). If birds travel through areas without flowers, they will desperately look for the feeders. Cheap red plastic feeders are what they know and what they will find. I paid a little more for my Hummzinger because it’s easy to clean, has an ant moat, and is bee proof.

Some fun hummingbird facts:

A hummingbird weighs as much as a penny.

The hummingbird heart pumps 800 beats per minute. If they dive, 1200 beats per minute.

Like other birds, they have hollow bones to keep them lightweight.

They have a super long tongue to reach into flowers for nectar. It retracts in a coil to the back of their skull. Look for the tongue in my video closeups. They slurp it in & out a few times after their sip. *cute*

It takes about 12 minutes for their crop (stomach) to empty. It also takes about 12-15 minutes for a flower to refill its nectar after they drink from the flower.

@nabokovfan87

@k0olmini

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

Something’s brewing in Geppetto’s tank…

Before & after, 17 hrs, no boiling.

Also, one of his plants has an algae “pom pom” LOL 

I will add some leaves and pull them in one week. I’m not a fan of the mess they make when they decay. I will add mopani as well. People complain about tannins in mopani, so I think it will be a nice addition for him.

P.S. The rooibos smells kinda like eucalyptus. Mediciny? Has lots of antioxidants and beneficial properties like catappa leaves. He does still tail bite, on occasion.

 

 

ORD look at him peeking..

Also when he comes out he does this little back & forth dance.

Ok well, I now realize leaves aren’t just “mess” and “tannins” - they serve as enrichment. I don’t know why I didn’t consider them as such before. My fish is teaching me. I wonder if he will make a bubble nest today, with these new, embraced changes.

Additional bonus, his colors actually look more vivid with the tannins in there. Idk why. I can see more of his greens. Yes. He is a blue & green fish! I knew that because I had shined a flashlight on him at night, once in the past.

When the light came on today, he and the shrimp were sleeping next to each other on the sand. Then they woke up, looked at each other, and were both like Aw, HAYL NAW! Geppetto flared and the shrimp zoomed. Reminds me of those one night stands in movies where the morning comes and it’s like “ok, you gotta go, here’s your stuff”(throws the stuff at the person) 🤣

Edited October 14, 2023 by Chick-In-Of-TheSea

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

Look at this leaf I found in the yard!  I think it’s hilarious. Dinner plate for reference

 

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

So now another comparison,

rooibos only

Vs Existing rooibos tannins + catappa leaves overnight (catappa leaves were previously boiled, steeped for 8-10 hrs, then frozen), + 5 alder cones (not boiled). All lights are on the same setting.

Previous additions of catappa tea only never got the water dark like this. Also I think it depends on the leaves. My first few orders of catappa leaves (last year) were large and produced a darker brew, but in the subsequent orders, the leaves were smaller and leeched significantly less, despite adding an additional one to the boil pot. I don’t think the tannin level related to size since I added the additional leaf, but rather, it was something else about the leaves. When dry these looked paler than previous orders, for some reason. 
 

@nabokovfan87 you’ve asked me in the past what I use for blackwater, and I didn’t have a good answer (Fritz Dark Water doesn’t really do anything) but now I do!

Edited October 17, 2023 by Chick-In-Of-TheSea

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

Reminiscing about the aquarium I had when I was 12.  It was tall, hex, I think 20 gallons? And I had a western newt in there, of all things. They used to be sold right from the tank of tropical fish.

photo from web

 

Edited October 17, 2023 by Chick-In-Of-TheSea