Fish at Bag End

[Hobbit]

Good news! I’m making progress feeding the baby otos.

The slime sticks weren’t the best, because unfortunately the slime didn’t stick to the sticks very well. I started growing some algae on some rocks, and those have gone over pretty well!

But the favorite by far?

French cut green beans!

My LFS owner was raving about them when I brought him platys, and since @Guppysnail and everyone else seems to love them so much I decided I had to try them too. The game changer for me was learning you can buy them frozen. That makes it soooo easy. 10/10 would recommend.

The amano likes it too.

Lastly, here’s an oto balancing on the shell! No idea why it decided to sit there, but it’s adorable! Just as adorable is my silly gentle loach bombing the video. “Hey! Whatcha doin’? Whatcha doin’? Hey! Hey! Just sittin’? Oh—okay. Yup. Cool. Cool.”

 

[Guppysnail]

My kids pout when I force them to eat other veggies besides green beans They sit in the dish beside them and stare at me. Like making a kid eat broccoli or spinach 🤣. How adorable is that oto. And silly loach 🥰

[Hobbit]

Unfortunately yesterday was a very sad day over here.

Dad Fish is gone.

I noticed the night before that he was resting on the substrate and gasping for breath. He looked weak, and I decided to put him in a breeder box so he’d be closer to the top of the tank and I could easily observe him.

Once in the box, I could tell he was really struggling. He’d swim for a few seconds and then go completely limp.

The next morning his breaths were slower but his occasional swims were more energetic. I decided to empty my ricefish tank to turn into a quarantine tank, but by the time I came back from dropping my husband off from work, Dad Fish had passed.

I tried doing a salt dip and even manually moving his gills just in case, but of course he was already gone. And truthfully, I think he was just old. He was looking like an old fish—his head had gotten a bit lumpier and he had been swimming a bit more slowly. His tail was frayed and not healing as quickly as it should. They say honey gouramis can live from 4-7 years or something, but he and Mom Fish lasted less than three. 😔 It may be because the water in this tank got so hard and alkaline due to that gravel from Petco. I’m still in the process of VERY slowly transitioning it back to softer water.

I’m so sad to have lost both Mom Fish and Dad Fish. They were such friendly, personable, fish. Such a great couple. Dad Fish was an amazing dad.

The three honeys I have left (all Mom Fish and Dad Fish’s offspring) still swim away from me when I approach the tank. Today they’re all hiding behind the driftwood. I love them, but they’re not the same.

After Dad Fish passed, I was able to look more closely at the brown spot he’d always had on his side. I pulled off the scale and looked at it under the microscope. From what I can tell, the brown was just dirt or grime that got trapped under the scale. It was really neat to see—apparently scales have scaleprints that look just like fingerprints.

I buried both Dad Fish and his scale under the rose bush where I buried Mom Fish.

Thanks for being such a good little fish, and for introducing me to the world of fish breeding. You were the first fish breeder in this house, and I learned so much from you.

Goodbye Dad Fish.

[H.K.Luterman]

I'm so sorry for your loss. RIP Dad Fish.

[Odd Duck]

So sorry for your loss.

[Guppysnail]

Awww 😢. They will live on through their babies and your loving memories. I’m sorry for your loss. My condolences. 

[BETTA999]

rip dad fish i had the same experience with my bettas the dad fish died but i have 22 little energetic bettas to keep and mom betta is hanging there with problems right now of what i think are anchor worms 

[Torrey]

On 2/16/2022 at 7:45 AM, Hobbit said:

Unfortunately yesterday was a very sad day over here.

Dad Fish is gone.

I noticed the night before that he was resting on the substrate and gasping for breath. He looked weak, and I decided to put him in a breeder box so he’d be closer to the top of the tank and I could easily observe him.

Once in the box, I could tell he was really struggling. He’d swim for a few seconds and then go completely limp.

The next morning his breaths were slower but his occasional swims were more energetic. I decided to empty my ricefish tank to turn into a quarantine tank, but by the time I came back from dropping my husband off from work, Dad Fish had passed.

I tried doing a salt dip and even manually moving his gills just in case, but of course he was already gone. And truthfully, I think he was just old. He was looking like an old fish—his head had gotten a bit lumpier and he had been swimming a bit more slowly. His tail was frayed and not healing as quickly as it should. They say honey gouramis can live from 4-7 years or something, but he and Mom Fish lasted less than three. 😔 It may be because the water in this tank got so hard and alkaline due to that gravel from Petco. I’m still in the process of VERY slowly transitioning it back to softer water.

I’m so sad to have lost both Mom Fish and Dad Fish. They were such friendly, personable, fish. Such a great couple. Dad Fish was an amazing dad.

The three honeys I have left (all Mom Fish and Dad Fish’s offspring) still swim away from me when I approach the tank. Today they’re all hiding behind the driftwood. I love them, but they’re not the same.

After Dad Fish passed, I was able to look more closely at the brown spot he’d always had on his side. I pulled off the scale and looked at it under the microscope. From what I can tell, the brown was just dirt or grime that got trapped under the scale. It was really neat to see—apparently scales have scaleprints that look just like fingerprints.

I buried both Dad Fish and his scale under the rose bush where I buried Mom Fish.

Thanks for being such a good little fish, and for introducing me to the world of fish breeding. You were the first fish breeder in this house, and I learned so much from you.

Goodbye Dad Fish.

ORD😰

I'm so sorry.... I love the idea of both of them under the rose bush, and swimming across Rainbow Bridge...

[Jawjagrrl]

Greetings to all at Bag End... from Rivendell! Rivendell Farm as it happens, second generation of family with an appreciation for nature and Tolkien. Home to rescue dogs, rescue cats, a few chickens and 4 tanks right now with plans for some Walstad inspired jars. Two of our tabbies think tank water is the tastiest while their mother finds duckweed a treat from time to time.

I had just completed my NERM chores for the week and was treating myself to some forum time and found your journal. Loved every bit of it until the last post. So sorry to see the passing of Dad Fish. I have a soft spot for gouramis even though I didn't do well with them. Perhaps their children will become more extroverted with time. They are just displaying a lot of what we've all felt sometimes over the last two years. I rarely leave the farm, which is good for all our glass box lives and the furry ones. 

Perhaps I can cheer you a bit with a pic I took earlier when I brought "salad" (with bladder escargot) for my girls in the coop.

They rewarded me with an egg - finally starting to lay again.

I look forward to more updates from our favorite Hobbit Hole!

Edited February 16, 2022 by Jawjagrrl
Added photos

[Hobbit]

Aww thanks so much for your kind words @Jawjagrrl! Your farm sounds wonderful. What a lovely looking chicken feast. My birds also just started laying again two-ish weeks ago. Unfortunately they are too picky to eat snails (for the most part), as you may have seen earlier in this journal. 😅 I’m jealous of your easy snail disposal team!

[Jawjagrrl]

On 2/16/2022 at 11:02 PM, Hobbit said:

Aww thanks so much for your kind words @Jawjagrrl! Your farm sounds wonderful. What a lovely looking chicken feast. My birds also just started laying again two-ish weeks ago. Unfortunately they are too picky to eat snails (for the most part), as you may have seen earlier in this journal. 😅 I’m jealous of your easy snail disposal team!

The NERM in me now wonders if bladder snails taste different than ramshorn, etc. Maybe since you're in Maryland they prefer other kinds of seafood 😄 I lived on the Eastern Shore for many years, so for me chickens felt almost inevitable. You've got me thinking about a mini pond now, wondering if they would get too hot down here. I look forward to more updates on your various projects!

[PineSong]

Hobbit, I am sorry for your loss. Gouramis are special characters and I can only imagine how easy it was to love your Dad Fish. It is nice to think of him returning to the earth with Mom Fish nearby.

[Hobbit]

On 2/17/2022 at 10:07 AM, Jawjagrrl said:

The NERM in me now wonders if bladder snails taste different than ramshorn, etc. Maybe since you're in Maryland they prefer other kinds of seafood 😄 I lived on the Eastern Shore for many years, so for me chickens felt almost inevitable.

I think my chickens are just spoiled—they have all the backyard to roam so they eat grubs and worms and beetles and crickets to their hearts’ content. I should try feeding them some ramshorns now that it’s winter though… maybe they’d be less picky! 😄 It’s fun to meet someone who’s lived on the Eastern Shore. I didn’t even realize there was an Eastern Shore until we moved here. 😅

[Minanora]

I love all the updates! I ran out of reactions..... So here I am actually speaking up. haha! I love your hens. ❤️

[Jawjagrrl]

On 2/18/2022 at 1:40 AM, Hobbit said:

I think my chickens are just spoiled—they have all the backyard to roam so they eat grubs and worms and beetles and crickets to their hearts’ content. I should try feeding them some ramshorns now that it’s winter though… maybe they’d be less picky! 😄 It’s fun to meet someone who’s lived on the Eastern Shore. I didn’t even realize there was an Eastern Shore until we moved here. 😅

Our hens can't free range as we have too many predators but I hope to expand their run if it ever stops raining 🙂 I bet they would be more receptive to the ramshorns this time of year - I figured the shells made good grit too. Maryland is so diverse depending on which part you're in, and I'll always have a soft spot for the shore areas! I miss a good crab chow down in the summers and just generally being near the coast. Perhaps my boxes of water are my way of coping with that! Starting my plans for my old 55s, new journal coming soon.

[Hobbit]

@Jawjagrrl  I just tried to feed the chickens some fresh little ramshorn snails and the results were actually the same. Only Sister, one of the younger chickens, was willing to eat a few. (She’s the same one that would eat them in the summer.) No other takers. 😆

[Hobbit]

Content warning: suicide 😞 
Fish stuff continues after the quote box! 🙂 

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Well, it’s been a rough few weeks over here. A student of mine—a 14 year old kid who struggled with self harm, depression, impulsive behavior, etc—someone I talked with almost every day for the past 10 months, who had a really special place in my heart—committed suicide a few weeks ago. He never bought into the counseling his parents sent him to, and never bought into the psychiatrist’s help either. It was a huge tragedy and sent our community of 600+ students absolutely reeling. Most of them are teens and about 25% struggle with their own suicidal thoughts. We had to scramble to get counseling services, contact parents, set up meetings, provide guidance to our student leaders, create a memorial area, check in on other at risk students… and just a few days ago one student ended up being hospitalized for her own suicidal ideation. They have sooo many questions and need so much support right now. I was on the clock every waking hour for four days straight (and given my cognitive disability I usually only work 2-3 hours a day). It was very meaningful work but also very exhausting. The kind of thing where afterwards you come up for air and nothing seems the same. I love helping others, especially helping emotional teens, so in some ways I live for this kind of stuff, but it was just so so sad. Oh yeah and three days after his suicide, Russia invades Ukraine. 😝 NOT HELPFUL.

So now that I’ve had a few days off work, I’m diving full speed into fish stuff. Woo!

Funny story: my therapist asked me about my fish during our last appointment. To judge her level of nerm-ness I asked if she or any family members had ever been seriously into fish. She tells me, “Oh yes, my mother in law. She had lots of tanks, and one day my three year old daughter dumped fish food in each tank and killed all the fish. And then she made my husband carry all that water down front he second story of her Victorian home because it was his daughter that killed her fish.”

I was just like 😶 I did not say my thoughts out loud. 😄 

Yesterday was a great fish day. I went to the LFS and dropped off more platys, including the ones with melanistic tumors. About 70 healthy fish and 15 tumor-ous. The owner was thrilled. They’re becoming the owner’s go-to fish for new fishkeepers. He says he’s probably helped 100 people set up a new tank in the last month, and he sends most of them home with platys because they’re so hardy. It’s awesome that the store is benefitting so much from them! The tumor platys will likely be turtle food in a tank where the fish do have a chance and get fed regularly. Here’s the tank before I emptied it to bring to the store.

Right before work got crazy, I had started on a new project—a stand for three 20g long tanks to go on the fish wall! I’m actually using a wire shelf, since it’s rated for 350 lbs per shelf or something. When I was researching for my first stand, I learned that metal stands most frequently fail by twisting rather than breaking. So I’ll be attaching it to studs in the wall in two places. I’m putting maple plywood under each tank too—putting the tank directly on the wires just doesn’t seem like a good idea.

Petco tanks are on sale right now so I already got the 3 tanks! 🥳

Also it seems like I have an oto who likes to sit on top of things:

And just for fun, all six chickens begging for treats:

And someone laid a TINY egg! Not sure what happened there. 😄

 

 

 

 

Edited March 10, 2022 by Hobbit
Formatting and images

[BeeD]

Was breezing through your thread to catch up a bit. I think we share an appreciation of red ramshorns. 

[Jawjagrrl]

On 3/10/2022 at 1:37 PM, Hobbit said:

I was just like 😶 I did not say my thoughts out loud. 😄 

 

On 3/10/2022 at 1:37 PM, Hobbit said:

And someone laid a TINY egg! Not sure what happened there. 😄

I had a similar test with a neighbor recently - I asked her what kind of fish she kept. She told me about the angelfish she had once that got "way too big" so she flushed it down the toilet! 😬

Congrats on the fish sales - they look great!

And you got a fairy egg! I've not experienced this yet, though when mine started laying again last month, I got one that was about 50% size. From what I've read the fairy eggs happen when the system moves too quickly and the egg forms faster than the components for it have time to develop. Some chicken people I know call them fart eggs too 😅

[Torrey]

On 3/10/2022 at 11:37 AM, Hobbit said:

Content warning: suicide 😞 
Fish stuff continues after the quote box! 🙂 

So now that I’ve had a few days off work, I’m diving full speed into fish stuff. Woo!

Funny story: my therapist asked me about my fish during our last appointment. To judge her level of nerm-ness I asked if she or any family members had ever been seriously into fish. She tells me, “Oh yes, my mother in law. She had lots of tanks, and one day my three year old daughter dumped fish food in each tank and killed all the fish. And then she made my husband carry all that water down front he second story of her Victorian home because it was his daughter that killed her fish.”

I was just like 😶 I did not say my thoughts out loud. 😄 

Yesterday was a great fish day. I went to the LFS and dropped off more platys, including the ones with melanistic tumors. About 70 healthy fish and 15 tumor-ous. The owner was thrilled. They’re becoming the owner’s go-to fish for new fishkeepers. He says he’s probably helped 100 people set up a new tank in the last month, and he sends most of them home with platys because they’re so hardy. It’s awesome that the store is benefitting so much from them! The tumor platys will likely be turtle food in a tank where the fish do have a chance and get fed regularly. Here’s the tank before I emptied it to bring to the store.

Right before work got crazy, I had started on a new project—a stand for three 20g long tanks to go on the fish wall! I’m actually using a wire shelf, since it’s rated for 350 lbs per shelf or something. When I was researching for my first stand, I learned that metal stands most frequently fail by twisting rather than breaking. So I’ll be attaching it to studs in the wall in two places. I’m putting maple plywood under each tank too—putting the tank directly on the wires just doesn’t seem like a good idea.

Petco tanks are on sale right now so I already got the 3 tanks! 🥳

Also it seems like I have an oto who likes to sit on top of things:

And just for fun, all six chickens begging for treats:

And someone laid a TINY egg! Not sure what happened there. 😄

 

 

 

 

One of your hens laid first egg for the season, especially if you have a young hen, or a really old hen. The other possibility is a hen got a little bound up. We had one hen who would give us her micro egg, and then next day give us an egg without a shell, and then everything would go back to normal.

Blue coloration says one of your Easter eggers?

My heart goes out to you and your community... this year has been really hard for that age group. TH&P has had a lot of workshops helping adults develop the resiliency to help the teens with co-regulation. The Embody Lab just started a somatic workshop, as well. DM me if you want any of the resources.

Can't wait to see your new rack!

[Brandon p]

On 3/10/2022 at 1:37 PM, Hobbit said:

Content warning: suicide 😞 
Fish stuff continues after the quote box! 🙂 

So now that I’ve had a few days off work, I’m diving full speed into fish stuff. Woo!

Funny story: my therapist asked me about my fish during our last appointment. To judge her level of nerm-ness I asked if she or any family members had ever been seriously into fish. She tells me, “Oh yes, my mother in law. She had lots of tanks, and one day my three year old daughter dumped fish food in each tank and killed all the fish. And then she made my husband carry all that water down front he second story of her Victorian home because it was his daughter that killed her fish.”

I was just like 😶 I did not say my thoughts out loud. 😄 

Yesterday was a great fish day. I went to the LFS and dropped off more platys, including the ones with melanistic tumors. About 70 healthy fish and 15 tumor-ous. The owner was thrilled. They’re becoming the owner’s go-to fish for new fishkeepers. He says he’s probably helped 100 people set up a new tank in the last month, and he sends most of them home with platys because they’re so hardy. It’s awesome that the store is benefitting so much from them! The tumor platys will likely be turtle food in a tank where the fish do have a chance and get fed regularly. Here’s the tank before I emptied it to bring to the store.

Right before work got crazy, I had started on a new project—a stand for three 20g long tanks to go on the fish wall! I’m actually using a wire shelf, since it’s rated for 350 lbs per shelf or something. When I was researching for my first stand, I learned that metal stands most frequently fail by twisting rather than breaking. So I’ll be attaching it to studs in the wall in two places. I’m putting maple plywood under each tank too—putting the tank directly on the wires just doesn’t seem like a good idea.

Petco tanks are on sale right now so I already got the 3 tanks! 🥳

Also it seems like I have an oto who likes to sit on top of things:

And just for fun, all six chickens begging for treats:

And someone laid a TINY egg! Not sure what happened there. 😄

 

 

 

 

We had some Sebrights, Belgian Bearded d’Uccle( both one grand champion for my son that would lay the smallest eggs we every got even compared to other bantams. The Cream Legbars would often lay small blue eggs like that but the were often next to the big true breed Ameraucana which blue eggs where huge. The biggest effect we ever had from chickens were from the Salmon Faverolles( my favorite) even bigger than the brahma eggs. (Sorry there was a lot of cut and paste but chicken names are not the easiest to spell).

[Hobbit]

Thanks everyone! That egg wasn’t anyone’s first egg of the season—we’ve had a few six egg days already. So someone must have just gotten a bit rushed or bound up or something. I love the term “fart egg.” 😝

The other funny part was that I found it in the main part o the coop, so someone had kicked it out of the nest box. Some chicken didn’t want that in her nest!

@Brandon p you’ve had some fancy chickens!

[Brandon p]

On 3/10/2022 at 8:48 PM, Hobbit said:

Thanks everyone! That egg wasn’t anyone’s first egg of the season—we’ve had a few six egg days already. So someone must have just gotten a bit rushed or bound up or something. I love the term “fart egg.” 😝

The other funny part was that I found it in the main part o the coop, so someone had kicked it out of the nest box. Some chicken didn’t want that in her nest!

@Brandon p you’ve had some fancy chickens!

The kids like to have the only one of the breed because it’s a blue ribbon but they often won grand champion of the show but the gesse ( no one wants a pair of gesse as your neighbor in a typical 1/2 acre lot. Call ducks did well) my oldest made friends with one of the judges an would buy bantam black Cochins and won a few times( he one state once with once of those and sold his polis that hat when on to win state. He sold it back to the girl he bought it from because he could not attend. Their chickens were treated better that most petted.

[Torrey]

On 3/10/2022 at 7:25 PM, Brandon p said:

The kids like to have the only one of the breed because it’s a blue ribbon but they often won grand champion of the show but the gesse ( no one wants a pair of gesse as your neighbor in a typical 1/2 acre lot. Call ducks did well) my oldest made friends with one of the judges an would buy bantam black Cochins and won a few times( he one state once with once of those and sold his polis that hat when on to win state. He sold it back to the girl he bought it from because he could not attend. Their chickens were treated better that most petted.

My kids did 4H as well, and always got the blue ribbons. They would go on the Heritage Breeds site, and locate Heritage Breeders within 12 hour drives, then call and find out if they could buy a pair that was being retired. Buy an established older pair, spend a couple of weeks training to walk on leash with a figure 8 harness, and then win blue ribbon for the adult pair and the first year (also typically last good breeding) clutch. Cayuga ducks were their favorites, especially after the regional 4h leader had to make ducks a challenge: "Judges hate ducks, you'll never win best of show"... my kids said "Challenge accepted"

[Brandon p]

This year things changed and the adults either ruined it or gave the kids more chances depending on how you look at it at our fair this 4H chose not to be involved at all in our having their own animal show at some point in the future. I missed the fair this year I was in the hospital with a heart attack. So I’m not completely sure how everything worked but my ex-wife runs the chapter of the 4-H that my kids are in and I think there are six or eight chapters in this county. Turkeys and ducks always do well here. Ours was put up and really two parts you had the part which was the chicken and how good that it was genetically and Brad and then you had the second part which was the knowledge and handling of the birds. My oldest always could pick out really genetically superior birds when they were young in my younger child really could handle his birds Inu almost everything you could know about them. And then I watch part is where you won the belt buckles and he has four and he decided to move on from chickens but he wanted a hog but I don’t think that was gonna happen my kids for the city in one just to keep their chickens. The city has in their code that says if the kids are in an educational group such as 4-H they can keep four chickens each. The city attorney argued that for H was not educational even though in their own rules it says it was and for age in the state of Florida is run by the University of Florida. Maybe next year I’ll have a hard but it won’t be here I’ll have to find a friends house for that but it’s just a little bit out of town.