Tank Thread Tank reached 38 years old...in 2009!

[Paul B]

Yesterday I went to Home Depot with my friend and as we drove there I had to suddenly stop the car. There was a cow in the middle of the street.
A big cow. Now me living most of my life closer to New York City the only cows I saw were in a bun covered in pickles and onions with a side of fries so I don't know much about cows except for the picture of them on the side of a milk carton.

We looked around and saw another cow in an enclosure and being I went to High School and everything we put two and two together and figured the thing ran away.
So we got out and went up to the house where the other cow was and knocked on the door. No one was home. Just then a lady comes up the driveway all frantic looking. She probably thought we were there to steal the other cow.

We told her about the cow in the street and she said that is her Daughter's cow and didn't know what to do. I told her we were professional cow rustlers and would help her catch the cow in the street.
Now she was older than me and I am almost 70 waiting to have a knee replacement and a bad back and my friend is just a year younger than me so the three of us didn't exactly look like The Lone Ranger and Tonto.

We "run" up to the cow waving our arms and yelling at "Buttercup" to turn around and come with us but she really liked the neighbors grass and wouldn't come.

Just then 3 Police cars pull up because someone called them about this run away cow. One Cop asked me if it was a girl cow or a boy cow.
I said it's a cow and although I am not a Pulitzer Prize winner I know they are all girls. Besides that it's name is Buttercup.

I mean thats like asking what do they call Watchman gobi girls. I almost told the cop that if his Mother didn't have any children, he also probably wouldn't have any.
But I figured I shouldn't say that and the cops were real nice and helped us corral Buttercup.

So after 20 minutes we get Buttercup near the fence. My friend pulls out the pin in the fence to open that section, and about 50' of the fence falls flat on the ground.
Now the other cow (who was also a girl) starts t make a run for it. I get in front of her but didn't know her name so I said "Maam" please go back in the enclosure as I am too tired and old to chase you.
She didn't listen until I showed her a picture of a hamburger.

WE finally got Buttercup back where she belonged and went over to repair the fence which was falling apart. The woman thanked us and we continued on to Home Depot
That was my most exciting visit to that store.

Here is the broken fence where Buttercup got out of. I was to busy to get a picture of her.

 

[Paul B]

OMG, my brand new yellow clown gobi is covered in parasites. I have to turn in my Aquarist card.

I think I should have dipped him in stump remover, then spray painted him with prizapro while electroplating him with copper. I am so scared and don't know what to do.
Should I go bungee jumping with a rubber band or stick my head in a bucket of tar and feathers!!! I am such a Noob. AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

I think I am going to catch all my fish by removing everything in my tank including the tag that says where it was made then I will let it go fallow for 7 or 8 months, yes thats what I will do. Then I will treat him for flukes and flounders. ;Wideyed

 

[Paul B]

We are having some company tonight and I am making one of my favorite meals. Manhattan Clam Chowder. We live in New York so we don't make much New England Chowder which is actually a lot easier to make. We have to drive 20 minutes to find a good Italian market because regular supermarkets just won't do.
This chowder comes out so good that if you tilt your head, your brains will fall out. No really. It's really good.
I saved one clam for my fish:Blurp:

 

[SIReefer]

Nice video, Paul.

 

[Paul B]

Thanks :wink1:

 

[Koyfam16]

Good stuff Paul. Always entertaining.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Paul B]

My bluestripe pipefish is more pregnant than I have ever seen a pipefish and I assume that either last night or tonight should be their birthday. I will look at the tank before the lights come on with a flashlight to see if I can find any fry.

The weird thing is the female bluestripe thinks she is mated with the much larger Janss pipefish as they spend all their time together while the poor pregnant male sulks in a hole waiting to give birth.

Here are the pipefish, the male is pregnant but this was a different pregnancy and he is much more pregnant now.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wisMeEfLTzI

This is the Janss when I got him about a year ago. He looks sad. Now his colors are fluorescent looking and very bright and he has little protrusions on him like a sturgeon. A really nice looking fish which is probably why the female bluestripe dumped her old man.

 

[Paul B]

My Man Cave/Fish room/Workshop is coming along.

 

[Paul B]

My clown gobi is all healed, no spots, no rashes, no hives, nothing but bright yellow. And I didn't have to fresh water dip her, prixapro, chloriquin sulfate, or shut his lights off. He (or she) is fine and will live out her life for another 8 or 9 years in Bliss.

Of course if I would have quarantined her, then put her in a hospital tank, the ich would have gotten worse, then I would have had to put her on life support and go on the disease forum (God forbid) then a few days later she would have croaked and I would have had to blame the store, wholesaler, shipper or the poor guy in the canoe who collected her.:bigeyes2:

 

[Paul B]

Yesterday I was looking at my tank which I sometimes do. And I couldn't find my pair of bluestriped pipefish. OMG. So I figured the Janss pipefish killed them like he did to my last ones and I figured maybe some babies escaped from this horrible demise. I got my magnifying glasses on and searched the tank, mostly on the gravel which is hard to see through al the flatworms that are sunning themselves. None of them have tan lines by the way.
But in between the flatworms I can see so much movement. Copepods. There are so many pods that they can't even do the macarana because there isn't enough room to swing their arms. No wonder my mandarin is overweight and constantly passing gas. There are exactly three pods on every grain of gravel and in between them is a brittle starfish arm. (By the way, I volunteer at the Long Island Aquarium and we are not allowed to call them starfish as they are not fish. I guess it is not politically correct and their feelings are hurt, so we have to call them "Sea Stars". Everyone has an issue) I am sure female watchman gobies will be the next to protest.

Anyway, I didn't find any pipefish fry but as I was looking for them, I found the pair of pipefish and the male is still very pregnant. The female pipefish is hanging around the much bigger Janss pipefish while her mate watches from afar. But she is twirling around him and making a complete pig of herself the little Hussy.

But being there are just a hoard of pods I bought a couple of fish. Another Queen Anthius and a scooter bleeny.
I am very surprised that after just a little over 3 months of this tank being here and me washing most of the gravel in fresh water, there is so much life. There is no quarter of an inch where I can't find something. I really love it because life, especially an abundance of microscope life equals health.
(unless of course we are talking about snowflakes, wasps, vampires etc.)

 

[Paul B]

I have a few fish that I have never seen the entire fish at one time. I once had a brutela or cusk eel for 18 years and only saw it maybe three times and that's when I looked at the tank in the middle of the night with a flashlight. I killed it by accident when I removed the rock and didn't even know he was in there. But anyway, I want fifty more of these Gumdrop Gobies as they are very cool and my kind of fish.
(I know you are reading this my silent friend so get me more)
Virtually everyone has tangs, angels, wrasses, butterflies, manta rays, etc, but not many people have gumdrop gobies. I searched for them and see that a few people have had them but I never heard of them. I could have had 20 of them and forgot but I forgot.

I took a picture of him in the container which probably didn't come out well and soon I will download it to see if it came out.
The fish is sitting in the coral head where he landed and looks extremely cool.
I also have two Gecko Gobies that I occasionally see a small part of their tail as they shoot out faster than the eye can follow to grab a piece of food and go back into hiding. I know two of them are still alive but I couldn't even tell you what color they are or if they are actually fish.

I realize most people, OK no one wants fish you can't see but I like those as I can lie and tell people they are bright electric purple with neon lights sticking out of their ears and they can do math.

 

[Paul B]

I would like to get another circulation pump because this tank is bigger than my last one but I don't like what I see. I really don't like Korilia's because they are really cheaply made and get covered in growth to fast. I like the Gyre's but they are all programmable and I don't want to or have no idea why you would want to program a pump. I want to plug it in and it goes on and lasts for 25 years with no maintenance so I can leave it alone and go to the Caribbean or Tahiti and not think about it. My original pumps were like that and were not made in China. I have 4 or 5 Korilias and I am tired of cleaning them. I only have 2 of my original pumps still working and I think they still sell them so I may get another but I would like more flow.

I think I will have to look into antiques some place to get what I want.

This one connected to my vintage surface skimmer is probably over 30 years old and after running 24/7 all those years still works flawlessly.

 

[Paul B]

I just spent a week trying to get a drug approval for my wife who has MS. To use the "Simple, Government website" you have to be Houdini and he is dead. I finally got someone on the phone after waiting an hour on hold and he said no one can figure it out. Like Duh. That is because they hire young college graduates to make these sites. They should use old, retired construction workers.

The site should go something like this:
Name, Are you a Snowflake, Sissy or Girly Man? Do you live in America? What medication do you want?
Then it can show you two boxes, one with a picture of Christie Brinkley and one with a picture of a Duck Billed Platypus. It says: Which box has the Supermodel in it?

OK, you are approved and your medication will be in the mail in 5 minutes with a thank you note from Christie.

But the real Govt site asks you things like: Go and find form 314.748-110/A from 1983. Look on line 37 and add that amount to the number on line 15, then deduct 6 and put that number here on this line backwards. Add the address your parents lived at near the end of WW2 and the maiden name of your second cousin three times removed.
Answer 3 of these questions.
1-What is the name of your favorite teachers pet turtle
2- What year did Ford make Edsel.
3-

OK that's it. Your application will be considered 15 days after Easter.

No really. When my Mother N Law went in to a nursing home we contacted the Govt. because her husband was a wounded Veteran and she was entitled to a certain benefit. The Govt. sent back a letter saying we will hear from them in 14 months to see if she was entitled to this benefit.
14 months to tell you if you can even apply. I mean, like REALLY! Is it me?

 

[Paul B]

Tomorrow about 6:00 I will be speaking at the Chocolate Factory in Riverhead on 58. It is going to be about Viet Nam, not fish which is my favorite topic. But I was asked to speak about this so if anyone wants to go to sleep, come by.

I didn't get top billing, I am behind a few people from a Moose Lodge.
https://allevents.in/new york/veterans-tribute-at-north-fork-chocolate-company/20002541806184

 

[Paul B]

Very hard to film a very pregnant bluestripe pipefish because in that condition they stay in the rocks. But I tried. These guys are always pregnant.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AG_jcMp-fGg&feature=youtu.be

 

[Paul B]

I took a video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uSkiSVCsD0Q&feature=youtu.be

 

[Paul B]

This week I added a purple dottyback, Coral croucher gobi, queen anthius, yellow wrasse and female mandarin. I only want one more fish, a dragon faced pipefish then my tank will be at capacity. It's actually over capacity now but almost all my fish are very small and that yellow wrasse will probably jump out as they normally do.

I think now I have, besides those fish:
Copperband
2 fireclowns
mandarin
2 Gecko Gobies
2 bluestripe pipefish (they had babies two days ago)
Janss pipefish
perchlet
2 unknown red fish
algae bleeny
some other kind of bleeny
2 queen anthius
scooter bleeny
possum wrasse
watchman gobi


I think that's it but I probably forgot one or two because the majority of my fish are hiders and I almost never see them. People that want their fish to be seen get tangs, angels and manta rays. My tank is not meant to be a thing of beauty, it is an experiment to see how healthy and how long I can keep a particular fish. I can't remember the last time I lost a fish to disease but it was probably in the 80s.
Every one of my fish was put into my tank with no quarantine and no observation tank. Every one of them ate right away. The ones that I can see anyway.
In a natural tank where the fish are not quarantined, fed correctly and are immune
feel at home and don't have any problems. They are also not Sissy fish or Snowflakes that have to be coddled. A natural, not very sterile tank fed food with bacteria in it make the fish bulletproof. I have shot some of them with a 45 and it just wounded them.

This is my wifes computer and I can't put up pictures. My computer crashed and I have another one in a box sitting on the counter. I brought it to the Geek Squad and they said I needed to make an appointment. I am not good with appointments so I just bought another one. Computers are very cheap now and they give you one free if you buy a box of pretzels. I remember when computers were as big as a school bus and made of wood and you had to mortgage your home to get one, and all they did was add and subtract.

If you got a really expensive one there would be a picture of Myley Cyrus wearing her Mickey Mouse Ears. She was in the Mickey Mouse Club then.

 

[Paul B]

Here is me speaking at that Veterans talk. The guy in the foreground, Phil Keith, wrote the book about Fire Support Base Illingworth. The battle I was in and why they asked me to speak.
He was in the Air Force and was shot down and had a bullet go right through his chest. He received a Silver Star for that and in my mind, a Hero.

 

[albano]

Just wondering if you've read his book about the battle... Would like to read it, if you think that it's an accurate account

 

[Paul B]

I did read the book as soon as I saw it. I learned much more about the battle from the book than actually being there because in a battle, especially in the dry season the ground is like powder and it gets kicked up so you can't see much of anything. It is more about noise than sight.
I think there were a few things that I differ with. The book says we recovered 100 enemy bodies, but I checked each one of them and I think it was closer to 200 and the book says we lost about 25 of us, but I think we lost closer to 54 of us and many died later from wounds.
If you don't know much about military terminology the book may lose a lot because it is all actual accounts of peoples experiences and not written like a novel. It is also narrated by the author who was not there but just spoke to the guys there.


3 days after the battle we were removed from that place and put in a stand down. I lost contact with almost everyone there as we all went to different firebases and many of the guys in my battery were either dead or wounded so we got quite a few new guys including the Captain who is still my friend and is a retired Brigadier General.
You can learn much about the battle here. https://vvmf.wordpress.com/2013/11/11/the-battle-of-fire-base-illingworth/
You can see my bunker in one of the pictures there.


Here is an excerpt from that article: (notice the tires are blown off that vehicle)
Seconds after the artillery barrage lifted, the 272^nd NVA Regiment, over 400 strong, came boiling out of the jungle, attacking in waves of 30 or 40 at several different points along the perimeter. Fortunately for Conrad, unfortunately for the NVA, the enemy elected to concentrate its attacks at the southwest corner of the base, right where the infantry defense was the strongest.
Battle damage

Men grappled, fought, stabbed and shot each other in the darkness for the next hour. TACAIR roared overhead, savaging the NVA assault on its perimeters as men were fed into the fight. The 105-mm batteries, at zero elevation, banged away, punching gaps in the lines of the attackers. The redlegs who couldn?t use or sight their weapons for close-in work grabbed M-16s and frags and stepped up to the berm to fight as infantry. The un-horsed cavalrymen grabbed whatever hand held weapons they could scrounge and manned their portion of the sand-bagged wall.


The struggle at Fire Base Illingworth was the worst battle of the worst single day of the war in the year 1970. It was a battalion versus regiment slugfest with a 40% casualty rate on one side (the US) and better than a 50% casualty rate on the