Louie

I'm hesitant to provide information I'm unsure of atm. 

 

There's a ton of wc vampires, but 90% or more die.  Others are home bred, but sometimes don't have the bright colors.

 

Bob's tropical has them (mixed reviews on there as a seller), and Alpha pro has them.

 

I'm still setting up my viv.  I started with the idea of a 10 gallon, but I have these 3g long acrylic tanks I haven't done anything with.  I think I'll use that instead, and go the plain and simple route.

 

My plans with the carved styro just won't work as vampires like to burrow and dig.  Plus, the only time they use water is for molting, so no use having a large area for that either.

The problem is that they seem to live for few weeks than just die .

Pet store I go to had them but like you stated they were WC not CB so they died and the owner knows what she is doing .

She had them in soil type terrarium and a litter pan with water and driftwood  .  It was nice and they seemed to thrive and like it but in less than 2 months all had perished .

They still do breed indoors but it is obviously better outside.  Some will even spawn hours after received from shipping.  I guess when they are happy, they breed.

 

In my outside ponds, usually a heavy late spring rain will get them started spawning.  To some (me included), it is actually a problem because the population will increase and we have to find places to re-home them.  This year, I will try that "one blue gill per pond" method to try to control the population.

 

This was my koi pond last fall.  I had to call a fishery to catch them and ask them to take the fish.

Oh nice pic .

 ''This year, I will try that "one blue gill per pond" method to try to control the population''

Perhaps you might need more than one like 2 females .

I would avoid males .

I had a pair of dollar sunfish outside in a 125 gallon Rubbermaid .

I had them with platies who they ignored UNTILL they started to spawn .

Now after years I only have the female left and she does keep the fry population down but since no spawning , no problems with the platies .

So.. Ive got dwarf puffers so I am raising scuds in a small tank to feed them...

 

There's duckweed on top of that tank, so catching the little bastards is a nightmare.

I thought id try to catch them in a trap instead.

 

Made this little trap, and after 6 hours it was about 1/2 full of planaria.   Turns out my scud tank has lots of planaria too.

 

So, thought id share my design as it appears to be a very effective planaria trap.

 

 

 

So.. I started with These http://www.amazon.com/SEOH-100mm-Plastic-Test-Tubes/dp/B002JA5NMY/ref=sr_1_1?s=industrial&ie=UTF8&qid=1457914283&sr=1-1-spons&keywords=test+tubes+with+caps&psc=1

and these http://www.amazon.com/G2Plus%C2%AE-Disposable-Graduated-Transfer-Pipettes/dp/B00W4QJNYW/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1457914478&sr=8-3&keywords=pipettes

 

I already had these because I use em for testing water, and feeding fry/shrimplets but both are cheap and usefull

 

 

So.... the tubes have these little caps

 

 

 

 

Cut the very tip off so you've got a tube, I just used scissors.

 

 

 

 

Shove a pipette in there and push until it's snug.

 

 

 

 

Trim the excess off the long end and cut the short end just where it starts to taper out, and pop the cap back on.

 

 

Fill it with water, drop a food pellet inside, and stick it in the tank.

Scuds will colonize driftwood but real driftwood not that rock hard African wood .

You remove it from water and they come out like ants , than you shake it in a container of water or in your puffer tank .

You could use a few little pieces of driftwood .

Granted now with your trap there is no need but if you ever add little pieces of driftwood IMO they breed faster .

I have planaria in my shrimp tanks which do not have mini moth catfish but now I'm going to try your trap idea instead of ignoring them .

I'd give you a 'like' but the Shrimp Spot ''man'' limits how many I can give and I've reached my limit till later .

Do you have a washing machine hookup?

 

I had the same problem with my faucets, so I put a 2 way garden hose splitter on the washing machine hookup and put my RO system on one side of that.    I just leave the valve for the washer open all the time, and only open the RO side when I need it.

 

That is actually a great idea .

I was planning on just buying the water but this is an idea .

Other than my outside connections the washing machine is the only normal connection in the house . The faucets are weird shaped nonsense .

I will be putting it together in May when my wife goes to visit my daughter , lol .

Either way this might be my new water path .

Thanks

That is a very nice and balanced diet.

 

For my indoor fish, I feed them Hikari wheatgerm (sinking) pellets and frozen de-shelled peas.

 

For outside fish, I have to use more economical food because from late spring to late fall, I need 1- 2 pounds of food per day (for lots of goldfish and koi).

 

Now some necessary shrimp content.  How many red cherry shrimps can you keep in a 110-gal stock tank?

Oh wow that is a lot of food .

''How many red cherry shrimps can you keep in a 110-gal stock tank?''

Lol

Right.  Breeding inside is a lot of work because one has to worry about food for the fry.

 

Outside is easy because they feed on green water and algae, which make their color very intense.

I actually thought that they needed a seasonal temp change which is why they didn't often breed inside .

So I took my wife to the place that I'm buying from and she got to see all the different Fancy Goldfish. I asked her what she like and gave the ok on all just no bubble eye or celestials because the big eyes made her nervous they would injure themselves.

 

Now time to narrow down my choices too 3 little guys. I'm down to mix like say a 3 mix pack of Lionhead, Ranchu, and maybe a Pearlscale. I don't know if that's ok to mix them or if I should pick a type an get 3 buddies. Also keep in mind the tank is 55g so long term I need to keep them happy with their space.

 

Here's some pictures of the place I'm getting them from. It's outside and guy told me they keep their Goldfish in warm temps so I should not over stress trying to keep them tank cold.

lol oh you are in Miami .

The fish farm does have nice goldfish

They can have them, but not needed.

Not to say I probably won't try my hand at mealworms too in the future.

I go through about 150 mealworms a week only in feeding gekos and green anoles .

I do it because sometimes I get unusual geckos and anoles so its interesting though this is common customer .

I use one 16 by 10 topperware tub and I leave some beetles in which you are not supposed to as they do eat baby mealworms but over years I've become sloppy at it and it is the easiest thing in the world .

I throw in a carrot or slice of yam once a week and that's it .

A small container in a closet and you'll get lots mealworms for your gecko if you opt ever add mealworms .

Thanks.  Outside natural spawning.  I have two ponds outside.  These two large fish also grew up outside but they are 15 years old.  Last fall, I decided to move them inside.

Thanks . I asked because I know they can be bred inside/tank but rather rare indeed .

That enclosure came out beautiful .

They certainly do look like gargoyles .

With these gekos an a pair be housed together ?

I absolutely love my fancy goldfish. Their personalities are great and their history is fascinating. One thing we learned is, although they love sifting through sand, at least one of mine thinks it is great to spit that sand into the filter. Gill ends up having to clean them way too often or else they seize.

I tried sand once in a bog type tank and in time I siphoned it all out .

Nothing but a pain but lots here will disagree with me .

A lot of these rules or guidelines are just that because it depends on a lot of other things like filtration, water changes, etc.

 

These are not fancies but you can see what I am able to keep in a 55-gal living room tank.  Two large (12") goldfish plus one of their kids who is about 6-8 inches.  Note the one foot ruler I taped on the tank for the photos.

 

I have two Aquaclear 300 (now called 70) with pre-filter sponges, one DIY double deck air driven sponge filter and one K1/sponge combo.  I only do a 25% weekly water change.  

 

The one (Ogon koi) in my avatar is much bigger but he lives in a large pond.

Did you breed them inside or outside ?   Very pretty

One year of researching dogs. I wanted a smaller dog but I don't like kick dogs like Pomeranians. A dog that doesn't shed very much and has a single coat due to my allergies,extremely smart , AKA approved for very young kids, not known for being barkers, uncanny almost spooky ability in reading peoples emotions. One of the most people friendliest breeds in the dog world but just a mean enough look that someone with bad intentions will think twice with a staffie. They are built like a tank, extremely strong has a bite so powerful that my dog can split the extra strong black Kong dog toy in half but if you play with him and his teeth touches you he will stop back away and lay down like he's in trouble and this is something he was never trained to do. I told my breeder that I wanted a calm submissive dog and that is exactly what I got. I know this is corny but I learned a lot about dogs from watching Cesar Millan and he was a big reason why I got a dog.

 

Earlier post I said "I dont like dogs", I need to rephrase that and say "I dont like most dog owners". Way too many dog owners who aren't capable of being good responsible owners.

 

The English staffie used to be the #1 breed in the US until Vets from WWI and WWll brought the German Shepard over.

You certainly researched the breed .

in my case back than I had a few acres and 2 bird aviaries plus chickens and I wanted two large dogs that would chase away from size alone but not catch bobcats

and foxes who saw them coming .

Thanks.

If everything works out okay, I should have Angel here Wed.

They don't require insects at all ?

Breeding mealworms in a container in closet is easy enough as extra protein .

my advice is DONT.  use it for shrimp.. or even beautiful tropical fish.  breed some rams.  ick goldfish

Fancy golds an make for a stunning tank.

http://i.ytimg.com/vi/9zi-Wn5nKi8/maxresdefault.jpg

I think a few fancy , different goldfish types with a thin layer of black non glass gravel looks beautiful .

Imagine with some of the fancy types you need to be careful with driftwood and IMO a goldfish display looks best with very little if any decorations .

So I got the large All Access Organizer in yesterday.  Bigger than what I thought.  It should hold 3-5 goyles easily.

 

It is very roughly 15" tall, 20" wide, and 17" deep.  I say roughly because it tapers a little from the top to the bottom.

 

Here's the link for the "cage" http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00BEUDXHW?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00

 

---

 

Today I used a soldering iron to cut two holes in the back and put in 2 black aluminum louvers. 

close up of louvers.jpeg

 

 

On the back they have tabs which you can bend back over the hole to hold them in place. 

back of louver.jpeg

 

 

It worked well, but if you have a 2" hole saw it would work much faster.  I don't, so had to use what I had on hand.  http://www.ventmyhouse.com/products/2%22-Round-Black-Aluminum-Louver-with-Insect-Screen-and-4-Aluminum-Tabs--%28Priced-Per-Bag-of-6%29.--Item%23--2%22-RBLT%252d100.html

inside shot of vents.jpeg

 

 

 

The front window slides up and then you can drop it forward.  To replace it, you put it up and slide it down again.  I don't need the geckos pushing up on the lightweight window and accidentally having it open, so I used a window screen clip with a wide thumbhold to secure it.  http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00FMYPEGY?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00

 

close up window screen clip.jpeg

 

To "unlock" twist to the side. 

door open.jpeg

 

 

To "lock," just twist it down.  I chose white so I could see the lock easily.

door closed.jpeg

That came out nice . I'd give you a ' like' but the ShrimpSpot  ''man'' limits my 'likes'  .

My dog came from WA and flew on Alaska airlines to Denver when the Broncos beat the Falcons in the superbowl, the breeder was the first to bring his bloodline to the US, been breeding since 1967 and will only breed females once every 1.5 years. Took me over a year to get them to trust me. The best English staffie breeders dont trust anyone outside their show dog circle due to pitbull breeders. Breeders called Truegrip and is the 1st and only breeder to win more than 100 grand championships. They dont breed to make money and rarely sells pups who are not show people. I got super lucky.

What got you interested in that breed  ?

I ask as its a breed you don't see and you said your first dog .

http://abc7.com/science/scientists-possible-new-octopus-species-found-near-hawaii/1232483/

 

I've always been fascinated with octopuses and some day I hope I can have some.

Oh that is neat. Agree with Jem that calling it Casper would be fitting .

I have a couple friends who had Florida pygmy octopus which came in live rock which was simply taken from the ocean not far from shore in different times when you could collect it and it is a fascinating and once settle in they are out all the time, more so in evening .

Problem is smarter than people think and you have to secure filter intakes , undergravel tubes with silicon and they are escape artists but they don't bother soft corals which is nice .

Well..... I'm glad to be back in the aquatic realm. I just don't know how I'll do with shrimp yet. I'm hoping to get some blue diamonds on the weekend.

My Endlers have both jumped out (I believe as a result of lower than ideal temperatures and Low PH).

All my other fish seem happy and healthy.

Best regards,

Stuart

Tankful in Vancouver!

Male endlers are notorious jumpers .  If one is harassed which is usually the case with male endlers they juimp.

I know its not fair when I pop out with a Doberman puppy. this is my 2nd Doberman after having one for 13 years. This is the newest member of the family, here he was 12 weeks. now he barely turned 1 year this Feb. 26.

 

 

his name is Rex

I remember the movie 'The Doberman gang' about a group of Dobermans who were trained to rob a bank , lol.

They were very popular in the 70s and suffered due to it with puppy mill type breeding and some breeding giant Dobermans but after 80s they seemed to rebound as far as good looking dogs .

English staffies are the original staffordshire bull terrier, one of the oldest bloodlines lines in the dog world, When the first settlers came to the colonies they developed a bigger version of the english staffie due to having to deal with wolves and big cats. Unfortunately this also bought out a bad aggression towards other dogs and an ability to fight very well. Then the american bull dog was crossed with the american staffie and is now what you call a pitbull.  Now we have idiots and I wish I could swear on this site that has used these two advantages of the american staffie with the american bulldog and have created a very dangerous combination. Pits can be great dogs with the right the owners but we all now that to many idiots and thugs own then and thats deadly. There is one line of English staffie that comes from South Africa which the staffie world calls "hot" meaning very aggressive towards other dogs, great family dog but many cant even be kept with it own kind unless its breeding time. Heard stories that these 36-38lbs dogs can take a 100+lbs dogs like a retriever or lab down with no problems,

 English staffies were bred for hunting badgers and chasing bulls in a bull pen. They used to think tiring bulls would soften the meat but it made it tougher, But a few families (The Donellas) like my dog mine came from realized these dogs made excellent baby sitters and developed that trait and this same family after 230 years is still doing this.

Interesting , I had no idea which came first .

I have never actually seen an Staff Bull terrier other than pics .

Your breeder was local or you had him shipped  ?

Some Cane Corsos are now mixed with Neo mastiff to make them much bigger and some pits are mixed with French Mastiffs to make them giants .

''Pits can be great dogs with the right the owners but we all now that to many idiots and thugs own then and thats deadly.''

In the 80s during the huge drug money years pit fighting was rampant here and that was when the legislation to ban them was drawen up and late 80s they were banned .

They still call them nanny dogs in England, used to look after small kids while parents worked the fields. Was the #1 dog in states until US G.I.'s brought back German Shepard from the great war.  Petey from the little rascals was an English staffie .The real Jack from Little House on the Prairie was an English staffie. Sad part is is pitbull guys cross them for smaller size and very powerful bite yet they hate to bite. He barely barks and has never showed anger or barked. His blood line dates back almost 230 years from one family in the U.K. he's a mama's boy and loves little kids and is so gentle, has never nipped even playing,  has an incredible ability to read people .An Irish butcher 400 years ago crossed a now  extinct terrier with an English bulldog.

I think Nanny dogs were Am Staff which is bigger than the Staffordshire Bull Terrier  ?

''Sad part is is pitbull guys cross them for smaller size''

There is a ''low rider'' version of the PB which looks like a piglet .I think that is what you mean  ?

They seem popular but to me they look deformed and unhealthy .

No different than the other extreme of monster American bulldogs I  now see which can barely walk by 3 years old .

Here is a pic of a pic of my AB, since no cell phones back than just regular cameras  . He passed away years ago at 13  .

The female a cane corso who was 4 years younger lived a year after he passed on but she was never the same .

Yep.

KY is good chicken weather .

Due to heat and humidity not every type does well here .

I dont care for dogs but I love this guy (Bop), Will be my first and only dog I will ever have. Insanely smart and never barks. English Stadffordshire Bull Terrier 38lbs full grown. Wish my kids listens as well as he does,

Great looking .

You don't see that breed much if at all .

My neighbor has an English bull terrier which as you know is different but as tenacious .