Quick update...
Surya is back at the LFS. I will feed Diana tonight, but just enough to keep her from starving. Otello is hanging in there. I will thaw and drain the brine shrimp and then soak them in vitamins so that the leftovers that Otello gets will be good an healthy :) I did give the tank a bit of phyto this morning after the small water change - they must all be starving since I have fed almost nothing since Saturday (just a few pellets to keep Otello going).
Later!
Wednesday, 28 January 2009
I am disgusted!
Yesterday I was opening my post - I bought a bunch of old school video games off eBay and they had arrived :) - and there is yet another envelope of dead trees from Barclays. What is it going to be this time? More loan offers? No. It's a targeted mailing. I am female so they want to sell me female cancer insurance!!!!!
I live with the cancer thing every day - my Mom and one of my best friends are both cancer survivors. I follow Lance Armstrong pretty religiously (he's on Twitter :). I do my annual screenings. Ugh. It just turned my stomach to see it there in the post. They are trading off women's fears! Barclays is a bank, they do not need to encroach into my life in any other way. I know I need to tell Barclays to take me off their mailing lists and this is the spur that will get me to act!
Here is Barclays Wellwoman plan.
-K
Yesterday I was opening my post - I bought a bunch of old school video games off eBay and they had arrived :) - and there is yet another envelope of dead trees from Barclays. What is it going to be this time? More loan offers? No. It's a targeted mailing. I am female so they want to sell me female cancer insurance!!!!!
I live with the cancer thing every day - my Mom and one of my best friends are both cancer survivors. I follow Lance Armstrong pretty religiously (he's on Twitter :). I do my annual screenings. Ugh. It just turned my stomach to see it there in the post. They are trading off women's fears! Barclays is a bank, they do not need to encroach into my life in any other way. I know I need to tell Barclays to take me off their mailing lists and this is the spur that will get me to act!
Here is Barclays Wellwoman plan.
-K
Tuesday, 27 January 2009
Disaster in the reef tank....
It was not a pretty Sunday :(. I woke to a grey Otello, Jack flat on his back, twitching, and no sign of Penelope.
I had fed the sun coral sisters (Surya and Diana) the previous night and when I checked on them at 5am they looked very happy. They looked happy at 8am, too...they are happy girls :). Too much food, the food was off (it wasn't staying frozen in our little fridge, it was a bit soft the night before), too many babies in my tank, all of of these combined...something caused a problem with the chemistry. All the corals looked pretty happy and Minty was looking good, as were the snails (Trotsky, Troy, Tippity and Tappity) and the crabs (Jesus and Jose)...it was just the clownfish and Jack that were hurting.
Penelope was already having a few problems as I hadn't made sure she had enough food while I was away skiing (I was more concerned about the corals, DOH! I thought it would be enough - Otello was plenty fat) and she was a bit emaciated when we got back. We were hoping she was on the road to recovery as we were feeding her very well. Jack is a cleaner shrimp and they are very sensitive to chemical changes. The nitrite problem pushed them over the edge. When I got Jack out of the tank we found Penelope up against the wall in Shell Alley - she was a goner - so I got her out, too. :(:(:(
We are very sad. Otello is pretty sad too, with the loss of Penelope, but we think he is going to make it. I did 4 2-gallon water changes in 24 hours to get the bad stuff out and Otello was definitely responding when the fresh water was going in. After the first one he returned to being black, though still with some white spots on his tail. The second water change got rid of the spots and he was looking quite normal. He is eating, though he looks less energetic than he usually is....now that he doesn't have Penelope to bull out of the way to get to the food :) Poor guy, he will be missing her.
On the recommendation of my fish guy, I will continue doing small water changes every morning for the rest of the week. In a few weeks we will get a new Penelope and a new Pedro the cleaner shrimp (we can never replace Jack!). I am also going to reduce the bioload a bit and Surya is going to have go back to the LFS to find a bigger tank with someone else to feed her. Diana is small and it more suited to the tank size that I have. I will prune out some of the Xenia, too and there is a piece of the purple dendro that has separated, so I will return that as well.
On top of all that, does Miss Bonita Applebum have to cause more stress by going walkabout this morning? Obviously :). We awoke this morning to snail slime on the kitchen table place mats and there she was, lying on the table with her back door closed. We popped her back in the tank and she was cruising around the tank in 15 minutes. All the little fish were out and darting around - they must have missed her :). A is putting some slices of carrot and cucumber in the tank to keep her entertained :)
Later!!!!
It was not a pretty Sunday :(. I woke to a grey Otello, Jack flat on his back, twitching, and no sign of Penelope.
I had fed the sun coral sisters (Surya and Diana) the previous night and when I checked on them at 5am they looked very happy. They looked happy at 8am, too...they are happy girls :). Too much food, the food was off (it wasn't staying frozen in our little fridge, it was a bit soft the night before), too many babies in my tank, all of of these combined...something caused a problem with the chemistry. All the corals looked pretty happy and Minty was looking good, as were the snails (Trotsky, Troy, Tippity and Tappity) and the crabs (Jesus and Jose)...it was just the clownfish and Jack that were hurting.
Penelope was already having a few problems as I hadn't made sure she had enough food while I was away skiing (I was more concerned about the corals, DOH! I thought it would be enough - Otello was plenty fat) and she was a bit emaciated when we got back. We were hoping she was on the road to recovery as we were feeding her very well. Jack is a cleaner shrimp and they are very sensitive to chemical changes. The nitrite problem pushed them over the edge. When I got Jack out of the tank we found Penelope up against the wall in Shell Alley - she was a goner - so I got her out, too. :(:(:(
We are very sad. Otello is pretty sad too, with the loss of Penelope, but we think he is going to make it. I did 4 2-gallon water changes in 24 hours to get the bad stuff out and Otello was definitely responding when the fresh water was going in. After the first one he returned to being black, though still with some white spots on his tail. The second water change got rid of the spots and he was looking quite normal. He is eating, though he looks less energetic than he usually is....now that he doesn't have Penelope to bull out of the way to get to the food :) Poor guy, he will be missing her.
On the recommendation of my fish guy, I will continue doing small water changes every morning for the rest of the week. In a few weeks we will get a new Penelope and a new Pedro the cleaner shrimp (we can never replace Jack!). I am also going to reduce the bioload a bit and Surya is going to have go back to the LFS to find a bigger tank with someone else to feed her. Diana is small and it more suited to the tank size that I have. I will prune out some of the Xenia, too and there is a piece of the purple dendro that has separated, so I will return that as well.
On top of all that, does Miss Bonita Applebum have to cause more stress by going walkabout this morning? Obviously :). We awoke this morning to snail slime on the kitchen table place mats and there she was, lying on the table with her back door closed. We popped her back in the tank and she was cruising around the tank in 15 minutes. All the little fish were out and darting around - they must have missed her :). A is putting some slices of carrot and cucumber in the tank to keep her entertained :)
Later!!!!
Friday, 9 January 2009
I think it's time for a bit of a rant!!!! I have a couple of things I just need to get out :)
The first is some serious anger towards the Israelis. If they know that the Hamas are using human shields (*we* know, the media keeps telling us) then why are they KNOWINGLY killing civilians by continually lobbing bombs willy nilly at Gaza? The numbers that we are getting in the media imply that the Israelis have killed more women and children than Hamas fighters. That doesn't sound good. Wouldn't it be far more intelligent (and humane) to find a better way to fight the Hamas and attack in a more granular way? Is it because they spent all that money on a bunch of bombs and they are damn well going to use them? Or perhaps because they are too dumb to find a better, more surgical, solution? (I can't believe that is true) Is it just too expensive? Aren't lives worth the cost? Or maybe it's because they really couldn't care less. Furthermore, if the Israelis don't want to appear like total idiots they should pass on the intel to the spokespeople (or get better intel) so that their comments are not all "we don't know anything about that" and "I don't think we hit that truck, you know the Hamas like to attack supply trucks, perhaps it was them....". The Israelis are not doing themselves any favors here.
The second is the cancer free baby: 'Cancer-free' baby born in London. What a load of crock. There are THOUSANDS of cancers and this baby is been checked for BRCA-1: breast cancer 1, early onset. On top of that, BRCA-1 doesn't *give* you cancer it just means that if you get breast cancer your body doesn't have a way to kill it (repair the damaged DNA) - you still have to get the cancer. And it's only one way to get breast cancer - it's not like if you don't have that gene you don't get breast cancer. These reporters don't have a clue about what they are talking about, they are only interested in amping people up. It's a good thing, but it's not the end of cancer.
end rant
Ah, I feel much better now :)
I'm off for a week of skiing and snowboarding in the Alps, my fish tanks are being cared for while I'm away by....a very caring person :)
The first is some serious anger towards the Israelis. If they know that the Hamas are using human shields (*we* know, the media keeps telling us) then why are they KNOWINGLY killing civilians by continually lobbing bombs willy nilly at Gaza? The numbers that we are getting in the media imply that the Israelis have killed more women and children than Hamas fighters. That doesn't sound good. Wouldn't it be far more intelligent (and humane) to find a better way to fight the Hamas and attack in a more granular way? Is it because they spent all that money on a bunch of bombs and they are damn well going to use them? Or perhaps because they are too dumb to find a better, more surgical, solution? (I can't believe that is true) Is it just too expensive? Aren't lives worth the cost? Or maybe it's because they really couldn't care less. Furthermore, if the Israelis don't want to appear like total idiots they should pass on the intel to the spokespeople (or get better intel) so that their comments are not all "we don't know anything about that" and "I don't think we hit that truck, you know the Hamas like to attack supply trucks, perhaps it was them....". The Israelis are not doing themselves any favors here.
The second is the cancer free baby: 'Cancer-free' baby born in London. What a load of crock. There are THOUSANDS of cancers and this baby is been checked for BRCA-1: breast cancer 1, early onset. On top of that, BRCA-1 doesn't *give* you cancer it just means that if you get breast cancer your body doesn't have a way to kill it (repair the damaged DNA) - you still have to get the cancer. And it's only one way to get breast cancer - it's not like if you don't have that gene you don't get breast cancer. These reporters don't have a clue about what they are talking about, they are only interested in amping people up. It's a good thing, but it's not the end of cancer.
end rant
Ah, I feel much better now :)
I'm off for a week of skiing and snowboarding in the Alps, my fish tanks are being cared for while I'm away by....a very caring person :)
Monday, 5 January 2009
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!
I have a strong feeling 2009 is going to be a good year!
We are off skiing next week and my sciatica is flaring up - nothing can dampen the new year mood, though :) With Surya needing to be fed the tank needs more biological filter, so I have replaced the filter media with crushed live rock and hopefully that will help. With the new rock I am sure there are a few bristleworms and I know we got a new serpent star :) I also decided to get another bit of sun coral, I just couldn't help myself, they are so beautiful! And since I'm feeding one a new little one should be bad :) Meet Diana:
She is more orange than Surya, who is definitely yellow! I have moved a few things around in the tank...
Things want to fall off so they are now on the sand:
* The zoanthids fell on their faces twice in three days so they now live on the sand where they can't fall anywhere. After the disaster with Chihiro I think it's best that they can't fall off and hurt themselves or anyone else :)
* I moved the little yellow denro up off the sand bed but she fell off (was pushed!!!!) three times in one night, so she is back on the sand, too.
I have returned a couple of chunks of Lottie and 3 bits of xenia to the LFS as they are both growing a bit out of control for my little tank.
* Lottie was not happy that I hacked off two bits with a scalpel but she is doing ok and she will be fine in a few weeks.
* I actually have three kinds of xenia - I thought Xara was just one type, but there are 2 variations on the rock, so the white is still Xara and the blue I will call Xade :)
* There were 2 bits of Xena on her rock and I have taken the smaller one and moved it to the other side of the rock.
The mushroom collection is doing well, too. They have been moved around a bit but they are all pretty happy bunnies.
For the new year both tanks got fresh water and I got a new flake food for the fish, so they don't get bored :)
I think the reason that it's such a good year is that it started with us going to see SquarePusher at the Wang party on NYE. It was AWESOME. Ah, we are so lucky!!!! :) We are also thinking about where we want to go next and we are thinking South East Asia. We watched the Top Gear where they went to Vietnam and traversed the country on motorbikes (it was hilarious!) and we have been reading P&J Adventures and they have been travelling around there for the last few months. If you remember, we hooked up with them in Kodai, in India. It's going to be motorbikes or bicycles for us as we love two wheels!!!!! Not anytime soon, of course, as A is in the middle of her studies, but you have to plan....and I *love* to plan :)
Later!
-K
I have a strong feeling 2009 is going to be a good year!
We are off skiing next week and my sciatica is flaring up - nothing can dampen the new year mood, though :) With Surya needing to be fed the tank needs more biological filter, so I have replaced the filter media with crushed live rock and hopefully that will help. With the new rock I am sure there are a few bristleworms and I know we got a new serpent star :) I also decided to get another bit of sun coral, I just couldn't help myself, they are so beautiful! And since I'm feeding one a new little one should be bad :) Meet Diana:
She is more orange than Surya, who is definitely yellow! I have moved a few things around in the tank...
Things want to fall off so they are now on the sand:
* The zoanthids fell on their faces twice in three days so they now live on the sand where they can't fall anywhere. After the disaster with Chihiro I think it's best that they can't fall off and hurt themselves or anyone else :)
* I moved the little yellow denro up off the sand bed but she fell off (was pushed!!!!) three times in one night, so she is back on the sand, too.
I have returned a couple of chunks of Lottie and 3 bits of xenia to the LFS as they are both growing a bit out of control for my little tank.
* Lottie was not happy that I hacked off two bits with a scalpel but she is doing ok and she will be fine in a few weeks.
* I actually have three kinds of xenia - I thought Xara was just one type, but there are 2 variations on the rock, so the white is still Xara and the blue I will call Xade :)
* There were 2 bits of Xena on her rock and I have taken the smaller one and moved it to the other side of the rock.
The mushroom collection is doing well, too. They have been moved around a bit but they are all pretty happy bunnies.
For the new year both tanks got fresh water and I got a new flake food for the fish, so they don't get bored :)
I think the reason that it's such a good year is that it started with us going to see SquarePusher at the Wang party on NYE. It was AWESOME. Ah, we are so lucky!!!! :) We are also thinking about where we want to go next and we are thinking South East Asia. We watched the Top Gear where they went to Vietnam and traversed the country on motorbikes (it was hilarious!) and we have been reading P&J Adventures and they have been travelling around there for the last few months. If you remember, we hooked up with them in Kodai, in India. It's going to be motorbikes or bicycles for us as we love two wheels!!!!! Not anytime soon, of course, as A is in the middle of her studies, but you have to plan....and I *love* to plan :)
Later!
-K
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