tank cleaning

Oops! I had meant to post these a while ago when I cleaned the tank out and put the new plants in, but I must have gotten distracted by my final exams.* Behold! The stages of cleaning a tank.

First, you take everything out of the tank and put it in a bowl to be scrubbed and rinsed. With the algae-crusted plants from the water, this usually looks like the beginning stages of a really gruesome cole slaw. But I didn't take a photo of that. I did get a photo of the tank without all its decorations, and the fishies are not happy:


See how they crowd? Silly little fishes. The filter will not save you from mommy's stealth net! HA!

Once they are all swept up into a container (here, a water bottle with the top cut off), then comes the scrubbing.


Lookit them, swarming in the bottom of the bottle, all dramatic-like.


Then, you pop open the containers with the brand new plants they're going to have! And rinse those off and put them in the tank with newly-scrubbed treasury and archway. A little fresh water, and just add fishies!

Next time, I will get some photos of the cleaning process so you can see the ridiculous mess I always end up making (it usually takes me two bath towels to mop up, even though I try -- TRY MIGHTILY -- to keep things from spilling). Alas. Next time, folks!

Stephanie

* Which just confirms what I've suspected for some time: I should totally stop with all the studying and be a fish blogger full time. The life plan is go, people.

new plants photos

Well, I did promise photos of the new plants in the tank, and let it not be said I do not live up to my promises! Or this one, anyhow. The new plants are nice and green, making the whole tank serene and lovely for ze fishes.


It's been a week since I've seen the babies, but I set them up with fresh water and a food dispenser, so here's hopin' all is well. More updates when I get home to Philly!

Stephanie

do you mean to tell me that my children have been roaming about Salzburg dressed up in nothing but old drapes?

Mmmmhmmmm. And having a marvelous time!

Alas, poor Captain Von Trapp, it has been a marvelous time. But now, our time has come to an end. Yes, folks, my dear Captain Von Trapp, galaxy-class fishy and all around badass, has passed away. I do not have much time for a memorial, so I leave you with. . . the many moods of Captain Von Trapp:



Adventurous, indeed. On to the next great adventure, Captain -- a world where chairs never have pine cones. Adeiu! Adeiu!

Stephanie

PS -- Those are new plants in the tank. I hope to have photos up next week after finals. They will be out of date now that CVP has died, but c'est la vie.

after turkey day

Well, I left for a few days this last week for the Thanksgiving holiday, which let me test two theories. Namely, that 1) fishies grow leaps and bounds in my absence (check!), and 2) my timed feeder gizmo (courtesy Petco) does, in fact, keep my little darlings alive whilst I am away (double-check!).*

The fishies are getting much bigger, although unfortunately, they are not any slower, so this is the best shot I have of them recently. You can actually see them better in their reflections at the top of the tank than in real life.

Feel free to ignore the total and utter filth in their tank. I do have plans to clean it, I swears it!

They are turning into pretty adorable fish, which I hope will help them find friendly owners when I get back in January.** To a one, they are all pretty much bright orange with black fins and black speckles. A few solo shots:

This last one makes me laugh, because the fish in the back is staring off into the distance, all movie lonesome-ballad style.

"All. . .by . . .my-se-e-elf. . ." *sniffle *

An ironic tune, given the number of his peers hanging out. Observe:

And yes, that IS The Grinch Who Stole Christmas playing in the background. You will note I refrained from singing along for the duration of the video. You. Are. Welcome.

Which brings me to my next point: Christmas is just around the corner, but before that, (*cue dramatic music*) finals season is upon us. Which means this will likely be my last post for some time while I am studying and writing papers and generally doing my best to keep my academic career afloat. I bought the kiddos some new gravel and plants, so I will try to post some photos of that when I do get the tank cleaned out, but I make no promises in this, my time of hyper-productivity and power naps.

If I don't catch you before then, enjoy the holidays!

Stephanie

* This will be of special relevance when I'm home over winter break. There was much rejoicing.
** No, I am not kidding. Anyone want a few fishies? They're adorable and low-maintenance! (Do not be fooled by the ridiculousness on my site. You really can just feed them and leave.)

Captain and the Chubs

The baby fishes continue to grow, and much to Captain Von Trapp's dismay, they are not only invading his space generally, but also in the most critical of all ways: FOOD.

First of all, there's the issue that there are so many of them. There are currently 20 Von Trapp Family Swimmers competing with the Captain for food, as this woefully over-exposed photo illustrates:

The photo doesn't really capture them all, but you get the idea. As they grow, there's just more square inches of fishy crammed into my little 6 gallon tank.

But then there is a second issue. The Swimmers, it would seem, have no idea how to control how much they eat. Seeing as I also have this affliction, I sympathize. But where the Captain and Maria would leave uneaten food to settle to the bottom of the tank and then create algae I would dutifully have to scrub off all the tank's surfaces, the Swimmers aspire to greater things.


Not convinced? Let's go to the close-up.

Two of the Swimmers -- let's call them Hansel and Gretel, for shits and giggles.

Now, Hansel and Gretel have just had a great deal to eat. Like, for an hour or so, because once flake food settles on the bottom of the tank, there's virtually no way for me to get it back, no matter how many times I swish my net around the gravel petrifying everyone in the tank. Which means their wee fishy bellies are all out of proportion.

Observe:

The evidence is damning, indeed. In response, I have done my best not to over-feed the fish lately, which has given them some time to return to a normal shape. In fact, some of them have grown rather rapidly.

Captain Von Trapp, sensing a musical uprising of sorts, is keeping his distance.


Wise, Captain. Very wise.

Stephanie

enjoying their new domain

Well, the wee baby fishes are enjoying their new larger environment, and while I'd done plenty of research to find out how they will handle big open spaces, it seems I had nothing to worry about. The Von Trapp Family Swimmers are on the prowl, folks. And they are loving it.

Sometimes Captain Von Trapp joins them, but mostly he's not interested in their shenanigans. He does a lot of swimming in circles by himself. I think he might be lonely.

And since the wee ones are too little to truly keep him company, I may look into getting another grown-up for him to spend time with. Of course, that would require public transit to stop striking and me to take the time to go get another fish, so. . . odds are good this won't happen any time soon.

But in the meantime -- behold the wee ones, enjoying their space!



Yes, the adaptation to the big tank seems to be going well. Now I just need to figure out what to do when they all get bigger. Hmmm. I have a few months, at least, so that will be a project for winter break. In the meantime, homework calls!

Stephanie

but. . . what shall I do with all my "favorite things" puns?! *wails*

Oh dear, folks. As promised, I had a memorial for Baby Fishy #21 before wrapping him in a shroud and sending him off to sea. Even though Austria is landlocked.* He's a fish. It's where he belongs.

Sweet dreams, wee baby fishy. You shall be missed. But only a little, because there are twenty more where you came from.

And then, this evening, a horrible discovery. Maria, beloved fish and cannibalistic maternal unit, passed away while I was away. She shall be sorely missed!

Those are edelweiss all around her photo. They are, upon further investigation, a furry, alien-looking little flower. No really. Look them up. They look like the center is going to open up and a wee bitty version is going to pop out the middle. And then eat, like, a ladybug or something. Menacingly.

Upon discovering her untimely demise, I asked friends to comment, and true to form, they all expressed their sympathies. (Via gchat. So appropriate.)

Jesse: The hills are NOT alive. RIP, Maria. It should have been Rolfe.

Ali: I'm sorry about Maria. Thank God you didn't get rabbits or guinea pigs.

Missy: No more interpretive dance for Maria. But wait, double-memorial?
Me: Oh. One of the babies died tonight.

Missy: Was this a fishy suicide-bombing?

Classy comments, all. Alas, time goes on. Captain Von Trapp will find a new sugar muffin, and the family will continue it's trek, singing songs and implying unspeakable things about puppet goats.

*sniffle*

So long, farewell, auf weidersehen, adeiu. Goodbyyyyyyeeeeeee!

Stephanie

* I googled this to confirm. A lifetime of public schooling has made me insecure.

small fish, big tank!

Well, I must really not be up for doing homework this afternoon, because I did some cleaning. It was necessary, I swear! All three plants were coated in algae, the walls of the tank were heavily speckled, and the gravel has been getting dingy for quite some time -- likely on account that I haven't changed the gravel since the Triplets first came home over the summer. Now, sure, algae is natural. It adds a nice green film on everything, and generally makes my tank look like a pond.* However, it's terrible for water quality.

The nitrates were up, people.

Something had to be done.

So, I dutifully tracked down the babies and popped them into a holding tank with water and some mini plants from their net.

Why, yes, that is a Gladware container they are swimming in. Nothing but the best.

I also had to round up a much less amused Maria and Captain Von Trapp, who went into another container since they do not settle down much when placed in small areas, and I did not want them to scare the Swimmers.

They were in an Ikea-brand tupperware cube, for those interested. Again, I'm quite picky about the quality of my plastic foodstuff savers.

As I was cleaning, I managed to change a ton of the water, a little over half of which actually made it to the drain. And the other half of which coated my shirt, pants, carpet, and bookshelf. Skills. But hark! Once I was done, I got ready to put the Swimmers back into their net. I realized two things.

1) I could finally count them! There are, in fact, exactly twenty babies. There were twenty-one, but one, alas, did not survive the transfer.

Ladies and gents, may I present -- the twenty surviving Von Trapp Family Swimmers!

2) They are somewhat bigger than I thought they were, and their net was going to take a while to clean. Perchance possible to put them in the tank?

After much consideration, I decided that once I got the tank cleaned out, they would go back in the main tank with mummy and pops. It seems to be working out so far, and although all are a little scarred from their removal from home for the cleaning, they're exploring already.


They also, much to my relief, are getting along quite well with Captain Von Trapp.


They are not, however, enchanting their mother quite as I'd hoped.


Alas, Maria does not seem to be feeling well. Hopefully the new, fresh water and clean tank will lift her spirits in much the same way a newly-vacuumed living room prompts declarations of love from my mother to my worthless brother and I, who likely vacuumed only because we tracked in mud from the lawn.

Ah, family.

Stephanie

PS -- There will be an appropriate memorial for Baby Fishy 21 in a while. I do need to finish some reading and research at the very least, though, first.

*Swamp. Cesspool. Whatever. Diction isn't the point here.

two more for the road

After getting a good photo of Fishbo yesterday (and returning him to his rightful home of the net), I decided to see if we could get some better photos now that the Von Trapp Family Swimmers are a bit larger. They are two and a half weeks old, after all! *waves pom poms, blows party favor *

I still have trouble getting a good side view, but here is a photo from the top-down after a feeding. You can see better how some of them are lighter orange and some have a more vibrant color, and how they all have black tails. Some have spots and some don't, although the peachy-colored ones are mostly plain right now.


They are also terribly curious, which I find hilarious since their parents immediately dart behind plants when anyone walks by the tank. I come over with a camera, and the Swimmers immediately. . .investigate.

It's kind of adorable. Also, they know at this point that if I'm around, food will probably follow. This is true of most people who hang out with me, but the fish especially of late. I'm going to have to monitor their intake so they don't all become gluttons. My tank is only so large, and you cannot hike over the Alps if you are all wide and wobbly.*

Stephanie

* "But Stephanie. You cannot hike over the Alps if you're a fish anyway." To this, I respond, pish tosh! These fish can do just about anything. For example, they have an astonishing ability to trash my apartment during the week whilst I merely sit on my behind and read. Shocking little troublemakers, they are. Shocking.

ha!

Ha! Victory in our time! A close-up of Fishbo, taken shortly before I swept him up and put him back in the net with the other baby fishes. You can see how he has aspects of both Maria and Captain Von Trapp's coloring -- Maria's orangey-ness and Captain Von Trap's speckles.


He may look large in this photo, but that's gravel dwarfing him in the photo, so he still has some growing to do. We shall save our adventures for another day, little one.

Stephanie

survival and interpretive dance

It looks like little Fishbo has managed to find a way to survive! Hurrah! I have discovered he has set up camp in the royal treasury, and comes out periodically to scavenge for food. He is still wee and bitty, but he is scrappy, and darts around the tank at a moment's notice (particularly when Mommy tries to get her camera to take photos). Behold!

Hanging out in the back of the tank.

Hunkering down under the yellow plant in the corner. Expert camouflage.

Meanwhile, back in the net, his buddies are feasting and growing fast! If you look closely, you can see Maria hanging out in the background like a great white shark.

Pigs, all! Heh. Hopefully they'll be big enough soon I can get better photos of them.

And with their children all pampered and cared for, Maria and Captain Von Trapp have taken up interpretive dance.

Oh sure, it looks like they're just swimming back and forth aimlessly, but to the trained eye, it's quite musical.

Though I cleaned the tank a couple of weeks ago, it looks like it's going to need it again soon -- and some new plants, mayhaps? Hmmmm? Anything is possible.

Happy Halloween, all!
Stephanie

too many action movies

"The code name of your assignment will be Boris. And your code name will be -- "
"Natasha?!"
"No. . . Doris."*

Well, folks, the bebehs have been watching way too many action movies, because this week three of them made a run for it after I refreshed their water (with spring water treated to their preferred pH level, pampered little stinkers). I managed to get two back into the net, but I had no idea a third had managed an escape. This morning I woke up to feed the fish, and as I observed Maria and Captain Von Trapp making their way out from the back of the tank to grab some grub, I realized there was a third vagabond hanging out, cool as can be, under a plant in the main tank!

Thank goodness no one else lives in my apartment, because if they did, they would have come into my living room this morning to find me in jeans and a t-shirt, hair wrapped in a towel, toothbrush in hand, talking to my fish tank.

"Daring McDangerson! Do you not realize you are the same size as food? Look! You. Food. You. Food. Ack! You are actually smaller than some food! You are killing me here, because I have class this morning and I, like Auntie Laura, do not have time to save you!"**

(You can click on it to see all the details.)

Let's not kid ourselves -- Maria, especially, is big enough to take him down.

Maria, stalking the net. Cold fish.

While I can only hope he has found shelter in the royal treasury or another plant, I fear this may be a classic example of Darwinism.*** He will be fit and survive, or fall victim to the ravages of the jungle and creationism.

Hang in there, little Fish Rambo! Fishbo. Whatever.

Stephanie

PS -- Some of McDangerson's comrades are starting to get more of their coloring, but per usual, it has been hard to get good photos of this. Hopefully I'll be able to post some soon so you can see how some are a peachy color and some are darker orange with black speckles.

What I've got so far. Adorable!

* If you don't recognize this, you may not have seen the best action movie ever.
** My friend Laura -- gifter of the royal treasury -- is a registered nurse. We were on a flight to the west coast together when she was waiting on her nursing exam results, and as the pretzels and drinks tray came by, she turned in her seat and said to me, "Don't choke or anything. I can't save you yet." Classy.
*** Okay, yes, I don't know he is male because he's so tiny, but most of the action heroes are men, at least until I finish my degree and take a career hiatus to become a film hero who draws her power from Twinkies and hot dogs. I'm thinking about calling her Wonderbread Woman.

settling in

Well, the Swimmers have been in their breeding net for about a day and a half now (not that I, you know, keep super-close tabs on them or anything. . .) and they seem to be enjoying it. For those of you unfamiliar with the volumes of information available on the always-wise interwebs, a breeding net is basically a little box-shaped net you put in the main aquarium so that big fish (like, I dunno, Maria and Captain Von Trapp?) don't eat the little fish, aka, their own children. Because some people are not huge fans of Lifetime / Sci-Fi Channel movie mashups about parental cannibalism and treks over the Alps.*

How this looks to us land-dwellers:



Annnnnnd here is the best photo I have been able to get through the net at the fish in their new environment. I should probably mention that the collection of green gravel-type stuff at the bottom of the net is ground-up algae disks, which smell to high heaven, but which I am assured will help the Swimmers grow strong and, you know, fish-like. Coupled with the tropical flakes I grind up for them and the occassional freeze-dried brine shrimp I also grind for them, they basically eat better than I do. (I just ate a Tootsie Roll pop and pretended it was a legitimate snack, people.)



I also tried to do a fancy close-up so you could see just one. . . to limited success. A friend of mine pointed out they look a bit like, well, sperm. Which begs the question: how is she so well-versed at the general apperance of said entities? HmmmMMMM?

Okay. Yeah. They look like sperm. But someday they will be real fishes! Eye on the ball here, people.

And finally, because my obsession with the new babies is already frightening even to myself, I leave you with a video of them in their tank so you can see how bizarre they seem to be in action. And then I am done for the night, for reals, because I have to read for class.**

Enjoy! I will try to have more when I have time to post and/or if the fish figure out that little goat puppet show, which is easily the creepiest/best thing in a movie ever.

Stephanie

* Yes, I know Sci Fi network changed their logo to SyFy. I am not dignifying their willful misspelling with a response.***

** The real world is so, so inconsiderate of my absurd home life. You cannot imagine.

*** Yes, I checked to make sure I spelled "misspelling" correctly. Don't judge me.

Hurrah again!

I have gotten the babies moved to their breeding net (a mini-box that hangs in the tank so Maria and Captain Von Trapp don't eat their babies. . .sickos. . .) and got the filter working again using the ol' take-it-all-apart-and-swish-it-in-the-water trick. Before I go back to watchin' the new babies, I am happy to present . . . The Von Trapp Family Swimmers!

They are so tiny I've had trouble counting exactly how many I was able to save, but it looks like there are somewhere between 12 and 15 in the net now! Hurrah! They look like tadpoles but, again, they're so tiny it's hard to get a good photo (they're a bit smaller than a shelled sunflower seed, hence why I missed them before). They do look like they'll take after Maria (the orange fish) because they all have wee black dots on their tails and while they're still pretty translucent, they're a bit orangish in the photos.

More updates to come when I have time. Welcome to the world, wee baby fishes!

Stephanie

Hurrah!

Maria did have babies! I was just remarking this morning as I was feeding the fish that she looked about half the size she did a week ago (when I was still not sure if she was pregnant). And lo! As some of the food dropped to the bottom of the tank, a wee bite-sized fishy darted out from under a plant to grab it. I looked closer, and there were many, many babies! I am going to count them and move them to their breeder tank (away from Captain Von Trapp and Maria, who were totally hunting them for food). I also need to get the filter working again. Eep! More later. Promise.

and we're back

So much has happened since I last posted! Well, not really, but I am going to claim it has because it has taken me much time to update.

First of all, the Von Trapps are still doing well in their tank. There was a period there where I was a little worried about Maria, because she had a parasite for a while. The best part about this is that I looked at her and went, "ew, she looks icky." Then I googled to figure out what was going on, and she was actually suffering from something called "ich." Of course.

Maria, looking ich-y:

Once her ich cleared up, however, then I had some concerns about her emotional health. While Captain Von Trapp continually sped around the tank, familiarizing himself with all the ins and outs (including wedging himself in a plant for a little while), Maria decided she liked the archway. And she decided to stay there, like a little fishy unibomber, for days. I thought I had photos of this, but alas, notsomuch.

But I do have Captain Von Trapp, practicing his camoflage:

Crouching Fishy, Hidden Seaweed.

But this was not the biggest concern. No, as many of you have heard (because I have told you. Because I have a big mouth.), I thought for a while that Maria might be pregnant. I still think she might be. But she might also just be chubby. I'm really not sure. And in my efforts to figure it out, I'm pretty sure I'm going to give her body image issues staring at the tank, so I leave it up to you.

Some photographic evidence.

Maria, before:

And Maria now:





The way I see it, this picture totally begs the question:





I honestly can't tell anymore. Post your votes in the comments, folks. Help me out here.

Stephanie

fresh beginnings!

Labor Day weekend, all! After which, you cannot wear white, and you simply, positively, cannot go without fishies any longer. This weekend, I went out to my grandparents' in the suburbs for our annual Labor Day brats cookout. (A meal complete with about 10 pounds of potato salad, because my inability to portion apparently extends to recipes.) It was wonderful, and with the cool, sunny weather, I decided it might be time to try again on the pets front.

In recent weeks, I have learned a great deal more about water chemistry than I knew when I first brought The Triplets home. I am hoping with my newfound scientific understanding (and a few water-conditioning tokens from Petco) my new charges will fare better than their predecessors.

I spoke a bit with the fish guy at Petco, and he helped me pick out two adorable platys to occupy my tank. Platys are small, live-bearing fish not unlike guppies. While there are many kinds, I decided to start out with one male and one female, in hopes that they will have wee baby fishes. (I was informed by the fish guy that "You know, if you want to sit and watch them all day, I guess you could see this happen." I mean, who would be so ridiculous as to sit on the floor of their apartment and watch their fish for hours at a time, possibly taking photos and writing entries for a blog on their lives? Pshhh.*)

So, audience, I present to you, fresh from their journey home, Captain Von Trapp and Maria.


Captain Von Trapp is a redtail dalmatian platy (the pink one with the spots), and Maria is a sunburst wag platy (the bright one with the black tail).

Unexpected fishy fact -- you can, in fact, tell males and females apart in certain kinds of fish. The fish guy showed me this. It's to do with their fins, apparently. (Their actual fins, for the naughty-minded among you.) If a platy's dorsal fin is thin and pointed, it's male. If the fin is fluffed and fanned out, it's female. This difference is best understood if you think of them as jazz hands v. spirit fingers, if only because I love movies about cheerleading competitions.

Also, because I have one of each, they are likely to spend a lot of time swimming together, in the fishy version of taking long walks along the beach. I hope to have more photos of this soon, but right now they're a little traumatized about their move into ze tank. And rightfully so. I mean, first they had to drive home on the highway in Philadelphia traffic (see also: Armageddon). Then they met their Uncle J briefly. . .


. . . before transitioning to their new home.


They've had a long, hard day,** but they seem to be having a good time so far getting to know their new home, so here's hopin'!

I'm scheduled to feed them tomorrow, so I will let you know how that goes. They have fancy food flakes for tropical fish! Ooh la la.

Till then, happy Labor Day weekend!
Stephanie


*I do have to attend class once and a while, after all.
** That's what she said.