Category: Pets

Fish problems

by Mr Knitter • May 1, 2021 • 4 Comments

I have three tanks with fish in. One large tank with cichlids and a smaller on with just on Malawi who does not want to integrate, and finally I have another smaller tank with small fish in it.

So, on Tuesday I bought a lovely orange cichlid that was going to be a tank mate for the Malawi, but he did nothing but chase her constantly. As I wanted her to thrive I put her in the communal big tank. She seemed okay at first, but then a few of the other fish chased her, but it settled down, well, for a bit until the Parrot fish and her BFF a yellow Lab decided to go after her. Now, she was not tiny, and only a little bit smaller than most of the tank. There are fish in there that are the same size as she was, so that should not be a problem, and I have not had problems introducing others to the tanks in the past. But, this was not to be, as I discovered on Wednesday evening. The Parrot slammed her on the side which caused instant swim bladder problems. I moved quick and put here in an isolation pod in the tank, but knew she would not make it as I have seen this in the past. Thursday early hours she died, and was buried in the garden with the other animals from our 20 years here. It was a shame as she was very pretty. I have decided that I will not be getting any more for the two cichlid tanks unless the fish are large and I know they can handle themselves.

Pets

Harper

by Mr Knitter • December 30, 2020 • 0 Comments

Over the years we have been asked what breed Harper is, which, every time, made me shake my head in disbelief as she is a Staffordshire Bull Terrier. We bought her as a Staffy and over the years we have had no reason not to believe that she is a Staffy. To us, she has all the traits and looks how a Staffy should look. 6 years after getting her we decided to have her DNA mapped, not for any real reason but curiosity and to see if she had any genetic conditions that could be a problem. Today the results came in and I am happy to say that she is a Staffy, but somewhere in the deep deep history of her mother’s line of ancestry, there is 4% Dalmation DNA, which is bizarre but could explain why she is a little taller than other Staffies. The tests were also 100% with her description of colour, tan points and what they call a “mask” which is that she has a blue face. They also said that she had Hind Dewclaws, which was true, but we had them removed due to them catching on things.

Purely due to the genetic conditions that they scan for, I am going to get Mazikeen’s DNA done. She is a pure breed English Springer Spaniel, we got her ancestry records though the Kennel Club which was presented on a huge certificate showing all the champion gun dogs she is descended from.

Celebrations, Pets

Happy 3rd Birthday

by Mr Knitter • September 3, 2020 • 6 Comments

Today is Mazikeen’s 3rd Birthday. I cannot believe how fast the time has passed since we got her as a little puppy aged just 8 weeks. Since we always spoil our dogs on their birthday, and the others always get present too as they would not understand, off M and I went with the girls to the pet store to spend a fortune, then off for a walk. Both of them had a great day with all the treats and toys and are totally exhausted.

Birth, Pets

Babies…

by Mr Knitter • August 31, 2020 • 5 Comments

As most will know, I keep a few aquariums in the house. My large tank has African Cichlids in it. Quite a few of them go through the routine of the mating dance, but nothing happens. I have giraffe cichlids in there and the male had gone from brown to a lovely electric blue with a yellow stripe on his dorsal fin. He has mated twice with one female who unfortunately died after laying eggs (she keeps them in her mouth until hatched) due to a swim bladder problem, however, one baby survived being eaten by the other fish and is getting quite big, he was from her first clutch. The other female mated with him and for the last 30 days she has not eaten and I know that she had the eggs/fry in her mouth. Two days ago she seemed to look like she was listing to one side, so I put her in the breeding net to watch her. This afternoon I check in on her and saw that the breeding net was full of baby fry. Most in the bottom away from her, not that she would eat them. I quickly get her out and into the main tank and fed her as she needed sustenance. She and the male keep looking in on their fry, but all seems well with her and the babies.

I took a quick video of the fry in their temporary home and thought I would share them with you all. I am amazed at how many fry there are, I estimate about 60, although she could have had as many as 100+. For a sense of scale, they are about 2mm long and the video is taken through the side of the tank, but as they get bigger I will record from above.

Music, Pets

31 Days of Music – Day 9

by Mr Knitter • August 9, 2020 • 1 Comment

Here we go, or should I say There She Goes, a hit for the La’s back in 1990. If you are not from Liverpool or the surrounding areas you may not know that people, lads mainly call each other La (pronounced lar), and definitely a Scouse thing.

Celebrations, Pets

Happy Birthday

by Mr Knitter • August 4, 2020 • 4 Comments

A big happy birthday to my big girl Harper-Lee who is 6 today. It seems like yesterday when we got her as a tiny puppy of 6 weeks old.

As always our girls are spoiled on their birthdays, this year is no exception with lots of toys and treats. We get to do it all again next month as it’s Mazikeen’s birthday next.

Pets, Photos

Topaz Blue Bear – Jack

by Mr Knitter • July 19, 2020 • 2 Comments

Thought I would share some photos of Jack M’s dad’s dog. He is gorgeous, but I feel, starved of affection. He was great company for M whilst he was there. We will miss him loads, and were quite tempted to sneak him back with us, our girls would have loved him. His KC name is Topaz Blue Bear, in case you were wondering, and Jack is his pet name. Although we would have either called him Badger or Bear.

Pets

Wet Spaniel = Happy Spaniel

by Mr Knitter • May 9, 2020 • 4 Comments

Mazikeen is never happier than when she is getting dirty or soaking wet. Whenever we are at the beach she is straight in the sea, even if it’s freezing cold, there is no holding her back.

Harper too lives the water, but only the sea or natural pools and ponds. She isn’t so keen on the paddling pool and will only venture to remove the balls from it or to drink the contents.

Life, Pets, Photos

Short-lived…

by Mr Knitter • January 13, 2020 • 4 Comments

I have mentioned in the past that I have several aquariums, and with that, lots of fish. On Saturday I bought two Tiger Hillstream Loaches. However, on Sunday, both were dead, no reason for this as my water was perfect, all filters were working, the water was fully oxygenated, and there are no diseases present, so I was at a loss. I have fish in the same tank that needs perfect conditions. These fish, however, are quite tough and only need a flowing tank, mine is medium flowing, so that should not be a problem. I took them back to the aquatics shop and they were at a loss as they tested my water and said that it was fine too. They gave me a credit to use for the cost of the fish as I did not want to get another two and the same happen. I may get some at a later date, but for now, I will give it a miss. If I do get some later, I could always set up another small tank for just them to thrive.

Pets

2 Years On…

by Mr Knitter • September 27, 2019 • 1 Comment

Two years ago at 18:43 our beautiful girl Lilu crosses the doggie rainbow. We still miss her greatly as though it was yesterday. She will remain in our hearts forever.

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