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.
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.
I keep meaning to do a post, and then something comes up, and later I realise that I didn’t do my post, and think I will do it now, but manage somehow to get myself sidetracked and BOOM! Forgot to post again. I do not know what is going on with me. So, forgive me for my tardiness!
Fish…
Since last we “spoke” as it were, I finally got rid of my large tank in the lounge. Part of me was glad to get rid of it, and part of me was sad to see it go. The fish love their new smaller home and my Cameroon shrimp seems happy too. Although it was a great tank it took up quite a lot of room, being so massive. We have a unit that we moved into one of the halls when we got the tank, so that is now back in the lounge. My thoughts for getting rid of the tank was to move the smaller tank onto the said unit and get another small tank and finally do a nano reef tank. However, the cost of doing a reef tank is high. I have found a nano tank I like which is £150, but then I need a skimmer and a heater so that’s another £90. Add sand, live rock and all the other bits I need to get it started and I am close to £500 without even adding fish or coral. So, before I take the plunge I have downloaded and printed a book on the subject and intend to read it in full before I decided on what to do. Having spoken to a few people the jury really is out. Some say it is easier than tropical, some say get a large tank as a nano can have problems being small, and others rave on about nano tanks, so there is no real help chatting to others LOL.
I bought an external 12-litre canister filter for my other large tank which works like a treat, but today I added on an extra 2-litre filter canister to that. In essence, water is drawn out of the tank to the small sub canister then passed into the large canister and finally put back into the other end of the tank. I did manage to make a bit of a watery mess as I had not fastened one of the inlet pipes properly oops! I had lost a few fish over the last few weeks, so thought the canister filter would help sort the water quality out. It has UV inside so sterilises the water as it filters. The lighting I have on the tank also decided to die, only 6 weeks after it being exchanged after the first one died after 4 months. Thankfully the aquatic centre where I get most of my equipment and livestock were very understanding and spoke to Fluval who admitted there was a problem that they have now sorted out and to exchange it for me.
Dogs…
Harper with her Birthday monkey
It was Harpers 5th Birthday on Sunday. As always we took them to McDonald’s for hamburgers, then to the pet store so Harper could pick a toy, which this year was a rather large monkey, and two packs of balls. Needless to say, they both had a great time.
Knitting…
Thought about it, even mentally made a pattern for a hat for winter, but that was it, but it’s the thought that counts, isn’t it?
I was reading The Massacre of Mankind which is a sequel to War of the Worlds and in the end, I gave up as it was so slow and the author was trying to write in the style of H. G. Wells but failed page after page. As most of my readers will know I love classical literature, so have no problem with ancient writing and old English, but this bad, if he had written it in current English it would have been a good read.
Outings…
I went to a joint Christening and Communion party a few weeks ago, got very drunk and had a ball.
Last week we went to Delamere Forest again, which for some reason driving there we managed to take all the wrong turns. I came off the motorway/highway onto the expressway in order to go over the Mersey Gateway Bridge, which when you get to the end of the expressway is straight over the roundabout, however, when you follow this, you end up in an industrial estate and nowhere near the bridge. It would seem the directions for the bridge do not exist, and when you get to the end of said expressway you turn left and ignore the signs. But as I managed to turn the wrong was we ended up back on the motorway heading in the direction of home. Time though was on our hands. My satnav said we would get there at 11:15 when we left home and although I managed to go on a long diversion of 20 minutes we got there at 11:22 thus proving that time travel can be achieved.
Education…
The degree is now on hold. I was so undecided about doing it that I thought it best to put the thought to one side until I was 100% committed to doing it.
General…
After returning from Ireland I had tests and a cardiac assessment done. My blood results came back reporting a lack of vitamin D, which is about right living so far north and the general lack of sun. But I also did not have enough of the good cholesterol either, but this could be due to coeliacs disease. The doctors’ office suggestion was to take vitamin D tablets and eat more oily fish etc. Luckily I found a company that sells vitamins on Amazon and they do a vitamin D that is 4000iu, and when you buy a product they thank you by letting you pick another one for free. I decided on Hemp oil tablets as they are for omega 3 and 6, so that’s the bloods sorted.
The scarecrow festival came and went, and I managed to take exactly zero photos of it. I mean, what is the point of having a great camera, living in the country, and having festivals if I do not record it? Answers on a postcard, please!
We bought new garden furniture, namely a table, chairs and a parasol, just in time for the monsoon season to hit us. Yes, my luck/timing really is in at the moment.
I have managed to have a few barbeques lately, between showers that is.
I finally took the leap into meditation after dipping my toes off and on into it over the last few weeks. I have joined Headspace for a year, and am finding it quite good and just have to add it into my daily routine.
In other news, I had a puncture in one of the rear tyres on the car.
M and I had our DNA mapped a good few years ago with 23andMe and loved the experience of finding out lots of things about ourselves from traits to health and of course ancestry. But I always thought it would be fun to have the dogs DNA mapped, and see what they are made of, health, allergies and reaction to drugs etc. I always thought it would be a bit of a pipe dream and that no one would do such things. We did have Lilu’s DNA done, but that was in case she was stolen, and having the DNA map meant that we would be able to get her back if she was stolen and her chip changed.
Today, I received an email from our insurers about having DNA mapping for dogs, and that got me thinking again about it all. I found kits on the usual sites, but nothing too exciting. Then I came across Wisdom Panel who are part of the Mars group and do full DNA mapping for dogs. After a good read of the site, I think I will take the plunge and get them done. £75 each and you get full ancestry, breed and health reports with drug sensitivity that you can share with the vets. One of the things I noted that when you buy a kit you get a code that you can share with family and friends to give a discount to them, but when buying 2 kits no discount is given so I will have to buy a kit, then order another one and use the code unless I can find a code on the internet. I have found ones that work with the .com site, but nothing for the British site, which is about right here, most companies are tight-fisted in the UK.
Once I have had the DNA done I will share the results with you all. If it is anything like the experience when we had our own DNA done it will be both exciting and interesting.
I finally finished both my large tanks and I have to say I am very happy with it all. The first tank video is in the hall next to our spiral staircase. I have just changed the lighting to full spectrum lights that are automatic, so they do the full sunrise, sunset and thunderstorms. Mostly large fish in this tank, and some odd buggers including horse head loaches. I also managed to get two dolphin fish after my last one died due to the large catfish, which have now got their own tank. The second video is of the lounge tank, this one is full of livebearers, snails and various shrimp including a large Cameroon.
Today I planted out the tank with 11 plants, treated the water again with biological bacteria that will help stabilise the tank, help the plants utilise light, water, and nutrients from the fertiliser I add each day. This products also helps the breakdown of waste and nitrates. Once this was done I added 10 of my fish to the tank and left it there for a few hours. Again after a few hours added another 10, then finally this evening I transferred the final 10, 30 in total.
List of Fish
2 x synodontis catfish
1 x bala shark
1 x tiger barb
2 x tiger loach
1 x weather loach
2 x angelfish
1 x pleco
1 x blue dolphin
2 x blue gourami
2 x dwarf gourami
2 x kissing gourami
3 x sunset gourami
2 x pearl gourami
3 x cory
1 x silver dollar
2 x golden panchax
2 x rainbow fish
Now that is done, I have turned off the heater, lights and the 2 reef wave makers to the old thanks and on Thursday I will drain it and start the cleaning process in order to get it ready for starting a marine tank. Although I know that the cleaning will take a good few weeks to ensure everything is spotless and free of any residue from the previous set up. Thankfully I have an aqua vacuum which means that side is easy enough, but the buildup of algae especially in the weir will be a tough part to clean. If you have never seen a weir, it is a closed off part of the tank at the back that water flows into before leaving the tank to flow through the sump tank and back up into the main tank. As mentioned I have had to leave the pump and air pump running as I do not fancy the water turning stagnant before I can empty and clean it.
I have 2 electric blue acara’s on order and with luck, I can collect them this weekend. Once they are in I do not think that I will be adding any more to it. Unless I can find something really special. I did fancy a disc fish, but they need a very quiet and peaceful tank. I also found freshwater stingrays, but apart from them starting at £300 and ranging up to £1200, they need very different tank mates, so that is out. I may put a snail or two in the tank as mentioned mine are breeding, so that would be a good relocation move. Although I would rather have my apple snails breed as they get rather big, and would suit the tank.
Today I decided to pop to one of the reliable aquatic shops and look at tanks and was looking at a nice tank, but the sales guy Graham told me of another tank that was £50 more, but it was bigger, the filter heater and lighting was better, and all round a better-looking tank. I had a good look and it was rather stunning, so threw caution to the wind and bought it. I could have gone for shaped tanks, corner tanks, and orb ones, but decided to stay traditional.
I built the cabinet this afternoon, placed the tank on it and added the river sand, but need to get more for it as 10 kilos does not cover much. Everything is in position, so tomorrow I will go back and get some more river sand and 100 litres of RO water, then when home mix with another 100 litres of tap water, then leave all the equipment to run for a few weeks until it has fully cycled and all the levels are perfect. When this happens, I will remove about 20 litres of water and add 20 from my current tank to the new one, and let cycle for a few days and then move all the fish over.
Once this is all done then the hard work starts with the old tank. I will need to do a full clean of both the tank and the glass sump, get rid of all the stones install plastic “egg box” grid to support the rock features, add ocean sand, live rock, RO water, and more equipment. I also need to replace all the sump media too so it will not be cheap, but when it is done it should be stunning. I estimate it will take about 4 to 6 months to get it perfect, but I am more than happy to go slow, get it right, and most importantly no lose any livestock, anemonies or coral.
Once I have transferred the fish to the new tank I will post some photos, and of course, write about my experience of building a reef tank.
This week I went to the aquatic shop and got a few more fish for my large tank, and whilst there M and I had a look at all the marine fish, coral and anemones. What an incredible sight it was to see. I have visited this place many many times but never gone into this side as I had no reason as my tanks are all tropical. However, M decided to go and have a look, and when I had purchased my livestock called me through to have a look at some of the fish. As I mentioned, they were amazing, and it started me thinking again about setting up a marine reef tank.
The large tank I have was originally a marine reef tank of my Mum’s, however, I decided to use it for tropical. So, with that I have been thinking of getting another standard tank and putting it in the hall next to the spiral staircase and transferring all the fish to this, then cleaning out my reef tank and setting it back up as it was originally intended. I have found a few tanks that I like that come with cabinets. Some great bargains too, but wouldn’t you know, out of stock. I am going to visit a few of the aquatic stores to see what is available. I am not going to rush things either as the fish are perfectly happy in their home, so there is no need to make decisions in haste that I may regret at leisure.
Through the night Mazikeen could not settle and all in all was moping about and generally restless through the night, making funny noises and the odd whimper. We thought, this is it, she is going to have her first season (in-heat), as some dogs react that way, but alas no. In the morning after a shocking night of sleeplessness, I discovered that her tail was sore, and was not wagging. My thoughts immediately went to a broken tail.
We have a 24/7 vet phone service that is part of her insurance, so I called them to see what they suggested. They can do a video chat so you can do a version of “show and tell”, but as with all technology that is new, it did not want to work on her side. Her first question was “has she been swimming?” which deserved an answer of “yes and no”. We had been to the beach on Thursday and she was in and out of the water, although she was soaked from top to bottom, she had not actually swum, just jumped about in the sea running after shells I was throwing in the water. Her suggestion was that it could be a swim tail or broken. I quickly explained that her tail was still wagging most of the evening, and the swim tail would be out, but a broken tail was possible. Harper is twice the weight of Mazikeen, and they do love to play rough, but usually, this means Mazikeen dominating Harper and jumping on her, but I could not recall any rough arsing about. She suggested getting her to the vets to get her tail x-rayed.
I called the vets at 8am and got an appointment later that morning. The vet felt about her tail and found two places he thought it may be broken, and took her in for x-rays and examinations. She had the first of the anaesthetic injections whilst I was there, and then I had to go so they could do their thing. Just after 12 I was called and told to come and collect her after 1:30 and the vet would chat to me about his prognosis. Duly at that time, I went to get her, and like the morning appointment, waited about for ages. Eventually, I was called into one of the rooms with a nurse who explained that she had not broken it, so that was good news, but she had badly sprained it and that she needed some rest for the next few days, no rough playing and anti-inflammatories for the next 14 days which had a little painkiller in them to take the edge off for her.
Today, her tail is wagging, not as fast as usual, and she is a little slow on her feet, but she is in good spirit. So quite an expensive day for a sprain, however, our dogs are our kids, so we do not mind spending money on them, especially health, which I seem to go overboard with.
A year has flown by since Lilu passed away. It is amazing how fast that seems to have gone. 8760 hours, that have ticked away without increasing speed, but in our minds, it seems like only yesterday we said goodbye to her and watched her silently pass from this world to the next, via the doggy rainbow that we have no access to.
All around we have our memories of her, on the walls, on the many bookcases, and I even have a tee shirt that has both Lilu and Harper (at 8 weeks old) on, which I have on today.
If I did not know better I would swear that Mazikeen is a reincarnation at times of Lilu. She has so many of the same mannerisms and the same spirit of adventure. Even the spiral staircase in the middle of the house was no obstacle to Lilu, and Mazikeen is the same, however, Harper puts her front paws on the first step and stands there waiting for us, never daring to climb even after watching the pup fly up and indeed when she was a pup herself watching Lilu go up, slowly as her walking was not the best after her spinal stroke, but she still wanted to go up, just for a potter about. But I know by the Buddhist cycle of reincarnation that it is not possible, as they say, saṃsāra is an endless cycle without pause or end unless liberation is achieved by insight and the extinguishing of desire.
A year on and we still miss her like mad, and now and again emotions stir, a tear is shed, but the fun times and great memories are in abundance. So I will leave you with a photo of her in one of her favourite places, the beach.
Lilu – Posing for a photograph before launching herself into the sea
Australian Traveller that loves to "Roam" our globe, creator of ENDLESSROAMING.COM sharing the experience through word and photography. Currently residing in my home of Newtown Sydney but hope to be back on the road late 2020. Feedback / questions are more than welcome, happy travels
