Impulse Purchase

[omieluv]

Date: 1/24/2009 1:18:03 PM
Author: platinumrock

Omie, I was thinking about you today and wondering how you were doing. How are you feeling? I felt rude for posting a pic of my fishes since you just suffered a great loss. If I offended you in any way, I apologize. I was so excited to see another fish owner, yet saddened about the situation. I was trying to delete the picture, but I couldn't find a feature on this site that would let me do it. But it is so nice to be able to talk 'fish' with another person, and be able to mention heaters, filters and temperature fluctuations without eyes glazing over. It's quite refreshing!

What kind of filtration system do you use? How often do you change the water? And how often did you feed your fish? I'm really tempted to get a Fluval canister filter (the one you don't have to worry about), but I don't know how it's supposed to be set up. I think that was wonderful of your boyfriend to clean up your tank for you. What kind of set-up does he have? I'm going to look into the VisiTherm Stealth heaters. Anything with an auto-shut off feature has to be a stress-saver. I know you mentioned that you wish they had this type of technology in 2001. I didn't even have my first aquarium until 2003! And like any other clueless newbie, I stuffed 5 fancy goldfish and 1 beta in a 5 gallon tank without any type filtration or water movement. Lo and behold, I woke up the next day with 5 dead goldfish and a surviving beta.

I really hope you won't give up your aquarium hobby. I understand that you are grieving right now...and still in a state of shock. It will take some time to get through this. But maybe one day...you'll feel the itch to fill up that aquarium again.

PS: I tried adding a Red Devil in my tank and he terrorized it. I called him 'Killer'. He had to go back.

No worries about posting your oscars. It is hard not to smile when you see a few oscars, as they are quite characters. I have heard of oscars playing fetch with a ping pong ball. I have also hear that they do like their sides rubbed too. Funny fish. My filter is nothing special, just a standard HOB (hang on the back). It is a whisper 4, which they do not make anymore. Its capacity is up to 75 gallons, but you can never have too much filtration. Also, it fits on my tank very well & has been great. I also have a UGF (under gravel filtration system). I know it sounds like overkill, but having both have worked out very well. As far as changing water, I really did not have to do that too often because I was understocked and I had such great filtration. I can go a couple of months without a water change, aside from rinsing out the filter pad and adding fresh carbon. My BF has an awesome gold severum, beautiful red eyes and long fins. Recently, he lost his electric blue jack dempsey, which was terrible.

I went to a few fish stores today and I was not really in the mood. Nothing stood out to me as remarkable and it just felt wrong. My BF said to give myself time, so we will see.

Getting on my soapbox...
Be careful about isolating your fish in a bucket. I cannot say with 100% certainty why your oscar laid on it side, but adult fish will do that when their environment changes. This is why it is not advisable to bring home mature discus, as they will lay on their sides and some do not bounce back (and at $100 per fish, that would be an expensive casualty). Just promise me you will do some more research before adding other SA cichlids to your tank. Red devils have their name for a reason, pure aggressive fish. Also, avoid flowerhorns too, they are crossed with red devils. DO NOT get a jaguar cichlid, they are cichlid killers. Your oscars are fine and beautiful as they are...Sorry for getting on my soap box, but do not mess around with cichlids, there are some nasty ones out there!

Thanks for being so understanding! I do believe there are a few others on this forum who are into fish.

 

[platinumrock]

Date: 1/24/2009 11:28:32 PM
Author: omieluv

Date: 1/24/2009 1:18:03 PM
Author: platinumrock

Omie, I was thinking about you today and wondering how you were doing. How are you feeling? I felt rude for posting a pic of my fishes since you just suffered a great loss. If I offended you in any way, I apologize. I was so excited to see another fish owner, yet saddened about the situation. I was trying to delete the picture, but I couldn''t find a feature on this site that would let me do it. But it is so nice to be able to talk ''fish'' with another person, and be able to mention heaters, filters and temperature fluctuations without eyes glazing over. It''s quite refreshing!

What kind of filtration system do you use? How often do you change the water? And how often did you feed your fish? I''m really tempted to get a Fluval canister filter (the one you don''t have to worry about), but I don''t know how it''s supposed to be set up. I think that was wonderful of your boyfriend to clean up your tank for you. What kind of set-up does he have? I''m going to look into the VisiTherm Stealth heaters. Anything with an auto-shut off feature has to be a stress-saver. I know you mentioned that you wish they had this type of technology in 2001. I didn''t even have my first aquarium until 2003! And like any other clueless newbie, I stuffed 5 fancy goldfish and 1 beta in a 5 gallon tank without any type filtration or water movement. Lo and behold, I woke up the next day with 5 dead goldfish and a surviving beta.

I really hope you won''t give up your aquarium hobby. I understand that you are grieving right now...and still in a state of shock. It will take some time to get through this. But maybe one day...you''ll feel the itch to fill up that aquarium again.

PS: I tried adding a Red Devil in my tank and he terrorized it. I called him ''Killer''. He had to go back.

No worries about posting your oscars. It is hard not to smile when you see a few oscars, as they are quite characters. I have heard of oscars playing fetch with a ping pong ball. I have also hear that they do like their sides rubbed too. Funny fish. My filter is nothing special, just a standard HOB (hang on the back). It is a whisper 4, which they do not make anymore. Its capacity is up to 75 gallons, but you can never have too much filtration. Also, it fits on my tank very well & has been great. I also have a UGF (under gravel filtration system). I know it sounds like overkill, but having both have worked out very well. As far as changing water, I really did not have to do that too often because I was understocked and I had such great filtration. I can go a couple of months without a water change, aside from rinsing out the filter pad and adding fresh carbon. My BF has an awesome gold severum, beautiful red eyes and long fins. Recently, he lost his electric blue jack dempsey, which was terrible.

I went to a few fish stores today and I was not really in the mood. Nothing stood out to me as remarkable and it just felt wrong. My BF said to give myself time, so we will see.

Getting on my soapbox...
Be careful about isolating your fish in a bucket. I cannot say with 100% certainty why your oscar laid on it side, but adult fish will do that when their environment changes. This is why it is not advisable to bring home mature discus, as they will lay on their sides and some do not bounce back (and at $100 per fish, that would be an expensive casualty). Just promise me you will do some more research before adding other SA cichlids to your tank. Red devils have their name for a reason, pure aggressive fish. Also, avoid flowerhorns too, they are crossed with red devils. DO NOT get a jaguar cichlid, they are cichlid killers. Your oscars are fine and beautiful as they are...Sorry for getting on my soap box, but do not mess around with cichlids, there are some nasty ones out there!

Thanks for being so understanding! I do believe there are a few others on this forum who are into fish.

YES MAAM....

You are absolutely right. The three of them co-exist peacefully and I''m not going to risk changing that.

Now what are you going to do with this gorgeous garnet?

 

[omieluv]

Date: 1/24/2009 11:44:36 PM
Author: platinumrock

YES MAAM....

You are absolutely right. The three of them co-exist peacefully and I'm not going to risk changing that.

Now what are you going to do with this gorgeous garnet?

Sorry for my rant. I used to contribute to a fish forum called...hmmm...I hope I do not get in trouble for mentioning this, but it is called aquahobby.com. Great resource for anything fishy. People there can be kinda snobbish at times, but there were some great contributers as well. I would chime in on many threads, in attempts to help people.

Back to the garnet...I have no idea what I am going to do with the thing. After it arrives, I will have to play with it for a while, which I am sure will be fun. Last year, I bought a Richard Homer aqua (via Wink), which was so much fun to play with (friggin hard to photograph). I suppose my budget will determine what I will do, as I do not want this project to be too expensive. Truth be told that for stones, I prefer cooler colors like blue, purple and green because my skin is so fair.

 

[marcy]

I am so sorry about your fish. Hugs to you. The stone is very pretty.

 

[platinumrock]

Date: 1/25/2009 12:00:24 AM
Author: omieluv

Date: 1/24/2009 11:44:36 PM
Author: platinumrock

YES MAAM....

You are absolutely right. The three of them co-exist peacefully and I''m not going to risk changing that.

Now what are you going to do with this gorgeous garnet?

Sorry for my rant. I used to contribute to a fish forum called...hmmm...I hope I do not get in trouble for mentioning this, but it is called aquahobby.com. Great resource for anything fishy. People there can be kinda snobbish at times, but there were some great contributers as well. I would chime in on many threads, in attempts to help people.

Back to the garnet...I have no idea what I am going to do with the thing. After it arrives, I will have to play with it for a while, which I am sure will be fun. I suppose my budget will determine what I will do, as I do not want this project to be too expensive. Truth be told that for stones, I prefer cooler colors like blue, purple and green because my skin is so fair.

No worries, Omie!

I appreciate your heads-up. Although it''s hard for me to imagine fish owners being snobbish.

Unless they act haughty about their rare $500 fish in a $10,000 set-up.

But you do bring up a great point about color preference and skin tone. I am the opposite. My skin tone is tan/olive and my eyes prefer warmer colors like red, orange, purple, pink, peach, yellow and browns. I also have brown highlights.

I could never explain why I''m just not drawn to blues and greens in colored stones. I''ve seen some amazing blue sapphires on this forum, and I''m always happy for the owner. But I can''t get myself excited about the blue color. But pad, pink or purple sapphires??? Come to Mama!

Whatever you do, we''ll be right here waiting for pics!

 

[omieluv]

Date: 1/25/2009 12:15:19 AM
Author: platinumrock
No worries, Omie!

I appreciate your heads-up. Although it's hard for me to imagine fish owners being snobbish.

Unless they act haughty about their rare $500 fish in a $10,000 set-up.

But you do bring up a great point about color preference and skin tone. I am the opposite. My skin tone is tan/olive and my eyes prefer warmer colors like red, orange, purple, pink, peach, yellow and browns. I also have brown highlights.

I could never explain why I'm just not drawn to blues and greens in colored stones. I've seen some amazing blue sapphires on this forum, and I'm always happy for the owner. But I can't get myself excited about the blue color. But pad, pink or purple sapphires??? Come to Mama!

Whatever you do, we'll be right here waiting for pics!

It is not so much that they have expensive set-ups, it is just that many are hard core, meaning that they have elaborate aquascapes using live plants and really do know their fish stuff. These people really go to great expense to replicate the exact biotype of where their fish originate from. While their setups are amazing, I just do not have time to tinker around with live plants. Plus, my tank is too tall to successfully cultivate live plants.

To me purple is a cool color, but I guess it depends on how much red is mixed in.

 

[dancingflame]

Wow, I''m so sorry about your pets. I want to do a similar project for a kitten that I nursed from infancy and lost a few months later but I don''t feel ready. I can''t even think about her yet without my throat closing up. What a beautiful way to honor your lost friends.

 

[omieluv]

Marcy - thank you and ((HUGS)) back to you dear.

Dancing Flame - I am so sorry for your loss and I am sure you will find the perfect stone to honor your kitten''s memory. My mother''s cat has cancer and while she is responding to treatment at the moment, there was a point in time where she was not. Her cat has beautiful blue eyes, so at the time, I was thinking of having a ring made for my mom in her honor with a stone matching her eyes. Morbid as it sounds, I will probably do the same for my cat one day.

 

[K9]

omieluv,

I''m so very sorry to hear about the loss of your fish. I kept fish for many years up till about 9 years ago - when I got a dog shortly after the last of my fish died.

Early in my fishkeeping days, I accidentally killed a tankful of fish due to temperature. I had cleaned the tank and was doing a partial replacement but misread the thermometer and the water was too cold. I stood in horror as I watched them all go into shock and die. I was to go out with a friend that night and had to cancel because I was just too upset. She made fun of me for being so upset over fish - we are no longer friends.

I hope the stone serves as an appropriate reminder of your fondness for your fishes. HUGS to you!

 

[shinyrocks]

I am so sorry to hear about your fish! I think your "impulse purchase" is lovely and will be a perfect memorial for the little guys. Be sure to post pics when you get it!

 

[jewelerman]

What a nice idea!I think you will be happy that you bought the stone for this reason!please let us help with picking out a setting when you are ready!

 

[omieluv]

Date: 1/25/2009 5:08:35 PM
Author: k9muttlover
omieluv,

I''m so very sorry to hear about the loss of your fish. I kept fish for many years up till about 9 years ago - when I got a dog shortly after the last of my fish died.

Early in my fishkeeping days, I accidentally killed a tankful of fish due to temperature. I had cleaned the tank and was doing a partial replacement but misread the thermometer and the water was too cold. I stood in horror as I watched them all go into shock and die. I was to go out with a friend that night and had to cancel because I was just too upset. She made fun of me for being so upset over fish - we are no longer friends.

I hope the stone serves as an appropriate reminder of your fondness for your fishes. HUGS to you!

Thermometers can be so hard to read, which is why I bought a digital thermometer a few years ago. Several years ago, these were very expensive but now they easy to come by and relatively inexpensive depending on the type you buy. It is sad to watch fish actually die before your eyes. Though this is not what happened in my recent situation, it happened to my BF''s fish about 3 years ago. He had a beautiful school of 7 angelfish in his 75 gallon tank. One day, he added a fish that was sick, which he was unaware of. After he noticed his fish were getting itchy, he medicated the tank with the usual stuff for treating ich, but that did not work. He had learned of another medication, but it was too late and slowly, all but 1 one of his angelfish died. It was quite terrible to witness.

Thank you for your kind words and I hope to recieve the stone today or tomorrow.

 

[chrono]

Hi Omie.
Sorry I didn''t post earlier. When I read your post, my heart felt so heavy. I''m so sorry about all your fish. I''m curious to see how the garnet turns out. It looks a little dark but maybe it''s just the picture.

 

[omieluv]

Date: 1/26/2009 9:36:24 AM
Author: shinyrocks
I am so sorry to hear about your fish! I think your ''impulse purchase'' is lovely and will be a perfect memorial for the little guys. Be sure to post pics when you get it!

Thank you. I will post pictures after the stone arrives, though I am sure my camera will not do it justice.

 

[omieluv]

Date: 1/26/2009 11:35:50 PM
Author: jewelerman
What a nice idea!I think you will be happy that you bought the stone for this reason!please let us help with picking out a setting when you are ready!

Thanks! I forsee needing help to find the "right" setting for the garnet, so I will definitely take you up on your offer.

 

[omieluv]

Date: 1/27/2009 9:46:38 AM
Author: Chrono
Hi Omie.
Sorry I didn''t post earlier. When I read your post, my heart felt so heavy. I''m so sorry about all your fish. I''m curious to see how the garnet turns out. It looks a little dark but maybe it''s just the picture.

Your kind words are appreciated.

When I saw the picture, I did fear that the color was a bit dark as well. BB said that in "some" light conditions, the stone is darker, but it in most circumstances, it essentially looks like the picture.

 

[tlh]

I am sorry for your loss. I think that the gemstone makes a nice tribute to your memory of your little swimmer! And your garnet looks beautiful.

 

[omieluv]

Date: 1/27/2009 11:05:58 AM
Author: tlh
I am sorry for your loss. I think that the gemstone makes a nice tribute to your memory of your little swimmer! And your garnet looks beautiful.

I love that! He was my little swimmer, that is for certain! Though, he could be mean to the other fish, which drove me crazy. He would sometimes chase them around the aquarium so much that I would get up and call him a little @ss and then turn the lights out on him, which did the trick.

 

[AmberGretchen]

Omie - so sorry for the loss of your beautiful fish. I had a fish in college that I loved - he was just a beta fish, but my BF at the time had gotten him for me, and he used to swim around the tank when we put classical music on - it always made us smile to watch him

Unfortunately the place we asked to care for him while we were gone apparently didn''t and by the time we got back from Christmas break he was gone

I can only imagine how sad you must be about your beautiful angel fish - I think the stone looks like a lovely tribute to his memory. And tell Miss Omie to give you lots of extra love while you are still grieving!

 

[omieluv]

Date: 1/27/2009 2:37:50 PM
Author: AmberGretchen
Omie - so sorry for the loss of your beautiful fish. I had a fish in college that I loved - he was just a beta fish, but my BF at the time had gotten him for me, and he used to swim around the tank when we put classical music on - it always made us smile to watch him

Unfortunately the place we asked to care for him while we were gone apparently didn''t and by the time we got back from Christmas break he was gone

I can only imagine how sad you must be about your beautiful angel fish - I think the stone looks like a lovely tribute to his memory. And tell Miss Omie to give you lots of extra love while you are still grieving!

I had a beta in college too, but he lived to the ripe old age of 2, which is their life expectancy. He was fun to have at college and I still miss him. Sorry about your little guy though. Betas are easy to care for, so those people you left him with must have been, dare I say, idiots.

Funny thing about Omie. She really was never all too interested in the aquarium, though sometimes, she would sit on the arm of the sofa so she could look into the tank (the sofa is right next to the aquarium). She would intently watch them swimming around in a curious sort of way. One time she even chirped at them, much like she would when she would spot a bird outside. Well, she must have realized something was up with the aquarium, as she started pawing at the glass like crazy after I walked away from it. She was not trying to climb in, it was almost as if she was trying to figure out what happened or what all of the fuss was about.