Here are some tank and critter videos I posted on youtube.com. Enjoy!
Cory Party
Ghost Shrimp
Full tank This is a fun one. The music picks up when one of the blue rams dives in to chase everyone!
-Bri
Monday, February 7, 2011
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Five things I hear all the time that drive me nuts...
1. It's just a fish.
And let me tell you how useless your job is now that you have belittled mine. Not only that, but at some point, a life, no matter how little, needs to be valued. If small lives are not valued, at what point does that feed up into society to the point where no life is valued but your own? I spend countless hours every day I work (and many that I don't) caring for these animals, feeding them, medicating them, agonizing over their little lives. If it's "just a fish", why do I do it? Because there are countless people who enjoy taking care of a tiny ecosystem in their homes, doing their research, educating themselves on the care of their charges, and agonizing over every little death. THOSE are the people I do this for, and that is the reason I cannot even fathom the idea that "it's just a fish".
2. Why won't you sell me this fish?
I try my hardest to never refuse a sale. I make recommendations, let them know why a fish will not be appropriate for their setup, and try to be as polite as possible while they are wrapping their mind around the information. If it gets to the point where I have to refuse a sale, I have probably been talking myself blue about why the fish they are interested in is not suitable for their tank. The fish's size, temperment, or specific needs are not going to make it a good match for that person and their tank. I don't refuse a sale if the fish is slightly unsuitable, only if there is a HUGE discrepancy between what that fish needs and what the person is able to or willing to provide. Examples of sales I've refused: a black ghost knife to a 10 gallon tank, a bala shark to a 1 gallon bowl, several large goldfish to a 20 gallon tank, guppies to tanks with cichlids, and the list goes on and on. There are too many people willing to throw away their money on something "cool" and "different" and don't want to do any research or accept any education on the new acquisition. That is why I won't sell you that fish.
3. But you have so many of them in the same tank. Why can't I do that?
Our system is an established 1700+ gallon system. All tanks are one. It automatically changes around 240-360 gallons of water daily, which means that every 5 days or so, all of the water has been replaced with new, fresh water. The vast majority of fish owners change the majority of their water over the course of a month or two. That's why we can house so many fish. It's also why our fish are OK with the occasional goldfish roomate in their tank.
4. But they are so small. Why can't I have (this many)?
They are ALL babies/juveniles. They grow. That is all.
5. Won't they stay the same size as my tank?
This myth is bogus and here's why. Fish will grow based on care, feeding, and water quality. In a small tank that is moderately to heavily stocked with fish, it is VERY difficult to keep great water quality. With large water changes, it is very easy to compromise the biological filter in the tank {the happy bacteria that help digest fish waste (who I always imagine as little smiley critters)} by making the system "too clean". There is a delicate balance between keeping the water changed out and clean and making the tank "too clean" that is difficult to attain. So, in a small tank (up to 30 gallons), there will often be rather high levels of ammonia, nitrite, and nitrates, which can either kill immediately when levels are too concentrated, or build up slowly in the fish's system over time and kill them when they have reached lethal levels in the fish's system. At that point, they have gotten "as large as the tank will let them". That quote goes in quotation marks because it should more accurately be called "as long as this fish can live in the tank before slowly poisoning itself to death". The fish lives as long as it can in the situation in which it is provided and suffers the whole time. Is that really how you would like to keep your fish?
That is all for now. Just went fish shopping at a LFS (local fish store) and purchased two female blue ram cichlids, two baby albino bristlenose cats, and a shoal of 5 peppered corydoras! Will post scientific names and pics later!
And let me tell you how useless your job is now that you have belittled mine. Not only that, but at some point, a life, no matter how little, needs to be valued. If small lives are not valued, at what point does that feed up into society to the point where no life is valued but your own? I spend countless hours every day I work (and many that I don't) caring for these animals, feeding them, medicating them, agonizing over their little lives. If it's "just a fish", why do I do it? Because there are countless people who enjoy taking care of a tiny ecosystem in their homes, doing their research, educating themselves on the care of their charges, and agonizing over every little death. THOSE are the people I do this for, and that is the reason I cannot even fathom the idea that "it's just a fish".
2. Why won't you sell me this fish?
I try my hardest to never refuse a sale. I make recommendations, let them know why a fish will not be appropriate for their setup, and try to be as polite as possible while they are wrapping their mind around the information. If it gets to the point where I have to refuse a sale, I have probably been talking myself blue about why the fish they are interested in is not suitable for their tank. The fish's size, temperment, or specific needs are not going to make it a good match for that person and their tank. I don't refuse a sale if the fish is slightly unsuitable, only if there is a HUGE discrepancy between what that fish needs and what the person is able to or willing to provide. Examples of sales I've refused: a black ghost knife to a 10 gallon tank, a bala shark to a 1 gallon bowl, several large goldfish to a 20 gallon tank, guppies to tanks with cichlids, and the list goes on and on. There are too many people willing to throw away their money on something "cool" and "different" and don't want to do any research or accept any education on the new acquisition. That is why I won't sell you that fish.
3. But you have so many of them in the same tank. Why can't I do that?
Our system is an established 1700+ gallon system. All tanks are one. It automatically changes around 240-360 gallons of water daily, which means that every 5 days or so, all of the water has been replaced with new, fresh water. The vast majority of fish owners change the majority of their water over the course of a month or two. That's why we can house so many fish. It's also why our fish are OK with the occasional goldfish roomate in their tank.
4. But they are so small. Why can't I have (this many)?
They are ALL babies/juveniles. They grow. That is all.
5. Won't they stay the same size as my tank?
This myth is bogus and here's why. Fish will grow based on care, feeding, and water quality. In a small tank that is moderately to heavily stocked with fish, it is VERY difficult to keep great water quality. With large water changes, it is very easy to compromise the biological filter in the tank {the happy bacteria that help digest fish waste (who I always imagine as little smiley critters)} by making the system "too clean". There is a delicate balance between keeping the water changed out and clean and making the tank "too clean" that is difficult to attain. So, in a small tank (up to 30 gallons), there will often be rather high levels of ammonia, nitrite, and nitrates, which can either kill immediately when levels are too concentrated, or build up slowly in the fish's system over time and kill them when they have reached lethal levels in the fish's system. At that point, they have gotten "as large as the tank will let them". That quote goes in quotation marks because it should more accurately be called "as long as this fish can live in the tank before slowly poisoning itself to death". The fish lives as long as it can in the situation in which it is provided and suffers the whole time. Is that really how you would like to keep your fish?
That is all for now. Just went fish shopping at a LFS (local fish store) and purchased two female blue ram cichlids, two baby albino bristlenose cats, and a shoal of 5 peppered corydoras! Will post scientific names and pics later!
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