DanGofCalgary

So, seeing a request on the status of my fishkeeping in my intro thread, thought I'd copy over a few posts I made on CAC. So if you've read it there, ignore this thread. I got some plants from a CAS member, as well as a pump to power a full manifold that I am trying out. It is actually a medical piston pump (Medo 5102), and then I filled a 5! haha! no fishies yet, but 3 tanks up and running, one with plants. Hopefully my brine shrimp and the rest of my order from MOPS.ca arrives this week and I will be on the hunt for some occupants! Stil hoping for some killie eggs, and my wife confirmed she would like to see some angels, so I do have a path forward planned! Going to put in 2 50s on the bottom rack, then 5 20s up top. middle rack will be for killies and random tanks (small breeding tanks). I am spending all my allowance that I have saved up for years though! haha 90% finished my manifold last night. Would have had it all finished, but I went golfing yesterday afternoon with an old friend who was visiting from Toronto. (for the golfers out there, was a rough game. First two holes I quadded. then went par/bogey/par/bogey... that kind of game). About 10:30 last night, I just plain ran out of gas so will finish it tonight. Taking pictures as I go, and will post them later. My MOPS.ca order is going to be here on Thursday! Very excited about that. Especially wanting to see what kind of hatch rates I get out of the brine shrimp eggs I bought from them. Made a deal last night with Ray from aquatics for 5 20 gal, and 2 50s, so glass buying is just about over.... counting little show tanks that I might run small killies in I will be up to 12-14 tanks before I even have a fishie! The 10 gallon and 30 gallon tanks are cycling, and smelling quite ripe! I am thinking this is good. Beneficial bacteria food! Going to read the post on fishless tank cycling to see if I am doing this right (was just doing it by memory. - add old filters, some plants, heat and light. see what happens! haha!) And.... Bought my first fishies! Again from Ray - a group of Bolivian Rams. That is a group that I always struggled to spawn, so is on my 'bucket list' of species that I want to succesfully spawn. (Don't know why. I have spawned much more difficult species. I think I just never put the effort in). It reminded me also of a fish on my 'bucket list' that I am going to spawn, just because they gave me so much grief. Featherfin rainbows. The problem with them of course was not the spawning, but the raising. I could never get enough infusoria in to their bellies in that critical first week. Poor little things starved to death. about a zillion of them. Just a reminder, I am off to Edmonton on Friday morning if anyone needs anything taken there, or brought back (back on Sunday). Dan

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coelacanth

This is also a handy way to eliminate your need to eat, breathe or any other bodily functions, as you will be buried in the back yard somewhere.. Or at least I would if I ever suggested this activity without clarification! haha!

nary a drop to drink! So techical topic around water. Last time I raised fish, I used straight Calgary tap water for the main part. Since then, we have moved and have a water conditioner (ionic? salt exchange thingy). So first thing I did when setting up my fish rack was modify the plumbing so I had a source of water that bypasses this conditioner. So, a couple of things I would like to know you folks experience or information on. Firstly: When I want 'soft water' for some species, will they fooled by the sodium rich soft water? How bad is this sodium enriched (for lack of better term) softened water for some of the more delicate species (like say Discus). I am guesssin REAL BAD or folks would have tried it as a cheap alternative to softened water already! haha! Calgary's water is similar in hardness/calcium content (or so I recall from past information, sorry though I don't have any current data on it. still gathering that type of information) to the rift lakes if I remember correctly. What other methods of softening would be a cheap alternative to an RO system. (I an contemplating buying and setting one up, just don't want to letting out a Homer Simpson DOH! by finding out after the fact that there are cheaper and just as effective alternatives available). Thanks! Dan ps: cross posting on CAC to get some thoughts from the folks there that don't post here.

Wow. Just wow. The hobby has advanced so much, this is just amazing. I would never even have THOUGHT of doing something like this. So impressive. /applaud Dan

Read the whole thread over the last week or so. Very interesting process, and an amazing looking tank. Well done Sir.

soooooooo... 46 would be over the line then? haha! That was back in the 90s though. Right now, I have 3 up and running (no stock) and planning on 7 more shortly. (liking the sales I am seeing at aquatic here in Calgary. Probably see if I can get a discount on buying 2 50s, and 5 20s)

This is a copy of a post I made last week on CAC website. At least that is what we called ourselves in the 90s! I have been lurking in your forums for the last week or two, and thought I'd post in the introduction thread. I am a former member of the Calgary Aquarium Society and a former fish keeper (fish head! ). I liked spawning and raising fish, (I was especially endeared to the ability of having a self supporting hobby, doing something I loved that would support it self so not hampering the family budget). I was lucky enough to achieve the title of 'Master Breeder' from the CAS, and believe I was the 5th or 6th of the club to achieve this. Probably over 100 that have that title now, but it was a very proud achievement in my life. The spawnings and rearing that I was most proud of was Sturisoma Aureum, but I suppose Rhinogobius Wui deserves an honorable mention too! I had some great friends and mentors (yes I mean you Birgit if you are possibly reading this!) and had so many fond memories of wonderful times at auctions, meetings, learning about new fish, working with them and trying to succesfully rear them. If there was even an internet back then, (Not sure there was much of one) it certainly wasn't like now, where you can highlight one of the fish names in this post and instantly get a google of pictures, spawning techniques, watchouts etc!. What a different world we live in now! Both wonderful (for my wife and I) and sadly for my fish keeping, our primary spawn of 4 beautiful daughters tended to devour enough of my time that fish keeping fell by the wayside, and I stopped keeping fish in 1996. My youngest is soon to enter her second year of University, 3rd is in third year, and the older two are finished University so I am starting to feel the itch again to set up a few tanks. So, I have cleared off a rack in the furnace room, and dug out what remains of my fish equipment, started looking in the bargain finder (online of course!) for tankage and am contemplating what species I might start working on. I always felt that I hadn't completed the title of 'Master Breeder' properly as I hadn't spawned any of the peat laying killies, or enough challlenging Corys. I have so many fond memories of seeing tiny corys in Birgits tanks (she used to call them kittens, which always made me laugh!) and beautiful notho. killies in shows and such, that I am certain that is where I will start. My wife also had a HUGE fondness for clouds of baby angels, so it is likely that I might work a tank of angels up to a spawning pair or two as well. I am also drawn to thoughts of the continuation of the hobby, and the desire to 'give back' as it were possibly through species maintenance or other useful assistance. I think of that movie with Bruce Dern out in space, the last gardener. Sometimes I feel us fish keepers may be along those lines. Like all addictions, I of course believe that now that I am older and *cough* wiser I shall be able to limit how many tanks I run. We shall see. We shall see. All the best, Dan Grimbly PS: Any of you old fish heads that remember me from back in the 90s, shoot me a pm! Love to catch up on your lives, and your fishkeeping if you still are keeping any.