Yesterday at Paddy's Market I purchased a thick bunch of watercress for the tank! At $1.20!!! And I get what amounts to almost 30 bunches of aquatic plants I would buy in a fish shop! Bonus!
not only that, Watercress is edible!
Nasturtium officinale or Watercress as you and I know it as, is a European herb, according to encylopedia.com.
Chinese people use it to make a lovely soup, I remember Mum and Dad, driving us down past Claremont to a rivulet and us harvesting this stuff in the wild (well mum and dad did, I think I was preoccupied with the swings). I think Uncle Harry and Auntie Angela was with us too... (I was THAT young).
Mum's recipe mentions that you must put the watercress in cold water and bring to boil! (otherwise it will be very bitter) then add some chopped up lean pork and a chunk of ginger, then stir some beaten egg through and there you go! Chinese Soup!!! mmm I might make some tomorrow and put the pics up.
But if you don't have a clean pure rivulet handy you can grow it in a garden
The "Gwai Lohs" even have a festival for it, and they too make a refreshing cold soup out of it (dubious look)
23 January 2006
16 January 2006
New Products for Aquariums
Every now and then i surf the global marketplace of Ebay for Fishtank bargains. Today i came accross this new fandangle thing.
Automatic fish poo pickerupper. Stick this baby in the tank and shuffle it around to collect fish poo, without displacing water! Normally you use a siphon but sometimes theres more poo than water and you have to put the water back in to continue siphoning. Which is time consuming and messy! (SPLASH!)
Cool huh?
Why siphon. Read here.
Automatic fish poo pickerupper. Stick this baby in the tank and shuffle it around to collect fish poo, without displacing water! Normally you use a siphon but sometimes theres more poo than water and you have to put the water back in to continue siphoning. Which is time consuming and messy! (SPLASH!)
Cool huh?
Why siphon. Read here.
Today's Tank Readings
Because we are moving in 10 days... No make it 9!! OMG!!!!
I have taken to doing a 20% water change daily.
After a water change the readings are
pH: 7.2 (slightly alkaline) (should be slightly acidic 6.6)
NH3/NH4 0.5-1.0 (low) (should be 0mg/L)
NO-2 between 0-.25 (very low) (should be 0mg/L)
KH - 120ppm (not Good) (should be 0-50ppm)
NO3 - 20mg/L (Good) (should be below 25ppm)
Its okay, not pristine conditions but with the daily water changes I expect this to get way better!
I have taken to doing a 20% water change daily.
After a water change the readings are
pH: 7.2 (slightly alkaline) (should be slightly acidic 6.6)
NH3/NH4 0.5-1.0 (low) (should be 0mg/L)
NO-2 between 0-.25 (very low) (should be 0mg/L)
KH - 120ppm (not Good) (should be 0-50ppm)
NO3 - 20mg/L (Good) (should be below 25ppm)
Its okay, not pristine conditions but with the daily water changes I expect this to get way better!
Plant Tanks
Oooh looking at these aquascapes makes me want to go plant crazy again!
There is something about that lush green growth that stimulates the urge to spend money!
Somehow i dont see my little tank even entering in the 2006 competition. See some of the Winners from the previous years!
The 2005 winner is amazing! Think of Hero where theyre fighting against the backdrop of mountians, except your in the water rather than swinging around on the water.
There is something about that lush green growth that stimulates the urge to spend money!
Somehow i dont see my little tank even entering in the 2006 competition. See some of the Winners from the previous years!
The 2005 winner is amazing! Think of Hero where theyre fighting against the backdrop of mountians, except your in the water rather than swinging around on the water.
Noah Syndrome
Hehehe
I came across this term while reading about Mike Edwards Breeding trials for various fishes. It means buying fishes in pairs, which is generally not a good idea for fish as they prefer to live in shoals ie 10 or more.
In his words,
I came across this term while reading about Mike Edwards Breeding trials for various fishes. It means buying fishes in pairs, which is generally not a good idea for fish as they prefer to live in shoals ie 10 or more.
In his words,
"When I had my first tropical tank as a kid, I succumbed to a bad case of Noah Syndrome (two of them, two of them and a pair of them...). Into my shiny new 10 gallon tank went a pair of red wagtail platies and a pair of tiger barbs. Within an hour, the platies were dead and the tiger barbs had been returned to an understanding LFS owner."And i have to admit that i suffered the very same illness when i first setup this tank. But thankfully i had read up on tetras and purchased a shoal rather than a pair!
14 January 2006
A little more relavant
A groovy goldfish swimming along, Click here or on the image for a bit of action. This one was harder, there are more moving bits to a goldfish. Ie more fins/legs but it was fun! :)
Totally Irrelevant
I did my first flash thingy, well completed one of the many half botched projects that i started off with when trying to learn flash. Click here to see it walking, the walk is a bit gimpy but its only the first
12 January 2006
Good News... Bad News...
The good news is that we only have to move 2 tanks.
The bad news is I broke the silver tank I bought off eBay. I put it on an angle to let the water drain out after cleaning it, and it slipped and landed on a glass side. CRACK!!!
Solution: After staring at the destroyed tank with horror for 10 mins, gasping for breath, shocked mindless. I called Steph.
Then settled down and called our favourite tank shop Slippery Little Suckers quoted the glass tank to be only $200 to replace, which is okay by me. The good thing is that it will be clean! And black!
I was cleaning all the bits of the tank so I could spray paint it black.
The bad news is I broke the silver tank I bought off eBay. I put it on an angle to let the water drain out after cleaning it, and it slipped and landed on a glass side. CRACK!!!
Solution: After staring at the destroyed tank with horror for 10 mins, gasping for breath, shocked mindless. I called Steph.
Then settled down and called our favourite tank shop Slippery Little Suckers quoted the glass tank to be only $200 to replace, which is okay by me. The good thing is that it will be clean! And black!
I was cleaning all the bits of the tank so I could spray paint it black.
10 January 2006
Its too hot!
The poor goldfish are feeling the heat!
They arent feeding in the afternoon, and we have resorted to leaving the tank light off. to reduce the amount of heat the tank gets.
Poor babies!
But the new big tank will help a larger body of water means a much cooler home!
They arent feeding in the afternoon, and we have resorted to leaving the tank light off. to reduce the amount of heat the tank gets.
Poor babies!
But the new big tank will help a larger body of water means a much cooler home!
3 January 2006
Moving Fish
As posted on our normal blog we are moving house...
THAT MEANS MOVING FISH!!!!
oh boy! even I'm worried. Thankfully we have arranged it so that we have a 4 day gap in which to move the little tykes.
But reading about moving fish, searching the vast world of the internet I've found the following hints/suggestions/advice
Should be fun, anyone interested in helping were moving all 3 tanks on Australia Day. :)
THAT MEANS MOVING FISH!!!!
oh boy! even I'm worried. Thankfully we have arranged it so that we have a 4 day gap in which to move the little tykes.
But reading about moving fish, searching the vast world of the internet I've found the following hints/suggestions/advice
- change 20% of the water daily for several days before the move
- dont feed the fish 2 days prior to moving
- leave 1/4 to 1/3 of the bag as air
- transport 80% of the mature tank water
From aquariumfish.net
- allow the heater time to cool off before removing it from the tank.
- remove all the gravel and water BEFORE moving the tank
- remove the decor before chasing the fish down!
From TropicalTank
Should be fun, anyone interested in helping were moving all 3 tanks on Australia Day. :)
1 January 2006
Top Dog: Saddleback.
The tables have turned in tankhood!!!
Saddleback is now leader of the pack! Patch after a 3 day solitary confinment, as found the world a different place. Saddleback is now the top dog, the "Dai Loh", the Godfather.
Patch is still trying to stamp his authority, but Saddleback is nipping it off at the bud! Its rather funny to watch them fight, its like the ghetto in our own living room.
We really need to get more Angels in that tank. It will lessen the damage of the nipping.
Saddleback is now leader of the pack! Patch after a 3 day solitary confinment, as found the world a different place. Saddleback is now the top dog, the "Dai Loh", the Godfather.
Patch is still trying to stamp his authority, but Saddleback is nipping it off at the bud! Its rather funny to watch them fight, its like the ghetto in our own living room.
We really need to get more Angels in that tank. It will lessen the damage of the nipping.
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