Baby Fish

You may remember "baby fish" from months ago.  I had a pair of live-bearing Platys and the big fish would just eat all the babies.  But I also had live plants I added to the aquarium and Anachris grows fast and floats.  It made a hiding place for new-born fish.  Most get picked off anyway, but his time, one survived long enough for me to see it.  And over the course of a week, I kept seeing it.

It grew to young adulthood at least big enough that the other fish (including Mom and Dad) couldnt eat it.

A week ago, I was surprised to notice Baby Fish had no tail.  Mostly likely a fungal disease and I dosed the aquarium appropriately.  Sadly, it was to late for Baby Fish.  It was belly-up a couple days ago.  Bye!  Not like we had an emotional connection (well maybe I did a little)...

The other fish seem OK. 

But there is good news as well.  The guppies had 3 survivors.  I was quick to catch them with a small net and transferred then to an unused 1 quart Betta tank.   They were joined the next month by another guppy and a platy.  All are thriving and the older 3 are big enough to return to the aquarium.

And there is a new platy baby hiding in the Anachris.  It is too fast to net, which is probably why it survives.  I wish it well.  It is better to get a few new fish naturally than go out and buy them.  Store-bought fish are always a disease-threat.  I have to isolate them in a small tank for a week to make sure they aren't dying of something.

I know something about that.  My first non-Summer job was in the fish dept of a department store.   visited as a customer and left with a job.  The tanks were all dirty and had dead fish.  I complained to the guy at the cash register (turned out to be the Fish Department Manager).  He was a real lay-about.  But he asked if I wanted a job.

Being broke and still a college student, I said yes and proceeded to clean the tanks of dead fish, changed the water regularly, and made sure the fish were fed 2x a day.  When the store Manager saw what I was doing, he fired the dumb guy. promoted the lady who was Asst Manager to Manager (I've never understood the connection of that, but I suspect it was because she was senior and could balance the cash register report forms (which I knew nothing about).

She and I got along great.  She understood the store procedures (THE primary skill for a Manager) and I had all the ideas.  Which was fine with me for a first "real job".

For some reason, there was a tall lighted cabinet with shelves in the storage room.  I got 2 other guys to help drag it out

With her approval, I  set up a breeding tank in cabinet.  First, guppies because they were easiest and inexpensive and many babies found their way through a slotted divider.  So customers saw baby guppies.  We sold a lot of guppies.  Then swordtails and we sold lots of swordatils.  

Then I got ambitious.  I mean, I could do stuff I had always wanted to do FOR FREE! 

I found that the store had HUGE 1-gallon Brandy Snifters.  The store Depts had an arrangement where other Depts could take stuff by filling out a charge ticket.  I should explain that some Department Stores were actually just renters of space.  They owned a core of some depts like clothes and shoes and managed the cash register stations and rented space to specialty companies like hardware, auto, equipment, records, AND FISH.  

I quickly learned that the store never paid any attention to inter-dept "purchases".  If there WAS any bill, it went to the renting company HQ.  So I filled out the form for the huge Brandy Snifter.  

And I set up a no-food, no-cleaning self-contained 1 gallon Brandy Snifter with a sign explaining all that.  It worked, and it got attention.  After that, I set up several tanks of more complicated breeding fish like Dwarf Gouramis, Bettas (Siamese Fighting Fish), and Cherry Barbs.  All egg-layers.

Customers stopped to see the Bubble nests of the Gouramies and the bright red male Cherry Barbs (hence the name).  Our Dept went from one of the least profitable locations of the company that had Depts in many stores to at least the average.

Nice Stuff

Random Good Things - 

Scored actual Flieschmans bread machine yeast at the grocery store. And at a normal price!

Finally got the trailerful of yard debris to the recycling center where they pile it up to make free mulch next year.  I cut the stuff down and tied it down months ago, but the place is a mess after rain and it rained all Summer.  It was finally dry.  They offer free mulch loading Saturdays 8-Noon but that ended last week.  I have 2 more loads of debris to go.  I'm surprized I dont have a picture of that, but I will be reloading the trailer laer today and will try to emember to take a pic.

Nice to find the car hauled the trailer easily.  But the trailer hitch is awkward.  It is low, the safety chain hooks are kinna under the car, and the light connection is awkward.  I'll have to reverse the trailer ball on the mount.  That will raise it several inches.

 

If you mount the hitch upside down, and change the ball to the "new" top, you gain several inches.  It's a deliberate design feature.

The Nandina seeds I planted in the basement in February finally sprouted in September all at once.  I have 22 seedlings growing to plant.  I have 4 plants in the yard and intend to make a hedge of them along the drainage ditch as they are evergreen with lovely red seeds.  They are very hardy and well-rooted.  They reach 4' and stop there.  Perfect hedge. 

The Mews were all-together last night.  I'll be using this picture again on their blog next week.  Not many cat-bloggers read this blog,,,

But I just had to show one now.  It was amazing.

My normal water usage is about 8-10 thousand gallons per quarter year.  Last time, it was 13,000,  Not a great increase in cost, but I was surprised.  It has rained so much this year I haven't watered anything outdoors.  But things have dried out a bit.  But one part of the front yard is soggy.  And right on the path where the water from the street pipe comes to the house.  

 

 I think there is a leak in the water pipe.  There s some uncertainty here.  A front yard leakage wouldn't have registered on the meter on the house.  But increased water usage and a soggy area in the yard suggests a water leak.  I'll  be calling the water office tomorrow.

I have Lettuces growing again in the basement light stand.  And not just lettuce.  Radishes, Celery, and Bok Choy.  It was a joy to plant them.  Not much to show yet, but here are some pics of last year...

Ignore the ivy and look at the lettuces.   I planted 2x as much this year.  It is still not enough to meet my love of salads "with everything", but is sure does add to it.  I basically thnk that any veggie that can be eaten raw goes in my salad.  With one exception... Brocolli and tomatoes don't taste right together for me.Or cheese.  I like "crispy".

Have a Happy...

Max, The Psychokitty

I don't usually post about other cats here, but have to mention one that left our world Friday.  His name was Max, The Psychokitty.  He was 19 1/2.  He was snarky, opinionated, an expert observer of his Humans, their world, and the world in general.  

Max is the reason I have a cat blog, and by extension, this one.  I do not remember how I came across his blog.  I was gainfully-employed at the time and did not spend much time entertaining myself with odd internet searches.  But somehow I found it in 2004.

The idea of a cat blogging stunned me.  I started reading it daily (at home, I was a serious worker in the office).  Max was sarcastic, snarky, and observant.  When I retired in March 2006, I noticed a clickable button that promised "free blog".  I hesitated for months.  

I had read a couple of blogs by people who were self-important, opinionated (or amazingly boring).  Max was different.  And well, I have cats and I like to write.  So after reading up on blogs a bit and missing talking to a coupe of co-workers), I pressed the "free blog" button.

Of course it wasn't easy.  I had to learn "new stuff".  But I was missing the challenge of new things at the office.  Not to be trite, but my job had always been "out on the edge" and going where no one had gone before.  Nothing was routine.  I retired because a reorg had placed me in an office that was dedicated to "routine" and I was tired of getting up at 5 am every workday, commuting an hour each way, and getting home at 6 pm.  I was working for a completely out-of-touch supervisor.  And I had already figured out I would still gain savings on retirement.

So I left the first day I was eligible.  I wasn't worried about being bored.  I have hobbies and home-maintenance.  I participate in some serious-discussion boards.  But I was missing friendly conversation.   A cat blog seemed "purrfect".  

It was days before I figured out how to post a picture on the blog (well, it WAS 2006).  It took days before anyone found my blog and left a comment (I remember them gratefully).  14 years later, I'm still cat blogging.  5,000 posts is coming up next year.  It has been a joy and I don't plan to stop.  

I've lost 3 cats along the way.  Skeeter was a heart cat.  LC was Skeeter's cat (though I miss her for her calm quiet way of living.  Iza'a loss was crushing.  She was a Tonkinese point with fur like a mink and utterly attached to me.  12 years with her was way too few.

And I have this blog just so I can sometimes say things not appropriate to a cat blog.

And I owe it all to Max and "The Woman" as he called her.  Now Max has gone over The Bridge.  My world is more than "one cat smaller".  Everyone loves their cats.  And I generally follow about 60 cat blogs.  But in cat blogging terms, Max was a GIANT.  I will miss him greatly.

Few people actually START anything, and Max wasn't the very first blogging cat.  But he was close and kept going all my blogging years.  That matters.  Max (through The Woman) invented some terms.  "Stinky Goodness" for canned cat food.  All other cats were "DOODS".  There were others but memory fails me.  

If you knew Max but haven't heard the sad news or if you didn't know but want to comfort The Woman in her loss of him go here  If you would just like to read about Max, look at the archived posts and read at random.

Farewell Max.