Category: General Rambling

Catch all category for general discussion.

CPD Photo causing a stir

Photo by Johnny Jensen

Back in the April issue of Tropical Fish Hobbyist magazine, a photo was displayed claiming to be that of Danio margaritatus, the Celestial Pearl Danio.

Having raised literally hundreds of these fish it struck me that this was not actually a photo of Danio margaritatus.  I even went so far as to post on the TFH forum about my concerns.

Well it seems as this photo has made it’s way to our European fish keeping friends and a lively discussion has taken off on the Seriously Fish forum.

My hat is off to Johnny Jensen for realizing that this fish is not Danio margaritatus and now having 2 different pages of photos.  The true Celestial Pearl Danio photos are at this page, and the new fish now has it’s own page here.

Central Air problems

Central Air BlowerA couple of weeks ago at sometime in the night, my fish room blower toasted a bearing.  Not a big deal.  Air pumps being mechanical are going to break down at some point.

I set-up my spare pump and ordered repair parts.  Quick service from a supplier on the west coast and I was due for a Monday delivery.  Life was good…..  for about 2 hours.  My spare pump goes down.

Now don’t you just love it, when you think you’ve covered all the bases and Murphy’s Law comes up and bites you on the butt!  Well at any rate since it was going to be several days before my parts for the blower came in I needed a new plan.   Continue reading Central Air problems

Clearing out the fish room

Well it looks like hot weather is just around the corner.  I’ve got just a few more CPD’s going out and I’ll be done shipping fish until the weather cools off next fall.  While it might not be immediately apparent, there is a method to my madness!

Tank rack
Photo by Dennis Ball

Over the years when I’ve lost fish while shipping it’s always been due to the fish being exposed to the heat.  One way to combat that would be to ship everything over-night, but who wants to pay those exorbitant shipping charges!  Since I ship everything USPS Priority, my solution is to simply take a break when the weather get too hot.

This system has worked out very well for me.  I basically have two shipping seasons and two spawning seasons.  In a way, it helps to keep the hobby fun and prevents it from becoming too much like a job.

L183’s – a BAP score!

WOW! I am on a roll!  At our last club meeting I scored some fantastic L183 plecos at the BAP auction after the club meeting.  After getting the Zebras at the Swap Meet, this is just icing on the cake.

These fish prefer “Black Water” conditions to spawn, but another club member is keeping them in regular Columbus tap water with great success.  They are just babies at around 1.5 inch long, so it will be a bit before any hopes of spawning these fish.