Various and sundry updates

Alas, my new tank plans are on hold until after Labor Day.

My A. versicolor (the blue tarantula, Aragog), is dead. Best theory going right now is that he had a bad molt and died. Apparently, Avicularia species occasionally kick the bucket for unknown reasons, too. We'll try another one, maybe next month.

The finches are out of quarantine, healthy as can be. Whatever illness they had has run its course; Milly and Oy were never ill at all, and are quite happy to be back in the bird room.

Freshwater setup, part 1

Since I'll be going through this soon one way or another, it's as good a time as any.

So you want a fish tank! Maybe it's for your bedroom, for relaxing. Maybe it's for your living room, to impress your guests. It could be for your kids. Whatever your motivation, there are some decisions you should make first.

One rule is easy enough; always get the largest tank you have room for, and can afford. This always catches people off guard, as it's a little counter-intuitive. The reasoning behind this is that the larger the volume of water, the slower any major chemistry changes will happen. For example, if a 3" long fish dies in a 10 gallon tank and you don't notice, there will significant effects -- ammonia will spike, and water may cloud. If the same fish died in a 55 gallon tank, there will still be some ammonia... but it may not even register on a test. Temperature can swing wildly, and quickly, in a small tank if a heater malfunctions or your power goes out, but in a larger tank the change will be slow enough that you can catch it in time.

Once you know what size tank you can manage, you need to know what fish appeal most to you. Do you want goldfish? Lots of tiny colorful fish? A few large fish? It's amazing the number of people who try to mix those last two -- keep in mind, almost any fish will eat anything tasty it can fit in its mouth, and this includes other fish. Even goldfish will occasionally take a shot at small minnows.

If you want goldfish, you'll get away without a heater, but you'll spend that money on a stronger filter. Goldfish are nasty little critters. A full grown one needs about 10 gallons to himself -- this means if you have a 55gallon tank, eventually you should only have about 5 of them. Yes, I'm serious. But don't they live in bowls? -- Sure, for a few weeks. A well-kept goldfish may live over 20 years. (Eyes pop out when I tell people that.)

If you're going for a few large tropical fish, you'll need the strong filter and heater. This includes most cichlids, and some of the semi-aggressive tropicals.

Filters -- the best filters are canister filters, but these are pricey. You can do just fine most of the time with a HOB (hang-on-back) filter; I like the Marineland brand ones, but your mileage may vary. I don't like undergravel filters, because they are difficult to clean and tend to trap all kinds of things under the plate. Whatever you buy, do yourself a favor and don't buy the very cheapest item. This is a one-time purchase, and with filters you end to get what you pay for.

Heaters -- get a submersible one rated for your size tank. Even better, get two smaller ones (instead of a 200 watt, two 100 watt ones). This reduces the chance of a catastrophic failure if a thermostat goes bad. (It's rare, but having your tank end up cooked is just depressing.)

Lighting is only important to you and to plants -- fish don't care. If you don't want live plants, the light that comes with the tank is fine. If you are planning on live plants, you'll want to buy the appropriate bulbs or even upgrade to a more powerful fixture.

Gravel is semi-optional. It looks nice, and provides a good home for bacteria (this is a GOOD thing). It's also hard to add later on, so now is the time. Decorations are entirely up to you. If you want the bubbly diver with his treasure chest and as many day-glo orange plants as you can wedge into your neon blue and purple gravel as possible, well, to each his own. The fish will need hiding places, but beyond that, they really don't care. (This is a generalization; some fish, such as african cichlids, will need many caves. Angelfish need lots of plants. Consult your salesperson if you know what kind of fish you want to keep.)

You'll need to walk out of the store with these items, as a minimum.

your large-as-possible tank
an appropriate stand (tanks are HEAVY)
lighting/lid
filter
heater*
gravel
decorations
chlorine-removing chemicals

Betta splendens

I may have a free* 55 gallon tank soon; as soon as that is verified, I'll begin a whole segment on setting up a freshwater tank.

For now, one of the easiest fish for beginners; the betta.

They're everywhere. Carried in every fish store, displayed in vases and bowls in offices and homes, and very often are just as mistreated as oscars. For a while, there was a company (or several), selling them as part of a kit; a vase, a fish, and a peace lily stuck on top. The line they gave their customers was that the betta fed off the roots of the plant, the plant absorbed the waste of the betta, thereby cleaning the water, and it was a perfect circle of life. No feeding or water changes required!

This is so wrong.

First, peace lilies are not aquatic. They can live a long time, maybe even a few months, in this arrangement, but they'll eventually run out of stored nutrients and die. The poor fish, being a carnivore and unequipped to eat anything like roots, also eventually starves to death, if the foul water doesn't kill it first. However, people bought the kits and even though the fad passed years ago, people still to this day believe that the system works. Why?

The plant, as I mentioned, lives for quite a while before dying. The betta picks at the roots, sure, giving the impression that he's eating. And he may be, in fact, picking tiny microscopic bugs off the roots -- but it's not enough. All that's happening is a desperate fish looking for any kind of sustenance. Bettas, incidentally, take about a month to starve to death. And the "water cleaning" properties of the plant? A starving fish produces very little waste, and the waste he does produce isn't going to be visible for some time. Much later than the point in time when he dies. I'll also point out that ammonia is not particularly visible in a fish bowl.

Bettas need food. Betta food. High in protein, and daily. Peace lilies need soil, sun, water, fertilizer. The only member of this arrangement likely to be happy is the human, who believes he has purchased something that requires no maintenance at all.

They're fine in bowls -- really! What they need, though, is a weekly water change -- 50% is fine, but 100% is perfectly acceptable, as long as the temperature is kept constant. Use water conditioner. They need to be fed every day, betta pellets are perfectly acceptable, but the occasional bit of frozen or freeze-dried bloodworm is nice. Live plants are awesome, but buy real aquatic plants -- your betta will use it for a hiding/sleeping place, not food. You'll know you have it right when your betta builds bubble nests at the surface of the water. (This really freaks some people out, but it's a sign that he's healthy and keeping prepared in case a girl swims along!)

(Does that bubblenest mean I need to get him a girl? No. He will keep it ready just in case. If you plan to breed them, well, that's a whole other post. Let's just say, it's a lot of work and more trouble than it's worth, generally.)

Strange creatures....

My tank has developed a myriad of tiny critter colonies ranging from flatworms to feather dusters. We have copepods -- smaller than the period at the end of a sentence -- and amphipods, a little larger with barely visible legs. They eat microscopic algae and creatures, and they are a welcome sight.

There are tiny brown flatworms, which send some reefkeepers into a frenzy because there are species that eat corals... but these seem happy on my glass eating who-knows-what, and many species are harmless, so I'm not worried. There are worms that seem to live in the rock, unrolling themselves like a tiny sock when the lights go down, and other worms who have built a hard case about 1/4" long and extend near-invisible webs to trap food. (I found this out by watching the brine shrimp that the clownfish missed; some seemed to get stuck in spiderweb like strings, and a few hours later had been reeled in to the end of the tube.)

Tiny many-legged starfish about 1/8" long trawl through the rock. Scarlet red feather duster worms are spreading in the shadows, and one even hitches a ride on a hermit crab.

The only worrying inhabitants so far are the bristleworms.

Fortunately, this is not so much a problem for the tank as it is for me personally. I like bristleworms; they eat dead and dying animals, helping prevent ammonia spikes from rot. They generally stay hidden away, coming out at night to search for food. I once had one that was almost 2 feet long, and he never bothered anything that wasn't already on the way out. (His name was Grendel.) The only problem I have with them is that I'm allergic to the bristles; all it takes is me picking up a rock with one on the bottom, and I have blisters for the next two weeks. And now I'm seeing enough baby ones that I would estimate about a dozen or more are actually thriving in my tank.

I'll just have to resist the temptation to reach in the tank, which is probably best all around.

Mommy I want a hamster!

This little guy was named Dr Tran. (The name...well, it's a long story). He was a long hair syrian hamster, syrian hamsters being the larger ones most of us are familiar with. He was abandoned one day at the store by someone who didn't want him anymore, and I took him home. (Many of my animals' stories start this way.) He was a remarkably good hamster, never bit anyone, was laid back and friendly, and altogether misrepresented his species.

Don't get me wrong, I like hamsters. Some of them. But they are not good pets for most kids, or for many adults. Syrian hamsters are a little better than the dwarf varieties, but even so, many have startlingly nasty traits. For example, most hamsters when faced with a intruder will harass, kill, and EAT the enemy. It's very distressing to the human who added a second hamster as a "friend" for their "lonely" pet. (Hamsters are happier solitary, honest.) They'll also generally bite anyone or anything that wakes them up -- I can sympathize -- but this includes not only a predator about to eat them, but also your 6 year old trying to play with his pet. They are slow to tame, and regress quickly if not handled daily.

It's not all bad news. Maintenance is easy; fresh food and water daily and new bedding once a week keeps them happy. I also liked to add some enrichment when I changed the bedding out; stuff cotton and kleenex into the cardboard from toilet paper rolls with some treats embedded, tie a paper towel pouch of seeds to the top of the cage for them to work loose, that kind of thing. It's a safer way to make your hamster's life more interesting than "getting him a friend". And if you play with them daily, gently, they can be made very tame. Unfortunately, it only takes one bite to turn a child off to playing with his pet, and they quickly learn that biting gets them left alone, and start doing it even more.

A much better rodent, if your offspring demand one, would be a mouse or a rat. Yes, they have horrible reputations... but they are largely undeserved. Rats clean themselves like cats, can be potty trained, and enjoy human interaction and the company of their own littermates. During all of my time at the pet store, I was never once bitten by a rat, but I can't even count the number of times hamsters drew blood. They learn to recognize people, and will run to greet anyone they know as friendly. For a young child, a rat is pretty forgiving of being squeezed or dropped. Mice are much the same but much quicker and more delicate, making them more suitable for an older child.

If you absolutely can't stand rats and mice (and some people just never will get over that reputation), guinea pigs are fine for even very young children. Most will never bite, but they require more upkeep than smaller rodents. You'll need to change their litter more often, as they are very messy, and give them a much larger cage. Nails need to be trimmed every couple of weeks, and long hair varieties need brushing. Their diet is trickier; they need extra vitamin C, so lots of fresh fruits and veggies are important. Personally, I don't care for them simply because of the extra maintenance, but they have sweet dispositions, and make a good pet for any age.

I'll also note that there are exceptions. Chinese dwarf hamsters are very sweet and rarely bite, they are fine pets. Robo hamsters are fast as lightning, but are also fairly docile. Individuals can always vary, too; always insist on handling any rodent before you take them home. Who knows, maybe you will find Dr Tran's long lost cousin and be very happy with them -- just beware, and consider less conventional pets as well.

Oscars

 

Once upon a time, I adopted two unwanted fish. They were albino long-finned oscars -- I hadn't previously even known such a thing existed. I knew about oscars...they get big, messy, eat everything... what I didn't know was what awesome fish they actually are.

The thing is, most people buy oscars for one of two reasons. A lot of people who came complaining to me at the fish store would say something like "They were so cute, but then they got big and started eating my other fish!". Sorry, that's kind of what they do -- and before you even start your next question, no, there's not much else you can keep with them. The other reason is actually kind of the opposite... the customer actually was looking for a fish that would eat other fish, because apparently that is cool.

They are cute when little. Like little aquatic puppies, they wiggle their way around the tank and make eyes at you so you'll go feed them. Then you feed them, they grow, and if you actually give them enough space, they make very interesting pets. They'll learn to recognize you as the bringer of food. They'll even sometimes try training you -- mine took to slamming the heater against the glass to get my attention (and food!). I've read other accounts of them splashing people, jumping to hit the tank lid, spitting rocks at the glass... etc.

If you actually want to keep them healthy and happy, though, you need a large tank from the start. 55 gallons will do as a minimum, but the larger you can go the better. They grow fast -- and no, they do NOT "grow to the size of the tank". I hate that particular myth. An oscar can go from 2" to 6" in a matter of weeks, and on to 12" within a year. Just buy a decent tank to begin with. You need a good filter; get one rated for the next tank size up, or two rated for your actual tank size. Lights are not a big deal, since you won't be keeping plants with oscars. Feel free to try, they think they are awesome chew toys. The lighting that comes with most tanks will do fine, and please turn it off at night, fish need sleep too. Get a heater; they like it warm, 78 to 80F.

Feeding is where people go horribly wrong again. They buy them feeder goldfish weekly and then complain that the water is cloudy. Eventually the oscars get sick, although whether it's from the insufficient diet or nasty water is up for debate. What they should be eating is a good quality pellet food (I like Hikari), with frozen food as a treat (krill, beefheart, shrimp). A few goldfish now and then won't kill them, unless you happen to get diseased feeder fish, which is not uncommon, but it shouldn't be their staple diet. I used to end up comparing goldfish to french fries. They are yummy, and your kids will eat them all day long, but if you never make them eat anything else, they'll get sick eventually. I got a lot of funny looks for that one, and the usual objection was that "my fish won't won't eat anything else." Yes, they will. You've spoiled them. Yes, fish can be spoiled. Make them wait a week and watch them gobble down pellets like popcorn. And please, don't brag to me that your oscar likes hot dogs or hamburger meat. It hurts my brain.

My guys ate Hikari pellets with shrimp and krill and the occasional goldfish or crawfish treat -- they were about a foot long each, and they lived to be almost 12 years old. I couldn't afford a tank larger than 55g; I had two filters rated for 55 and 75 running, and did water changes like mad. When one (Gabrielle) lost her eyesight at 11 years old, the other (Michael) protected her and nudged her towards the surface, and I fed her pellets and goldfish by hand. Michael would viciously attack anything that came near his poor blind mate, and when Gabrielle finally died, Michael stopped eating or doing much of anything. He died shortly thereafter.

So no... they are not "just fish." They are awesome fish, if you know what you're doing.

Ribbit

Before I left my job at the pet store to become a stay-at-home mom, I made one more purchase. I normally don't buy animals; I don't have any moral issue with it, I just find that the best pets are the ones that find me, not the other way around. However, in this case, I made an exception... we had a White's Dumpy Treefrog that I had grown fond of and I didn't want to leave him for just anyone to walk in and buy.

How do you grow fond of a frog? It was more like he was fond of me. I would go to feed him or clean his tank, he'd hop onto my arm and it would take 10-15 minutes and a helper to get him back off. And how could I resist those little cold amphibian eyes?

I did most of the setup for him beforehand. My secondhand 15 gallon hex tank had been standing empty for several months, and it only needed a little modification. I filled it with a layer of gravel, then covered with a few inches of soil. A dollar-store plastic food container became a water dish -- if you make the top edge level with the soil, it really doesn't look half bad. With a piece of driftwood trailing down into it, most people won't even notice. A few decorations, a heater, and a fluorescent light later, froggy's new home only needed one more thing.

The aquarium hood and light, with its large openings for filtration, had to go. I went to Lowe's and bought some plastic eggcrate. (It's sturdy, somewhat heat-resistant, and the right size; each little square is only about 1/2" on a side. (Lowe's employee; "Oh, you mean a light diffusing panel!"... yeah.) With a little creativity involving a cardboard cutout, a permanent marker, and some wirecutters, I had a hexagonal section of this. Beautiful, I thought. I'm all set.

As it turns out, a 2" long, 1.25" wide frog can actually magically squeeze through a 1/2" square. Don't ask me how. It's some kind of wacky frog magic. The first time he went missing, I thought I must have left the top ajar. We found him in short order, and before the cats did, so no harm done. The second time it took us a few hours to find the little devil, turning the living room upside down in the process... and I was absolutely certain I had closed the lid securely.

Later that night, I found some bits of tulle (it's the very fine mesh you might see on a wedding veil) and actually attached it to my hexagonal eggcrate with needle and thread. It's not the prettiest aspect of the tank, but it keeps him contained.

Of course, if I had just bought a screen top tank in the first place... but we won't go there.