http://www.finvillage.com/rss/Blogs http://www.finvillage.com/rss/link_blogs/id_381/ http://www.finvillage.com/rss/link_blogs/id_381/ It may not be news to many here, but I've checked out many fish sites and I think this one has the most character and the best melting pot; therefore the most AMERICAN! I like the heart and soul that goes into even the slightest detail and the caring to help one another out.I would just like to see the site go a little more business oriented and everyone help each other make some money! No ones talking corporate here! LOL! Why shouldn't good people profit from a booming industry where everyone is having so much fun anyway! So rev up those auctions and if you have ANYTHING to sell, put it up; for I'm sure it won't last long!I can only speak for myself, for I know that I've made some lifelong and life changing friends here and will NEVER forget that! Nevermind the great impact and encouragement it has had on my business!Thank you everyone! My heart goes out to you!Mario     Thu, 21 Aug 2008 02:08:30 -0500 http://www.finvillage.com/rss/link_blogs/id_380/ http://www.finvillage.com/rss/link_blogs/id_380/ In the midst of having an awful month in July with my cable and internet being cut off and even having my electric turned off for 2 days (the fish survived it beautifully) came a small miracle.My friend is moving out of the house she's been renting - finally!  I'm going to move in the end of this month; so no more apartment for me!  I can't wait to get settled in there, or at least get everything moved over there and this place cleaned up so I can get my security deposit back! I've talked to the new landlord and as long as he gets his rent and the outside of the place looks respectable, he doesn't care what I do on the inside - I can paint, wall paper, etc. to my hearts content if I feel like it!  Any improvements that I make to the place he'll pay for. It will have plenty of room for the tanks I have and any more I decide to add in the future. It has a full basement that's heated so if I need to I can put tanks down there!But, just to keep from being too happy about the whole deal, my dog fell going up the steps and hurt her already bad hip so now her walking is worse than ever.  I'm hoping that with rest, massage and time it will improve enough for her to get around easier. Meantime, I'm looking at converting my dad's old wheel chair into a wheel chair for her so she can get around easier.Wish me luck!Lynn Tue, 19 Aug 2008 21:08:38 -0500 http://www.finvillage.com/rss/link_blogs/id_379/ http://www.finvillage.com/rss/link_blogs/id_379/ The first round of fish juggling was pretty light-weight. The other day I moved the three baby cichlids back into the 75 with their dad.  That went well, they all got along fine; no bullying.  Then I moved our four, adult rosy barbs into the newly vacated baby cichlid tank, along w/ the large juvenile rosy. They got along fine, too.  We're expecting more rosy fry in the tank the adults were just removed from. I shifted our littlest rosies into the now empty juv rosy tank and when my husband got home he moved the adult tiger barbs into the newly vacated littlest rosy barbs' tank.  That tank has a 2" layer of marbles, and we use it as one of our breeder tanks. Today was the HEAVY stuff.........  I drained and moved our 20 gallon snail tank, our 20 gallon scud tank, and drained, but didn't move our 55 gallon dace tank.  Tonight we're going to put the dace tank where the scuds and snailies were.   Of course that entails moving the rat cage, all 6' of it, and the dog crate, it's big - our mastiff likes to sleep in it, still.  lol Talk about fun at the home!   Do YOU ever play musical tanks and fishies?  Happy tired Tuesday to you...... from one pooped fish gal. :o) Lisa Tue, 19 Aug 2008 13:08:08 -0500 http://www.finvillage.com/rss/link_blogs/id_378/ http://www.finvillage.com/rss/link_blogs/id_378/ I posted a video of my 4 week old choc angel fry on youtube.com today.Some fish people into genetics wanted to see them.They are studying fin striation differences.I just like to show them off! :) Heres the link:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3FhlSk45IqgWish my shy koi angels would choose mates so I can the koi ball rollin!! They are taking their time.Lots of hen pecking going on if anybody moves in the tank.They look sorta suspended in animation.Nobody move!!! Its just that I know summer is supposedly the best spawn season.I hope they dont decide to wait till spring!! :(Right now Im on a hunt for fake wood looking branches for the tank.Have yet to see any on the street.Did see one filtration system by tetra that is underwater and looks like a tree stump!! How creative!!If it wasnt $50 I might have bought it for a smaller tank.We see so much stuff put out on garbage day we are becoming local junk pickers! Sure helps to have a truck!! Tue, 19 Aug 2008 09:08:57 -0500 http://www.finvillage.com/rss/link_blogs/id_376/ http://www.finvillage.com/rss/link_blogs/id_376/ I just wanted to let everyone that I am sorry if I have offended in any way. I realize I may have gone too far in sharing on my page.  I have toned it down and will stick to aquatic themes.   I hope that no one is angry at me.  This has been a really great place to get to know others who have an interest in aquariums and all the living creatures that inhabit them.  I have met some really great people here (and made some really great friends) and maybe I just got too comfortable.   I just wanted everyone to know I didn't mean to upset or offend.  Fri, 15 Aug 2008 17:08:49 -0500 http://www.finvillage.com/rss/link_blogs/id_375/ http://www.finvillage.com/rss/link_blogs/id_375/ Hey all you photo/camera buffs out there! I've got a question for y'all. I do not have any software programs like Adobe photoshop; I do have iPhoto from macintosh (a minor program that comes with the computer). Is there any way to decrease the byte size without cropping half the pic out? Thanks!viking -pillage, burn down towns, be a bit of a roister-doister and then have an enjoyable encounter with someone who likes the viking type. Fri, 15 Aug 2008 16:08:49 -0500 http://www.finvillage.com/rss/link_blogs/id_374/ http://www.finvillage.com/rss/link_blogs/id_374/ Hey all you photo/camera buffs! I DON'T have any software like Adobe Photoshop. I DO have iPhoto on my Macintosh computer. Is there anyway to make the photo a smaller byte size without cropping the bejabbers out it? Thanks!viking -pillage, destroy towns, and have an enjoyable encounter with someone who likes the viking type Fri, 15 Aug 2008 15:08:29 -0500 http://www.finvillage.com/rss/link_blogs/id_373/ http://www.finvillage.com/rss/link_blogs/id_373/ Novice should read TICKED.........I just bid on my first Finvillage auction -- I waited until the final two minutes.  Yes, I'm a SWOOPER.  lol I placed my bid -- returned to the auction page, refreshed it and lo and behold the time had CHANGED..........  the seller added an extra 26 mins to the auction before the first one had even ended. I even have a screen shot of the original time.  GrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrOkay - now that I've vented, I hope everyone has a WONDERFUL weekend. Give your aquatics a treat for me! :o) Lisa Fri, 15 Aug 2008 13:08:47 -0500 http://www.finvillage.com/rss/link_blogs/id_372/ http://www.finvillage.com/rss/link_blogs/id_372/ As some of you may already know, I am having a problem with one of my tanks.  It is GREEN!  I have done several gravel cleanings and a bunch of water changes, but yet my tank is still green and hasn't cleared up any from the cleanings or changings.  There are no fish in the tank, just Columbian Rams and a few baby Mystery snails.  Is there a remedy to clearing the tank up without using harmful substances in which may kill my snails?  Any help would be greatly appreciated.  Oh, and just to let you know, there is no algae on the walls, plants, decor, just green water.  I tried adding "Prime" to lower nitrites or nitrates, but it hasn't been any help either.Thanks.  April  Fri, 15 Aug 2008 11:08:19 -0500 http://www.finvillage.com/rss/link_blogs/id_371/ http://www.finvillage.com/rss/link_blogs/id_371/ starsunmoon, starla,  has made a superb, fantastic,  set of offers  in the Aquatic Birthday Club II...  definitely worth checking out...  something  for  most everyone  in there... WOW!!!.. might  well encourage more of you to join...lol  and  Starsunmoon...  thanks  for the great offer...  I wanted  to post a comment on your page  but I have dialup  and  my scrren gets  stuck in d/l mode on your page...  not your fault  I am stuck with dial up  and  slideshows  and stuff  take  so much of exchange rate  I can't seem to go any further  for awhile... then I get impatient...lol.. anyway... thanks alot  for making  such a fantastic offer....  it is really  greatKen Fri, 15 Aug 2008 09:08:59 -0500 http://www.finvillage.com/rss/link_blogs/id_370/ http://www.finvillage.com/rss/link_blogs/id_370/ A friend in mine is in need of help. She's been living with her boyfriend for several years, she's partially disabled and unable to work at this time. A few weeks ago she found out she was pregnant. She was so happy. She'd been telling me for some time she'd thought she'd found the right one and there had been talk of marriage. Everything turned when she told him she was pregnant. She now has to get her car on the road and money up to travel part way across country to her family and has no money to do so with. I've already sent her some cash and have plans to send her more but she could really use some help. She doesn't know I'm here posting this and I'd think she'd be shocked I was. She's a sweet person and always there to lend an ear or talk if it's needed. An online game we both moderate is trying to organize a small donation auction for her (things from the game) but there's no guarantee it will be enough. I asked her tonight if she had a paypal account I could send her money to this time around and she said yes. It's kirioth@yahoo.com , if you're at all able find it in your heart to help... If you do, please make note that Jinxx sent you or something similar so she knows what's going on. I'd be deeply indebted to anyone who could help. I would never be able to tell you how grateful I was. Thank you for reading.Tracey Thu, 14 Aug 2008 23:08:06 -0500 http://www.finvillage.com/rss/link_blogs/id_369/ http://www.finvillage.com/rss/link_blogs/id_369/ Check out my page I have the 9 inch pleco pic on there.  It is in the rotating pics.  Thu, 14 Aug 2008 20:08:32 -0500 http://www.finvillage.com/rss/link_blogs/id_368/ http://www.finvillage.com/rss/link_blogs/id_368/ Ok so rather than see 2 plecos end up in a ditch somewhere I said I'd adopt them.  I was told that they were 6 & 8 inches.  Cool no problem I have big bags for fish.   (luckily took about 6 bags).  I get there and these guys are really 9 & 13 inches long.  No net for them.  I had to (get real wet) and with my hand catch them to get them into the bags.  The 9 inch one was not too much of a problem.  The 13 inch one was flopping and splashing the devil out of me.  Of course once I got him out of the water he became real docile.  It took 5 bags to contain him.  He kept poking his fins out of the bags.  I got them home and put them into a 40 gal tank I had ready for them.  They are beautiful The lady I got them from said that they were 8 years old.  I have no idea what kind of plecos they are.  They are not the ordinary ones you would find at a lfs.  I have posted a pic. of the 13 inch one on my page.  Hopefully it will come up soon and maybe someone can tell me what I have.  And how long do these guys live????  Thanks for listening.  Wed, 13 Aug 2008 23:08:02 -0500 http://www.finvillage.com/rss/link_blogs/id_367/ http://www.finvillage.com/rss/link_blogs/id_367/ SO YESTERDAY WAS A HORRIBLE DAY IN THE LIFE OF LUIS!!!!BUT YESTERDAY IS GONE AND TODAY HAS BEEN A BLESSED DAY!!!!STARTED OUT WITH MY GARBAGE PICKED TANK AND SWEET NEW ORNAMENTS AND GOT BETTER AS THE DAY WENT ON!!!!I HAD A SWEET FINVILLAGER SEND ME A BELATED BDAY PRESENT WHICH WAS SO SWEET AS I WAS TOTALLY NOT EXPECTING IT - THANKS DEB:)AND THEN I HAD A SWEET GAL SEND ME THE CUTEST SETS OF SPIXIS EGGS THEI BIY HAS EVER SEEN - THANKS APRIL:)THEN I HAD A GREAT TIME CHATTING WITH TWO SWEET BUDS - THANKS SMOKEY AND BETTY:)THEN MY BUD TRACEY GOT HER SNAILS PACKAGE LATE - BUT ALIVE - THANKS TO GOD NOT USPS:(WHEN I GOT HOME FROM PICKING UP SPIXIS EGGS, I FOUND A LETTER FROM UNEMPLOYMENT ANNOUCING THAT TODAY WAS THE FIRST DAY THAT I COULD APPLY FOR AN EXTENSION - THANKS USA CONGRESS - AND DID SO THROUGH THE COMPUTER - IT IS RETRO- ACTIVE TO TWO WEEKS AGO - SO I WILL GET A NICE SWEET FIRST CHECK AND I WILL HAVE MORE TIME TO TRY TO FIND A DECENT JOB:)AND NOW I AM SITTING HERE IN TEARS BECAUSE I WONDER WHAT DID I DO TO DESERVE HIS BLESSINGS:(LUIS Wed, 13 Aug 2008 12:08:58 -0500 http://www.finvillage.com/rss/link_blogs/id_366/ http://www.finvillage.com/rss/link_blogs/id_366/ HAVE A GOOD DAY AT SCHOOL KID!!!!YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE:)LUIS Wed, 13 Aug 2008 07:08:56 -0500 http://www.finvillage.com/rss/link_blogs/id_365/ http://www.finvillage.com/rss/link_blogs/id_365/ YOU KNOW GOD HAS AN EXCELLENT SENSE OF HUMOR:) IN THE MIDST OF MY DEPRESSION. . .  THINKING "WOW MY LIFE REALLY SUCKS"  - SURVIVAL DAY TO DAY WITH NO EMPLOYMENT OR UNEMPLOYMENT CHECK (TILL I GET EXTENSION) APPEARS SO GLOOMY.GOD THROWS ME A BONE:)I WAS DRIVING BACK FROM 7 11 WITH MY HAZELNUT COFFEE THAT GOD WAS KIND ENOUGH TO LET ME HAVE ENOUGH CHANGE TO GET - WHEN I DRIVE BY A 29 OR 30 GALLON TANK SITTING ON THE CURB WAITING FOR THE GARBAGE MAN TO PICK UP TODAY.  "WELL," I THOUGHT. "THAT IS PROBABLY A BROKEN TANK THAT SOMEONE THREW AWAY."  BUT BEING THAT THERE WAS NO ONE WALKING AROUND AND THAT MY LEVEL OF SHAME IS NOT AS HIGH AS IT ONCE WAS..I DROVE BACK TO LOOK AT THAT TANK - HMM I COULD NOT SEE ANY CRACKS AND SOME NEAT ORNAMENTS IN A BAG INSIDE TANK AS WELL AS ALL THISE NEAT CLEAN LOOKING GRAVEL AND THREE BRAND NEW NEVER USED ORNAMENTS. IT WAS SORT OF LIKE HOWVER THREW THIS AWAY WAS PACKING IT UP AS A PRESENT FOR SOMELUCKY PERSON DRIVING BYE:) IT APPEARED AS IF THE PERSON HAD HELD ON TO IT FOR WHILE AND FINALLY DECIDED TO THROW IT OUT - SO I PICKED IT UP THREW (WELL PLACED) IT IN THE BACK SEAT AND WENT HOME.I GOT IT HOME AND WIL CHECK FOR LEAKS OF COURSE GOD ONLY KNOWS WHERE I WILL PUT IT IN MY SMALL APT BUT ANYWAYS I STILL FELL BLESSED:)THANKS AGAIN FOR READING:)  Wed, 13 Aug 2008 06:08:03 -0500 http://www.finvillage.com/rss/link_blogs/id_362/ http://www.finvillage.com/rss/link_blogs/id_362/ Well it was a wild weekend! I went garage sailing and found a 45 gal high tank with hood and filter for $20!! It needed a new silicone job as they moved it with rocks in it.So we filled it up to test it and yes it leaked.So my hubby recalked it and now its fine.It came with a HEAVY gold wrought iron(not welded metal)stand that someone tried to spray paint black.I have never seen a stand that massive.It is unique and must have cost them a fortune.I am going to paint it black.I used to refinish antique oak furniture and paint and I know I can make it look cool.Also we drove to Ontario Ohio to Pepboys to look at custom auto parts and then to a few nasty petshops.Have never seen as bad a shop as the one there and I lived in the south where people had their own shops/mills.It was disgusting.The choc angelfish fry are 3 weeks old now.They are getting pigment and looking like little arrowheads swimming in the tank! Finially look like angels,not tadpoles! Have about 150 of them.They appear choc or gold and will all be pearlscale I was told by the breeder of their parents.I love pearlscale!! I plan to keep a few chocs hopefully female as their parents knucklehead and cloe are stunning!! Sad thing is they dont show their true deep color until months old and a lot of people dont know this.I can always show buyers photographs or let them come and see the parents in person.When I was a professional hamster breeder people would drive from canada to see my hamsters.It was a 4 hr drive back then when I lived in Mich.I was amazed but people will drive for quality.That is, if they know their genetics. Mon, 11 Aug 2008 06:08:13 -0500 http://www.finvillage.com/rss/link_blogs/id_361/ http://www.finvillage.com/rss/link_blogs/id_361/ Theres so many ways to accomplish the same thing, that when something works, we usually say "don't change things"; but knowing why something works allows us to see if something can be improved or we can gain a new perspective on it.Much of the equipment that we use on our aquariums has such a list of pros and cons that we can argue to we are to we are blue in the face, and we are both RIGHT! LOL! Detailing the pros and cons would be key points in what you wanted to accomplish in your application. For example, I don't recomend a canister filter for marine aquariums but for the money, a WDF or trickle filter is the way to go because of the oxygenation, the need to add a protein skimmer and UV sterilizer; which all fit nicely together in a sump style system. Does that say that you CAN'T do this with a canister? Well, some yes, some no, but all can be jury rigged on to your aquarium to work; but maybe not as efficiently. The benefits to a canister is that bit of dirty water that builds up that retains your cycle, that doesn't seem to happen too much in a WDF; which makes me nervous......Other major examples of ways we get in the habit of "thats the way we always done it" is buying fish without doing our water changes or cleaning. Recently I started a marine client who was complaining to me about LFS about money spent on saltwater fish that died, yet there must have been a "years" worth of dirt in his tank! Stores do this to wholesalers too! How can you complain about the place you got the fish from if you haven't checked your OWN fish tank? Since I've been doing this for a living, its RARE, that a fish dies, especially a NEW fish from a store or a wholesaler! That should tell you something! (even Saltwater!)Just thoughts for the week! Have a great one everyone!         Sun, 10 Aug 2008 19:08:48 -0500 http://www.finvillage.com/rss/link_blogs/id_360/ http://www.finvillage.com/rss/link_blogs/id_360/ So when the fish died, I had no idea what to do with her. I tried to flush her, but that didn't work. She barely fit in the base of the toilet. I couldn't throw her out, so I put her in a Ziploc bag, and put her in the freezer. My wife found her the other day. I was surprised that she didn't freak out. She picked up the bag and got teary eyed. The fish is still in the freezer, and I still have no idea what to do with her. We don't have a place to bury her. Maybe I will keep her in there until the spring, and put her in a flower pot. That should make something grow nicely. Sun, 10 Aug 2008 09:08:04 -0500 http://www.finvillage.com/rss/link_blogs/id_359/ http://www.finvillage.com/rss/link_blogs/id_359/ got 3 weeks till i,m going to ride a bull in the rodeo always been some thing i wanted to do hope i can stay on for the 8 seconds be one more dream come true just thought i,d share with my pals on finvillage Thu, 7 Aug 2008 19:08:47 -0500