IMG_5364 Endlers

IMG_5364 Endlers, originally uploaded by creativeaquarist.

These are a particular strain of Endlers called Peacocks. I want to be able to take photo's as well as Pete Mang (Lotsoffish)...guess I need to buy a decent digital camera with zoom and then practice, practice, and practice some more eh?

pink and purple apple snails

pink and purple apple snails, originally uploaded by creativeaquarist.

It's 4 am and what am I doing? Checking out my fish tanks and looking at all the new babies and the fish that only come out at night or very early in the morning...lol.

The snails are most active at night and I've been watching them trucking around busy as beavers cleaning up all the leftover food. I know a lot of people don't like snails in their tanks...but I do. They are the most efficient little tireless soldier workers going everywhere in the tank cleaning up anything leftover. I never have any rotted or messy food crap in any of my tanks thanks to these guys and a few of their buddies like the red ramshorn snails I've started breeding and the Japanese trap door snails.

I did make myself go back and work on week # 8 of my Julia Cameron project and I wrote all my affirmations both yesterday and today. I also posted 2 new auctions up on Aquabid under mixed lots and tomorrow I have to mail out the 3 auctions that sold. So cool to be doing something I really love and to be able to do it right out of my own house is just the best experience in the world.

I see more than enough people at the flea market and I'm not in any danger yet of becoming a hermit, particularly with my son in the house and his buddy's coming over a lot.

I was on facebook earlier and somebody had posted a pic and an R.I.P. of their pet cat. It really made me think of how much we care for our pets and no matter how poor the house there is usually still some kind of pet there also be it a scrawny cat or a slinky dog that is beloved by the people that live there.

Animals contribute so much to us...unconditional love...loyalty...and they would gladly give their lives to protect us from losing ours. In addition to all the fish I have...I have a little Papillion dog named Lucy who thinks she's a pit bull....a massive pit-bullmastif mix...and a beautiful black cat that adopted us. Her name is Jasmine and she loves to drink out of the open fish tanks but never bothers the fish...other than to sit and stare at the tanks with me in the middle of the night. I think she's as fascinated with them as I am...or she's wondering when I'm going to come to my senses and start giving them to her as treats...lol.

collage of Endlers

collage of Endlers, originally uploaded by creativeaquarist.

I keep going back to the Endlers different strains. They are just so varied and all beautiful in different coloration. For something that was found in such small pockets of out of the way places in the world they sure have come a long way. They are very hardy little fish and easy to keep and breed. The gestation period for the females is about 23 days so you could have a whole tank full in no time flat.

I'm about to set up an Endlers Experimentation tank and put in good colorful strong breeders of known strains with some of the wilder strains and some of the hybrid strains and then just let them do their thing and see what happens. I know I am going to get some really wild fish out of this experiment. This is what is so fascinating about breeding fish...I could actually be the first person to come up with a whole new strain that breeds true and is nothing like anything that already exists out there.

It's 2:15 am and most people are safe and snug, tucked into their warm beds and I'm up on the internet looking up fish... go figure, lol.
It is just so hard to get out of this 3rd shift work ethic...I automatically start gearing up and really waking up about 10 pm even if I've been up since 6 am with no sleep and then I have to force myself to stay awake during the day because my body thinks it's sleep time about 12 noon. That was pretty much my schedule when I worked 3rd shift for all those years.

I've been trying to work my way through Julia Cameron's book - The Artist's Way...A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity. It's a 12 week course and I seem to be stuck on week # 8. I don't understand why, I have the time to to do the short writing assignments...but for some reason I just haven't been doing them. I tell myself I need to do them and then I find other things to do. It's not making sense to me. The first 8 weeks unblocked so much artistry and creativity and I've been rewarded many times over for putting in the work...so it's not that I don't see any point in it...it's just a "stuck point". Maybe I just need to rest on week 8 for awhile and still take in everything I've learned about myself or maybe I just need to be like the Nike commercial and "Just Do It" whether I feel like it or not.

One of my favorite TV preachers...Joyce Meyer says and I'm paraphrasing horribly here..."screw your feelings" just do what you know you need to do, no matter how you feel about it....because you're "feelings" will trick you into doing nothing or just resting comfortably where you are. Just go out and do what you need to do even if you are tired, cranky, upset or your hip is bothering you somewhat. You'll still have those same "feelings" even if you sit on your butt on the couch all day and you won't have gotten one productive thing done because of your "feelings" that day.

I agree with that when negative or procrastinating feelings come up...but I've learned to listen to positive or encouraging or excitement feelings when they come up. I've found if I don't put them off or kill them off ...I've had some of the best creative, productive days ever. That's my goal for tomorrow....to get back into week 8 no matter how I "feel."

yellow shrimp

yellow shrimp, originally uploaded by creativeaquarist.

One of a group of yellow shrimp I just put up for auction...they are such a bright yellow color, particularly against a planted tank. They are from the family Neocaridina. Their average lifespan is anywhere from 1-2 years average. They average an inch to an inch and 1/4 or so when grown. The first of Neocaridina came from Taiwan, however, they were just very plain colored shrimp. It has been through hybridization for coloring that has brought so many different color combos into the hobby recently. These shrimp breed fairly freely and easily. Their gestational period is 30 days. A planted tank, live or artificial is best for them as they need places to hide, breed, and rest. You can NEVER use any fish medications with copper in them to treat fish when shrimp are in the tank as it will kill them!

Mind Boggling Goldfish

These are NOT the goldfish that were commonly available back in the day when I bought my kids their first fish...lol

multi color speckled goldfish

multi color speckled goldfish, originally uploaded by creativeaquarist.

This is an example of what I'm talking about with strains of goldfish available now.

mermaid with salmon fish talil

mermaid with salmon fish talil, originally uploaded by creativeaquarist.

I am loving what I'm doing now! I wish I'd had the initiative to do this years ago. I've been looking up goldfish and they are not the common little orange things that I remember from years ago at carnivals and the 5 & 10 store. They have been bred and re-crossed and crossed again into so many varieties and colors it's mind boggling. Somebody "gifted" me with 3 goldfish because they were moving and I've put them up for Auction on Aquabid.

I didn't really think anybody would be much interested in them...but lo and behold I have a $15.00 bid on them...mind blowing...15 bucks for 3 goldfish. I must be OLD...I can still remember when you could buy goldfish for 10 cents, lol....BUT they weren't these fancy schmancy ones like I was just given. I would keep them but I don't have the space in my fish room and they really need a very large tank for optimum health and growth and you really can't raise much of anything else in there with them so...they must find a new home.

So many things I have to do today...and I have to wait until everybody else is up and open to do them. Why can't the rest of the world run on my 3rd shift schedule...lol.

mermaid on wood

mermaid on wood, originally uploaded by creativeaquarist.

I've just had to learn some basic HTML to post auctions with music ...whoo wheeee this is getting more and more interesting. One of my auctions is for some of the fish that were in a community tank...didn't really think anybody would be interested but I was pleasantly surprised.

I have to go buy tank sealant today...and and air pump...and pick up some breeding fish that I ordered. I actually put in 10 times more hours working for myself than I did when I worked for a company...but it doesn't seem like that to me.

I guess it's true what "they" say...work at what you love and you'll never "work" another day in your life...LOL...everything I do is so much fun and such an adventure and I'm learning more than was ever required of me on a job.

spadetail swordtail guppies

spadetail swordtail guppies, originally uploaded by creativeaquarist.

So it's 4:22 am and I'm wide awake...all those years of working 3rd shift I guess but it does make it easier to check on the fish room and get some little things done. I've discovered the most amazing hot toddy. It is a regular orange pekoe tea bag, one shot of Grand Marnier and one shot of Amaretto di Amore. You add the liquor to the hot tea and I swear you can't even taste the liquor at all. It just tastes like a really nice fruity hot tea. Nice pjs...warm fuzzy slippers and my long comfy fluffy pink robe and it can't get much more comforting than this.

I'm having a creative art attack...painting shells with aquarium safe paint and using aquarium sealant to build interesting structures for the fish to roam in and out of and using contrasting colors so the colors of the fish really stand out. I just love what I'm doing these days...so much better than working for somebody else. I can't be fired...they aren't going to come in and announce the plant is closing...and I can give myself a raise whenever I want to and of course my performance reviews are wonderful...lol. My customers have all been happy so far (knock wood) but then I DO go out of my way to give them not only what they paid for...no misrepresentation...but I also include extra freebie goodies and I ship out the very day that they pay.

That's one thing I've always believed in...old fashioned values and good customer service...it only makes sense...without happy customers you won't be in business very long or be able to grow your business without a good reputation. I've never been able to just sit still for very long...I believe I took my Yankee work ethic with me when I moved to the South 24 years ago...that and my mind is never still...I'm always thinking up the next thing I want to try even when I'm in the midst of a current project. I'm beginning to believe that "controlled" ADHD is not such a bad thing to have after all...and I've come to feel a bit sorry for the folks that can only do one thing at a time or think about one thing at a time.

very fancy platy checking hiimself out

very fancy platy checking hiimself out, originally uploaded by creativeaquarist.

This fancy platy reminds me of myself these last couple of days...lol.
I got my hair cut yesterday...bought new frames for my glasses...made an appointment for the eye doctor to get contacts...I wore them constantly when I was young and vain and wouldn't be caught dead in glasses...but now I want them so I don't have to worry with bifocal glasses all the time...oh the joys of getting older...actually it's not that bad...I don't worry about clicks and groups and who likes whom or any of that mess and I'm not worrying about dating or not having a date on a Friday or Saturday night. I'm actually just content with my own company and my own projects.

This fancy platy is just one of a whole breeding group I'm playing with...they throw some of the most interesting colors...nothing at all like you'd find in nature.

So anyway I feel kind of like this platy...I keep checking myself out in the mirror and looking this way and that...side to side and using a hand held mirror to check the back...my hair is just so different but I feel so much younger and prettier and I've had so many compliments even from strangers in stores so I must have done something right...lol. I had it cut in a classic bob...shorter in the back and tapering down to just below chin length in the front and I had some blond streak highlights added...not a lot...just a few all around. My hair used to be down to the middle of my back and I wore it up most of the time or in a long side braid in front...I used to tell my son I was going to see how long it would actually grow before I died...but then I got sick of the whole mess this year...whole new year..new business ventures...new look for me. Now I'm about to tackle the wardrobe...I've never been a clothes horse or a fancy jewelry person...but I'm going to toss away or give to goodwill anything I don't really like or haven't worn in a month or so and the cheap flat shoes are going for sure...I haven't worn a single pair of them for over 2 years. Now I'm just going to buy classic things that I like and look good in... I may not have as many clothes but I know I will wear what I do have and I won't look tacky just because I grabbed the first old ratty thing I found in the closet.

Fundulopanchax garderi Innidere

Fundulopanchax garderi Innidere, originally uploaded by creativeaquarist.

A fancy Latin name for Killi fish...I've ordered some breeders of these...they are egg layers and you have to pick the eggs off the spawning mop and hatch them in a different tank or container...they are so colorful and they stay fairly small.

I've been up since 5 am working with the fish and re-arranging things and setting up some new tanks for the new arrivals on their way. The house is so empty without the grand baby in it...but at least the open tanks are safe from invasion by match box cars and whatever else he took a notion to drop in there so the fishies would have something to play with. My son is back home...him and grand baby's Mama just couldn't get along so...she's got the grand baby and we're missing him like crazy. So sad when the adults can't get along and it's the kids who suffer the most. Broke my heart when I heard he'd been crying for his Granny and he's sick now too...got the croup...I just want to hold him and spoil him and rock him to sleep. M

My son is sad...and there's nothing I can do to make it better for him. It's not like when he had a scraped knee at 5 years old and Mama's magic kisses made the hurt go away.

Your son will hold your hand for a little while, But will hold your heart for a lifetime. I have a son who makes my life worth living just by being around him, and I am so proud of him and all that he's accomplishing.

white male beta

white male beta, originally uploaded by creativeaquarist.

Not one spec of other color on this guy... I wonder what he would breed like with a true turquois or true blue female? I just don't like to breed bettas because they have so many babies and it's hard to find homes for all of them...if they could all be put in the same tank it wouldn't be a problem but you have to separate all the males even when they are young. If the females are always kept together from birth you can sometimes keep them in a community tank but even then sometimes a female will become very dominant and bully all the other females stopping them from eating. They are just such beautiful fish thought it makes all the problems of keeping them worthwhile and they do sell like crazy even the less than perfect ones.

lavendar blue orange green male betta

lavendar blue orange green male betta, originally uploaded by creativeaquarist.

Bettas have fascinated me for a very long time...I have about 12 of them all in separate containers...not those little dinky ones they come in at the pet store but large enough for them to actually swim around...

This guy is so beautiful....just look at ALL the colors he's sporting...pink...blue...orange...lavandar...and a touch of green. I just wish they were community minded...but alas they are loners...even after they breed they build the nest...take care of the eggs and hatching fry and will kill off the female if you don't remove her. But they are so beautiful!! They don't require a lot of specialized care. Maybe some things are put here on earth just to be admired.

I bought 2 new pair of eye glass frames tonight...have to be able to see all my fish babies clearly...lol and it was time anyway. I haven't had new frames in 5 years. I wish I could get the lasik surgery and actually be able to wake up and see clearly in the mornings without fumbling for my glasses first thing. That and dental implants...my teeth have really been a disappointment in these later years. All those years of faithfully going to the dentist and having braces when young and all that brushing and flossing and swishing everyday several times a day and this is how they reward me...thin to non existent enamel coverage left...chipping and cracking and getting infected and having to be pulled...how crazy is that? I wonder if fish have these problems when they age?

I did find something to do with all the extra duckweed that grows like wildfire in my planted tanks...I just wait until it looks like it's becoming a jungle and getting out of hand and then scoop it out and throw it in the Koi 100 gal tank and they devour it in a few days time. I heard and read a few days ago that Koi can live over 75 years...astounding...they don't need a lot of fancy filtration or a major heat source and they can go for very long periods of time with very little food...what wonderful genetics they have developed. Although they have some wonderful genetic qualities they just don't catch my fancy like the bettas.

Labeotropheus fuelleborni

Labeotropheus fuelleborni, originally uploaded by creativeaquarist.

You don't know how much you miss all this new technology until it's gone for a few days...lol. My modem went out...and we've had 3 days of ice and snow here in North Carolina...never a good thing here...folks just aren't prepared for it. The schools and the post office and most everything comes to a screaming halt. They couldn't get my modem and my internet up and running again until today...bummer.

A big dead tree limb and I mean BIG fell into my front yard...thank God...the truck wasn't parked in that spot...it's partly out into the road...we have to move it tomorrow...now that's going to be fun...NOt...the thing is humungous! But fortunately it didn't hit the house or any vehicles or any of the neighbors property.

Then last night the twenty gal long tank decides to spring a leak...never a good thing and it was on the bottom corner so nothing to do but drain the tank and move the fish...good thing I'm prepared for these things and have enough equipment to change tanks out. So that was a lot of work and a bit of a mess last night getting everybody all settled into a new tank...but so far (fingers crossed) they all seem to be doing well. So now I have to re-seal that tank and I'm going to use the good stuff and then have to wait for it to cure before I can set it back up again...lol...the trials and tribulations of an aquarist.

I have GOT to get a good digital camera or at least a decent cell phone with a good resolution camera on it so I can take pics of the freak snowstorms...this is the second one this year. I've also been looking at laptops...narrowed it down to 2... a hewlet packard and a toshiba...I like the keyboard on the HP better but the Toshiba has a bigger screen and a web cam so I can see and talk to my grandbaby. They aren't staying with me anymore... I miss him something fierce!! He's crying on the phone...so pitiful...wants to come back to Granny's house... I would like nothing better for him to be back here but I understand his parents have to be independent and have their own place and their own lives. He is coming to spend the night with me in the next couple of weeks though...already planning on the hot cocoa and homemade cookies he's going to help me make. He asked me if I got any new fishies I need help feeding... he knows his Granny and her fish obsession...LOL

I'm not much of a TV person so the internet is my new thing especially since I've learned a little bit about posting pics and blogging...so when the internet was down for almost a week I thought I was going to go stir crazy with boredom. I started a new granny square afghan for the living room with a really pretty color combination...guess I'm just one of those people that have to keep busy doing something besides sitting on my butt watching mindless TV shows that don't even have any real entertainment value...give me Animal Planet or The History Channel any day of the week and I still have to be doing something with my hands while I'm sitting and listening to it...must be my ADHD kicking up.

pygmy corys

pygmy corys, originally uploaded by creativeaquarist.

Messing around in the fish room today...and these guys were watching my every move...they are so curious and so funny...I waved at them as a group and he head guy...the one in front with his nose pressed against the glass rolled his eyes at me...so so funny...I just had to laugh. If my neighbors could hear me over here I'm sure they would think I'm a dotty old lady laughing out loud and talking to myself...actually I talk to my dog...my cat...and my fish. Now if they ever answer me back I might have second thoughts about my sanity...lol.

I bought a new strain of Endlers today...they are the wild strain...red chested and so colorful. The breeder I bought them from is going to ship them out this Saturday so I should have them on Tuesday...something to look forward to at the beginning of the week. Ever since I got into this fish business I really look forward to going to the post office...so nice to have something coming other than bills.

My computer kept crashing yesterday and early this morning...called the tech support people...and come to find out... I had a bunch of virus crap on there slowing everything down and causing the crashes. They cleaned it all up and added more virus protection and detection programs...good to know I pay them for something useful, and so glad I took that option when I got the internet provider service from them. I use it all the time when I have problems.

Been playing "mafia wars" on facebook again...naughty naughty me...lol

pygmy corys

pygmy corys, originally uploaded by creativeaquarist.

My newest addition...the little guys. Note to self...work with what I have before I go off trying to expand all over the fish world...LOL. I have some really cool fish that I bought as baby fry and now they are all grown up and having babies of their own that I need to be setting up to sell...but I just can't seem to help adding to the work load and adding more tanks and more cool fish to the fish room.

I love working with my fish...it doesn't matter what is going on in the outside world, when I'm changing water or checking tanks or feeding the fish it's just such a calming time and my thoughts flow freely and I come up with more things I want to try or re-do. Today I was thinking about my candle making and soap making. I've moved into a house of my own since the last time I seriously made soap for sale and the house is totally different. I am going to have to get a dehumidifier for the dining room so the soap will dry properly. I didn't have that problem in the old place. I could put the soap in any room there and it would cure just fine. Here in the house I have a lot of moisture in the air... I think it has to do with living right across the street from the lake...it adds a lot of humidity to the air in general. Funny how I never thought about humidity before...I just made the soap and set it out and it cured...lol. Now I have to factor in humidity and worry with buying a dehumidifier so I can sell commercially again.

neon red crayfish

neon red crayfish, originally uploaded by creativeaquarist.

I'm always blown away by really colorful critters under water. This guy or girl is amazing! The color is so intense. Of course he/she is a neon red crayfish...lol...but still...it just blows my mind that something could be so colorful.

I was messing around in my fish room and thinking about setting that 20 gal tank up just for breeding crayfish. BUT...I've got to stay off or other people's auctions at Aquabid first...lol... I was on there earlier and of course I came across more fish that I just cannot live without...Bad Shelby! Stay off of other people's auctions until you have your own up and running...the object of this fish breeding is to sell and make money...lol. Geeze...there are just so many things I want to breed though.

red whiptail catfish

red whiptail catfish, originally uploaded by creativeaquarist.

I just bought 7 of these guys...one died in transit to my house...but I have the other 6 alive and well and nosing all around the tank...I just went and checked on them...they are curious and out hunting down food.

FANCY GUPPIES GROUP

FANCY GUPPIES GROUP, originally uploaded by creativeaquarist.

This is just too too cool...I can put any photo of my fish on this blog and really look closely at it...I have all of these amazing guppies and a few more also...

Corys

IMG_5859 Corys, originally uploaded by creativeaquarist.

A really close look at the corys...they always look amused...and when they roll their eyes it's just too funny.

black guppies

IMG_5235, originally uploaded by creativeaquarist.

A new strain of black guppies from Ol Conrad...he's gotten rid of his old strain is now concentrating on these.

cherry red shrimp

cherry red shrimp , originally uploaded by creativeaquarist.

A closer look at the cherry red shrimp I recently got...they are all happy campers...settled into their tank...and out and about at night...exploring every nook and cranny of their tank...and chowing down.

self cloning crayfish

self cloning crayfish, originally uploaded by creativeaquarist.

just wondering if this will give an even closer look at this photo

albino plecos

albino plecos, originally uploaded by creativeaquarist.

These are some adult albino bushy nose plecos...the detail that Pete Mang gets on his fish photos is just awesome. I have 5 of these fish and I have never gotten a shot of any of them that look anywhere near this clean and clean and detailed. I'm going to have to ask him what kind of camera he uses. One of the things I like about Pete and his site is that he always puts on all his photos..."you have my permission to use my photos"...that is so incredibly cool.

FRUSTRATED!

So I'm at Flickr and I'm trying to upload pics to this blog and it won't let me do it...lol and then I try to get directly on this blog and I can't. A glitch or something or I was just pushing the wrong buttons or something...so 10 full minutes of frustration before it finally logs me in...and I swear I didn't push any buttons differently than I did 10 minutes ago.

This "technology" is fun eh?  NOT! Well, I vow that this brand new year of 2011 I will conquer the beast...or at least keep him at bay...lol.  I'm going to learn what buttons to push to make this thing do what I want it to do. Doing some routine water changes today and after the water changes....had 2 different snails from 2 different tanks crawl out of their tanks and fall to the floor. These are not little bitty pond snails either...these are fairly large about the size of a golf ball Apple snails...had to pick them up off the floor and put them back in the tank...guess they wanted an adventure or the water change freaked them out but they have been fine for the last few months with water changes...don't know what got into them tonight.

I was looking at my supplies and what I have to set up...and I have a very nice 20 gal tank with a very tight fitting lid that I'm going to set up for cray fish...they like to climb all over the tank and climb out whenever they get half a chance. Interesting little critters they are. A lot of people are interested in keeping them and breeding them. I find my fish much more interesting...but...to each his or her own.

Anyway...I'm going to set that tank up just for the cray fish...should be an interesting experience and if I don't like them at all I can always sell off all the adults and re-clean the tank out for more fish.  OR... I can set the tank up for CPO's (orange mini cray fish) and some endlers or even smaller fish...maybe the dwarf minnows or more B. Brigittae...and that way I'll have a more productive tank...

I have a 30 gal...oddly shaped upright tank on the stand in the dining room that has some B. Brigittae in it and a strain of very red ramshorn snails that I just got. They are all doing well...but I could add some more of the B. Brigittae to that tank...oh the choices are just endless and the configurations that I can come up with. I like going on other people's fish pages and looking at what they set up and how it's working out for them. I don't do things in an "ordinary" way...but what I do seems to work out better than average for me. I can't wait for the weather to break so that I can actually put up some auctions and start shipping some fish out to buyers. Then I can make some money to invest in yet more interesting fish. It's a circle... I sell... I buy... I  sell and I buy again. I guess it's like selling at the flea market...I sell some of my stuff and then I go and buy somebody else's stuff and then re-sell that and go and buy somebody else's...lol...and the circle continues.