One more try - Another Amaira

[thebiggerthebetter]

Will do. It’s hard to keep the Russian going with the kids. My 5 year old went to Russian daycare so was fluent in Russian, English and I was teaching her Greek. Since starting English school she refuses to speak Greek or Russian. Reminds me of my stubbornness as a kid.

Way off topic but quickly - this is typical for all such multilingual families in the USA and I don't think it is stubborness. It's hard on a child, it's work, and the child is naturally looking for a path of least resistance, just like electricity or water or adults haha... If she/he goes to an English school, it seems the only way is to speak to the child at home only and exclusively in Greek or Russian (one day Greek, the other day Russian) and only respond to the child when she/he speaks the right language for that moment, otherwise ignore. This is the only thing I know of that worked for such families. Otherwise, the child will never take to other languages except on an extremely limited, ever diminishing scale. Of course, the parents must spend time with kids, read to them in their native language, have them read, discuss, joke, play, communicate with grandparents, uncles and aunts, same-language friends, etc.

Back to the big grey scary aimara... I wonder why you don't give it whole thawed fish. It is cheaper than hikari, could be as convenient and quick with some planning, and will get it to grow faster I'd reckon. I'd not cut out the hikari completely though, no-no.

 

[nzafi]

Way off topic but quickly - this is typical for all such multilingual families in the USA and I don't think it is stubborness. It's hard on a child, it's work, and the child is naturally looking for a path of least resistance, just like electricity or water or adults haha... If she/he goes to an English school, it seems the only way is to speak to the child at home only and exclusively in Greek or Russian (one day Greek, the other day Russian) and only respond to the child when she/he speaks the right language for that moment, otherwise ignore. This is the only thing I know of that worked for such families. Otherwise, the child will never take to other languages except on an extremely limited, ever diminishing scale. Of course, the parents must spend time with kids, read to them in their native language, have them read, discuss, joke, play, communicate with grandparents, uncles and aunts, same-language friends, etc.

Back to the big grey scary aimara... I wonder why you don't give it whole thawed fish. It is cheaper than hikari, could be as convenient and quick with some planning, and will get it to grow faster I'd reckon. I'd not cut out the hikari completely though, no-no.

Which whole fish do you recommend? I was giving silversides but they make a mess. I’ve tried looking at my supermarket but most whole fish are too large and I don’t feel like cutting. Filet doesn’t have enough nutrients. The pellets are extremely easy, and he swallows whole so minimal mess.

 

[thebiggerthebetter]

Yeah, it is best if the wolf swallows the fish whole. I'd check local or not so local bait fish companies. I buy from Bionic Bait of Pompano Beach, FL and from Aylesworth bait from Tampa Bay, FL.

 

[nzafi]

Yeah, it is best if the wolf swallows the fish whole. I'd check local or not so local bait fish companies. I buy from Bionic Bait of Pompano Beach, FL and from Aylesworth bait from Tampa Bay, FL.

I wasn’t thinking of bait companies but thought that there would be a high risk of parasites.

 

[thebiggerthebetter]

I wasn’t thinking of bait companies but thought that there would be a high risk of parasites.

They sell deep and long frozen fish, hence, AFAIU free from any parasites. Bacterial pathogens, and in a tiny part viral ones, remain a concern, but they are largely different for marine and freshwater fish, giving us some peace of mind.

I tried even freshwater frozen catches from them bait companies without any obvious deleterious consequences.

I used to boil what I personally caught on fishing trips back in Rochester, NY creeks and ponds (fish, crayfish, frogs, etc.) and fed to my fish. It made an oily mess (with fish - catfish, sunfish, bluegill, etc.), if our fish didn't swallow them whole. If I did it now, I'd probably experiment with baking it dry in a microwave oven. I am sure you have plenty of time to engage in that and the bonus will be a delightful upturn in your wife's interest in your person as a result of the wonderful smells all this activity brings to her beloved and dear kitchen...

 

[nzafi]

Well folks, I created a post in the General section but figured I would update here. After nearly 4 years I had to give up my aimara yesterday. I accidentally hit a bulkhead at the bottom of my tank yesterday while cleaning which caused it to leak. I had to drain the tank and while I could easily retighten the bulkhead, I made the hard decision to give up my aimara and sell the tank.


It was a good run and I was hoping to have this guy much longer. Unfortunately, I cannot risk another leak and I don’t have the time to modify the existing design of the tank.

He was impressive at 24in and was a pain to catch. I managed to find a local dealer to take him and that I trust to find him a good home. Need to take an inventory of the tank setup and put it up in the marketplace.

 

[thebiggerthebetter]

I won't pretend I am not crushed by the news but I understand my order of priorities is not yours. GL with whatever direction you take from here. Please, do not abandon the hobby and the MFK for good.

 

[nzafi]

I won't pretend I am not crushed by the news but I understand my order of priorities is not yours. GL with whatever direction you take from here. Please, do not abandon the hobby and the MFK for good.

I don’t think I’ll leave the hobby for good. I’ve been playing with the idea of getting back into piranha for a while so I can always do that instead with a much smaller tank. There is potential for us to move houses and if we don’t move, I actually replace the floors and redo that family room. Time will tell.