More tank pics, updated

[FINWIN]

Dropped off some of the hrps at Petco yesterday! I couldn't get there until late so the manager an assistant manager had gone home. But they had an observation tank ready! Talked with one of the employees for awhile. Took about 20 or so in different sizes. Because they had been in the tub they were washed out in color. 3 of them had turned solid white! Guy couldn't get over the sizes because they had a tank of convicts nearby and none were much bigger than 2 or 3 inches. I told him the hrps would color up and they did. By the time I left the white ones had their bars and color back and the pink ones got brighter. They piled up on one side of the tank so I suggested a plant or two. He put floating moss stones, a cave and 2 stone towers in.

I left an information sheet that I added to and my contact information. Some of the donations were the pink ones. I told the guy I had more and most of those would be pink. I'll give them another call maybe late October and see if they'll take more.

I know big box stores take heat for bad conditions but people need to get their 'facts' straight. SOME OF THEM ARE GOOD. The Petco I donate to is clean, the fish are all healthy with bright color and not a dead fish anywhere. The staff are friendly and love to talk fish. Anyone living in the DMV (District, Md, Va) my fish are at


Penn Mar Shopping Center PETCO

Address: 3034 Donnell Dr, Forestville, MD 20747

 

[jjohnwm]

Some parroty goodness. Here's Kong all puckered up. She's patiently waiting while I prepare her food. Look closely and you'll see her fang tooth.

View attachment 1524935

See, that's kind of why I don't like Parrots; so, just to clarify...that's the front end of the fish, right?

I called Petco last week about a donation but the timing was off. Guy I spoke to said they didn't have room (he sounded uptight, don't know why).

"Carl! Carl!!! It's her again! The lady with all those psychotic killer fish! She wants to bring some more in!!!

What should I say???!!!"

 

[FINWIN]

See, that's kind of why I don't like Parrots; so, just to clarify...that's the front end of the fish, right?

The face may be goofy and the lips poofy
but the fang up top ain't no joke
one quick jab
she'll give you a stab
and one helluva bloody poke!

 

[phreeflow]

The face may be goofy and the lips poofy
but the fang up top ain't no joke
one quick jab
she'll give you a stab
and one helluva bloody poke!

View attachment 1525216

Is that your finger and did your parrot do that? Hard to see the fang in your pic.

 

[FINWIN]

Is that your finger and did your parrot do that? Hard to see the fang in your pic.

No, not me (black) although she did clip me once. The fang is that dark spot you see in her mouth. Her lips have gotten larger as she's matured.

 

[FINWIN]

Had a minor issue today downstairs. Was going to do a wc on the 225 and decided to do a quick change on the remaining fish in the tub. Pulled up the drain and couldn't close it. Why? Because one of the fish jammed a rock under the cap. So I'm rushing to put them all in a bucket but the water runs out too fast and they're all flapping around. A quick scoop and plop and they leap out of the bucket like popcorn in a skillet.

Ended up taking the top drain cap off to get at the rock. Fortunately it was just big enough to not fall down the pipe. So a 10 minute change turned into a 35 minute drama session. Then I noticed something. MORE JUMBOS!! I counted 4 legit jumbos so I figured I'd measure them.

Here's the crazy trail mix of sizes again. Colors are washed out because they've been in the tub for 4 weeks. The smallest ones were wrigglers when I put them in.

 

[FINWIN]

I always look for ways to be more efficient and reduce messy cleanups. Foods are in bins now with a serving spoon. The worm cubes and 6mm pellets are in two coffee creamer tubs. The insects are a complete mix of soldier fly larvae, grasshoppers, mealworms and crickets. They're for you-know-who.

 

[FINWIN]

Future shock for Petco...some of these will be migrated to the tub down the road along with Mica's crew and the babies out of Flash/Squiggy. The faster they grow the quicker they can go. Have to comment that high density doesn't seem to affect these hrps...they still grow like crazy. Every week there's a noticeable size xhange.

 

[FINWIN]

Here's Cash, the featherfin squeaker at a solid 8 1/2". He's still a bit thin but I think the reduction in food competition will help.

 

[jjohnwm]

I love the organization displayed in that post! Wish I could be that methodical. Pellets labelled as to size? Impressive.

If I'm going to be honest...I'm probably less enthused about the grow-out bucket...

FINWIN ...you really do need a Jelly Cat or Wolffish or RTC or Gulper or something with a...er, um..."healthy" appetite.