Hurricane Matthew

When I wrote my blog last week on how to care for fish during a power outage, I had no idea that Hurricane Matthew would wreak havoc on the town in which I live and that my fish survival skills would be put to the test.


Hurricane Matthew, as you undoubtedly know by now, tracked further inland than originally forecasted. I live in Lumberton, North Carolina. Once the storm was passed, townspeople discovered downed power lines, fallen trees, damage to homes, cars and property. Little did we know our ordeal was just beginning. As the Lumber River swelled over the levee in the southern section of this small town, literally half of Lumberton faced massive flooding which, as of this writing, has yet to recede. The Lumber River crested at almost 25 feet above flood stage.


Power was knocked out on Saturday, October 8. We lost running water on October 9.


Temperature


My immediate concern with regard to my fish was the temperature. Fortunately, the skies cleared and outside temperatures remained in the 70's during the day. However, as we entered Tuesday, the water in the community tanks had dropped a full ten degrees, from the normal temperature of 78 to only 68 degrees. I placed a heavy blanket over half the tank, keeping the other half open to sunlight pouring through the windows and allowing oxygen from the air to reach the surface of the tank.


Oxygenation

The water was no longer oxygenated with the loss of power. I used battery backups for filtration. I simply unplugged the air hose from the electric pump and plugged it into the battery backup. Not knowing how long the power would be off and how long the batteries would last (each took two D batteries), I ran them for fifteen minutes every four hours. I observed the fish to see if they gathered around the air wands in the tanks, and as the bubbled penetrated more deeply into the tank, I knew the water was being sufficiently oxygenated.


Filtration


To help with the filtration issue, I stopped feeding the fish. Oddly, they did not seem hungry, and I attribute this to several factors: the lights on the tank didn't come on, and that always signals them that food is coming; their body temperature was dropping with the temperature of the water, as they are cold-blooded creatures.


On the third day, I lightly fed them but noticed only a few coming to the surface to feed.


Losses


I lost one fish, a neon tetra, on the third day. Another fish, a glowlight tetra, has been hanging near the surface of the water. My four angelfish that I was most concerned about showed no signs of stress - hanging at the surface of the water, gathering in one corner of the tank, etc. All other fish - plecos, corydoras, tetras, banjo catfish - have remained well.


Power Returned - But Not Out of the Woods Yet!


Power was restored on Tuesday evening, October 11. However, we're not out of the woods quite yet. The power could still flicker or go out, as the infrastructure has been weakened and repairs are on-going throughout the region.

And over the coming weeks, I will have another issue to contend with: the water supply. Right now, our running water remains out. I have a 10-gallon bucket filled with water that I filled prior to the storm. However, once our water is turned back on, we've been told to boil it before using it - for weeks or possibly months. The floodwaters have been such that tens of thousands of hogs and chickens from North Carolina farms have perished, and that could have a devastating impact on water sanitation.


This means that I will be boiling out the nutrients that the fish require for life as well as those organisms that could kill them. It's a catch-22. I plan to boil the water, treat it with Prime, and then add nutrients back in with Amazon Extract or Blackwater Extract.


We were very fortunate during Hurricane Matthew and in its aftermath. Water rose to within a few yards of my house but did not enter it, unlike tens of thousands across the state. My dogs were safe the entire time. And while we lost power and still do not have running water, we have a roof over our heads and the house is livable - unlike many throughout the state - multiple states - who are living in shelters are facing an uncertain future. Please keep all of the hurricane's victims in your thoughts and prayers.

Angelfish Breeding Cycle

Good news and bad news to report regarding my pair of angelfish lovers.

First, the bad news: it appears that none of the angelfish babies that hatched this past week have survived in the community tank. There are a number of hiding places, however, so the possibility does exist that I will find a few who have remained well-hidden from me as well as predators.

The good news: once a pair of angels successfully lays eggs and sees them hatch, they are hooked. About every two weeks that they are without babies to care for, they will lay more eggs. This could go on for months -or even years- at a time.

So today I discovered that they had laid more eggs on the same intake.

I had a dilemma.

If I allowed them to repeat the process of laying eggs in the community tank, I ran the risk that none of the babies would ever survive. Once they became free swimmers, it was just too much of a challenge to keep corydoras, plecos and tetras at bay.

I realized that because I'd removed the other angelfish to a separate community tank when John and Christy McFish decided to have a family, there were no predators in that tank that would bother my neon tetras, which had been housed in a separate, smaller tank. (Grown angelfish will eat neons.)

That is, there would be no predators if John and Christy McFish weren't there.

So today I moved all of the neon tetras, corydoras and two small plecos from their smaller tank (20 gallons) to the larger community tank (70 gallons) where they joined larger tetras and more corydoras. (I love corydoras; they seem like busy little Merry Maids.)


And I moved John and Christy McFish to the smaller tank, which is now officially the Honeymoon Suite.

The eggs on the intake were left behind, so they will be food for the fish that remained in the tank. However, once John and Christy realize they are all by themselves without any predators to harm their babies in the Honeymoon Suite, they'll lay eggs again. And this time, the babies have a much better chance of survival.

Stay tuned, and I'll post updates when they begin working on a family again!

p.m.terrell is the award-winning author of more than 20 books, including the Black Swamp Mysteries Series, which features CIA operatives who use an angelfish breeding facility as a front to cover their covert activities. Read Vicki's Key for details on raising angelfish from a breeder's perspective! And visit www.pmterrell.com for more infomation on all p.m.terrell's books!

Visit p.m.terrell's YouTube channel for videos on Angelfish Keeping and Breeding: https://www.youtube.com/user/terrellpm 

Angelfish Babies!

This has been an exciting week for me because for the first time in two years, I have a breeding pair of angelfish.

If you've been following my posts for awhile, you may remember that Lindsay Buckingfish and Stevie Fishnick had so many successful clutches that I lost count. But after Stevie passed away, Lindsay was uninterested in anyone else. Angelfish usually mate for life.

I have a black angel and a silver angel in a community tank that includes a marble angel, a pleco, about two dozen tetras and about a dozen corydoras. When they decided to lay eggs on an intake, I didn't give it much thought because with so many others in the tank, there would be little chance that they would survive.

However, John and Christie McFish (of Fleetfish Mac fame) have surprised me. Their eggs hatched within a few days and I now have several dozen babies ready to swim.

Once the eggs hatch, the mother or father catch the babies in their mouths and spit them out someplace where they can get plenty of food. In this case, it's on the intake itself where algae has formed. The angelfish stay glued to this by their little heads. In this stage, they are called wigglers.

As they grow, they become strong enough to eventually pop off and swim on their own. This is a dangerous time because they could get sucked into the intake itself, or they could be eaten by another fish. They are barely the size of a hat pin, and they are translucent. They are also shaped like bullets and not the shape we identify with angelfish.

During this phase, the parents will need to keep them corralled. Normally, I would have had them in a tank by themselves with a piece of foam over the intake to prevent anyone from being sucked into it, and there would be no predators in the tank. However, because they are in a community tank, I inserted a small screen between them and the others; it only reaches partway but it prevents a direct line-of-sight. I also removed the third angelfish to another community tank. The pleco was found dead the morning after they laid their eggs; I suspect during the night, the pleco attempted to eat the eggs and the parents viciously defended them.

The tetras and corys are remaining at the far end of the tank and both angelfish check frequently to make sure they stay on their side!

The next phase is called the Invisible Phase. Many of the babies will seem to disappear; they are actually living on the bottom of the tank, in the gravel, where predators are less likely to discover them. I do have an infant tank at the ready, filled with water from the original tank, and I will attempt to capture at least a few. Then I'll see what the survival rate is between those that are in the dedicated infant tank versus those that are kept with the parents.

And what do babies eat when they are barely the size of a hatpin? I will feed them First Bites, which is manufactured specifically for baby fish, and finely crumbled brine shrimp. As they grow over the course of the next eight weeks, they will eventually be weaned onto finely crumbled fish flakes, and then onto regular fish flakes.

Between the age of eight and twelve weeks (depending on their size) they will go to the local pet shop for sale. Although some breeders will sell the babies when they are the size of a dime, I wait until mine are the size of a quarter. By then, their coloring has taken effect and they have the beautiful lines of the angelfish.

To read more about my angelfish breeding, check out other blog posts at www.vickisangelfish.blogspot.com.

p.m.terrell is the author of more than 18 books in several genres. Her award-winning Black Swamp Mysteries features CIA operatives who use fronts as angelfish breeders to conceal their real identities. Visit www.pmterrell.com for more information and to read sample chapters.

The Stress of Life

It's tough having to guard two treats at once...

Getting Acclimated

The new Stevie Fishnick is getting acclimated to her new surroundings. She spent just one hour in the bag getting adjusted to the temperature, and then I released her into the tank with Lindsay. I am hoping they will breed, which might take several weeks as they become accustomed to one another.

Soon after the video below was taken, Lindsay pecked a bit at Stevie so I placed a divider between them. The divider allows them to see one another but not to invade each other's space. I will try removing the divider after a few days to see if he accepts her.

Lindsay Gets a Mate

I haven't written much about Lindsay Buckingfish lately. His mate, Stevie Fishnick, died a few weeks ago. I tried moving Lindsay back into the community tank where he first lived but the male angelfish were extremely territorial and I was concerned for Lindsay's safety.

So Lindsay has been in the breeding tank all by his lonesome.

Last week, I learned from my friendly neighborhood pet shop, Carroll's Pets, that they had received a nice, large shipment of angelfish. The co-owner, Shelli, and I spent some time selecting what we think is a female.

We looked for:

(1) A head that slopes, versus one that rises sharply. Male angelfish get a bump on the top of their heads as they age; females do not.

(2) An angelfish remaining toward the back of the tank. Males tend to be more assertive and come to the front while females are content in the background.

(3) An angelfish that is not assertive when feeding. Females tend to allow the males to assertively rush to the top to eat.

(4) An angelfish without the barbs in the ventrals. Males have a barb that becomes more pronounced as they age; females do not.

The only surefire way to identify a female is when they mate, so we won't know for certain that I have a female for Lindsay until that time.

Here is Stevie Fishnick in the bag as it gets acclimated to the temperature. She is a red-eyed spangle. Lindsay's prior mates were both platinum angels, which looked identical to the new one except for the red eyes.

Baby Albino Pleco

This week I was in the right place at the right time. I visited my friendly neighborhood pet shop, Carroll's Pets, and they told me they had received a shipment of large plecostomus just a few days earlier. While scooping them out of the bag to add them to their tanks, Shelli discovered a tiny baby albino pleco. It is not much larger than my fingernail.

Most of my tanks contain angelfish, which would make a quick meal out of the little fella. So I brought him home to my neon tetra tank, where the largest residents are corydoras, who get along with everybody. There are plenty of places for the little guy to hide out - in a castle, in a grassy "pod", and amongst plants.

This morning, I found him bright and early eating the algae off the side of the tank.

I think I'll name him Steven Tylerfish. Mick Jaggerfish is my largest pleco.

We don't know what variety of pleco Steven is. He might remain small or he could be 15 inches or larger. If he outgrows the neon tank, I can always introduce him to one of my larger angelfish tanks, which would accommodate a pleco of almost any size.

Albino Corydoras

This morning when I fed my fish, I found this albino corydoras watching me from a hole in a tree trunk.

Corydoras get along with all fish. They are like little Merry Maids swimming around the bottom of the tank, sweeping up the food that others missed. I have about 20 corydoras in each of my community tanks. The more you have in a tank, the better they like it. They come in a variety of colors. I currently have four albino corys like the one shown here.

Barely visible in the picture is another corydoras in the lower left corner. He is a green cory.

Small Tetra Tank

Most of this blog has been focusing on my angelfish, but I also have a neon tetra tank. Neon tetras, glowlight tetras, and penguin tetras can not be placed in the same tank as full grown angelfish, because they would be considered food.

So they have their own tank, along with several corydoras and a miniature pleco.

This was supposed to be a fireplace but the contractor never finished it. Rather than to look at a gaping hole, I turned it into an aquarium. This is only 20 gallons, but the small tetras in this tank must think it is spacious.

I Spy

I'm spying on you.

Little Sister Is Watching.

Redecorating a Community Tank

I liked the castles in Lindsay's and Stevie's Honeymoon Suite so much that I bought one for one of my community tanks.

Above, you can see two rare blue angels, a platinum marble angel named Emmie Lou who is the daughter of Lindsay and Stevie, and a blue marble angelfish. Emmie Lou (at the far left) is the only female. This tank is 55 gallons, and also contains corydoras and tetras.

Below is a video of their new digs:

Smiling at the Vet's Office

You know a veterinarian and his staff is great when this young lady smiles in his office.

Simone is a tri-colored collie.

She was rescued by the Robeson County Humane Society

and the Terrell family adopted her.

She is always the perfect lady!

Angels in the Community Tank

I have two community tanks with four angelfish in each one.

In this one, I have three males and one female. Normally, it's best to have things the other way around, as males can become quite territorial. This tank, however, is 70 gallons so there are places each male can go where they can not be seen by the others.

The oldest in this tank is John McFish. He is a silver angel around four years old. His mate, Christy McFish, was a smoky leopard who passed away some time ago.

The two koi angelfish are from the same brood. However, although one is male and one is female, they have never been interested in one another romantically - which might be a good thing, since they are brother and sister.

The female koi is interested in the blue marble angel, which is about the same age - around two years old. He is the alpha male in the tank, which might be why she is so interested in him. It is important for the male to be able to protect the eggs and fry from predators.

All of the angelfish get along just fine with the other fish in their tank.

Animals? REALLY?

A Special Post From Lucy, the Jack Russell Mix

So, I don't usually get political, but lately I've been seeing comments that have me barking. It all started with the inhuman acts by a group of monsters in Syria who were called "animals".

I beg to differ.

Animals do not attack one another based on their color. You'll never see white dogs on one side and black dogs on the other, facing off and taunting one another. We don't care whether you are black, white, red, yellow, brown, tan, brindle... or all of the above. We treat all dogs equally.

Animals do not wage war in the name of religion. Scientists are just now determining that we have souls. Well, we knew that all along. And we don't label ourselves as Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Buddhists, Hindi or any other religion. We don't care what you believe in your heart, as long as you treat us with love and respect.

Animals don't kill for the sake of killing. You will never see a group of snakes scheming to kill an animal just to watch it die, or to create fear or terror. We kill for these reasons and these reasons only: (a) to protect ourselves from attack; (b) to eat. Period.

Animals do not abduct others. You will never see a group of animals corral another animal and keep it hostage. There are some of us who are trained to keep sheep or cattle within a group, but that's for their protection. We don't do it out of a need for power.

Animals do not dream up ways to kill. We will kill only for food or only when we are attacked. We don't sit around thinking of ways to torture before we kill, or ways to make someone suffer before they die. That is monstrous.

So please stop calling terrorists "animals" when they do hideous things. They are not animals. They are sub-animals. Stop giving us a bad name.

If you agree, please share this post!

Update on the Honeymoon Suite

Lindsay Buckingfish and Stevie Fishnick seem to be enjoying the new decor in their honeymoon suite.

I have noticed them side by side staring at parts of the tank - the castles, the plant leaves, and even the glass. This is common when they are considering laying eggs. I would love to know how they communicate; I can imagine them asking each other if they think the conditions are right in that particular spot for the eggs to flourish.

Here is Lindsay; he is about ten inches tall and about two years old now. He's fathered several hundred eggs!

This is a small tank; only 20 gallons. Though books recommend five gallons for each angelfish, I allow ten gallons for each one. Only Lindsay and Stevie live in this one, so there are no predators and their eggs and fry would be safe.

Redecorating the Honeymoon Suite

It's been quite some time since Lindsay and Stevie mated. I tried twice to return them to the community tank. Stevie was accepted instantly, as female angels are, but Lindsay was bullied and might have been pecked to death had I not intervened.

So I decided that even if they do not breed again, the two needed to remain in the Honeymoon Suite. I didn't want to have Lindsay there all by himself, so Stevie and Lindsay are together again and have all the privacy they need.

However, when they were breeding, it was important to keep the tank spartan. This helps me to clean the tank without disturbing the baby angelfish. Now that they're no longer breeding, I decided to redecorate.

I am writing two books that center around an Irish castle. The first of these two will be released in 2015, and the second either in 2015 or 2016. Irish castles tend not to have spirals on their towers, but I fell in love with these two castles. It has created a fairytale atmosphere for the two lovers. They seem to be enjoying their new surroundings.

Cuddle Time

My two Jack Russells, Eddie (with the blue collar) and Lucy (with the pink collar). 

Notice there's no room for me?

Remember to Relax

Something I learned from my dogs:

Always remember to take time to relax.

The Lovers

Lindsay Buckingfish and Stevie Fishnick haven't bred in a long time. The last time they had babies, Lindsay got a sudden midnight snack obsession and thought his children were a sushi bar. Stevie was so angry that she bit him. I suspect that Stevie has decided never to lay eggs with him again.

So I decided to try and reintroduce them to the community tank. They both lived there until a couple of years ago, when they were mating so often that I needed to remove them to their own tank to protect the fry from predators.

Stevie was accepted immediately. Female angelfish are usually accepted without a problem, unless they go after a male who has already been claimed by another female.

Lindsay did not fare well at all. The other males had him cornered underneath a decoration and had I not been observing and ready to intercept, I think he would have been chewed pretty badly. Male angelfish are much more territorial and when a new male attempts to join the school, they can be vicious.

So rather than place Lindsay in a tank completely by himself, I moved both Stevie and Lindsay. Now I have plans to redecorate their tank. If they aren't going to lay more eggs, then I can add more decorations. However, I chose a castle with an eye toward the vertical lines, because angelfish lay their eggs on vertical surfaces. Who knows? The new digs might set them on a second honeymoon.

I'll post pictures of the new tank once all the new decorations are in!

Eddie the Jack Russell

Here are two pictures of Eddie and me. Eddie is a Jack Russell. The Robeson County (North Carolina) Humane Society discovered him at an area dog pound. He was scheduled for euthanasia because his leg was injured. They thought his leg had been broken but x-rays revealed that he'd been shot.

I adopted him and brought him to a surgeon in Cary, NC, who implanted a metal plate in his leg to help the shattered bone heal. He has made a full recovery and runs and walks to such an extent that you wouldn't even know he'd been injured. (The affected leg is the one that sticks out a bit from the rest of his body.)

Eddie has a special fondness for teeth and he cleans his sisters' teeth every day - a collie named Simone and another Jack Russell mix named Lucy. I draw the line at him cleaning mine.

Eddie loves to ride in a car, and he'd follow me anywhere and everywhere - as long as I am alone. When I take him out to the pet shop or someplace busy, he gets frightened and wants me to carry him - which I always do. I can't say "no" to the little fella.