Friday Friends

I thought you might enjoy watching this video of Lucy Lou, our youngest rescue and a Jack Russell/ Basset Hound mix, entice our tri-colored collie Simone to play.

I am often asked if our four rescue dogs get along. Thankfully, they do. I've never had any problems or fights at mealtimes or any other time. There is plenty of space for all the dogs to roam and if someone wants to be alone for awhile, they can find out of the way spots (like the bathroom floor in my office) to hide away until they are ready to rejoin the pack.

A New Couple in Love

I have a 55-gallon aquarium in my bedroom that contains six freshwater angelfish and about 11 corydoras and a pleco.

The six angelfish have been separated into three couples since they were very young: two blue marbles have claimed one corner, two bright orange koi angels have claimed the opposite corner, and two silver blues are kind of caught in the middle (which isn't necessarily a bad thing.)

However, lately the koi angels have decided they are ready to start a family. The problem is, they want total privacy. Meaning they want everybody else to leave the aquarium.

They claimed the filter intake that is dead center in the middle of the tank and began cleaning it in preparation for laying eggs. This won't do, as everyone else in the tank will be badgered relentlessly because they have no means of escaping the lusty couple.

So I located an old filter intake that is no longer in use and I placed it into the far corner the koi angels used to claim as their own. I also added an amazon plant for good measure, as angels love laying eggs on the amazon leaves. However, it's been my experience that the novice lovers will often go for the filter intake first.

Now the couple is busy cleaning the new filter intake (which isn't connected to anything). I expect to have some eggs in the coming days or weeks. I know it might take them several tries before they get things right. If they keep trying and the eggs eventually begin to hatch, I will move them to a separate honeymoon suite like I did Lindsay Buckingfish and Stevie Fishnick.

I think I might name this couple The Captain and Tenillifish.

Separating the Parents from the Babies

Now that the four baby angels from the first batch of Vicki's Angels have left home, I have an empty tank. It is 20 gallons because it's an infant tank or breeding tank. Below it I have the tank with Lindsay Buckingfish and Stevie Fishnick and their four newest babies, who are about three weeks old.

The babies should be separated from the parents in a small tank. It gives them the opportunity to grow higher fins and larger faster. I would have preferred to have separated them earlier because I wasn't sure if Lindsay or Stevie might look at them as a tasty snack some evening. Fortunately, they have proven to be great parents.

Faced with the decision of moving the babies or the parents, it's always easiest to move the parents. As angels grow and their fins become much longer, they are slower and easier to catch. The smallest babies, however, leap like fleas when you try to catch them; it helps them stay far from predators' mouths.

So I have moved Lindsay and Stevie to the infant tank recently vacated. It usually takes about 24 hours for them to get accustomed to a new tank but they realized pretty quickly this time around that it was their old honeymoon suite.

Meanwhile, without the parents in the infant tank, the four babies are venturing further out. So stay tuned for more pictures soon! In this latest batch, I have two black marbles who look very much like their Papa, one that looks like the platinum Mama, and interestingly, an orange one!

Baby Angels in their New Home

I had mixed feelings letting my first batch of Vicki's Angels leave home.

I would have loved to have kept them, knowing they were born here. But I had a new batch of babies who needed space to grow and Lindsay and Stevie were at it again with plans to expand their family.

When I saw these pictures of the four angels in their new home, I knew I had made the right decision. The black marble is the only one who lived from a batch of about 50 that another angel breeder had supplied and he (or she) was lonely. Now there are four friends to play with - and I know they are going to love their new digs!

Laying Eggs

No sooner had my first batch of angelfish babies leave home than Lindsay Buckingfish and Stevie Fishnick were at it again.

I had my iPhone handy but it doesn't zoom during videos so I had to take this video some distance away so I wouldn't disrupt their mating.

You'll see Stevie Fishnick (the platinum angel) move her belly up the leaf, laying eggs.

Then Lindsay Buckingfish (the black marble) will follow along the path of eggs, fertilizing them.

They will continue with one row after another until they have around 300 eggs on the leaf.



Tomorrow: pictures from the first batch of baby angels in their new home!

Friday Friends

Once a week, I cook a special dish for my dogs that lasts all week long. I started cooking this chicken and rice dish when I adopted Simone, the collie who was almost starved to death. It helped her put on weight when she wasn't interested in dry dog food. Surprisingly, it also took weight off my two foxhounds, who were a little... plump.

I've continued making it every week now for about three years. I add it to everyone's dry dog food in the morning, so they still get the nutrients they need.

Ingredients Needed:

1 lb. chicken or turkey
2 cans green beans
1 can of another vegetable such as carrots or peas
1 can of cream of chicken soup
1.5 cups of brown rice

I have a slow cooker so once a week I simply put a boneless chicken breast or turkey breast into the slow cooker and add the cans of vegetables, including the juice. (I try to buy vegetables packed in water with no salt added.)

Cook it on low for about five hours. Add the cream of chicken soup and stir well. Turn it off and let it cool.

While it's cooling, cook the brown rice. I have a rice steamer so I just follow the directions on the side. It takes about 50 minutes, but you could also use instant.

When it's done, simply mix it all together in a container that can be refrigerated.

Each morning, I scoop out a couple of serving-size spoonfuls and mix it in well with their dry dog food.

This is a particularly good dish when one of my dogs is sick. The brown rice settles a stomach. When a dog is ill and doesn't want to eat but needs its strength, it's the first dish I turn to.

Phosphates in a Fish Tank

Earlier this week I mentioned that I got high levels of phosphates in my infant tank, which caused an algae bloom. I traced it back to my water supply. How did I do that? Easy. I have a white bucket in which I pour new water straight from the tap, add the necessary chemicals (Prime, Ph balance, aquarium salt) and use it while replacing the water during water changes. So when I am running water straight from the tap into that bucket and I see it turn green or brown, I know my water source is contaminated.

But are there other causes for high phosphates, which in turn lead to algae blooms?

Yep.

If you are overfeeding your fish, the breakdown of the food often raises phosphate levels. A fish's stomach is roughly the same size as their eye.

Some manufacturers use phosphates in their flake food. Do some research and select one lower in phosphates. I use Tetra flakes and have not had a problem.

Clean the fish tank on a regular basis. Fish waste, uneaten food, plants decaying, or God forbid a dead fish left in the tank, will all raise phosphate levels.

Get some cleaner fish to help get rid of uneaten food that falls into the gravel. I love keeping corydoras with my angelfish. They are both very peaceful and while the angels tend to stay in the middle of the tank, the corys prefer to hang out at the bottom - except when they party while the angels sleep. Snails and a pleco will also help to keep algae levels down.