Dogsmas

[furtech]

Tay & Rondo!



Iisaw and Carol stopped by on their way down the coast to let Rondo meet a *real* pro: their border collie Tay. I forgot how much Tay would look like Rondo-- quite the resemblence! It was clear who the spaz was: Rondo spent most of the walk living up to his name and circling and barking at Tay (who was a pretty good sport about it all). The first thing they did after meeting was have a manly grass-eating contest. I think only Cody would have beaten them at this...

Tay did love digging in the sand: he would dig after a gopher, sending huge scoops of sand into the air.
Tay: diggin' machine!
Tay digging, while Rondo awaits a mouth full of sand
Rondo takes notes

Tay alertly awaits instructions while Rondo spazzes
Tay gets his orders-- he's off!

Rondo doesn't think Tay looks that fast...
...until he gets run-over by Tay!
Border collie stand-off


In other, non dog-related news, I've been reading the Bleach manga and *really* enjoying it! I feel like I'm experiencing the series for the first time again, getting all the details they weren't able to put into the anime. My only complaint is their name for Kisuka Urahara is "Hat-and-clogs". Sandalhat sounds better.

Also visited the good aquarium store and once again fantasized about a salt water tank. But...considering how much I travel, I think I'd better stick to a Betta or a shrimp-ball.

Comments

[spunkywulf.livejournal.com]

One of my adorable but sadly inept friends didn't know what those Eco-Spheres was when he saw one at Brookstone. He picks it up like a baseball and turns it over a few times, sloshing it, and goes "WHAT IS THIS?"

Innocent curiosity and stupidity can destroy entire ecosystems, and this is proof.

[mythos-amante.livejournal.com]

Those ecoshperes are COOL!!

Oh, I am so glad that Rondo is such a delight for you! What a sweetie!

[dustmeat.livejournal.com]

Saltwater tanks are not so bad. Once they are set up, they do not require much maintainence...unless of course you get a REEF tank with all the fixings.

[furtech.livejournal.com]

*Nnnrg!* Yeah-- good comment on curiosity and stupidity! I flinched reading this, especially remembering the infinite care I gave my original spheres.

[furtech.livejournal.com]

The ecospheres are neat, especially if you don't have the time/room for real pets. As long as you can keep them in a place where they get fairly constant temperatures, and a -little- light, they do fine.

As Eric once pointed out, it's wonderful watching young dogs explore and learn!

[furtech.livejournal.com]

...which is of course what I fantasize about. Huge chunks of living rock, lots of shrimp, a few nudibranchs, lots of rock-life (anenomies, etc.) and a couple of small reef fish. I'm told that since I only want one or two small clown fish (or one of those purple/yellow jobs), that this would be much easier than if I wanted the reef PLUS tons of fish.

I just know my limits, and between travel and reading about friends and the constant care they put into their tanks, I'm just not ready yet. Though the guy at the aquarium store quoted me a price on a small reef tank that was -really- tempting. Must...resist... Ecospheres it is!

[crocuta.livejournal.com]

My reef tank doesn't take toooo much maintence, a bi-weekly water changeout and since it is so small (12 gallons), daily topping off that could easily be cured with an auto-top off system. There are other misc things but I've been able to get away with neglecting those from time to time when things get busy (like now during the move). Brokken is really the one to talk with about tanks tho, his is much nicer than mine. Mine is fish-free at the moment as I am focusing on inverts...and stuff that can take the abuse that I tend to dish out by my occasional neglect. I think a lot of it has to do with what you intend to keep.

I think the Ecospheres are very very cool tho!

[furtech.livejournal.com]

Don't tempt me...I need to keep telling myself that it's still a steady chore to keep reef tanks at optimal. That's why I eventually gave up my dart frogs: the actual work is minimal, but the continuity was killing me: remembering to order/pick up pinhead every week, taking the tank to a frogsitter when I went to a con, etc.

I'd be thrilled with an invert-tank! Someday...

[iisaw.livejournal.com]

Great pictures! I didn't know you got one of Rondo getting bowled over by Tay!

We definately need to do that again soon.

[crocuta.livejournal.com]

For keeping optimal? Yes. I'm also keeping the most hardy things that can take the stress of the salinity changes, lack of timely waterchangeouts and no feeding when I go away or get overly busy. I have been tempted to get more challenging stuff but I just can't yet. For the cool stuff you need to do feedings (targeted sometimes) and if you add fish to the mix it is all the more work. I do have one fish in another tank and he requires pretty much daily attention.
One thing about the reef tanks is the cost.. initial cost is insane (just shop for lights some day and see O.o)
Upkeep isn't terribly bad cost wise however.

The frogs sound cool! I imagine it is much harder to find a frog-sitter than someone to dog-sit for you. :)

[furtech.livejournal.com]

The guy at the fish store quoted me a price on a 20? gallon reef tank, ready to go (they had one on display) filled with living rock and critters (only a couple of fish), for under $400...

It was a plexiglass job with a slightly convex front. Very nice, very tempting.

[furtech.livejournal.com]

Yeah-- I saw it coming even if Rondo didn't...*crash*!

That was a ton of fun! Rondo sure was interested in Tay! Kind of like a pesky kid trying to impress his older brother!

[crocuta.livejournal.com]

Wow, if lights pumps etc were included that's a good price. Live rock itself is around $5 a lb from where I get it..in my 12 gallon I have probably 80$ worth of rock and that's a low estimate :P
My invert tank is a 12g plexiglass bowfront like that. I need a 24 gallon tho as my tank is rather full and things are growing decently. Brokken's is a 24 gallon if I remember right.
(I also need to get a reef tank oriented lj icon!)

[furtech.livejournal.com]

Actually, you're probably right: 12 gallon sounds more like what he had. Still, it was a turn-key, fully loaded tank with lights and pumps. Not sure how well or how at all they would transport it though...

[crocuta.livejournal.com]

Ah well that's a fair price then I would think..altho it also depends on what is in it. I bought a nanocube 12 gallon that comes with filter, lights, pump, heater etc for 100$ then add 30$ of live sand, $80 of live rock and as of yet I've only bought about 40$ worth of frags..never bought a full sized coral/invert yet. The nice thing is that once you're a member of the local reef keeper's club you can get frags super cheap and with a 12gallon it is easy to fill and have it look nice with nothing but frags. The downside of a small tank is that any change happens fast as there is less water to buffer any problems that might occur (ammonia spikes etc)..so one or two days evaporation can change the salinity quite a bit but with the Nanocube since it has a full hood it wasn't as bad. My open topped 12 gallon evaporates quick... it needs daily water changes.

If you're going to shop for a tank I'd suggest: http://www.jbjlighting.com/sys_12gDX_nanocube.html
I had an earlier model of Nano and the only nitpicks I had with it were solved with the updated model. I also like the unusual square shape. Er wait..I'm not supposed to be encouraging you! Pay no attention to the tank behind the link!! ;)

They would probably move it like I'm about ot move mine. Basically put everything in bags or tupperware including the rock, drain the water down to the sand and disconnect everything..move the tank...fill it back up with the water, start it up again and put all the critters back. I am not looking forward to moving both my tanks :/ I just got everything happy since my last major re-arranging in my tank! :P
Actually transporting stuff shouldn't bother them too much as long as I properly acclimatize them.