Caryl

Which name? Denny Crane or Pickles? She is a fan of Boston Legal and said the Birman had the same attitude as Denny. :lol:

The last pic shows his arm wet & bleeding as mum had just soaked the bandage off and was taking him up to A&E to be checked out - at my insistence. For those wondering, the thin scar running the length of his leg is from when they stripped his legs for spare veins to use in the bypasses. He had both arms and legs stripped and even then they couldn't find enough good vein to do all the blocked areas :roll:

I would like to mention first, my dad is 76, gets about on a mobility scooter, has had multiple bypass surgery and heart valve replacement and, just before Christmas, almost died when his gall bladder ruptured. He is also on Warfarin, a blood thinning agent used by heart patients :roll: Anyway, he and mum went to town the other day, he scoootered and she walked. They met my sister and I for some shopping then I went home while Mary and mum decided to have lunch in town. Dad scootered home. Once home he realised he had forgotten his keys. He could have gone to any of the neighbours (he knows them all) and asked to wait there until mum came home (she wasn't going to be long) but no, he broke into the garage and got the ladder out. He then climbed up the ladder and through the small, high, bedroom window. Going through he caught his arm on the window catch, ripping his arm badly and causing a severe bleed (result of the Warfarin). From there he fell in the other side and hit the corner of the small table on the way down, damaging his leg. Apparently, as he fell, he thought to himself "I'm not as supple as I used to be." :roll: Here is the result (apart from the fact that today he can barely move and feels quite sick... and We asked him what he thought he was going to do once he got into the window and he replied that he hadn't actually thought that far ahead! :-? And he wonders why we won't leave him alone while we go overseas :lol: :roll:

My daughter has just moved house. Do these cats look stressed by their new environment? :lol: Denny Crane - the Birman. Curled up in the hall beside the toilet. Coolest place in the house we think... and Pickles - the bitzer from the SPCA...

Tiddles? or Tibbles?

My fry were always dumb enough to swim back up through the gap on the plastic things :roll: The nets help save the fry and allow them to grow a little away from the rest of the tank inhabitants. Put a good handful of Java moss in it for the fry to hide from mum. Warning: Angels (and probably other fish) are very good at sucking fry right through netting! :evil:

They are a schooling fish but mine didn't either in the true 'follow each other everywhere' fashion - they did chase each other a lot though and no damage was ever done to each other :-? I suspect they only school in very large numbers. They do colour up better if they are in a larger group but then I had one lone male at one point who was the brightest red you could imagine. :roll: I don't think they look right as just a pair as they are too small. Either keep the group as is, if they appear happy, or increase the numbers. Have vinson massif said, males are brighter.

Well, I emptied the pools today. The weather this year has been so weird. Usually those pools would have sat at 27C+ during the day, dropping to no less than 18C overnight, usually 22C or so. This year they have gone as low as 10C, possibly lower, overnight with day temps only around 17C - 22C :-? The day time temps have swung wildly and I think the hottest the pools got was about 27C, for a very short period of time. Usually they were around 18 - 22C I had seen plenty of spawning activity but no sign of fry at all. Not sure whether the fry died in the cold or whether it was too cold to produce eggs in the first place. I suspect the former. Having emptied both pools I recovered 8 odessa barbs and 9 golden barbs. I can't find the bit of paper on which I wrote the number originally added but I think that was it so, although I got no fry out of the effort this year, I didn't lose any of the adults either, much to my surprise. Might give it a go again next year. I have had great success in previous years, just not this year :roll:

They can damage delicate leaves with their rasping but the majority are fine.

It is possible it is a secondary infection on a small wound. It is also possible, if you keep the water as clean as you can, that it will get better without drugs.

I seem to remember years ago (when I was a teen - many many years ago) seeing a photo of a footboard (I think it was Burt Reynold's) that was almost floor to ceiling and a fish tank. I wondered how it was cleaned. Makes more sense to me than a headboard. After all, you can't lie in bed and watch the fish if they are behind you :roll:

That is what Stu's article is about. Many fishkeepers claim that tiger worms are unsuitable to feed to fish as they appear "bitter" to the taste. Stu found this was not necessarily so

That reminds me of an alcoholic claiming he/she can stop any time they want to :lol:

PS; I don't watch Coronation St or sport either, or any of the other soaps. Much prefer a good book. Last time I saw Coro St Ena Sharples had just found Miniie dead in t'snug :roll:

I think you will find the Eisenia fetida, at least, are commonly called tiger worms. The next Aquarium World has an article by Stuart Lord regarding composting habits and the feeding of these worms to fish. If you would like to do an article on what you are up to there bilbo it would be much appreciated.

Morons raving on about cars? What is good about that? :roll: I recognise minis and VWs and that is about it :-?

I am subjected to endless repeats of Top Gear :roll:

My mother (72) still talks about the day her mother's pressure cooker exploded and spaghetti stuff went everywhere, floors, ceiling etc! :lol:

No, I think you are referring to a pressure cooker. Crockpots used to me made of ceramic. They are now a ceramic bowl inside a stainless steel exterior. These just have an ordinary lid. Meat is cooked on slow for 6 - 8 hours or on high for about 4 depending on amount of meat, and thickness.

Get a crockpot (slow cooker). These are great, particularly in winter, for slow cooking cheaper, tougher, cuts of meat. By the time they have been in the cooker they are melt in your mouth soft and easy to eat. Slow cookers are also good for making soups. Soups are easy to do and very good for you. Also filling.

They are also nocturnal.

Guppies should live at least 5 years. To photograph fast fish you need a good camera speed, a tripod, and a LOT of light in the tank. Try putting the fish in a small clear container where it can't swim away.

The females can store sperm for many months and produce fry without further male "help" for the same time. The dad may not be any of the males she is with currently

You have an odd mix of fish there. Angels, for instance, like an acidic tank whereas the electric yellows are African cichlids that prefer very alkaline water. They should not be together. The plec will tend to uproot plants when it moves :roll:

Platies are almost as bad as guppies. If it is female it is probably pregnant :lol: They can drop fry every 4 - 6 weeks. When due they are very fat and you can see the black spot you noticed. On pale fish you can sometimes see the eyes of the fry through the body.