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platedlizardI'm writing stories, sorta. I have two that I try to do something on every day (fat chance, but I do try), another three that are on hold due to lack of interest or frustration on my part. Oh, and I am starting to work on my NaWriMo outline. I might even cheat a bit and use one of the stories that I am working on right now for that, but I promise to only send in that new material, written in the month of November, to get counted. I'm a good girl like that.
Work is getting interesting, finally. They finally gave me more hours, the last couple weeks I have been working full time, and should soon have full time status soon. Even if I don't get enough hours in the store the head groomer said that she need more dog bathers, so I can get plenty of hours there.
I got a call last weekend from a guy in a total panic. His fish were dying in way that sounded like classic New Tank Syndrome. He thought they weren't getting enough air, that his air pump was faulty (actually, he thought someone had messed with it to kill his fish, but if someone wanted to kill his fish why would they mess with an air pump? dumping bleach in would do the trick much easier). It took me about fifteen minutes to calm him down enough for him to actually listen to me. I told him that he needed to stop messing with the algae blooms ('let them happen, they'll go away once the tank has stabilized') and do a 50% water change ASAP. I must have repeated that 20 or 30 times and when I hung up I didn't know if he had really heard me.
A couple days ago he called again. He had heard me, and it saved his fish's life. I feel so good about that. Moreover he was willing to listen to me when I explained about New Tank Syndrome, and I think I convinced him not to treat for algae or sterilize his tank again, as that would make things worse. I haven't heard from him since, but I'm sure I will eventually.
Speaking of fish. I got some pygmy corydora catfish in the mail the other day. I won them off Aquabid.com, and boy am I glad I did. This was the first time I bought fish and had them shipped to me, so I was very nervous, didn't know if they would make it ok, or stress out and die. Fortunately they all made it just fine, and have settled into their new tank with no problems. They even ate their first day here, which isn't normal for shipped fish, although it is a very good sign. They are in my third ten gallon tank, with the butterscotch male betta, and some potted dwarf sageretta and loose Java fern. The corys are wild caught, and I haven't seen many of them captive bred so it would be cool if I could get them to breed. They are very cute.
I want to add some Endler's Livebearers, too, which I think I will do tomorrow. They are expensive, which means $6 a pair, so they aren't, you know expensive expensive. One of the local pet stores (not the one I work at, which is a Big Chain StoreTM) has them, but I may go look for The World Of Wet Pets, which is supposed to be nearby... somewhere. Or just go to The Wet Spot, even though it is a bit of a drive. If I were smart I would quarantine the livebearers from the corys, but I suspect I'm going to be stupid about this. Also, there is the issue that the corys probably won't breed with salt in the water, which is what the livebearers kinda need. Damn, I wish I had thought about that more. Oh well, it's not as if I don't have three other tanks that I could have set up in, like, two minutes. Actually a bit more then that, because I need two two-way gang valves. But they're cheap.
Oh, and I love Progressive Talk Radio, go Air America!
Work is getting interesting, finally. They finally gave me more hours, the last couple weeks I have been working full time, and should soon have full time status soon. Even if I don't get enough hours in the store the head groomer said that she need more dog bathers, so I can get plenty of hours there.
I got a call last weekend from a guy in a total panic. His fish were dying in way that sounded like classic New Tank Syndrome. He thought they weren't getting enough air, that his air pump was faulty (actually, he thought someone had messed with it to kill his fish, but if someone wanted to kill his fish why would they mess with an air pump? dumping bleach in would do the trick much easier). It took me about fifteen minutes to calm him down enough for him to actually listen to me. I told him that he needed to stop messing with the algae blooms ('let them happen, they'll go away once the tank has stabilized') and do a 50% water change ASAP. I must have repeated that 20 or 30 times and when I hung up I didn't know if he had really heard me.
A couple days ago he called again. He had heard me, and it saved his fish's life. I feel so good about that. Moreover he was willing to listen to me when I explained about New Tank Syndrome, and I think I convinced him not to treat for algae or sterilize his tank again, as that would make things worse. I haven't heard from him since, but I'm sure I will eventually.
Speaking of fish. I got some pygmy corydora catfish in the mail the other day. I won them off Aquabid.com, and boy am I glad I did. This was the first time I bought fish and had them shipped to me, so I was very nervous, didn't know if they would make it ok, or stress out and die. Fortunately they all made it just fine, and have settled into their new tank with no problems. They even ate their first day here, which isn't normal for shipped fish, although it is a very good sign. They are in my third ten gallon tank, with the butterscotch male betta, and some potted dwarf sageretta and loose Java fern. The corys are wild caught, and I haven't seen many of them captive bred so it would be cool if I could get them to breed. They are very cute.
I want to add some Endler's Livebearers, too, which I think I will do tomorrow. They are expensive, which means $6 a pair, so they aren't, you know expensive expensive. One of the local pet stores (not the one I work at, which is a Big Chain StoreTM) has them, but I may go look for The World Of Wet Pets, which is supposed to be nearby... somewhere. Or just go to The Wet Spot, even though it is a bit of a drive. If I were smart I would quarantine the livebearers from the corys, but I suspect I'm going to be stupid about this. Also, there is the issue that the corys probably won't breed with salt in the water, which is what the livebearers kinda need. Damn, I wish I had thought about that more. Oh well, it's not as if I don't have three other tanks that I could have set up in, like, two minutes. Actually a bit more then that, because I need two two-way gang valves. But they're cheap.
Oh, and I love Progressive Talk Radio, go Air America!