Subj : Re: Anyone Reading This Echo?
To   : Mike Roberts
From : Jeff Snyder
Date : Mon Jul 25 2011 03:01 pm

Hello Mike. Thanks for your comments. Well, I have been into fish-keeping on
and off since I was a kid, and indeed, it is quite a pleasurable, relaxing
and satisfying hobby. Just ask my cat, Socks, who enjoys falling asleep on
my computer desk as she watches my Malawi cichlids. :)

She enjoys pawing at the glass and wondering how she can actually get the
fish, but she hasn't figured it out yet. I've given up on trying to keep her
away from the aquarium. I simply can't guard it twenty-four hours a day. Now
she even prances along on top of the light fixtures and the Penguin 330
Bio-Wheel filters, and takes a sip of aquarium water whenever she gets a bit
thirsty . . . even though it isn't really good for her.

I don't keep glass tops on my tank. It helps keep the water cooler, as well
as better oxygenated. I just have to top off the tank with a gallon or two
of water every few days, which I keep prepared in one-gallon jugs. Being as
most cats are afraid of water, I don't think that she is too interested in
trying to stick her paw down into the water in order to try to catch a fish.

Oddly enough, my fish are just as interested in Socks, as she is in them,
even though she terrorizes them. They will cautiously approach her, led by
the most bold fish, inch back, inch forward again, etc. It's rather
interesting to watch their reactions to Socks. They have now grown used to
her presence, staring at them with her big cat eyes.

Being on a strict budget myself, I fully understand your concerns regarding
the cost of maintaining an aquarium. However, after your initial investment
and setup, your ongoing costs can be reduced if you are smart. In my case, I
spend money on Stress Coat -- chlorine remover -- and fish food -- Hikari
pellets -- maybe once or twice a year at best. I purchase two 16 oz. bottles
of Stress Coat, and a few bags of Hikari mini pellets, and we are good to go
for quite a few months. Other than those two expenses, there is the extra
electricity and the water that are used, but that is really about it.

As I mentioned quite some time ago, I don't waste money on expensive filter
media or other fish paraphernalia that pet stores try to convince you that
you need to buy. I learned long ago to make my own filter pads by cutting
out foam squares from those thin children's mats that they sell at the
store. You can wash them out over and over again for many months, and save a
lot of money on filter cartridges.

Of course, if you are into marine aquariums, maintenance can be considerably
more expensive -- and time consuming -- particularly because you have to buy
sea salt and mix your own water, unless you happen to live near an
unpolluted ocean source as I do. I used to haul water from the ocean in
five-gallon jugs when I had my 170-gallon marine tank years ago.

Come to think of it, I spend more money on our cat, than I do on my fish;
but my daughter brought her home one day, I've become quite attached to her
now, and I don't have the heart to take her to the pound, or anywhere else.
Besides, my landlord has no problem with us keeping the cat. Of course, it
does help that I've been renting from them for twenty-three years now.  :)




Jeff Snyder, SysOp - Armageddon BBS  Visit us at endtimeprophecy.org port 23
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