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Welcome to VAFA! Where we talk and share our fish keeping secrets. So come and join us into discussing the future of the hobby.

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VaFishAddictz
Welcome to VAFA! Where we talk and share our fish keeping secrets. So come and join us into discussing the future of the hobby.
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Post  McGurk Thu Dec 05, 2013 2:10 pm

I have been a fishkeeper for ~10 years. At one point I had 7 freshwater tanks set up, all planted. As life and my other responsibilities got in the way, I gradually have taken down tanks and am now at two, a 29 and a 10, and am redoing/restocking. I live in Powhatan, VA, outside of Richmond. My well water is a bit of a challenge for a fish keeper - lots of iron and copper in the water and low pH.

Would love to talk to some other local fishkeepers.

McGurk

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Post  williemcd Thu Dec 05, 2013 2:23 pm

Again... Hi, folks! 936075699 to VaFA.... One of the admins just recently moved from powhattan... and she's a wealth of information.... (Doxiemom)...
Are you of the mindset to gear back up to the 7 tanks or holding at the two?  

Bill

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Post  McGurk Thu Dec 05, 2013 2:38 pm

Bill,

That remains to be seen.  When people saw 7 tanks set up between the dining room and living room (a 55, a 29, 2 20s, a 10 and a 5) they thought I was crazy, but my response was always that the pleasure from them far outstripped the work.  At some point because of a soul sucking job and the rest of our little hobby farm's animals and responsibilities (my brother says our place is "a llama short of a petting zoo"), that no longer was true and I gradually let the tanks fall into decline and stopped replacing fish.

I am currently, ahem, "in career transition", so I cleaned up the two tanks, the 29 and the 10, consolidated the best of the equipment, and ordered replacement bulbs for my CF fixtures, and am in the process of restocking.  I am enjoying my fish therapy immensely.

So far the only resident of the 10 is a pet store betta, and the only residents of the 29 are 6 penguin tetras.  Will restock slowly as I plant.  I guess my mid term plans for the tanks besides replanting would be to add a school of panda cories to the 10 assuming the betta will tolerate them, and to add another school of tetra or barb to the 29 and maybe some cories as well - peppered and julii are my favorites.

The plants that survived the long neglect are the stalwarts - java fern, amazon sword, anubia and crypts.  Some najas grass and curly java were hanging on in the 29, I'm hoping they come back.

It also occurs to me that I have a TON of equipment in the back shed now - tanks, filters, heaters, air pumps, gravel and plastic plants for starters.  Would be happy to trade any of that that's useful for plants or fish!

McGurk

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Post  williemcd Thu Dec 05, 2013 2:52 pm

McG.. if you're out and about .. I generally give away Caboma, Hygro, Vals and ancistra..(sp?)... I'm ready to hoe out one of my tanks...
Like you.. my passion did fade for a period of time.. .and I'm now down to about 375 Gallons under keep.. down from about 700... But... within the last few months, I got stoked once again and will be gearing back up!

Just got a major renovation of the fish-room to accommodate that effort! Meaning, plumbing a water supply and adding more power... Both skill sets that test my limits...
Bill

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Post  neogeo20041 Thu Dec 05, 2013 2:55 pm

Welcome to the forums! Looking forward to getting those tanks up and running again :p
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Post  kat12 Thu Dec 05, 2013 3:09 pm

Welcome to the forum! I'd like to know if 7 tanks between 2 rooms is crazy, what 6 tanks between 4 rooms is - to include 2 in the kitchen! Ah well, forget it, does someone want to fence my backyard and bring me a llama? What other animals do you have?

kat12

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Post  McGurk Thu Dec 05, 2013 3:19 pm

Bill,

Let me know when you do some pruning and I'd love to have some cuttings.  

I will be out and about tomorrow, and the 10th and 12th at the very least.

McGurk

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Post  McGurk Thu Dec 05, 2013 3:23 pm

Okay, the other animals -

2 horses
1 pony
1 dog
4 cats
26 chickens  (all laying hens, we sell eggs)
3 ducks
1 rabbit

That's it for now, though you never know, pets have a way of finding me....

I didn't think my 7 tanks were crazy, so I don't think your 6 are crazy.

When we first bought this place 8 1/2 years ago, there was a game room in the basement that I though would make an excellent fish room and even had nearby plumbing.  But then I realized I would have to make a special trip downstairs to see the fish.  Part of my enjoyment of them is that I pass the tanks dozens of times a day.  That makes up for having to run the Python hose out the window to drain and hook it up to the kitchen sink to refill.  Laughing

McGurk

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Post  williemcd Thu Dec 05, 2013 3:40 pm

Way too cool!.. My wife say's I should live in the country!...LOL...At one time I was running 4 or 5 more tanks than the 4 I have running now... Plus housed some rats the size of wood chucks,,, a number of bearded dragons... The wife would actually hold/pet all of them! (not the fish but she did hand feed a 13 inch pacu I was foster caring)... All my tanks are in my "man-cave" a.k.a. Garage where I spend about 16 hrs a day!
Hey..are your chickens free-range?..
I'll trade ya all the plants you'll need for your tanks in exchange for a dozen eggs....Deal? LOL.....

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Post  williemcd Thu Dec 05, 2013 3:42 pm

FYI.. I live about 1 mile west of the intersection of Rt. 288 and Rt. 360 (Hull st. rd.)..
My wife has Friday's off so ya might bump into her too!.. Bill

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Post  McGurk Thu Dec 05, 2013 3:58 pm

Deal! Would be happy to bring you eggs.

Currently our chickens are confined to a 30' X 40' run, which the FDA considers free range, though no one else with any sense would. They do still get to scratch, take dust baths and sun baths and be happy chickies though. Three seasons of the year they are allowed to truly free range, what the FDA calls "pastured", but we have found after the frost there are not enough insects to keep them happy and they start wandering too far afield. When that happens we tend to have dog and fox problems, so for the winter, they are confined to their run.

I frequently go to Westchester Commons at 288 and 60, and also to the Kroger's on 60 a few miles west. So we've probably crossed paths at that PetCo before.

McGurk

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Post  neogeo20041 Thu Dec 05, 2013 4:52 pm

No pigeons? :(I used to keep fancy pigeons when I was about 12 yeas old. Probably the most fun I ever had keeping anything. The number of colors and attitude among was fascinating. Hopefully in the future I will be able to get back into it. It's nice to know others enjoy keeping more then just fish.
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Post  Doxiemom Thu Dec 05, 2013 10:25 pm

Welcome to the forum!! Hi, folks! 580655055 Glad you're here!
I was in Powhatan (and will be again SOON!!). We had well water and the best part was it would grow some beautiful Amazons! I would add water conditioner that removes metals....That seemed to help water quality.

I was raised with all sorts of animals....LOVE your list of critters! Do you ride your horse..or is it a pet?
Bill, fresh eggs are the BEST!!

Let us know if we can help while your getting your tanks back up & running! I'm about 5 minutes from WillieMcD....maybe you could join us at our next meet!!
Jules

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Post  McGurk Fri Dec 06, 2013 8:28 pm

Jules,

I would love to come to the next meeting, I will keep checking back for details.

Both horses are riding horses, but these days I mostly just trail and pleasure ride. Hubby built me some jump standards and cavaletti for my bday, but every time I think "Ring work or trail ride?" the answer is always "Trail ride!" :-) One horse is mine only, the other is what I refer to as a husband/child/guest horse. The pony is my daughter's old pony, and now primarily a pet. He is *tiny*, and when she outgrew him, we couldn't stand to let him go, so he's here for life.

Neo,

I've never really thought about pigeons. Do you just raise them as pets? Hubby has considered guinea fowl, pheasants and partridge, but never talked about pigeons.

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Post  neogeo20041 Fri Dec 06, 2013 8:46 pm

I used to raise show pigeons. I started keeping them as pets though.
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Post  williemcd Fri Dec 06, 2013 8:51 pm

McG.. Tell your husband to go with the Pheasant!.. I reared them for 4 years in upstate NY as a restoration project. It was hard to let them off to the wild but so rewarding....
I used to keep bird-dogs and couldn't get enough of watching the dogs work a field or corn-patches...
I only "harvested" less than a 1/2 dozen Pheasants until I gave up the pursuit.
They, the dogs, as well as I got such a rush from their instincts....

With that... I've just gotta share a true story about hunting.. and my departure from the sport. But it's more appropriate in a different thread. (Don't wanna over-task the mods with relocating posts!)
Bill

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Post  kat12 Fri Dec 06, 2013 8:57 pm

McGurk wrote:Jules,

I would love to come to the next meeting, I will keep checking back for details.

Both horses are riding horses, but these days I mostly just trail and pleasure ride.  Hubby built me some jump standards and cavaletti for my bday, but every time I think "Ring work or trail ride?"  the answer is always "Trail ride!" :-)  One horse is mine only, the other is what I refer to as a husband/child/guest horse. The pony is my daughter's old pony, and now primarily a pet.  He is *tiny*, and when she outgrew him, we couldn't stand to let him go, so he's here for life.

Neo,

I've never really thought about pigeons.  Do you just raise them as pets?   Hubby has considered guinea fowl, pheasants and partridge, but never talked about pigeons.
My almost 5 year old started riding lessons last spring - if the pony ever needs a rider Very Happy Any chance it is spotted like a cow so I can maybe get my son on a horse - he keeps saying he wants to ride a cow.....

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