Site News:
(July 31st) Suddenly it hit me why this homepage is so bad looking. It's a remnant of when I only had one tank. So right now I'm changing it to be an index of the whole site. I'm also overhauling the whole site. Links are being updated, text formatted, by the end of the day the site will be looking much better. However, it is still largely under construction so bare with me.

(July 30th) I've really been bad about updating. I've just been too lazy to get off my lazy ass and sit it back down to work on the site. For an example of a properly maintained site, (my personal website,) visit here, www.smithbridges.com/Reid. Meanwhile, I'll try to keep this thing up.

On-Site Links	Off-Site Links
Tanks - Info on my 60G, 45G, 20G, and 15G	Aquaria Central - Check the Forums
The Equipment Page	Fishy Forums - A new Forum site
Some pictures of the Fish	Big Al's - Possibly the cheapest place to get all your supplies
Tin Foil Barbs	Aquatic-Store - The owner was kind enough to help me with a CO2 setup.
	A Friend's Aquarium Site - One of my friends  has another tank site very similar to this one.
If you have any questions, feel free to email me: [email protected]

Hits since 10-26-02: As of 8:40 PM, (Eastern Time,) of August 4th 2003, there where 1034 Unique Page Hits on this website. This sentence will have to do until I get a working Hit Counter.

History: This is updated as often as possible, so check back.

Introduction:
In the beginning, it was 4 piranhas. Then I was about 3 years old, so I can't say I remember much of it. I've had fish all my life since then, (even the piranhas were at home before I was,) except for a brief hiatus I took for about 6 months between moves. Then, when I started up, it was an under stocked tank, with the same Cory, pleco, Dusky, and tetra, along with a male beta. At that time there was a Whisper 3 and 4 installed, same heater and different Whisper 4. Anyway, that was about January 2001. Surprising, none of the fish (except for the notoriously unhearty Beta,) died during the move (August 2001,) during which I had left the tank and all it's occupants with an inexperienced caretaker who did not change the filters, most likely overfed the fish once or twice a week, and provided little fresh water, (it wasn't his fault, I had neglected to give him any instructions.) This went on until about March 2002. Then, the fish moved into the new house, and were given a new Whisper 4 to replace the old 3, and proper care. Since then it was a tumultuous period for them; many fish were added and died. But in recent history-
    I added 5 Gouramies (3 Dwarfs and 2 Paradise), 2 Red-tailed Sharks, a (different) Frog, and a Bleeding Heart Tetra, the 2 Iridescent Sharks, along with 3 Cardinal Tetras. Let the following be a guide, hopefully you will not make the same mistakes as I did. First, 3 Cardinal Tetras had a lifespan of about 2 hours in my tank. They're just to damn small. Next, an Iridescent lost an eye, (don't ask me how.) Followed by the loss of 50% of the Bleeding Heart Tetra's vision. The Red-Tailed Sharks mercilessly chased each other down, (the Fish guy had neglected to tell me that they should be kept one per tank, as should Male Betas,) and within 2 months one Red-Tailed had fallen victim. So now, of the above fish, there are only the 5 Gouramies, 1 Frog, and 1 Bleeding Heart Tetra who's fate have yet to be explained. The following is an account of what I commonly refer to as the 'Gouramie Holocaust.'
   Shortly after the one Red-Tailed Shark had fallen victim to Death, Body Never Recovered, (BNR), the Frog passed on. BNR. Next, the Tetra joined the graveyard. BNR. 1 Paradise Gouramie, BNR. 1 Red Dwarf Gouramie, Body Recovered, (BR). Now, don't take me for stupid, I knew something was up... but what? Even as I was thinking about that nagging question, I discovered 1 less Paradise, BNR. Shortly after, the last remaining Red Dwarf Gouramie went AWOL, BNR. Back to the original setup, plus the 2 Iridescent and 1 Red-Tailed Sharks. So I got another Frog, along with the Silver Dollar. The Frog took on floating status within the day, and was returned and replaced with the present Frog.
   Next came the period of transition. Originally, I was posed to get some angels, and therefore keep my tank on the Communality, even if close to semi-aggressive, level. But, by that week's end, I had decided against it. Now, (September 2002), I finally made my choice. I purchased 2 Tin Foil Barbs, 1 Alligator Gar (not the needlenose I have now,) the Bala Shark, and the tadpole. The Tin Foil Barbs melted with the Silver Dollar; he thinks he is a Tin Foil now. So did the Bala Shark. I feed the Needlenose Rosy Red Minnows, (feeder fish,) which he consumed at the rate of about a dozen in a half week, although my favorite fish, the Red-Tailed Shark, may have had something to do with this. The Tin Foil Barbs caught onto Medium Cichlid Pellets right away, and within about a month, so did the Silver Dollar. The Tin Foil Barbs are absolutely the most aggressive feeders I have ever seen- they swim around, catching food as they go. Shortly after, about 1 week later, the Alligator Gar jumped ship. BR on the floor. We got a replacement Needlenose Gar, which are not as long and do not grow to be as large. This fish also ate feeders- mostly Rosy Reds and Guppies. However, it is just as much a binge eater as the previous Alligator Gar. By the Way, I am aware of the fact that alligator gars are far to large to keep in a home aquarium, I am not sure if it was indeed an alligator gar, yet I had planned on selling it back to the LFS in a year anyway. Anyway, now the Gar has been 'trained' to eat medium cichlid pellets, while I setup my Guppy Breeding Commune downstairs. More on that later. But, as of now, I am going through some overstocking issues, and trying to get those resolved. There are just to many fish in the tank, and if I were to put in any more I'd have to force them in with a crowbar. So any suggestions to the tank are welcome, just drop me a line at [email protected].

November 17th, 2002:
Sold the Catfish and Pleco. Bought another African Clawed Frog, along with an Egeria Densia, or Anacharis, live plant.

November 26th, 2002:
The Tadpole was gone when I got home, and I haven't seen him since. The large frog, (the first,) looks even larger... although it would be a stretch for him to take out a tadpole.

November 28th, 2002:
The Anacharis plants have been multiplying ever since I got them. What was originally 6 stems purchased from my LFS are now 8, with 5 of them having risen to a pretty tall height, and may have to be trimmed soon. The stems will go in my new 60 Gallon tank, or will be sold to my LFS, Aquanest, on 1565 Opdyke Road.

December 14th, 2002:
I've been quite busy as of late, so I haven't had much time to update the site. I am back now, and Christmas break starts in a week. Anyway, you may have noticed a change in my 'inhabitants' list - one less Iridescent shark. On the 12th, I noticed him simply laying there in the plants. Damn. He wasn't dead yet, but it was inevitable. His eye, it appeared, had been scratched or fallen out entirely, (the other iridescent had lost his eye before.) A couple hours later, he was gone. I took him out and snapped a few pictures, and then took him to the garbage. The next day was garbage day, so all easily done.

 

May 23, 2003:
Evidently High School is a little more time consuming than last year. Don’t think I’ve forgotten about this site – I’ve just had no time. But with 14 days of ‘school’ left, I can pretty much stop working hard. The majority of my time was spent writing a 17-page research paper on D-Day. As you would suspect, a lot has happened to me and my fish since I last updated this place seriously. I have now set up a 60 Gallon Tank, (I took pictures while setting up, which I will post soon I hope,) around Christmastime. It has been a fairly productive tank, and my first big expedition into live planting. Although the current stock is not very colorful, the plants compensate. Click here (soon) for a stocking list similar to that for the 45 Gallon at the top of the page.

The 45 Gallon tank has undergone some massive changes – equipment and livestock. The Silver Dollar died a month or two ago, but it was his time – we bought him ‘used’ a few years ago. We replaced him with a smaller Bala shark, but he got moved into the 60 Gallon because he was a bit too small. We added another Bala large enough to hold his own. The other Iridescent died quite a long time ago. The frogs have both grown pretty well. The Tin Foil Barbs have grown enormously, especially now that they tend to eat more live food.

A few months ago I came home to a Gar with an upper jaw snapped off – don’t ask me how he did it. Anyway, I assumed it would be his time, but I wasn’t so heartless as to kill him then. I was told the jaw wouldn’t grow back, and it seemed logical as it appears to be a cartilage-based structure. He had lost about 2 inches. However, it has since grown back – almost all of it, although what little remains missing has not hindered him at all.

I’ve bought two Red Jewels also. They seem to be about as aggressive as the red-tailed shark was, (before they were added.)

I bought two snails, (one has since died,) and the other just started to do a really good job cleaning the tank. I replaced the lights, (although they are different kinds of lights, so the lighting does not match, I will replace the ‘bad’ one,) bought a lava rock, and put two other rocks in the 60 Gallon. I also got a new air pump.