Paul B's thread

[Paul B]

I got another one of these guys to help my other one eat asternia starfish. I have not seen either of them. I think they are in the back "Mushing it up" as my Mother called it. But I need them eating not "Mushing it up".
If they wanted to do that, they should have stayed in the store.



I haven't seen these guys in a few months but this week I see them. They got much bigger so they shed. They love eating new born brine shrimp and do this little macarana dance when I squirt some near them. They also love a live worm every day for dessert.



This guy also loves baby shrimp but after the shrimp are gone he trys to eat anything that is floating by which is mainly bubbles. He has been catching bubbles for months. I would imagine that would be a good way for us to lose weight.


This guy colored up nicely in the few months I have him




As did this guy who I am very partial to.



These guys spawn like every three and a half minutes. It's unbelievable. They don't even have to spawn because the female is always so full, that she "Leaks" eggs all over the place.




This guy loves to eat pieces of clam. I never told him he is a vegetarian. I got him as a tiny baby but I don't remember where or when. (That was a song title)
I am sure it was many years ago because I don't remember not having him. But I don't remember much

 

[CAPSLOCK]

I love that little possum wrasse

 

[Paul B]

He loves you too.

 

[Paul B]

Speaking of eating:
I remember some guys in Viet Nam tried the Beatles, but I passed on that because C Rations were so delicious.

Guys in the Army do all sorts of stupid things. In training for Gas warfare they gave us this really big hypodermic needle that we were supposed to stick in our leg when they yelled "GAS".

It wasn't really gas (i know that because the drill instructors didn't have gas masks on) and since I went to high school and everything, I knew that. So they yelled "GAS" and everybody dropped to the ground and stuck this ice pick looking thing into their leg. Everybody except me of course because of that high school thing. I made sure I was near a tree when they yelled "GAS" so I was able to stick the thing into the tree and break the needle off, then I put it on my leg like it was stuck there and I screamed in pain. (I am a good actor)

No one found out. Like I can't believe there are so many people stupid enough to fall for that.

It's like when I got certified for SCUBA diving. We were in this very muddy lagoon here in NY. It was about 20' deep with zero viability. We were supposed to swim around the boat four times and every time we passed the instructor we had to show him the handful of bottom mud that we just swam down to the scurvy bottom to get.
Everyone, except me of course, swam down to the bottom 4 times to get mud. I just carried the same mud that I grabbed on my first dive and kept swimming around. High school paid off.

 

[Jim Tansey]

Paul I'm thinking starting a blackwork culture and have been doing some research but I have a real basic question, because of the location I have a source of DI water but no filtered tap water for rinsing, can I rinse using DI water? Maybe this isn't the appropriate thread but I figured you would see it.

Jim

 

[Paul B]

I use tap water. There is no need to use anything else. Mine live in tap water.

 

[pauldrapeau]

Paul, I just wanted to say Hi and let you know I'm reading along here and on some other forums. Your threads and your tank are great and definitely inspired changes in how I think about the hobby. My favorite line of all time has to be "This is a hobby so there is no need to battle anything, if you want to battle, tell your wife she looks fat in those shorts." Thanks for sharing this stuff... Keep it up

 

[Paul B]

Paul, don't read everything I say or you may substitute sawdust instead of seawater. Sometimes I write this stuff just after a few glasses of Grand Marnier.

 

[pauldrapeau]

Paul, don't read everything I say or you may substitute sawdust instead of seawater. Sometimes I write this stuff just after a few glasses of Grand Marnier.

That's ok, I'm usually reading this stuff after a few glasses of Maker's Mark

 

[Paul B]

Yesterday we had a house guest overnight. One of my wife's friends that she knows all her life. We also invited 2other people and I made a fantastic meal of stuffed calamari, Cippilini (Italian onions pronounced Choopalines)
Grilled eggplant (sliced as thin as potato chips with a garlic balsamic reduction) risotto and a big pot of Manhattan Clam Chowder. (my specialty) with fresh clams and some fresh Italian bread with great wines.
To make this about my tank, my fish got some extra clam and squid pieces, but not much. They were still hungry so I let them eat cake.

 

[Chris A.]

You put water in my mouth, and not salty one Now I have to make my sister make me baked stuffed calamari.

 

[Paul B]

My secret ingredient is I take one or two hot peppers in oil and put it in a small blender with some of the oil that comes in the jar. Blend that up with about 6 garlic cloves (that you just sautéed) to add to the stuffing.

 

[Chris A.]

I don’t know exactly what she puts in hers but it’s rice, chorico , butcher cut bacon and the tentacles. It’s so good

 

[Paul B]

MMMMmmmmm

 

[Paul B]

I have so many whiteworms I don't know what to do with all of them. They really seem to like grain bread much better than regular whole wheat or rye. I got 1,675,327 worms and thats just the adults. I have twice that many youngsters and I have no idea how many babies. My mandarin thinks he died and went to fish heaven. And I accidentally dropped some in my container with about 200 asternia stars and they are still alive 4 days later.
I am not sure how long they live in seawater but maybe they live forever.
We had our last open house today and got three great offers so it looks like tomorrow we will pick the highest one and sell the house.

 

[charged45]

Congrats on the offers. How difficult is cultivating the white worms?

 

[Paul B]

It's very easy, they eat bread and not mush else.

 

[Paul B]

So one more person was coming to the house today with a real estate broker to see if they want to buy the place.

So as I am waiting for them my wife and I are doing last minute straightening out although my house is so clean you could do an appendectomy on my floor. Anyway they were arriving any minute.
We have a very nice finished basement here where my tank is, my workshop, the boiler room, wash room etc and I like to show it off.
(I built part of the ceiling with aluminum slats from the World Trade Center because I worked on the construction of it in the 70s.

Anyway, I see the people park outside and they start walking up my walkway. I figured I would go downstairs to put the lights on because the real estate agent always tells me to put all the lights on.
The people ring the bell as I try to go downstairs, I reach for the door knob and it turns, BUT THE DOOR WONT OPEN. OMG!!!!. I yell for my wife to TAKE THEN UPSTAIRS. As they go up the stairs I get a knife and try to open the door.

It won't open. Usually you can push in the striker on a door and it will open. But Nope, It won't budge.....OMG again. I yell up to tell my wife to tell the people about the central vacuum system.
My tools are in my workshop downstairs, and I CANT get downstairs. The knife isn't working. I yell up to tell my wife to EXPLAIN THE BACK DECK TO THEM....
I run outside to my garage to get a big screwdriver, as I come in, I yell for my wife to SHOW THEM THE STORAGE SPACES......AAAAAAHhhhhhhh!!!!!

I hear their footsteps coming down the stairs, My wife ran out of things to show them, my hands are shaking,,,,,I am sweating,,,,,,,OMG,,OMG,, they get to the bottom of the stairs,,,,, and just as they were about to turn their heads in my direction, the door pops open.

I quickly hide the screwdriver behind my back while being careful not to close the door. They go downstairs and OOh and AAH about the fish tank, new boiler, solar panels, and every thing else.

We have lived here almost 40 years, that door never had a problem and I practically live down there. What are the chances a real estate agent would show up at the exact moment the door breaks. I didn't have half a second to spare.

 

[Chris A.]

Someone gave you a helping hand on the other side

 

[Paul B]

If I was not home and they went downstairs, they would have been stuck there because from that side, there is no way to open the door without smashing it, and people buying a house frown on that sort of thing.