Some friends of ours here in Cleveland just finished school and moved to Arizona this week. Two days before pulling out of town, they realized that they still hadn't found a new home for their goldfish and tank. They offered up the whole package to anyone willing to take it. So I did.
The package was two goldfish, a tetra, and a crawdad. Included was a 10-gallon tank, a wooden stand, and all the food and treatment accessories that I needed. I asked about how the crawdad is with the goldfish...do they play nice, etc. My friend told me that the crawdad will eat smaller fish (guppies, for example) if I get one from the pet store that's too small, or swims too closely to the crawdad. I went to pick it all up from their house, and by the time I got home, the crawdad had gotten hold of the tetra, so we're down one now. Oops!
Well, the first task was to clean the tank. It had lots of algae on the inside, and lots of hard water crusted on the filter casing and the lid. Since it was mostly empty for transport anyway, I figured it was a good opportunity to do a thorough cleaning of the whole thing. So we put the creatures in glass bowls and went to work.
I was talking to my mom (about something completely separate from this), and she suggested I just put the tank in the dishwasher to take care of the algae. Aren't moms smart? I turned off the high temperature settings on the dishwasher (to protect the sealant holding panes of glass together), took out the top rack of the dishwasher, and loaded it up. I had to turn it and re-configure it a couple of times before I could close the door, but it worked.
When it came out, we used a sponge dipped in vinegar and water to clean the rest up. I think it looks pretty snazzy now.
Today I went to the pet store to see if the crawdad could be in the same tank as an algae-eater. The guy at the pet store said that the crawdad would probably eat him. Darn...that would help my cleaning of the tank. Actually, I'm a little bummed out about this, because I'd've named it Barley, to go along with Couscous the crawdad. Oh well.
The package was two goldfish, a tetra, and a crawdad. Included was a 10-gallon tank, a wooden stand, and all the food and treatment accessories that I needed. I asked about how the crawdad is with the goldfish...do they play nice, etc. My friend told me that the crawdad will eat smaller fish (guppies, for example) if I get one from the pet store that's too small, or swims too closely to the crawdad. I went to pick it all up from their house, and by the time I got home, the crawdad had gotten hold of the tetra, so we're down one now. Oops!
Well, the first task was to clean the tank. It had lots of algae on the inside, and lots of hard water crusted on the filter casing and the lid. Since it was mostly empty for transport anyway, I figured it was a good opportunity to do a thorough cleaning of the whole thing. So we put the creatures in glass bowls and went to work.
I was talking to my mom (about something completely separate from this), and she suggested I just put the tank in the dishwasher to take care of the algae. Aren't moms smart? I turned off the high temperature settings on the dishwasher (to protect the sealant holding panes of glass together), took out the top rack of the dishwasher, and loaded it up. I had to turn it and re-configure it a couple of times before I could close the door, but it worked.
When it came out, we used a sponge dipped in vinegar and water to clean the rest up. I think it looks pretty snazzy now.
Today I went to the pet store to see if the crawdad could be in the same tank as an algae-eater. The guy at the pet store said that the crawdad would probably eat him. Darn...that would help my cleaning of the tank. Actually, I'm a little bummed out about this, because I'd've named it Barley, to go along with Couscous the crawdad. Oh well.
1 comment:
Moms really are smart, of course we don't seem to realize that when we're living with them. The fish tank looks really nice and I can't believe how long it's been since I have read your blog, there is so much I have been missing. Julie is so beautiful and sooo little, still. Is your life just turned upside down? I am a huge Jason Castro fan too.
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