Angkor Wat

[WhistlingBadger]

Thanks, everybody! I like the variety too. Some say a tank looks better with huge schools of just a few species, and that's probably more natural, too. But I really like all the different stuff going on. Maybe that's just a reflection of what the inside of my mind looks like. ha ha ha

[Boundava]

Looks great Tom, I also love the variety of fish in there and your plants are doing so well! Thanks for the update and I hope you are able to post more often if life slows down a bit for you.

[WhistlingBadger]

I was just reading Lee's @steeler58 journal, and enjoying catching up on his life as well as his aquariums. I'll throw in a few personal details here to explain why I haven't been around all that much lately. In absolutely no order of importance or anything else:

--In a previous musical incarnation, I was a fairly accomplished classical musician, with the euphonium as my axe of choice. The local orchestra recently asked me to dust off my horn to take the solo part on Holst's "Mars, the Bringer of War" next month. (google it--it's a truly awesome piece of music; and OH those euphonium solos!) So, I'm cramming to get my euph chops back.

--I am also working on a new CD. It will be called "Strengthen," and it's shaping up to be my best work so far. It's a collection of songs by and about my mom, who was probably the bravest person I've ever known; she died about three years ago and I've been working on these songs since then. But on a more general level, the songs are about facing adversity with faith, grace, and love. I'm hoping to do some recording this spring/summer, and possibly release this fall.

--I got a new bow last fall, a black locust self-bow. I've decided to really get serious about accuracy with this thing. My goal is to be able to consistently hit a softball at thirty yards. So I've been out shooting targets and/or whacking rabbits whenever the weather is warm enough.

--Mrs. Badger got a new job as a high school math teacher last month. She earned her masters in math about ten years ago, but she has only taught math one year. So she's happy to be using her expertise finally, but it's a bit overwhelming trying to get back up to speed, in addition to all the extra garbage that comes with being a first year teacher.

--My own job took a turn for the worse a couple years ago. I keep hoping the pendulum will swing back, but the bad stuff hasn't really changed and there's no real prospect for it to. To be honest, it's had me pretty down for a long time, and it's a struggle to keep a good attitude.

--Last fall, I started studying tae kwan do again after a 20 year hiatus. About a year ago I had my running stride analyzed to try to find out why I keep getting injured. Verdict: I'm old. But I can stave off injuries, the PT guy said, but doing all these exercises to strengthen my core and get more flexible. Well, I don't know if you've ever done PT exercises, but man. What a drag. After a few months of struggle, I came to the conclusion that I HAD to find a way to make this fun, because I just don't have the will power to do a bunch of exercises I hate after dealing with needy kids all day. So, I decided to start studying martial arts again. This accomplishes the same basic goals of strength and flexibility, with added bonuses: 1. I get to kick the daylights out of stuff, 2. There is some practical self-defense value, and 3. If I stick with it, I will probably be approaching black belt level right around the time the Badgerling starts dating. Never hurts to think ahead.

4. I have some really challenging spiritual stuff going on that is forcing me to really think through, study out, and articulate my beliefs in ways that I haven't before. This will be a good thing in the long run, but it takes a lot of time and mental energy.

So, yeah, a few things going on. I've been really loving my aquariums, but not a lot of time to post on the good old A.C. I do often think about and miss you all around here, though, and I'll try to get back in more often.

Cheers--
Thomas

[steeler58]

It sounds like you have a nice full "life plan" for yourself there Tom, my best wish's too you
I wish I would have listened to my father sooner about hard work, I honestly believe I've put at least 10 years back on my life by loosing 40 lbs through all the extra exercise I've done the last 4 years.

Thanks for the mention

[Slaphppy7]

Thanks for the update Thomas, and good luck on all of your endeavors.

[WhistlingBadger]

So has anyone else noticed that TWS's newsletters have been heavily leaning toward southeast Asia lately? Today I read about these guys:

p3304956590-2.jpg

Wow, I need a bigger tank.

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[steeler58]

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[steeler58]

Here's a book for you my friend ;-)

[WhistlingBadger]

Wow, Lee, that looks amazing.

I'm kind of worried about "Hannah," my little snakeskin gourami. She isn't eating well, or growing as fast as she should, and she has sort of a skinny, head-too-big-for-her-body look. I'm worried she might have worms or something. Anybody have any suggestions? @angelcraze2, you've dealt with things like this, right?

[angelcraze2]

Oh no! Doesn't sound good wht a fish suddenly looks smaller. Yes, I have dealt with this! I thought my male angel (first one to waste) was one of the females. I just noticed he looked smaller one day.

How long have you had her? She didn't show up stunted or anything? Do you see any poop?

For me, I saw something pink at the vent of some of my fish. I saw it maybe 3 times. Just a pink dot. It was when the light first turns on, I think callamanus worms might be nocturnal. I didn't even think it was anything, but it turned out to be callamanus, so apparently it was something.

I used Levamisole dewormer first. This confirmed callamanus worms as I saw some hanging from the vent of one fish after treating. Levamisole is the go-to for callamanus.

I followed this link exactly
https://www.loaches.com/Members/shar...ydrochloride-1

It might not be callamanus though. It could be hexamita, or other protozoa. Just curious, do you have Praziquantel or metronidazole?