Aquarium Lab

In keeping with my resolution to regularly monitor the water parameters of my various tanks, I’ve been looking around for some free aquarium management software.  While it isn’t free, the kind folks at SeaApple Software are offering a 30-day trial version of Aquarium Lab, a “complete aquarium tracking software package” that can be downloaded here.  At first glance, it looks like it’s geared towards saltwater aquariums.  Nevertheless, I’ll be giving Aquarium Lab a spin in the next few days, and hopefully have a short write-up on it sometime this weekend.

New Year Resolutions

Similar to everyone else, I’ve taken some time off today to look back at the year that was and to make my resolutions for 2007. While I do have a lot of personal resolutions, I’ve decided to make a few resolutions that pertain specifically to fishkeeping. It’s quite embarrassing to admit, but I sometimes find myself ignoring the very advice I give other people interested in fishkeeping as a hobby. So, without further ado, here are my resolutions for the new year.

Quarantine new fish: One of the most important and basic practices in fishkeeping, I haven’t really quarantined a new fish in a really long time. While I haven’t had any fatalities as a result of my non-existent quarantine procedures, I’m pretty sure I would feel really dumb if I lose some fish by not isolating newly purchased fish. As they say, better safe than sorry.

Spend at least 10 minutes daily observing my fish: Sometimes, the hustle and bustle of everyday life takes over and I end up just asking someone else to feed my fish. The downside with this is that feeding time is, in almost every case, the time when a fishkeeper finds out that something significant, such as a malfunctioning filter or a disease outbreak, has occurred. Just last October, I failed to recognize that two of my six Neolamprologus brichardi paired up and spawned. As a result, the fry count was only four, probably because the others died due to hunger, as I wasn’t able to hatch enough baby brine shrimp (BBS) in time to feed all of them.

Purchase test kits and monitor water parameters regularly: It’s quite comical, really, how I have 8 aquariums of various sizes, and not a single test kit for any of the major water parameters. I used to have some before, but I never bought more once I ran out. It must be the cheapskate in me, considering the price of such kits. Then again, every hobby ends up being more expensive than anticipated, once taken seriously. That being the case, I’m off to look for test kits for pH, ammonia, nitrite and nitrate this weekend and probably test my water parameters weekly.

Hopefully, I have more success keeping these resolutions than I did in trying to keep the ones I made last year…

Sad State of Affairs

On the way home from work today, I stopped by the SM Megamall branch of Bio Research, the Philippines’ largest chain of pet shops, for some fish food. As I was waiting in line, I noticed one of the staff packing up six juvenile Aequidens rivulatus in one bag for some poor unsuspecting customer. After politely telling him that I didn’t think that this was acceptable, he retorted that the fish were just skittish because they were stressed from being bagged.

I can’t help but wonder why the management team of Bio Research, which has such a dominating position in the industry, doesn’t see the merits of properly training and educating employees on topics such as proper fish care, at the very least. I would think that these people understand the basic principles of economics and business, and how the company stands to gain a lot more with a complement of knowledgeable staff, as compared to the status quo. Just take the case of the lady that purchased the six juvenile Aequidens rivulatus. There is a reason why this fish is called the Green Terror, after all, and I’m sure that at least one of them will die before 2007 is over, simply because the lady didn’t seem to know what she was getting herself into by buying this particular cichlid. Furthermore, there is a strong likelihood that this lady’s aquarium will see more deaths since she did not purchase an aquarium, meaning she probably already has an established tank with some community fish in it. In the short-term, Bio Research made a sale of P600, or the equivalent of $12. Now, if the unsuspecting lady who bought these fish gives up on fishkeeping as a hobby due to frustration over the death of her fish, then Bio Research has just lost another potential “regular” who could have easily brought in around P500 to P1,000 in revenues annually. Even if she doesn’t abandon fishkeeping altogether, chances are, her dissatisfaction with Bio Research will probably make her shop somewhere else.

Among the hobbyists I know, only a few have decidedly good experiences with Bio Research. I can’t imagine just how much potential revenue the management of Bio Research is giving up by neglecting to properly train the company’s employees. Considering that it is in their best interest to promote fishkeeping as a hobby, it’s a pity that stuff like this has to happen. Hopefully, they figure things out sooner than later.

Merry Christmas

Just a quick greeting to all of my friends.  Merry Christmas!!!  I hope everyone’s having a grand time.  I sure am having a fine Christmas, though it would have been better if I was in Xiamen with my family.

Blog Interrupted

I was going to start working on an “About Me” page tonight, but seeing that today is the 10th anniversary of a car accident that left me paralyzed from waist-down, I’ve decided to spend the evening reflecting on Real Life™.

Regular programming resumes tomorrow, December 21st.

In the meantime, I highly recommend visiting the PCA Forums for your daily cichlid fix.

Stroke of Genius

On my way home this evening I was playing around with a few ideas on what would be an appropriate title for my new blog. In my efforts to find one that would capture the essence of my fascination with fishkeeping and aquaria in general, I finally found what I think is a fairly suitable one. Considering that I primarily keep cichlids, and, according to some of my not-so-supportive friends, I sometimes do stupid things for the sake of my hobby, I’m pretty sure that nothing my limited creative juices could come up with would match Cichlidiot. Luckily, nobody had the subdomain reserved on WordPress, so I guess I have the blessing of the powers that be. That’s one task out of the way. Now to find some suitable content for Cichlidiot.

Taking the Plunge

After several short-lived escapades with blogging over the past three years, I’ve decided to start yet another online journal, on yet another topic altogether — fishkeeping. While I’m sure that this blog will receive its fair share of digressions in the form of Real Life™ rants, among other things, I’ve promised myself to keep such posts to a minimum and concentrate on my complementary hobbies of photography and fishkeeping. Hopefully, this endeavor meets more success than my previous forays into the world of online publishing.