What To Do? Any Ideas?

[SF_Beast]

What to do?

Here is the dilemma, I just found out that I will be deploying to Iraq some time in Jan. My wife is not the whole fish keeping fan I wish she was. With that said, what do I do with all my cichlids.

A) Try to get her up to speed on the care of the fish, and upkeep of the tank.

B) Give the fish to someone to keep that I know will take care of them.

Not sure what other options I have. I will be gone for 6 to 7 months. Any suggestions please let me know. I have 2 tanks at this moment. A 180g and 55g.

:mad0259:

 

[mscichlid]

I think B is your better bet.


Sorry to hear you have to go over there. Stay strong and safe. Convert those soldiers to CCA members

 

[Artee]

and maybe the iraqis too, you never know !! Pat may be able to achieve his 150 goal before the years end.



<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (mscichlid @ Oct 28 2008, 07:11 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div>

I think B is your better bet.


Sorry to hear you have to go over there. Stay strong and safe. Convert those soldiers to CCA members[/b]

 

[dogofwar]

I'd also recommend having someone look after your fish... probably after winnowing down your collection to what's really special to you...

Stay safe!

Matt

 

[F8LBITE]

Thanks for serving for us.


Sucks about having to get rid of the fish, I like the idea of downsizing and keeping your favs.

 

[maddog10]

Thanks for serving, be safe!

You can hire an aquarium maintenance company to look after your tanks while you are gone. Can be pricey though.

 

[SF_Beast]

Some good ideas, I think I may go with keeping the few I don't want to part with. I would imagine with the type of filtration that I have in the 180g I could get away with keeping a couple of fish in there and teach my wife how to do a water change every week and a half or so. I have to work during the next CCA meeting, but I'm going to try and get the day off. Odds are I will donate the rest for auction. Thanks for the insight...

Oh, I will see about getting some of the Iraqis in on some membership too. If the don't already have a club...LOL

-SMITTY

 

[dogofwar]

Good idea - a really understocked 180g with good filtration can go more than a week or two without a water change... Do you have a Python water changer?

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (SF_Beast @ Oct 28 2008, 10:12 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div>

Some good ideas, I think I may go with keeping the few I don't want to part with. I would imagine with the type of filtration that I have in the 180g I could get away with keeping a couple of fish in there and teach my wife how to do a water change every week and a half or so. I have to work during the next CCA meeting, but I'm going to try and get the day off. Odds are I will donate the rest for auction. Thanks for the insight...

Oh, I will see about getting some of the Iraqis in on some membership too. If the don't already have a club...LOL

-SMITTY[/b]

 

[Fishfreak69]

Hey bud,
I am not local to you as I am probably 12 hours away but I would like to add a few words. First off, I do want to say THANK YOU SO MUCH for EVERYTHING you contribute to our society as a whole. You, and people like yourself, are the ones that people like myself look up to. People that serve our country to provide other Americans the opportunity for our everyday duties, freedom, and one of the most important things "the ability to buy African Cichlids!!!" (LOL) are my personal heroes.

With that being said; I would probably give them to a close friend of yours to take care of them that knows what they are doing. I am sure that one of the fellow hobbyists in your area might be inclined to do it for you; I would, however, I am 12 hours away ...

Thanks for your courage and patronage!!
JPK

 

[Frank Cowherd]

I also want to thank you for your service.

As for the fish, I think you should get your wife to take care of them particularly if you can simplify the maintenance for her. You can do things like
lower the temperature some so that the fish will not reproduce while you are gone.
Feed once a day or every other day. Feeding less will maintain the water quality in good shape for a much longer time than feeding to get the fish larger or to get them to reproduce. Thus less maintenance.
Do a simple water change like once a week or once a month by simply draining out XX % of the tank water and replacing with tap water. If you do this with 10% change once a week, and mark the 10% level on the tank, you can probably get by without getting out the chlorine or adjusting the temperature. But if you are doing say a 50% water change once a month then you will have to teach her how to add dechlor and adjust the temperature.
For feeding which is the critical part since overfeeding is the most common cause of diseases and death in the aquarium, use a specific measuring spoon to make sure only the right amount of food is fed. And make sure you indicate heaping or level. Write the amount of food on the front of the tank, or wherever on the tank, so there is no memory required.


Just a suggestion or two on how to get a non-fish person to take care of your fish. But you get the idea. You will have to work out the specifics. And now days, if she has a problem, you are likely only a phone call or an email away.

Frank

 

[animicrazy]

I like Franks ideas; I'll add a few of my own.

Keep your fish - unless you really just don't like some of them.

Add more filtration (I have plenty if you need something - glad to donate to the cause). A fluidized bed filter is really no maintenance and is the most efficient way of removing ammonia and nitrites.

Dry foods foul a tank faster than "real" foods. Hikari frozen blood worms are easy to dispense and can give the tank a break from dry foods every couple of days.

Frank has a good point about doing small water changes but Prime is really easy to use.

I'm sure that someone nearby would help if needed.

Good luck over there; be safe!!

TMS