I haven't posted about Brick much lately. My large going on huge O is now creating the 'incredible shrinking factor'. My other fish now appear to be getting smaller...but I know that isn't true. My smaller acara Jazz is between 5-6 inches now, and rainbow Pepper is even bigger. Rainbow Salt is at least 5 inches...meanwhile Boss the BP is still palm sized.
Hot mama Pip the redpoint is a 4 inch chunk. I hadn't even realized she put on another inch the past few months because in the 225 it doesn't look it.
Back to Brick. He's stubborn beyond belief. I try to leave the tank 'loosely' aqua scaped so I have a clear area for feeding everyone (less food waste and mess to clean up). He uproots everything and shoves plants against the front glass. Then he jams plants sideways into tangled wads. His nest is dead center in the tank along the back wall. Bare glass surrounded by silk vines and low plants he peeps under.
I fix things, leave the room. The minute I'm gone he rips up everything...as a test I kept 'fixing' the tank one day (5 times). 5 times he tore everything out. His favorite pastime (besides being King) is shredding the fake hornwort plants. The stems are long and soft (24"). I have four plant weights with stumps left after all the stems were ripped free. Every other day I'll find 3 long pieces floating. He won't touch the other plants.
I gave Boss the bp a salt dip a couple of weeks ago. When I put him back Brick raced over to check out his parrot. Satisfied his buddy was ok he went about his buisness. As always Boss was too cool for school.
On days where I'm too busy to spend any time in the fish room Brick will launch his ball out of the tank and on the floor. One time he hit the window sill across the room. Several times I nearly tripped on his ball by mistake because it was near the door.
Brick is also a goofball. He might stand on his head or drift backwards upside down. But only in front of the camera.
The latest nonsense now happens at feeding time. He gets his food first, a combination of shrimp/krill dusted in nutrient powder and pellet stuffed in worm cubes. Everyone else gets a combo of crushed/soft pellets. Brick has long stopped eating straight pellets. So when I drop the pellets in he comes over and gets in the way on purpose. He'll just float while pellets and particles fall over him and refuses to move. At first I thought it was a fluke, but nope. Doofus now does this every time, sitting under a cloud of pellets. The debris sticks to his slime coat in clumps so he looks like he has some bizarre disease. Then he swims away covered in nuggets. The other fish catch what falls off.
Brick hasn't gotten his head stuck in a log recently but that's on his list too. Once in a while he'll allow himself to be 'whiskered' by one of the synos. If they try it when he isn't in the mood he slams them against the glass.
My oscar's no dummy, though. When I try tricking him with pellets stuffed inside his goodies he sifts out as much of the pellet as he can and I get a dirty look. In December the ultimate Drama King turns 4.
Hot mama Pip the redpoint is a 4 inch chunk. I hadn't even realized she put on another inch the past few months because in the 225 it doesn't look it.
Back to Brick. He's stubborn beyond belief. I try to leave the tank 'loosely' aqua scaped so I have a clear area for feeding everyone (less food waste and mess to clean up). He uproots everything and shoves plants against the front glass. Then he jams plants sideways into tangled wads. His nest is dead center in the tank along the back wall. Bare glass surrounded by silk vines and low plants he peeps under.
I fix things, leave the room. The minute I'm gone he rips up everything...as a test I kept 'fixing' the tank one day (5 times). 5 times he tore everything out. His favorite pastime (besides being King) is shredding the fake hornwort plants. The stems are long and soft (24"). I have four plant weights with stumps left after all the stems were ripped free. Every other day I'll find 3 long pieces floating. He won't touch the other plants.
I gave Boss the bp a salt dip a couple of weeks ago. When I put him back Brick raced over to check out his parrot. Satisfied his buddy was ok he went about his buisness. As always Boss was too cool for school.
On days where I'm too busy to spend any time in the fish room Brick will launch his ball out of the tank and on the floor. One time he hit the window sill across the room. Several times I nearly tripped on his ball by mistake because it was near the door.
Brick is also a goofball. He might stand on his head or drift backwards upside down. But only in front of the camera.
The latest nonsense now happens at feeding time. He gets his food first, a combination of shrimp/krill dusted in nutrient powder and pellet stuffed in worm cubes. Everyone else gets a combo of crushed/soft pellets. Brick has long stopped eating straight pellets. So when I drop the pellets in he comes over and gets in the way on purpose. He'll just float while pellets and particles fall over him and refuses to move. At first I thought it was a fluke, but nope. Doofus now does this every time, sitting under a cloud of pellets. The debris sticks to his slime coat in clumps so he looks like he has some bizarre disease. Then he swims away covered in nuggets. The other fish catch what falls off.
Brick hasn't gotten his head stuck in a log recently but that's on his list too. Once in a while he'll allow himself to be 'whiskered' by one of the synos. If they try it when he isn't in the mood he slams them against the glass.
My oscar's no dummy, though. When I try tricking him with pellets stuffed inside his goodies he sifts out as much of the pellet as he can and I get a dirty look. In December the ultimate Drama King turns 4.
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Brick hucked it up with no trouble...?