That Fish Blog – Aquarium Advice and Information

How many times have we been working on our aquariums and done something that made us utter that phrase (or something more colorful, perhaps)? Maintaining aquariums can sometimes be a chore, and sometimes it can be downright dangerous, whether for us or for or fish. Bad things don’t just happen to newbies! I thought it might be interesting to find some examples of “oh, crap” moments, mostly from people who work at That Fish Place, just to show that even experts have bad days when it comes to keeping fish and corals. Read More »

I spend a few minutes each day looking for news and other information that might be of interest to blog readers and hobbyists. While perusing one of my favorite websites, Underwatertimes.com. While it was a slow day in respects to fish and aquarium related news, I did come across an entertaining article about a group of Florida Keys Divers who are attempting to break the Guinness Book of World Records for extreme underwater ironing.  That’s right, extreme underwater ironing. I am not sure what is more interesting, the fact that there is such a thing, or that there is a Guinness record for it.  All you need to know about the sport is on the Extreme Ironing Bureau website, “Welcome to the home of extreme ironing – the latest danger sport that combines the thrills of an extreme outdoor activity with the satisfaction of a well-pressed shirt”.  Man, I thought fish geeks were a weird bunch.

I love being on and in the water, diving, snorkling, and watching what goes on down there with fish and other reef inhabitants, but I’ve never come across anyone pressing their laundry! This got me to wondering what other weird underwater activities have I missed out on, and all I can say is WOW.  Here’s some of what I found:

Underwater Hairdressing –  David Rae recently set the Guinness record for underwater hairdressing, cutting 33 peoples hair in one hour, in 3 meters of water.

Underwater Juggling – Hannes “kann es” Neumann from Hannover, Germany owns the record for underwater juggling, in 2009 Hannes juggled underwater for 49 minutes, 53 seconds.

Underwater Tic-Tac-Toe –  Divers in Melbourne, Australia set out to break the record for consecutive hours of underwater tic-tac-toe playing of 24 hours.  The goal of the diving crew was to play for 36 hours strait.

Underwater Hockey – who needs ice to play hockey?  Yes it is serious, very, very serious.  For more information click here.

Underwater Pumpkin Carving – right here in our neck of the woods, the York Divers held an underwater pumpkin carving contest in 2009 to celebrate thanksgiving.

Underwater Mail Service – the tiny South Pacific Island paradise of Vanuatu, has what they claim to be the only underwater post office.  Located 9 feet 10 inches underwater, patrons can snorkel or scuba dive to the fiberglass hut on the seafloor to purchase and mail waterproof postcards!

Maybe people have a bit too much time on their hands…Thank God for the internet, so they can share their fun with us.

Until next blog,

Dave

So this is the final part of this long blog series highlighting my favorites…here are my final five:

Paretroplus tsimoly, for all purposes, looks and behaves like P. nourissati. The main difference in appearance is that the area along its throat and its bottom lip is blue (or sometimes black), depending on its mood. This particular species is vulnerable in the wild due to habitat loss.
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Hello, Jason here. Working in the fishroom at That Fish Place, I have a great opportunity to learn and discover new things about the fish and inverts so many people love to keep in their aquariums. My co-workers (being science majors and marine bio graduates) are able to work closely with these animals, observing captive behaviors and sometimes having the time to experiment with how they can keep the fish happier while they are held at our facility. Recently, we’ve been experimenting in our holding tanks –  I thought might share one of our recent tests, if for no other reason than to explain what you might see if you visit.  Read More »

This coming weekend, That Fish Place/That Pet Place will celebrate its 37^th year.  Our Anniversary sale is more than just great specials and deals.  One of the great features of our spring event are the free seminars and workshops that we have offered over the years.  This year Julian Sprung, renowned author and aquarium expert, will be here on Saturday April 17^th to do two presentations for us, and on Sunday April 18^th our very own Cory Shank, will host a workshop for our customers. Read More »