Whoa! I finally gathered up my courage to do a livestream on YouTube. I had a blast and I definitely will be doing it again. I had so much support from my audience that I'm not scared to do it anymore :) Cheers!

Hahaha, Bob from Steenfott Aquatics dropped by! :D

The Philippines to visit my family sure has been a wild ride! Some of the aquatic-related adventures we've been able to squeeze in: a horse back ride to a small waterfall in the tropical rainforest; seeing fish survive against all odds in the polluted waters of the city; dipped our feet in a fish spa; and a close encounter with a sea lion! On top of the absolutely crazy traffic :) 

Woohoo! Time to see my family in the Philippines for the holidays! Only drawback? None of my animals and plants can come with us :( Since we are gone for a pretty long time (longer than 2 weeks) I dropped my lizards off at a boarding facility and also spent a lot of time preparing my fish for vacation. I wouldn't recommend asking someone to take care of your fish unless you are gone for longer than a week and a half AND they are an experienced fish person you know you can trust (in this case, my friend that is taking care of my fish is a WAY better breeder than I am). It all comes down to how well you know your fish!

Major things to consider:

1) If you know you are going to be gone for a long time, PLAN AHEAD. Don't spawn fish and have tiny, vulnerable fry in your tanks right before you leave! (Unless it's unavoidable/unplanned, then you have no choice). If someone is looking after your fish, all fish should be able to eat the easiest to measure food possible, like dry pellets with a measuring spoon. Put fish in the largest volume tanks they can be in with tankmates that you know will be peaceful pairings. The larger the volume = the more stable the water parameters.

2) Make the last major changes at least 2 days before you leave. This gives your fish time to settle down so you can observe their real behavior before you go. If someone is taking care of your fish, you can accurately measure out exactly how much you want them to feed. 
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3) Water changes at least a day before you leave. These don't have to be major ones. Again, you need at least a day so you can observe your fish.

4) Don't overfeed the fish! If you have been taking care of your fish well, then they don't need any help surviving a week without food!

5) If someone is taking care of your fish, leave EXPLICIT, SPECIFIC instructions on both paper AND on the tanks. I use bright yellow tags as tank ID's and blue painter's tape for instructions so that everything stands out very easily.

6) Put everything on timers. Seriously, it makes everything so much easier (even when you aren't on vacation). 

Some people recommend dimming the lights, shortening the light cycle, cooling the temperature, etc. etc. I like to keep everything exactly the same. It's up to you if you want to experiment trying to slow down their metabolism. I just find it easier not to change anything that I don't absolutely have to. 

Happy Holidays Everyone!

Due to copyright issues with the music I embedded into the previous upload (sigh...always check copyright law) I had to re-upload this video. Totally worth it though! Jim specializes in Nothobranchius killifish, which are gorgeous peat spawners that have a significant incubation time. An engineer at heart, Jim has streamlined his entire fish room for both effectiveness and efficiency. I learned a LOT from him! Thanks Jim!

Took a quick video of feeding my gardneri killifish and an unboxing of a very special species of killifish...Fundulopanchex sjoestedti Loe!!! This is a different location that the previous Loe than the pair I had a long time ago. I think I have enough room to devote to this beautiful species and I'm hoping that I can do them justice! Crossing my fingers...

My dragons were being pretty silly :)