Holy Tuna sandwich Batman! At around ten feet, and assuming Atlantic Bluefin, you're looking at about 1000 pounds.....and fresh caught, and the right market, approaching a million bucks!!! Get that little guppy over to Fulton fish market NOW.
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Tank birthday and I'm a Geezer
- Thread starter Paul B
- Start date
Holy Tuna sandwich Batman! At around ten feet, and assuming Atlantic Bluefin, you're looking at about 1000 pounds.....and fresh caught, and the right market, approaching a million bucks!!! Get that little guppy over to Fulton fish market NOW.
Paul B
NJRC Member
Yes Diana, it did. 
Thank you. The hospital doesn't allow an Uber to drive you home. You need a real person to get you there and wait for you. Luckily, my closest friend came home early from a Sweet 16 party in his family and drove me. I was in there over 3 hours. First they had to scrape all the ich off my vertebra.
My Wonderful surgeon made 4 incisions in my back, played around in there for over an hour and glued me back up probably with coral glue.
I won't know if it worked for a couple of weeks or months but I have great faith in her.
She is a pain Mgt Dr. and every time my wife or I go to her, we come out dancing.
She is in her 40s and a Supermodel, although that is not why we went to her. (but it helped)
I love this doctor as does my wife and would follow her to California if she moved there.
Last night I "slept" with the door opened and felt like someone drove an Oldsmobile on to my bed and parked the right front wheel on my back even though I took Oxycodone and Methocarbambol which put me into GaGa land but didn't do anything for the back pain.
But after 36 surgeries I know the drill and it will get much better by the day.
So I got up at 1:00 am for the pain and "other reasons"
Thank you. The hospital doesn't allow an Uber to drive you home. You need a real person to get you there and wait for you. Luckily, my closest friend came home early from a Sweet 16 party in his family and drove me. I was in there over 3 hours. First they had to scrape all the ich off my vertebra.My Wonderful surgeon made 4 incisions in my back, played around in there for over an hour and glued me back up probably with coral glue.
I won't know if it worked for a couple of weeks or months but I have great faith in her.
She is a pain Mgt Dr. and every time my wife or I go to her, we come out dancing.
She is in her 40s and a Supermodel, although that is not why we went to her. (but it helped)
I love this doctor as does my wife and would follow her to California if she moved there.
Last night I "slept" with the door opened and felt like someone drove an Oldsmobile on to my bed and parked the right front wheel on my back even though I took Oxycodone and Methocarbambol which put me into GaGa land but didn't do anything for the back pain.
But after 36 surgeries I know the drill and it will get much better by the day.
So I got up at 1:00 am for the pain and "other reasons"
Paul B
NJRC Member
This is what she did. But she did it with 4 incisions for 6 vertibra.
my.clevelandclinic.org
Can The Intracept Procedure Intercept Your Chronic Low Back Pain?
The Intracept procedure uses radiofrequency energy to disrupt pain signals from nerves in your back. Find out if this treatment is right for you.
my.clevelandclinic.org
Paul B
NJRC Member
So my surgery is over and I won't know if it worked for a couple of weeks or months. I was not supposed to do any exercise or lift anything for a few days.
Of course yesterday, my car was dead. The one year old, five year warranty battery croaked. I couldn't even get the key out of the ignition, thats how dead it was.
Car batteries weigh about 50lbs and they are not just sitting on top of the engine. After you un-bolt them and remove the 10 cables you have to try to snake it out of a spot that they looks like they built the car around it and it was not built to remove, especially right after spine surgery.
Most of my friends are in Florida and the one I have next door was away baby sitting. My neighbor was at a gym somewhere and no one was around so guess who had to remove and install the battery?
Yes, the guy with the screwed up back.
So, now it's in and all is well,,,,except for my back of course.
Of course yesterday, my car was dead. The one year old, five year warranty battery croaked. I couldn't even get the key out of the ignition, thats how dead it was.
Car batteries weigh about 50lbs and they are not just sitting on top of the engine. After you un-bolt them and remove the 10 cables you have to try to snake it out of a spot that they looks like they built the car around it and it was not built to remove, especially right after spine surgery.
Most of my friends are in Florida and the one I have next door was away baby sitting. My neighbor was at a gym somewhere and no one was around so guess who had to remove and install the battery?
Yes, the guy with the screwed up back.
So, now it's in and all is well,,,,except for my back of course.
Paul B
NJRC Member
I seem to have lost my bristle worms. I have not seen one in a couple of months and I usually see them when the lights are off. Also my decorator crab, arrow crab, coral banded shrimp and harlequin shrimp molted and didn't get eaten. I still have all of them and when I had a tank full of big bristle worms, they would have been eaten as soon as they molted.
I have no idea why they are gone and never heard of those worms leaving.
I have no idea why they are gone and never heard of those worms leaving.
Paul B
NJRC Member
I have a thought on the bristle worms. I do have a 6 line wrasse, an arrow crab, decorator crab and coral banded fish but I always had those or similar creatures so I doubt they ate the worms.
I am not sure what killed them but it could have been the toxins from the sponge that I removed. I know it killed all my SPS corals. When I cut the sponge, it exuded a thick white substance that may have killed them.
I am not sure what killed them but it could have been the toxins from the sponge that I removed. I know it killed all my SPS corals. When I cut the sponge, it exuded a thick white substance that may have killed them.
Paul B
NJRC Member
"From Brooklyn Through Vietnam and Back". A Soldiers Story. But if you just Google my name on Amazon, it comes up under my last fish book.
I didn't put it on here because I want anyone to buy it, Probably all the proceeds will go to Wounded Warriors but I am not sure yet. Some may go to Tunnels to Towers or retired Supermodels.
I didn't put it on here because I want anyone to buy it, Probably all the proceeds will go to Wounded Warriors but I am not sure yet. Some may go to Tunnels to Towers or retired Supermodels.
Last edited:
Paul B
NJRC Member
I got a new computer. My wife got me this one for Christmas but she had to give it to me early because my old "Chromebook" must have gotten an ich infection from going on all these forums and almost crashed. It was so slow that I would turn it on then have breakfast, wash my car and think about quarantining my fish (not). By that time, the thing warmed up enough to crash.
I think it needs a picture tube.
My new book sold about 20 copies the first hour but most of those were from people I know. I found out that two pictures are missing and didn't print so I have to figure out how to correct that.
I myself also don't have a book of my own so I guess I have to order one.
I think it needs a picture tube.
My new book sold about 20 copies the first hour but most of those were from people I know. I found out that two pictures are missing and didn't print so I have to figure out how to correct that.
I myself also don't have a book of my own so I guess I have to order one.
Paul B
NJRC Member
I got my wife a new computer for Christmas. Her old one may have caught urenema from my old Chrome book although it never went on these disease sites so I'm not sure how it got infected. 
It was about $600.00 but being it is almost Black Friday it was $220.00 off. You can see how much they make on these things if they can give you that much off and still make a profit.
They probably knock them out in China for $1.75.
I am typing on my new computer now. Can you notice how crisp the letters are?
My tank is going better than my wildest dreams. Well almost as my wildest dreams consist of "other" things but it couldn't be better.
Some of my fish are older than some members on these forums.
I would like to add more clown gobies of different colors and maybe some more neon gobies. Those tiny fish get lost in the corals and are hard to see. I don't know how many I have but I would guess about a dozen. Very cool fish.
I haven't seen my Harlequin shrimp in a week or two but I am sure he is in there someplace munching on one of my hundreds of asternia stars.
One of these days I also may change some water but I have been having back issues with a surgery and I need another back procedure so unless the crabs want to change it themselves, it may go a few more months. This next change I may drive 25 miles east to the end of Long Island because the water here is full of fertilizer and insecticide from all the farms and golf courses.
I have been "lucky" that none of those flying parasites got into my tank even though the sea is 90 yards behind my tank, I keep the door closed tightly to prevent that and don't open any sick fish sites near my computer.
I found almost no amphipods this summer and they may be becoming extinct. I am not sure why. But I did take some mud for the bacteria and diversity. Yesterday I also picked up more muddy earthworms from Walmart. I need a few of those along with my whiteworms and frozen food to keep my fish immune.
I "fixed" my new book even though about 2 dozen already sold. I found out that 4 pictures were missing and some of the text was screwed up. I am not sure how that happened but I may have to fire my editor. I had to re submit an entirely new manuscript.
Tomorrow I will start Christmas decorations. We are having a big Christmas party at my house and I need to put away summer deck furniture, remove Halloween and Thanksgiving decorations and start Christmas.
So, in short, this post is about nothing as I am waiting for my wife to get up so we can go to Manhattan to my kids and Grand Kids.
It was about $600.00 but being it is almost Black Friday it was $220.00 off. You can see how much they make on these things if they can give you that much off and still make a profit.
They probably knock them out in China for $1.75.
I am typing on my new computer now. Can you notice how crisp the letters are?
My tank is going better than my wildest dreams. Well almost as my wildest dreams consist of "other" things but it couldn't be better.
Some of my fish are older than some members on these forums.
I would like to add more clown gobies of different colors and maybe some more neon gobies. Those tiny fish get lost in the corals and are hard to see. I don't know how many I have but I would guess about a dozen. Very cool fish.
I haven't seen my Harlequin shrimp in a week or two but I am sure he is in there someplace munching on one of my hundreds of asternia stars.
One of these days I also may change some water but I have been having back issues with a surgery and I need another back procedure so unless the crabs want to change it themselves, it may go a few more months. This next change I may drive 25 miles east to the end of Long Island because the water here is full of fertilizer and insecticide from all the farms and golf courses.
I have been "lucky" that none of those flying parasites got into my tank even though the sea is 90 yards behind my tank, I keep the door closed tightly to prevent that and don't open any sick fish sites near my computer.
I found almost no amphipods this summer and they may be becoming extinct. I am not sure why. But I did take some mud for the bacteria and diversity. Yesterday I also picked up more muddy earthworms from Walmart. I need a few of those along with my whiteworms and frozen food to keep my fish immune.
I "fixed" my new book even though about 2 dozen already sold. I found out that 4 pictures were missing and some of the text was screwed up. I am not sure how that happened but I may have to fire my editor. I had to re submit an entirely new manuscript.
Tomorrow I will start Christmas decorations. We are having a big Christmas party at my house and I need to put away summer deck furniture, remove Halloween and Thanksgiving decorations and start Christmas.
So, in short, this post is about nothing as I am waiting for my wife to get up so we can go to Manhattan to my kids and Grand Kids.
Paul B
NJRC Member
[IMG alt="Paul B"]https://www.reef2reef.com/data/avatars/m/14/14098.jpg?1431874158[/IMG]
Excellence Award
Reef Tank 365
Reef Of The Month
I posted this 5 years ago
I am not the smartest fish keeper in the world, but I am probably one of the oldest. Being one of the oldest, I have also had more time to study this stuff and more time to make mistakes. Mistakes are one way we learn. A very good way.
It's actually how they train you in basic training in the Army or Marines. By forcing you to do impossible tasks, knowing you can't do them, then punishing you for not doing it correctly. Eventually, you learn what they want you to do while never completing those tasks correctly.
Trust me, it works.
I was a Noob at one time and that time was the 1950s, yes the world as we know it was around then and so were fish. We had the same problems then as we do now but a few of us learned, after many dead fish what we were doing wrong and I think I got it.
Most people in this hobby do something and it works, and they think they found the secret, but we may be talking about a time frame of a few months or a couple of years. A common hermit crab lives over 12 years so if we keep one for a couple of years, it is not "Great Success". To have a reef tank for four or five years without crashing, although is an accomplishment that few people ever attain is also not a Great Success and we should strive for more. We should always strive for more.
IMO a reef tank should be immortal or "live" as long as it's owner. Of course fish are not immortal, but most of them live much longer than people stay in this hobby.
Corals are immortal and can keep living while growing new polyps on top of older ones. That’s how reefs grow.
I feel the biggest mistake we make (and us Geezers who started this hobby are the cause) is keeping our tanks to clean.
Our gravel or sand is to clean, and our food is to clean and our water is to clean.
I will get to clean water later as it even sounds weird to me.
Fish, birds, whales, lizzards, earthworms, Liberals, Conservatives and us all have a symbiotic relationship with bacteria, viruses and parasites.
Viruses, bacteria and parasites have been here longer than us and will be here when we all go to Mars because this planet has nothing left but plastic.
In a tank, any tank, except a quarantined or medicated tank, bacteria run everything. We forget about them, but it is the bacteria that call the shots, not us.
Bacteria have their own problems as viruses also affect and kill them. Bacteria hate that.
Parasites are also infected by bacteria and viruses.
Probably funguses also, but I am guessing.
Anyway, we call those things “disease organisms” because they can make us sick, but we forget that without them, we couldn’t live.
Our stomach is loaded with both beneficial and harmful bacteria. They live in harmony along with the funguses and viruses. Seawater is loaded with all of those things and that is natural and the way it should be.
We have problems when we mess with that system. If we kill bacteria, the viruses can take over as can the parasites.
If we for instance use copper, we will kill the parasites and bacteria, but not the viruses.
We really can’t kill the viruses (as Covid 19 taught us) because viruses are not alive to start with but we can disintegrate them using UV light or ozone.
So if we kill one of the pathogens, we allow the remaining ones to thrive and cause problems.
We can of course kill everything by using drugs along with UV and Ozone but should we?
It sounds like a good plan but have you seen anyone who just had Chemo and radiation to kill cancer?
Those people have no immunity to anything and although they are kept in a sterile environment, many of them die anyway because we can’t live like that in the real world.
Neither can fish.
In some cases we do have to resort to that drastic measure and sometimes it works. But not usually and it could take years for that fish to regain its compliment of stomach flora where it could live a normal life free from disease with a functioning immune system.
The problem with killing everything is of course that the bacteria, parasites and viruses will all infect the fish at different times and whichever comes first can overwhelm the fishes immune system because those things no longer are living in harmony where they can all keep each other in check.
In nature none of those pathogens get the upper hand because they evolved to counteract each other.
If we disrupt the cycle, we cause problems and tank crashes.
I propose, and it has worked for decades for me and other successful aquarists with long lasting reefs, that instead of trying to limit or eliminate natural pathogens leaving the fish open to disease, we cultivate those things, "in proportion" with each other leaving the fish with a strong immune system that it evolved with.
Remember, in the sea the fish are living with every aquatic disease there is with no problem. They only have problems after they are collected, shipped and put in our tanks.
There is no reason for them to have problems as my fish realize including my almost 30 year olds.
I know many, or all the fish we buy don’t look very good and are all infected with something. But remember, they are “always” infected with something because fish eat and breathe pathogens as they live. In the sea their immune system has no problems dealing with those afflictions because the fish is not stressed and is eating there natural food which is loaded with bacteria.
It’s the pathogens that tell the fishes immune system what method to use to eradicate that organism.
Remember in the sea fish normally eat living prey. They rarely eat sterile pellets, flakes or freeze dried anything. The prey they eat is always loaded with bacteria, parasites and viruses in the same proportions as are already in the fishes gut. Fish and us can’t digest food without bacteria which is the reason so many fish die while being medicated with copper or other drugs. It kills their stomach bacteria. It’s simple.
I mentioned before that our water is to clean and that may sound counterproductive because coral reefs are thought to be pristine. But the difference in water from a coral reef and our tanks is that the water on a coral reef has been there long before Betty White was born and many of our tanks were started a week from last Tuesday. Seawater actually gets better with age, to an extent.
If new, clean seawater was so good, why do new tanks look lousy? Why do new tanks, with all new water have so many diseases? Why do Noobs lose so many fish?
It’s because bacteria, viruses, corals, seaweed, rocks, meteorites, shipwrecks, whales and waste water from frankfurter carts in New York City all end up in the sea and all of those things are what fish evolved in. OK, maybe not the frankfurter carts. But it takes time for those organisms to reach a point where they are in sync with each other and none of them out weigh or out perform each other.
I was also under the impression that we needed to keep everything sterile. I wouldn’t think to put my hands in the tank without rinsing many times to get every trace of soap off.
I tried very hard to keep dirt out of my tank and vacuumed up every last bit of un eaten food.
I was wrong.
Now I take mud from a salt water bay and throw it in. I take garden soil (without pesticides) and throw it in. I feed earthworms full of dirt. I feed clams, mussels and whiteworms with as much dirt attached as I can find.
I never quarantine or medicate unless I purposely buy a very sick fish that I know will not live through the night and I experiment with questionable results.
I never worry if a fish I buy is in the same tank as fish with spots.
What I do is take that fish home as soon as I can and after a short acclimation, place it in my tank and try to get natural food into it. Natural food with living bacteria in it which is not usually commercially purchased food.
That food is deep frozen or irradiated to kill bacteria. I do use that food but I always supplement it with the foods I mentioned because without fresh, living bacteria, fish will always be at risk of dying from just about anything.
If you don’t believe any of this, go and watch Oprah give away Cadillacs to stray cats.
Paul B
10K Club member
Excellence Award
Reef Tank 365
Reef Of The Month
I posted this 5 years ago
I am not the smartest fish keeper in the world, but I am probably one of the oldest. Being one of the oldest, I have also had more time to study this stuff and more time to make mistakes. Mistakes are one way we learn. A very good way.
It's actually how they train you in basic training in the Army or Marines. By forcing you to do impossible tasks, knowing you can't do them, then punishing you for not doing it correctly. Eventually, you learn what they want you to do while never completing those tasks correctly.
Trust me, it works.
I was a Noob at one time and that time was the 1950s, yes the world as we know it was around then and so were fish. We had the same problems then as we do now but a few of us learned, after many dead fish what we were doing wrong and I think I got it.
Most people in this hobby do something and it works, and they think they found the secret, but we may be talking about a time frame of a few months or a couple of years. A common hermit crab lives over 12 years so if we keep one for a couple of years, it is not "Great Success". To have a reef tank for four or five years without crashing, although is an accomplishment that few people ever attain is also not a Great Success and we should strive for more. We should always strive for more.
IMO a reef tank should be immortal or "live" as long as it's owner. Of course fish are not immortal, but most of them live much longer than people stay in this hobby.
Corals are immortal and can keep living while growing new polyps on top of older ones. That’s how reefs grow.
I feel the biggest mistake we make (and us Geezers who started this hobby are the cause) is keeping our tanks to clean.
Our gravel or sand is to clean, and our food is to clean and our water is to clean.
I will get to clean water later as it even sounds weird to me.
Fish, birds, whales, lizzards, earthworms, Liberals, Conservatives and us all have a symbiotic relationship with bacteria, viruses and parasites.
Viruses, bacteria and parasites have been here longer than us and will be here when we all go to Mars because this planet has nothing left but plastic.
In a tank, any tank, except a quarantined or medicated tank, bacteria run everything. We forget about them, but it is the bacteria that call the shots, not us.
Bacteria have their own problems as viruses also affect and kill them. Bacteria hate that.
Parasites are also infected by bacteria and viruses.
Probably funguses also, but I am guessing.
Anyway, we call those things “disease organisms” because they can make us sick, but we forget that without them, we couldn’t live.
Our stomach is loaded with both beneficial and harmful bacteria. They live in harmony along with the funguses and viruses. Seawater is loaded with all of those things and that is natural and the way it should be.
We have problems when we mess with that system. If we kill bacteria, the viruses can take over as can the parasites.
If we for instance use copper, we will kill the parasites and bacteria, but not the viruses.
We really can’t kill the viruses (as Covid 19 taught us) because viruses are not alive to start with but we can disintegrate them using UV light or ozone.
So if we kill one of the pathogens, we allow the remaining ones to thrive and cause problems.
We can of course kill everything by using drugs along with UV and Ozone but should we?
It sounds like a good plan but have you seen anyone who just had Chemo and radiation to kill cancer?
Those people have no immunity to anything and although they are kept in a sterile environment, many of them die anyway because we can’t live like that in the real world.
Neither can fish.
In some cases we do have to resort to that drastic measure and sometimes it works. But not usually and it could take years for that fish to regain its compliment of stomach flora where it could live a normal life free from disease with a functioning immune system.
The problem with killing everything is of course that the bacteria, parasites and viruses will all infect the fish at different times and whichever comes first can overwhelm the fishes immune system because those things no longer are living in harmony where they can all keep each other in check.
In nature none of those pathogens get the upper hand because they evolved to counteract each other.
If we disrupt the cycle, we cause problems and tank crashes.
I propose, and it has worked for decades for me and other successful aquarists with long lasting reefs, that instead of trying to limit or eliminate natural pathogens leaving the fish open to disease, we cultivate those things, "in proportion" with each other leaving the fish with a strong immune system that it evolved with.
Remember, in the sea the fish are living with every aquatic disease there is with no problem. They only have problems after they are collected, shipped and put in our tanks.
There is no reason for them to have problems as my fish realize including my almost 30 year olds.
I know many, or all the fish we buy don’t look very good and are all infected with something. But remember, they are “always” infected with something because fish eat and breathe pathogens as they live. In the sea their immune system has no problems dealing with those afflictions because the fish is not stressed and is eating there natural food which is loaded with bacteria.
It’s the pathogens that tell the fishes immune system what method to use to eradicate that organism.
Remember in the sea fish normally eat living prey. They rarely eat sterile pellets, flakes or freeze dried anything. The prey they eat is always loaded with bacteria, parasites and viruses in the same proportions as are already in the fishes gut. Fish and us can’t digest food without bacteria which is the reason so many fish die while being medicated with copper or other drugs. It kills their stomach bacteria. It’s simple.
I mentioned before that our water is to clean and that may sound counterproductive because coral reefs are thought to be pristine. But the difference in water from a coral reef and our tanks is that the water on a coral reef has been there long before Betty White was born and many of our tanks were started a week from last Tuesday. Seawater actually gets better with age, to an extent.
If new, clean seawater was so good, why do new tanks look lousy? Why do new tanks, with all new water have so many diseases? Why do Noobs lose so many fish?
It’s because bacteria, viruses, corals, seaweed, rocks, meteorites, shipwrecks, whales and waste water from frankfurter carts in New York City all end up in the sea and all of those things are what fish evolved in. OK, maybe not the frankfurter carts. But it takes time for those organisms to reach a point where they are in sync with each other and none of them out weigh or out perform each other.
I was also under the impression that we needed to keep everything sterile. I wouldn’t think to put my hands in the tank without rinsing many times to get every trace of soap off.
I tried very hard to keep dirt out of my tank and vacuumed up every last bit of un eaten food.
I was wrong.
Now I take mud from a salt water bay and throw it in. I take garden soil (without pesticides) and throw it in. I feed earthworms full of dirt. I feed clams, mussels and whiteworms with as much dirt attached as I can find.
I never quarantine or medicate unless I purposely buy a very sick fish that I know will not live through the night and I experiment with questionable results.
I never worry if a fish I buy is in the same tank as fish with spots.
What I do is take that fish home as soon as I can and after a short acclimation, place it in my tank and try to get natural food into it. Natural food with living bacteria in it which is not usually commercially purchased food.
That food is deep frozen or irradiated to kill bacteria. I do use that food but I always supplement it with the foods I mentioned because without fresh, living bacteria, fish will always be at risk of dying from just about anything.
If you don’t believe any of this, go and watch Oprah give away Cadillacs to stray cats.
