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THE OFFICIAL ASK ALBERT THIEL THREAD

ZephNYC

By ZephNYC,
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Christopher Marks
Christopher Marks

Your message did not go unnoticed. I felt that your personal announcement of his passing was more appropriate than anything I could say, it only seemed fitting that it should come from a friend in the

flypenfly
flypenfly

Baby stingrays, just because.  

albertthiel
albertthiel

So Here is What the Book will Look Like ....         Nicely done indeed as this is a rendering based on the cover I posted ! And it was done by Brad in the UK ! Thanks Brad !   Albert

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albertthiel

albertthiel

Posted
Posted

I was not that skinny when I was born. That is how he is able to walk around on the bottom, fat people float and skinny people sink. Of course I can also hold my breath for 3 minutes, but I can only do it once.

When I started to SCUBA here in NY I bought a spear gun which was a mistake. Our visability is usually a foot or two and the spear gun is 3' long. So I had to pull the speargun back past my head just to see the tip. I figured I would shoot myself so I sold it and went with a CB antenna that I put a wooden handle on to spear flounders.

The only time I was really frightened diving here was when I was in about 30' of water off a famous lighthouse. Here at that depth it is pitch dark and you have to use a light. All of a sudden something came into my light beam and wrapped itself around my head and was smacking me around.

No, it was not a Great White Shark, giant squid, Orca or even Paris Hilton. it was a dam cormorant bird.

Those things are very common and have almost 4' wingspan. They don't swim like a duck but swim underwater with their wings. I had to buy a new wetsuit.

That was here. You can se them on the lighthouse and the remains they leave

ExecutionLighthouse002.jpg

 

ExecutionLighthouse014.jpg

 

Yes one time for sure ... and I can imagine how you felt during that dive indeed especially when you are in total darkness and have no clue what is wrapping itself around your head ... could have been one of those deep sea nasties "that came up to get you"

 

And personally I do no like spear fishing ...

 

Albert

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uaiu

uaiu

Posted
Posted

Albert, do you know anything about the pictus blenny?

reinhard-dirscherl-pictus-blenny-ecseniu

My LFS has some in stock and I cant really find much information on them.

 

Edit: found another name for them, "White Lined Combtooth Blenny"

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rick12

rick12

Posted
Posted

The tank is 20 gallons ... no sump is part of it yet although it is ready, I just have not made all the connections yet etc ...

 

I use 3 tablespoons but I get it in bulk and use the Alcoa high purity one (99.99%). It is placed in a mesh bag in the HOB filter and the water has to upflow through the bag which I will take out of the filter twice a week, rinse and put back in the filter (to remove build up of slime from fish and corals). I change the compound every 2 weeks but as you may have read in the book, I switch between Al. oxide and GFO and alternate their use.

 

I may decide to use a reactor but was looking to make one but have not done so yet.

 

I rinse the compound well before placing it in the bag and then in the HOB filter ... (I do the same with GFO of course).

 

Hopefully this helps but if you have more questions do not hesitate to post them here

 

Albert

 

So,Albert you toss it out after two weeks...it's done?

R.

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albertthiel

albertthiel

Posted
Posted

Albert, do you know anything about the pictus blenny?

 

reinhard-dirscherl-pictus-blenny-ecseniu

My LFS has some in stock and I cant really find much information on them.

 

Edit: found another name for them, "White Lined Combtooth Blenny"

 

Interesting that your LFS has them as they are not that common in the Hobby ... there are two types indeed and the difference stems from their geographical origin ... Philippines, Solomon Islands ... and Far Western Pacific ...

 

Great looking fish, peaceful, perches on rocks, feeds on algal material and some even report that it feeds on some cyanobacteria but no definitive info on that is available so that could be anecdotal.

 

Will nip on coral polyps at times so keep it well fed to prevent that from happening. Grows to about 2 inches or a bit more but not much. Will also nip on Clam Mantle so if you keep Clams I would stay away from it however appealing it looks. Feed often and small amounts and ensure that some hair algae is available in the tank as that is part of its diet but it is not to be considered the solution to eradicating a tank of them as the fish will feed a bit on this and a bit on that, but not just on one particular food all the time.

 

Needs lot of hiding spaces too as it likes to hide from time to time (spaces in rock work for it or a barnacle shell would too).

 

Just out of curiosity what are they asking for them ... And just as a side note there are plenty of super looking Blennies (e.g. the 4 line is one I particularly like).

 

Odd that they sort of disappeared from the hobby as I remember that years and years ago they were far more available and not that expensive either.

 

Albert

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albertthiel

albertthiel

Posted
Posted

So,Albert you toss it out after two weeks...it's done? R.

 

Yes that is indeed what I do. After the Al oxide I switch to GFO for two weeks and then discard that and go back to Al. oxide.

 

I find that Al oxide removes silicate better than GFO, especially the kind I use.

 

I do not regenerate any chemicals or products I use even if they can be (often not an easy process anyway).

 

If you want more info just let me know ...

 

Albert

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albertthiel

albertthiel

Posted
Posted

There are many many types and species of Blennies and some look really stunning, e.g. the E. pictus posted earlier, or the 4-line one I referred to.

 

Note the cautions I posted ....

 

and for pictures :

 

Link :

 

 

http://tinyurl.com/ccu4rga

 

 

Albert

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albertthiel

albertthiel

Posted
Posted

They had 3 of them at 39$ each. Thanks for the info! I'll have to think about picking one up, the ones they had were very active.

 

Uaiu ... they are all very active fish and dart around from one place to another and perch on something for a few seconds and then dart to another spot so that is not unusual at all

 

I would not take that as a reason not to buy one ... but you may have other ones that I am not aware of ... Good price too ... what size are they if I may ask ?

 

Albert

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albertthiel

albertthiel

Posted
Posted

The flounders were not fond of it either

 

That I don't doubt Paul but there must have been another way to catch them IMO although they are "quick" and of course flat as they are scooping them out may not be that easy ... but how about a large net ... I am no flounder-catching-expert by any stretch of the imagination just trying to think of a less brutal way of catching them ... of course in the end they get killed anyway and eaten ...but...

 

Maybe they could be lured with something ... not blackworms of course ;-o but you know better than I do what could be used instead of the a "spear"

 

Albert

 

apomac.png

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albertthiel

albertthiel

Posted
Posted

Analyzing Reflectors Part III- --- A Number of Additional Reflectors

 

© Sanjay Joshi Ph.D , Timothy Marks

 

(III) of a (III) part Article

 

Link :

 

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2004/3/aafeature

 

 

This article continues in a similar vein and presents the data and analysis of several additional reflectors that we were able to obtain since the last set of tests.

 

 

Albert

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uaiu

uaiu

Posted
Posted

Uaiu ... they are all very active fish and dart around from one place to another and perch on something for a few seconds and then dart to another spot so that is not unusual at all

 

I would not take that as a reason not to buy one ... but you may have other ones that I am not aware of ... Good price too ... what size are they if I may ask ?

 

Albert

I ended up getting one, all their specimens were about 1-1.5 inches great little guy, settled into his new home very quickly

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albertthiel

albertthiel

Posted
Posted

I ended up getting one, all their specimens were about 1-1.5 inches great little guy, settled into his new home very quickly

 

Yes they are hardy and settle in real well although it may be a bit shy in the beginning but will soon start to hover around the tank and stay in the open a lot, and dash around from one area to another.

 

And at that size it is not fully grown yet ... Just make sure it has enough food and you are going to enjoy this one a lot IMO.

 

Albert .... Post some pics once he starts to move around ... would be nice to see uaiu .... Thanks

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albertthiel

albertthiel

Posted
Posted

I ended up getting one, all their specimens were about 1-1.5 inches great little guy, settled into his new home very quickly

A pic or two will be nice.

Thanks

Sent from my IPhone

Albert

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