Amoo's Dream Pasture

[SashimiTurtle]

Chickens kinda have been domesticated for centuries. Guineas, well, not so much. That said, I've never had a chicken past about 6-8 weeks (beginning teenager phase) that liked to be held. I guess that's because I always viewed them as a food source and not pets, so I didn't spend time with them as I do my dog, or my fish. Seriously, If Bonnie and Clyde could jump out the tank and get scratches behind the fins, they would... Should have seen them the other night at feeding time. Bonnie was out of the water to her pectoral fins. You'd think they didn't get a huge chunk of LRS every day.

 

[Amoo]

You know it's actually really funny. As you know I live in the country and am married to a vet. As a result, out Dogs/cat...etc are family. When my neighbor was hatching out the guinea eggs and I talked to my wife about it, they were just going to be "yard birds", whose sole purpose in life was to eat bugs. Then Ruuski became an only child and things changed drastically.

Don't get me wrong, I raised them from the day they were born, but I wasn't "attached" per say, after all they were yard birds which I knew would wonder around the neighborhood...etc. Then we lost the two and Ruuski completely changed.

If I get in the pool he jumps up on the side (above ground). If I ride my 4-wheeler over to my neighbor's house and he's over there, all I have to do is call him and he will follow me back to the house, literally like a dog on a leash.

I NEVER intended to have a pet Guinea, after all it's just a stupid yard bird. I honestly wouldn't be surprised if tomorrow I found he decided to play in traffic and met his demise.

All that said, when I lost the other two, I was like, okay, that sucks, dumb birds. If I were to lose Ruuski I would legit be upset. I kind of expect it because they are so, "not smart", but I'd still be upset and would be lying if I said anything otherwise. Guineas are not pets (like you said, years of domestication with chickens, not with guinea) and I do not recommend anybody try to make them so. EVERYWHERE you read on the internet, you read about how they actually are. It's kinda like that one tank that has 3 clowns and just works. It's not supposed to happen and 99.9% of the time fails. Ruuski is that .1%.

I'm going to get 5 more babies next year as I honestly (being honest here) expect at least 2-3 to find a way to die. I'm hoping I can provide him with the flock he needs to be a normal bird. Until then, I have a bird that comes inside for hurricanes because, yeah...stupid bird....

 

[norfolkgarden]

You know it's actually really funny. As you know I live in the country and am married to a vet. As a result, out Dogs/cat...etc are family. When my neighbor was hatching out the guinea eggs and I talked to my wife about it, they were just going to be "yard birds", whose sole purpose in life was to eat bugs. Then Ruuski became an only child and things changed drastically.

Don't get me wrong, I raised them from the day they were born, but I wasn't "attached" per say, after all they were yard birds which I knew would wonder around the neighborhood...etc. Then we lost the two and Ruuski completely changed.

If I get in the pool he jumps up on the side (above ground). If I ride my 4-wheeler over to my neighbor's house and he's over there, all I have to do is call him and he will follow me back to the house, literally like a dog on a leash.

I NEVER intended to have a pet Guinea, after all it's just a stupid yard bird. I honestly wouldn't be surprised if tomorrow I found he decided to play in traffic and met his demise.

All that said, when I lost the other two, I was like, okay, that sucks, dumb birds. If I were to lose Ruuski I would legit be upset. I kind of expect it because they are so, "not smart", but I'd still be upset and would be lying if I said anything otherwise. Guineas are not pets (like you said, years of domestication with chickens, not with guinea) and I do not recommend anybody try to make them so. EVERYWHERE you read on the internet, you read about how they actually are. It's kinda like that one tank that has 3 clowns and just works. It's not supposed to happen and 99.9% of the time fails. Ruuski is that .1%.

I'm going to get 5 more babies next year as I honestly (being honest here) expect at least 2-3 to find a way to die. I'm hoping I can provide him with the flock he needs to be a normal bird. Until then, I have a bird that comes inside for hurricanes because, yeah...stupid bird....

Aaawwwww.....

He's pretty cool.
Betcha my copperband is smarter.

Go Ruuski!

 

[Janci]

You know it's actually really funny. As you know I live in the country and am married to a vet. As a result, out Dogs/cat...etc are family. When my neighbor was hatching out the guinea eggs and I talked to my wife about it, they were just going to be "yard birds", whose sole purpose in life was to eat bugs. Then Ruuski became an only child and things changed drastically.

Don't get me wrong, I raised them from the day they were born, but I wasn't "attached" per say, after all they were yard birds which I knew would wonder around the neighborhood...etc. Then we lost the two and Ruuski completely changed.

If I get in the pool he jumps up on the side (above ground). If I ride my 4-wheeler over to my neighbor's house and he's over there, all I have to do is call him and he will follow me back to the house, literally like a dog on a leash.

I NEVER intended to have a pet Guinea, after all it's just a stupid yard bird. I honestly wouldn't be surprised if tomorrow I found he decided to play in traffic and met his demise.

All that said, when I lost the other two, I was like, okay, that sucks, dumb birds. If I were to lose Ruuski I would legit be upset. I kind of expect it because they are so, "not smart", but I'd still be upset and would be lying if I said anything otherwise. Guineas are not pets (like you said, years of domestication with chickens, not with guinea) and I do not recommend anybody try to make them so. EVERYWHERE you read on the internet, you read about how they actually are. It's kinda like that one tank that has 3 clowns and just works. It's not supposed to happen and 99.9% of the time fails. Ruuski is that .1%.

I'm going to get 5 more babies next year as I honestly (being honest here) expect at least 2-3 to find a way to die. I'm hoping I can provide him with the flock he needs to be a normal bird. Until then, I have a bird that comes inside for hurricanes because, yeah...stupid bird....

Great story.
It reminds me on my pigeon pet... Yes yes a pigeon.
I found her with a broken wing on the street and took her home to nurse. She has a phone number in the feather so I called the owner but he did not want her anymore. She was a sport pigeon to travel long distance so with a broken wing she would end up in some kind of soup or other platter.
She recovered and I took her out on the bike to release her about 10 miles from my home.
By the time I got back home, she was waiting for me in the garden. She never left and stayed with us for over 15 years.
Crazy pets.

 

[TherealplexiG]

@Amoo
I'd go with atlantiks.
Unfortunately we got 6 gen 4 pros to lit the 450 will post a build thread later. Although atlantiks would make a fantastic choice.

 

[Rakie]

Great story.
It reminds me on my pigeon pet... Yes yes a pigeon.
I found her with a broken wing on the street and took her home to nurse. She has a phone number in the feather so I called the owner but he did not want her anymore. She was a sport pigeon to travel long distance so with a broken wing she would end up in some kind of soup or other platter.
She recovered and I took her out on the bike to release her about 10 miles from my home.
By the time I got back home, she was waiting for me in the garden. She never left and stayed with us for over 15 years.
Crazy pets.

All birds can bond, one way or another. You never expect it from wild birds but they're sharp enough to remember people.

Since we're telling bird stories I'll tell one!

I was fishing and saw a cormorant wrapped in some fishing line. He tried to fly away but was wrapped up, and the line was wrapped in some brush.he probably struggled for a few hours, he was cut up but not deep, not infected, etc etc. So I grabbed the line and pulled him in.

So finally got the bird in my hand, and he just gave up. He assumed I was gonna eat him. So slowly I cut the line and pulled it off and out if his skin on his feet. After a few minutes it was all off, and it had finally struck me I was holding a wild bird. I looked at him, he looked at me, and I guess we shared a moment if some sort. Apparently different moments, because he then bit me and flew away.

So there's a different kind of bird story for you guys.

 

[NY_Caveman]

All birds can bond, one way or another. You never expect it from wild birds but they're sharp enough to remember people.

Since we're telling bird stories I'll tell one!

I was fishing and saw a cormorant wrapped in some fishing line. He tried to fly away but was wrapped up, and the line was wrapped in some brush.he probably struggled for a few hours, he was cut up but not deep, not infected, etc etc. So I grabbed the line and pulled him in.

So finally got the bird in my hand, and he just gave up. He assumed I was gonna eat him. So slowly I cut the line and pulled it off and out if his skin on his feet. After a few minutes it was all off, and it had finally struck me I was holding a wild bird. I looked at him, he looked at me, and I guess we shared a moment if some sort. Apparently different moments, because he then bit me and flew away.

So there's a different kind of bird story for you guys.

LOL. “Thanks, pal, but it is my nature to bite you as hard as I can!”

 

[Rakie]

LOL. “Thanks, pal, but it is my nature to bite you as hard as I can!”

Pretty much. I could only imagine him thinking "that stupid monster didn't even eat me". Somewhere there's a lake full of cormorants telling the story of Rakie, the monster too dumb to eat them

 

[Janci]

All birds can bond, one way or another. You never expect it from wild birds but they're sharp enough to remember people.

Since we're telling bird stories I'll tell one!

I was fishing and saw a cormorant wrapped in some fishing line. He tried to fly away but was wrapped up, and the line was wrapped in some brush.he probably struggled for a few hours, he was cut up but not deep, not infected, etc etc. So I grabbed the line and pulled him in.

So finally got the bird in my hand, and he just gave up. He assumed I was gonna eat him. So slowly I cut the line and pulled it off and out if his skin on his feet. After a few minutes it was all off, and it had finally struck me I was holding a wild bird. I looked at him, he looked at me, and I guess we shared a moment if some sort. Apparently different moments, because he then bit me and flew away.

So there's a different kind of bird story for you guys.

That bite was payback for the fishing wire as you were fishing there also.
Lovely story

 

[Katrina71]

No shame in having animal friends. No matter what species.

 

[Fudsey]

I have a similar fishing story. Was fishing with a rattletrap lure and a seagull swooped down and tried to grab my lure. I yanked it right before he grabbed it but it hooked his nostril in his bill. I slowly reeled him in as to not spook him to badly. Once close he basically gave up so I could easily grab him and remove it from his bill. No damage, just hooked one of his nostril holes. Got it out and was about to release. He looked at me as if to say "this is your fault but thanks" bit me and flew off.

 

[Rakie]

It's been too long since there was guinea bird info

 

[Amoo]

Somebody remind me why I bother again....

 

[najer]

Somebody remind me why I bother again....

Oh man!

 

[blackizzz]

dang, been looking forward to the update, not what I wanted to see

 

[JimFuller]

Ouch! You bother because you are addicted. I have been addicted for 40 years. I was once without tanks. July 2015 to July 2017. It was because I was battling lymphoma cancer stage 4. I did not wish to leave my wife with the job of getting the tanks down, if I didn't make it. I now in remission and have a 75 gallon that is a year old. Yes, it is in my blood.

So, i recognize the signs. You are addicted.

 

[Amoo]

@JimFuller Welcome to the thread and thank you for sharing your incredible story. It was exactly what I needed to hear today. We went through something similar with my Grandmother multiple times over a number of years between battling the Big C a few times, major kidney/liver failure....etc. Through it all she kept a positive attitude. It's a really big reason I look at something like this, and while frustrated and disappointed, I always remind myself it's just a glass box and things could be much worse.

 

[Amoo]

I want to add and wanted to do so in it's own post that IM has been legit great about this. I sent Paul the pictures literally a few seconds before I posted them here. So according to the website that was 34 minutes ago. He has already called me and apologized profusely, even though I told him it's not their fault.

We talked about what I saw in relation to packing, that could possibly help the next tank arrive in 1 nicely siliconed together piece. He let me know he's going to talk to their logistics people directly and figure out what options that have to try to make sure something like this doesn't happen. You could tell he genuinely felt bad and was sympathetic, as you guys know this next attempt will be try #3.

He mentioned about tossing in some swag...etc, which is great, we always like swag. Either way, one thing I want to emphasize is their customer service has been TOP NOTCH.

 

[leepink23]

Ok I'm as prepped as prep can be, now we wait for the storm. I'm far enough inland that we don't expect structural damage unless we get a random spin off tornado, but that can happen anywhere. We're assuming it's going to be like Irma last year and we'll probably be without power for a number of days. The generator is ready to go and I've got about 30 gallons of gas, so we should be in good shape.

---

So before I left for Gainesville I mentioned I had ordered new lights. I've been on the LED train for quite a few years now and have found a very good happy medium using LEDs with the Aquatic Life T5 Hubrid fixture. I would eventually like to be able to go solid LED, and may make that switch eventually. If you follow me in different parts of this forum or have seen me post, you probably know I've been very excited about the new KessilX lights. I like where Kessil seems to be going with the updating fixtures and attachable things like a diffuser, focus lens...etc. One of the other opinions I have held very strongly onto is that Orphek has the best light on the market at the moment, they were just too far out of my price range.

So research time happened. I was estimating for full coverage of my 48x24 tank I would need 4 of the new Kessils to really feel comfortable. We don't know yet but can guess probably about $400-450 a piece so I'd be looking at $1600-$1800

Next I looked at the Orphek Atlantik V4. The recommended spread for these is 40"x24" and I wouldn't feel comfortable without two. These things are a little bit oddly shaped for a 48" tank as they are about 24 1/4" long. This means two would definitely hand over the ends of the tank and from the pictures I've seen looks a little silly. Two of these at $900 a piece would be $1800.

After that I took a look at the Atlantik Compacts. The recommended spread for these is 30"x24" and they come in at a length of 13 1/2". This means I could fit as many as 3 over my tank 13.5x3= 40.5" without it looking silly. $600 a piece so $1200 for 2.

So what did I get?

https://orphek.com/atlantik-v4-compact-aquarium-led-lighting/

Once you get the tank up and running I would be interested in knowing how the t5/Atlantik combo looks visually with shimmer as well as performance.

 

[Amoo]

Once you get the tank up and running I would be interested in knowing how the t5/Atlantik combo looks visually with shimmer as well as performance.

Me Too