Aquarium Update

A lot has changed in our fish life, so here is the long overdue update...

Beginning in February, Kevin decided to dedicate more of his time to fishkeeping, so he joined a fish forum and started looking for a large fish tank. In March he found this 450 gallon tank in Boise. He and his dad drove up there, while Luna and I held the fort down and discovered that Luna likes to lay on snowbanks when she gets too hot while on walks. Kevin and his dad were able to meet up with an aunt and two cousins while there. This picture was taken the next day, after we enlisted some members of our ward to help move it into the garage.

This is the beginning of Luna's career as a fish tank model.

Around the same time, we started to finish our basement, so we had to change our original plans around to accommodate the fish tank.

 

Pretty much the entire basement is now framed and sheet rocked which is a very nice feeling. It also remided us how much stuff we have. We both need to go through boxes downstairs and see what we want to keep and what needs to go away.

This is our stingray sand. Kevin was quite thrilled when he found this at a good deal online. I just feel bad for the delivery person that delivered it to our house. It was quite the load. We spent some quality family time rinsing it. It was great fun.

Kevin wanted to add wood to his aquarium decor, so he went up to Butterfield Canyon and got the wood below while I was slaving away at work. The above picture is a piece of driftwood he found in Francis in a neighbor's field.

Kevin was worried that he would find a better tank after buying the L-shaped tank. Apparently this tank was a better tank. Fortunately it was in Kaysville, and we were able to sell the other tank for more than we bought it for (plus we got a bunch of extra stuff with it, so we definitely made a profit. This tank is 600 gallons. It is 10 feet long, 4 feet front to back, and 2 feet deep.

 The Lunar puppy makes a good size comparison as she furthers her modeling career.

Here is the beginning of the tank stand:

It took Kevin a couple of days, but here is the completed stand. Kevin joins Luna in the tank modeling world.

With the help of a three neighbors and Kevin's dad, the tank was carried down the stairs and onto the stand. There were only a few dents in the wall when they finished.

By the beginning of July the tank was fill up and Kevin started to add decorations. Sadly, he found the tank was leaking shortly thereafter, and he had to take the fish out for a little bit.

Unfortunately, when the fish were put back in the tank, something was wrong with the water. Once Kevin realized this he removed all of the fish and tried to nurse them back to health. However, despite Kevin's best efforts, his new Kelberi Peacock Bass died (only a week or so after we bought her from a friend). Kevin was very devastated, which was hard to watch. I think it was one of the only times I have seen him cry. We were able to save Jack, the fish that Kevin brought with him when he moved here from Washington once Kevin got a tip on a different type of fish medicine. He was able to make a full recovery and became quite the glutton for awhile.

Kevin decided to use unconventional lighting, but at least we are "green."

Here is the most up to date picture of the tank that I have. Kevin being Kevin has rearranged it quite a few times in the last month since this picture was taken. It is still a work in progress, but at least it has fish in it.

And for your further viewing pleasure, here are some more random fish pictures.

This is our first peacock bass. We bought him in Ogden last February. He was at a really cool fish store that had the coolest collection of coral, as well as some awesome salt water fish. We brought him home in a bucket, and Kevin was paranoid that he was going to get too cold, so we had the heater full blast. I thought Luna, who was in the backseat was going to melt (as was I).

We got these two fish in March.

Our freshwater lion fish (also known as a rock fish). He hung out in our sump tank, so we didn't get to see him much. Thus, we sold him about a month ago to a family that seemed like they would enjoy him a lot more.
 

This is the super red severan. He was a fantastic addition to our fish tank, but sadly he died shortly after we put him in the 600 gallon tank in the basement. Case of death was unknown.

 We got two more bass from our friends, the Dickson, in Brigham City. I make fun of Kevin because most of his friends were found on the internet, either through the fish forums or xbox. These three ended up dying after they knocked the air supply line off of the bubbler. It is now cemented in.

Kevin also bought a breeding trio of bushy nose plecos. We had bought a whole bunch of these in the Spring, but most of them died. These have laid eggs three times, and we have been able to keep a few of the babies.

This is our chameleon fish. We got him for free, along with three other fish of the same type. They weren't kept in the best of conditions, and the other ones died. This one is doing well and thriving.

Dane, our friend from Brigham City who sold us to other bass, sold us this bass for an amazing price. She was a beautiful fish, but unfortunately she died when the water in the 600 gallon tank went funky. As I said, Kevin took it really hard.

That is all of the fish pictures I have on my computer. There is of course more, but I think this post is long enough.

Couch

Kevin and I are moving our way up in the world. We now own our very own couch. No more love seats for us. It is leather and has two reclining seats. The only bad part is that the recliners are on opposite ends of the couch, so we don’t sit by each other anymore. Also, the fact that we’ve spent a majority of the past two days sitting on it isn’t that great either. The joys of a staycations.

The only one who doesn’t like the couch is the Lunar dog, but I think that might be due to the fact that she is not allowed on it. I think I would be upset if I had to use tile for a pillow. Despite the fact that in this picture she is actually on the carpet, she does use the tile as a pillow frequently.

Disclaimer: The Lunar dog does have three beds and a settee of her own. We are not responsible if she doesn’t choose to use her bed.

A Lithuanian in Utah

Our friend Ramūnas came to visit us on August 9. Kevin met him while on his mission in Lithuania, and I met him when we visited Lithuania last year. He was touring the U.S. and Utah was his last stop. As an interesting side note, he had traveled from New York to DC and DC to Chicago and Chicago to San Francisco and back to Utah on a train. While this wouldn’t be my first choice of spending my vacation time, he said that he saw a lot of really nice scenery while traveling across the country, especially the mountains of Colorado and California. He said the only downside was the highly effective air conditioning, the price and quality of food, and the inability to get off the train and explore the areas they were riding through.  

Ramūnas’s train arrived in the middle of the night, so I opted to stay in bed while Kevin went to get him. After both caught up on sleep, we headed down to Provo to allow Ramūnas time to remember the BYU campus and to enjoy lunch with former Lithuanian missionaries. We ate at Red Robin, and I think there were about 6-7 elders there, as well as a couple who had served a humanitarian mission in Lithuania. The elders were all much younger than us, so Kevin did not know them, but apparently his picture is floating around somewhere in Lithuania because a few of them said they recognized him from pictures. I think Ramūnas enjoyed this time with friends, but he felt that the portions were way too big (he ordered a bowl of soup and a salad, so he had lots of food), but we did pick a restaurant famous for huge portions.

Our next stop was BYU. We parked at the Marriot Center, and then Ramūnas videoed his old routes around the BYU campus and the buildings that held the most memories for him (he spent a year at BYU a few years ago, ironically coinciding with my last year at BYU). It was kind of fun, especially since BYU’s campus holds many memories for me as well.

After Ramūnas had seen what he wanted to see, we were off again, this time to visit a few Lithuanian in Riverton. She was at BYU during the time Kevin served in Lithuania, but she likewise remembered him from a picture. Kevin, however, had known her parents well as he served in their city for the majority of the two years he was in Lithuania. There was lots of catch-up between she and Ramūnas, but ironically enough, I did find out that both she and her husband have Kamas ties. Her husband worked with one of my best friends, whom I had been friends with since the third grade, and she had served her mission with one of my friends from my ward. I find it funny how many people have Kamas ties, even people from Lithuania.

One of Ramūnas’s goals in coming to Utah was to see the City Creek Mall and the MoTab, so we departed for Downtown Salt Lake. Unfortunately the MoTab was at Deer Valley, but we were able to explore the mall. Kevin and I experienced a bit of déjà vu, as Ramūnas seemed intent on scouring the mall for the best cologne (he calls it perfume) and other high end items, very similar to when he was our tour guide in Vilnius. I really enjoyed the atmosphere of the mall, especially all of the water features (Kevin has worn off on me. We even found some fish while we were there.), but I don’t think I would drive all the way down there for the sole purpose of shopping. I am good with the malls which are closer. We also walked around Temple Square for a bit, and a former Lithuanian sister missionary met us there. 

After Ramūnas had seen all he wanted to, we headed back home, where we fed him some ice cream, after which he called it a night and we watched the Olympics. The next morning, Kevin took him to the airport, but not before we snapped a picture with him and his newfound friend, the Lunar dog (and us of course). As a side note, I was on my way to the chiropractor so I was in my workout clothes, not pajamas.

Kevin, Megan, Ramunas, and Luna