Variety is the spice of life...

I'm working on a whole bunch of different stuff this weekend.  Last night I cleaned the filter of my fishtank.  I had a few casualties this week, tought to tell if it's due to age, stress, or a dirty tank.  More than likely a combination of all.  I lost one of my amano shrimp. and one of the silver tip tetras.  Also, I seem to be missing a rummy nose tetra, though his body is MIA.  The amano shrimp have never been truly happy in the big tank.  They've been super freaked out by all the other fish since they have lived most of their lives in a mostly solitary situation.  So, the stronger/more confident of the two remains.  The silver tip tetras are constantly stressing each other and everyone else in the tank out.  I think this poor littly guy just died of fatigue.  In a way, i think the fewer of those guys the better, since all they seem to do is bugger each other anyway.  The rummy nose is just a mystery.  Everyone else seems to be doing fantastically.  they are constantly hungry and always digging about for food.  the flying foxes are huge, probably about 5-6 inches each.  The turquiose rainbow is darkening and continues to grow.  The Iranian rainbow is looking a bit skinny and probably needs to eat more.  (I'm going to go out for more bloodworms tomorrow.)  The clown loaches are thriving.  The five cory cats are doing great too!

This evening I'm off to play Don Giovanni with Opera Pasadena.  It's nice to be out playing oboe, but the sad part is that my mentor, Bert Lucarelli, is playing a Bach recital tonight in Pacific Palasades and I can't attend.  I did get to visit with Bert this afternoon over a cup of coffee which was such a treat.  He is such a wonderful person... he's one of the things I miss the most about the east coast.  The nice thing is that because I travel to NYC for business a few times a year, I get to see him more than I might otherwise.   Check out his CD "Bach by Bert" on Crystal Records, the listing is about half-way down the page.  There are also some sound samples you can listen to.  It's fantastic!