Flora and Fauna Mania-My Life Passion

Incredible India !!!

2012-02-13T06:32:00.001-08:00

The photograph given below was taken during a rescue mission. The veterian carrying the Leopard shot the animal with tranquilizers to save it from the well.Later the animal was shifted into leopard santuary.

This is a common sight in India. Many Indians consider them sacred and so people live behind bars to keep these little huligans away.....!

Courtesy to: Y!india

Diary Note 2/12/12...

2012-02-12T10:19:00.001-08:00

Has anyone felt a phase in life when your are in complete dilemma as to what you want to be in life????

Well I am going exactly throught it now...

I am so confused that I have no clue as to what I need in my life at this stage in life....

Is it to persue my life amibition of being surrounded by things I love the most and stay home or make some sort of a career carved out of things I like to do for the society ???

The problem lies in the fact that I am so influenced by the people around me. I really do envy my husband for his talent for being so unaffected by the 'society's expectation' out of him.I wish I could be so sure of myself some day....

Other day in my routine conversation with my mom this had come up. I was telling her how much I wish to be her.So sure of herself with the 'Superiority complex' that can rival the Miss Universe's and the attitude which can either be friendly or killing according to the situation.Whereas on the other side I am such a mouse to confront a situation who takes all bullshit thrown at face with a smile and never ever got around in life to pay back a revenge. I was surprised to see that my mom saw me in different light. She thinks I am more mature in handling situations (I dont think so ..) and very smart.On the other hand, my dad apparently thinks I am good actress who tries to enact the protrait of charming and genuine female (Sometimes dads see too much. Well I am scared to ask my husband more about it actually.I am sure he will have wonderfull things to add to that....LoL

By penning down all this in my blog I am not actually expecting all my worries answered but I thought it will be great to see it wriiten down to bring some memories in life in the future....

The rare lesser blue wing dragonfly sighted at the Thenmala Butterfly Safari Park in Kollam district.

2012-01-23T03:22:00.000-08:00

The lesser blue wing dragonfly (Rhyothemis triangular) considered a rare dragonfly in South India has been spotted and photographed at the Thenmala Butterfly Safari Park in Kollam district.

This feast for the eyes sighting was made on January 14 by the butterfly and bird enthusiasts, C. Sushanth and M.S. Akhil during the monthly butterfly and dragonfly monitoring exercise.

The slow-flying lesser blue wing is a medium-sized elusive dragonfly with metallic blue markings on the base of its wings. Ponds and marshes are the favourite spots of these dragonflies since they love perching near water bodies. This could be because it breeds in marshes and similar habitats.

But in the southern part of the country they are rarely sighted. The previous recorded sighting of this dragonfly was some last year by wildlife photographer and dragonfly enthusiast T. Dragon fly close to a wetland in Vithura of Thiruvananthapuram district.

Mr. Sushanth said that one of the fascinating aspects of the lesser blue wing is that it can float in the air for long periods without flapping the wings. Both Sushanth and Akhil recorded sighting rare dragonflies and damselflies within and around the Thenmala butterfly park

Amazing.... But I think Facebook still rocks.....

2012-01-23T02:59:00.000-08:00

NEW YORK: Google's online social networking service 'Google Plus' has crossed 90 million users mark since its launch in June.

Google Plus now has attracted 90 million users, reflecting the huge interest in the social networking site which was opened to the public on September 20. That more than doubles the 40 million that Google reported in October.

Earlier, Google Plus service was available only through invitation as part of trial runs.

Interestingly, rival Facebook took about four years to reach 90 million users. Facebook, founded in 2004, has now 800 million users globally.

"I am super excited about the growth of ... Google Plus, which now has 90 million users globally - wellover double what I announced just three months ago. By building a meaningful relationship with our users through Google Plus we will create amazing experiences across our services," Google CEO Larry Page said while announcing the company's latest quarterly earnings.

Google unveiled 'Google Plus' in late June as part of efforts to garner a share of the lucrative social networking space that has so far been dominated by Mark Zuckerberg--led Facebook.

Since launch, Google has added toolbars and other buttons on its websites to aggressively promote the service.

During the quarter, Google has reported a net income to $ 2.71 billion in for October-December, which analysts termed as below market expectation.

It registered revenue of $ 10.58 billion for the quarter ended December 31, 2011, an increase of 25 per cent from the year-ago period.

Rising CO2 emissions 'damaging' fish brains

2012-01-22T22:17:00.000-08:00

LONDON: Rising levels of human carbon dioxide emissions may be affecting the brains and central nervous system of sea fishes, thereby threatening their survival in the long run, a new study has suggested.

According to Professor Philip Munday of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies and James Cook University, carbon dioxide concentrations predicted to occur in the ocean by the end of this century will interfere with fishes' ability to hear, smell, turn and evade predators.

"For several years our team have been testing the performance of baby coral fishes in sea water containing higher levels of dissolved CO2 - and it is now pretty clear that they sustain significant disruption to their central nervous system, which is likely to impair their chances of survival," Prof. Munday said.

In their latest paper Prof. Munday and colleagues reported world-first evidence that high CO2 levels in sea water disrupts a key brain receptor in fish, causing marked changes in their behaviour and sensory ability.

"We've found that elevated CO2 in the oceans can directly interfere with fish neurotransmitter functions, which poses a direct and previously unknown threat to sea life," Prof. Munday insisted.

Prof. Munday and his colleagues began by studying how baby clown and damsel fishes performed alongside their predators in CO2-enriched water. They found that, while the predators were somewhat affected, the baby fish suffered much higher rates of attrition.

"Our early work showed that the sense of smell of baby fish was harmed by higher CO2 in the water - meaning they found it harder to locate a reef to settle on or detect the warning smell of a predator fish. But we suspected there was much more to it than the loss of ability to smell."

The team then examined whether fishes' sense of hearing - used to locate and home in on reefs at night, and avoid them during the day - was affected.

"The answer is, yes it was. They were confused and no longer avoided reef sounds during the day. Being attracted to reefs during daylight would make them easy meat for predators."

Other work showed the fish also tended to lose their natural instinct to turn left or right - an important factor in schooling behaviour which also makes them more vulnerable, as lone fish are easily eaten by predators.

"All this led us to suspect it wasn't simply damage to their individual senses that was going on - but rather, that higher levels of carbon dioxide were affecting their whole central nervous system."

The team's latest research shows that high CO2 directly stimulates a receptor in the fish brain called GABA-A, leading to a reversal in its normal function and over-excitement of certain nerve signals.

While most animals with brains have GABA-A receptors, the team considers the effects of elevated CO2 are likely to be most felt by those living in water, as they have lower blood CO2 levels normally.

The main impact is likely to be felt by some crustaceans and by most fishes, especially those which use a lot of oxygen.

Prof. Munday said that around 2.3 billion tonnes of human CO2 emissions dissolve into the world's oceans every year, causing changes in the chemical environment of the water in which fish and other species live.

"We've now established it isn't simply the acidification of the oceans that is causing disruption - as is the case with shellfish and plankton with chalky skeletons - but the actual dissolved CO2 itself is damaging the fishes' nervous systems," Prof. Munday added.

The study has been published in the journal Nature Climate Change.

Select Aquatics

2012-01-21T03:12:00.000-08:00

A very nice site I came across .....Its in Colarado, for an Indian its useless but felt its worth paying a online visit.

http://www.selectaquatics.com/ Click on this page to get more information.

Nesaea pedicellata

2012-01-21T01:29:00.000-08:00

Nesaea pedicellata is a stem plant from Africa that has thick stems and large leaves that are soft green with shades of red and yellow. Until 2009 this plant was rare in the USA and only imported occasionally, but since then has been grown commercially by Florida Aquatic Nurseries and sold by their retailers. It requires moderate to bright light and added C02 is recommended. Some web sites describe this as a difficult plant to grow, but mine started growing and turning red at the tops within the first week, and has even started growing side shoots and roots.

It tolerates hard or soft water, and responds well to a nutrient rich substrate. Becuase of its large size it should be placed toward the rear of the aquarium.

Family

Lythraceae

Continent
Africa

Country of origin
West Africa

Height
20-40+ cm

Width
10-20+ cm

Light requirements
medium-very high

Happy New Year !!!!!!

2011-12-31T01:04:00.000-08:00

Have a great year ahead Guys !!!

Being in someone's shoes !!

2011-10-11T01:50:00.000-07:00

A Great Story that reached its end !!

2011-10-06T22:10:00.000-07:00

Sometimes life hits you in the head with a brick. Don’t lose faith. I’m convinced that the only thing that kept me going was that I loved what I did. You’ve got to find what you love. And that is as true for your work as it is for your lovers. Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do... great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it. Don’t settle.

-- Steve Jobs....

Disclaimer -- I am not so old but felt this passing the buck trend is not fair...

2011-08-22T21:56:00.000-07:00

The Green Thing

While an older woman was waiting in line at the store, the cashier told her that she should bring her own grocery bags because plastic bags weren't good for the environment.

The woman apologized to her and explained, "We didn't have the green thing back in my day". The cashier responded, "That's our problem today. Your generation did not care enough to save our environment."

She was right -- our generation didn't have the green thing in its day.

Back then, we returned milk bottles, soda bottles and beer bottles to the store. The store sent them back to the plant to be washed and sterilized and refilled, so it could use the same bottles over and over. So they really were recycled. And we collected the manure, from the horses that pulled the delivery carts, to use in our vegetable gardens.

But we didn't have the green thing back in our day.

We walked up stairs, because we didn't have an escalator in every store and office building. We walked to the grocery store and didn't climb into a 300-horsepower machine on wheels every time we had to go somewhere.

But she was right; We didn't have the green thing in our day.

Back then, we washed the baby's nappies because we didn't have the throw-away kind. We dried clothes on a line, not in an energy gobbling machine burning up 220 volts -- wind and solar power really did dry the clothes. Kids got hand-me-down clothes from their brothers, sisters, cousins or neighbors, not always brand-new clothing.But that old lady is right; we didn't have the green thing back in our day.

Back then, we had one TV, or radio, in the house -- not a TV in every room. And the TV had a small screen the size of a handkerchief (remember them?), not a screen the size of a dining room table. In the kitchen, we blended and stirred by hand because we didn't have electric machines to do everything for us. When we packaged a fragile item to send in the mail, we used a wadded up old newspaper to cushion it, not Styrofoam or plastic bubble wrap. Back then, we didn't fire up an engine and burn petrol just to cut the lawn. We used a push mower that ran on human power. We exercised by working so we didn't need to go to a health club to run on treadmills that operate on electricity.

But she's right; we didn't have the green thing back then.

We drank water, collected in out rain water tank, straight from the tap when we were thirsty instead of using a cup or a plastic bottle every time we had a drink of water. We refilled writing pens with ink instead of buying a new pen, and we sharpened razors or replaced the razor blades in a razor instead of throwing away the whole plastic razor just because the blade got dull.

But we didn't have the green thing back then.

Back then, people either walked or took a bus to work and kids rode their bikes to school or walked instead of turning their mums into a 24-hour taxi service. We had one electrical outlet in a room, not an entire bank of sockets to power a dozen appliances. And we didn't need a computerized gadget to receive a signal beamed from satellites 2,000 miles out in space in order to find the nearest shoe repair shop.

But isn't it sad that the current generation laments how wasteful we old folks were just because we didn't have the green thing back then?

A Saying Worth Posting...

2011-07-22T04:03:00.000-07:00

"Animals are such agreeable friends – they ask no questions, they pass no criticisms"- George Eliot

New Job !!!

2011-07-06T10:18:00.000-07:00

Dear friends,

I am so happy to share the good news that I got a new JOB !!! I am beyond thrilled in this occasion.....

Two years of Marriage Life !!!!!

2011-06-27T05:23:00.000-07:00

New Pic of My Hubby....

2011-06-27T05:20:00.001-07:00

POP Eyes

2011-06-08T23:44:00.000-07:00

Pop eye fish disease is various combined problems or symptoms of an underlying disease.The most common reason being bacterial infection. Bacterial infection may have been caused by some preceding fish diseases or ailment. It can also be caused by rough handling, tumors, too much lighting, poor dietand or a vitamin A deficiency. The eyes begin to protrude and a build up of fluid forms in and around the eyes. Like most fish disease, stress is one of the main factors. Overcrowding, poor water quality and temperature changes in the aquarium are all major causes of stress in your fish. Rarely life threatening, pop eye fish disease is easily curable. However, sometimes the fishes eyes will not fully heal and may remain a little bigger than usual, even after the fish has recovered fully.

Symptoms of pop eye disease are one or both eyes will appear a lot larger than normal. Pop eye fish disease will cause the eye or eyes will protrude from the head and look as if the eyes have a cloudy covering. The disease takes about two weeks to peak, and by then the eyes have swollen a great deal.

In my case the victim is a Freshwater Shark (havent found the scientific name for it yet). The guy was fine when I arrived to my new apartment but after three days he started sporting a left pop eye.Have tried most of the water changing techniques under my sleeves but he still have not recovered.Yesterday onwards I have started completely switching off the Aquariums Lights off. My recent study says that running Aquarium lights overtime can distress the fish and make it vulnerable to Bacteria infections.His consumption of food still remains the same and moving around very energetically and trashing the poor Goldies who are in his way.

I am back !!!!!

2011-06-01T23:39:00.000-07:00

I know that I have committed the ULTIMATE CRIME in blogging by not posting these past months.... Now that I am back to being jobless I guess its blogging days from here on...

Promise !!!

BAD NEWS

2011-02-27T01:29:00.000-08:00

My Oranda Gold died last day ............

Cause of death unknown......

My new time pass in office.....

2011-02-21T07:40:00.000-08:00

My new creative side.....

Veiled Rebecca !!

2011-01-22T11:42:00.000-08:00

when I was working at EPTRI I was asked to go collect some documents from DiRECTORATE OF HEALTH..As usual I got out without calling them first.... Something I am very careful about these days... When I reached there I was asked to wait for four hours thats when my driver suggested about a museum,Salaar Jung museum near Koti. Thats where I saw her.... Rebbeca... The italian beauty sculpted in almost six foot single piece marble.. She is something I could never be... But its not jealousy but a deep sense of sadness... Legend says she was sculpted by her brother's friend who was present when her fiance saw her for first time...

She was so shy that she wore a veil when she came out to meet her fiance... She had kept her face meekly down never meeting their eyes... Obviously it not her fiance who got entralled..

The sculptor should have been in love with her .... No other man could have captured essence of that moment otherwise...

The sculpture of Veiled Rebecca made by Giovanni Maria Benzoni around the time 1809-1873.

Fin Rot in your tank !!! Then you need to read this..

2011-01-13T05:43:00.000-08:00

Fin rot is mainly due to Bacteria.Bacteria can be categorized into ‘friendly’ and ‘unfriendly’. Most of the bacteria found in aquariums are harmless, but others are potentially harmful in high densities. Friendly bacteria include the scavenging, decomposing bacteria digesting uneaten fish food, plant matter, dead algae, and basically everything that consist of organic matter. The nitrifiers also known as "beneficial" bacteria convert ammonia (resulting from bacterial activity, fish waste etc.) into the less toxic compounds of nitrite and nitrate. On rare occasions, denitrifying bacteria can settle in oxygen free areas and transform nitrate into oxygen and nitrogen gas.‘Unfriendly’ bacteria are summarized as pathogenic, disease causing bacteria.
Pathogenic bacteria are opportunistic, meaning as long as the fish is healthy, it will not be bothered. Some bacteria are present at all times and in a constant fight with the fish’s immune system. A strong immune system allows the survival of the bacteria strain without harming the fish.Bacterial infections are secondary diseases; they can only prevail if the fish is weakened under stressful conditions (high temperature or else very low temperature, ammonia, nitrite, high organics, low dissolved oxygen etc.), resulting in rapidly multiplying pathogens. A stressed and weak fish with pathogenic bacteria present results in a bacterial infection, which will be fatal if left untreated.
Any time a bacterial disease occurs, adjustments in the aquatic environment need to be made in order to lessen and to eliminate stress causing factors to the fish. Bacterial diseases should be treated with antibiotics, preferably in a quarantine/hospital tank so that the good bacteria colony collection in the tanks will not be harmed and the other healthy fishes would not get immune to the antibiotic. Antibiotics function by slowing down the pathogens thus increasing the immune systems efficiency. Nevertheless, it is the immune system that cures the disease not the antibiotic. To achieve a slowdown, antibiotics interfere with the reproductive mechanisms of the pathogen by interrupting its lifecycle. Vets recommend usage of different antibiotic of different composition each time so that the fishes do not get immune to antibiotic (this happens mainly in case of large aquaculture.)
The two relating terms are antibiotics and antibacterial. While antibiotics are naturally produced by a microorganism for killing another microorganism, antibacterial substances such as sulfa and furans are manufactured artificially.
To apply the correct antibiotic to a given pathogen the pathogens cell wall is decisive for the determination. Pathogens have either a thin or a thick cell wall. The method to differentiate between the two main types of bacterial cell walls is called the "Gram Staining Technique". In which there is the "gram positive" and the “gram negative". Keep in mind that the beneficial bacteria are gram negative as well. This tells us how each bacteria responds towards certain antibiotics.
Antibiotics against (thick wall) gram positive pathogens prevent the build up and repair of the cell wall which eventually will lead to the cell content leaching out, consequently killing the pathogen. Antibiotics against (thin wall) gram negative attack by interfering with the protein synthesis (metabolic process) therefore eliminate the cells ability to produce food.
Gram positive antibiotics will not have any effect on gram negative bacteria nor will gram negative antibiotics have an effect on gram positive bacteria.
The most common pathogen in the aquarium are the aeromonad species for freshwater and its counterpart vibrionaceae in marine and reefs (Both are gram negative). Aeromonads/vibrionaceae can be responsible for dropsy, abdominal swellings, skin ulcers, red patches, fin and tail rot and pop-eye.

General indicators of bacterial diseases can be deformed frayed fins, open sores, red steaks on fins or along the fish body, grey film on eyes, swollen or bloated belly, lethargic behaviour, loss of appetite etc. Antibiotics come in all forms and shapes - liquid, powder, or tablets. The magnitude of active ingredients multiplies the products to choose from, not just by themselves, but also the variations and combinations
It is essential to determine the disease causing bacteria in order to apply the correct antibiotic. The application dosage and time frame should be followed according to manufacturer’s recommendations.

2010-12-28T10:06:00.000-08:00

Moments of Life

2010-12-27T17:49:00.000-08:00

Out through the bedroom window
I saw the jackfruit eyeing me
teasing the life around it with its fruity smell
Oh! I am no exception
I was seduced by it charms
Every morning I go check up
On it through the window
Watched it grow round
and thrive against the odds
Finally the time neared
For receiving the price of my patience
But Alas !!
Before I can get whats mine,
A raven had staked it claim on my price
Eyeing me sideways daring me to come near
However futile it seems I took a step nearer
just to see what I lost forever
He then let out a war cry
On cue many of his kind joined
Forming a black guard army against me
Together they devoured my treasure
Mocking me inbetween by flapping their wings
Up above on the papaya tree
Sat the blue kingfisher
whose sorrowful chirps told me the tale of loosing
Like my fury for my lost chance
Rain drops started stumbling down from heaven
Driving black guard army away
There lies my jackfruit half eaten
still trying to draw life around it with its fruity smell

R.I.P

2010-12-26T09:44:00.000-08:00

My black molly who been with me for 6 months passed away today morning :(

Merry X-mas

2010-12-25T02:58:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas to everyone !!