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Unusual pets living afloat

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Narrowboat Communicator Engager

Narrowboat Communicator

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Hi everyone,

I just want to see how many have pets on their boat, be it a cat or a iguana .......

We have a boxer dog, two cats, one Siamese and one Bengal, two large turtles in a 4 foot tank, a 4 foot tropical fish tank, and a 3 foot brackish water tank with puffe fish and a lobster!

We have done hundreds of locks and all the tanks don't spill water, we had glass sliders made for them.

Hope someone else has unusual pets on their boat :-)

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Pykebird Rising Star

Pykebird

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Sounds like a boat full !!I only have 3 dogs(northern iniuts) and also a bengal. I don't know how you have managed to keep the fish and igugana, as my last bengal ate both a budgie and then a macaw! She causes more trouble than all the dogs put together!

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Starcoaster Veteran

Starcoaster

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I've got four cats in the boat, occasional rats and mice which are not unrelated to the former, and a crayfish in my weed hatch... I used to keep marine fish when I lived on land so am interested to hear how you manage keeping a tank, particularly marine, on a boat and off shoreline? Do you have live rock etc. and doesn't it get displaced easily?

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Narrowboat Communicator Engager

Narrowboat Communicator

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I've got four cats in the boat, occasional rats and mice which are not unrelated to the former, and a crayfish in my weed hatch... I used to keep marine fish when I lived on land so am interested to hear how you manage keeping a tank, particularly marine, on a boat and off shoreline? Do you have live rock etc. and doesn't it get displaced easily?

Honestly you would be amazed at how little the tanks are effected by movement, after every journey the tank looks like it did before we set off. I suppose it's like a cup of coffee on the roof of your boat, it doesn't spill or fall over whilst going through locks. I have had the occasional bump in the locks and still the tank is fine. I have the tanks filled to the top and have glass sliders that fit the tank perfectly, so if they did slosh about the water is so restricted in movement that you only get very very minor spillage. I'm talking egg cups worth over a day, but I don't mind that as I don't think you could get them 100% water tight. I have put the tanks on natural slate tiles so any water that may decide to spill only goes on them and is pretty much contained. But like I said its only a egg cup or two over 8-10 hours cruising.

I used to have marine fish in my house but on a boat with a loud traditional engine like mine, I don't think they would like the vibrations or noise. The marine fish are sooooo sensitive its unbelievable! So I went for tropical fish, but I keep the much more sought after kind rather than the normal. And had a brackish tank as they are very hardy and easy compared to marine.

Most water on the canal water points contains around 30-50ppm of nitrate! So unless you want to use reverse osmosis filters etc the water would have to be treated and mixed before hand and that takes loads of time and space!

But my tropical fish are doing well on just dechlorinated water, and i dont treat my water. The water tank in a boat is perfect to use for tropical fish as the chlorine etc eveparates after 24 hours so i fill the water tank on the boat and do my water changes on the tanks the next day.

I've kept them for 3 years on the boat and they still doing great :-)

 

Sounds like a boat full !!I only have 3 dogs(northern iniuts) and also a bengal. I don't know how you have managed to keep the fish and igugana, as my last bengal ate both a budgie and then a macaw! She causes more trouble than all the dogs put together!

We haven't got a iguana I was just giving a example, but we also had 2 birds, love birds that was cuddly tame and one day they escaped and never come back. But if I'm honest, they was so messy I wouldn't have birds again. And yes our Bengal is also manic!! Many times we are woken up in the night with him running wild!!!

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Susanne Gongoozler

Susanne

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Wow!!! Having just lost last much loved dog and not moved onto a boat yet, I am left with a tank of Fantail Goldfish ( sounds do able) a pond of 12 Koi Carp and a 3 foot Sturgeon and a Miniature Shetland Pony Stallion!! The Fantails? ok can do...but a pony and koi?

Might have to rehome!!!

Would like a dog onboard though...a seadog type like our old dog, A Wirehaired Hungarian Vizsla

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Neil TNC Rising Star

Neil TNC

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Apparently Mrs TNC wants to take her 3 dogs*, parrot, 2 gerbils and 2 tortoises across to Ireland. Graham has also said MA's rear deck would be a great place to fit a chicken coup...he has around 100 chickens to get rid of / borrow. I have befriended most of them, while fitting MA.

Chickens.jpg

 

 

There are also some baby Saddlebacks on offer :P

Piggies.jpg

 

 

dogs*

Lottie the ancient Jack Russell

Bonnie the Greyhound

Piper* the new Whippet

 

Piper*...it's name was a toss up between Piper or Sagar :wacko:

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Athy Veteran II

AthyDonate to Canal World

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In one of the books about canals (perhaps one of Anthony Burton's) there is a photo of a luxuriantly-bearded chap on the cruiser stern of his n/b, standing beside his goat.

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oasistoo Collaborator

oasistoo

Posted
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Hi everyone,

I just want to see how many have pets on their boat, be it a cat or a iguana .......

We have a boxer dog, two cats, one Siamese and one Bengal, two large turtles in a 4 foot tank, a 4 foot tropical fish tank, and a 3 foot brackish water tank with puffe fish and a lobster!

We have done hundreds of locks and all the tanks don't spill water, we had glass sliders made for them.

Hope someone else has unusual pets on their boat :-)

 

A miniature wire haired Dachshund and a pair of Degus (Chilean ground squirrels) rolleyes.gif

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