# One Mo' 'Gain: A journal about life and fishkeeping



## Crossroads (Jun 28, 2014)

One more time, one mo' 'gain.

Seems as though it's my life motto. Always try things one more time. Fight past the problems in your head and don't give up. A hard-won battle when you struggle with manic depression.

My last journals have been a bust bit maybe this time (with some help from some reminders on my phone) I'll remember to update.

So, for those who don't know me, I'm Cross.
I live in a small town northwest of Houston, Texas. I started fishkeeping in March of 2014, stumbling upon this site three months later trying to save my roommate's female betta. I've been through some us and downs throughout the past year, but my life is settling down and I can afford the time and money that my finbabies require.

This journal will be where I dump photos, musings about my life and work, and rants and raves about fish and other things.


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## Crossroads (Jun 28, 2014)

Today has been an uneventful day at work. Typical ignorance ran rampant with gems including a guy looking for a flowering plant that flowers all year and is pretty all year, which limited him to a scarce few plants which he all found to be ugly. This same gentleman interrupted me everytime I tried to answer his previous question, called Florida another country and asked what the same plant was eight times. It was Angelonia or Angel face. It is a flowering perennial in Florida, but an annual in Texas. I eventually gave up trying to speak to him, very loudly asking my manager if he could think of other plants that fit the gentleman's description cause I was running out of options. He kinda took the hint that he was being a pain. Other customers today have been more tolerable. 

Laughing at Motts right now. They have carrot shaped gummies in thier assorted fruit snacks. I'm not sure where they got their information, but I'm pretty sure carrots are a root vegetable. 

Rex, who came down with dropsy due to a heater malfunction, has seemingly recovered after doses of epsom salt. Pineconing is gone and the trouble he had swimming is slowly going away.

Had a male green lynx spider land on my arm today, pretty metallic little fellow. I put him in some of the peace lilies and snapped a few pictures. Being that he is a spider, I'll refrain from sharing. xD

I'll likely snap a few pictures once I'm home and load them to tumblr and here.


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## Crossroads (Jun 28, 2014)

Gonna take a trip to petco to grab some guppies. I miss my school. I'll grab some pictures of the bettas while I'm there and try to refrain from buying any (not that I have room anyway since tearing down two of my tanks.) There's a real cool piebald I want at my local petco but I'm refraining from getting him. He's so cool though. Ugh. 
//tallies him onto list of the ones that got away


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## Crossroads (Jun 28, 2014)

As promised, pictures from last night. The fish were very lively and healthy as usual. A few were pretty personable.








And ones that got away Tuesday. Saddened by a lack of space for that piebald:








Rain is the boon and bane of me when I'm at work. Long periods of rain make everything cooler, but the day drags due to no customers. Today has been one of those days. And I can't play on my phone so I'm locked to my register with nothing to do. Makes for an incredibly boring 12 hours. 

I got my guppies last night. One has a spinal deformity, she has been named Whale.








Some of the other guppies:








Last remaining baby from my original school:








Community tank shot:


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## Crossroads (Jun 28, 2014)

Yesterday started okay, ended on a really sour note. I had a half day yesterday so I left at 1. I like to be on my phone because usually, someone wanders off to do busy work and someone has to man the registers. The person left stuck at the registers is usually me. And there's usually few customers, if any. So I play on my phone to pass time and then catch hell for it.

However, nothing is ever said about one of the cashiers disappearing for 10 or more minutes every hour to go smoke or how he's consistently 10 or more minutes late coming back from lunch which messes up everyone else's lunch, or in the case of yesterday, me being able to close my drawer. 

Not to mention, I'm one of three people who actually knows about the plants. Two cashiers have no desire to learn and the other is brand new and learns slowly. Whenever they ask a question, the assistant manager helps them, if I have a question(I learn via audio) and ask him he rolls his eyes. I was forced to learn the book but no one else was. Yet I've got less hours than most of the cashiers.

I used to really like this job. It's headed downhill fast.

In other news, Kronos is settling in nicely to his new home. He's already building a nest by the looks of it. Cain and Rex approve of their tanks again and have nests going.

My orchids got a little sad cause I forgot to water them. I deadheaded the blooms and watered them with some tank water. Hopefully they'll spring back.


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## Elleth (Feb 23, 2015)

Love the little delta tail in your last post. Too cute!


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## Crossroads (Jun 28, 2014)

The piebald guy? Cause I was in love with him. He just didn't have the personality and spunk to warrant me opening one of my "death tanks" again. Whhhhiiich I have to do anyway, cause I bought Kronos annnnnnd now poor little Lillian is dehomed and sitting in a breeder box with a nerite for company in my community.


Today has been uneventfullying slow so far. We're (we being southern texas) is expecting a system to move across the Yucatan peninsula and possibly become a tropical depression or a tropical storm. Regardless of whether it becomes either, we're definitely expecting some heavy rain and flooding. No gardener has any desire to work in that. Weather's pretty yucky. We have some ominous clouds lurking to the southwest. I'm pretty much stuck at work all day, so no fishie news except what I saw this morning. Guppies are being bold, a couple smacking poor Sirekan in the face. Sirekan has been a good sport about it, even though he's easily twice their size. The pencilfish and guppies have been got friendly and often swim together. Seems that tank is full of oddities. Sirekan the King, Whale the humpbacked guppy, my remaining female tetra swims tilted, I have a pencilfish with a spinal deformity that struts like he's the baddest fish in the tank.


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## Crossroads (Jun 28, 2014)

I've been mulling over my Co2 options and trying to figure out what I want to do for my community. So far I'm using a Fluval Aquasky. Love it. It's brighter than any of my tanks current fixtures. 
I think I'm going to break down and buy a Co2 system and then buy a second aquasky to bump that tank up high. Get my Microswords going on carpetting then try riccia on my driftwood. And then add shrimp!
I've been using Aquavitro fertilizers (made by.....dundundunnnn. Seachem)
I have been dosing 
Aquavitro envy 3x a week. Monday, Wednesday, and Friday
Aquavitro synthesis 2x a week. Monday and Friday
Aquavitro activate 2x a week. Monday and Friday 



> Aquavitro Envy is a comprehensive carbohydrate, vitamin, amino acid, and polyunsaturated fatty acid supplement that addresses the micro and trace nutritional requirements of plants. envy™ contains ascorbic acid in a base of chlorella that contains a rich assortment of amino acids and vitamins.





> Nitrogen is one of the three macro nutrients (NPK) required by plants. It is a component of proteins and nucleic acids. Nitrogen is mobile in plants. This means the plants divert these nutrients from older leaves to new leaves. Thus, deficiency symptoms appear in older leaves first. Nitrogen deficiency symptoms include chlorosis; slow growth; and small, stunted plants with large root systems.
> 
> Nitrogen comes in a variety of forms (nitrate, ammoniacal, urea). While plants can use all three forms the form that is preferred varies by species. Thus nitrogen supplements derived solely from just one form (nitrates) will not be as effective as a supplement that provides all three forms.
> 
> synthesis™ is a concentrated (32,000 mg/L N) nitrogen source. synthesis™ is unique in that it provides nitrogen in all three forms. Approximately 50% of the nitrogen in synthesis™ is derived from an organic source (urea), while the remaining nitrogen splits at about 25% each from nitrate and ammoniacal sources.





> Phosphorus is one of the three macro nutrients (NPK) required by plants. It is a component of ATP, NADP, nucleic acids and membrane phospholipids. Phosphorus is mobile in plants; this means that the plants divert these nutrients from older leaves to newer leaves. Thus, deficiency symptoms appear in older leaves first. Deficiency symptoms include dark, dull, or discolored leaves.
> 
> activate™ is a concentrated (6,000 mg/L P) phosphorus source. When used as directed, activate™ will enhance and accelerate the growth of aquatic plants without enhancing algae growth. For maximum benefit, use with synthesis™.
> 
> activate™ is made with potassium salts of various phosphates, and is therefore a source of potassium as well. It contains 8,800 mg/L of potassium.


I need to get Premier and Propel as well.


> premier™ is a conditioner specifically designed for the planted aquarium. It removes chlorine and chloramines while adding potassium. premier™ is non-acidic and will not impact pH. Use at start-up and whenever adding or replacing water.
> 
> premier™ is a concentrated solution of potassium thiosulfate which removes both chlorine and chloramines. Although a thiosulfate-based conditioner is not recommended for saltwater aquaria because of the ammonia produced when it reacts with chloramines, it is perfect for the planted aquarium. The ammonia produced from chloramine by premier™ is predominantly in the ammonium form, and is thus rapidly scavenged by plants*. It also serves as a minor source of potassium.


Since it creates ammonia I'd dose in conjuction with Prime to lock up all traces of ammonia.

Propel's description:


> Iron is immobile in plants; this means that plants cannot deliver iron from older leaves to new ones. Therefore, deficiency symptoms appear first on new or young leaves. Because plants use iron to produce chlorophyll, a lack of iron results in chlorosis, or yellowing, of the younger leaves. Stems may also appear short and slender. If the deficiency is severe and prolonged, each new leaf emerges lighter in color than the preceding leaf.
> 
> propel™ is a concentrated (10,000 mg/L) source of ferrous iron. This ferrous iron is a mixture of readily available and time-released iron.
> 
> If iron is provided in the ferric form (Fe3+) then it must be reduced by the plant to the ferrous form (Fe2+) before it can be utilized. This process of conversion (known as reduction) requires the plant to expend physiological energy. propel™ provides iron already in the ferrous form thus enhancing iron utilization. In addition, propel™ contains a reducing agent that helps convert any iron present (such as iron from substrate) into the ferrous form.


I'm thinking this combination of fertilizers plus the Co2 and the dual lights would make for a gorgeous tank.


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## Crossroads (Jun 28, 2014)

Not much happening around here. Tropical storm Bill almost completely missed us, had a tiny bit of rain yesterday. Nothing serious. I did some cleaning yesterday and today, still have some work to do on my tanks but with the combination of my water changer replacing water and my gravel vac sucking out the bad, I'm able to do almost 100% changes without dropping the water level too badly. Rinse lather and repeat for the rest of my tanks lol.

I broke down and got four ADFs. I checked them for signs of disease and made sure they were indeed ADFs while they were in quarantine, which was not quite as long as it should have been but my roommate broke my other water change bucket so their 5 gal quarantine had to be changed to a water change bucket. They've settled nicely minus Louk's occasional prodding. No visible damage to any of them so I'm just watching them carefully. 

Kronos divider jumped, though I caught them right as they were squaring off so there was no damage to either. I fixed the divider and have been periodically checking for Houdini nonsense.

Whale died. I was hopping she'd pull through even though she was deformed, but I guess the stress of different water parameters combined with being pestered by males and being stressed by being taken home did the poor girl in. However, my deformed pencilfish, Sanford, is still going strong.


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## Crossroads (Jun 28, 2014)

Wow, look at me being too lazy to update xD 

Not much has really been going on around here. Tropical Storm Bill is pretty much passed. We got the tailed of some heavy rain yesterday but it was normal Texas rain. It's cloudy and gross today but so far we've just been sprinkled on. Today is ridiculously slow at work. This is gonna be a long twelve hours. Had a customer try to hand me her sweaty boob credit card. I made her swipe it. 

I got to remember how good couponing feels yesterday. I finally remembered to load coupons to my kroger plus card and watched a 330$ grocery bill drop by 70$. It's a good feeling. Plus, the next time I get gas, if I use my fuel points before we go shopping again, I'll save .50 cents per gallon . If not, I think I might save more. I forget if they rollover. Saving money makes me really happy. 









I had to let a few more pretties get away but I seriously don't have space for any more bettas. I wished I had grabbed a picture of the pretty black partial dragon scale HM girl at Petsmart. I almost bought her to ship to anyone if they wanted her as a breeder but she had a really wonky topline and her fins were subpar in my opinion. Maybe useful for work on a black dragon lines color but, not much else otherwise.

I picked up a pair of Blue Rams which I have named Kalypso and Velias. Due to their fantastic and baffling ability to hide themselves in my tank thier names mean "she who conceals" and "concealed."








I'm assuming they are tank bred since they loved my alkaline fincurlingly hard tap water but are seeming to struggle in my community tank's softer more acidic water even after a four hour long acclimation process. I've been conversing with Lil about it and have decided to try adding a second filter to my already overfiltered tank and an airstone. I'm going to have to be careful with my fertilizers and watch my nitrates until I figure out the new schedule for that tank to keep nitrates down for the rams. That is, if they survive though my twelve hour shift so I can get home with an airstone. I hope they make it. They're a gorgeous pair and were already paired up when I bought them. Took me eight stores to find a healthy blue ram and to even find a female. First store had three males, two of which were clamped and had nipped fins and ich. The third was fairly paled out but showed no sighs of ich and wasn't clamped. 








Second, third and fourth stores didn't have any. Fifth store had one male and a dead one stuck in a plant. Sixth store had two males. Seventh store had one gold and one bolivian ram but no blues. Finally, I checked a store near my job and lord and behold, my pair was swimming around together...and they were on sale.

Caught a few decent pictures of Kronos,









But by and large Kronos is a horrible model for pictures. 









The ADFs keep escaping into Kronos' side of the tank but they're doing okay otherwise. I wish I was home more to report silly betta antics but I'm usually stuck at work.


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## Crossroads (Jun 28, 2014)

Sirekan and Prospero are my clowns.

Sirekan is a photobombing little butt.

Hi There.








I 








Sincerely








Hope








You








Weren't








Trying 








To








Take pictures








Of these other fish, Right?









Prospero, on the other hand, glares at me until I take pictures of him, 








and then does this.








Oh, you caught me flaring?! I can't let you share that! Here's my butt instead. I'm just gonna stick my face in this plant, kay? Kay.








Of course, he does take pretty pictures sometimes.


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## Elleth (Feb 23, 2015)

Lol too funny and cute!


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## Aqua Aurora (Oct 4, 2013)

My boys always photo bomb when I try to get close ups of plants/snails but when I want a photo of the bettas.. they won't hold still!! Some are flare happy but my one plakat will charge at me when the camera is in use so its never in focus =.=


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## Crossroads (Jun 28, 2014)

Sirekan is my worst bomber, the others I've had in the community would just stare at me reproachfully. Sirekan demands I take his picture immediately.


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## Crossroads (Jun 28, 2014)

As usual, I fell behind on updating.

We're heading into the last month of slow season and I'm glad because it's only July and I'm packing 4 gatorades in addition to my filter bottle. Summer is getting expensive. When the heat index is 16° F above the actual temperature and you stand in the sun, in a muggy greenhouse, heat related illnesses are not only a danger but nearly guaranteed. Even drinking well over 3 liters of water means nothing out here if you don't have some kind of electrolytes. Friday, I managed to exhaust myself by drinking nothing but water all day due to having no money to get Gatorades that morning. By 4 pm, even though I had downed about 3 liters of water, I was swaying on my feet. I am usually great at mental math but I was struggling to count to 7 and remember what I had counted. My customer had to help me count. 

My roommate thankfully let me use her card to go get myself some, but it still took it's toll. By the time I got home, I was drained and exhausted. 

Today, so far, has been much cooler since we have a decent breeze blowing.

Merida decided to slip the divider, but I caught her before any damage (or dirty deeds) were done. Sirekan has a worrying little bump on his chin, but he's not acting strangely so I'm going to watch to see if its just an injury from eating things he shouldn't(like amano shrimp) or a by-product of my rams deciding that the top of a filter was a great territory and showing him that they are bosses of the tank. I haven't seen any fin damage just chasing, but I've been watching closely just in case.

Kronos is beginning to warm up to me which is nice. He's a pretty boy.
Louk's fins have filled back out while Red has taken up biting his and Prospero has decided he wants to be an RT and is selectively nibbling just the very ends but not biting out full chunks.

The community is overrun with diatoms and green dust algae. I hope it goes away soon.


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## Crossroads (Jun 28, 2014)

I talked myself into opening up my second empty tank again for this guy:








His name is Ares because he is a nasty little ball of anger.

Louk decided that he is now a wild type.









Would you believe that this








and this








Are the exact same dumb lil marble?










Annnd a gif:









Prospero is a lazy little butt as usual. He spent the first several minutes inspecting the cup like "What this mam?"
Finally








And then he got lazy:








And returned to showing me his butt









I can't leave out Cain of course. He took a few flare pictures and then spent the rest of the time zooming all over the tank:








Nyoooom








Peeeerfectly hidden









Speaking of Zoomies:








I couldn't even get pictures of this doofus. I had to take gifs.









Gotta go Fast!









Round and Round he goes, where he stops, nobody knows!









Ares: What are you doin', son?









Flare nyoom flare nyoo-flaaaare
Ares: Oh not this again.

Rex also wanted to show how pretty he was:


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## BettaBoy11 (Apr 21, 2015)

That orange CT is gorgeous!!!


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## Crossroads (Jun 28, 2014)

BettaBoy11 said:


> That orange CT is gorgeous!!!


I'm guessing you mean the new guy, Ares? |D
Sorry, with two boys being CT and having orange it's a little difficult to just go off orange CT xD

That and it's early and I got 30 minutes of sleep last night. My brain is goo.

Not looking forward to my shift.


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## BettaBoy11 (Apr 21, 2015)

Yes! Did you get him online or in the pet store?


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## Aqua Aurora (Oct 4, 2013)

Love the newest boy, looks chocolate! You lucky [censor]! Have fun with work.


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## Crossroads (Jun 28, 2014)

He's a Walmart fellow. I shouldn't be fueling their horrible care practices but he literally jumped in his cup when I passed him. How was I to say no?

He is indeed a chocolate! And oh I'm having loooads, it's hot already and I'm running a 12 hour shift on 30 min of sleep.

How I'm not passed out on the floor is anyones guess.


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## Aqua Aurora (Oct 4, 2013)

Crossroads said:


> He's a Walmart fellow. I shouldn't be fueling their horrible care practices but he literally jumped in his cup when I passed him. How was I to say no?
> 
> He is indeed a chocolate! And oh I'm having loooads, it's hot already and I'm running a 12 hour shift on 30 min of sleep.
> 
> How I'm not passed out on the floor is anyones guess.


MOUNTAIN DEW!!! DRINK ALL DAY LONG! Maybe not the best idea >.>''
And wow! a chocolate at a [censor] place like walmart?! I'd have grabbed him too even if I'm not a ct fan.


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## Crossroads (Jun 28, 2014)

I've actual found a number of oddities at my local walmarts. 
Natal, who was a chocolate dalmatian VT.
Angelos, an orange dalmatian
Faust, blue yellow bicolor "Armageddon" VT.
I was informed by the coworker who gave me Phobos that he came from walmart. He was black CT with yellow fins.

Others I've seen:
3 pure cellophane
12 different yellows
4 different blue yellow bicolors
A black guy with carrot orange fins and green irids
2 white guys


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## Elleth (Feb 23, 2015)

What a cutie! I would have grabbed him too, lol.


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