# A journal by: Huffle Puffles



## Huffle Puffles (Jul 5, 2013)

Hello everyone 
This is the start of my new journal. If you're curious more about the full back stories to these bettas you can check out my old journal here: http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=220082. I've decided to move forth to this new one after the passing of my "baby betta". Here you'll find the many ramblings from me about my bettas, snails, dog, perhaps the other random animals I follow around outside and maybe a rant or so about my life in general. :-D


Name: Harley
Adoption Date: 07/16/13 - Officially 7/31/13
Current Housing: 3 gallon critter keeper (unfiltered, heated)
Likes: Building massive bubble nests. Silently judging the world, well...room, (okay okay me, he's judging me, I can see it in his eyes!) from his mesh tunnel. Being super sassy!
Dislikes: When I destroy his bubble nests. When the camera flash goes off and it's not aimed at him. 
*Originally was supposed to be a fish my aunt was going to rescue from 'life in a cup'. After babysitting him for a week while she was on vacation she gifted him to me. 

First Day




Current



¸.·´¯`·.´¯`·.¸¸.·´¯`·.¸><(((º> 


Name: Koji
Adoption Date: 07/21/13
Current Housing: 10 gallon (planted, filtered, heated) & 5 mystery snail roommates. 
Likes: Swimming through the filter current. Planking?- He will swim, swim, swim then abruptly stop and just lay very still. Exploring his new undivided tank. 
Dislikes: When Harley wouldn't pay attention to his creeper advances. 
*He's changed the most color wise out of all my bettas I think. As you can see by the pics below. 

First Day
One Dark Eye...


...and One Light


Current (He has been a pain in the rump to try and get a picture of lately, he's so excited to be able to cross the border onto the other side of the tank now.)



¸.·´¯`·.´¯`·.¸¸.·´¯`·.¸><(((º> 


Name: Ramses
Adoption Date: 08/07/13 
Housing: 5.5 gallon (filtered, heated)
Likes: His mesh tunnel. Bloodworms. Playing dip'n'around games with the heater and plants. 
Dislikes: The camera monster, rawr!
*Picked this guy up at Pet Supply after going back and thinking he was a betta that had been there a long time that I had seen and really liked the color of. Turns out, it was a different fish. Oopsies. We had a rough start but I quickly fell just as in love with him as the rest. We've continued to have a rough journey together as he continually fights a pretty bad case of fin rot/tears/tumors. But he's a very active, social boy who I'm working on trying to bring to full health. 

First Day


Current (hiding his boo-boos)



¸.·´¯`·.´¯`·.¸¸.·´¯`·.¸><(((º> 


Snails
I currently have 4 Black Mystery snails (Meep, Bleep, Okie & Dokie) and 1 Golden Inca snail (Mo)

(They've been tossed about a bit between tanks after Mysti's passing, so their shells are looking a little worse for the wear)



¸.·´¯`·.´¯`·.¸¸.·´¯`·.¸><(((º> 


Name: Bailey (Lhasa Apso)
Adoption Date: 03/17/05 (I think?) 
Housing: Everywhere! She owns this house and everyone/thing in it. haha!
Likes: Going for walks. Steak. Leg/paw massages. Baths and sitting under the hair dryer. Jumbones (don't know if I even spelled that right). Laying on her pillow throne and gazing out the window. Sticking her head out the car window on rides through the country...
Dislikes: ...^The scent of cow poo on said rides through the country. When it rains and her paws get wet. The word "no". If you point out she "tooted"...that really embarrasses her. >
*She's basically my fur-child, I mean she's my kid she just happens to walk on all fours and have fur...ya...that's it. :lol:

First Day





First Fur-cut



Current (Not a Morning Doggy)



Snooooow



So, this is just a brief introduction or re-introduction to the cast of characters you will see through-out this journal. Next post will be an actual journal entry, but I figured I'd start it off with a brief intro. !


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## Huffle Puffles (Jul 5, 2013)

So everyone has been jostled about. Tanks are kind of upheaved and incomplete. I want to add more plants but haven't been able to go out much with the snow. Crazy weather!!

Koji and the snails are living downstairs in the sitting room by the window in the 10 gallon.

Harley is living on my computer desk in his old 3 gallon keeper. I don't know if he is doing the tail biting or if Koji was getting him through the divider but I found a big chunk of his dorsal nipped off and lots of little u-shaped markings all over his tail. It's probably for the better for him to be back in the smaller tank, I think he was struggling to move about in all that space anyway. Mr. Sassypants does have pretty full finnage after all. 

Ramses is still residing in his 5 gallon. I think I actually am starting to see some healing going on. There's less "blackness" to his scales and he had some pinholes all over his fins that I no longer see. I mean, his fins are still in really rough shape but at least I see -some- progress now. 

The snails are active...a little hurting in the shell department, I threw out all their cuttlebones after being in the infected tank and haven't gone out to get a new one yet. Interesting to know that they really do help make a difference though. 

Picture spam!

Seeeee, silently judging...


Why bother swimming when you can sit in the gravel


Lurking in the leaves


Grumpy-pants


Grumpy face - he's trying to be like Harley


Love the mix of his scale colors popping and the shadows


About to explore the caveish, structure, thingiemabob


Under the anubias - the cool new hangout spot


Oh excuse me while I use you as a step-ladder


Friends


Oh, hello


o_o moooooom can I be a clam for Halloween??


Nommage


Trying to clean the faux algae?


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## BettaLover1313 (Apr 15, 2013)

Glad to hear that Ramses is getting better!

Love all the snails and their comments!


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## Cotton19 (Nov 26, 2013)

Can't get over that stunning shade of green Koji is, how long did it take to come in on him?


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## Huffle Puffles (Jul 5, 2013)

Thank you BettaLover :-D!

Cotton19, this was him on 08-13-13, it was starting to come in. So about 3 weeks. I will say in the dark he keeps to a more baby-blue/turquoise color, but if any light hits him, especially the camera flash, that green irid really pops out. :-D


and this was two months after that one


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## cheekysquirrel (Jan 7, 2014)

Looking forward to reading about your journey with your babies, whether they be slimy, fishy or furry 
I understand Bailey being like your child. I feel the same about my cat, to the extent that I get separation anxiety!


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## summersea (Jul 26, 2013)

I have to say, I absolutely LOVE the coloring on Koji! I can't wait to see more pictures of him! Stunning!


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## Cotton19 (Nov 26, 2013)

my HM rocky photographs green too, and he is more a deep blue/violet, but my new plakat has true green, I am excited about that


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## Huffle Puffles (Jul 5, 2013)

I know everyone is sick of the snow, but I have to say, I kind of like it. *hides before things are thrown at her* It's been sort of nice being stuck in the house, it's forced me to get lots of stuff done...and lose many hours of my life since I decided to start playing World of Warcraft again. Seriously, now I remember why I quit...it just sucks the hours right out of your day! 

Anyhoos

The snails are thriving. Like, I can already see their shells getting better. The Black mystery ones are all getting to be the size of golf balls. The golden ones growth has been slower, but I see lots of healthy shell, so I'm happy. 

Koji is good. Loving all his new plants. I purchased a really pretty new Anubias plant for his tank, they seem to do well in there and the snails aren't snacking on them too much. I was really excited to find it at the store, it was hidden behind a bunch of those "mixed plant" bunches for $6.99 or $7.99 at Petco and when I pointed out it wasn't a mixed bunch the lady gave it to me for the $4.99 price. YAY! I don't know why I was so excited about this plant, haha, I just really liked the leaf spread and shape. 

Only bad thing is his tank has an outbreak of tiny white bugs, which I know are from the snail food. I saw someone on the forums here use tile in their tank and I think I'm going to ditch the gravel and go for that. Easier to vac...I don't care how much I clean the gravel, it's never enough, and I always get so much junk stirred up into the water. So yea, once the snow dies out, I'm going to make a trip to Home Depot. The anubias, I will either tie to some driftwood or if I can find some crystals I have laying around that aren't sharp...maybe those. Not sure, maybe a mix. I'm going to buy more plants, I'd really like to get one of those twine looking plant rings they sell at Petco to add in their too. The tank is in the sitting room now where everyone watches tv, so I want to really pretty it up...like a sunken lost world. PLUS it gets great sunlight for the plants. 

Ramses still my lumpy boy, still icky finned, BUT, BUT!!!!! I ACTUALLY SEE HIS FIN HEALING!!! Lol, sorry. I've been monitoring one particular tear and I've watched it heal from being sliced from his body to the tear being gone. So I'm quite excited that he does actually have the ability to heal. Now if only he would work on healing the big hole in the middle of his caudal I'd be content. But he loves his new tank setup, since I refuse to give him any ornaments, I've put the silk plants from Koji's tank in there with a pair of mesh tunnels floating at the top and he's having a lot of fun playing in the leaves. 

Harley, ohhhh Harley, what have you done to your fins. Wherever he did the biting (what I think was him or Koji biting him through the mesh) it's sorta tattered and curled looking now, I don't know if its rotting a bit before it's going to heal or what, but I'm keeping an eye on that. I did do a Kanaplex treatment just in case. But otherwise, he seems...content on the desk. I mean, ya know, content for a grumpy face.  


Ehem! Who you callin' grumpy face!? Hm?


Scoping out the plants


Checking out the new ruins head


Mysti must have taught him how to play hide-n-seek...


...and Harley must have taught him how to be sassy


Better idea of his natural light coloring


The new plant and a Koji tail


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## Betta Nut (Dec 3, 2013)

Looks like Koji likes the new plant even more than you!
It really is a nice one, good find 

I saw that tile bottom tank too, and thought ooooo nifty!

Looking forward to seeing what you do with yours.


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## cheekysquirrel (Jan 7, 2014)

Glad to see everyone is doing well! I'd be interested to see what you'll do with the tiles.

As a side note, I really hate snow. But I'm in Australia, and it's summer here, so... Far out, I'd kill for some snow.


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## Huffle Puffles (Jul 5, 2013)

I think he does too, Betta Nut. I've found him sleeping under it almost every night. 

I know huh, I saw it and was like "omg that would be the perfect solution!". Some people on here really come up with some handy-dandy stuff. Thanks, I look forward to trying to figure out what I'm going to do with mine, haha! 

---

Thank you, cheekysquirrel 
Oooo Australia, that's my "I must go there before I die" place. But I will try to send a little of our snow your way or at least a bit of a cool breeze. :wink:


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## DaytonBetta (Feb 4, 2014)

The tile guy has a post in the planted tank section,that he's having a lot of trouble with his plants and was worried the tile was part of the problem. He removed it and now has just the glass floor.


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## Huffle Puffles (Jul 5, 2013)

Thank you for pointing that out, DaytonBetta. I'm still curious enough to give it a try though. My only concern in that post was that there was mention that the tiles could of been leaching something, but I'd really like to go with natural rock or glass ones, so I -think- that should be okay, unless anyone reading this can tell me otherwise? I'm just going to make sure whatever I pick doesn't have any sort of weird backing/substance on the bottom. As far as plants, just going to stick with stuff that doesn't require substrate for the roots. Yea. I think. Trial and error here I come! haha


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## Huffle Puffles (Jul 5, 2013)

So, I was sitting and examining Koji's tank, thinking of how I want to tackle this white buggy problem when out of the corner of my eye I see this black dot crawling across the ledge ornament. I thought - "OMG NOW WHAT BUG IS IN MY TA...wait...is that....no...*squints to look* OMG BABY SNAIL!!!!!!" Knowing I want to strip the tank tomorrow I quickly grabbed a container of water, pulled up the ornament since I couldn't find the little stinker and ...*squints again* "is that...OMG ANOTHER BABY SNAIL!" So those two are wrapped in a towel and sitting in a cup on the bathroom floor by the heater vent. After I showered I went back downstairs to look around and found two more babies playing in the gravel. I didn't really want to get dirty tank water on me again, so I've left those two for now. I'm just going to take everything out slowly and examine the heck out of it before cleaning. But oh my gosh, how exciting! I really thought my snails were sterile since I catch them mating all the time but have yet to see any clutches...infact, I didn't even see this one, well, I saw some peachish thing in the ruins head opening the other day but I just assumed it was odd lighting. Don't Mystery Snails lay their eggs above water? I have no idea how I didn't notice them crawling around before tonight though, I stare at that tank all the time. I just feel terrible knowing I've been vacuuming that tank a lot lately, so it makes me wonder how many of those poor dears I've sucked up and washed down the drain.  Ugh. At least these little girls/boys toughed it out!

Grabbed the camera after having the OMG moment. 


Meet Squishy and Squishi - they will all be named some form of "squishy" since there's no way I can tell them all apart. 


Weeeeeeeeeee hellooooooooo


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## BettaLover1313 (Apr 15, 2013)

Awwwwwww! Baby snails!


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## cheekysquirrel (Jan 7, 2014)

Ickle bubbies! Too cute :-D
Maybe the other mating attempts were just for practice?


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## Quinn (Apr 4, 2010)

Actually those are pond or bladder snails, not baby mystery! You see they have sort of football shaped shells? Baby mysterys will be round, like mini adults. I know plenty of people hate them and get over run, I've seen a small number of them but they haven't exploded, I have MUCH more ramshorns everywhere! 
I just got my first mystery clutch, but I'll probably just toss it and not let them hath, or maybe try to break most of it off so I only get a few... 
If your snails aren't laying maybe you don't have enough space above the water line? My guys have also been mating like mad, but I wasn't really hoping for it! Haha


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## Huffle Puffles (Jul 5, 2013)

Well, I just had the scariest experience with Bailey in our lives. Today, she was sitting outside on the front lawn and I heard her barking so I looked out and saw a guy walking his two boxers without holding their leashes coming down the street. I made my way downstairs as fast as I could because I usually stand by the door just to keep an eye on things when I see dogs walking by I don't recognize and I know Bailey's outside. She's really good, she just sits on the lawn right outside the door, don't even need to put a leash on her. Which I won't do because one time she got her leash wrapped around a bush and wasp thingies were stinging her. She had disturbed a nest...and that was the second scariest thing. But by the time I was to the stairs the dogs apparently ran up our driveway and had Bailey pinned on the ground. By the sounds they were all making I thought they were mauling her to death. My mom was standing there yelling at the guy to get the dogs off and the moron just STOOD THERE. Like not even close to the dogs, not yanking their leashes, nothing. So I jumped in and chucked his two dogs outta the way. I figured if they were biting her, I rather get a stitched up arm then have them kill her. Ugh. Seriously, my nerves are SHOT, lol. But Bailey is okay, I don't know what they were doing and what the noises were, but I didn't see any bite marks, thank heavens. My mom asked the guy why he wasn't holding their leashes and he's like "oh they got away from me..." no sir, you did not have their leashes in your hands for quite a while. -_- But I was too shaken up to do anything besides hold Bailey and glare at everyone. She wouldn't let me put her down for a while anyway, but she's currently laying in bed sleeping on my pillow, I think she's finally chilled. It really is frightening how fast things can happen like that. 

On a ligher note, Quinn, thanks for pointing out what type of snails those are. I just thought they were funny shaped since they were still babies. I'm now left wondering WHERE they came from, lol. My only guess is that new Anubias plant, but before I put that in the tank, I ran my fingers over each leaf and stem as I rinsed it over and over...so those little guys are quite the clingers to of held on through that. I found a total of 6 - 2 seem to be dead, 3 are crawling around this morning and 1 is MIA. I do have about 2 inches of space from the waterline just incase any of them do want to lay a clutch. I thought it'd be nice to see babies, if it was ment to be. 

Yesterday, I tore the tank apart and cleaned everything up and out. I'm both enjoying the aspect of a 'bare' bottom tank and then not so much. I like that I can see all the snail poo to vac it out, but again, I can -see- all the snail poo, lol. I think once I tile it, it won't be as bad. I'd like to get something sand/neutral colored. On second thought I was also considering getting some large slabs of flat rock. Not sure. But I like to play around with design anyway, I'll figure it out!  I snagged two pieces of drift wood from Petco and tied my Anubias to it, I REALLY like the way they came out. I need to go buy one more piece for the bigger plant now. 

Koji has decided he no longer would like to eat pellets after feasting on the worm creatures, he's gotten a taste for live food and yea, I don't think he's going to be willing to go back now. He just spits the pellets out. Guess I'll be trying some frozen foods. 

Did a WC on Ramses' tank today. He's so simple to take care of. Quick vac twice a week, a refill and boom, done. He LOVES his new tank setup. It's a faux plant jungle in there for him. I haven't noticed anymore damage to his fins. Yay! But that darn hole just won't heal up. -_-

I picked up a 2.5 minibow for Harley, maybe. He's in the large keeper right now and I'm not sure if I want to downgrade him again size wise. I have it on my floor in the box while I think about it, but it was the last one there and they marked it down to $19.99, I didn't want to pass it up. I was thinking of doing a little mini 'planted' tank for him since he's not a swimmer, he likes to just lay in his cave or on the plants. We'll see. 

I like that with all the sunlight I can catch non-flash colored pics now


OH HOW I LOVE YOU MR. HEAD THING


What? o_o


Mo cleaning


'ey! Who left all that stuff up there?


HEY YOU CAN YOU HEAR ME THROUGH THE GLASS?! I LIKE THE NEW PLANT THINGIE!


Swim, swim, swim


Eeeee! Love the rainbows the sun was casting


Squishy exploring his/her new home


Aaaaaaand EXTEND! & Koji photobomb


The cool new hangout?


Piggy-backing


Hitching a ride


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## BettaLover1313 (Apr 15, 2013)

Glad to hear that Bailey is okay! I can't imagine a scare like that with either Renji or Lucky! 

Koji is looking good! Love his coloring without the flash.


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## Cotton19 (Nov 26, 2013)

It is always interesting to see people's (and fish) reactions to snails; some people like you love them, some want to eliminate them, and I just don't want to be overrun by them. I like that they eat algae, and a couple of my fish like eating some of the baby snails, which is good live food and population control. You do have some pretty snails, I have only deliberately gotten snails that help eat algae/food myself.


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## Huffle Puffles (Jul 5, 2013)

Geez, I haven't updated in forever. It was a rough week, first Bailey getting attacked then my mom's computer literally blew up (smoke and all) and then my dad had an accident at work and he's in the hospital. Ugh. They say bad things happen in threes, so here's hoping we're done. Anyway, I haven't much felt like taking pics since Harley has completely shredded his tail, Ramses' lump has doubled and I almost feel like he's got one internally, but he still eats like a piggy, plays, is social so I'm not going to decide for him when his time to go is. Koji and his snail clan are doing well though, the snails are HUGE. One baby pond/bladder snail survived. I think she/he has been laying eggs all over the mesh tunnels, I don't see how, it's still so tiny, but they sure look like them. But, that's actually why I've decided to update today...I had plans to move the tank today...and found a little Mystery present. It's interesting, the tank has been around 82...some afternoons it hits about 85 because it's by the window, that's why I've wanted to move it, but I took out one of the heaters last night and the temp slowly dropped to high 70's. Guess the cooler temps made them want to leave a surprise...




I know I said I wanted snail babies but holy cow, what the heck would I do with all these!? :shock:


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## cheekysquirrel (Jan 7, 2014)

Wow, you HAVE had a rough week! :-( Hopefully things will improve for you and your family.
Also, that is a slightly scary picture. It looks like the aftermath of a Doctor Who villain that's exploded o_o
Do you think they'll hatch?


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## Huffle Puffles (Jul 5, 2013)

Thank you, yea it has been.  
LOL, I have to admit I've never watched Doctor Who, so I'll take your word for it, but that's a funny analogy!
I'm not sure if they'd hatch, I know snail eggs can be finicky? But I also do not have room for that many snails right now (I counted 100+ little eggs just on the front!) so I might have to remove it, or if possible maybe only save a portion.


...I know, I know, I had said I wanted baby snails and now I'm talking about removing them...I guess I didn't expect it to possibly be HUNDREDS *smacks forehead*


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## BettaLover1313 (Apr 15, 2013)

I hope all your troubles are over with. That is an extremely rough week! 

Holy snail eggs batman! O.O Yeah, that's a lot of potential snails!


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## Huffle Puffles (Jul 5, 2013)

Holy cow it's been a while since I've updated or posted. I've been around lurking on other people's threads when I'm passing some time though. My dad comes home in about a week from the hospital, well he's in physical therapy rehab now, but yea! Yay! It's been crazy having to watch him go through everything. But he's on the recovery path so it's great! 

Fishies fishies...everyone is still alive! lol - with the subtraction of the snails. Unfortunately with everything going on, I just did not have the time to clean the tank everyday with them being so big and the bladder snails reproducing again (I guess I missed a clutch) the poop was ridiculous. Anyhoos, I packed everyone up, called this nice fish store that I've been to before and they were more than willing to take them. I refused to bring them to Petco, they always kill their poor snails. 

So yea, Koji's having fun in the 10 gallon all to himself. Harley's got a 5.5 gallon to himself. Ramses is kind of on his way out, so he's been reduced to a 3 gallon critter so I don't need to use a filter and can keep his water nice and clean for him. And Damon *coughs* is currently getting used to being in a 3 gallon critter keeper tonight. Yeaaaa that's right, there's a new addition to the family! He's the reason I came on to update, ha.

My mom told me to go out today, do some errands and do a little de-stress shopping and I stopped by Petco to get some things and I have no idea what possessed me to look at the bettas, I've sworn not to look at Petco bettas because with Petsmart and Pet Supply being around and having such beautiful bettas at a fraction of Petco's prices...I refused to fall in love with a Petco betta...until today! I guess it started when I looked at the ones at Petsmart since they got their new shipment in, but there were no dragonscales. Really REALLY adorable little crowntail black female though and a GORGEOUS vibrant blue butterfly halfmoon...but neither called to me. I've really been looking for a white dragonscale plakat, but I won't buy on Aquabid...the fun part is finding the needle in the haystack at a local store for me. Anyyyyway...I caught a little glimmer of a black tail with some sorta mauvey irid swimming on the bottom shelf and being curious I picked up the cup...that face had me at the moment I took a looksie. But did I really want another betta? I mean, yeaaaa I had the 5.5 empty now...and he was so cute...and I've always wanted a "copper" (I think he's one) but ugh...I don't know! Yea...that's the conversation that went on in my head, lol. He was playing with my finger, he'd go away but when I would remove it he would swim back like "HEY YOU PUT THAT BACK!" And when I put his cup back on the shelf he swam over and gave me that look like "you don't want me? ;_;" So, as I was thinking I ended up picking up the cup next to him, SHOULD NOT HAVE DONE THAT! That betta was so neat! White dragonscale butterflyish pattern? (pic below) Decisions! I ended up talking with the lady working in the department and she was trying to get me to buy both because she was excited that I was a person who actually cared to take care of bettas and give them proper tanks, she even thanked me for doing my research first.  So I spent about a half an hour on the floor staring at the two fishies...do I get them both...do I get one...which one? Should I split a tank? Finally I decided to get the first one that caught my eye. I felt really bad leaving the other one behind and when I texted my friend a pic with my decision in the car she's like "WHERE'S HIS BROTHER?!" and I proceeded with "DON'T MAKE ME FEEL WORSE FOR LEAVING HIM BEHIND!" So I sat in the car for another 15 minutes wondering if I should have gone back for him. lol - I MIGHT go back and get him...I dunno. Gonna drive myself crazy with this I think! 

Anyway, I introduce to the journal, Damon. 

The girl working in the department told me he had already been there for a few weeks already, that was the final push I needed to snatch him up. He's taken to his little cave already. I've got him on the floor in the corner for now, he freaked out when I had the light on and he saw his reflection. Oops.

Sorry this was sort of long winded!

You knoooooow you wanna buy me! (excuse the dirty Petco cup)


Uhm, oh, hello o.o


RAWR YOU GO AWAY MY HOUSE NOW! 


The boy I left behind...


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## BettaLover1313 (Apr 15, 2013)

Damon is quite the looker! I can see why you had a hard time picking between the two! Both are very handsome boys.


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## Huffle Puffles (Jul 5, 2013)

Thank you BL1313 

Gosh, I feel like I start every entry off with "it's been a while..." It's been so hectic here with my dad home. But I love that he is! And he's doing SO good. Advances everyday and he starts his out-patient physical therapy today. I know he's glad to be home too after being in the hospital-rehab for like 7 weeks.

Finally got Damon's tank finished the other night. I must say I'm quite pleased with how it looks, even though its a pretty simple design. My first time using sand and so far, I like it! Took him about 10 minutes to discover he could go inside the new ornament and he's been playing around curiously. It was about two days before he stopped running every time I came near. But he quickly learned the scary monster outside the tank came to give him food. Now he chases my finger and flares at the food container.

Koji has two new tank mates - two psychotic little Ottos. They've been ZIPPING around the tank like crazy then they quickly stop and you see them suck the heck outta the glass. It's hilarious. Koji's been such a good boy, hasn't even tempted to bother them. But they're good little cleaners, only took them a day and all my plants are squeaky clean. I ended up going with gravel in his tank again. After all the work of getting wood and attaching the plants so I could go with tile, I ended up getting rid of the snails so there was no need for the flat bottom anymore. 

Harley is still being Harley. He thinks he's a professional fin stylist now though. And he's got this weird cyst like patch growing down the side of his body by the caudal. So that makes all three Dragonscale boys sporting cysts. :\

Speaking of, I think Ramses's body is starting to give in. He doesn't move much, just lazes on his plants looking up. I left the cover off his tank so he could actually see out rather than having to stare up at a cover all day. But we'll see, he's fought a long time with that growth taking over his head...but now the sides of his belly are starting to bulge out from the insides. When he breathes now I see big bubbles pop out his gills. I consider ending it for him, but he still eats and tries to swim and just looks up at me like "no...Im fighting, can't you see? I'm not ready to go yet!" I think he's watching my curtain twirl in the breeze right now, he's wedged up in the corner of the tank by it looking out and he never sits on that side. 

Uhm, hm, is that everyone? Guess so!

So since I've finally got everyone settled how I want them to be, I put together all the fake plants and ornaments I no longer think I will use and put together the extra critter keepers, along with a little baggy of food, some conditioner, gravel I never used, a thermometer, a net and I'm going to print up a little "how to care for bettas" sheet and I'm going to try and sell them as pre-designed sets at my yard sale...with a "just add heater, water & betta" note. I figure it's worth a shot, maybe can get more for a whole set up then if people just buy a plant here or there.

OH! OH! One more thing, Petco has a ton of fish stuff in their clearance bins. Just a little idea of what I picked up at mine:
Nutrafin Cycle 4oz $2
Maracyn Oxy 4oz $2 or $3
NLS Thera + A Regular Formula 2.83oz $2
Stress Coat+ 8oz $2
Tetra FloraPride 8.45oz $1.50

Everything was sealed, doesn't expire for at least another year, so yea I was pretty happy with my finds. I noticed a lot of Fluval foods, Algae rid stuff too. They also had some of their pond lily bulbs for I'm pretty sure it was $2-3. I went to a second store and I saw a 1 gallon tank, bigger jars of NLS too. Just in case anyone was curious about maybe checking theirs out. ^_^

Is it food time? o_o 


Two new ottos


Koji the graceful photo bomber


Photo bomb nose dive!


Weee! Haha! I stole the Ottos' spotlight!


You can see his bumpy


Over flashed but I thought his face was so cute 


He's a good boy, he eats everything on his plate...er...tank bottom


Bought that ornament as a lil pressie for myself/Damon


Gah, love that irid


And that face! He's lucky he's behind glass or I'd be smooshing it all day. :lol:


Fins!


Ok, that's all for now. My camera was being a booger and the lighting settings were all messed up. But I'm sure there will be more to come. :-D


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## BettaLover1313 (Apr 15, 2013)

Ramses has a large stomach too? Gah! Now I'm worried again about Dragoon. Here's hoping all our DS boys start to feel better.


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## Huffle Puffles (Jul 5, 2013)

He does, I've been very careful not to over-feed him, so I don't believe it's that, since it sorta creeps down the sides around his belly from where the lump is and his scales have an over-all thickening to them. I don't know...but that poor little guy has had a rough life.  I've tried Kanaplex, Epsom, Maracyn, Water changes, filtered and unfiltered tanks. And his fins and that lump just have never quite responded. 

Koji on the other hand has a lump, it hasn't gotten much bigger than it's been for a while. He's fine otherwise. He swims great, eats, patrols his tank ...watches the crazy ottos darting around. 

I tell ya, these fish. Now that I've got Damon, I'm going to be curious to see if the lack of Dragonscales really does make a difference. 

Hopefully Dragoon's lump is more like Koji's where it's just going to be there without causing problems. 



Sidenote - that NLS Thera + A Regular food was a +garlic formula...hoooooly cows does my room stink by the tanks!!! Guess I know what I will be doing today - water changes! If anyone has ever smelled watered down garlic...yea...imagine that festering in a warm tank. lol yucky! The boys really seem to love it though, so maybe I will keep it as a treat and only put a pellet in at a time to make sure it gets eaten right away and doesn't have time to dissolve in the water.


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## BettaLover1313 (Apr 15, 2013)

Huffle Puffles said:


> He does, I've been very careful not to over-feed him, so I don't believe it's that, since it sorta creeps down the sides around his belly from where the lump is and his scales have an over-all thickening to them. I don't know...but that poor little guy has had a rough life.  I've tried Kanaplex, Epsom, Maracyn, Water changes, filtered and unfiltered tanks. And his fins and that lump just have never quite responded.
> 
> Koji on the other hand has a lump, it hasn't gotten much bigger than it's been for a while. He's fine otherwise. He swims great, eats, patrols his tank ...watches the crazy ottos darting around.
> 
> ...


Koji's sounds like the first one Dragoon got on his head, it hasn't grown at all. It's the two on his right side that worry me. 

I can imagine how bad the tank smelled! At least your boys like it!


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## Huffle Puffles (Jul 5, 2013)

Ramses finally let go. I'm sad but really happy at the same time knowing that he's no longer stuck just laying on leaves and can now swim freely wherever he is. Poor little guy really toughed it out. Normally I flush my fish that have passed on but he fought to stay around so hard that I decided to bury him under a flowering bush we have outside. I laid a bed of flower petals and poured a little of the tank water before laying him down, plus the dirt was wet from rain...so I didn't have the normal "I can't bury something aquatic in dry dirt" feeling, lol. SIP <3

Just a few pics to remember him by:


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## BettaLover1313 (Apr 15, 2013)

Very sorry to hear about Ramses. He was a tough little guy to hold out for so long! S.I.P.


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## Huffle Puffles (Jul 5, 2013)

Thank you


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## Cotton19 (Nov 26, 2013)

I am sorry to hear about your loss, I also lost my veil tail BB about a month ago, hopefully they are swimming together with so many other good fish lost before them


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## Huffle Puffles (Jul 5, 2013)

Thank you and yes, I'm sure all of our lost friends are above having a big ole swim party with all they can eat bloodworms ^_^


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## Huffle Puffles (Jul 5, 2013)

Oh goodness, I was just reading Petsmart's Memorial Day flyer, buy 4 fish get 2 free...I have a feeling we will be seeing a spike in "new fishy" posts the next few days XD! Only excludes comets and minnows from what I read. 

Anyhoo, just a little bit of Harley love today. It's amazing how much more active he's been since I changed his tank around the other day and re-baffled his filter. He even made a bubble nest, which I quickly destroyed with a water change :\ oopsies. But, I took an empty water bottle, made one edge "forked" for the water to come through, stuck a little bit of thin sponge between that and the filter lip edge and then made a mesh tunnel and attached that under the forked area, so the forked water comes out then has to disperse through the mesh tube (which he likes to swim through too). Makes for a much more even water displacement I think. Then I made the faux plant forest along the back wall. He seems happier  Now lets see if that helps with the fin problems.


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## Huffle Puffles (Jul 5, 2013)

Today shall be a little Damon lovin'. He's doing well. Very active, veeeery curious. He loves to play hide and seek. I'll sit on the floor and pull up part of the towel I have under his tank to hide my face and when I pull it down, he'll be sitting there trying to look over the top like "WHERE YOU GO!?" He's actually super social, unless I have my camera in my hand. He backs away flaring but as soon as I put it down he swims over to me. Booger.

Only problem I have is he nipped his dorsal and where it's damaged, I can't tell if the black is rot or not. :-? Now I remember my difficulty with black finned fishies. I'm pretty sure it's color, but either way, I'm watching it. I do see clear growth in some spots though. 

First day with me: 


Yesterday - You can see the jagged really black part of his dorsal I'm questionable about.


Taking advantage of the white background ^_^


My turn to hide!


Aw, you found me already!


It's dark, but you can sorta see him flaring at the camera 


Lipstick


Lunch time!


His favorite corner


My pretty boy <3


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## BettaLover1313 (Apr 15, 2013)

Oh my gosh! Damon is too cute!


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## Huffle Puffles (Jul 5, 2013)

Thank you ^_^


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## Huffle Puffles (Jul 5, 2013)

Went to Petsmart the other day and noticed ours got in the EEs too. They all looked pretty thin and sad though...actually a lot of the bettas did. They all looked small and skinny. I really shouldn't look because when I see that, it makes me want to take one home. But I've told myself, unless I find a gorgeous white dragon scale no more bettas until one passes. And even then, I think I want to try my hand at raising a baby again, I miss it. Anyway, they finally got their shipment of ottos in so I was able to replace the one that had died. Stupidly enough I had flushed him instead of bringing him back with my receipt. But whatever, they were only $1. But the one that was left in my tank was SOOO happy to have a play mate again. Within a minute they found each other and spent most of the day up against each other on the driftwood. <3

Gosh dang it, Damon is so hard to get pictures of. His fins will come out beautifully but then his face is just a black blob.

Just...hanging around


*suction cups*


Posing


Someone was quite proud of himself


Colors in the sunlight


Anubias, Damon and the sunbeams


Curiousity


Just because you can mostly see his face


Koji wasn't feeling social


*grumbles* Hurry up and take the pic so I can finish zooming around!


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## BettaLover1313 (Apr 15, 2013)

Glad to hear that everyone is doing well and that the two Ottos are happy!


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## Huffle Puffles (Jul 5, 2013)

Harley passed peacefully over night in his favorite lounging spot. My sassy, grumpy faced little guy will be missed. 


His first day


Belching contest


The glorious Tralala photo


Darting forth from the shadows


Full on SASS


Hanging in his second favorite spot


Again


Silently judging, which I'm sure he's doing even from above!


This was my favorite photo of him for a long time


SIP <3


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## BettaLover1313 (Apr 15, 2013)

I'm so sorry that Harley passed. At least he passed on peacefully. S.I.P.


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## Cotton19 (Nov 26, 2013)

Damon is looking very good; I like the pics where you can see the spot patterns on his top fin. After glancing at some of my photos and yours, it looks like your Koji and my Tricky are very similar, which is cool, because I can admit I was jealous of Koji for a while, lol. Hope you and all your fish are doing well.


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## Huffle Puffles (Jul 5, 2013)

I know I have not kept up to date with this thread at all, but, as I have done with all my fish that pass I want to honor Koji with a little walk down photo memory lane. 

He is the last of the originals that started all of this. 

SIP, Koji 07/21/13 - 02/21/15

Lil' runt on his first day <3






Buuurp ;P


Greeeen


Flare


Ugh, neighbors


Into the shadows


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## Fenghuang (Dec 28, 2012)

He was a beautiful boy. I am sorry for your loss.


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## BettaLover1313 (Apr 15, 2013)

I'm very sorry for your loss. Koji was a very special betta.


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## DaytonBetta (Feb 4, 2014)

I'm sorry for your loss. He was beautiful and I'm sure he had a happy life with you.


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