# A Girl and her Fish - A Journal



## TiffanyP

I figured since I'm on here enough anyway that I should just go ahead and make a journal about my boys  I'll start from the date I got them rather than their age/size 

*Alaric* - I got him as a baby from Petco on June 20. Only reason I went into Petco is because I'd never been in one before! Well, you all know what happens when you 'just go in to look.' Bout a half hour later I walked out with a baby betta, a 1 gallon tank, some rocks, food, and a small plant. Got home and got him settled in on my bathroom sink because it was the warmest place in my room. Since he was so small, I only had his tank filled up about halfway. After a day or so I noticed he wasn't swimming around much and just didn't seem happy. Thankfully Google brought me here and I discovered what I was doing wrong! Ran back to Petco and got a heater for the little guy and he perked right up. And that's about when I got bit with the betta bug  And then I discovered that bettas can be picky! I went through three different foods with the silly fish before I found one that he could eat easily. And things have gone awesome since then. He's such a sturdy lil fish - he's gone through a lot of mistakes with me and has done so well with everything! From not having a heater for a few days (in a house kept at 66 degrees mind you), to me bumping him on the head with a net and scraping off a few scales during a water change, to accidentally snagging his anal fin on something and ripping it all the way up, unstable temperatures for a while due to an overactive 7.5 watt mini heater, and probably more things than I can name lol Today he's grown quite a bit and is a lovely blue/turquoise color with a black head, and red tints in his fins. He's my first betta success and while I love all my boys, he's got a super special place in my heart 

Day 1-

August 6-



*Gaston* -I was absolutely not expecting to get Gaston at all. I was on 'vacation' (meaning my boss was on vacation and his son was going out of state with his mom, so I should clear out too) so I went back to my parents for about 10 days. On August 2nd, Mom needed to get something from Walmart, so I offered to go with. Was walking aimlessly around and walked by the fish to see if they had any different decorations than Petco did, because I was planning on upgrading Alaric's 1 gallon for a 5 gallon my mom had had sitting in the basement for a while. I walked by the pitiful selection of bettas in dirty water, when a relatively healthy and vibrant looking orange pineapple veil tail caught my eye. And that was it. I was done for lol Snatched him up and a 3/4 gallon critter keeper as a temporary home. Upon closer examination I saw he had some fin rot on his tail  So I stopped at the better stocked tiny family owned pet store on my way home to grab some stress coat for him, hoping that clean warm water would do the trick. Well that week was when summer decided to not be summer anymore and it got unseasonably cold! I couldn't keep the temp up in his critter keeper - but luckily I had a 50W heater that I bought for Alaric's new tank with me, and a large plant, so I set up the 5 gallon for him. He was fine in there for about a day, loved his new plant and probably the warm water too. And then... he just kind of... broke. I don't know. He stopped swimming around and was resting on the suction cup that holds the heater to the wall, floating lifelessly at the top, or laying on the rocks on the bottom. He wouldn't even move when I tapped my finger on the glass in front of him. I really thought he was going to die  No one could offer me an explanation for his behavior except for that he was probably stressed. For nearly 48 hours I was stressing out over this silly fish... And then it was like someone hit an 'on' switch and he was back to, what I knew as, normal. Swimming around happily and eating with gusto  And now he's probably my most feisty and lively betta. He will jump for his food if I don't drop it in there quick enough, he loves to flare at things and is an avid and active swimmer  We're still working on the fin rot though, it got a bit worse and when I saw it was showing up on his anal fin, I decided to take action with some aquarium salt. I'm really hoping this will clear it up for him so he can get back to his 5 gallon mansion and continue loving life there 

Aug 2-


Today in the 1 gal, on day 5 of probably 10 of AQ salt-



*Unnamed Baby* - this little guy was also a spur of the moment purchase lol My boss's 10 year old daughter, G, was visiting for the weekend last weekend and was absolutely enthralled with Alaric and Gaston. She loves pets, and asked if we could go to Petco to walk around. Sure, whats the harm in walking around Petco? On August 16, we get there and of course she makes a beeline for the fish, specifically the bettas. "Are these like the ones you have at home?" she asked, so I explained yes, and helped her distinguish between some tail types and color patterns. They had just gotten a new shipment in so they were all looking good and healthy and in clean water. And since this is a college town and college is starting up again they had gotten in a TON of bettas. On one side of the display they had literally stacks of baby bettas, one on top of the other. In the farthest back stack in the 2nd cup from the bottom was this teeny tiny little double tailed baby, maybe 5/8 of an inch long, including his tails. Oh snap. He was just crying out to me "Take me home!" and so was G beside me "Oh you have to take him home he's so cute! He needs a good home!" So $90 later (tank, rocks, decor, heater, etc - they're expensive little buggers if you don't already have the stuff for them lol) I walked out with a 2 dollar fish and all the necessary accouterments. She was very helpful in setting up the tank, I tried to explain to her why we condition the water before we put it in and why the water has to be warm, and just some general info. She seemed pretty captivated  And that's how I got Midget. That's not his name. I'm fairly certain it's a male as I've checked a few times for ovaries and I can't see anything behind his stomach. But until I think of a proper name for him, Midget he is  He doesn't really have any color yet, but he has a blue iridescence about him if the light is just right 

Aug 16-


Today in his new tank, he's hovering in back over his plant-


*Pascal* - Now Pascal wasn't a planned purchase either haha Yesterday, August 20, the light bulb in my 1 gal hospital tank burned out so I was going to pick up a replacement. Well apparently between Friday and yesterday they got yet another shipment of bettas in. Walking by them there was this GORGEOUS green dragon scale betta who I fell in love with. I calculated my resources and counted in the two $5-off coupons I had for Petco and decided I could buy a small tank for him, a plant, a cave, and a heater and still be fine financially. So I grabbed everything I needed, scooped up the dragon scale and was walking to the register, when I suddenly turned back around and grabbed his neighbor. A beautiful and truly 'rainbow' fish. The guy has light blue, dark blue/purple, green, turquoise, red, orange, pink, and white on him. 

Yesterday-


Today in his new digs-




The pictures I have of him just do not do him justice! He didn't seem very happy in his 2 gallon tank, and actually somehow managed to get part of his tail fin stuck between two rocks and ripped out a good chunk (poor guy!) and I realized that he was just too cramped in there. So today I played 'musical aquariums' lol I moved the baby out of his 2 gallon round tank with craptastic lighting, back into his cup and into Gaston's empty but heated 5 gallon to float for a bit. Then I packed that tank up and returned it to Petco and exchanged it for a 5 gallon and a bag of rocks. Brought it home and was getting it set up, when I saw that the bottom had a crack in it! Ugh! So I lugged it back to Petco, exchanged it for another one (which the manager opened up for me to make sure it wasn't cracked) and came home and got it set up. Since Gaston isn't in his regular tank at the moment, I took the heater out of there and put it in Pascal's. And he's happily swimming about in his new digs  I'm hoping that with a little TLC and clean water that the missing chunk of his tail fin will grow back perfectly 

Pascal hasn't been wanting to eat anything, which I know is normal for a new fish. I thought I'd see if I could entice him with a couple of frozen bloodworms - and huzzah! He ate 3! I didn't want to push him, so I'll try a pellet or two again tomorrow and if he still refuses that I'll bring out the bloodworms again  Midget is also swimming animatedly around his new tank  Alaric is excited because he got half a bloodworm that Pascal didn't want, and Gaston is well... just Gaston. He actually jumped out of the water last night and bit my finger when I didn't drop his pellet quick enough! Cantankerous lil guy <3

That's about all for today I think - if anyone reads this, feel free to suggest a name for Midget. I'd like to stick with the theme of 6 letters - that's my only requirement  Ones I've thought about were Mickey, Seamus, Barney, and Tarzan. What do you think?


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## Huffle Puffles

What lovely bettas you have!  I just had to comment though on how gorgeous Pascal's coloring is!


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## TiffanyP

Oh thank you  I've never seen one quite like him, either in person or in pictures online. He's truly one of a kind


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## BettaLover1313

You have very beautiful fish!


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## TiffanyP

Thank you BettaLover 

A quick update on Pascal - he's doing wonderfully in his 5 gallon tank. He's actively swimming and exploring everything, and he's the only one of my 4 who likes his cave  I tried an Omega One pellet around lunch time and he slowly swam up to it, seemed to sniff it, and then chomped it right up! YAY! So I offered him another one and he ate it too - topped him off with three though, just because I don't know if he's prone to swim bladder issues or anything, and I don't want to go too fast with him eating. Looks like he's settling in quite nicely now that he has more room to swim


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## TiffanyP

Happy Friday to you all! 

Pascal's tail is almost nearly all the way healed up, I'm so impressed! He's now eating pellets like a champ and tonight is bloodworm night, so I'm sure he'll love that. 

Gaston will do one more night in salt water and then, assuming the heater is here by tomorrow, will go back into his 5 gallon for a few days of just regular water. If it still doesn't clear up by Wednesday or so I'm going to give him a few days in some Jungle Fungus Cure and hope that kicks it. And then we get to go back to trying to get his tank cycled!

Alaric and the baby are just being their normal happy and swimmy selves - not much to update on them  I'll get some more pictures soon!


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## TiffanyP

I had a breakthrough moment last night! I finally came up with a name for the baby  His name is Fiyero  It's said like fee-arrow, and it's a name from the book/musical Wicked. I am so excited he now has a name!

So in the TFC (Tiffany's Fish Clan) - Friday nights are blood worm nights! The three bigger boys LOVE them and would eat the entire cube if I'd let them (I limit them to 3 a piece for Pascal and Gaston, 1 for Alaric) but I wasn't sure that Fiyero was big enough to eat one since the worm, laid out flat, is longer than he is! So I sliced one up into 3 pieces and gave him 1/3 of it with the tweezers. He wasn't sure what to think, but once he got a whiff of it he gobbled it right up! So I decided I'd give him another 1/3... I dangled it in there, but before I could see that I had actually given him the last 2/3 of it he had it in his mouth and was swimming around excited about his prize haha And that little guy, maybe 3/4 of an inch long, ate that entire blood worm! I think he was really proud of himself haha

Gaston finished his salt water treatment, he's going on day 9. So I changed out some of the water in his 5 gallon tank and put in the 25W heater that I got in the mail today. I hope it starts heating up soon, I had it set on 83 and it was only 76 in the tank, so i bumped it up to 87 and I'm hoping it will get warm for him soon so he can get out of the hospital tank tonight  If it doesn't start heating up soon though I'm going to have to go grab a 50W heater from petco tomorrow, which will be dangerous for 2 reasons... 1. I really can't afford a $30 heater right now and 2. If that red/white butterfly betta is still there I don't think I'll be able to not bring him home lol I can keep him in the 1 gal hospital tank or I could keep him in the 3/4+ gal critter keeper I have too until payday... but even then I really just don't have a place for another tank lol But I still don't think I could leave him there haha

Pascal's tail is almost all the way healed back up maybe another 3-4 mm before it's fully healed. I'm so happy that he's happy and healthy in his new tank  This whole 'betta' thing is quickly becoming a hobby that I quite enjoy - I love helping out the newbies on here because not too long ago I was a newbie too. I'm no where near experienced as some, but I think I've got a pretty good general idea of what to do so it makes me feel good to help teach others what to do and what not to do in the care of bettas 

Thanks for checking in today


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## TiffanyP

I just realized that both pictures of Fiyero and the 2nd picture of Pascal aren't showing up - i moved them around in my photobucket album so I'll post the links again 

Fiyero 1-


Fiyero 2 - 


Pascal -


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## Allirane

Wow! This is an awesome idea! I might have to do this journal thing! Genius!

Also, Pascal is freaking stunning.


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## TiffanyP

Thank you! I don't know that many people will follow my journal, but it's just as much an account for me as it is for others


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## TiffanyP

Well, good and bad news haha I went to Petco to grab a heater for Gaston's tank, the 25W one just isn't cutting it. It's set on 89 (the highest it'll go) and the temp is only about 76, I'd ideally like it 79 or 80. So I grabbed a 50W at Petco, and of course had to walk by the betta display on myway. Shucks  And both fortunately and unfortunately the red/white butterfly wasn't there. I was kind of hoping he would be but at the same time hoping he wasn't lol so I'm both relieved and disappointed. I'm hoping to get Gaston back in his 5 gallon today since I wasn't able to yesterday with the lower water temp; I'm giving the heater an hour or two to heat the tank up to 80, longer if needed. Then I think I'm going to put the 25W in the 2 gallon with Fiyero and see if it will hold the temperature a bit more steady than the 10W that's in there now. It's usually 84-86 in there, which isn't too bad for a baby, but I'd like it to sit at a steady 82. And that's the exciting happenings in my life today - getting some temperatures stabilized haha What a thrilling life I lead!


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## Rosencrantz32

lol I know how that goes.
Such is the life of a fishie mommy, huh?


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## TiffanyP

But happily and gladly so  I love my boys! They might be fish, but they're so much fun to have around!


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## TiffanyP

Well - one step forward, two steps back, right?

I got the heater for Gaston's tank replaced and it's a nice toasty 79/80 in there, so after checking the water and doing a partial change just to be safe, after reacclimating him, I put him back in about 3 and a half hours ago. And he's pulling the same thing he did after I first got him... He swam around and seemed pretty happy re-discovering his home. I went downstairs to cook supper around 6 and got back upstairs around 745ish. About 8 I noticed he wasn't swimming around, so I figured he was probably resting - all fish do that. But he's laying at the bottom, kind of clamped, and just not looking his normal self. I'm pretty sure it's not the fin rot as it's cleared up quite a bit and it wasn't bothering him at all in the 'hospital' tank. I just don't think he likes moving places much - it stresses him out too much. So I'm going to keep it dim in his tank and hope he perks up soon like he has before - I don't like seeing him like this 

The other boys are doing great though. Fiyero is growing so much! His fins are getting longer and he's getting some good color to him. I think he'll probably end up being blue but we'll see with time. Pascal is doing awesome. He's a very laid-back fish - he doesn't swim around as much as the others do, but I don't think it's due to any underlying health problem, he's just simply laid back. He comes to the front of the tank when I walk by and makes the rounds in his tank every so often - he'll swim around the boarder up top, then down around the bottom too, making sure he swims through his cave at least once, before going back to his favorite leaf to rest his fins on. Alaric is... just simply Alaric  His color is SO pretty right now and I hope it stays that way - very metallic and awesome. I'm still unsure of what tail type he'll be, but it really doesn't matter much to me in the end.

I'm going to go check on Gaston and check the water prams again just to be on the safe side. I'll update more later!


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## TiffanyP

I woke up this morning and as soon as I was conscious enough to remember about Gaston I rushed over to check on him - he saw me poke my head around the cover (the tank gets really warm if it's covered all the way, so I only covered half of it) and swam right up to me like he normally does. He was searching around for breakfast so I fed him and he chowed down on it (probably because he didn't eat last night) and swam around a bit more before going back to the bottom of the tank for a nap. He's still a bit clamped, which should loosen up through the day as I plan on keeping his tank pretty dim and the area around him relatively quiet.

I'm pretty sure I'm going to get rid of the tank that he was in. Both times I put him in there he 'broke' and for apparently no reason. Come Friday (payday) I'm going to get a new aquarium and get that set up for him. I'm debating if I should try and cycle it before I put him in there this time, but I hate keeping him in this little 1 gallon for so long. I guess we'll figure that out in time


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## TiffanyP

Not too much change in the poor guy... He'll swim up to the top to get air every so often, and then make a lap around the tank before settling down on the bottom again. He isn't struggling to swim, he's not breathing heavy, there's absolutely nothing different about his appearance he's just... 'broke'. I'm keeping my room dim and keeping noise and activity to a minimum... trying to distract myself lol I'm worried about the poor little guy even though I know he'll pop out of it in a day or so. 

Here's a picture of him from just now...


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## Rosencrantz32

Awww I'm so sorry. I hope he pulls out of it soon!


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## TiffanyP

Thanks Rosencrantz, I do too


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## TiffanyP

Huzzah! Gaston seems to be much more like himself this morning  I woke up and snuck over to the side of the tank that wasn't covered up and he was already awake swimming around happily and looking for breakfast (which he ate with gusto). Ever since he's just been swimming around and acting pretty much back to normal. His fins are still a tiny bit clamped but nothing compared to the past couple of days. He'll be back to 100% by bedtime tonight I'm sure 

Look at the difference between yesterday's pic and today's:


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## BettaLover1313

Glad to hear he's doing better!


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## Rosencrantz32

Awww poor sweetie just doesn't like change I guess lol
I'm so glad he's doing better!


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## TiffanyP

I think 'doesn't like change' is a bit of an understatement lol He's my persnickety drama king 

So... I did a big no-no tonight. And I went to Petco. There was a black double tail betta I saw there on Monday that I was going to go get - I mean, I had a dream about this fish! I even named him. I was fighting it so hard because I already have 4 fish I really don't need a 5th lol But I gave in today and went to go get him... Buuuut he wasn't there. So, of course in looking for him, I had to look through all of the other ones and came across this little GORGEOUS double tail. He's white with like a minty green opalescence/iridescence to him, and some turquoise spots. I looked through all of the bettas three times to be sure that the black one (who I named Diablo lol) wasn't there. I was also texting a friend of mine and he was like "Oh yeah, get another fish, you already have 4 what's one more?" -_- and I have no self control to begin with when it comes to animals, so naturally I got him. Got a 3 gallon critter keeper (which really works out well! perfect size for a betta tank!), a plant, a cave, and a hammock for him and headed back home. I decided to go with a more 'natural' decor for his tank - earthy colored rocks and green plants, one has a purple leaf section in it, so I got a matching purple (purple is manly! haha) cave. So far he seems to be settling in nicely. I've got a 25W adjustable heater in there right now, so it's at 78 right now, though I hope it creeps up a degree or two soon. I also still need to find a name for him... I was thinking Vaughn but I'm not sure. I'll have to get to know his personality a little better 

In his cup at Petco:


Right after I released the Kraken!:


Picture with flash, you can kind of see his minty iridescence:



I floated him in Alaric's tank for a few minutes to try and keep him warm hahaha that didn't work out well - both he and Alaric were flaring at each other, and it was stressing the poor guy out. So I took him out and, after I cleaned Pascal's tank, I floated him in there with Pascal in his cup too. That worked out better I think. I had to rinse off the new rocks I got for him THREE times. Dusty little buggers they were. Fiyero is growing like a weed - but also healthy as a horse, with an appetite to match. Luckily, since I work in the house I live in, I'm able to feed him multiple small meals throughout the day, which is probably helping him to grow  Pascal is doing well too - I think of him as my grand-daddy fish. He's so laid back, and I think he's a bit visually impaired. He just seems like an old man to me  Gaston is still doing pretty well, he's rested a lot today, but he's not clamped anymore and he's been swimming a lot more too. I think that's about it from the fish clan of Tiffany  Hope all of your little guys and gals are doing wonderful as well!


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## TiffanyP

*Picture Heavy! *

Well, after throwing around a few names and talking to him for a while -I've decided that the new guy's name is... Darryl. Quite possibly more for the comedic effect of saying, "My fish, Darryl..." than the name itself haha though it really does seem to suit him and it comes naturally when I talk to him  So Darryl it is.

I've also decided I have a knack for picking out the picky fish on the shelf lol I offered Darryl an Omega One pellet this morning, which he looked at and the ignored. So I removed it and tried some NLS small fish formula pellets I have (that Alaric and Fiyero both eat, though I'm changing things up with Alaric, I give him NLS in the morning and OO at night) and he gobbled those right down. So looks like he'll be eating those for a while, which is fine, so long as he's eating something.

I went around and took pictures of the boys today and their homes and thought I'd post a few here for you. I had such a fun time taking their pictures!

Alaric: I've had him for 2 months and 9 days now. He gets SO super excited when I go by his tank, and darts here and there and everywhere, making it really hard to get a clear picture of him. This is the best I could get today, out of probably 25+ pictures lol


And his home (I flippin love his little submarine!):



Gaston: Oh my cantankerous little guy Gaston  I've had him for one month and 3 days. He has THE cutest little grumpy face and I just flipping love him to pieces. He currently is in a 1 gallon little aquarium, as I feel he likes it better in there right now. I would love to upgrade him back to his 5 gallon, but the past 2 times I've tried that he 'broke'. So I'll keep him in here and maybe upgrade him in a month or two if it works out 

His little home  He's building a bubble nest in there right now! First one in quite some time!


His face!! <3 His fins are a work in progress. AQ salt seemed to help but I'm giving him a bit of time off from that right now. If they're much the same by next Monday I might try some Jungle Fungus Clear for a few days, as I read that was an option for persistent fin rot.


Best. Grumpy. Face. Ever.


I love his little ventral fins all curled up and crossed the way they are. It doesn't bother him at all, it just makes me feel like he's very gentlemanly 


"Are you done yet mom? Get that thing out of my face." haha



Fiyero: I've had this little stinker for 2 weeks tomorrow and he's grown SO much! He's getting some really nice color to him, and I'm anxious to see how he turns out 

His spacious (for him) 2 gallon living quarters (the top of the water looks nasty, please ignore that - I just changed the water yesterday and it keeps coming back. He's too small for a filter right now or else I'd put one in there)


Would you just look at him?! SO adorable!<3


"What's that thing mom? Why does it shine a light in my face?!"


Pascal: I've had Pascal for a week and 2 days. This guy... is such a natural camera model haha I swear he was going "Here, try this angle. How about this side, it's my good side. No? Okay, here's my other side, try that." He's my most laid-back fish so it's pretty easy to get good pictures of him.

This is his 5 gallon home. I'm planning on putting a filter in there, and I have the perfect one, but it's missing a suction cup so I need to get another one of those from Petco and then it will go in there. Super quiet, very low flow - I think it'll work out pretty swell!


"This side? How do I look from this angle?"


His fins never fail to impress me! I've never seen him flare, but his fins are just HUGE and so pretty!


"Wanna see my face?"


Just being handsome, as always.


Such a hunk!


And last but not least, Darryl! He's still not sure what to think of me, but he'll warm up with a bit of time. I've only had him for just under 24 hours so he and I are still getting to know each other yet 

His 3 gallon home - definitely gonna change out the rocks sometime soon, I really just don't care for them now that his tank is set up with them.


Just chillin - wasn't sure what to think of me or the camera lol


His little pouty face 


I put my finger up to the tank so he quick turned around to look at it


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## Rosencrantz32

Aww... They're all so cute!! You've got an awesome bunch of fish Tiffany!

One of my boys won't eat Omega One either. I tried giving it to him one day. At first he ate it without a second thought. But, like, 5 seconds later he coughed it up, started at it briefly, then turned on me like "What are you trying to pull, lady? This isn't food! What the heck is that stuff???" It was hilarious. So now he just gets NLS... the brat lol


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## TiffanyP

Thank you so much  My fish are kind of my life right now - I moved to a bigger city and I'm not great at socializing, and don't have any friends already here, so these guys keep me company  Everyone thinks I'm nuts for having 5... meh - I wouldn't have it any other way!


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## BettaLover1313

Gorgeous fish! I love your new guy!


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## TiffanyP

Thank you so much! Darryl is a great addition to the bunch  The other guy I wanted is still there... I think I have a small amount of space I can fit a 1.75 gallon tank for a while, and I have an extra heater haha No, no no I just can't. Unless... the daughter of the guy I work for can convince him to buy it for her and I'll take care of him while she's not here... Oooh I'm so devious but that just might work!! Haha

I've read about people complaining about pet stores' complete and utter lack of knowledge when it comes to bettas, but tonight I witnessed it firsthand and was kind of shocked by how outraged I was. I was listening from afar... There were 2 college girls wanting to get a fish for their dorm room. The associate told them that tap water was fine and no conditioner was needed, the fish only needed to be fed once a week, room temperature water is fine, and water changes only 'when the water is dirty'. O.M.G. are you even kidding me. Luckily they continued to browse the bettas for a while so I sidled on over and I told them I had 5 bettas at home and basically everything the worker told them was a lie. I proved it with pictures on my phone and I think they listened to me a little at least. I sent a complaint to Petco via email because I'm just disgusted with that. I'm probably fighting a losing battle, but I can't stay quiet. After all, some of the biggest influential people were just one person who complained about something and didn't stay quiet.

This is what I wrote:
I have a complaint about how you are informing your customers on how to take care of betta fish. I overheard an associate tell a customer the following: 1. Tap water was fine and no de-chlorinator/conditioner was needed. 2. They only need to be fed once a week. 3. Room temperature water is fine. 4. Water can be changed 'when it's dirty'. All four of those statements are completely and utterly false. Tap water MUST have a conditioner added to it or the fish will die of chlorine poisoning. They should be fed once, if not twice A DAY 6 days a week, fasting the 7th. Room temperature water is on average between 2 and 10 degrees lower than actual room temperature air. Unless the temperature inside a house is between 80 and 90 degrees Fahrenheit or higher, then room temperature water is much too chilly for a tropical fish, such as a betta. Their water should be between 78 and 84 degrees Fahrenheit. Water should be changed at a rate of NO LESS THAN 50% per week, particularly in smaller than one gallon containers, in which case the water should be changed much more frequently, lest the fish live in it's own waste and deteriorate from ammonia poisoning. All in all I'm disgusted with the information I witnessed being told to some amateur betta owners. What you are informing your customers to do is basically animal cruelty, which should not be condoned no matter how small the animal. I urge you to rethink and reform your associates' knowledge of betta care; as quality wins over quantity.

I tried to be firm and knowledgeable, but not rude about it. I feel better after sending it at least, so that's gotta count for something, right?


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## Rosencrantz32

Good for you for sending that email!! It sounds excellent to me! I hope it makes a difference!


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## TiffanyP

Well, hey, good news guys!

I got a return email from Petco saying that they had received my message. They were sorry that I had a bad experience, etc etc kind of a generic response - but they also said they sent the information along to the general manager of the store I was 'concerned' about. This afternoon I got a phone call (unfortunately missed it since I was at a movie - which, by the way, The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones - AWESOME!) and a voicemail. The voicemail was from the manager of the store saying that he had done a store meeting in regards to betta care and that he made note of the key points of my complaint letter, and that he was sorry for the experience I had and that they were working to make things better.

I went to the store to talk to him after the movie was over and personally thanked him for taking action so quickly. I said that what I overheard was basically a good way to take your fish home and kill it right away. He also mentioned that even though the fish were the smallest pets that they should still be properly cared for and that's something he strives to pass on to his employees.

I don't know about you, but I'm pretty impressed with the response he gave and how quickly he gave it. It might not be perfect yet, but it's SO much better than not taking any action at all 

And since this journal is, after all, about my fish - they're all doing great. I'm pretty sure that Gaston's fin rot is completely gone as the colorless area at the tips of his tail (that I wasn't sure if it was grey or just colorless) are coloring in orange! So I think we're hopefully in the clear with that  Pascal is just his normal laid-back self - I put a leaf hammock in his tank and he was checking that out last I looked at him. Fiyero is just growing like a little weed and he needs to stop already! Okay, so I know he needs to grow... but... he's just so cute! Alaric is much the same - he's just kind of... not terribly interesting right now lol don't get me wrong! I love him SO much, he just doesn't have anything remarkable happening with him right now, which is good! And last, but not least Darryl. I just stinking love Darryl - he's such a curious little fish and I love watching him 'loosen up' and learn to love his home and begin to recognize me and get excited for food  He ate an Omega One pellet for me tonight, so I hope he'll continue with that - it's so much easier to monitor his intake with OO pellets vs NLS SFF pellets! My boss' daughter Grace is here all weekend, so she's been helping me change water and stuff - she actually took the bait when I mentioned she could get a fish and I would care for it when she's not here, and actually asked her dad haha so we'll see how that turns out


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## TiffanyP

Had a bit of a scare this morning! My usual routine is to get up and go get dressed, brush my hair, etc and then go uncover the boys (it gets very cold in the house at night so I cover them with a light blanket to keep the heat in). The only one I usually don't cover is Fiyero (the baby) since his tank regularly sits at 83-86 degrees because the 10W heater is a bit too strong, but okay for right now since he's such a little squirt, he'll get an adjustable 25 watt when he upgrades tanks when he's bigger  

Anyway, so I get over to Fiyero's tank and check on him and he's lost almost all of his color and he has 2 stress stripes! Even at the store he only ever had one! I checked the temp and it was 66 degrees in there! AH! The poor baby was freezing! So I quick scooped him out of his tank into a cup and plopped his cup into Pascal's toasty warm 80 degree tank to float for a while. His heater must have broken sometime last night  I put my spare 7.5 watt heater in his tank, but it's just not quite doing the job - been in there almost 5 hours and its only about 74 degrees. Today has been a lazy day in the house, so I'm going to have to suck it up and go out and replace the 10 W heater so I can get him back in there.

It's kind of humorous though, Pascal must think he's a girl because he's built a nice bubble nest all around Fiyero's cup haha Been showing off for him too, the cheeky handsome guy


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## TiffanyP

My mom gave me a most dangerous task today...

Find her a betta! EEP! 

I get to go betta shopping and not feel one bit guilty about it! My parents live about an hour away from any large pet store - the only place that sells betta near them is Walmart :/ I told her unless one is absolutely screaming at you to bring him home, I'll get her a healthier one from Petco and bring it to her this weekend. And she said that was fine! Huzzah! There's one guy I've had my eye on for a while - I hope she likes him (assuming he's still there). If not I'll find another suitable guy for her  I'm so excited! 

In other news, I've found out that three of my boys are jumpers! I went to feed Gaston last night and I hadn't even gotten a piece of food out for him and he jumped up and tried to nip my hand lol He's done that before, but only when I've had the food in my hand already. I didn't think Pascal would be a jumper because of his large fins, but by golly last night he jumped out of the water to try and get the food too! AND Darryl is also a jumper - I've seen him jump twice, though there's nowhere he can go as he's in a 3 gallon critter keeper with the lid lol

Back to my mom's fish... Kind of talking to myself a bit too so forgive me if I'm rambling. I think I'm going to get her a 3 gal critter keeper as well, it's the perfect size. Definitely will have to get her a heater as well as the house gets very cold during the winter. Will start out with a 10W, but will buy her an adjustable 25W before winter hits hard. I'll ask her opinion on decor and rock colors. I have an extra bottle of water conditioner I can give her, as I've switched over to Stress Coat+ (doesn't leave a residue on the inside of the tank like the BettaSafe does). Will grab her a thermometer as well... And if he'll eat the NLS betta pellets (that my boys refuse) she can have those as well. Probably not going to bother with a filter - having to test the water will overwhelm her. I think that's all - did I forget anything? I'm so excited!


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## Rosencrantz32

That's terribly exciting!! I'm excited for you!!! I got permission from my fiance to go back to Petco today to get the double tail girl I had seen last Thursday. Nothing better than having permission to go and buy a fish ^.^

Let see: Tank, heater, water conditioner, food and decor. Sounds like you hit everything!  
I hope it goes well!!! Have fun!


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## TiffanyP

So... I went and got mom's betta today 

He's not the prettiest little guy, but with a bit of TLC I know he'll be pretty darn cute. He's kind of a dull sandy yellow right now, but I'm hoping he colors up nicely with warm clean water. Poor guy was in less than an inch of dirty water  The Petco here usually takes much better care of their water, I was very disappointed. I had my mom on the phone the whole time, and sent her some pictures on FB and chatted with her. She liked a lot of them, but she said to go ahead and get the one who 'needed me most'; said I could nurse him back to health and then give him to her  So I cleared out some space on my bathroom counter for him and he's settled in nicely there. He's in a temporary 1.75 gal home til I can get him to my mom's. She's looking around for a tank to put him in and I said no less than 2 gallons, preferably 3 or larger! I was going to get her a 3 gal critter keeper, like the one that Darryl is in, but they didn't have any out on the shelf today. Anyway, I acclimated him pretty slowly since he had so little water in his cup, probably over the course of an hour. I put him in the tank and he seems to be just fine. He was swimming around and checking out his cave, didn't appear to be 'breathing' heavy or anything, so I hope he settles in nicely and will be a good fish for my mom. If not, and she's not happy with him, I'll unwillingly give her one of my other ones  though idk which one! I can't part with any of them! Maybe someone would be willing to rehome him if she doesn't like him... anywho, we'll come to that when we come to it 

I'm gonna go check on him and make sure that he's still settling in nicely. I'll update y'all on him tomorrow and maybe take a couple of pictures if he's feeling okay and isn't stressed still


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## Rosencrantz32

Awww, I bet he's super happy to be with you right now! Lucky little guy  I can't wait to see what he looks like!


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## TiffanyP

I hope he's happy to be out of that cup, I'm glad I got him, as I was getting him acclimated to the water he was just kind of hovering in his cup watching me - not scared, just watching. I think he'll be a real sweet little guy once he's feeling better


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## TiffanyP

Well we made it through night one, though I knew he'd do great. The temperature dropped a bit last night so his tank was 72 this morning when I checked on him, so I definitely need to invest in a better heater. I ordered 2 online this morning, one for him/my mom and one for me. Anyway, I got around to taking a few pictures of the lil guy. The first one is him in his cup at Petco in less than an inch of dirty water  The rest are from just a few minutes ago. He ate a pellet for me! Or at least was munching on it and hadn't spit it out yet, so I'll offer him another one a bit later, don't want to push things too fast


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## Rosencrantz32

Aww what a cutie!! He's looking good! ^.^


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## TiffanyP

I agree -he's looking much better now that he has fresh water. I'm wondering if he might have a tiny bit of ammonia poisoning as his gills are a bit pinkish, but I'm not sure if it's just the fleshy part of his muscle coloring or not. I think he'll color up a bit and be a nice lighty sandy yellow


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## BettaLover1313

He's very cute! Can't wait to see where his color will settle at!


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## TiffanyP

Well, the little guy has been pretty laid back most of the day. The way his dorsal fin is laying, all kind of hunched, and his big dark eyes, reminds me of a dog who's had a rough time and just needs some love  Poor guy. He ate 3 pellets for me tonight though, so he's on the mend at least  I'm keeping him in my bathroom right now since it's the only place with no air vent, and with the lights on it keeps it pretty warm in there - which is good, since his heater isn't working the best. His tank has risen from 72 to 77-78, and I'm hoping to keep it there. His fins don't look like they have rot, they're just 'smudged' and unhealthy from bad water conditions and the haircut he gave himself before I got him. All in all, I think he'll make a fine recovery 

Lets see - the other boys. I switched 2 of their tanks around, so now Fiyero is sitting on the night stand by my bed. I like having him there, as it's where I had Alaric when he was just a wee little midget, too. Pascal is just being his awesome gorgeous self. I got an awesome picture of him yesterday that I'll post lol I swear he poses for the camera on purpose! I'm trying Gaston out in his new 2.5 gallon tank... I hope he likes it in there, I felt so bad about keeping him in that 1 gallon. So far he's darting around and checking everything out  Alaric is still... Alaric. He hasn't pooped in a few days though so I'm waiting til he poops and gets his belly smaller to feed him again. And Darryl, oh my Darryl lol He's such a spunky little fish! He knows what the food container is for now so he swims up to the food opening when its time to eat. That fish just cracks me up  They all do!


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## dramaqueen

Your mom's betta is going go be gorgeous with some tlc.


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## TiffanyP

I think so too dramaqueen 

I had to make an emergency trip home to my parent's last night - my aunt was deathly ill in the hospital so they were suggesting to the family if they wanted to see her before she went to come then. So I quick measured out 2 meals a piece for my fishies, packed a quick bag, and dashed an hour and a half home. We were all expecting her to pass in the night - but she did a complete 180 and seems to be in the clear for the time being. She's dependent on a bipap machine so we'll see if they can wean her off of that with no issues as she can't be on it 24/7. A miracle if I ever did see one.

Anyway, so my boss is feeding my fish for me. And I haven't seen them in 24 hours and I'm having fish anxiety haha I'm headed back there in about a half hour though, so hopefully my boys aren't too mad at me and their water temps are okay and everything. Mom didn't want me to bring her fish to her just yet with everything going on with my aunt, so I have a 6th fish temporarily  Not that I mind at all!


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## TiffanyP

Well - I knew it would happen sometime, but I was hoping not for many many months. One of my boys died while I was gone  Gaston. He wasn't happy when I left, but I figured it was his whole issue with changing tanks and he'd be perked up by the time I got home... Not so. He wasn't bloated or anything, his color had faded, but no different marks or fungus or anything. Just... dead.  I'm gonna miss that cantankerous fish 

I'll get the tank he was in cleaned out real good and maybe see about getting another betta for myself here in a few days. Probably another veiltail if I can find one that I fancy. Maybe I'll go for a female this time, or one of the other tail types they have at Petco. We'll just have to see, gotta get used to him being gone first


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## BettaLover1313

I'm very sorry to hear about Gaston's passing. S.I.P.


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## Rosencrantz32

Oh I'm so sorry. It's so hard losing a fish


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## dramaqueen

I'm sorry about Gaston. I'm glad your aunt is doing better.


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## TiffanyP

Thanks guys! I always hear people say "It was *just* a fish." Yeah? Well it was *my* fish... jerks lol Still mega bummed that he's not here anymore - but I'm moving on. I've decided I'm going to wait til I get the new heater I ordered in the mail before I get another fish. I have two $5 off coupons to Petco so basically whichever fish calls out to me is mine, and I won't have to worry about price being an issue  

Pascal has finally figured out what his leaf bed is for and I think he's really enjoying it  His fins are so big so it must feel nice to rest them on something. Fiyero is just growing like a weed. I swear he doubled in size overnight. His fins are coming in so nicely and he can now eat a whole blood worm without me cutting it into pieces! Darryl is just as spunky as ever, always patrolling his tank and 'stretching his fins'. He's such a pretty fish! Mom's fish, who I've started calling Clark Gable lol, is doing well. He seems to be pretty laid-back thus far. He'll swim up to the front of the tank when I walk into the bathroom now, and he watches me when I talk to him. His color has definitely darkened up some, but I think he'll probably stay the color he is right now. He's eating well - LOVED the blood worm I gave him last night, and eats Omega One pellets like a champ. And lastly Alaric. He's been abnormally laid back and kind of clampy today. I'm not sure what the deal is. His temp is 79, water prams are good - the ammonia is almost .25 ppm but not quite, he's scheduled to get a 50% water change tomorrow so I don't think that's the problem... Just not sure what's going. He's not swollen or bloated, no weird spots - except for a hair, and yes I'm sure it's a hair as it's one of mine, stuck to his side - probably got in the water when I changed it the other day lol Maybe he's just going through a growth spurt and is using all his energy for that *shrug* Won't worry about it until I need to  He's eating fine and still swims up to me and follows my finger when I'm by the tank.

That's all for now, thanks for checking in


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## TiffanyP

I should be getting my new heaters in today! Woot woot! That means I'll give the things that were in Gaston's tank a final rinse in hot hot water and get the tank set up again - and if all goes well, I'll go grab a new fish tomorrow. I'm ready now - it just feels empty over where the tank used to be sitting, so it'll be nice to have another guy/gal around 

Clark Gable somehow managed to tear his dorsal fin, the silly fish. It's healing up nicely though, so I'll keep an eye on it to see if I can figure out what he snagged it on. All the other boys are doing well - though 3 of them badly need to have a BM, it's been a few days. They won't be happy when I don't feed them supper tonight if they haven't pooped by then, or in the baby's case -when I don't feed him lunch lol he gets 3 meals a day yet. 

So I have:
A white double tail male
A blue/green/red veiltail teenage male
A multi-color delta tail male
And a blue double tale male baby

What should my next fish be?  Any thoughts?

Also - I've seen dalmation patterns in orange or red... is it possible to have one in turquoise?


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## Rosencrantz32

I'm sure it is possible to have a turquoise dalmatian, although I don't think I've ever seen one in a store... only on AquaBid lol

Hmmm... I think you should go for a crowntail or a plakat since you don't have one yet. I think its fun watching my crowntail swim because it looks like he has streamers attached to him lol! And plakats are neat because they can zoom around all quick since they're not weighed down with excess finnage 

But, above all else, you should get the fish that calls to you. There's nothing better than getting a fish that picked you vs. the other way around. Of my three boys, only one picked me, and I've always felt he likes me way more than the other two >.> 

I'm super excited for you (again)! I can't wait to see who you come home with! ^.^

And for your other boys, have you tried giving them daphnia? That's supposed to help with constipation.


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## TiffanyP

I've looked around for daphnia, but I can't find any around here. I thought about ordering some online, but I'm not sure how that works seeing as it's frozen?

Anyway - I asked about a turquoise dalmation because I'm pretty sure that's what Darryl is. I can't figure out any other way to describe his coloring lol This is a picture of Darryl that I took a couple of days ago:


He's white, but if the light shines on him right, he's an iridescent minty green. Maybe he's a marble as he's gaining some new spots that weren't there before? I have no idea, I just know he's a unique fish and was an absolute score from Petco 

I've been tossing around the idea of a plakat... I've fallen in love with a couple of guys from aquabid, seen here:
1. http://www.aquabid.com/cgi-bin/auction/auction.cgi?fwbettashmp&1379421532
2. http://www.aquabid.com/cgi-bin/auction/auction.cgi?fwbettashmp&1379421365

But I won't be able to get either of those, as much as I'd like to  Too expensive with shipping and all. But I agree - I try to pick the fish that chooses me, and not the other way around  All 5 of mine chose me, and even my mom's fish Mr. Gable did too. I can't wait to go look around and see what they have!


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## Rosencrantz32

HAHA!! I was drooling over those boys earlier! I really want this little girl from that seller: http://www.aquabid.com/cgi-bin/auction/auction.cgi?fwbettasct&1379421615
Darn international shipping T.T

I think you can use freeze dried daphnia too (I got some in a little treat wheel at Petsmart). You just need to rehydrate it first. I *think* I also read you can use garlic juice... oh. That may have been for internal parasites.... >.< 
[Originally I had a very sick little fish and I bought the daphnia for him. I remember soaking them in garlic juice before feeding them. He really loved them, but I'm not sure if they ever helped. He never ended up getting better  ]
I think Epsom salt is also supposed to help with constipation, but I wouldn't use that unless they haven't gone in ages and are getting bloated. 
(sorry for that random stream of somewhat uselss information >.>)

I wish I knew what to classify Darryl's color as. I'm with you though; he's awesome! I'm curious if he'll marble as well!


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## TiffanyP

Well - I went to Petco today to get a new addition to my betta family. I was astonished at the condition of the bettas! They usually take pretty good care of them at my Petco, but something changed. All the cups of water were dirty and there were several dead ones  I still took a gander at them, to see which one needed me or if there happened to be one that didn't look terrible. There were several babies that I really wanted to take home, but at the same time I didn't want to get one either. I didn't see any I liked or that really jumped out at me* so I thought I'd go get the rest of the things I needed and head out. I walked by again and somehow in my first examination, missed a gorgeous platinum and red halfmoon plakat male! He didn't look to be too sickly, just in dirty water. I'd been drooling over one similar to him on Aquabid, so I said aw what the heck! And snatched him up!  I think he's had a rough go of it lately, or maybe his entire life as he seems absolutely terrified of me. He's settling in pretty nicely thus far though I think. He's picking at the rocks, looking for food I assume, so I put a couple of pellets in to see if he wanted them, but he wouldn't come near the surface since I was there. I made them sink as close to him as I could get, but he still wouldn't do much else than stare at them. We'll try again tomorrow - he's had a rough night tonight  Here's his picture!



Any thoughts for a name? He's kind of a silvery/white, and his fins are more burgundy than red right now -but I think he'll color up soon  Also, his caudal and dorsal fins are both quite red, the lighting and his dragon scale coloring make them look white at the angle I took the picture. I'll get some better pictures tomorrow 

* I put this because the second time I looked at the bettas, I was really scrutinizing the babies, seeing which one needed me most. There was one, who had some blue tinting to him, who gave me *the eyes* and I nearly grabbed him right then and there. But then the selfish part of me said no, I already have 2 blue babies I don't need another. And now I'm kicking myself knowing that he's still there and he's cold and needs me  Truly, if I could fit another tank in here I happily would, but aside from a .75 gallon or smaller I really can't. And I don't want to subject any fish to that, no matter how small he/she is.

But, I am very pleased with my new addition! I can't wait to get to know his personality and get him so he's not so scared of me  As for names, I'd love something mystical and medieval-ish, and feisty as he is one little feisty fish! But if a name sticks out to me (like Darryl's name did lol) then I'll take any and all suggestions


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## BettaLover1313

He's a very handsome addtion! Hopefully he'll warm up to you soon enough once you give him more TLC


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## TiffanyP

Thank you  I think he's pretty great even though I'm just getting to know him. I keep walking by the tank slowly and putting my face by it and talking to him a bit. Trying to let him know that I won't hurt him and that he won't have to be moved around anymore <3 Just needs some TLC, he does.

I think I'm going to call him Alistair... still have a bit of hesitation though, we'll see in the next couple of days how things pan out  Right now he's studying a rock with a bubble on it quite closely lol he's like, "What are this?!"


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## TiffanyP

Well, Alistair is doing pretty well. But he is a very very skittish fish  I hope that changes soon. He goes into full-on panic mode if I do anything invasive to his tank. His water was cloudy today, whether from the 2 pellets he didn't eat yesterday or from his cave, I'm unsure, but I wanted to change it out. Poor guy flipped out and was darting around the tank in panic - you could hear him crashing into the rocks and he tried to jump a couple of times  I feel so bad for the little guy - he must have had a rough life previous to now. But I'm glad he's here now - he'll be loved and well taken care of, and I hope that calms him down a bit.  

The other boys are doing well - I think I'm going to take Clark Gable to my mom tomorrow if she's able to take him. He's doing very well and I think my mom is ready to have him  Pascal is building a large bubble nest, Fiyero is still adorable, and Darryl is just as pretty as ever. And Alaric haha I love that lil fish! Lately he's been not wanting me in his tank... The suction cups on his filter lost their 'suct' so I had to do some repairs to figure out how to get it to work - it's been almost 6 weeks with that filter and I don't want to lose what small amount of bacteria I've built up lol so I was messing around in there a bit - one of my hands was holding the filter steady and the other was getting things switched around when I felt a nip! The cheeky little guy came and bit me haha So I tried an experiment, I stuck my finger over above his leaf bed... he swam over, circled my finger a time or two and then NIP lol Doesn't hurt one little bit, I actually think it's kind of cute  

I've got 2 girls playing Barbies in the tub (and I believe one of them just said, "It's okay I've got balls of steel!" ) so... I'm gonna go check that situation out haha ttfn!


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## Rosencrantz32

Aw Alistair is adorable! And I love the name  good choice!
That's sad that he's so skittish. I hope he gets used to your presence soon 
Good luck to Clark Gable and your mom! I hope they do well together


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## TiffanyP

Thank you Rose  I think Alistair is slowly getting more used to me. He'll let me feed him without hiding now, and he'll slowly swim to the front of the tank whenever I come over to talk to him. I can't make sudden movements though or he's panicking again, poor guy. 

I had to take the filter out of Pascal's tank today - his tail fin was beginning to shred! I know he hasn't been biting it, as chunks aren't missing. I just put the filter in his tank on Friday, so I was watching close to see how he'd react to it, since his fins are so huge. I didn't expect this necessarily, but I knew it was a possibility that the filter might not work out, even though it was adjusted to flow very very slowly - you couldn't see the water moving at the top at all. I figure I'll let his tail heal up and then maybe try a sponge filter - I've read about those being easier on long finned guys 

Fiyero is growing like a weed - his fins, I swear, grew twice their size over night. His dorsal fin is bigger than Alaric's already!

Alaric is doing pretty well, though he's definitely got something going on. I don't know if it's a fungus or chronic columnaris (as it's not spreading fast or at all really, and its only on the very tips of his ventrals and anal fin, and it's very very small). Some days it's very noticeable and some days its not there at all. I'm going to add some AQ salt after his water change today, just to be sure that it goes away for good  Otherwise he's doing well - he's been having issues with pooping lately, but I've found that feeding him for 2 days, and then fasting him for 24 hours works pretty well. So we'll keep that up I think 

Darryl is just as prety as ever. He's such a fun little fish to watch swim around 

And Clark Gable is also doing well - he didn't go to my mom's this weekend as I wasn't able to make the trip home. So he'll be here with me for almost 2 more weeks, and then he'll go be with my mom. I think she's pretty excited to have him there 

OH! Before I forget - how in the world do you feed a fish daphnia?! I bought some this weekend to feed to Alaric since he's been having issues pooping... I put a bit on a spoon and put that in the water but I don't know how many, if any, he got... Is there an easier way to do this?


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## dramaqueen

Daphnia is so small and can be very hard to feed.


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## TiffanyP

I noticed that dramaqueen lol Will have to get creative with it I think.

Any of you guys have some input on a sponge filter? I made a post here: http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=269866

If you wanted to hop on over and give your two cents worth I'd appreciate it greatly


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## TiffanyP

Wow I have over 500 views! That's crazy, I never expected people to actually read/keep up with this haha this was just kind of a place for me to ramble on about my fish so I don't annoy my friends on Facebook too much  (www.facebook.com/sp0ngiegurl if you want to add me, I'm all for having other betta enthusiasts around - just drop me a note saying that you are from this site or I'm likely to not accept your request)

Just thought I'd post a few pictures I took this past week of my boys  

Fiyero - his fins are so big! They're not very proportionate to his body right now haha he'll get there soon though  Picture's fuzzy, but you can see how big his fins are 




Alistair - he's pretty well settled in, fast movements still startle him, but he doesn't freak out like he used to  He eats well and loves his yellow plant. I love his eyes!






Darryl - I put some IALs in their tanks this week, and Darryl made a rather large bubble nest under his... I had to ruin it though when I changed his water  I felt so bad!






Pascal - he's such a camera cheese! I love it, comes right up to it and poses for me  <3




And last, but most defintely not least, Alaric - he's doing well, I have him in some salt water right now, see if whatever is on him will come off. He's more active with the salt water so I'll probably leave him in it for a week or so and hope it works  If not I'll give him a break and try some jungle fungus clear stuff. It's not bad, just don't want it to get worse  I just love his little face  And his eye looks big here, but it's not, his eyes have always looked like that.



Hope you all are having a wonderful day!


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## TiffanyP

Hello again  Not too much exciting is happening around here - which isn't a bad thing. The boys are all doing great and Alistair is doing wonderful! He's come to recognize that I'm not dangerous and now he's just as friendly and welcoming as my other boys  He's in a 2.5 gallon glass tank which he seems pretty happy in. I've been throwing around the idea of putting him in the empty 5 gallon I have and switching places around - but I'm not sure... I also thought about getting a slightly bigger night stand and putting the 3 gallon that Darryl is in and the 2 gallon that Fiyero is in on that and then using the empty space to put the empty 5 gal there and getting a 6th fish for my little brood, since Clark Gable is going to my mom's this weekend for sure. I've literally been going through every single plan possible in my mind to get another fish... Hi. My name is Tiffany. And I'm addicted to bettas.

And I think I got my mom addicted too, and she hasn't even gotten her first one yet! Haha she called me the other day from Walmart... "Tiffy... there's a REAL pretty yellow and white betta here at Walmart! I can even tell you the name of him... a... crowntail! He looks healthy and he's got a bubble raft built and everything." I just laughed and said "They're addicting aren't they? Don't ever judge me!" haha But basically, I love my 5 boys SO much and I know I shouldn't get another one - it's only September, but in December I'll be going home for Christmas for probably 5-7 days and I'm kind of panicking on how I'm going to manage that... I don't know if I'm going to be able to do big water changes on all of them right before I leave and then leave them here and my boss can feed them once/twice a day for me? Or if I'm going to have to take them home with me? These lil guys are my life - and I get some separation anxiety being away from them haha I'm sad, I know!

Anyway - I hope all of your fish guys/gals are doing awesome!


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## Rosencrantz32

Haha at least you've come to the right place! We're all betta addicts here  I'm constantly trying to figure out how I could fit another fishie in my apartment. My biggest problem is I come up with designs for stands I could build that will fit in specific areas for new tanks. And all I'd have to do to get them built is buy the materials and visit my dad.... >.< what holds me back is my fiance wouldn't appreciate it too much lol

I can't believe how big Fiyero is!! He's so cute with his oddly big fins. A baby double tail is the only fish I'm allowed to spontaneously buy currently. Now I want to find one even more!! lol

Maybe for Christmas you could take a couple with you and leave the others in the care of your boss? That way you don't have too much anxiety while you're away... I can't imagine travelling away from my fishies for that long. I'd miss them too!! >.<


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## TiffanyP

Got a couple of good pictures for you today  I'm following OFL's water change recommendations, doing 50% changes a week (usually more like 60%) and then a 100% change once a month. Well today was the 100% change for Pascal. Since he's a well endowed fella, I broke out my 3/4 gal container for him and sat him in the bathroom beside Clark Gable. They both were flaring and strutting their stuff - it was awesome! It was the first time I'd really seen Pascal flare 

First one is Clark Gable flaring at me  Second one is Pascal in a flare - he's stunning! I just love him  Also, yes, his tail is a tiny bit shredded - I think part of it was from the filter I had in there, but I also cut a massive IAL in half and put it in there and I think the edge where I cut it was making things worse. Both are no longer in the tank and he's healing up nicely


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## TiffanyP

I took a video yesterday of the boys flaring at each other - you should be able to see it at this link: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10153309451340193&l=8790917090801024622

If it doesn't work let me know please


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## Rosencrantz32

It worked for me!
Wow... that Pascal sure is something!!! ^.^


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## dramaqueen

Nice pictures! Your fish are gorgeous.


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## TiffanyP

Thank you 

I'm going away from my boys overnight tonight as I am delivering Clark Gable to my mom. They're all doing well so I'm praying I don't come back to a dead fish again like last time :/ Just paranoia, I know. 

I'm going to do some tank switching this week after I get back from visiting my parents. Alistair will go into Gaston's old 5 gallon tank after I scrub it out really well to get the calcium deposits out and such. Then I think Fiyero will go in the 2.5 gallon that Alistair was in, we'll see though as I'm not sure the Fiyero's heater will fit in the 2.5 gal tank (it's a Cobalt Aquatic's heater - works SO well, doesn't ever fluctuate a single degree, but it's very long and can't be installed sideways). I need to just get a better sturdier nightstand then I can get Fiyero a 3 gallon and then life would be grand 

Hope you all have had a wonderful relaxing weekend, thanks for checking in


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## TiffanyP

... I have a problem lol I just rescued another baby from Petco. Little guy is maybe half an inch long, with big ol' eyes that just said "Take me home!" And I figured since I was taking Clark Gable to my mom... what the heck lol So he's settling in his new home in the bathroom, while I prepare Clark to leave. I'll post pictures when I get back tomorrow


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## Rosencrantz32

^.^ I saw the pictures in the Petco Baby thread. He's adorable!! I really want to rescue another baby but I can't currently. So I'm really excited to watch your new little one grow!!!

I hope you and Clark have a safe trip! And I hope he enjoys living with your mom


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## TiffanyP

He is pretty freaking cute. I don't see ovaries so I'm certain he's a male, unless they decide to grow in overnight lol I've named him Icarus, for now. I'm not sure if it'll stick. I like it, but I'm not sure if it suits him very well  My other choice is Magnus. 

I took another picture of him tonight, well about 30, but I got maybe 2 decent ones lol He's completely unclamped now and darting all around the tank. The spare heater I haven't isn't very effective, so it's only getting up to about 77 in his tank, which still is a big difference from room temperature at Petco. I have a new heater coming in the mail this week so he'll be a nice toasty 82 in no time, until then I'm pleased with the water staying in the 77-78 range. Here's the new picture I took tonight - he's honestly the smallest little guy I've ever seen, compare his size with the thermometer beads!


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## TiffanyP

Just checking in quick  Icarus is doing wonderful - eating like a little pig and just swimming ALL around. I'm so glad I could save him 

I cleaned out Alistair's tank and put him in to float with Pascal lol they were flaring at each other so much, it was great  Here's a couple pics, of course neither of them are flaring - but good pics nonetheless!


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## dramaqueen

Pretty fishies!!


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## TiffanyP

I took a couple of pictures of Icarus today - he's SO adorable  I can't wait til he starts getting some color - or maybe he'll just stay white! But I've decided I'm going to take a daily picture of him from here on out - to kind of track the progress of him gaining color and growing. I'll post most of them on my photobucket account which you can find here: http://s1319.photobucket.com/user/tiffanyp2007/library/Icarus

Also if you look around there I have other pictures of my other boys too!

 This is him compared to my pointer finger!


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## TiffanyP

Today I played musical aquariums! I had a little extra cash, so I went out and bought a new 5 gallon aquarium (a MiniBow 5), meaning to put Icarus in it... But after I got it home and was looking at it was like... Nope... nope. I don't see Icarus in here. So I was going to return it for a different tank when it hit me... I already have this one bought... why not put Alistair in it? So that's exactly what I did! And I'm very pleased with how everything came out. I think Alistair really likes having more space to swim around. The filter makes a bit of a current, but I think since he's a plakat it doesn't bother him as much as it would if he had bigger fins. Icarus then upgraded to Alistair's 2.5 gallon and a 25 watt heater  He's been swimming around exploring all evening, darting from one side to the other and back again.

Here are a couple of pictures of both boys' new homes  Icarus I *think* is getting a wee smidge of red to his tail fin! It's very faint and I can only see it sometimes though. 

Oh, side note! I fell in love with a white/silver double tail at Petco today, his tail looked like it had a heart in it! I SO badly wish I had room to set up another tank. Okay, pictures now 

Alistair's new tank


Checkin' out his new home 


He was semi-flaring at himself 


Icarus' new home, you can see him peeking out from behind the thermometer


He was studying that bubble SO intensely lol


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## TiffanyP

*sigh* Oh, my dear Pascal. It seems that I just absolutely cannot have any sort of filter in his tank. I got a sponge filter for him (this one: http://www.amazon.com/Jardin-Aquari...1381075795&sr=8-1&keywords=mini+sponge+filter) and put that in his tank yesterday with a Whisper air pump. It came with a flow adjuster so I adjusted it so that it wasn't too strong - it had a bit of surface agitation which was unavoidable, but I tried to make it as minimal as possible. He seemed fine with it yesterday, I kept a close eye on him. But overnight, as per usual, his tail is shredded again! It only happens when there are filters in the tank and I've tried 3 different kinds now. So I guess he just won't have a filter in his tank *shrug*. Silly finicky fish <3


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## TiffanyP

Happy Hump Day!

This week has been a whirlwind! A little about me: I babysit for many many kids whenever I am able to, and one of my favorite families has 2 boys ages 3 and 4. The 4 year old has cerebral palsy and hydrocephalus (fluid on the brain). Because of the hydrocephalus, he has a shunt in place to drain any excess fluid that might accumulate. On Monday he was rushed to the ER as he was having severe seizures and wasn't responding, and then was life flighted to a big children's hospital in Iowa. He had brain surgery on Monday night to clear out the blockage in his shunt, which was the cause of his seizures. That was stressful for everyone. But the little guy's a trooper and made it through just fine. I went to visit yesterday afternoon and he was still pretty groggy from all the meds he was on, but he woke up a couple of times and talked to us as much as he could - his throat was raw from being on the ventilator. His little face lit up when he saw me though - melted my heart! He's still got a bit of healing and recovery ahead of him - but I know he'll do just fine.

I know fish don't rank anywhere near human life, but I had a scary moment with Alistair on Monday morning - he was laying on his side, fins clamped, at the bottom of his new tank and wouldn't move at all even when I tapped on the glass. I think it's just because the filter is a bit too strong for him. I bought some "Marineland Rite-Size bonded filter pad" to cut and see if I could baffle the flow any - and I think it worked quite well! It's more of a trickle now - still effective, but not as strong as it was, so I think he'll be happier now.

And then there's my little guy Fiyero  He's not doing well. He's lost nearly all of his color - gone from a bright vivid blue to a dull translucent brown with stripes. He hasn't eaten or pooped in nearly 2 weeks, so I'm fairly certain that's his problem, but lately he's been laying on his side at the bottom of the tank and not swimming around - only to come up for air. I've got him in a bit of Epsom salts right now, just .25 tsp/gal since he's a baby still, and I'll up it to .5 tsp/gal if he doesn't poop in a couple of days. Silly little fish worries me <3

Icarus is doing well - I've been doing daily pictures and posting them on my Photobucket. (The link to the album is in post #73) He's getting a tiny bit of red to his tail! Woot! Still just a tiny little squirt though - he eats like a piggy though, so I know he'll grow soon enough.

Alaric is doing well - I think whatever he was battling, he handled it on his own, yay buddy! He still isn't pooping on a regular basis, so I have to watch for that, but he's much more active (became more active when I changed the filter to a Tetra Whisper 10i - maybe there's some correlation there?) and just seems happier in general now  He likes to play in the current that the filter makes and doesn't seem to be pushed around by it, so it's not baffled by anything right now. He's got more of a green iridescence to him now than he did before, but still has the blue and red he's always had. Love watching him grow - I can't believe I've had him for almost 4 months!

Darryl is doing well, too. He's a very active fish and is constantly swimming all around - he even flares at me sometimes when I go over to talk to him. He seems to be a very healthy fish and I love having him around 

Pascal is... well he's Pascal haha his tail is healing from the latest filter escapade. I really don't know what to try next. I just don't think he's meant to have a filter lol There is one more option I'd like to try - http://www.amazon.com/Elite-A896-Sp...381352246&sr=8-2&keywords=elite+sponge+filter . I have that one in Darryl's 3 gallon tank and with a water bottle baffle it makes little to no current and he can swim RIGHT in front of it and it doesn't have much intake. Once Pascal heals up from this one I think I'll try that - and that will be my last resort.

I think that's all for now - I'm going to go see my little guy at the hospital again if he's up for visitors


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## dramaqueen

Aww, I'm glad your little friend is doing better after his surgery! How scary for his family and loved ones!


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## Emrae

I just wanted to say that I enjoy reading your journal!

Icarus is adorable and I'm looking forward to seeing more pictures of him as he grows up. 

And I'm glad that the little boy is recovering. That's one tough kid!


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## TiffanyP

Thank you Emrae  Konner is still doing pretty well, he's still in the PICU as the ventricles in his brain are still enlarged and they want to make sure that's not going to cause another round of seizures. He's been running a fever as well, so they're keeping an eye on that and doing tests for infection. He's been sitting up and talking with people though, and was able to eat a popsicle of his favorite color, orange  I'm hoping to go see him tomorrow if he's feeling up to it, as he wasn't today.

Now for some sad news  Fiyero still isn't doing well at all  I don't expect him to live through the night, I'm actually really surprised he's still alive right now. He's laying on his back on the bottom of the tank, either breathing very heavily as if it's a great effort, or very shallow like he might die right then. I hate seeing him suffer like that  I've got the water level in his tank down as low as I can with the heater in there still, it's warm and clean and I'm just waiting for him to pass right now. Poor guy. I know there's nothing I could have really done, but still makes me wonder "What could I have done differently?" I'll post again when he passes.

And another little tidbit of good news  There's been this super pretty mustard gas (?) betta at Petco for the past 3 weeks that I always go over and see whenever I stop in. I knew earlier this afternoon that Fiyero wasn't going to make it so I could finally, guilt free, go get him! They had moved them around this time though so I had to look thru a few to find him but when I did he was staring at me, not moving at all. I snatched him up and brought him home and knew that he really had picked me more than I picked him  He's in a temporary tank at the moment, or if he does well with it - potentially a new permanent home. He's really enjoying all the clean water and room to swim around so I haven't gotten a great picture of him, but here are a couple I took from my digital camera. His body is a darkish charcoal grey with pineapple scales, and vivid yellow fins. Not entirely sure what 'mustard gas' coloring really entails, but I think he is one  He's so pretty, even if his fins need a little TLC. (sorry the pics are massive haha not sure how to make them smaller)

What do you think I should name him?

His cute little face!









This is the best picture I could manage with him swimming all around


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## TiffanyP

Fiyero passed last night sometime between 11 and 11:30  In a way I'm glad he didn't make it through the night, watching him suffer was torture. I noticed something weird though when I scooped him out for his porcelain funeral - the tip of his tail fin had some color missing, like it was completely white. And I'm absolutely positive that when he was still alive it was still all blue. It looked like, you know if you have a kid's picture drawn/colored with markers? And you drip some water on it and then pick it up quick to get the water off, but it bleeds some of the color anyway? It looked much like that. Like the color was literally, melting towards his body. I have no idea what it was, and I should have taken a picture now that I think of it, but I was pretty upset and didn't think of it then. So my dear boy, may he swim peacefully now


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## Emrae

Sorry about Fiyero. :-( He was a beautiful little guy. I'm sure that he lived a very happy life with you though.

I have a very uneducated guess since I know nothing about the circulatory system of fish, but my theory is that it could be a fishy version of lividity. If you don't know, for humans it's when the blood stops flowing and settles after death. Like if someone dies lying on their back, their back will have a blue/purple color from the blood gathering there; but their face, stomach area, ect will loose color as the blood moves away and settles. I don't know if it would happen like that in a fish, but it was the first thing that came to mind. Hope that wasn't too gross of a description.


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## TiffanyP

No, not too gross at all - I'm a nurse so it really takes a lot to make me squeamish  I have no idea what it was - but in case it was something bacterial I'm washing all of the things in his tank under scalding hot water many many *many* times before they will be considered for use in another tank.

My new guy has settled in pretty well. And he's even got a tentative name: Gilligan. He's in Fiyero's old 2 gallon hex tank (really tall, not so much wide) so I'm hoping to get him into a bigger, wider, tank here soon. I've been contemplating how I'm going to do that though. 

I can give him his own 5 gallon tank, and let Icarus grow in the 2.5 gallon. 
Or I can move Pascal's 5 gallon, leaving the dresser open to put a 10 gallon and split that between 2 boys. 

I've never had a split tank before though so I'm not sure how I really feel about that. And then I would have to decide who I put in the split tank! 

Would I split it between Gilligan and Icarus? 
Or Gilligan and Darryl?

Darryl seems pretty happy in his 3 gallon tank, so I'd probably split it between Icarus and Gilligan. *BUT* I still haven't decided if Icarus is growing ovaries or not haha There's a tiny little triangle behind his stomach, not like other ovaries I've seen, but maybe they're still growing yet? Time will tell  

Anyway, if Icarus ends up being a girl after all, then I'll split the tank between Gilligan and Darryl and put Icarus in Darryl's old 3 gallon! I think I'm going to wait for 2 weeks to give Gilligan his quarantine time to decide. That way if Icarus ends up being a girl I should be able to know in 2 weeks and can decide how to split them then.

Okay, thanks for bearing with me as I rambled that out to myself haha And now I'm off to see the wizard and save the world and all of the other awesome things I do on a daily basis  Hope you all have a great and relaxing weekend!


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## Quinn

Sorry about Fiyero passing, it stinks when you don't know the reason behind what went wrong. I hope cutie little Icarus continues to grow and do well! And congrats on newbie


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## TiffanyP

Thanks Quinn. I'm sure it stemmed from constipation, but i just don't know  I'm going to have a heck of a time NOT getting another double tail baby if I see one again lol


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## TiffanyP

I went and bought some API General Cure for Alaric today - hoping that whatever it is that's wrong with him will be kicked with this (he's acting fine, but his belly is always a little bloated, even after he poops - which is rare. And I'm beginning to wonder if the fuzzy stuff on him isn't white stringy poop indicative of parasites. So as long as he tolerates it fine, he'll get a course of the meds as salt water didn't do anything) I'm also going to completely clean out his tank since all the water prams are still reading at 0 (thanks to a cheap filter I started out with). I figure I'll get it all cleaned out (to hopefully get any parasite eggs out and just to clean it out in general) while he's not in there and then get some kick-starter cycle stuff to get the process going. 

I also ordered a new heater for him, a Cobalt Aquatics 50W Neo-Therm. I was okay with his other one but it had some REALLY nasty stuff on it and it stank to high heaven. I tried scrubbing it off but that didn't work either so I just said "screw it". There wasn't any way I was putting it back in with him. It was a Petco brand adjustable heater... It worked okay but over-all I wouldn't recommend it to anyone - spend the extra couple of bucks and get the Aqueon brand one.

Once the new heater gets here (hopefully by Friday) I'll get his filter set back up and put in some API Quick Start and wait a few days for it to get stabilized. Does anyone have any tips for that? It says it's safe to add fish right away, but should I wait a few days? A week? Any suggestions in regards to that would be awesome 

Well, I think my block of frozen bloodworms is finally thawed out so it's time for the boys' supper as they've been fasting since last night. TTFN


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## TiffanyP

Guys. We really need to come up with a legit BAA haha Betta Addicts Anonymous. Why?

Because... well, hi. My name is Tiffany. And I went from 5 bettas to 8 in three days.

I went and bought 2 more tonight, but with a coupon, they cost me a whopping one dollar for the both of them. I've decided I'm going to split two of my 5 gallon tanks - the babies in one, and Gilligan and Alaric in the other. The babies will get the new 50W heater I bought since it is very consistent and will keep the temp more regular for them, and I'll probably end up buying another new 50W heater for the other boys. I hope I'm not the only one who feels like this with new fish haha but I feel both guilty AND super happy at the same time. Someone make me feel better and tell me I'm not alone in this haha 

Here they are!

This one isn't much bigger than Alaric is, probably just a bit older  His body is blue and his fins are orange.









And this is my new baby! He's bigger than Icarus but smaller than Fiyero was. His body is really really long - I'm excited to see how he turns out


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## TiffanyP

Good morning from Casa de la Fish! haha

Both of the new boys made it through the night, I was kind of worried about the bigger one - he's SO skinny and emaciated. He ate 3 pellets for me before bed last night and then another 3 this morning so I think he'll be okay 

The baby has perked up and is acting just like my other babies  He's for the most part unclamped and I can see that he has at least 4 rays! More may show up as he grows  Woot! 

I badly want to get a tank set up to put the new bigger fish in (I really need to name them haha) but today I have to focus on my job though and do some cleaning and get the house in order after having two extra kids here for the weekend. Hopefully on Wednesday I can get one set up so I can get back to 6 tanks  I'm still going to keep the new boys in quarantine for 2 weeks, but if I can put the bigger one in one side of a split 5 gallon, it's better than the 1.75 gal half filled container he's in right now  And that eliminates one tank! 

Thanks again for listening to me ramble on - I still don't know anyone here where I live (except for the lovely people at PetCo haha) and my FB friends get tired of my endless fish stories. So I turn here to get everything out of my system


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## TiffanyP

Picture time! I did some playing around today and got my new baby fish out of that .75 gallon tank. I'm sure he would have been fine in there for another couple of days, but *I* wasn't fine with him being in there lol Since Alaric is in the hospital tank, I scrubbed out his 5 gallon real well with hot water and then rinsed it a few times in hot water too, before setting to work on making a DIY divider. I used extra firm plastic canvas I found at Hobby Lobby and 2 report binder thingies. Worked perfectly! I just had to trim everything down to size, added the rocks in and the decorations, and voila! Perfect tank for two babies, I think. Here's the finished product!









I also named one of the new boys today, the baby - his name is Yoshi! He's completely unclamped today and happily swimming around his new home. He's going to be fun to watch grow! I was chatting on the Petco Baby thread and lilnaugrim thinks he'll probably be a plakat, possibly halfmoon too! And I'm pretty sure he'll be dragonscaled  Here's a couple of pictures I took of him!









I love this one 


















And I took a couple of pictures of the other new fish  He doesn't have a name yet, he's being stubborn about it. The first picture is with flash and really shows the true color of him - his body is blue and his fins are orange 


















Lets see... Gilligan has settled in nicely and is doing well. I have totally fallen in love with his little face. I'm seeing if the ends of his fins have rot on them or if they're a bit translucent because it's regrowth. I'm keeping a close eye on them and will do some salt water if necessary 

Icarus is just a growing  I've been doing daily pictures on my Photobucket, though I'm behind a few days on uploading them. He looks to be a bit more yellow-y tinted in the body area and his tail fin still is getting some red color to it. I haven't decided if he has ovaries or not either yet lol

Alaric is still in the hospital tank getting some API General Cure. It seems to be helping! I don't see fuzzies on him anymore  He hasn't pooped though, which doesn't surprise me much, but I'm hoping that if he had parasites that the meds will kick them and he'll start pooping more regularly  His abdomen doesn't look as puffy as it did when he went in so I'm taking that as a good sign.

Alistair is thriving in his 5 gallon home. Ever since I put some sponge in the intake part of the filter of his Minibow 5 he's just been loving it. I also think he likes having less activity since he's in the bathroom. He's always been a skittish fish, so being alone in a room with less activity than my bedroom really helps him.

Darryl is just Darryl lol nothing new to report about him  He's taken to sleeping under his filter though, which cracks me up. I'll have to see if I can sneak a picture of it sometime.

Pascal is doing well, my big bug eyed boy  His tail fin is still healing from when I tried the sponge filter out in his tank, but it's looking good. No signs of rot and the shredding isn't getting worse. 

That's the latest on my boys!


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## TiffanyP

Wow - guys! I'm 2 views away from having 1,000 views on my journal! That's crazy to me! I never thought a journal about my motley crew of bettas and ramblings would ever get 1,000 views but sure enough - I'm going to hit it!

There isn't much to update on today from Casa de la Fish. All of the boys are doing so awesome  Alaric finished his meds and I'm hoping it helped. I'm keeping him in the hospital tank for another few days until Stinson's QT period is over, then I'm going to split a tank between him and Alaric I believe. Potentially between Stinson and Gilligan but then I'm not sure where I'd put Alaric. Stinson looks like he's finally gaining some weight  The babies Icarus and Yoshi are doing awesome in their new tank - I got the new heater in the mail and put it in there. I'm a bit disappointed as it's about 3 degrees off - which is not up to Cobalt Aquatics standards. The 50W is rated up to 12 gallons too, so I'm not sure what the deal is there. I'm probably going to look up the return policy and see if I can get a replacement as I know they have good quality equipment and this isn't the norm.

I think that's all for today  Thanks to the next 2 viewers to getting me up to 1,000 views!


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## dramaqueen

Casa de la fish. I like it!!


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## TiffanyP

Haha thanks  It's more like Room de la Fish, but I like the sounds of Casa de la Fish better 

Not a whole lot going on with the boys lately, except for Darryl, who I'll get to in a moment -_- Everyone is happy and healthy. 

Stinson has put on some weight, which makes me extremely happy! He had his first blood worms tonight and at first he wasn't sure what to make of them. He swam around it in circles a few times and just gave it a good stare down before he decided it was worthy of eating haha then he ate 3 in rapid succession! I'm looking forward to this weekend so I can get a tank set up for him and Alaric  I hope they'll be okay in a split tank. I'm going to use some black plastic canvas to try and mask the area between them as much as I can. I think it'll work out pretty well, though I'm still debating between a 5 gallon and a 10 gallon tank... 

Gilligan is happy in his 2 gallon tank, so I think he'll stay in there for now.

Pascal's tail fin is healing up - again. He shredded it on something again *sigh* We're working on it. I think he may have been angry that I was giving him only 3 pellets/feeding instead of 4 because he hasn't been pooping regularly. I've upped it to 4 and there isn't any further damage, so lets hope that continues.

The babies are doing AWESOME. I am in LOVE with their split tank and I think they're pretty happy with it as well. They don't have stare downs at the divider so I think they'll grow up pretty indifferent with each other.

I think the API General Cure did wonders for Alaric. He's pooping more often now and doesn't look as puffy as he once did  He's still got a tiny bit of fuzzies on his anal fin, but I think it might be leftovers from his slime coat shedding off. I'll keep an eye on it 

Alistair is doing well too - nothing new or 'off' to report on him  He's just my feisty dragon boy!

And now for Darryl. I swear this fish is going to give me heart palpitations! His entire tail fin is ENTIRELY shredded, and his caudal fin is starting to shred a little bit too. And I have NO idea what is causing it! I haven't changed a thing in his tank - it's the same exact plant, cave, filter, and rocks that have been in there since I got him. I am feeding him 3 pellets/feeding and feeding him twice a day, which is exactly how I've done it since I got him. I change his water regularly - two 50% changes a week, which again, is exactly how I've been doing it since I've had him. His water prams are perfect and the pH hasn't changed. I just have no idea. His fins just keep getting worse by the day and they're bloody in some places!  I think I'm going to take his plant out tomorrow and see if that does anything to help. I hate to do it since he's always been a more reclusive fish and likes to hide - but his fins need to heal up, dang it! lol If any of you have any other ideas of how to treat this, please let me know. I'm upping his water changes to 3, maybe 4 a week with a double dose of stress coat to really try and heal his fins and to ward off any infection.

In case any of you were curious about my little buddy Konner, he was able to go home last Sunday, the 13th  He was very happy to be able to go back home and go back to school to see his friends again. He's such a social kid! He did have one scare with his shunt again, and was in the ER for a few hours, but it was just a simple matter of reprogramming the shunt and he was on his way back home again 

I'm going out of town for a few hours tomorrow so my babies are going to miss their afternoon feeding lol I hope they don't get angry with me  But it's getting cold here in Iowa and I am in need of my winter jackets and sturdier shoes and a couple of my favorite comforters lol

Have a great and relaxing Sunday everyone!


----------



## TiffanyP

Hello on this absolutely FRIGID October day! I have a few pictures for y'all  And I apologize for the water spots on the front of their tanks... I need to wash them before I take pictures again haha

I FINALLY got a good, clear picture of Alaric that shows off his BEAUTIFUL colors  I'm so excited! His belly is big because he just ate - I'm working on getting a good diet in order for him because he always gets really big after he eats. I think he's maybe just prone to bloating... he never swims funny so it doesn't affect his swim bladder. Anyway, here's my pretty boy who holds my heart <3


Here's a new picture of Icarus. He's growing but still doesn't have any color to him except for a very very light red on his tail fin.


And here's my lil Yoshi  He's lost most of his stripe, but I think he's going to end up with pineapple scales, which is fine by me  You can also see that his anal fin is getting pretty dark, it looks black to me actually.


I tried to get a couple of shots of Darryl's poor tail  He doesn't like not having his plant in there, but I don't see any further damage so I hope that the plant was what was causing it. I'll have to find something else to put in there for him to hide behind.




And now for a new picture of Stinson  He's such a happy little fish - I'm so glad I went out and got him. And he's really living up to his name of "Stinson" as I'm sure if there were ladies around, they'd be all up on him haha Such a handsome fella.




And a couple of shots of my handsome Gilligan! I have fallen head over heels for this fish. I think because he reminds me of Gaston <3 Is he a mustard gas? Or a chocolate betta? Been wondering about that for a while 




Alistair wasn't in the mood to take pictures, so no new ones of him, and Pascal also decided he wasn't feeling photogenic. Silly boys  Hope you all are staying warm wherever you are!


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## TiffanyP

*sigh* and the struggle with Darryl continues. He's taken to biting his fins now, probably because he's stressed because there's no plant in there. I'll probably run to Petco tomorrow and grab him a feather plant as it's probably the softest plant they have, just so he can have something to hide behind. I hate seeing him like that - he's always been such a pretty fish and now his fins are just in bits  Makes me sad!

The other boys are doing well though - Alaric has built his first bubble nest in months! I'm so happy  Stinson had one built too, but I had to ruin it when I changed his water today. I've found out that Gilligan doesn't like my SpongeBob shirt haha he flares at me whenever I walk over to the tank, but if I cover my shirt with a towel he doesn't.

I think on Friday, payday, I'm going to take advantage of Petco's buy one get one free plant sale on their website. They have a new 'watercolors' line out that has some really pretty plants. They're plastic, or so they say, but they feel exactly like the silk plants. I think it'll be a nice addition to a few tanks  I also want to get a couple of feather plants. There's a red and white silk plant that I want to get to put in the 10 gallon I'm going to split  at least I think I'm going to split a 10 gallon haha I change my mind so many times before I decide on something.

Until next time!


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## TiffanyP

Well - Project FigureOutWhatTheHeckIsUpWithDarryl commenced today  I went to Petco and bought a small silk plant, the softest one I could find, and a feather plant as well. I put them at the front of the tank so that there's a barrier between him and the room. I'm hoping that will reduce his anxiety and help things out in the long run 

I was taking some pictures of my boys today, as per usual lol and snapped a couple of great shots that I want to share with you 

Stinson! His fins are ALWAYS spread out like that except for when he's darting across the tank  What a stud he is!


And Yoshi! I just love this little guy to pieces! He's so curious and what I would call 'friendly'  I cannot WAIT til he fully colors up 


I may not post again til next week, so have a wonderful weekend where ever you are!


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## TiffanyP

Yoshi colored up! Quite literally overnight! He's SO much darker now! If his colors stay true I think his main body color will be black, which would be ridiculously awesome! But here's the funny thing... it's not constant lol if I pay attention to him at his tank he goes lighter, but if he's just swimming around and no one's interacting with him, he's so dark! I can literally watch him change from dark to light! I'm so fascinated with it haha I tried to snap a few pictures today, maybe tomorrow he'll be even darker


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## Rosencrantz32

Wow! I'll bet he'll be a black dragon. I just got a black dragon female on Thursday and she seems to do that too. She looks really dark from far away but once I get close and look at her, the black gets much more pale. Maybe that's just what black dragons do? lol

I think it's been quite some time since I posted on your journal. I'm sorry you lost Fiyero  the little double tail baby I got a few weeks back looks a lot like he did so I think of your little guy often. I'm glad the rest of your boys seem to be doing well though. I hope Darryl's fins will heal up well and that you can figure out what's going on with them.

Your new boys look great too! And I love the name Gilligan. It's brilliant!!! But I also really loved Gilligan's Island as a kid so... I'm a bit biased 

Good luck with your two new babies! Their tanks looks great  I'm really excited to watch them grow ^.^


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## TiffanyP

Here's a progression of pictures of Yoshi  I'm so fascinated with that fish!

The day I got him, Oct 14:


October 20:


October 24:


Yesterday:


Today:


He's so dark! I never expected, when I got him, that he'd ever be black! I was thinking maybe blue since his scales are a nice baby blue, but black never crossed my mind  But I'm so thrilled! I've eyed many of the black orchid bettas on Aquabid, so if he turns out like one of them I would be in 7th heaven


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## Elsfish

*Georgous fish*

Yoshi is just adorbss


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## TiffanyP

Thank you


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## jayr232

Im really looking forward to what yoshi will be )


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## TiffanyP

I am too! His colors changed so drastically in such a short time, it's so weird seeing this little dark fish in the tank now! He's maintaining his darker color for right now, and when he was eating and holding still for a few seconds I *think* I saw about 8 rays in his tail. They're so tiny though and I didn't have my contacts in, but I'm pretty sure that's what I saw


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## TiffanyP

Happy almost Halloween! 

I have this whole week off as my boss and his son went to Chicago for the week so I've been doing a lot of... nothing  It's been glorious. However tomorrow morning I'm going out of town until Saturday evening so the past few hours have been spend worrying about my fish lol I'm doing water changes on all of the tanks today so that they have maximum amounts of fresh water while I'm gone. I'm not worried so much about the older boys - just Yoshi and Icarus. They're used to getting 3 meals a day and will only get one meal tomorrow morning, no meals Friday, and then another meal Saturday night. They are healthy and active though so I'm sure they'll be fine without food just for a little while.

I hope you all have a safe and merry Halloween  I get to go trick or treating with my little cousins (2 and a half years old and 4 months old) so I'm super excited about that! Ttfn!


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## dramaqueen

You and your little cousins have a fun Halloween.


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## TiffanyP

Thanks dramaqueen 

Well folks - I did it! I was gone from my fish for a full 55 hours, and I'm still alive to tell the tale  I got back earlier this afternoon and stood in my door way and said "Hi boys!!" and all of them swam up to see me and they were all excited and happy, even Darryl! I fed the babies first before unpacking or anything, they were so hungry the lil piggies! I waited til a bit later to feed the boys so they're back on a schedule again. They like to eat at 10 am and 10 pm. So when I had to leave by 9 am on Thursday and fed them at 830, they didn't know what to think lol

They're all doing well, and I'm feeling more calm now since I have to be out of town next weekend as well - I'm going to go see the musical Wicked!! 3rd row seat!!! YES! It's going to be so awesome  I've seen it twice before and I love it more each time I go. Thanks for checking in on me and my boys!


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## dramaqueen

It's cool that you get to see Wicked. I've heard a lot of good things about it.


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## TiffanyP

Sorry for the hiatus! I caught the plague (well, sinus infection + late season allergies) and spent the past 3 days in bed basically. I'm finally feeling much better now so I thought I'd pop in and update y'all on my boys.

Alistair - he's doing well. I've noticed that he's especially sensitive to the ammonia levels in his water, if it goes even just a tiny bit above .25 ppm he gets all lethargic and sits at the bottom of the tank, and this time around he bit his tail! Have any of you ever had a plakat that was a tail biter? The silly guy has a lil chunk taken out of his tail lol it looks kind of funny  But I'm pretty sure I know what caused it, so I'm adding in an extra water change on the weekends for him.

Alaric is doing great. He seems pretty happy in his own 2.5 gallon tank so I'm leaving him in that for now 

Icarus is doing well - still just a colorless lil fish, but thriving and doing well 

Yoshi is also doing well -he's a nice solid black now, but if I go over and interact with him he fades in color lol it's kind of funny  He's going to be a real looker when he's bigger though - black with metallic baby blue dragon scales <3 As far as colors go, he's my favorite right now! Also, I'm not sure he'll end up being a plakat anymore either - his fins don't look right for a plakat right now. Could just be him growing, but I'm not sure how he'll end up! I can see at least 8 rays in his tail though  I can't wait for him to grow!!

Darryl... *sigh* His fins are still in a state of being shredded and I still don't know what's causing it! I keep an eye on them to make sure that they aren't starting to rot or bleed or anything, but other than that, there isn't anything I can really do. I hope they start healing up soon for the poor fella.

Stinson is amazing. He consistently builds large bubble nests and struts his stuff in his tank  He's such a good lookin lil fish!

Pascal is also doing well. Nothing too exciting to report on him  He's just as feisty and pretty as always.

And lastly - my Gilly, aka Gilligan  He probably has the most personality out of all of my fish - He always greets me with a flare in the mornings, and will hop out of the water when it's time to eat. And I swear, if I ask him a question, sometimes he nods a 'yes' to me lol

I think 8 is the magic number of fish for me  It just feels right, and I'm not overwhelmed by the water changes. It's a good number!

Hope you all have a great week!


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## BettaLover1313

Ugh! Sinus infections are not fun! I hope you feel better! Glad to hear that your fish are doing well!


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## TiffanyP

Yay! I got a decent picture of Yoshi in all of his blackness 

In case you forgot, this is Yoshi the day after I got him on Oct 13, tiny and see through:


And this is my handsome stud today! What a huge difference! I mentioned before I can see at least 8 rays in his tail - what does that give him for tail type options?


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## twolovers101

I love his markings, and tail type... hmmm... could be HMPK, HM, Super Delta or VT right now (not good at pegging tail types when fish are young lol)


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## Huffle Puffles

Love the coloring on Yoshi, he is growing up to be a handsome little boy


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## jayr232

I saw a short body DT today.. its very disturbing


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## Rosencrantz32

I know VT and regular Plakat only have 2 rays, so he won't be that. I guess he'll be Super Delta at least. Depending on how wide his spread is, he could be a Halfmoon! And then I guess depending on how much (or little rather) his fins grow out he might be a HMPK. Time will tell!! lol 

I'm soooo jealous of your little baby. He's adorable!!


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## TiffanyP

Thank you  He's so super fun to watch grow! I still can't believe how black he is! I can't wait to see him grow up


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## TiffanyP

So, I feel like this has become a journal of "watch how much Yoshi changes!" lol But right now - he's the most exciting thing going on in my fish life  He's growing a TON right now, and I feel like Icarus is maybe being affected a little by the growth stunting hormone. I do 50%+ (as much water as I can fit in a bucket) water changes M/W/F and if I'm around on weekends I try and do a bit of a water change on Saturdays too. I'm doing the best I can though and he's growing, just appears to be growing slower than Yoshi. Maybe just because Yoshi is changing so drastically lol

This is Yoshi just a few minutes ago 


And here's Icarus  He was too busy darting around to want to sit still for a good picture today.


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## Rosencrantz32

WOW!!! O.O
Yoshi is... amazing!! Oh man, so jealous over here!!! >.<
You're doing a great job with these little ones


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## TiffanyP

Thank you! I'm pretty stoked about him  I've wanted a black betta for a while now, and I've eyed quite a few on Aquabid even. But finding this lil 2 dollar midget at Petco and growing him myself beats any fish off of Aquabid 

If I would have known he would be black when I got him, I might have named him and Icarus something different... like Yin and Yang or something haha since they're black and white


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## BettaLover1313

Yoshi is looking very good! I absolutely love his coloring!


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## TiffanyP

Thank you thank you 

Not too much is happening here at Casa de la Fish. All of the boys are doing well! 

I turned off Darryl's filter, which I think he's thoroughly enjoying as he's built a HUGE bubble nest over in the corner that it's in lol I'm seeing if that will maybe stop the tail shredding/biting.

I'm teaching Stinson to eat off of my finger  if I get it a little wet and stick a pellet on it, he'll jump out of the water and eat the pellet - but only for me! My boss's daughter was here this weekend and she tried and he refused to jump for her 

Nothing new with Gilligan, Pascal, Alaric or Alistair 

Icarus is doing well - I've been feeding him a bit more than normal to see if I can get him growing a bit faster.

And Yoshi is absolutely just growing growing growing! He amazes me every day. He's started flaring (though can't see his beard or gills pop out yet) at the divider at Icarus. And his tail and fins are massive now! I think he'll probably end up being a delta or super delta or halfmoon perhaps. He's just such a looker! I love it 

Hope everything is well with all of you!


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## TiffanyP

Well. I can no longer refer to my fish as 'my boys'... Icarus grew ovaries overnight! So I've got a lil lady fish on my hands!

I've questioned it for a while, but there's never been anything but a see through area behind 'his' stomach so I stuck with male... but as of this morning there are bright yellow ovaries behind her stomach! So now I need to figure out a proper name for a lady fish! She's just a petite little thing, still no color, just a tiny tiny bit of red on her tail fin and ventrals... Any ideas for a name?

Thanks!


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## TiffanyP

Per request of my sister-in-law I took some new pictures of my fishies tonight  Unfortunately the one I wanted pictures of most, the former Icarus, wasn't cooperating - I'll try again tomorrow 

Yoshi - One picture that shows how black he is, and one that shows his tail well 




Stinson


Alaric - I love my little stud  Also, when he flares, he doesn't have a beard... Is that normal?


Pascal


Darryl


Icarus - or that used to be her name lol I haven't decided on a lady name for her yet! She wasn't cooperating so, sorry for the not so awesomeness of the picture


My Gilli  He loves me haha I should have named him Fabio for his long flowing golden locks 


And last but not least - Alistair. He's kind of droopy bc he needs a water change - he's super sensitive to ammonia. It's not even up to .25 ppm yet :/ And yes, he bit a chunk out of his tail lol


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## Quinn

Yoshi was QUITE the find wasn't he!? Such a stunner


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## TiffanyP

Thanks! He's quite the looker and he knows it too 

It's been pretty quiet around here lately in regards to my fish, which I was enjoying immensely! Until last night...

Alistair somehow scraped his head really good and it looks to be bleeding :/ Also he's bit his tail even more and he did something to his left ventral fin too - both of those places are bleeding too! I have NO idea what the heck happened... My first thought was that the water prams weren't good, but they were fine. I did a water change anyway just to be safe, added a double dose of stress coat. Luckily Alistair's tank is the easiest one to do a water change on since he lives on the counter in the bathroom lol So I'll keep doing smallish water changes every day to keep the water clean for him. I don't need him getting some sort of infection 

An update on Darryl - I turned off his filter a few days ago, and I think that's what was causing his fin shredding issues. It's about the most gentle filter ever with very little intake (it's a sponge filter that suctions to the wall, said on the box it's even safe for fry) but maybe since he hides under it (and since it's been off, on top of it lol) it was just ruining his tail. At least I know what the problem is now  He's much happier with it off too.

Pascal still has a rough patch at the top of his tail fin that has never quite healed from when he shredded it the last time I put a filter in his tank. It's not getting better, but it's also not getting any rot/infection either so I'm not too worried about it. It'll heal with some more time.

I've been thinking that since Lady Icarus is a lady now, I should maybe buy her a couple more feminine looking items for her side of the tank lol like a pink cave instead of orange, and some girlier colored plants. I figure if she's going to be a lady, she should live like one haha

Nothing else to report on the boys - I'm being the 'smothering mother' right now to Alistair, checking on him every hour or two, making sure he's not doing any worse, that kind of thing  Hope y'all are having a happy hump day!


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## TiffanyP

Well - I lost Alistair tonight  I have absolutely no idea what happened with him. He was a little sluggish today but nothing too out of the norm... or so I thought. He was given a proper porcelain funeral. Bye, buddy - thanks for being there when I needed you.


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## Rosencrantz32

Oh no!! I'm so sorry  
I'm glad you were able to give him such a good home! Swim in peace little guy <3


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## dramaqueen

Aww, I'm sorry! He was beautiful.


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## Chachi

Sorry to hear about Alistair!


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## TiffanyP

Thanks for the condolences everyone. It's rough, but you just gotta keep on going. I'm going to get his tank cleaned out as best as I can and get it set back up with new rocks/plants.

And now the part where I talk to myself/talk 'out loud' about tank rearranging haha

I'm debating if I'm going to put Darryl into Alistair's 5 gallon and leave it in the bathroom (since Darryl like's less activity anyway)
-or-
Move Darryl's 3 gallon that he's lived in since I've had him into the bathroom, bring the 5 gallon into my bedroom, and put Stinson it it?
-or-
Move Darryl's 3 gallon into the bathroom, bring the 5 gallon into my bedroom, and get an entirely new fish? 
-ooooor-
Put Darryl in the bathroom, bring 5 gallon out here, put Yoshi in the 5 gallon, and get another baby for the other side of the split 5 gallon. I have this option open bc Yoshi is either going to be a super delta or a halfmoon and eventually will need his own 5 gallon tank (at least if he's anything like Pascal, whose massive fins just don't work in anything smaller than a 5 gal lol)

So many choices running through my head lol I haven't decided if I'm getting a new betta yet - the only thing I do know is that I spent a lot of money on that 5 gallon tank (MiniBow5) and I'm not going to let it just sit around lol So I'll probably speculate on that issue for the next few days until I decide what's going to happen. But knowing me, added with the fact that I have a $5 coupon to Petco, I'll likely be bringing another fish child home


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## Phantom Miria

Beautiful betta's! Bookmarked :3


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## TiffanyP

Thanks Phantom 

So I am pretty sure that I'm going to put Yoshi in the empty 5 gallon. I think it'll really allow him to blossom and grow to his full potential  So then that leaves me with half of a split 5 gallon... I would put Stinson in there, but he's a really good jumper - jumps higher/farther than my other boys, so I'm hesitant since I don't want anything to happen to Lady Icarus. So then I could get another female and have a female tank, not a sorority, just a lady tank  Or I could get another baby. I'm planning all this out, but I probably won't get another new fish til after the new year. I'm going to be in and out so much, it would just be better to wait  

Not much else exciting is going on right now... The other boys seem healthy and happy - Darryl's tail is nearly all the way healed up since I took out the filter in his tank, which I am thrilled about  And Lady Icarus is doing well too lol I feel bad bc I say 'my boys' out of habit. Hope you all are doing well and that you have a safe and amazing Thanksgiving filled with lots of nommy foods and happy times with family and friends


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## TiffanyP

Do you ever get one of those "Yeah... I could do that" ideas in your head? And then you can't stop thinking about it? lol Well... I decided to pull out the old 5 gallon tank that I had Gaston in. I scrubbed it out (again) rinsed with hot water a few times and set it up for Stinson. He's been living happily in a 1.75 gallon kritter keeper - always very active and vibrant. But I just felt bad that he was stuck in that lil thing while the others have at least a 2.5 gallon space to swim around in. So I thought to myself "If I turn Pascal's tank sideways I bet I could fit a 5 gallon on my dresser... Yeah, I could do that." and the thought stuck lol So tonight, on impulse I did it  And I think he loves it so far! He's swimming all around, I need to get him a cave yet, but otherwise he's got a random assortment of plants in there and I think he'll be happy  I wish I could get the calcium ring off from around the top, but *shrug* the least of my worries right now  Haha, I looked over at him just now and he's chasing bubbles up from the rocks! SO darn cute!

Sometime in the next couple of weeks or so I'll get Alistair's old 5 gallon set up again for Yoshi. I have plants I want to use I just need rocks and a cave. 

I've got it in my head that I'd really like an elephant ear betta. I have no idea why, but I've been thinking about getting one if they have one at Petco. Assuming he doesn't have massive finnage like Pascal does, he'll fit nicely in one side of the split 5 gallon  I can then either leave Lady Icarus where she is, or switch her places with Gilligan - to be determined at a later date 

I think Yoshi's going to end up being a halfmoon  He and Lady Icarus have been eyeing each other at the divider, so naturally he's showing off his masculinity and flaring for her  He's definitely bigger than a delta, so at least super delta, but I think he'll get up to halfmoon! What a gem to find at Petco


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## dramaqueen

I bet Stinson is loving his new home.


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## TiffanyP

Hello hello! I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving and that you ate yourselves silly with delicious food 

Things are going well in my little corner of the world. My birthday is coming up this month - I'll officially be a quarter of a century old. It seems so unreal!

The boys and Lady Icarus continue to do well for which I am thankful 

Gilligan seems to be very happy in his 2 gallon set up. He gets a 50% change mid week and a 100% change once a week as well and that does him well. He's got a similar personality to Gaston, which makes me happy  He flares at me all the time if I stick my face up to his tank and he always jumps out of the water to get his food before I can drop it. I think it's his way of saying "Hey, I love you for feeding me."

Pascal is still doing well. His tail has never fully healed from when it shredded last time, so the top probably 1/4-1/3 is pretty raggedy. It's not infected or getting any worse though, so I just keep his water clean and he seems pretty happy 

Stinson has just moved into his own 5 gallon tank. I think he likes having more room to stretch his fins, but when I left overnight for Thanksgiving he had shredded his tail on something! I seem to have a group of tail shredders lol I have no idea what he's caught it on since the plants in his tank are the same ones he's always had and they're silk. Who knows *shrug* I'm keeping a close eye on it to make sure it doesn't get infected - the usual protocol.

Alaric is doing well, too  I think whatever growth spurt he was going thru that caused him to not poop but once a week has passed for the most part -now he poops probably twice a week haha He's such a handsome little fish and I think I have the strongest bond with him. He's not scared of me at all and he always gets so excited when I go chat with him at his tank  I think I'll probably keep him in the 2.5 gal tank he's in infinitely as he seems happier in there than he did in his 1 gallon or 5 gallon.

Yoshi is still growing like a weed. I'm planning on putting him in his 5 gallon tank this Friday, potentially earlier this week if I can make it to Petco to grab a few things. He's been showing of to Lady Icarus at the divider a lot more recently, which I'm fine with - it's letting him stretch his fins big so that he'll hopefully get to halfmoon status  He's super delta status right now.

Lady Icarus is finally noticeably growing. Her fins are getting redder and redder, but her body is still colorless - I'm thinking after her fins fully color in she'll be considered Cambodian. She seems very healthy and poops A LOT, like... SO much haha I have no idea how she poops so much! She's just a sweet little lady and I'm kind of glad she ended up being a girl after all 

And last, but not least - Darryl. He's doing very well. I think he likes new location in the bathroom. It's pretty quiet in there so he's less stressed. His fins have almost completely healed up - there's just one spot on his dorsal fin, and one spot at the top of his top tail (he's a double tail) that needs a little bit more TLC, and then he'll be good as new  I'm wondering if he has maybe a weak strain of the marble gene as his spots just seem to get darker and darker and he didn't have any spots when I got him. It's nothing drastic - but it's a change nonetheless 

That's all on my fishies for now  Can you believe it's going to be DECEMBER tomorrow?! Where did this year go?? I've lived at my current place for 6 months now! SIX! How in the world did that happen? And I've had Alaric for 5 months now! Time just seems to pass so quickly these days! I hope you all are staying warm and that your fishies are happy and healthy  Sending love from Iowa!


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## TiffanyP

So... I have another picture of Yoshi haha Two actually, and a picture of Lady Icarus too  I posted them on the Baby Betta thread, so if you saw them there, these are the same ones 

What a freakin stud! He's so handsome!


He was mad that I was touching his tank lol


And Lady Icarus  Her fins are getting a bit more red to them, but still no signs of coloring in fully.


Thanks for checking in


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## Rosencrantz32

OH MY GOODNESS!!! YOSHI IS SO AWESOME IT'S INSANE!!!! Soooooo much fish envy >.< 
I'm sooooo very happy that you took him home and have taken such good care of him. Such a gem needs a loving owner like you 
And your little lady is completely adorable! I love her so much!
Man... I mean I love my grown up baby (Gaius), but I wish he was awesome looking like these two instead of your typical red/blue veiltail....

You are doing an amazing job with these too!  I love seeing pics of them growing. Can we get any pics of your other boys? I miss seeing them ^.^


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## TiffanyP

D'awww, stop, yer makin' me blush  But thank you! I'm super happy to have brought him home too - I never in a million years would have thought he would have turned out like this, but I'm so super happy he did! I'm pretty tickled with Lady Icarus too - just all of my babies lol Alaric included, who's your generic red/blue/green colored veiltail (but the prettiest red/blue/green veiltail ever! I might be biased lol) I love looking at them and saying... "Hey. I grew that." Makes me all warm and fuzzy inside 

And I will for sure post some new pictures of the other boys if they're in a cooperative mood for me this week. I'm absolutely booked as far as my schedule goes, but I'll try and get some pictures taken sometime and posted for you 

In some non-fish related news - I got a new car today! Or at least I told them I was going to buy it and everything was agreed upon - just gotta finalize some paperwork and it'll be all mine! I'm so excited! My first car buying experience lol I feel so adultly! It should be in my possession in about a week, two weeks tops  So Merry Christmas and Happy Birthday to me lol


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## BettaLover1313

Congrats on the new car! 

Yoshi is so handsome! I'm jealous!


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## TiffanyP

Sorry for the hiatus everyone! Last week was an absolute whirlwind!

I should be getting my new car early this week  Hopefully tomorrow or Tuesday! A lot of this week was spent meeting up with the seller, talking to my bank, signing papers, etc. 

On Thursday I did the *cue dramatic music* Cookie Trifecta! I love to bake and this year I wanted to mail some of my out of state friends cookies - so Thursday I spent over 5 hours baking 3 different kinds of cookies: Oatmeal raisin, snickerdoodles, and mint chocolate chip  My friends should be getting the cookies on Monday so I can't wait to hear how they like them!

I also had a friend visit from out of state so she was here Monday night into Tuesday. I just feel like last week didn't even exist because it was so short haha 

I felt really bad because I had to miss/postpone a few water changes on my fishies :/ I just simply didn't have enough hours in the day to do everything that needed to be done. This week is panning out to be much quieter and less busy so I'm sure my fish will be thankful for that 

I had to move Stinson back to his smaller tank - he just wasn't comfortable in the 5 gallon I don't think. His tail was shredded and he was starting to bite it. I had a bunch of plants in there so I'm not sure what was causing his stress. But I've put him back in his smaller tank and he's back to normal  Building a huge bubble nest again and his tail is already showing signs of healing up. He just might be one of those fishies who likes smaller spaces.

Pascal is still the same, as are Gilligan, Darryl, and the babies 

Alaric though - I'm seeing a big improvement in. I had been using stress coat as the water conditioner for all of my fishes since 3/7 of them have had shredded/bitten fins. I just used it for all the fishes bc it was easiest. Alaric though never seemed really happy and he always had some stuff hanging off of him - which I learned was his slime coat shedding. And it did it ALL the time. So I decided to switch water conditioners with him and it's amazing the changes I've seen in him now! His ventral fins aren't little sticks anymore, they're starting to get some thickness to them; he doesn't have slime coat hanging off of him anymore; he's swimming a lot more; he's eating and pooping a lot more now; he's growing visibly too as well  I didn't think just a change in water conditioner would have such an effect, but apparently for him it does  

And Rose - I didn't forget about your request for pictures! I'm going to try and get a few today since I have nothing going for once  Gotta charge up the camera battery first haha


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## Rosencrantz32

Yay!!! I cant wait 
And congrats on the car!!


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## jayr232

More yoshi and icarus plzxzxzxzxzx !!!


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## TiffanyP

Sorry guys! I'm failing at this whole journal thing lol apparently December is the month of business! Busy-ness? lol I've been ridiculously busy and for that I apologize! 

I just realized today that I forgot to clean Stinson's water last week! It just kind of hit me that I just completely spaced it off. So I feel terrible about that, though he's just fine. He'll get clean water tomorrow for sure, poor guy.

The other fishies are doing good - the babies are growing like weeds and I do promise to get more pictures of them up eventually! I've been thinking about whether or not to get another fish and I don't think I'm going to. I'm just going to get Yoshi into his own 5 gallon tank (probably around New Years) and then probably put Gilligan into the empty side of the split tank.

In other news I've had Yoshi and Stinson for 2 months now, Lady Icarus for almost 3 months, Darryl for almost 4 months, Gilligan for just over 2 months, Pascal for almost 4 months, and I've had Alaric for almost 6 months!! Crazy where the time goes!

That's all I have time for tonight - I have to make a grocery list and a Christmas shopping list for tomorrow, as well as a to-do list and what not. I have so much stuff to do! Hope you all are doing well, and again I do promise more pictures of all of the fishies soon I just need time haha

8 days til my birthday and 10 til Christmas! Hope you all are safe warm and happy!


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## dramaqueen

Don't worry about it. Lol This is a busy time of year for a lot of people.


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## Phantom Miria

You're bettas are looking wonderful!


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## TiffanyP

I finally got some pictures of the fishies! I couldn't find my camera so I had to use my phone - sorry for the poor quality  these are the best I could do! And Pascal who is normally a natural model, was having none of it today, so I just left him be 

Gilligan!


Lady Icarus


Darryl - this is his favorite place to sleep lol I'm sorry for the calcium ring blocking part of your view of him lol he wouldn't budge.


Sir Alaric 


Stinson - he wanted a close up haha


And the one you've all been waiting for, Yoshi!
A great shot of his big beautiful tail 






Tada! And those are my fishies as of today  If Pascal decides to cooperate later I'll post a picture of just him.


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## Rosencrantz32

YAY!! Awww they're all so beautiful! I love your little lady. She's so cute!!!


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## TiffanyP

GUYS! Guysguysguysguysguys! I just saw Yoshi flare, and I'm about 98% certain that he's up to half moon status! I saw a full 180° spread, at least from this angle! AH! I'm so excited


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## TiffanyP

Hey hey guys! I hope you all had a safe, happy, and very Merry Christmas  I've been here there and everywhere lately so I apologize for the hiatus. The boys and Lady Icarus are doing super well - I'm just incredibly happy with all of them 

Stinson - He's doing well and loving life again in his 1.75 gal tank. He did NOT like the 5 gallon tank and seems to be thriving in his little home, so there he shall stay  He's grown quite a bit since I got him in October, and he's my jumper/biter lol Gotta love lil cantankerous fishies!

Pascal - I think his big ol' fins are finally starting to bother him as he's been biting his tail a lot lately. They aren't infected or anything, I just think he's irritated with how big they are. Poor guy  I also think he's getting a cyst or a tumor on his dorsal fin :/ I'm not sure what it is, but I know it's growing. I hope it stays small and that it doesn't bother him too much. I would hate to lose him!

Alaric - he's become quite the Starvin' Marvin lately, which is good! He needs to grow  He's pretty active and likes his 2.5 gallon home.

Yoshi - he is doing super well, my mom recently came to visit and he was the first one she noticed haha He's quite the eye catcher  He's definitely a halfmoon and I'm super excited about that  After things settle down and Grace gets back to her mom's and school starts up again and everything I'm going to get him into his own 5 gallon tank so he can grow nice and big 

Lady Icarus is just an adorable little lady  She's gotten a bit of blue iridescence in between her rays which is kind of fun. I think she's just going to be your typical veil tail female betta 

Gilligan is doing wonderful too. He's quite happy in his 2 gallon home. I love having him around, he's such a handsome guy!

Darryl is... just Darryl lol I've actually contemplated seeing if there's anyone in my area who would take him off my hands for me. I hate to say it, but I just don't have a bond with him like I do with my other fishies. I'll keep him for now  But if someone wants a skittish not very personable double tail betta in a gorgeous white/turquoise-y color - let me know! 

And *trumpet fanfare* I made the trip to the next town over to stop at PetSmart... And a little dude labeled as a dragonscale followed me home  Luckily I had Grace with me and he was able to ride warmly between her legs on the way home (about a half hour drive) If you recall, Grace is a terrible enabler and was guilt tripping me about taking him home haha So anyway, the little guy is I estimate about 6-7 months old? He's just a bit smaller than Alaric but a bit larger than Yoshi. I had him warming up in Yoshi's side of the tank and they were flaring at each other - and I'm fairly certain he's going to be a halfmoon plakat! He flares just like Alistair did! I've named him Nemo as he has a lucky fin (one pectoral fin is smaller than the other), just like the cartoon does. He won my heart over and even without Grace egging me on, I probably would have brought him home anyway  Here's his picture! He needs to gain some weight and he's still got a bit of growing to do, but I'm super excited to have him! He's temporarily in a 1 gallon tank until I get Yoshi into his 5 gallon, then he'll take Yoshi's place in the divided tank


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## TiffanyP

For whatever reason the above post posted twice so... here's a funny picture to keep you entertained


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## TiffanyP

Happy New Year!! (6 days late)

We've had some ridiculously cold temperatures today so I stayed indoors and decided to do a photo shoot of the boys and Lady  I've had Nemo for a week now as well and he's such a little doll! I'm so glad I picked him up! Darryl was the only one who didn't want to cooperate today, but her are pictures of the rest of them!

Here's my Gilly  I'm thinking now I should have named him Fabio because of his long blond locks 


Lady Icarus is still pretty shy when it comes to the camera, she hides from the light, but I managed a decent shot of her face, and an okay shot of her hiding in the back.




Yoshi is still just a handsome little stud, though he's growing like crazy. I forgot to buy a new filter insert for his 5 gallon tank or I would have switched him over today when I did water changes earlier. Will have to wait a week I suppose 


Alaric is going thru another growth spurt, but his insides seem to have decided to work properly  He's having good healthy poos a few times a week now instead of maybe once a week. He's grown a lot since then too I've noticed - look how long his tail is!


Pascal is doing well - he hasn't bit his tail in a few days, so that's good. But whatever's growing on his dorsal fin is still growing :/ It's completely white now instead of a little colored so I'm not sure what to make of that. I tried to get a good clear shot, but it's a weird angle, so this is the best I could do. (Look at his face! AH! I just love it ) Any ideas of what it is?




Stinson, my dear boy is so beautiful  He's probably my most friendly yet cantankerous fish. He's so curious about everything 




And last, but certainly not least, my Nemo  He was feeling like being a model today so I got a few good shots!






And that's it on my fish family for today  I hope you all have stayed warm on this most Arctic of days <3


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## TiffanyP

Hello hello again!

Things here are pretty quiet - and for that I'm not complaining one bit  Everyone is healthy and happy and active and growing! I did some musical aquariums yesterday and moved a few fishies around. Gilligan and Nemo now share the split 5 gallon, Lady Icarus has moved to Gilly's old 2 gallon, and Yoshi has his very own 5 gallon! Everyone seems to be pretty happy, though Gilly's going to take a little bit to get used to having a 'roommate' of sorts lol He keeps flaring at the divider, and Nemo couldn't care less  I only have one more tank upgrade I'd like to do, and it's to get Stinson into either a 2.5 glass aquarium or a 3 gallon kritter keeper. Nothing too big as he freaked out when I put him in a 5 gallon tank, but his little 1.75 gal kritter keeper has about an inch of calcium ring around the top and it's just not aesthetically pleasing 

I'm really wishing I had some more room right now too - I went to Petco to get a new filter insert for Yoshi's new tank and naturally had to walk by the bettas... there was a GORGEOUS halfmoon plakat, I have no idea how to even begin to describe his color, but I love him and if I had the room I'd absolutely go back and get him haha There was also a gorgeous blue and white delta tail I believe. The startling blue against his white body was just really pretty 

I took a few new pictures of my minions. This time though, Darryl wasn't cooperating - so no new picture of him 

Gilly


Lady Icarus


Nemo


Pascal


Alaric - I just LOVE his little face <3


Stinson


Yoshi's new home


Yoshi


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## TiffanyP

I'm glad I took pictures when I did on Friday. Last night in the night, Stinson passed away  I noticed he was not quite normal on Saturday as he wasn't swimming around as much, but I figured it was because he needed to take a poo... less than 8 hours later I realized that something was up and it was taking hold fast. I put some Kanaplex in his water and hoped for the best as I really had no idea what was wrong with him. I was going to leave him in the Kanaplex for a full 24 hours, then change his water and do a fresh dose this morning. But unfortunately he didn't make it til this morning  Whatever it was was literally eating him alive. Poor boy 

On another note - I'm going to toss out all of the stuff that was in his aquarium because whatever the infection was it was very aggressive and rapid moving, but I'm going to keep the heater as they aren't cheap. What's the best way to sanitize a 25W Hydor Theo heater? Should I make a bleach bath of sorts and let it soak in there a bit and rinse it like 50 million times before I use it again? lol


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## Rosencrantz32

I'm so sorry to hear about Stinson  Swim in peace little guy!

I've bleached my Hydor Theo heaters before. I let them soak in a really diluted bleach mixture for a minute or two (maybe) and then rinse, rinse, rinse. Then I soaked it in some water with a very large dose of Prime (like a good splash in a gallon or so), and rinsed it really well again. Then I let it sit in the sunlight for at least a day, because sunlight will break down the remainder of the bleach (basically. It's probably a lot more technical than that, but that's about all I can ever remember lol). 
So far I have not had any problems with the heaters I've cleaned this way. I hope it works out for you!!


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## TiffanyP

Rose I know that you replied, I got the notification for it but it's just NOT showing up on my end. I even tried to open it separately and I've tried everything to see it lol So I can't respond directly to your post, but once I can finally read it I'll respond more specifically  This is my last effort to try and see it - by trying to boost it with another post.

UPDATE: Aha! It worked! I'll definitely do the bleach bath - I don't have Prime and it's frigid outside and everything's covered in snow lol So the sunbath will have to wait a while. I just discovered there's a tropical fish store like 3 minutes from my house, so I'm going to go down and check that out today... and hope I don't come home with a new betta haha I really just don't need another one :/


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## Rosencrantz32

I think any water conditioner will work. Most of the things I read just said to use Prime and since I have it that's what I use. But a post soak in Prime would probably work too....

And I forgot to congratulate you on Nemo! He's so flippin' cute!! ^.^


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## TiffanyP

Thank you  I'm pretty fond of him 

Potentially sad news though... Things are kind of hitting a peak here at my job, a very long story - but in short, it's becoming a toxic environment for me; meaning while I'm not directly affected by the goings on with my boss and his son, I'm still being affected by them nonetheless. This job just isn't a very pleasant place to be anymore. So I've decided to stick it out as long as I can, get some money saved up, and then start looking for jobs and a new place to stay starting in April or potentially May. Get me through the winter anyway. But in doing that, I'll likely have to downsize my fish  I have a stand that holds two 5 gallon tanks nicely, and that will be coming with me so I'll have space for three fish. Yoshi is a given, I can't get rid of such a gem. The split 5 gallon gives me spaces for two more. Alaric for certain is staying as he's my first baby and I refuse to let him go until he passes away. And then comes the hard part... the third fish. Gilligan? Nemo? Lady Icarus? I'm not too worried about Pascal as I think that my sister-in-law and my nieces would love to care for him. I'm just absolutely torn. Since the 2 gallon tank Lady Icarus is in is so small, I'd like to think I could keep her as well as that tank won't take up much space. But then leaves the hard question... Nemo or Gilligan? Gah I overthink things too much lol It's not even 2 hours into my decision to start looking for alternate work and I'm already freaking out about my fish lol Darryl's the only one I don't have a problem getting rid of. If I can find him a good home with someone who promises to change his water once a week and feed him regularly he'll be fine. He doesn't like much interaction. *sigh* so I guess what it comes down to is that eventually I'll have to choose between Gilligan and Nemo... and it will break my heart to do that 

Sorry for the novel  Just needed to get some of that out for the time being. Hope you all are staying warm and safe


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## TiffanyP

Well folks - things are changing and pretty quickly too! I made the decision to look for alternate work on the 4th. By the 7th I had come to terms with it and it was almost a desperate need to "get out!". I took the weekend off and spent it with a friend of mine out of state to try and relax and regroup and just not have to think. It worked, except for the 4 hour drive home lol That's when it hit me that I needed out ASAP. I hadn't even begun to look for jobs yet or a place to stay so I was freaking out a bit. I posted a status on my Facebook saying that things were going to be changing and that I would love positive thoughts and prayers as I tried to figure out what my next move was going to be. When lo and behold a friend texted me. They just so happened to be in the market for a babysitter/nanny and they also had a spare bedroom that no one was using - would I want to come be their nanny. It was one of those things where it just felt right. I had no hesitations saying yes, so in less than 3 weeks I will be living in Colorado! It works out perfectly - it gave me time to put in my 2 weeks notice with my boss here, then I'll have a week off to pack and downsize things because basically I can only take what can fit in my car. And the last weekend of the month my friends from CO are actually coming back to Iowa to visit for the weekend, so I'll be able to fit a few things in their car too if needed  It's exactly the change they were needing and it's a dream of mine to live in Colorado, and also the change I need too. Came a LOT quicker than I had anticipated, but I trust that God will provide what I need 

And now onto the fish. The first thing in my head after being offered the job was "What am I going to do with my fish?!" I am lucky to have awesome friends and family - Pascal and Lady Icarus are going to my nieces, and Darryl is going to a classmate I graduated with and her girls. They'll be going to their new homes on Sunday  I'll miss them SO much. I'm going to make a condition of their adoption that they must send me a picture every so often  That leaves me with Yoshi, Gilligan, Nemo, and Alaric. Just 4 boys again. I'm really nervous about how I'm going to get them out there with me. I'm not scared of transporting them, I have containers that I'll use, but I'm worried about how I'm going to keep them warm during the 12 hour drive. Right now all I can think of to do is to keep their containers padded and insulated and sitting in my seat with the seat warmer on periodically. I'll open the lids every couple of hours to give them some fresh oxygen. Any other tips for such a long trip would be very welcomed!


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## Rosencrantz32

I'm so glad to hear your situation is looking better! I was sad to hear that your current environment was so bad for you and it's awesome to hear that you are able to get out of it so quickly! I hope everything involving the move goes smoothly and that you really enjoy your new job


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## TiffanyP

Thanks so much Rose 

The 2 boys and Lady Icarus went to their new homes on Sunday and it was about as smooth of a transition as I could have asked for. Darryl's new owners were pretty excited to have him - a 5 year old and a 2 year old. The younger one kept saying Darryl so pretty! Darryl my fish! haha it was adorable  And my nieces took Lady Icarus and Pascal - one's birthday was on the 14th and the other has a birthday on March 9 so they were their birthday presents and they were SO excited! SO so excited  I know they'll take good care of them.

Now I'm just preparing for the 4 remaining boys and I to head to my parents this weekend where we will be living for the next week  I am soooo excited to go to Colorado!! Thanks for checking in!


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## TiffanyP

Hello! Tomorrow is moving day! I'm both crazy excited and at the same time dreading it lol I've caught a cold so my energy is sitting at about zero right now :/ And it's absolutely frigid out so that's going to make packing my car just oh so much fun *sarcasm* lol 

We're leaving at the butt crack of dawn tomorrow so as much as I hate to, I have to put the boys in their cups tonight to get their tanks disassembled for tomorrow. I'm freaking out a little bit trying to figure out how I'm going to keep them warm overnight. I think what I'm going to do is get them in their cups and then into the container they're going to ride in (padded/insulated with a couple of towels). And then sit them near a space heater overnight. That's about the only thing I can think of to do so that their temperature doesn't drop too drastically... Hoping that will work. They're getting fresh water before they are put in their cups and they'll hopefully be in them for less than 24 hours. 

Everything else about the move seems to be going smoothly  Next time I post will be in Colorado!! Wheee!


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## DaytonBetta

I hope your trip goes great!


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## TiffanyP

Hello from Colorado!! We all made it here in one piece, though the boys were most definitely NOT happy about the whole thing lol Yoshi, who is usually a gorgeous black, was dulled down to a see through grey  He's colored right back up though after being in some fresh warm water. They're mad at me for not feeding them tonight lol but they need to just kind of be still for a bit before I feed them. Probably tomorrow morning 

I think the drive might have been more stressful to me lol I caught a cold, as I mentioned in my last post, so off and on the whole way here (all 14 hours of it!) I was sneezing and blowing my nose lol Do you know how hard it is to blow your nose while driving 75 mph down the interstate? Very hard lol However I think I have mastered the skill! Hopefully it's not a skill I'll have to use often though 

I'll try and take some pics of the boys after more unpacking happens and some things get settled - for now, I'm off to bed! I'm somehow still running off of less than 2 hours of sleep and that needs to change  Thanks for checking in!


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## BettaLover1313

Glad that you and your boys made it to Colorado safe and sound!


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## TiffanyP

Thank you BL1313!

So far everything is going well with my boys  

Yoshi is living happily in his 5 gallon home - after losing nearly all of his color on the 14 hour drive here, after about 5 minutes out of the container they were carried in, he colored right up! We literally watched him go from see thru grey, to his usual black. He's been acting his normal self and I think he's enjoying the softer mountain water (as are the others!)

Alaric is doing well - he's his feisty usual self after being pretty mad at me for the long drive lol He's begun to flare at me more often too when I go peek at his tank, though he doesn't have a beard. Is that normal? 

Nemo is doing well, he's taken to flaring at his reflection in the tank, which is pretty cute if I do say so myself.

Gilly's the only one who's had some adjustment issues. He's been nipping at his tail just enough to make it bleed at the ends  I've put some stress coat in the water and I think that's been helping him as it doesn't seem as bad as it was. He also waited longer than the other boys to start eating again.

Today I went out on my own for the first time to explore and find the nearest Petco/Petsmart as it's always nice to know where they are in the case I should need something. It turned out that Petsmart is closest to me, so I drove there with the intention of going and just seeing the layout of the store. Well - we all know how the story goes lol I stopped at the betta shelves and was looking them over. There was a white and orange butterfly VT that I sort of fell in love with, but then over on the shelf with the halfmoons on it, there was one lone cup shoved all the way to the back. I pulled it out and there's this poor lil dude all clamped up and breathing heavy at the bottom. My heart just broke for him as 99% of the other ones looked at least halfway healthy. I calculated my resources and figured that the purchase of a small tank and a cave wouldn't hurt my budget any, and since I had rocks and plants and a heater at home already - he was coming home with me. He's a halfmoon and a very interesting color. I'll wait to say definitively what color he is until he's warmed up and in clean water, but right now he looks opalescent green with some red and white in him too... hard to explain. I hope that he'll perk up and eat for me as he's very very skinny  His pectoral fins have some little tears in them so he's got stress coat in his water. He's been acclimating to the new water and warming up a little bit and I think he'll be ready to be unleashed here in a few moments. He's in a 1 gallon, something of a hospital tank, for the time being, if he lives and thrives he'll be upgraded to a 5 gallon or a split 10 gallon with Alaric  Wish me the best as he really just doesn't look well  Also I think his name is going to be Beenz!


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## BettaLover1313

I hope he pulls through, and I'm glad you rescued him! Sounds like he could be a diamond in the rough!


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## TiffanyP

Well, here's my Lil Beenz!



Yesterday he spent most of the day sitting at the bottom of the tank, struggling to get to the top to breathe. He did eat for me though! And he ate again for me today and was swimming around a little bit when I went and checked on him just now. It doesn't seem to be such a struggle to get to the top to breathe so I think we're gaining, but we've still got a ways to go before he's back to normal. I'm wondering if he doesn't have some elephant ear blood in him as his pectoral fins seem a little bigger than normal and are solid colored rather than see thru. I'm hoping he'll eat for me again tonight, see if we can't get his strength up and get some weight on him


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## TiffanyP

Lil Beenz is still hanging in there! He definitely feels much better, which I am happy about  His fins are still pretty clamped, but looking better. He's a great eater, and I've got him on a 'weight gain diet' lol Much like a baby betta, I'm feeding him 3 times a day. 3 in the morning, 2 in the afternoon, and 3 at night. He hasn't figured out that the pellets float yet, so he hunts them after they sink to the bottom haha it's pretty funny to watch  I'm just so thrilled that he's doing as well as he is! It makes my heart happy.

Hope everything is going well for all of you  thanks for checking in!


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## TiffanyP

Guess what! Beenz is turning a red color! He's got the milky opalescence on top of everything but underneath he appears to be red  I tried to get a picture but it has to be in just the right light. He seems much more active today, even from yesterday and I noticed his first poo at the bottom of the tank! Yay Beenz!


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## TiffanyP

Beenz continues to do well  He's an active swimmer now and is such a little piggie! He's starting to put on a little weight, which is awesome! He just looks so much healthier and happier now and I'm very pleased! I'm glad it was an easy fix for him - food and some clean, warm water! I'm still not sure what color to classify him as he still appears to be changing as he gets healthier and healthier, but right now I'd call him pink with some turquoise-y tints? I'll try and snap a few pictures of him in a little while! Thanks for stopping in!


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## TiffanyP

Here's some new pictures of Lil Beenz' progress - he's doing amazing!

Day 3, March 12:


Day 4, March 13:


One week! March 16, look at how good he looks compared to the first picture I posted a few posts back!




He's still got a little ways to go yet, but I'm confident that he's going to live now and I'm so glad he gets to live with me


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## BettaLover1313

Beenz is looking much better from when you first got him! He's starting to show some of his personality too from the looks of the pictures!


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## TiffanyP

Yes, his personality is definitely beginning to show  He's not scared of me at all, I can put my fingers in and on his tank and it doesn't bother him a bit. He already understands that fingers = food! He hasn't flared yet, but I'm going to change his water here in a few minutes and I'll stick him in with Nemo probably (in his cup! to keep warm because it's 58 degrees in my room currently lol a toasty 82 in his tank) and I'll watch a little to see if he won't flare for me  

Thanks to everyone for checking in - I just realized I have over 3,000 views! That's insane to me! I didn't expect some random ramblings about my fish to be somewhat popular haha My boys and I thank you!


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## TiffanyP

Hello hello! Just thought I'd post another little update. Everything about Colorado thus far has gone swimmingly (pun intended!). Yoshi, Nemo, Gilly, and Beenz are doing wonderful - especially Beenz! 

Alaric has developed either fin rot or some kind of infection on his fins. I thought it was just bc he nipped at it at first, but it's progressing so I decided to plop him in the 'hospital' tank with some AQ salt to see what that does. Right now I'm slowly adding in the salt water and he seems to be doing pretty well with it. I'll do 100% water changes every day for the next week or so with AQ salt and hope that I don't have to use any medication on him. He's not acting sickly and still has a huge appetite so I'm not too worried about him  I'll update on his status as the week goes on!

Thanks for checking in again - love and fishy kisses from my boys!


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## TiffanyP

Hi again! Alaric is doing great in the salt water, his tail fin has cleared up nearly all the way and the spot on his anal fin is starting to clear up as well  I'll probably keep him in there the full week to be sure that it's going to clear up all the way. 

The other boys are doing very well  I almost brought home another one today - he was an orange and white butterfly VT with pineapple scales and black lipstick. SO adorable. In fact, if I can figure out where to put a 5or 10 gallon tank, I'll go grab him tomorrow and put him and Beenz in it after I put a divider in it lol Hope you all are doing well - the weather is supposed to be good tomorrow so I think I'll go for a little stroll through Garden of the Gods


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## TiffanyP

Hello again one and all from beautiful Colorado  Decided to take some pictures of my boys today since I haven't posted any in a while. Luckily they were semi cooperative and I got decent shots of all of them!

Sir Alaric! He's almost a year old (I think, going with May 4 for a birthdate! Star Wars day!). I still just absolutely love his little face  He's going on his last day in some AQ salt treating his fins.




Here's Lil Beenz! He's changed so much from the day I got him -he's happy and healthy and a little piggy too! I love how his colors have turned out - he didn't have much color when I got him so I wasn't sure how he'd turn out 


Nemo! He's grown quite a bit in the past 3 months I've had him - still the pretty metallic blue he's always been though, part of the reason he caught my eye! Here's his little face <3 He was like "Mom what's that black thing and why are you putting it in my face and why does it shine?" lol curious lil bugger 


And Gilly, my beautiful VT <3 He might be my favorite colorwise, I have to admit. And with a face like that, who wouldn't love him? <3 lol


And last but certainly not least - Yoshi! My beautiful boy <3 He just absolutely holds my heart and he's grown into such a pretty fish! He's gone from being this lil tiny turd without any color to him, to a beautiful black and blue! I'm so glad I picked him up when I did  (sorry for the flash)


So those are my boys! Happy and healthy in Colorado 

On a completely unrelated note, I'm going to a Christina Perri concert this Friday and I bought a meet n greet package so I get to actually MEET her and get a picture with her and I feel like a little kid on Christmas! EEP! I'm so excited! My boys won't be thrilled being left here all weekend alone but they'll be fine and so will I lol Hope you all are well and that the weather where you are is getting nice and warm for you!


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## TiffanyP

Hello again!

So I was comparing Beenz and Yoshi today and I know their tails aren't identical, but I've been under the impression that Yoshi is a simply a halfmoon. But I was perusing the 'tails and color types' sticky on here and Yoshi's tail is practically identical to the picture of the rosetail in the pictures there! So upon googling a few more pictures, I think I've got myself a lil rosetail! Not half bad for an essentially free colorless Petco baby, eh?  *puffs out chest in proudness* haha I'll have to change that in my signature now!

Everyone continues to do well still - except for there's something bugging Alaric and I'm not sure what it is. He's only been wanting to eat 1 or 2 pellets lately. He's not bloated or looking fat, just... not hungry I guess? He usually gets 3 in the morning and 4 at night like the other boys... but this morning he ate 2, last night he ate 1, yesterday morning 1. Other than not eating he's also doing well  The saltwater got rid of whatever was on his fins and he looks his normal colorful self! 

I can't wait til we move into an actual house - I'm dying to get another baby lol but with my schedule right now and not having running water in the basement, water changes wouldn't get done when they should and I just wouldn't be doing right by him/her. So I shall wait


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## MameJenny

Maybe I missed it, but what part of Colorado are you in? I'm near Boulder. Nice to see other Colorado betta lovers.


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## TiffanyP

Colorado Springs  And I agree - I seem to be the only betta fanatic around haha


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## TiffanyP

Happy Friday Betta Enthusiasts  I hope you and your fishy friends are doing well!

Things are still pretty great here - Alaric recovered from whatever was wrong with his tail, though it took longer than I expected. Whenever he goes in salt water he sheds his slime coat, which always makes him feel crummy I think - he gets all mopey and doesn't eat til it's all shed, then he perks right back up. He didn't eat for almost a week which really worried me  But now he's got his usual piggy appetite back! He's going to be 1 in just a couple of weeks! I shall buy some blood worms to celebrate (since I haven't gotten any since being in CO lol)

The other boys are doing great, especially Lil Beenz. He is healthy as a horse now and is so colorful  He's a great addition to my boys! Gilly, Nemo, and Yoshi are also great - Gilly and Nemo share a tank, and the other day I swear they were playing hide and go seek with each other! It was spectacular  

The boys are quite the spectacle among my friends - they love to go look at them and then tell me how spoiled they are lol But I think they secretly love them too! Well I hear a whine from the upstairs realm which means Mr. 10 month old is awake! Have a great weekend!


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## Betta Nut

Yoshi really is the superstar of baby bettas. I remember reading your journal a little after I joined here, and thinking wow.. just wow! It's hard to not think about getting a baby after seeing his transformation. 
All of your boys are exceptional, and I am glad the move to CO worked out


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## TiffanyP

He's by far the most dramatic changing baby I've had  the other 3 pretty much stayed the same color, just grew in size and they weren't anything spectacular in the tail department lol When I moved I had several offers from different people to take him off my hands for me - but he was one that I wasn't giving up for anything lol

I think I'm going to get a 2.5 gallon minibow for Alaric, baffle the filter really well and try him in there... He's never been in a properly filtered tank and his 2.5 glass tank is too short to have a filter in it. I'm not going to change Lil Beenz just yet, he's doing so well where he's at and I'm so happy with his progress  He'll eventually get upgraded to a 2.5 or 5 gallon as well, but not just yet. Can't wait til I have room for all of them to have 5 gallon tanks


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## TiffanyP

Hi... my name is Tiffany... and I am addicted to bettas. I went to Walmart last night to get a gift bag, just a gift bag, that's all I needed. When I heard this little voice deep in my head... "Go look at the bettas! See if that cellophane doubletail is still over there!" So I obliged... and once I got over there I saw they had received a new shipment of bettas! The one right up front was the cellophane DT, but he wasn't looking very well, I fear he was too close to death to save  So I set him aside and picked up a random cup in the middle of the VTs... and lo and behold he is a beautiful little orange guy. I've kind of been wanting an orange one for a while now that I've fully recovered from losing Gaston... and this guy just gave me "the look", we all know it. So... oops! He hopped right into my cart, the little cheeky dude  

Until Alaric snaps out of whatever is bugging him (sometime's he'll eat, sometimes he won't, sometime's he's mopey, sometime's he's super feisty - just want him to even out a bit before I move him again) he's staying in the 1 gallon, so I have his 2.5 gallon empty... So the new little guy, who I've tentatively dubbed Sven (full name Sven Olaf Playlestinski... I like Frozen, okay?  ) is staying there quite happily. He hasn't eaten much, but he's not sickly (he does have a bit of fin rot like Gaston did, hopefully will clear up with fresh water) and is very active I'm not worried about him 

I'm headed off to New Mexico to visit a friend tomorrow morning and I have to get off of here for the night, but I will upload pictures of Sven when I return next week Tuesday-ish! Hope you all have a fantastic weekend!


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## Rosencrantz32

New Mexico?!?! That's my realm!!  
Too bad I didn't log in sooner.... >.>

Long time to "see"!! Like everyone else, I'm very glad to hear that your move to Colorado went well.  I'm happy that you're boys all made the trip safely too. I really enjoyed the pictures of them and I can't wait to see Sven!! (Love the name by the way. Frozen is an amazing movie!! I know I've watched it way too many times already.... lol)

I hope your visit to my... erm... lovely? state was nice (and safe >.<)


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## TiffanyP

It was um... very desolate haha I drove to Las Cruces so literally drove thru the entire state, and I didn't take I-25 so it was just pretty dull lol But Cruces was nice and the little towns I stopped in were nice too - it was the in between part that sucked haha But all in all it was a safe drive and I enjoyed myself immensely!

Sven is doing very well, I just can't get a good picture of him because he's always darting around his tank! I feel like he should be named Spaz instead lol He has a large bubble nest built, which I'm pleased about  and he's finally realized that I bring food which is part of why he spazzes so much. Hopefully I can catch him during a calm moment and get a good pic of him!

Thanks for checking in!


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## myexplodingcat

Aaaaand I just read ten pages of a fish blog in one sitting. I think I might need to get a life.

Anyway! Your fish are so pretty 

Beenz reminds me of one of Orson Scott Card's characters... whose name is Bean, and he is a street urchin in a dystopian Rotterdam. Having been the product of a genetic experiment, Bean is incredibly small for his age and unable to fend for himself very well or find food, but he's remarkably intelligent and manages to turn things around for a band of young street kids.

He helps them "enlist" one of the older kids (who are nearly all bullies) to protect them from the other bullies and get them into the soup kitchens without being killed right afterwards and so on. His idea spreads and other bands of little kids start doing the same thing. Basically, he ends up bringing structured civilization into a dog-eat-dog environment.

This catches the attention of a program looking for intelligent kids in order to train them in outer-space military strategy, so they can help fight a war against aliens. So he goes off to school in space and yada yada yada. It's a good book. The title is Ender's Shadow; I highly recommend it. But I'm rambling about the plot of a sci-fi book on a fish blog. Yeah.

It's just because of Beenz's name and his rough beginning that turned out lovely. 

Or there's also another similarly-named book character I can think of: the hyperintelligent rat, Dangerous Beans. One of a magically altered clan of rats (they lived in a wizard's dump, nuff said) who spontaneously learned to read and have complex thoughts. Then they befriend a cat, who then decides that if they befriend a boy who can play a flute, then they can fake a plague of rats in any city they choose, have the boy pretend to be a rat piper, and let the town give them a bunch of gold for leaving. That book is called The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents, and it's by Terry Pratchett.

I read some weird books. XD

Best of luck to you and your bettas in Colorado!


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## myexplodingcat

PS: That "cover squirrel" pic is now my computer background. XD That thing is the *best.*


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## TiffanyP

Hahaha well I'm glad you liked it  and feel free to discuss books anytime - I'm an avid reader when I have the time! And thank you - my fish boys are the best! I am a bit biased though hehe

Beenz sure did make quite the transformation, I'm very pleased with his progress  His fins are growing so much and so quickly still, I wonder when they're going to stop! Lil Sven has got himself a belly now that he knows that I bring food to him lol He needs to gain a little weight though, make up for being malnourished! Alaric is still being a butt, he won't eat and just lounges on his leaf most of the day - idk what his deal is, but he doesn't act sickly aside from not eating. He'll be 1 year old in TWO days! EEP! 

There's a sandwich in the fridge calling my name - hope you all have a great and relaxing weekend!


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## TiffanyP

So I just now realized that I never posted pictures of Sven! I'm such a slacker haha So without further ado: Sven! (they aren't the best pictures, I apologize!)





Isn't he just a little cutie? He's pretty small, so I think he's young, but his fins are growing well and he eats like a piggy. One of his eyes is a little lopsided so he looks a little derpy, but he's my derp 

The other boys are doing fairly well, I think some of them are getting tired of the omega one pellets as they've been picky for no reason lately, so I switched to the NLS pellets I still have and they seemed to like those pretty well, so maybe I'll switch foods once or twice a month - I also need to invest in some blood worms!

Yoshi is doing alright, I think he's kind of bored so I might get him a snail or a plecostamus to keep him company  He's still got beautiful flowing fins and is just as pretty as ever <3

Nemo is doing well too, I think he's beginning to go blind though as his dragon scales are growing in over his eyes  Poor guy, he still comes up to eat, but I have to make a lot of ruckus to get him to know that I'm there: a tap on the side of the tank, wiggle the lid of the tank, etc. He's still my happy little guy though 

Gilly is doing awesome! He's in a divided tank with Nemo and he's always got a bubble nest built up around the thermometer, and I swear he likes playing in the current of the filter  He's just so big and beautiful, and I slightly ashamedly admit that he's my favorite lol

Lil Beenz is doing AWESOME. He seems very happy in his little home, so I'm hesitant to move him. He does very well with water changes once a week and always greets me when I walk in the room  I'm so happy I was able to save him!

Alaric... Oh that fishy <3 He's being his usual finicky self, he hasn't been eating lately, maybe one pellet here and there. And the rest of the day he lays on a leaf and just sits there. He got a water change yesterday and seems much more active after that, and he ate an NLS pellet for me this morning so here's to hoping he's on the uphill climb! And that's all on my fish boys 

And some very sad and depressing news, I don't know if I've mentioned before on here, but back in Iowa at my parents house I had a cat Kolbee. He was 12 and I've had him since he was 2-3 weeks old. He was my baby and I was super sad I couldn't bring him with me... I just found out that sometime since I moved to Colorado my mom put him to sleep without my permission, and then hid it from me until I directly asked her. He wasn't sick or violent or anything, she just didn't want to chance him peeing on her new carpet -_- Needless to say I'm not happy... actually that's a bit of an understatement. So if any of you have furry babies, give them an extra squeeze today


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## Rosencrantz32

D:
I am so sorry about your cat. That...... that's..... there are no words. I am so SO sorry. :'(

Thank you for the pictures of Sven! He is quite the cutie


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## TiffanyP

Thanks Rose... I'm still kind of in disbelief, but ultimately I'm just crushed. I don't really have words either.

I did end up getting a pleco for Yoshi's tank, just a tiny little dude maybe 2.5 inches long - he was on sale at PetSmart for a dollar, so I snatched him up  Name is still pending, but so far I think Yoshi's rather indifferent towards him lol He studied him real closely for a while and flared once or twice, but hopefully Yoshi will gain some entertainment from having a friend


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## TiffanyP

Welp, the pleco didn't last a full 24 hours even, I'm not sure what the problem was :/ But he just kept floating upside down and died on the way back to Petsmart around noon... So I decided I'll just hold off on a pleco for now til I get a bigger tank. But I still wanted to get a friend for Yoshi, so I got him a nerite snail  I got two actually haha I put one in with Sven and the other in with Yoshi... Sven's snail is Olaf and Yoshi's snail is Goomba! I've always loved snails - and these guys are super cute  I'll post pics... eventually haha

I've got the house to myself this weekend so I've been catching up on cleaning and other stuff that needs to be done but never gets done because I'm here with 2 babies during the day and S&C work 10-12+ hours a day. I cleaned out the refrigerator and pulled out nearly two FULL garbage bags of expired/empty stuff. My next task is to vacuum lol Bring it on. Hope you all have a great weekend!


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## BettaLover1313

I love Nerite snails, they are excellent at cleaning up algae, plus they're just too cute.


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## Rosencrantz32

Oh man, I love nerites too!! I have 4 

Good luck with your cleaning! This reminds me that I should probably clean out our fridge too... >.> and laundry... always laundry T.T


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## TiffanyP

Thanks!

Well - 2.5 months here and I've got my first sickly fish  My Gilly has something wrong with his bottom fin, it looks like its disintegrating - not like any fin rot I've ever seen. I made a post in the disease thread to see if someone could help me identify it and then help treat it. Right now he's in a 3/4 gal critter keeper with general cure and stress coat. Hopefully someone can give me an idea of what it is by tomorrow and I can start treating him better. Send your prayers, positive thoughts, good vibes, whatever it is you prefer this way. It's silly, but he's my favorite fish  I don't want to lose him!


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## Rosencrantz32

I'm so sorry about Gilligan  I hope he gets better for you! I'll say prayers for him throughout the day!!

I went and watched that video you posted and I could kinda see what's going on with him. I'm no expert but I wonder if its just really aggressive fin rot... I'd say your best bet is to treat it like that. I really hopes it gets better 
You said you were going to go get fungus cure or something right?


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## TiffanyP

Yeah, I knew I had some on hand but i just found it. I put him in that this afternoon. The bad part of his fin fell off and it doesn't look to be progressing further, so that's good - but now his belly really is swollen, not like yesterday. Hopefully the Fungus Cure will take care of both issues! Just keeping him warm and quiet right now... his little face breaks my heart  He just looks at me like "Mom, fix me!" Poor guy. 

The other boys are doing fine, though Alaric refuses to eat still... I'm wondering if maybe the fact that I got him as a baby is catching up with him. I admit I didn't do the best at caring for him when he was very young... If it's his time though, I'm okay with it. He opened my eyes to the wonderful world of bettas and I had a wonderful year with him  For now he'll just be loved and as comfortable as I can make him til he snaps out of this or passes  Thanks for checking in - I'll update on Gilly later tonight or tomorrow!

(P.S. This message took FOREVER to type bc I have a clingy grumpy 4 month old on my lap lol I'm so talented haha)


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## BettaLover1313

I hope your two boys get better!


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## TiffanyP

I do too :/

Right now Gilly's just hanging out in the corner of his tank... Not moving much, but he'll take a breath if I move the towel covering him. I'm hoping the meds kick in soon and I wasn't too late in catching this. His fin seems better except for the bloody edge still... I'm trying not to hover lol


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## Rosencrantz32

How's Gilly doing today?


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## TiffanyP

Gilly passed away sometime in the night last night  His fin was completely healed, it was just whatever was going on in his stomach that did it. He'll have a proper porcelain funeral when I can catch a breath between these 2 boys being crazy <3 Thanks for checking in Rose!

The positive side of this is that Beenz will get a new home (Gilly's side of the split 5 gallon) after I get it cleaned up  And then next week I'll have a brand new 2.5 gal tank with all the accouterments for a new fishy! (Ordered it online - got a bag of rocks, a 16 oz bottle of Amquel Plus, a plant, and a 2.5 gal Minibow for $55 - what a steal!)


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## Rosencrantz32

I'm so sorry  Its so tough losing a fishie friend. I lost one of my boys about a month ago... along with my entire sorority tank >.< That was rough. 

I know he had a great life with you tho and I hope you can find another amazing friend for that new tank of yours


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## BettaLover1313

I'm sorry Gilligan passed, S.I.P.

That is quite a good deal on all those items!


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## TiffanyP

Thanks guys - I'm just glad he didn't have to suffer for too long. K, the 11 month old just went down for a nap, so I think I might clean out where Gilly used to be and get some fresh water in there, and transfer Beenz over. He's been happy in his little 1 gallon, so I hope he likes his new filtered/cycled home 

There's a beautiful red crowntail at Walmart that I've been eyeing this week (I've made 3 trips there lol its hard shopping with kids, ya know? Always seem to forget something lol) I'm pretty much in love with him - but I don't know if I want to go get him or if I want to wait til my tank gets here and then go get another baby from Petco... I've been dying for a baby one  Such a hard decision! We've got some severe weather (by Colorado standards lol my Iowa side is like "really?" haha) so depending on if it clears up I might go out and see if Mr. Crowntail is still at Walmart... if he is I'll probably get him. If not, then I'll wait and go out looking next week. For now though, it's time for a porcelain funeral


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## TiffanyP

Hello! So I went to Petco tonight (got stuck in a wicked rainstorm while I was there lol) and found me a new fishy friend  He's SO pretty! The crowntail I wanted is still at Walmart and I still haven't convinced myself I'm not going to get him lol I went and saw him tonight... If he's still there on Sunday I don't think I'll be able to leave him there a 4th time! I was *this* close to getting a baby tonight, there was a tiny little double tail cutie with a crooked spine who needed me, and another guy who looked kind of green, but still pretty see through... But I thought about it and with me working 12 hour days, sometimes longer, I can't commit to the water changes that a baby would need right now. So an adult fishy friend was decided upon.

So far the other boys are great, with the exception of Alaric still. Sven has taken to eating Olaf the snail's veggie wafers, so I'm not sure what to do about that - his belly is all round from eating it lol He'll be fasting the next 2 days, so I'm not too worried. Lil Beenz is settling in nicely to his side of the split tank, he's not thrilled with the current from the filter but I think he tolerates it alright. Nemo is just as adorable as ever  And so is Yoshi, though his tail seems to constantly be a tiny bit shredded - part of being a rosetail I suppose.

The new un-named fishy is a double tail and I think he'd be considered a butterfly  His tail looks like a heart, so I'm trying to find something kind of lovey for his name - it'll come to me in a few days I'm sure. He has a bit of a turquoise-y iridescence under a good light. And if I can get photobucket to cooperate, I'll post a picture of him! Tell me what you think he should be named


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## myexplodingcat

St. Valentine! Val for short.

You could even put Val plants in his tank...

He's pretty!


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## TiffanyP

Valentine's the only name I can come up with too but I really just don't like it lol I'm going to go thru my itunes and see if a song artist jumps out at me... Usually I at least have an idea of what I want to name a fish lol this one I'm just absolutely clueless!


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## TiffanyP

Guys I got it! He has a name 

**Lennan**

No, not Lennon, though it's pronounced the same. This particular spelling of Lennan is of Irish origin and it means "lover" or "sweetheart", which is perfect bc his tails look like a heart  AND to top it off, he'll be inhabiting the new 2.5 gallon tank when I receive it on Tuesday (probably won't move him into it til next weekend though, so as not to stress him out too much) and I'm using Alaric's old yellow submarine for the hidey spot, so Lennan is perfect since he'll be living in a yellow submarine 

He's settling in wonderfully, he ate a pellet for me last night, I forgot to feed him this morning, but I'll feed him again tonight  He's so friendly and he LOVES the little monster cave I bought for him last night. (a temporary cave, it's a pink monster from Petco and the cave is the mouth opening, they were on sale for $1.50 so it was perfect for a temporary cave.)


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## Rosencrantz32

Awww! <3
He looks like one of my new little guys! They're so cute, aren't they??? Mine is a red dragon double-tail and I just about die from his cuteness every time I watch what he's doing (and since I set his tank up right next to my computer it happens a lot >.<).

I love the name also! And the yellow submarine part is just brilliant!!!


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## TiffanyP

I almost die of cuteness overload whenever I see any of my boys, except for maybe Beenz lol he's made a great recovery, and I love him to bits, but as far as looks go, he's just kind of... homely lol 

And the yellow submarine was the deciding factor on his name, I was leaning strongly towards Romeo against Lennan and then I was like, Duh Tif, he's going to be living in a yellow submarine! And Lennan it was haha


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## TiffanyP

Well - I got a call tonight from my 8 year old niece, who I left Pascal with. He passed away today  I was looking forward to seeing him when I go back to Iowa next month.  

Lady Icarus is doing well though according to my 4 year old niece  I need to check up on Darryl sometime...

All the boys here are doing well - Lennan will be getting his new spacious home this weekend when I have time to set it up! I'll be sure to post a picture of him and his yellow submarine


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## Rosencrantz32

Aw  I'm sorry about Pascal. I remember when you got him (on here anyway ). He was a beautiful guy. Swim In Peace little love!!


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## TiffanyP

He was so gorgeous! My niece asked when I was going back to Iowa again next, and it just so happens that in about 3 weeks I'll be there - she wants me to take her to the fish store so she can pick out a new one bc she "really loved having a fish so much and I know you pick good, pretty, healthy fish" lol I love that kid  So assuming I have the time/gas money I'll take her to a fish store so she can get another one. Then the weekend after that I'm about 90% certain that I'll be headed down south to New Mexico again to get a kitten from my friend  His name is Smeagol and assuming the ppl I live with don't give me a firm "NO" (she says yes, he hates cats but hasn't said no and he's whipped lol) I'll be getting the little bugger


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## Rosencrantz32

Haha awww.... you sound like an awesome aunt! You're niece's are very lucky 

And yay for a kitten!!! I hope it works out and you can take him home with you  Sounds like you'll be quite busy in about a month, huh?


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## TiffanyP

Well, not to brag, but I am the most awesome aunt ever 

I really hope I can get the kitten too - my Kolbee was blind in one eye and had had eye problems his whole life, and Smeagol has had eye problems from the start too... so my heart just went out to him. He was just 3 days old when I was in NM last time, and he's grown so much since then (I keep up with him on Skype lol). I hope he doesn't mind fishies hehe or the puppy that lives here, Leo. 

As I'm sitting here typing this, Sven is in his tank spazzing out - he's splashed the water twice... I'm not sure what the issue is :/ he has fresh water and he was fed... temp is good... Dunno. Hopefully he calms down soon.

Good night from Colorado


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## TiffanyP

Happy Sunday! It's been absolutely spectacular here - GORGEOUS weather, like THE perfect temperature and it's sunny but not TOO sunny and gah! I'm just so thrilled  I went mini-putting with a friend and then we got fro-yo... I could die happily right now!

Once we got back I got to work setting up Lennan's new tank... he's been kind of mopey the past day, laying on the bottom of the tank, but I think the new bigger space, more consistent temperature, and fresh water should do a lot to perk him up! He physically looks fine, just has been "laying down" a lot. So far he's not too sure what to think of things lol I let him sit in his cup in the tank for about a half hour so he could get used to the new look of things... he's been hanging out in the back corner, just looking around and chilling. I'll keep a close eye on him to see if he perks up soon.

Alaric got moved to the 1 gallon that Lennan was in - it's shorter and wider (mini-bow 1) than the 1 gallon he was in. He's still hanging in there, though he refuses to eat. It's been almost 4 weeks since he's eaten anything properly. I feel so bad for the little guy 

Sven is doing great in his 2.5 gallon, though he's taken to eating the veggie wafer pieces I put in there for Olaf lol I don't know how to get him to not eat them!

Nemo is the same, nothing new on him. Mr. Beenz has been building a bubble nest for the past few days - when I changed water yesterday I had to ruin the one he had going, but he's got it built back up again already  He HATED the water change though lol it was his first one in the 5 gallon where he stays in there and I use the vacuum to get the water out. Hopefully he gets used to them soon.

And then that leaves Yoshi - he's doing pretty well, though his poor tail has a bunch of tiny little rips in it :/ I had a ceramic log decoration in there to take up some empty space - I don't know if that was the problem or not, but I took it out just in case.

I just peeked over at Lennan again and he's checking out the new heater lol He's staring at it very intensely like "What. Are. This?!" His new tank is the mini-bow 2.5 - I don't have the filter in there just yet, I'll let him get used to it for a week or two before adding that in there. Then I'll hopefully be able to cycle it, though I know that can be difficult to do with a 2.5 gallon tank... I'll give it a shot  That's all for today - so here's a couple of pictures of Lennan and his Yellow Submarine!


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## DaytonBetta

Very cute yellow submarine tank. I like the gravel colors!


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## TiffanyP

Why thank you  I like how bright and summery it is!

Right now I'm trying to get the temperature adjusted - I had my 25W heater set at 79 degrees and with the light on it got up to 84! I would have caught it sooner, but the weather was so nice I went out with some of my friends and we played Frisbee for a couple of hours... I knocked the heater down a couple of notches so it's closer to 75 now and I turned the light off - we'll see how it does overnight  The dial might just be off, I'm hoping that's the case.


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## TiffanyP

And on a random thought - I guess I've never posted a picture of me in here so y'all can know what I look like. I'm nothing special, but I personally, find it nice to put a face to a name! So this is the picture I got with Christina Perri back in April! The lighting sucks, but dude... it's Christina Perri! So I don't even care haha I'm on the left, if it wasn't obvious


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## FishWhisperer

Lennan looks increadable. I have a cat. He was only a little kitten when we got him. In october he will be 13. I love all your fish.


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## TiffanyP

Thanks FW! I'm a little worried about him as he didn't eat for me last night or today yet... Maybe he just needs to get used to the new tank. We'll see 

And guess what guess what guess what... I GET TO GET A KITTEN!! It's an 8 hour drive to go get him, so I'm hoping I can fit that in there next weekend  My friend, who's raised him, is leaving for college in West freaking Virginia in 2 days so I won't be able to see her  But I'll get to see 'mom' and 'dad' and hang out for the night before making the 8 hour drive back the next day lol going to be a LONG weekend of driving, but well worth it for a kitty


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## Rosencrantz32

Yay!! I'm so happy you get to get the kitten! Oh goodness that is quite the drive though... >.<
Are you heading all they way back to Las Cruces?


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## TiffanyP

Yep! All the way to Las Cruces I go lol just for a little kitten! Drive down on a Saturday to get him and then back up the next day. Maybe I can get myself some of the coconut tea I fell in love with last time I was there - it was SO good!

I'll probably be stopping in Las Vegas for lunch/gas refill as it's right about halfway. It's really not a bad drive, the scenery is so pretty... desolate, but pretty lol I might take a closer look at White Sands this time if I remember to


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## Rosencrantz32

Ooh White Sands is fun. I went sledding there last January. SO MUCH FUN!!! 
There's a really good New Mexican restaurant in Las Vegas called Smiling Faces. They have the best Navajo Tacos that I've ever had! I dunno if you have time to stop for food... but if you do you should give them a try!!


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## TiffanyP

Ooh that actually sounds amazing - I'll have time to stop somewhere, and it'll be nice not to do the whole drive in one stretch like I did last time  Last time I wanted to maximize time with my friend lol This trip will just be an overnight trip to grab Smeagol


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## Rosencrantz32

Yeah I don't blame you for not wanting to do that drive in one day. My sister lives in Denver so I've done the stretch from Albuquerque to there before, and I used to go to school in Las Cruces so I know the stretch from there to ABQ. I would hate to do all of that in one day >.<


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## TiffanyP

I'll still make the trip in one day  Just splitting it up a bit - last time i left about 730 am and stopped for gas and a quick sandwich at a Wendy's, filled up with gas, and was on my way again. It'll be nice to stop and actually walk around, do something for a little bit, before getting in the car again  I made the drive from Iowa to here in one day and that took 14 hours -_- never. ever. again. Okay, so it's going to happen again next month but... ugh haha


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## TiffanyP

Guys! GUYS! I can't be excited about this anywhere but here bc people will think I'm nuts... but ALARIC POOPED! I literally don't remember the last time he pooped! He's been eating the NLS small fish formula like a little piggy for the past week and apparently it agrees with his intestines as it's a nice looking cinnamon roll poo  I'm just so happy! Now I just need to get his fins on the mend and I think he'll really pop out of this! Which means that I need to get him a bigger tank as he's been living in a 1 gallon hospital tank for the past ~2 months... Pray I find a good deal because I'm pretty much broke at this point lol

I'm seriously so happy that I could cry <3 In 13 days I'll have had him with me for a whole year!


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## Rosencrantz32

Yay!!! I'm happy that he finally pooed  
I'm lucky that my husband loves my fish too so when stuff like that happens I can tell him and he'll be excited with me. I'm glad the forum is here for all of us to share these little excited moments! 

I hope he continues to get well! Nothing is better than your little finned love healing and starting to feel well again


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## TiffanyP

Today is water change day for Sir Alaric, but I'm so loathe to do so because he's begun such a nice bubble nest! The first one in months! But alas, clean water trumps decoration lol So here in a few minutes I will crush his dreams... and his nest 

Lennan has something funky going on with his fins - it doesn't look like rot, but just like the edges are raw... He bit most of his bottom tail fin off, so I've got me another tail nipper -_- Going to try some AQ salt to see if that'll help his issue 

Silly Sven still eats Olaf's veggie wafers whenever I put a piece in there... No idea what to do to get him to stop that, but he literally eats the whole chunk I put in there! His belly is so swollen afterwards and I don't feed him again til he poops, but still worries me a bit when his stomach is that big lol Otherwise he's doing well -got some good fin growth going and is always swimming around his tank 

Nemo has taken to sleeping in his cave, which is adorable lol he just lays right in there like it's a bed 

Lil Beenz is probably my healthiest and most active fishy right now  Never would have guessed from how he looked when I brought him home that he would end up like this! He has a nice long bubble nest built up against the front of the tank and he guards it very well 

Yoshi is doing well, just continues to seem kind of... bored. I'm not quite sure what to do to get him to be a little more active. His fin is still ripped in quite a few places, and it looks like they're snags, not like he's biting them... His plants are silk and whenever I change his water i feel them to make sure they aren't rough/ragged on the edges and they seem to be soft still. Might just be because his tail is so large 

That's all on my current boys  I went to Petco today to look for a litter box and naturally walked by the bettas... they had a giant halfmoon plakat, or something to that effect, and that fish was MASSIVE. Biggest betta I'd ever seen, and he gave me the eye. The one and only "Take me home please" eye. -_- I have no space whatsoever to put another tank in my room thought, not to mention no cash for one. If there were a plug in in my closet you'd better believe there'd be a tank in there haha I only need a 10 gallon tank (he was so big I wouldn't feel comfortable putting him in a 5 gallon for too long) and a few plants. I'd do a bare bottom tank to save money and for ease of cleaning. If I can find a 10 gallon tank on Craigslist for cheap, I'll seriously go get him tonight haha He can chill (well, it'll be heated lol) in a 1 gallon (bigger than that tiny cup he's in now) overnight if I can't go get the tank til tomorrow. Oh how I want him lol That's all for tonight!


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## TiffanyP

I'm still trying to figure out a way to get that fish lol The only tanks on Craigslist for a good price were 20 gallons, and my 50 watt heater I have on hand won't heat that well enough... the couple of 10 gallon tanks they had listed were $40+... I'm trying SO hard to think of a way to get him - but the money just isn't equaling out right now. Darn car payment  Ok just kidding about that, I love my car and I'm so thankful for it! I think $55 is the minimum I could get him for... $20 for the fish, $12ish for the tank, roughly $20 for plants, and a few bucks for a couple of sheets of plastic canvas to use as a makeshift lid until I can get a real one... I'm praying that I stumble across $50 laying on the sidewalk or something haha

Oh the woes of betta addiction


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## Rosencrantz32

It looks like there are a couple 10 gallon tanks down here that are in the $20-$35 range... but I think you could get a new one at Petsmart for $15 or something. Let me check.... yep $14.99 for a Grreat Choice 10 gallon aquarium. It doesn't come with a lid tho...

I've been having the same woes. There's a beautiful crowntail plakat male at my Petco and I want to get him really badly. I haven't let myself go to that store actually, because if I see him again I know I won't be able to resist! And someone on craigslist posted a Fluval Chi for $20. Its so tempting! T.T
So I totally feel your pain


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## TiffanyP

He wasn't there when I went back to get him  But now i have time to save up for a bigger tank and all the accessories 

I'm excited for next weekend  Getting a kitty and eating lots of nommy food!


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## Rosencrantz32

Hooray for kittens and nommy food!!!  It'll be an awesome weekend for sure!


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## TiffanyP

So... I've decided that my next animal purchase (which will be a few months off yet) is going to be an albino leopard gecko. Because oh. em. gee. they are freaking adorable. (yes, I just turned into a 17 year old for a moment lol) There's a reptile store here and I went in to take a look around and I fell in love with this little guy. (pic to be posted at the end) I need about a 15-20 gallon tank, some sand, a heating pad and lamp, and a little hidey hole. Not too bad for supplies really. He eats either crickets or mealworms - either option is gross, but I suppose I could deal with it for how seriously cute he is lol They're a pretty docile gecko from what I've read, so I'll be able to hold him on occasion  Just gotta save up for him and some supplies... though I'm going to be sad that I can't have that particular gecko I saw today. Seriously, I fell in love with the guy lol I had the kidlet with me and he wasn't too interested in him, but I just couldn't get enough of the cheeky thing  The picture will say it all - but I'll say it too, he freaking got up and posed for the picture and WINKED. He winked at me. I need this little creature. Anyone wanna fund the little guy? I will probably need about $200 when all is said and done  haha kidding 



Aaaand because this is a journal about my fishies! Everything is good on the fishy front - Lennan is still nipping at his fins though, I'm not sure what to do with him :/ Alaric continues to make improvements  He's eating and pooping like a champ now and I'm so happy! Hopefully with some food/protein/nutrients in his system his tail will heal up now. The other boys are doing exceptionally well!


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## TiffanyP

Guys... I've made it one. whole. year. with Alaric. I can't believe it! Today is his one year anniversary of being loved by me  Admittedly, I didn't do everything as well as I should have, but he's alive and currently healthy, happy, and in a nice warm home. He's recovering so nicely from his bout of whatever the heck it was - I think it's just that he can't digest the normal sized pellets. But now that he's eating the small fish formula pellets, he's made a complete 180 degree turn  We've been through a lot together, and I hope we have a lot more (good things!) to go through together in the future  Happy Birthday of sorts my Sweet Sir Alaric!!

Here he is the day I got him:


And here he is today! I apologize for his utter lack of photogenic-ness lol


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## myexplodingcat

What a change! Lol, I love how you said he's made a 180* turn, and in the second picture he's literally facing the other direction


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## myexplodingcat

Hey Tiffany!...

Happy birthday, Alaric!

High-quality downloadable version:
http://myexplodingcat.deviantart.com/art/Betta-Fish-Alaric-462284289

He already has a Favorite from someone :3

I had to guess a little because he didn't really want to pose for you, but this is my best shot. I hope you like it!


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## TiffanyP

Aw thank you so much! I love it ^_^


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## BettaLover1313

What a difference from when you got him! He's definitely been enjoying all the love you've lavished on him.


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## TiffanyP

Hello! Smeagol and I are home and very happy to be here  It was a LONG 8 hour drive lol luckily though he is a good traveller! He cried the first 50 miles, but after he got a hug and snuggled, he was quiet the rest of the trip. Such a sweet kitteh <3 Last night was spent exploring his new digs (just my room) and settling down. He slept with me in my bed from 1030 til 4 am when he decided it was a good time to go play lol He's really settled in nicely now - he's been playing with his toys all day and is napping on me right now  Luckily I have most of the day off today to spend time with him. Here's a few pictures!

Here's right before we left:


Snuggling last night after we got home - I just can't take how cute he is!


And napping just now


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## Rosencrantz32

Awww yay! I'm glad he's so happy in his new home  I know you'll take excellent care of him


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## TiffanyP

Life is good here at Casa de la Fish y Gato haha I'm so happy to have a cat around, even if my legs look like they just came out of a slasher flick; I forgot just how sharp kitten claws are! Luckily Smeagol hasn't discovered the fish yet, so there haven't been any issues there at all  And all the boys, sans Lennan, continue to do well. 

Alaric, since making a complete turn around, is back in a 2.5 gallon with his yellow submarine. He's loving it I think, and thriving again  He's eating and pooping like a champ and I'm so happy to see him happy again!

Lennan is back in the 1 gallon he came in since he started biting his tail in the 2.5 gal... It doesn't look like he's bitten them anymore, but now the long arduous process of regrowing his fins begins.

Yoshi is still just... chill. He eats, poops, swims around - your average betta I suppose lol

Nemo and Beenz are also pretty normal - nothing new to report on them 

Sven is also doing well, he bit a chunk out of his tail when I first got him and that's healed up nicely - and he split his anal fin a couple of weeks ago, a nice clean split though, and that's healing up, slowly but surely. He flares too much for it to heal fast haha He's my little piggy <3 Unfortunately, I'm pretty sure Olaf died - I was putting him in Beenz and Nemo's tank to have him clean up a little in there, and in the process accidentally dropped him on Beenz's cave... and he hasn't moved since. Oops :/

And lastly Smeagol  He's settling in quite nicely, and I lucked out bc he's a sleeper! He snuggles with me all night, getting up once to eat and pee usually. He doesn't like not knowing where I am, so when I can't be in my room during the day when Kohen is awake, he meows for a while at the door  He's confined to my room for the time being until he's fully situated - probably for the remainder of this week - and then I'll start letting him out into the rest of the house for a few hours at a time  I'm hoping to take him in to get his vaccinations started this week, or early next week. The PetSmart here has a hospital/vet's office attached to it and they have what's called an "optimal wellness plan" - basically it includes all of his vaccinations for the first 12 months, dewormings, fecal tests, diagnostic tests, 2 comprehensive exams, and the surgery to get him neutered when he's a bit older - for $30 a month for a year. I really like the idea of having the payments spread out over the course of a year as I can't afford to pay $100+ per visit every time I have to take him in, PLUS it includes neutering him. They're supposed to call "in the next 48 hours" to give me more information and I think to set up his first appointment too. I hope that everything with that works out.

I think that's all for now  Smeagol and I are going to go curl up in bed I think if he ever settles down haha He's being very active tonight. Sweet dreams to all of you! <3


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## TiffanyP

Well I've had 4 days with Smeagol and I gotta say - I'm loving it. Except the whole "OMG I NEED TO PLAY RIGHT NOW AND RUN ALL AROUND THE ROOM INCLUDING ACROSS YOUR FACE BC... YEAH." periods in the middle of the night haha The first 2 nights he slept in bed with me ALL night. I was good with that... Then I think he finally was okay with being here and suddenly decided to become nocturnal. So between him crawling over my face, or trying to put his butt in my face, or biting my toes through the blanket, and working 13 hours T/W and 14 hours today... I'm exhausted. I really hope he sleeps a little better tonight for me lol I get to sleep in tomorrow if he'll let me, and I so badly want that. So badly. C'mon Smeagol, momma needs a full night's sleep! He has his first vet appointment on Saturday afternoon - just a general exam I think, and to make sure he's healthy enough to start vaccinations. I have a free coupon, so yay for free stuff! Haha

My finned boys are doing well - Smeagol has discovered the two 5 gallon tanks, but luckily seems pretty indifferent to them. He just uses them to stand on to get closer to me haha He's seen the other tanks, but 2 of them are too high for him to get to, and the other he just... hasn't gotten to yet haha Tomorrow is water change day, or at least I hope so. I should have a few hours in the morning to myself that I'll be able to do that, if not, I have all day Saturday that I can change water. I love my boys <3 Finned and furry!

On July 5 I'm leaving to go back to Iowa for a week... Leaving my fishies and my Smeagol here... I live with my 2 friends S and C - C will be feeding my fish for me while I'm gone, and S will be scooping Smeagol's litter (C is pregnant, so no litter scooping for her!). As a preventative measure I'm only going to have her feed them once at night, as opposed to twice a day like I usually do. If any problems arise, she won't know how to fix them, so I want to keep things as low key as possible. They'll get a fresh water change right before I go, and as soon as I am able to after I get back. I'm really sad to be leaving Smeagol though  We're getting such a good bond going right now and I don't want to mess that up by being gone for a week. But I know C and S will take good care of him  S, who was hesitant to get a cat and claims to hate cats (I say claims, because when he came in from work tonight, the first thing he said was "I want to see the kitten!" and then loved on him for about 5 minutes haha) I think will like picking on Smeagol for that week too. I hope he has his first dose of vaccinations in him before then, if not - as much as I hate to - I'll have to keep him confined in my room. Since we have a dog, Leo, I don't know what Leo might be carrying or have had access to or anything, so to keep Smeagol safe, until he gets his first dose of vaccinations, he'll be staying in my room.

Okay, enough blabbering about my animals. I want to try something different, to see who really reads all of this and to try to get to know y'all a little bit!

This is a betta website, but most of us have other animals - what kind of animal do you have and what is/are their name(s)? Or if you only have fish, what kind of animal would you love to have, and what would you name it?


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## DaytonBetta

I have a miniature pinscher, Shrapnel and 5 fire belly toads (no names). My son, E has a betta, Sammy, 3 adf, 2 otos, 9 neon tetra, 6 black neon tetras, 5 endler guppies and too many ramshorn snails to count (no names for any of those). My son, A has a cockatiel, Charlie.

I really enjoy reading your journal!


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## TiffanyP

Shrapnel is probably the 2nd best name for a dog I've ever heard! I love it! The first is Kermit lol 

And thank you ^_^ I read your journal a while back I believe, bc I remember something about a cockatiel named Charlie. I should get current on that again! Thanks for responding


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## DaytonBetta

TiffanyP said:


> Shrapnel is probably the 2nd best name for a dog I've ever heard! I love it! The first is Kermit lol
> 
> And thank you ^_^ I read your journal a while back I believe, bc I remember something about a cockatiel named Charlie. I should get current on that again! Thanks for responding


What's even funnier, is the minpin is a girl. My husband named her because I named our first dog, a male dachshund, Pumpkin. He said it was not a masculine name. I said I didn't care and he could name the next dog! So we have a little girl named Shrapnel.


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## Rosencrantz32

I've only got my fishies at the moment. But the hubby and I have been torturing ourselves by looking at kittens recently... I say torturing because we really don't want to pay the pet fees at our apartment to get a cat yet... but I really really REALLY miss having cats T.T 
My mom has two, Smokey and Pumpkin. They are very skittish (we got them as feral kittens), but are very sweet if they trust you. 
I don't know what I would name a cat if I got one. I guess I would wait and try a few out until one stuck


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## TiffanyP

Kittens are so much fun  I say just do it lol You will be so happy once you do 

Speaking of kittens, Smeagol had his first vet check-up today - he is very healthy  All the nurses just loved him lol He got his first set of vaccinations (yay!), de-wormed, a few various tests, and the overall initial examination. He did pretty well, but for whatever reason he FREAKED out when the nurse pulled out her stethoscope and clawed me good - from the bottom of my thumb to my wrist. Got some bacitracin ointment on it as soon as I got home, and now some coconut oil and a bandaid. Should heal up pretty quickly, just is sore in the meantime lol He's been sleeping most of the time since we got home - and I don't have the heart to make him wake up and be active since he went thru a lot today.

That was my excitement of the day  I still want to try to get to know y'all a little bit, tho! So I'll repost my question from earlier:

This is a betta website, but most of us have other animals - what kind of animal do you have and what is/are their name(s)? Or if you only have fish, what kind of animal would you love to have, and what would you name it?


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## BettaLover1313

Lucky-Some sort of bully breed mix (we've been told he looks like an American Pit Bull Terrier, a Staffordshire Terrier, and an American Bulldog so we really don't know). He's anywhere from 1 to 2 years of age, having been adopted from the pound. I signed a blank document saying they knew nothing about him, just where they picked him up from. He's a lovable clown that is quite timid, but he loves people and animals alike and wants to be everybody's friend. He's just such a sweet heart and a great cuddle bug at night.

Renji-I too have a cat! He plopped into our lives the day he decided to jump (I still say someone threw him) into our yard where he landed on our cellar doors and showed how much of a sweetheart he was. Originally called Sweetie, since we thought he was a female. My mom and I had been wanting a cat, but we hadn't expected one to just appear like he did. Once the vet told us he was a neutered male, he got the name Renji. He's our fierce little cougar who loves a good play session along with just being able to lie in your lap or somewhere near you where you can pet him and give him all the attention he deserves.

The Things-Well, they aren't fish lol. My two Nerite Snails, Thing 1 & Thing 2 were not exactly a planned purchase. I had been thinking of getting snails, but I didn't think I'd actually pick any up. Well, low and behold, I came back to my dorm with two little olive Nerites and I've adored them since as they keep my tank's algae in check. Plus, they have their adorable antics that they do too, like Thing 1 liking to free fall from places or Thing 2 just being a "beast" when it comes to cleaning up the tank.

Then there's always Merlin & Molly, my two bettas, but they have a whole journal to themselves!


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## TiffanyP

Aw I love rescue dogs, especially pit bulls - in most cases it seems like they know that they've been rescued and they're so thankful and happy for their new family  I too love snails - but haven't had great luck with the ones I got as they both died :/ Oh wells! Thanks for responding - I love getting to know people a little better!


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## BettaLover1313

TiffanyP said:


> Aw I love rescue dogs, especially pit bulls - in most cases it seems like they know that they've been rescued and they're so thankful and happy for their new family  I too love snails - but haven't had great luck with the ones I got as they both died :/ Oh wells! Thanks for responding - I love getting to know people a little better!


Rescue dogs are awesome, as are mutts! I would like to own a couple purebreds in my lifetime though, but they'd be from rescues as well. Snails are pretty cool, sometimes they can be very weird though (like randomly falling off the side of a tank and exposing themselves to a hungry betta :shock.


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## TiffanyP

Silly snails  I hope to one day own an Italian Greyhound because they are freaking ADORABLE, but that's about it on the dog front. I'm not a huge dog person 

I'm leaving in 4 days to go to Iowa... I'm torn because I'm SUPER excited to meet my best friends new baby, but at the same time it's going to be so painful to go to my parents' house and not have Kolbee there. And I'm going to miss Smeagol something awful and my fishies too  I keep telling myself that I just have to get this visit done and over with and I don't have to go back til next summer! *breathes* I can do this! *mentally dies thinking about driving across Nebraska, and in general for 13+ hours*

In the mean time I'm getting lots of snuggles in with the Smeagol and making a mental checklist of things I need to pack, things to grab from home, and things to tell S&C about the fishies and Smeagol. All of the fishies are doing well, btw. Though I can't get Lennan to stop nipping at his fins -_- I'm just not sure what else to do *sigh* The other boys are great and send their love to all of you! (so does Smeagol!)


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## myexplodingcat

Ohmygosheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee that _kitten!_

/crazy cat gal

Just be glad you weren't traveling around here when that huge thunderstorm came through yesterday. Two waves of "dark red" weather on the radar... we were traveling back to Iowa from Michigan, and had to drive through a bunch of it. A giant wall cloud, lightning, blinding rain on the windshield. And it was so dark. The lightning was beautiful, but I'm glad I wasn't the one driving.


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## TiffanyP

Yeah, I saw tons of posts about it on my Facebook! My parents' house has 4 inches of standing water in the basement, so hopefully that clears up soon. I hope it storms once while I'm in Iowa - we get storms here but they're rather... wimpy lol I want a good window rattling boomer  Nothing severe, just some nice thunder would be great.


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## myexplodingcat

TiffanyP said:


> Yeah, I saw tons of posts about it on my Facebook! My parents' house has 4 inches of standing water in the basement, so hopefully that clears up soon. I hope it storms once while I'm in Iowa - we get storms here but they're rather... wimpy lol I want a good window rattling boomer  Nothing severe, just some nice thunder would be great.


If you're here for any length of time, you'll probably get your wish. If not a storm, then some good, hard rain at least. It's been raining on and off pretty frequently in the past few weeks.

Personally, I like the thunderstorms. I like sitting inside and hearing the pounding water on the roof and the windows. I like lying in bed and seeing the room light up with lightning, and having my cat snuggle up to me against the thunder he can hear even better than I can.

Heh. Maybe you could lend your parents a long fishtank siphon? Pour it into the garden, out a window, maybe?


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## Rosencrantz32

Yeah storms in this part of the country are wimpy I'm sure. Having lived no where else I don't have much to compare it to... but I don't think I've ever experienced a "window rattling boomer." Which makes me sad because I'd like to!! I wish it would at least rain longer than 10 minutes every month or so... -.-

Also, thanks to everyone getting kitties (your Smeagol included  ) it looks like the hubby and I are giving in and getting a cat!!! We actually got a cat tree yesterday >.< So once we're back from Denver this weekend we're planning to go to a local rescue and find a new furry family member!! Yay!!!

I hope your drive this weekend is safe and that you have a great time visiting home. And I hope you get to experience some great thunderstorms. Bring one back with you if you can


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## BettaLover1313

TiffanyP said:


> Silly snails  I hope to one day own an Italian Greyhound because they are freaking ADORABLE, but that's about it on the dog front. I'm not a huge dog person
> 
> I'm leaving in 4 days to go to Iowa... I'm torn because I'm SUPER excited to meet my best friends new baby, but at the same time it's going to be so painful to go to my parents' house and not have Kolbee there. And I'm going to miss Smeagol something awful and my fishies too  I keep telling myself that I just have to get this visit done and over with and I don't have to go back til next summer! *breathes* I can do this! *mentally dies thinking about driving across Nebraska, and in general for 13+ hours*
> 
> In the mean time I'm getting lots of snuggles in with the Smeagol and making a mental checklist of things I need to pack, things to grab from home, and things to tell S&C about the fishies and Smeagol. All of the fishies are doing well, btw. Though I can't get Lennan to stop nipping at his fins -_- I'm just not sure what else to do *sigh* The other boys are great and send their love to all of you! (so does Smeagol!)


An Australian Shepherd is the one breed that I am bound and determined to own in my lifetime! Love their little bobbed tails! I have several others on my list as well, but that's the one I'd really love to own. I'm more of a dog person than a cat person, but I do love my Renji! Plus, I miss being able to volunteer at the local animal shelter and socialize with the cats (too far away/not enough time now with my job and school :-().

Have a safe journey! You probably will get storms with how the Midwest has been getting them! Hopefully nothing too bad though!


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## TiffanyP

@myexplodingcat - YAY!  I just love storms, i really do 

@rose - OMG KITTY!  I knew you'd get one sooner, rather than later  The way you and D talked about it at lunch, I knew you wanted one really badly lol You'll have to post pictures and tell me all about him/her  And thanks for the safe driving wishes - I shall do my best  And I'll try my hardest to bring back a storm for you haha

@BL1313 - I need to find an animal shelter around here to volunteer at, I'm usually not doing anything during the day on M/W/F so that would be nice to have somewhere to go to spoil some animals


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## DaytonBetta

Have a safe trip. Your kitten is so sweet!


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## TiffanyP

Thank you  and yes, he's such a sweetie <3 He's a turd... but so sweet lol


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## TiffanyP

Well guys. The time has come. I'm leaving my fish for an entire week for the first time ever, AND my kitten too. I'm not particularly looking forward to that :/ But I am excited to go meet my best friends' new baby  He's 10 weeks old now I think, and has spent his entire life thus far in the NICU. He seems to be doing better though and they have hopes to bring him home in the next few weeks  I can't wait to meet him! And then my cousin had a baby about 3 weeks go so I get to go meet her too, and see my nieces! So I'm really really hoping the joy of the kids will drown out the misery of the 13 hour drive lol (mind you that's one way!)

I'll post as soon as I get back again (next Saturday) about how everyone around here is doing. Until then - I hope you all have a great holiday weekend and week next week! Stay safe and enjoy some fireworks! 'Murica! haha


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## cindygao0217

Beauitful betta


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## myexplodingcat

Did you get to see a storm while you were here? After that last big storm, things really quieted down... but I'm so used to Midwest weather that I don't really remember after we get thunderstorms. At least you probably didn't have to drive in anything bad!

Felix and Simon send their love, and Jake says meow.


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## TiffanyP

I did get to see a good storm  There were tornado warnings on Sunday evening, and then another little storm through the night on Friday night into early Saturday morning. It was nice!

In other news: I'M HOME!  It was so good to see my kitteh and my fishes and the little dude I babysit for. Smeagol hasn't left my side since I got home lol he slept with me all night and is sleeping on me again right now (though after this post, he's going to get mad at me bc I need to go upstairs to switch laundry around lol)

Everyone is doing fine  Smeagol and the dog Leo are good friends now, or at least as good of friends as they can be haha Leo wants to be all over Smeagol, but Smeagol is just like "leave me alone, mutt!" haha He tolerates Leo though. All my fishies are doing good - I was really surprised bc Lennan has some nice fin growth! Probably close to half an inch on his upper tail! Sven, Yoshi, Nemo, and Beenz are all just fine. I need to get a snail for Beenz and Nemo though, they've got some stuff that grows within a couple of hours on any food that drops to the bottom and on their caves. Snails should take care of that I'm hoping! Alaric though, the silly fish. I'm not sure what happened with him - he's being mopey again. I don't think he ate much this week as most of it seems to be sitting on a leaf (C didn't know to remove the uneaten food, no real harm done though - he's getting a water change today). Hoping that a couple days of fasting and some clean fresh water will do the trick for him. He was doing so well before I left!

Iowa was pretty great I guess - I surprised the crap out of my family, which I love doing  My nieces in particular! J who is 8 walked into the building where we were having our family gathering and just stopped in her tracks when she saw me and then ran up to me and wouldn't let me go haha Her little sister L (4 yrs) was sickly so she was at home, I went to their house to see her and she was sleeping - went and just picked her up while she was still sleeping and she startles awake and goes, "TIFFY?! MOM TIFFY'S HERE!" all while having a death grip around my neck lol those sweet girls missed me and I missed them too. My other two nieces are 12 and 3 and K the 3 year old was pretty excited to see me, but S the 12 year old I think is at that age where she's "too cool" to be excited to see her aunt and ditched our dinner plans  L was sick and J was at VBS so K and I went out... for Chinese lol what 3 year old demands Chinese for supper? Apparently my niece lol Then I went and saw my best friend's new baby who is 11 weeks old I believe now. He's in the NICU still - but as far as I can see he's doing really well  I got to hold him (I wasn't sure they'd let me) and it was the best thing ever. I HATED being in New Mexico when he was born bc she originally wanted me in the room with her. But she went in to labor and held it off for 2 weeks so it was just kind of a waiting game - and I couldn't go to Iowa and just wait around  And then they've spent his entire life in the NICU and I couldn't be there for them during this time. Makes you feel like a really crappy best friend, I tell you what. But all is good, they still love me and so does Baby G  Then I got to meet my cousin's new baby and that was also amazing - she's my closest cousin, and my first friend as she's only 3 months older than I am. Baby V is SO adorable, but is already high maintenance lol 

I think that's all for now - I'm tired of sitting, as that's ALL I did yesterday -_- Dumb 12 hour drive anyway lol Toodles for now!


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## myexplodingcat

TiffanyP said:


> I did get to see a good storm  There were tornado warnings on Sunday evening, and then another little storm through the night on Friday night into early Saturday morning. It was nice!
> 
> In other news: I'M HOME!  It was so good to see my kitteh and my fishes and the little dude I babysit for. Smeagol hasn't left my side since I got home lol he slept with me all night and is sleeping on me again right now (though after this post, he's going to get mad at me bc I need to go upstairs to switch laundry around lol)


Oh, yeah, forgot about those. The tornado thing wasn't in my area, but we saw the warning on TV.

I know what you mean about the cat who doesn't want to get off your lap. XD Mine is... no longer a kitten, and has only become more capable of Occupying people's laps as he's grown. The beast is maybe 13 pounds but feels a LOT heavier when he wants to. Funny thing is, he's a rescue who came from an abusive home and at first he didn't want to touch anyone much. He made friends with the dog first, actually. Now he sits on my mom at least once a day for extended periods of time, and on me if I sit still long enough. He gets rather frustrated with me because I'm his chosen "person" (read: servant), but he has to sometimes share attention with my fish. XD

Glad to hear you got to spend a good time with your family! K sounds like a kid after my own heart. Kids who'll eat anything are so much fun. And I don't mean the kind where your brother asks you for "juice" and you can trick him into drinking pickle juice. (I never did that. No.) But it's nice not to restrict your restaurant options to those places where chicken fingers are served, right?


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## TiffanyP

Funny thing is I genuinely like pickle juice lol whenever I had to take nasty liquid medicine as a kid, my older brother taught me to chase it with pickle juice. Drowns the nasty taste right out  He also taught me to dip my mac n cheese in ketchup <3 

She is kind of picky, but she'll eat a wide variety of things so it's not so bad. They're all good kids and I love how different they all are <3

I cleaned Alaric's water today and am going to fast him for another day yet, then give him the smallest of pinches of his food. See if he can manage any of that. I hope Lennan's tail continues to grow out and he doesn't bite it anymore. If he shows more good progress in regrowth, I'll look into upgrading his tank to a larger one and hope for better results this time around. The other boys are great  Including Smeagol, he still hasn't wanted to be very far from me today. Not that I minded at all! For now though, my bed is calling to me! I thought I was going to have tomorrow to recover from my trip, but turns out that C has to work (she rarely works Mondays, but one day a month she has to work at her second job - just so happens that tomorrow is that day lol) so I will have to be up and around by 715 -_- le grr. Anywho, good night to you all  Smeagol sends his purrs and cuddles!


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## TiffanyP

Unfortunately clean water and fasting doesn't seem to be doing the trick for Alaric  He's not doing well at all, I honestly don't expect him to live thru the night. His face/gills are all puffy and swollen, and he just hangs almost completely vertically beside his heater  I'm choosing not to treat him because, aside from not having any idea what the heck is wrong with him, I don't want to prolong the inevitable. He's been yoyo-ing between being sickly and somewhat healthy for far too long - and this is the worst I've seen him. If he pops out of it, great! But I'm not expecting him to, and I will stand by him and keep him as comfortable as I can til things turn one way or the other. Going to go check on him again - I'll keep the journal updated with his condition


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## TiffanyP

Well - he passed away sometime this evening between 530 and 730  I'm glad he didn't have to suffer very long this time. I still don't know what was wrong with him - he wasn't swollen on his body, just his face/gills, and that was the only outward sign of something being wrong with him. *sad sigh* He was given a proper porcelain funeral.

Thanks for all the good memories, lil guy. You'll be missed.


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## myexplodingcat

Aww. I'm sorry. SIP Alaric.


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## BettaLover1313

S.I.P Alaric, it's always hard to lose a pet of any sort.


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## TiffanyP

It is rough, but what's rougher to me personally - is having an empty tank sitting around. Like a constant reminder that he's not there anymore. So today I went out and looked around a couple of stores and lo and behold... I found a new friend  He is SO super gorgeous and I'm in love already. I had the help of Rosencrantz and her hubby via text to decide lol I was deciding between the guy I got (no name yet, hence "the guy" haha), a yellow delta tail with white dragon scaling, and a blue/white grizzle HM double tail. But overall I'm pleased with my decision even if he did cost me 16 bucks :/ So introducing... Mr. No Name!

In the store:


Getting settled in:


He's super gorgeous!:


He was mad at me bc he got stuck in the net :/ Only time I ever use the net is when I get them brand new or if they absolutely will NOT get in the cup for water changes. He's fine though, no harm done 


If you have suggestions for names I'm open to thoughts, but I've learned that I don't like the stereotypical names like Tuna, Sushi, or ones that reflect their color like Peaches, or Snow/Winter or something  I thought about Jack Frost as it alludes to something snowy white, but doesn't directly apply. Rosencrantz suggested Yukon Cornelius (from the original Rudolph movie) haha and I can't seem to get that one out of my head, but I'm just not sure it really fits him. 

Smeagol sends his love to all of you 

PS I cleaned out Alaric's tank and accessories with hot hot water before I put him in there  I'm 98% certain that it wasn't anything contagious that Alaric died from, so I feel comfortable with just a hot water rinse.


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## BettaLover1313

Oh is he cute! I love his grumpy little face! Yukon Cornelius sounds like a good name for him.


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## TiffanyP

Thanks  He's pretty great - really laid back thus far, and just... chill I guess lol I've picked the brains of my friends today and my own brain too, to try and come up with a name for the handsome dude... but nothing seems to stick. There are a few I like but they don't quite suit him. 

Here's what I've come up with so far:
Klaus - from Santa Claus... Claus to Klaus (said klouse, not claws)
Chioni - Greek for snow (too feminine?)
Lumi - Finnish for snow
Matteo - just a random one that popped in my head
P Dubs - after Paul Wesley of Vampire Diaries fame 

I told one of my best friends, Tori, that if I couldn't pick a name by the end of the week I was just going to call him Mephistoles haha


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## Rosencrantz32

Glad to be of service! 

I like Matteo! That's a really cool name! Lumi is nice too
I'm glad you're happy with your choice  It was fun to help you pick him out ^.^


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## TiffanyP

*sigh* Guys, I'm beginning to think that this fish isn't going to ever have a name. Nothing suits him. I'll pick one and test it out a few times and none of them stick. Maybe he's just doomed to be Mephistoles 

The other boys are doing phenomenal. Yoshi's got his usual minor tail nipping - I keep an eye on it to make sure it's not getting infected or anything, but I'm sure he just does it to give himself a 'haircut.' I don't blame him, when my hair starts getting too long, I get uber tempted to cut it myself too lol Beenz and Nemo are great - their eyesight seems to be about the same, not great, but not fully blind either. Sven is doing great as well - he's still got a rip in his anal fin that re-ripped while I was in Iowa. It's not infected though, and it's a nice clean rip that seems to be healing just fine so I'm not too worried. And then there's Lennan... he was getting some good regrowth going and now he's started nipping at it again *sigh* Clean water with a double dose of stress coat doesn't do anything, and it's not infected or raw so I don't want to medicate him if I don't have to. And the new fishy is doing well too, despite not having a name. He's SO gorgeous and I love just watching him swim around 

That's all for now - I'm going to go back to searching for a name for the lil dude!


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## TiffanyP

Ermahgerd I got it!!

His name is Gandalf  Which now I feel super uber nerdy bc my cat is Smeagol and my fish is Gandalf - but you know, whatever lol It just fits him so well. I'm super excited that he has a name now though


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## TiffanyP

And to top it off, he decided to strike a gorgeous pose for me tonight ^_^ So here I am officially introducing, Gandalf (the white) lol  Such a pretty guy!


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## myexplodingcat

Gandalf is a really good name for him! I like it!

I guess this is the week for white pet store bettas XD I found MameJenny a white EE round/delta tail today! She's so excited


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## DaytonBetta

Beautiful fish and great name!


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## BettaLover1313

The name definitely suits him!


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## TiffanyP

Thank you  I think so too. He's doing so well in his new home, he's got a bubble nest going and he guards it very well. He's just SO pretty, I can't get over it lol

The other boys are great too - they all got water changes today (all but Gandalf) so they're enjoying some fresh water. I'm still working on Lennan's fin regrowth, and trying to figure out how to stop Yoshi from nipping at his all the time. Otherwise, they're all healthy and active and loved 

Smeagol had a vet appointment today - he's gained almost a pound and a half since his last visit! We went to a different clinic today, same company just a different location, as it was much closer than the first clinic we went to. And I didn't like it  There was no one at the front desk when I got there and when she finally came to the front desk she really acted like she didn't want to be there. I get that, no one wants to work Saturdays - but you never, ever let the customer know that you don't want to be there for the sake of the company. They got me in a room and the vet tech came in to take his vitals, and she seemed very disorganized and inexperienced. I try to give them the benefit of the doubt though, as having gone thru nursing school - sometimes you really are disorganized and inexperienced; the difference being in nursing school we always had another nurse with us to catch anything we might have missed and to help us thru the task until we were comfortable and confident doing it ourselves. She didn't have that. The vet came in and she was nice enough, gave him the once over, gave him his vaccines/dewormer, and sent us on our way. Didn't say much to me other than "He looks good, come back in four weeks for his last set of boosters." I just really didn't feel comfortable there. At the clinic he had his first appointment at, the receptionists (two of them) welcomed me and got his weight, explained some of the payment options to me, and really were just friendly. Got me into a room, the vet tech was organized and efficient (even though Smeagol HATED the stethoscope lol), and explained some more of what she was looking for. Took him in back to get all of the necessary tests done (lots the first time, blood tests, fecal tests, etc etc) and gave him his vaccines and what not. Brought him back in (with an adorable bandana!) and said that the doctor would be in soon. Doctor came in and explained all of what they did, confirmed that he was a perfect candidate for the wellness plan they have (pay $30/month for the first year of his life and it includes basically everything: testing, vaccines, neutering, unlimited free office visits, deworming, 2 comprehensive physical exams, and discounts on all services and products they provide). It's a great deal, and it's already paid for itself, as the first visit was nearly $250 and this visit was $125. She was super friendly and asked me about where I got him and how long I've had him and stuff like that. Recommended a castle in the area (yeah a legit castle!) to go visit if I ever got the time. I just felt very comfortable there... so even though it's about 20 minutes out of the way, I think that's where we'll be going for the rest of his visits 

His next appointment landed on the last day of GISHWHES, which is usually the 2nd most stressful day of that (have I mentioned GISHWHES on here? I can't remember! Anywho, it's the Greatest International Scavenger Hunt the World Has Ever Seen, headed up by Misha Collins of Supernatural fame and associated with the Random Acts of Kindess charity. It's SO super spectacular. And you can join yet if you want - there's 3 days left! www.gishwhes.com for more information - if you do decide to join up, let me know ASAP so I can give you my email [to give me an extra chance at winning the grand prize for recruiting you lol] and so that I can get you on my team! You won't regret joining, of that I promise you!) And I didn't want to have to mess with a vet appointment and GISHWHES final shenanigans, so I scheduled for the next Monday. At that appointment we'll figure out a date to get him neutered, the poor boy!

Anywho - I think that's all for now. I hope you all have an amazing and relaxing weekend!


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## TiffanyP

So, after much research and reading threads, and lots of false leads, I think I've determined that Nemo has a small cyst on his right side  It's barely noticeable right now, in fact I didn't notice it until I did my weekly "up close and personal" checks of the boys (once a week I'll get a flashlight and look at them really closely just to be sure there isn't something I'm missing in my daily once overs when I feed them). Sure enough, Nemo had something on his side. I can't get a picture of it as it's not big enough nor discolored, but at least now I think I can get some treatment going for him. He is acting normal, which is probably why I didn't notice it sooner. He's been swimming a bit more wiggly than normal, but it didn't concern me at the time. So as soon as I figure out a place to put the hospital tank, he'll be put in some epsom salts for a while to see if I can pull some excess fluids out of the cyst. What I may end up having to do is put Lennan in Nemo's spot in the split tank, so that I can put the hospital tank where Lennan's tank usually sits. So some positive thoughts and good vibes right now would be great  I'm pretty sure it's just a minor cyst and that I'll be able to treat it, but he's still one of my babies and you know how us fish moms/dads worry!

Gandalf continues to settle in amazingly. He seems very happy and he's learned where to go for food (seems to be a lot quicker than I remember the other boys learning). He always comes to the front of the tank to say hi when I walk by too. I'm in love! Nothing new to report on the other boys right now!


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## TiffanyP

Welp - Nemo is still struggling with the lump on his side. I posted a thread in the emergencies/disease thread to see if there's anything else I can be doing as he doesn't seem to be doing well  I don't think his lump has gotten much bigger, but he's having more issues swimming and seems to rest more often than normal. He's still in epsom salts at 1 tsp/gal at the moment. He's moved into Lennan's 1 gallon for the moment as it's easier to get to the top to breathe and also easier to dose epsom salts  Hopefully he starts showing some improvement soon.

The other boys are doing great. I got the filter for Gandalf's tank baffled correctly this time and put back in today when I changed his water. Beenz has decided he likes to sleep in his little red silk feather plant haha it's so adorable, but he has enough sight left to see when I walk over to try and take a picture and he dashes away lol Sven is doing well, he's a little derpy looking as his eyes aren't quite even haha but it's so adorable and I love how orange he is <3 Reminds me of my Gaston! Yoshi is still doing well, still nips at his tail though, and even though I rearrange and baffle his filter and add stress coat - nothing seems to be helping. So I figure so long as his tail isn't getting infected that that's as good as I'm going to get with him.

Smeagol has been exploring the house more and more lately - we used to just let him out for a few hours at a time and then bring him back to my room so he could use the potty and get a drink and nap and such, but now he's gotten to the point where he comes down here by himself to use the potty  He still hasn't had any accidents - I'm so proud of my little furball <3

I found at Petco, they have some 1.77 gallon tanks for 20 bucks - which isn't a half bad deal - they're plastic tanks, which I actually prefer over glass tanks (for the smaller ones anyway). So I think after I get some extra cash I'm going to get one to replace my 1 gallon tank for regular use. I'll keep the 1 gal for a hospital tank 

That's all for now - I'll keep you updated on Nemo's condition, hopefully he perks up very soon!


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## TiffanyP

Nemo's still hanging in there, though the lump is definitely growing  I think I'm going to just call it a tumor. He's made himself comfortable in the top leaves of the plant in the tank and sits there all day. He did swim around the tank once today that I saw, but otherwise just kind of seems miserable. It's really just killing him from the inside out.

Lennan however, is loving his side of the split 5 gallon with Beenz. He bit his fins in the 2.5 gal minibow, but loves the 2.5 gallons he's allotted in the 5 gallon haha silly fish makes no sense! He's got a HUGE bubble nest going, the first I've seen of his! I don't think he's nipping his fins anymore, either. Beenz is just indifferent lol Yoshi is still just as handsome as ever, though I really wish I could figure out why he's nipping his fins. I'm going to try putting something solid between his tank and Lennan/Beenz' tank to see if that helps anything. Sven is doing well, as well as Gandalf - no updates to them 

GISHWHES starts Saturday which I'm STOKED about  It lasts all next week, so I'll try and share some of the shenanigans and kale from that on here 

Smeagol's growing like a weed and I just love him  He is absolutely BFFs with the dog Leo - I have to show you guys the cutest picture of them EVER!  How adorable are they?!


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## BettaLover1313

TiffanyP said:


> Nemo's still hanging in there, though the lump is definitely growing  I think I'm going to just call it a tumor. He's made himself comfortable in the top leaves of the plant in the tank and sits there all day. He did swim around the tank once today that I saw, but otherwise just kind of seems miserable. It's really just killing him from the inside out.
> 
> Lennan however, is loving his side of the split 5 gallon with Beenz. He bit his fins in the 2.5 gal minibow, but loves the 2.5 gallons he's allotted in the 5 gallon haha silly fish makes no sense! He's got a HUGE bubble nest going, the first I've seen of his! I don't think he's nipping his fins anymore, either. Beenz is just indifferent lol Yoshi is still just as handsome as ever, though I really wish I could figure out why he's nipping his fins. I'm going to try putting something solid between his tank and Lennan/Beenz' tank to see if that helps anything. Sven is doing well, as well as Gandalf - no updates to them
> 
> GISHWHES starts Saturday which I'm STOKED about  It lasts all next week, so I'll try and share some of the shenanigans and kale from that on here
> 
> Smeagol's growing like a weed and I just love him  He is absolutely BFFs with the dog Leo - I have to show you guys the cutest picture of them EVER!  How adorable are they?!


You're doing GISHWHES? That's awesome! I keep contemplating doing it (decided not to again). Maybe once I'm out of school I shall get involved :-D.

Smeagol and Leo are too adorable! I hope Nemo starts to feel better. It's really hard to see them suffering like that.


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## TiffanyP

Yeah I'm doing GISHWHES  it's my 2nd year and I can't wait!! It starts tomorrow!! Definitely get involved next year - it's an absolute blast 

Nemo's still hanging in there - I have to be honest and say I'm doing every other day/every 3rd day water changes because the frequency stresses him too much  He's not responding to the Epsom salts like I want him to, but it's not harming him any so I'll keep him in there for another few days I think (need to check to see how long he can be in ES).

The other boys are doing great - nothing new with them  Smeagol included, though he's growing WAY too fast lol I loves mah kitteh <3


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## EvaJupiterSkies

Leo... schnauzer? We have a curmudgeonly old schnauzer Watson, who will always be my puppy, even if he is 13 and grouchy, haha.


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## TiffanyP

Leo's a Havanese - he's not my dog lol the only dog I ever want is an Italian greyhound ^_^ or even a full sized greyhound. Otherwise I'm not a dog person at all haha


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## TiffanyP

Hello hello! Greetings from the insanity of GISHWHES! It's been an interesting week and its only half over! So far I've made a twitter account and got it up to 400+ followers  It's meant to troll Orlando Jones haha if you want to follow it for the week, please do - I'm donating a penny for every follower (up to 1,000 followers) to the random acts of kindness charity! Follow until Saturday afternoon if you want - @OrlantrollJones  I also made the kidlet into a popcorn monster today, and will be painting a pregnant belly tomorrow! Whee! 

I'm enjoying my last break for a while, as my work schedule is changing - the mom of one of the boys I nanny for just accepted a new job yesterday and starts tomorrow! So I'm going from appx 36 hours/week to about 60! It's going to be crazy for a while!

I figured I'd start with the good news and end with the bad  Nemo died last night in the night  I'm glad he's not suffering anymore though! With my new hours and hopefully an increase in money, I'm going to be doing some upgrades to tanks if I can. I'm not sure if I'm going to get another fish yet or not - in October I'll be gone for 2 weeks and I'm not sure if anyone will be around to care for them, so I'm trying to have minimal care necessary for them - basically feeding them once a day and midway between the 2 weeks top off their water. It's not ideal, but my friends are scared to change the fish water. They'll make due just once with not having a water change 

Anywho, back to some GISHWHESing! Toodles for now


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## TiffanyP

Happy Saturday guys! GISHWHES is officially over now - and it was an AMAZING week. I had a blast with everything 

I'm taking today to catch up on things I neglected this week whilst doing GISHnanigans lol cleaning up my bedroom, changing fish water (that wasn't neglected, that's a weekend thing anyway), doing laundry, refilling guitar humidifier, dusting, etc. I went out to get some more kitteh food for Smeagol bc he was running low - the only place that sells it is Petco, so I went there to get Smeagol food, and fish food too as Smeagol and I tag teamed on spilling the container I have now lol there's not much left. So I went to go get the fish food and you can't get there without looking at the fish... And I went to the Petco that has the epic selection of fish and they didn't disappoint today. I saw this delta tail who caught my eye out of the shelves of bettas they had, I said to myself NO and walked away... Went to get the kitteh food and when I was walking back by to get the fish food, there was a group of teenage girls standing around the bettas gushing "Oh this one is so pretty!" and holding little 1/2 gallon tanks, and they were grabbing all the ones around him and I was like "I can't let one of them take him home!" So I shoved my arm in between them and grabbed him and went to the register (was so determined to get him that I forgot to grab fish food haha). Checked out and brought him home  He's currently in the 1 gallon that Nemo left vacant - I'm going to buy a heater and a 2 or 2.5 gallon tank next weekend with my paycheck and upgrade him to that so that I can keep the two 1 gallons I have for hospital tanks  But he'll be just fine in there for the time being.

I was looking at the color/tail type sticky and I think he's classified as a copper betta! He's not the same color twice I swear lol You look at him from this angle and he's this color, and from another angle he's this color, and from this side he's this color! It's so crazy and I LOVE it  He appears very healthy and had a bubble nest going in his cup. So without further ado, I'd like to introduce you all to Jojo! (He's named after Joseph in the bible who had the coat of many colors)


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## myexplodingcat

Oh my gosh. I love him! That fish is super cool!


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## BettaLover1313

Definitely a pretty copper!


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## TiffanyP

Thanks  I'm pretty tickled with him. I can't wait to upgrade him to a bigger tank this weekend!


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## TiffanyP

Hello hello - I hope you all are well! 

Things here on the fishy front have been pretty low key lately, which I'm totally okay with. Just the usual water changes and feedings going on. All of the boys are doing well, including Misha the snail - he's doing awesome in Yoshi's tank! Which is a first haha He ate most of the little veggie wafer i put in there for him and has been much more active since then. He's been hanging out on only one side of the tank, so I'm hoping he'll get around to the other side of the tank and start eating some of the algae over there soon 

Smeagol is well too - he had his last set of vaccine boosters yesterday and his rabies shot. Dr. MacDonald agrees with me that he'll probably be a big kitty lol My other cat Kolbee was only 8 lbs at his heaviest - I'm really not used to big kitties! We set up his appointment to get him neutered in September  It needs to be done, but I'm probably going to worry the whole time haha and not gonna lie, I might cry. After that he's in the clear til December I believe when he's due for another testing of some sort, I don't remember what they said exactly. 

My friends who I live with S&C have been house hunting lately. They really want to move into their own house with a yard and everything. I don't blame them at all, but I love it here! I've got my own 'lair' in the basement, I'll soon have my own bathroom (S's 63 year old dad is getting married this weekend and is moving out!) we're literally across the road from the mountains so the view is AMAZING, but I understand their need for a house and I'm happy to go wherever they choose (they're staying in Colorado Springs).

Well, I think there's a pizza in the freezer calling my name! Stay awesome!


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## BettaLover1313

TiffanyP said:


> Hello hello - I hope you all are well!
> 
> Things here on the fishy front have been pretty low key lately, which I'm totally okay with. Just the usual water changes and feedings going on. All of the boys are doing well, including Misha the snail - he's doing awesome in Yoshi's tank! Which is a first haha He ate most of the little veggie wafer i put in there for him and has been much more active since then. He's been hanging out on only one side of the tank, so I'm hoping he'll get around to the other side of the tank and start eating some of the algae over there soon
> 
> Smeagol is well too - he had his last set of vaccine boosters yesterday and his rabies shot. Dr. MacDonald agrees with me that he'll probably be a big kitty lol My other cat Kolbee was only 8 lbs at his heaviest - I'm really not used to big kitties! We set up his appointment to get him neutered in September  It needs to be done, but I'm probably going to worry the whole time haha and not gonna lie, I might cry. After that he's in the clear til December I believe when he's due for another testing of some sort, I don't remember what they said exactly.
> 
> My friends who I live with S&C have been house hunting lately. They really want to move into their own house with a yard and everything. I don't blame them at all, but I love it here! I've got my own 'lair' in the basement, I'll soon have my own bathroom (S's 63 year old dad is getting married this weekend and is moving out!) we're literally across the road from the mountains so the view is AMAZING, but I understand their need for a house and I'm happy to go wherever they choose (they're staying in Colorado Springs).
> 
> Well, I think there's a pizza in the freezer calling my name! Stay awesome!


It is quite stressful when getting an animal neutered/spayed for me too. I ended up sleeping on the floor with my dog when we got him neutered so he wouldn't feel lonely at night since he couldn't jump up on the furniture or my bed.


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## TiffanyP

Smeagol sleeps with me anyway haha so I'll be sure to get him all tucked in on my bed at night so he doesn't have to put forth much effort <3


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## BettaLover1313

TiffanyP said:


> Smeagol sleeps with me anyway haha so I'll be sure to get him all tucked in on my bed at night so he doesn't have to put forth much effort <3


Aw! That's adorable! Lucky always slept with me at night (and still does when I'm home) I know it helped him to feel more comfortable in the house (within the first month that we brought him home).


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## TiffanyP

Yep, that's how it was with Smeagol too. He was so tiny when I brought him home and we had only been home for about an hour and a half or two hours before I decided I needed sleep (it was an 8 hour drive lol) and he hadn't had time to get used to the room or anything, so I plopped him on the bed with me and he slept, or at least laid with me, all night until it got light out and he decided he was brave enough to go play with stuff. And every night since then he's slept with me as well  Except for 2 nights haha the night after I got him, and then one night a week or two ago. He was driving me NUTS running all around the room, so I shut him in my (spacious) closet for the night. He sleeps in there anyway when he has to be in my room and I'm not in here, so he didn't mind.

He's really been a gem of a kitten <3 His temperament is great, he snuggles, he plays, he and the dog are BFFs, and he's healthy as a horse  I just love my littel kitteh <3


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## TiffanyP

*sigh* Well, Yoshi is looking a bit... puffy. Kind of like Alaric and Gilly looked before they started pineconing. I have no idea why though  I am religious about water changes, every Saturday or Sunday without fail he gets a 50%+ change. His tank is cycled and the temp sits right at 80. He eats a good quality food... Someone mentioned that if you keep the water clean that your fish rarely get sick. Well I'd like to disprove that bc with the exception of less than a handful of times, my fish's tanks/water get cleaned on a very regular basis and I still get sickly fish  Yoshi's tank is struggling with some algae right now so idk if that's playing a part on this? I'll probably do a couple more water changes than necessary this week and hope for the best  I really don't want to lose him.

The other boys continue to do well - Lennan's getting more and more regrowth to his tails, though it's a slow process. A bill that I completely forgot about came up this week so the money that I was going to use to get Jojo a bigger tank with had to go towards that. So he's got one more week in his little tank before he's upgraded. He's very happy though, so I'm okay with it 

Smeagol is upstairs playing with the dog right now, but he's doing well too  My lil cuddle bug <3

That's all for now -I'll update on Yoshi's condition later this week.


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## Jen9234

Love your journal. Hope Yoshi feels better. 

I also have a cat named Smeagol and he likes playing with my dog too.


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## TiffanyP

Thank you, I hope he feels better soon too. He's still just as active as he normally is so I'm hoping maybe he just needs to have a good poo haha

And you have impeccable naming choices! Smeagol is my precious <3 that's why I named him Smeagol lol


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## BettaLover1313

I hope Yoshi feels better.


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## Rosencrantz32

No!! Not Yoshi  I hope he gets better!!


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## TiffanyP

I know!  I'm super sad. I haven't had any luck with medication or epsom salts, even if I catch it early - so I'm just going to let it do what it's going to do and keep him as comfy as I can in the meantime. He's still acting normally, not moping around or laying on the ground or anything so I still have hope!


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## TiffanyP

Yoshi is still hanging in there. He acts like nothing is bothering him at all, which I think is a good sign. He wants to eat, but I've been fasting him for a few days at a time, feeding him one pellet every 3rd day. I gave him 2 extra water changes this week and he seems to be responding well to that. Misha, his snail, is just chugging right along, eating stuff off the bottom and doing his job  

Jojo has settled in perfectly. He LOVES his little log decoration and hides out in it frequently - if I catch him in there and he catches me catching him in there, he'll pop out the side hole and flare and flare at me til I walk away haha He's got such a catchy little personality! And the tank upgrade is going to have to wait... again -_- The stand that I have his tank and Gandalf's tank on belongs to Denny, who is the grandpa of the kidlet I nanny for... Well Denny got married last weekend and has decided he's taking the stand with him to his new house. So, until I get a replacement stand I'm going to keep him in the tank he's in now for space conservation purposes - bc after Denny takes his stand I'll have to find a temporary place for a 2.5 gal and Jojo's 1 gal. And right now I have space for neither haha They might have to live upstairs in the kitchen for a day or two - fishy vacation!

Gandalf is doing awesome as well. He reminds me most of a rescue dog, like he knows he was taken out of the abyss of Petco and brought to a happy new life  He LOVES to eat and gets SO super excited when I come by his tank with food. I think he was the quickest out of all my fish (except for the babies I've had) to learn that fingers = food. Sometime in the future (probably far far into the future lol) I'd like to redecorate his tank with some darker colors - he blends in too well with the light colors (he's in the submarine tank). 

Sven is... well he's Sven haha My silly, flaring, orange fiery boy. I think I've mentioned it before, but his eyes are just a bit lopsided so if you catch him looking at you from the front, he looks super derpy haha I love it <3

Lennan - his tail is growing in a bit more every day, a slow laborious process though. He still nips every once in a while but it heals pretty quickly. He doesn't look a THING like the pictures I took of him when I brought him home - he's got SO much blue iridescence now and his tails don't look like a heart anymore  But the name Lennan suits him so well, I don't have the heart to change it *rimshot* haha oh i'm so punny.

Beenz is... just Beenz. He's my boring homely fish haha He doesn't do too much except for hide out in his corner, on his leaf, or build the occasional bubble nest. I don't believe he's sick at all, I think his lack of activity is due to his blindness. He knows where it's safe in his tank so he hides out there.

And lastly, Smeagol. This kitten absolutely cracks me up on a daily basis. Sometimes the way he sits, he looks quite regal and my mom says his name should be His Highness Smeagol or Your Majesty Smeagol lol but in reality he's much more like the Court Jester - he's a dork! I promise next post I'll get new pictures of the boys, but this post is going to be Smeagol Overload <3 

That's all for now! Thanks for checking in on me and my boys <3

My cuddle buddy


Doesn't this just look comfy? 


Pardon my pasty white legs haha and I promise I'm wearing shorts! This is Smeagol's favorite way to sleep on me


Holding my arm down so I can't play my game lol


He's SO long! He was sprawled out on the couch the other day taking a nap like this


Last night he wanted to be held like a baby - I couldn't move my hand or he would get mad at me!


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## TiffanyP

Yoshi still looks puffy, and now he's acting a little mopey. Still swimming around, but resting much more often. He also appears to be more swollen than before  And I think Misha (snail) died, which is weird bc he has been very active lately. If Yoshi passes (I'm still holding on to the hope that he'll pop out of it) I'll probably do a thorough cleaning of the tank and then let the tank sit in the sun for a day or two. Try and kill whatever's in there that kills everything but Yoshi. 

The other boys are great! Nothing new to report on them. Have a great week!


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## Rosencrantz32

I hope he pulls through!


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## TiffanyP

Still not a lot to update on - Yoshi's still puffy, but is more active now and really wants to be fed, but I'm sticking with my once every 3 days plan. He's been getting 2-3 water changes per week and I think that's helping things, but not enough to cure him of whatever this is. He's not pineconing really, just is... puffy I guess lol Still have hopes that he'll pop out of this!

The other boys are well still  So is Smeagol! Only one week til he goes in to get fixed


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## Rosencrantz32

I'm happy to hear that Yoshi is still hanging in there. I hope he pulls through!
One of my girls that I got last year as a baby started pineconing the other day. There's nothing sadder than watching that happen and not being able to fix it  I hope that doesn't happen to Yoshi!


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## TiffanyP

Yoshi's now pineconing  and his poor belly is HUGE. He's still active and gets excited to see me, but I don't know that he'll make it much longer. I still feel comfortable in my decision to not medicate him with anything; he's much more active and looks better than Gilly and Alaric did when I medicated them. In the mean time, he's warm and comfortable - I'm holding off on a water change as I don't want to stress him out more than necessary. I'll keep y'all posted.


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## TiffanyP

Yoshi's very close to death now  He's lost all color and can't get to the top to breathe. I helped him up to the top and he took a breath, and laid him on his leaf and said my goodbyes. I don't expect him to be alive when i go check on him next.

I'm not gonna lie, I'm really bummed right now  I haven't cried over a fish in quite a while, but this time it's my baby. I grew him myself. I'm just really sad.


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## Rosencrantz32

I'm so so sorry  He was the best Petco baby I've ever seen and I'm extremely happy that he didn't die in that cup back then but got to have an awesome life with you  and if he did have to go, I'm happy that it was so quick. Swim In Peace pretty boy. We miss you so much already </3


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## DaytonBetta

I'm sorry, he was a great fish and you took great care of him.


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## TiffanyP

Thanks. I tried my best and he lived a happy life with me  And that's what matters.

I cleaned his tank out tonight with some hot hot HOT water, rinsed the rocks, plants, heater, etc. really well. Got it set back up and put Jojo in there  He seems to like it so far - it's a BIG upgrade from the 1 gallon he's been staying in. He didn't know what to think at first haha He kept swimming around checking everything out and then coming back to where I was watching him on one side of the tank and looking at me like "This iz mine? I can haz?" haha He already figured out where the feeding hole is, so I'll probably have to cover that with some plastic canvas bc he's a jumper! He doesn't seem to mind the filter flow so far - I've got it baffled a bit right, as per usual. I'm hoping to get a good cycle formed again - and I feel comfortable doing a fish in cycle as I've done it before. I'll try and nab some pictures of him for y'all tomorrow 

Gandalf is now alone on his stand, which he probably doesn't even notice haha I'm going to try and cycle his 2.5 gal tank too, though I know it can be hard. He HATES being cupped for water changes, more than any other fish I've ever had, which is why I'm trying to cycle it - so I don't have to remove him for water changes. I'm keeping my eyes open on Craigslist for a cheap 5 gallon tank (bc I can't afford anything but cheap haha) to put him in. It'd help the cycling process anyway, and be less stressful on him in the long run 

Sven is doing absolutely the same as he always has haha He flares, he eats, he poops, he sleeps. That's Sven lol rather unexciting, but still a precious part of my betta boy brotherhood 

Lennan is still working on regrowing his fins. He hasn't bitten them in a while it looks like, as the edges are nice and smooth now, and there's a little more regrowth every week. I don't think he'll ever be the same as when I got him though - he's got too much blue iridescence now.

And Beenz is still the same too, my sweet nearly blind boy. He got a new cave this week bc the honey bee hive one that I got from Petsmart finally started chipping (the paint was bubbling for a while, but hadn't chipped til this week). So he got a Pink monster as a replacement haha it was like 2 bucks at Petco and petco's ornaments don't chip/bubble in water. Though the flowery caves I like to soak for a day or two before using bc they make the water super cloudy.

Smeagol is doing good too  He cracks me up on a daily basis and I can't put into words how much I love that kitten!! He goes in Saturday morning (at 7. freaking. a.m. -_- ) to get fixed  He'll be okay I'm sure, but we mamas worry about our kidlets - furry or otherwise!

Thanks for checking in on me - I miss Yoshi a ton already, but everything will be alright


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## hrutan

Smeagol will be OK! He'll be sleepy for a while after he comes back...but the boys are SO much easier than the girls.


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## TiffanyP

Yeah, he'll be okay I know  Right now he's pestering me because he doesn't have any food in his dish haha I had to take away his food at 10 pm and he's a big overnight eater as he's usually busy upstairs playing with the dog, Leo, to bother coming downstairs to eat. He'll just have to get over it this once though!

Jojo is LOVING being in Yoshi's old home, so something good came of Yoshi dying. Jojo's been swimming all around and playing in the current from the filter. I don't have any pictures at the moment - I ended up pulling a 13 hour day and didn't have much time to snap some pictures of the fishy boys. Soon, though, I promise you!

For now though, sleep. For whatever AWFUL reason, check in for his surgery is at 7 am. Seven. A. M. O_O Who in their right mind is up before 9 am on a Saturday? On second thought though, I'm not in my right mind as I'm right handed. Hmm haha Toodles for now!


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## BettaLover1313

Very sorry to hear about Yoshi passing. He was a gorgeous fish and you took great care of him. Glad to hear that your other fish are doing well.


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## TiffanyP

Thanks BL1313  I'm happy he got to be with me and live a good life.

As you know, Smeagol got fixed today and he made it through with ease. Dr. MacDonald said he did wonderful and should heal up quickly. He's not very happy at the moment, not bc he's in pain, but because he has to wear the cone of shame. Luckily for him, it's a green one haha he's so stylin'  He has pain meds he has to take every 12 hours... is this a new thing? I've had MANY cats fixed over the years (our house was where you dropped off the strays bc we'd feed them and they could live in our garage) and we always got them fixed. But it was a once and done thing, we never had follow up meds or anything. So when Dr. MacDonald told me he'd have pain meds for the next 5 days I was pretty confused... but whatever - I follow doctor's orders (even though they and the cone cost $40 that I was not prepared for and now i have $10 to my name for the next 2 weeks -_-). Oh well *sigh*

So since I was up so early to take Smeagol to the vet, I came home and went back to sleep haha next time I woke up was bc the vet called me and said that he was out of surgery and coming out of the anesthesia and I could come pick him up in a couple of hours. Then I fell back asleep again lol I thought for sure Smeagol would sleep for a long time after we got home, but after he drank some water and ate a little bit, he was active and hyper and running around. But in between all that he'd sit and lick and nip at his incision (pre-cone of shame). So I'd go over and stop him and he'd just go at it again *sigh* So I put him in his kennel and put it on my bed, and reluctantly ran to the store to buy the cone of shame. And finally after I got that he decided he was tired enough to sleep... on my lap lol So I haven't had time to get pictures of the fishy boys today between everything that's been going on. Tomorrow if he isn't as clingy as he is today I'll try and nab some when I do water changes 

I'm reluctant to do a water change on Jojo's tank though bc Jojo has built a very nice bubble nest! I always hate ruining those with water changes haha But it shall get done one way or another  

Thanks for checking in! Here's a couple of pictures of Smeagol, who I've fondly called "Dug" today haha

Sleepy Smeagol <3


"I do not like the cone of shame."


"Get. It. Off!" he said. This was before I trimmed off all of the excess - after I trimmed it he didn't hate it as much, but he still hated it.









And these are from the other day. He's just so freaking cute, I can't not take pictures of him  Gah I love him! <3 <3 <3







And because you can't see their faces, the two boys I nanny for  The one laying on his tummy, L, was sick the day before and was still working on feeling better, and the older one, K, picked up on that I think and came over to give L a hug. Omg melted my heart


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## hrutan

Oh, the cone of shame. *tsks*

The pain meds _are _a new thing. Cats are a little harder to mitigate pain for than dogs, and it used to be that no one would bother. Especially since cats are absolutely murder about letting you know whether they are injured. But, as our understanding of the creatures we care for increases, so does our awareness of their comfort -- or discomfort, in this case. And we know that cats feel pain, even if they don't show it.


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## TiffanyP

Well, Smeagol isn't doing as good as he should be doing - he hasn't been eating much at all and he's just been sleeping literally all day for the past 2 days. It wouldn't bother me so much if he was eating - but he's not. So we're headed back to the vet today to get him checked out. I think he'll be fine, but something just isn't quite right - so I'm being safer rather than sorry  I'm not sure about his water intake bc I don't know what's evaporated and what he's been drinking, so I've been giving him syringes of water to keep him hydrated and even if he is hydrated, water never hurt nobody  His appointment is in a couple of hours, so after we get home and I get the boys down for another nap (taking 2 small boys 1 and under, a cat, plus all the accouterments to the vet... this should be fun!) and everything's settled down, I'll update again with his condition


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## hrutan

You can do a check on his hydration levels by pinching the scruff of his neck, and releasing. If the skin snaps back into place, he's fine. If it goes back into place more slowly, or even stays with a slight "pinch" position, he's dehydrated. Dehydration is a pretty common problem with cats. Their wild ancestors got most of their water through their prey, so many of them have a low thirst drive even now. I've had a few that would end up dehydrated frequently, because they had no interest in water.

The two most effective ways I've solved that problem are through the use of a small circulating fountain (one of those decorative ones will do) so that the water is always fresh and running, or through wet food for the really stubborn ones.


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## TiffanyP

The vet said that he's hydrated, and that the pain meds are probably just making him drowsy and lose his appetite, so I'm supposed to stop those (did already lol). He's supposed to resume normal activities, which includes rough housing with Leo the dog and hopefully between that and stopping his meds, he should perk up soon. If he doesn't in the next 24-48 hours though, or gets worse - I have to take him back in. He's been upstairs all afternoon, but isn't up to playing with Leo yet. Hopefully he'll perk up soon 

I'm planning on getting him some kind of circulating fountain/water dish, but I'm pretty broke at the moment. Hopefully I can come up with about 30 bucks soon for that 

Thanks for checking in!


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## hrutan

If you get one of those little fountains, be sure to top it off frequently. My cats went insane over theirs and burned out the motor because they wanted water so much more than before, and it went dry. Haha.


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## TiffanyP

I'll remember to do that  Becauuuuse I got him one tonight! It was on sale at Walmart for like 17 bucks I think and it's pretty basic and simple and it'll work well I think. I'll be sure to check it twice a day so the motor doesn't burn out.

He's been doing amazingly well the latter part of the afternoon and into this evening  He ATE! Which I'm so happy about  He was pretty happy to be out of the room for a bit too even if he didn't play with Leo tonight.

The fishy boys are doing great! Gandalf is still pretty grumpy, Sven is just kind of derpy, Beenz is boring, Lennan is still regrowing his fins, and Jojo is enjoying his new home still  I'm so happy with all my boys!

But it has been a LONG long exhausting day so I'm headed to snuggle up with my Smeagol and sleep <3 Thanks for the fountain tips hrutan!!


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## hrutan

No problem! It's always better to learn from someone _else's _bad experiences. Haha.


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## TiffanyP

Finally as promised, new pictures of the fishy boys!!

We'll get this one out of the way first... Lennan. He was such a pretty fish when I got him and now he's just... eh. He is a terrible fin nipper and thus barely has any tail fins now, and he's working on his anal fin too. His colors have also changed from red and cellophane to... whatever you want to call the color he is now. It's sad really, but he's the happiest and bites the least where he's at now so I'll leave him there.

Lennan:


Beenz! This is the best I could get of him -he's mostly blind, but apparently can see when the phone comes up near the tank haha All of his regrowth is still white - that's how much his tail has grown since I saved him 


And Sven - the tear in his anal fin seems to just be there. I've tried 3-4 water changes weekly and stress coat in his water, but it just won't heal up. It's not infected or rotted so I'm just letting it be how it is lol The curly parts of his tail and anal fin are where his fins have grown 


Gandalf the grump! He's a bit of a spaz, so he's in his own little tank on his own stand in his own corner of the room where I try to keep the activity minimal for him. He's happy though and eats well  There's a tiny tear in one of his tail fins from when I had to catch him with a net a few water changes back  He hates water changes poor boy. It's healing up well... and I guess you can't even see it in this picture haha


And lastly, my Jojo  He's loving life in his new roomy 5 gallon tank. His tail has been like that since I got him - he's not a nipper, nor is it infected/getting worse, I think it's just the way it's grown, or perhaps he had a little bit of some sort of crown/comb tail type blood in him from somewhere that caused his tail to grow like that. Who knows? In any case, he's happy and I'm happy with him! This is just one of his many colors 


And I nabbed a picture of Smeagol's new water fountain (he photobombed) and then a picture of him from yesterday when he really started to feel better  He hadn't been cuddling with me like he usually does, so when he hopped on my lap to take a nap I knew he was getting a little better. It was SO freakin' cute 





Thanks for checking in on us


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## hrutan

I'm in love with your cat. Don't tell my kitty boys I'm cheating on them.

Your boys are lovely. Jojo is STUNNING!


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## TiffanyP

I'm pretty in love with him too. I just can't get enough of him  my Facebook is riddled with pictures of him too lol i bet ppl get annoyed, but i don't care. He's my baby <3


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## DaytonBetta

Your cat is so cute! The picture of him sleeping is really sweet.


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## TiffanyP

Thanks! I'm rather smitten with him <3 (if you couldn't tell haha)


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## TiffanyP

Hello hello everyone! It was supposed to be a nice relaxing Sunday here in Rocky Mountain Casa de la Fish... but Sven's tank sprung a leak last night -_- So it's been anything but relaxing haha

He was in a glass 2.5 gallon tank, and the leak was somewhere under the top rim and seemed to go all the way around. So for the night, I lowered the water level and after church today went to Petco to grab another tank. I had it in my mind that I wanted to get another 2.5 MiniBow, maybe the LED one, but they were uber expensive (much cheaper online but didn't want to wait 2 weeks). So I drove in the complete opposite direction to PetSmart. They were having great sales on tanks, so it was a hard decision - plus I over-think everything anyway haha So I stood there debating the pros and cons of a 5 gallon tank (they had a setup for $30, and another for $35) or a 2.5 gallon tank (for $35 or the minibow for $45). Or maybe going some other direction entirely. And I went in that complete other direction haha Since I had to downgrade stands that2 of my fish tanks sat on, the new stand isn't as sturdy as the first and I wasn't sure if it would hold the weight of 5 gallons of water. It holds 3 just fine, but I was worried about 5 as that's an extra ~16-20 lbs. So there was a Marineland 3 gallon bowfront aquarium. Came with a decent filter and a nice LED light, and it was on sale for $30. The setup is really nice, since I went with a cheaper tank, I splurged on a bag of rocks in a new color (2 shades of green!). The tank seems kind of flimsy if you push on it, but I'm going to give it the benefit of the doubt for the time being bc I really like how it looks haha I let Sven in after everything was up and running for about an hour and he's been exploring every inch of it since haha I think he likes it, but we'll give it some time to be sure. I'll post a pic of his new digs at the end 

And unfortunately, I've got another tail biter  Mr. Jojo. He's not very bad, for which I'm thankful bc his tail is SO beautiful, but he is nonetheless. He snagged his tail on something the other day (not sure what, as all the edges of everything in the tank are smooth :/) and I think it bothered him that it was ripped, so he took a bite out of it. And then another bite out of the bottom part of his tail. He doesn't seem to be doing it anymore though, so I hope it continues that way  He got a water change today with some stress coat and is happily swimming among his new plant - I put a bigger plant in there for some more coverage/hiding places to see if that'll help things too.

Gandalf is doing wonderful, I am in LOVE with how perfectly white he is and how beautiful his fins are <3 Sometimes I just watch him swim around and next thing I know it's like 10 minutes later haha He's a lucky find  Beenz and Lennan are doing as well as can be expected. I'm pretty fed up with Lennan though, he just won't stop destroying his fins  Everytime I think he's getting some good regrowth he goes and bites it all off. Not going to lie, if I had a good home set up for him right now, I'd send him off without a second thought. But, he is my fishy and he is an animal, and until such a time that he either passes away, or someone else offers to take him - I will take the best care of him that I can 

And Smeagol is absolutely 100% back to his normal ornery self lol Sometimes I just don't know what I'm gonna do with that kitteh <3

Oh! And on the 15th the new baby was born  I'll call him Lil K (his brother will be big K). He was 7 lbs 8 oz and 19.5 inches long  And he's got some light brown hair, but much darker than either of them were expecting (I told them all along he'd have darker hair haha). He's such a good baby and he's an amazing snuggler <3

Here's Sven's new digs!


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## Rosencrantz32

I like the setup on the new tank! It looks super cool!!


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## TiffanyP

*sigh* My Jojo is a severe tail nipper now. I'm trying everything I can think of to get him to stop... Extra water changes, stress coat, more/less plants in his tank, I blocked his view to the other tank, his filter is baffled about as much as I can baffle it without blocking the flow... Any other suggestions for me? I'm desperate  He's down to about 3/4 of his original tail length - I've not had a nipper as bad as him (Lennan doesn't fit in the same category) and I really want to help him. I know it's not always possible, but I want to at least try to do what I can for him.

The other boys are great - water change days are tomorrow and Sunday, though I'm going to try and get them all done in one day. Sven is loving his new set up - he doesn't mind the filter at all, in fact he even hides under it sometimes lol I really like it too - the nice LED lighting adds a LOT to the looks. The air is so dry here that I have to top off their tanks once or twice a week - which is slightly annoying lol I work long hours and the last thing I want to do when I'm finally off of work is lug water downstairs *sigh* the things I do for my fishy boys <3 (side note: I live in the basement at my friends' house, so my job is upstairs haha)

Smeagol is well too - he's just so darn freaking cute I can't get over it and I can't even... I just can't even get over it haha Look at this face. Gah, I just can't haha I loves him so much


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## LadyNightraven

I just read this entire journal over the course of a few days. Your fish, past and present, are beautiful. And Smeagol is just too cute. I'm definitely subscribing as I want to see the further adventures of Casa de la Fish y Gato.


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## TiffanyP

Haha aw thank you  I just love my boys!

And speaking of my boys, I'm leaving them all for 2 weeks on October 15 :/ I'm flying to Chicago to babysit for a friend of mine while she's out of the country at a wedding for 2 weeks! I've never left my boys for that long before and I'm kind of nervous lol I'm going to teach a friend of mine back here how to mix up some conditioned water so she can top off the tanks while I'm gone (and feed and water Smeagol too). I don't want her to have to do a water change on all 4 tanks (she'd stress over it too much) so I'll just have her top them off. They'll be fine going 2 weeks between water changes just this once (I hope). I'll do water changes the day before I leave, and then probably the day that I get back or the day after depending on how tired I am, and then get back on a normal schedule. I'm more stressed about leaving Smeagol for 2 weeks than I am about the fish. He'll be just fine though, I know - the friend who is taking care of him loves cats and is excited to care for one again for a couple of weeks. 

It's going to just be wild and crazy thru the month of October. The mom of the boys is going back to Iowa to visit her parents for about 2 and a half weeks and they're leaving this Thursday. Their dad is driving them there and then flying back here to work, and then he's going elk hunting from next Friday thru the 15th. And then I leave here the evening of the 14th to go to Denver to fly out to Chicago on the 15th. The dad flies back to Iowa to get the mom and the boys on the 18th, they'll get back here the 19th. And then I return on the 28th! Phew. SO much going on. I won't get to see Big K or Little K or their mom for almost a month, and I won't see L either for 2 weeks. But I'll get to hang out with a 12 yr old, 9 yr old, and a 2 yr old in Chicago  It'll be nice to have a little break and change in scenery I think. But if you think of it - happy positive thoughts/prayers would be awesome as I'm sure it'll be stressful for us all.

All the boys are doing well - Sven still loves his new tank, I think he's much happier in there than he was in his other tank. And nothing new to report on any of the other boys at the moment


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## DaytonBetta

Wow! That is a lot of traveling for all of you. Safe travels!


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## TiffanyP

Well... the time is coming closer to when I'll have to leave my boys :/ I'm super nervous... I'm going to have to write reminders for them to please not let Smeagol out on the porch and to keep an eye on him if he's out and the door is open. I'd rather him be cooped up in my room than have him sneak out the door with the possibility he may never come back. Gah. Nerves lol I'm trying to recover from round 2 of a cold right now so I'm going to hit the hay - hope you all are well!


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## TiffanyP

"The time has come," the Walrus said, "to talk of many things!"

Soo... I'm not a walrus haha but the time has indeed come :/ I leave my house tomorrow at the ungodly hour of 5 am. Don't worry, there will indeed be coffee involved! Luckily Dunkin Donuts opens at 5 am 

I got the two smaller tanks' water changed this morning, and I'll get the other two tanks changed after lil L goes home. L's mom is coming next week on Tuesday or Wednesday to top off their tanks with water - I was able to give her a brief instructional on how much water conditioner to put in the water. The K boys will be home tomorrow (a few days early) and their mom is going to watch after Smeagol for me and feed the fishies  So I've got the boys' care figured out til I come back... I'm still a little nervous though. I just wanna snuggle Smeagol alllll day today, but he's not having it lol he wants to play with Leo and sleep in the sunshine.

Earlier this week I was having a minor freak out bc my original plans to get to the airport fell thru  But luckily I have an awesome friend who said she'd drive me up to the airport - she will be getting coffee too lol I'll land in Milwaukee about noon central time and spend the afternoon with my friends before they leave  And then two weeks with 3 kids... by myself O_O it's the longest I'll have had kids by myself - but thankfully I'll have a little down time when the 2 boys are in school and the girly-q is at daycare 3 days a week. That'll be nice, though I imagine most of that time will be spent picking up the house and doing laundry haha

I'll update y'alls as soon as I get home!

But before I go... a picture of Smeagol bc... yeah  It was the first really cold day we had so we were snuggling on the couch.


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## LadyNightraven

Have a good and safe trip!


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## Schmoo

Have fun and be safe! c:


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## TiffanyP

Guys... I miss my kitty  I'm perfectly happy here taking care of the kids and I'm not homesick at all... I just miss my cat lol 10 more days and I'll get to see him again and I cannot WAIT 

I hope you all have had a good week


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## TiffanyP

I get to go see my kitty and my fishy boys tomorrow!! I hope everything went well while I was gone  My friend went over and topped off the tanks last week and said that the fishies were all okay then from what she could tell, and my other friend sent me a picture of Smeagol though I knew he'd be alright


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## Schmoo

Yay!


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## TiffanyP

I'm home, I'm home! 

Everyone is doing well, the babies, the kitteh, and the fishies  I however am exhausted... going to take some time to just... be pretty soon lol I'll update in more detail later! TTFN!


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## Schmoo

Welcome home!!!


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## TiffanyP

Okay - finally have a few minutes to myself to update this!

Everyone is doing really well 

Sven is still loving his tank, and so am I  The water evaporates so fast out of his tank though and I'm not sure how to stop that... I don't think plastic wrap would help any bc it's all covered up except for the feeding hole... Any ideas?

Gandalf is super cute - he's still blending in very well with Alaric's old decorations lol I want to change them so badly, but I just can't afford it (grumble grumble). 

Beenz is just the same - poor blind fishy. He still gets around though so he'll live out his days where he is 

Lennan is... the same I guess. Still nipping at his fins -_- but healthy and seemingly happy 

And Jojo is doing alright... still nipping, but he's got a bit of regrowth going on. I hope that continues! I miss his big flowing tail 

My friend L came and added clean water to their tanks last Tuesday, and said they were looking good then 

And last but not least, Smeagol! He was SO happy for me to be home, he wouldn't let me out of his sight for the longest time, and still doesn't like it haha I've been trying to catch up on snuggles with him <3 he got a little spoiled with food while I was gone bc C would feed him, and then S would come home and feed him again haha Oh well though, no harm done. (I feel like I should talk more about my fish lol but there's really not much to be said about them right now!) He's back on his normal diet now. Today I dumped out all of his old litter and replaced it with all new litter, and gave everything involved with litter scooping a good wipe down with some Clorox wipes, and I also vacuumed - so now my room looks and smells all clean  For the record - it usually smells clean, people always say they don't know that I have a cat, and that's exactly my intention! I work hard to keep it from smelling down in my room. I think that's all for now! Here's a picture of my Smeags snuggling with me today while the human boys were napping


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## LadyNightraven

Welcome home! Glad to hear the fishy boys and precious Smeagol are doing well. I bet you're glad to be back with them!


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## TiffanyP

I'm so glad to be back with them <3 I've been watching Sven and Gandalf swim a lot  (they're the ones in clearest view of my current seat)

They were doing really well so I did water changes yesterday instead of right when I got home. I noticed on Friday night at like midnight that Gandalf's thermometer had broken in his tank! Just the bottom little round part had cracked and fallen off, and dropped some of the black beads in it. I wasn't able to change his water then, and he wasn't messing with it or the beads, so I let it go til Saturday morning - I changed his water first, and he was NOT pleased that I had to cup him so I could rinse out all of his rocks to get the black beads out. But he's much happier now, building a bubble nest in the corner closest to me and swimming all around like he normally does. The other boys' tanks are fine - I've been checking their thermometers too to check for cracks/issues but they all seem fine luckily  

It seems surreal to me that it's NOVEMBER already. In 4 months I'll have lived here a year. A YEAR. What?! That can't be right... but it is. It's been an amazing 8 months! First off, I moved here - which has been my dream since I was 16 or 17. I got to meet one of my best friends in person after chatting online for almost a year. I get to live with and help raise my friends' kids. I got a kitten, who is the love of my life and I'm so glad I have him <3 So much has happened! And since it's officially November, I can start talking about Christmas plans! I'm uber broke this year  So presents will be minimal, but I'm going to try my hardest to send my nieces in Iowa a gift at least. I'll be sending them a gift because I'm going to be spending Christmas (and my birthday!) in New Mexico with my aforementioned best friend  I'm SO super stoked for that. It'll be my first Christmas and birthday NOT in Iowa. Only 48 days til she flies into Denver  I think that's about all for now - all of the boys around here say hi!


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## TiffanyP

Can you guys believe it's almost Thanksgiving already? Geesh. Seems unreal! This year I'm going to attempt some *hold on to your shorts* dulce de leche filled brownie sandwich cookies. Heck to the yes, that's what I said. They might be a bit complicated, but I'm gonna give 'em a shot anyway!

Everything is going really well with the boys - both fishy and furry  They all got fresh water yesterday - I had to modify my usual method bc it's so cold out that had I dumped my water where I usually do our driveway would have been an ice rink! So I not only carried buckets of water downstairs... I carried the dirty water upstairs too to dump down the sink. That's a work out right there I tell you what haha Sven and Gandalf have been working on bubble nests - I know it's a sign of sexual maturity, but I also believe it's a sign that they're happy too  Jojo is still nipping at his tail but I think it's slowed down quite a bit, and Lennan is too. He looks NOTHING like the fish that I bought bc his colors and fins have changed so much. Beenz doesn't look much like the fish I bought either lol but in a good way for him  He's doing really well all things considered and I'm happy to have him and let him live out his days, however many more that may be, with me!

Last but not least, Smeagol. Gosh I love that cat. He wears sweaters. Like legit sweaters. And it's freaking adorable! I also bought him a banana costume and a bee costume hehehehe Halloween clearance - you can't go wrong with an 80 cent banana costume! Since I figured out he'd actually wear a sweater and not just flop over and feign paralysis when I put one on him, I decided to make him one of my own  And it fits amazingly! Here are a few pictures of the Smeags in his various new outfits!

The first time I put the sweater on him. Halloween clearance for 4 bucks:


The bee costume hehehe That one was $1.39 and the wings have LED lights!:


The banana costume! He looks so pissed off haha Cost a whopping 80 cents: 


Sleeping in his halloween sweater. I call it his night sweater bc he wears it happily at night:


And lastly, wearing the sweater I made for him


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## DaytonBetta

Oh, that crocheted sweater is too cute! I once tried to crochet one for my dachshund, but the fit was off and he couldn't even stand up!


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## TiffanyP

Thanks! I just came up with the pattern off the top of my head, or else I'd share it with you lol I just basically said "Hmm, I'll try this" and then tested it out on Smeagol - I had to redo a few rows to get the measurements right, but all in all it turned out pretty rad


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## LadyNightraven

Ahh, I just love the Smeagol sweater pictures! So cute! I've never tried putting clothes on my cats, but I have a suspicion they'd be the sort to fall over like they were paralyzed and call me all kinds of dirty and rude things in Cat language if I tried.


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## TiffanyP

Haha thanks Lady  I was kind of figuring Smeagol would do that, but after he realized he could walk he was just fine with it


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## TiffanyP

I almost came home with a baby betta today... I had to go out and get Smeagol some food, and walked by the bettas - there were 2 I was dying to bring home, a small 'adult' halfmoon plakat and a poor little clamped baby... I just don't have a place to put another tank right now since my respiratory system demands having moisture in the air at night (I have a vaporizer in the only place that I could put a tank)... So I reluctantly left the little fellas there


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## TiffanyP

Lennan died in the night last night - he got super puffy super fast and just up and died I guess. I didn't even have time to start treating him with anything. So looks like this weekend after I get paid I'm going to go new fish shopping  Gotta be honest and say that I'm not too terribly upset that he died because he wasn't the same fish I brought home. He just changed so much bc he bit his tail down to nearly nothing and changed colors  Bah. I wanted to write more but one of the boys just woke up so I gotta go get him!


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## TiffanyP

Ok - just wanted to update on the boys earlier, but couldn't lol

Sven is doing well, and I think it's safe to say that we both love his new tank still. I'd probably buy it again if there was a need to. He's been maintaining a nice bubble nest in the back corner away from the filter 

Gandalf is still his pretty pearly white self <3 He's enjoying life in his 2.5 gal and tolerates water changes much better than he used to! He also has been keeping up a bubble nest in a corner of his tank. I love watching him swim, he's just so beautiful!

Beenz continues to do well  I looked thru the pictures from when I first got him about 9 months ago (wow!) and I'm still amazed that I was able to save him with the only damages being his eyesight. He might be kind of homely to look at, but he's got big beautiful fins and loves food time. 

And lastly, Jojo - he's doing well. We're still working on the whole tail nipping thing though - I've tried everything I can think of, so I'm just trying to keep his water clean to prevent infection, and a dose of stress coat with every water change. He's such an active little dude - he's always swimming around  

I'm excited to go out and look for a new fishy friend this weekend  I might see about getting a crowntail! I say that, but it'll just depend on which fishies they have out. I'm dying to get a proper VT again bc after having Sven for like 6 months-ish, his tail is still very round and not veil like. I'd also like to get a plakat again... and a baby lol so many choices! I'll keep y'all updated on who I choose!

I hope you all are well and are getting excited for the holiday season! Plans have changed slightly for me - instead of my friend flying into Denver and then us going to New Mexico, I'm driving to NM in about 2 weeks and then she'll come back with me for a week or two! I'm so lucky to have friends who let me have friends stay with me  I'm off to get some shut-eye for tonight!


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## andakin

TiffanyP said:


> Lennan died in the night last night - he got super puffy super fast and just up and died I guess. I didn't even have time to start treating him with anything. So looks like this weekend after I get paid I'm going to go new fish shopping  Gotta be honest and say that I'm not too terribly upset that he died because he wasn't the same fish I brought home. He just changed so much bc he bit his tail down to nearly nothing and changed colors  Bah. I wanted to write more but one of the boys just woke up so I gotta go get him!


My condolences... I guess. I know that feeling. I have a few fish in my tank that I secretly wish death upon.

Fish shopping is so much fun. I hope you find something nice.


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## TiffanyP

I would have never mistreated him - I just... didn't like him much haha So I think a new lil fishy friend is exactly what's needed


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## TiffanyP

Welp - no new fishy this weekend. I went to Walmart, Petsmart, and a Petco and none of them had very good choices  The majority of them were dead or nearly dead. The only one I kind of wanted to bring home was $13 and I can't afford that right now  So we'll wait another week. I might go out looking for one with my friend when she's here


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## TiffanyP

Wow, what a month it's been! A week of vacation/birthday/Christmas in New Mexico, then came back to an unexpected week of vacation here in Colorado too! Now I'm trying to get back into the swing of things, but one of the families I work for has both of their families coming, one this week and one next, so it'll be another couple of weeks before things are normal again haha But I've thoroughly LOVED having some time off to do absolutely nothing.

And now for the animal updates!
Jojo remains healthy, though still a tail nipper. He swims all around and flares at me if I get too close to his tank <3 I feel awful, but in all the hustle and bustle of the past few weeks I completely spaced off water changes for 3 weeks for him and Beenz bc I had company here or wasn't here  They aren't suffering any though, and I'll do another water change before the end of the week to try and make up for it.

Beenz is doing good too - he's enjoying being the lone fishy in his split tank as I haven't gotten him a roommate yet (lack of funds!) but hopefully that'll change soon... I don't like having an empty space haha

Gandalf is good, though he gave me a bit of a scare yesterday - he was all clamped up and mopey  I changed most of his water and used a mix of stress coat and Amquel Plus, and he seems to have perked up today back to his normal self  I'll have to keep an eye on the levels in his tank to make sure it doesn't happen again.

And lastly, Sven - he's doing fine too  He's still got that rip in his anal fin that just will not heal, but it's not raw or anything just... there  I think it just might be his signature thing now lol I absolutely love his tank still too btw, it was a great investment.

And lastly, my Smeagol <3 I just freaking love him more and more every day. My best friend, who I got him from, has been here visiting the past 2 weeks (she goes home Saturday  I'm bummed!) and so she's gotten to re-meet him and get to know him again which has been fun to see. He was pretty sad that I was gone, but was very happy to see me when I got back  He's just growing and growing like a little weed... He's 10 lbs now! And the vet gave me the ok to bump him up to adult food since he's so big. He's just a joy and I love him 

I think that's all for now - I hope you all had a great and safe holiday season! I'll update you all if I end up getting a new roomie for Beenz


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## LadyNightraven

Hey, good to see you again! It's always nice to have some time off. I'm glad to hear your fishies and darling Smeagol are doing well.

My Rakki has three "rips" in his anal fin. He kept ripping that fin on one of his silk plants a while back, and it took me a while to figure out which decoration was the problem. Of course, it was quickly removed once I finally did figure it out. The rips have long since healed, but they never grew back together. It doesn't bother him at all and just gives him a unique look. It sounds like Sven has his own unique look now.


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## TiffanyP

Yes, Sven most definitely has a unique look!

So Friday night was my last night with my friend in town, so we went out and about and decided to stop at a fish store I'd never been to just to see what they had. It was a pretty small place, but they had a nice selection of tanks and water additives and what not. The fish were in a separate room, so we went back there - I wasn't expecting anything bc it just looked like there were a bunch of tanks and bettas likely wouldn't be in a tank. There weren't any in tanks, but lo and behold they did have a few in those little glass jars. Bigger than the cups they come in at Petco/Petsmart and the water was clean, so props for that I guess lol

They only had 4 veil tails, 2 dark blues, a light blue, and a red. Kind of generic. The lady noticed me looking at them and said that she just got a shipment of "dragonscale crowntails" in, and if I wanted to look at those they were over on the other side. So I did and they too weren't anything special, not your typical dragonscale but pretty. There were 4 of them too - 3 of them were up front in their little bowls, and the 4th was hiding - so I got all twisted around and upside down to try and get a good look at him and he was so cute! My friend came over to see what I was doing and as soon as she saw him we declared him ours! He doesn't have a name yet, but he's a cute little guy who I think will have a fun personality when he settles in fully! But here he is - what do you think?  He's still pretty shy and gets scared when I have my phone up to the tank, so this is the best picture I have of him at the moment. His face is burgundyish, and his body is a creamy iridescent green/white lol his fins are the same creamy white, but with a burgundy butterfly marking (if that's how you say it lol) What do you think he should be named?


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## TiffanyP

After much discussion and filtering thru many names, Tori (my friend, figure I should just say her name lol) and I decided to name him Bash  It's a name from one of our favorite shows, Reign. He's doing really well! I think he's a bit skinny, bc even from eating one pellet his belly gets bigger, so I've been giving him a little less than I do the others until he gains some weight and fully settles in. He's figuring out that fingers = food, and he doesn't seem to mind having a roommate of sorts, Beenz. Beenz doesn't care that Bash is there either so it works out all around  

I noticed that Gandalf had a big poo, so I think that may have been part of the cause of his on and off clampiness the past few days, because he's now back to normal. Sven has been hiding in his lil monster cave lately, which I think is adorable  And Jojo is still just Jojo!

Thanks for checking in on me, I think I'm gonna go pick on Smeagol a bit and then make a grocery list. Whee lol


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## TiffanyP

Welp, I had a first today. I was cleaning tanks to get back in my weekend water change routine, and was cleaning Bash/Beenz' tank... Bash got curious and swam up to the gravel vacuum... and GOT SUCKED IN! I was so scared and I felt completely awful  I popped him out and he just kind of laid there for a bit in the water, not moving or breathing, I thought he was dead. So I gently poked him and he darted under a leaf of his plant. I finished getting the rest of the water out of the other side and just kind of kept an eye on him... Put a little more than a double dose of stress coat in the new water and poured it all in on Beenz' side too. Covered his half with a towel and hoped that not disturbing him and darkness would help... Checked on him periodically thru the day and he seemed to be more perky every time  He's swimming around normally now, so thankfully I'm pretty sure he's going to be okay, but man oh man did that scare me!

The other fish know better than to get near the vacuum lol And they're all doing good, though Gandalf has been nipping at his tails a little... I'm not sure why. I'm not worried about it yet. 

That's all for now! I hope you all are having a good weekend


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## LadyNightraven

Ah, that had to have been scary! I'm glad Bash is okay. I always worry I'm going to suck up one of my fish one of these days. My two boys tend to follow the gravel vac during water changes, but they'll dart away if it comes too close to them.


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## TiffanyP

Bash seems to be back to his normal perky self, though he has a hole in his anal fin. I'm hopeful that that will heal up nicely in a few days. He's been swimming around happily and doesn't show any other signs of being injured. I broke out a cube of frozen blood worms for the boys today so I think they'll love that treat  I need to start doing it more often so they get a bit more variety in their diet.

More later!


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## TiffanyP

Hello everyone  

Just a random update from Casa de la Fish y Gato... Everyone seems to be doing pretty well. I rearranged Jojo's tank and put in a new filter (and tried to baffle the crap out of it too) to see if that helps at all with his tail nipping issues... He really looks kind of sad in the fin department, and I'm not sure what else to do about it. Beenz and Bash are doing wonderful - Bash has finally gotten comfortable with his new home and has a nice bubble nest in the makings  Beenz is his normal lazy self, I like to think of him as the old man of the group hehe Gandalf is doing well still, but has nipped his tails into little squares almost... I've been really trying hard to keep his water clean, doing extra changes if necessary, because I feel like that's the cause of his problem. I need to see about getting him a different filter, because the one in his tank (the 2.5 gal minibow) just really sucks and it keeps growing algae. I'm going to see about getting a sponge filter with one of these paychecks and hope that that fixes the problem... I'm a bit scared to do that though because Smeagol likes to chew on silicone-y/plastic stuff, so he may chew on the tubing :/ I'll just have to try it out I guess  Other than the tail nipping, he's his normal spazoid self haha He never quite got over that. And lastly Sven - he's been kind of mopey lately, and I'm not sure why. I've also been trying to keep his water cleaner than normal, bc I think his tank is trying to cycle finally. So whenever he seems a bit mopey, I just change a little bit of water - seems to work out pretty well.

And of course, Smeagol, my love <3 he's doing amazing and I just can't get over how stinking cute he is! Here's a few recent-ish pics of him and one of Bash too!

My big 10 lb kitten <3









He sleeps so weird!









I got him a little cube from WalMart for like $4 and he LOVES it. He's made it his castle, and he defends it quite well haha









He's so good at the snuggles 









And lastly, the handsome Bash!


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## TiffanyP

Hello again  Just doing my weekly check in.

All the boys are doing well and no one was sucked up into the gravel vacuum this weekend haha The new filter in Jojo's tank is very powerful and I've tried to baffle it as much as I can, but it still pushes him around a bit. I added a water bottle today as another baffle and it makes it more top current than just water flowing into the tank, and so far I think he's happier with that  

Smeagol is running around upstairs chasing the dog - or the dog might be chasing him, who knows haha I love that they're BFFs and that they play together so well. My finances are finally coming together better and I'm able to set a little aside for savings, and I think after I establish that I'm going to save up to buy Smeagol one of those kitty tower things because I think he would just LOVE it. Right now it's just a hope I have, I don't want to get too far ahead in thinking 

Hope you all are well and if you're watching the Super Bowl (which I pointedly am not lol) that you had some nommy snacks


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## TiffanyP

Overnight Jojo has grown a tumor like thing under his chin and has a fungus or something rapidly eating away his fins  It looks very similar to what Alistair had when I had him over a year ago. I don't think there's any point in trying to treat him as rapidly as it's moving, not to mention I wouldn't be able to get to it til after work in 5 hours anyway  I'm keeping him quiet and comfortable til he passes...

There's something about that tank that he's in that I just don't like at all - all the fish I've had in there have died from some kind of fungal something or other... Nemo had the tumor, Gilly and several others had dropsy, but only in that tank do they get the fungal stuff. I think I'll probably get rid of it after he dies.

Hope all you fellas/ladies are well


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## DaytonBetta

Sorry to hear that. You took good care of him and he had a good life. I would be superstitious about using that tank again,too.


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## TiffanyP

He's still hanging in there, but he looks terrible  his anal fin is pretty well disintegrated, as well as his ventrals and the tumor thing (i'm really not sure what it is) looks to be growing too. I turned his filter off so he wouldn't have to fight it to get air - and since I did that, he's been hiding out in a corner not moving much. Poor guy


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## LadyNightraven

I'm so sorry, Tiffany.


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## TiffanyP

Thanks Lady... just a waiting game now. 

On the bright side of things though, the rest of the boys are doing very well - though I'm keeping an eye on Bash's eyes. He just has really big eyes to begin with, but I'm worried one of them might be bigger than the other and potentially might turn into popeye. It's really hard to tell because he really just does have big eyes haha But like I said, I'll keep an eye on it and I'm prepared to treat it if I should need to  I think Gandalf has stopped his tail nipping, so hopefully the ends of his tails will grow back sometime. Beenz is just Beenz - I'll have had him for a year next month! And he'll take the record for the longest I've had a betta, which astounds me. The one true rescue betta I got on the brink of death, has recovered and lasted a year - kinda makes a person feel good about herself 

That's all for tonight - Smeagol is demanding snuggles  I'll keep y'all posted on Jojo.


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## TiffanyP

Jojo finally passed away sometime this morning while I was at church. He doesn't even look like a fish anymore what with no fins  He'll have a proper porcelain funeral as soon as I'm finished with cleaning.


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## TiffanyP

Well *sigh* here we go again!

Gandalf hasn't been his usual swimmy self lately, and today I noticed he was a bit puffy/swollen and enough to be noticed from above, but not enough to have pineconed yet. So I changed his water again and am starting a preventative course of epsom salts at about 1.5 tsp/gal. I took the filter out of his tank yesterday because it just continually grows algae and i have to switch the filter out every 10-14 days (expensive!). This weekend I'm going to go to Petsmart and see about getting him the same tank that Sven has (because I love it!) and when he feels better (fingers crossed!) he can live in there  For now he'll be in epsom salts and get water changes daily, hopefully I don't have to medicate him other than epsom salts but i'm prepared should i have to.

And Bash's eye is most definitely enlarged, so I've started him on some epsom salts to hopefully get that swelling down  I opted to just put it in the tank that he and Beenz shares because it won't hurt Beenz any, if anything it would benefit him  So hopefully between that and some daily water changes through the weekend things will be dandy with him, I'm not too worried.

And Sven, the lone ranger over on the other side of the room is doing awesome still and hopefully will stay that way! I'll update through the weekend on how my boys are doing  Thanks for checking in with us! (Smeagol says hi from my bed lol)


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## TiffanyP

No real change in either Gandalf or Bash, but they don't look worse either, so I guess that's something. Gandalf is still swimming around with his grumpy face, so I have hopes that he'll pop out of this whatever it is. They're getting water changes this morning (I wanted to let the epsom salts be in there a full 24 hours) so hopefully that'll go smoothly 

Smeagol and I wish you all a happy Valentine's day!


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## TiffanyP

Still not too much of a change in either of them... I think I'll keep the ES in Bash's tank for another day and then begin the process of getting it out with daily water 50% changes for a few days. 

I think I'll keep the ES in Gandalf's tank for the full week as he's still puffy and not wanting to eat, but he's still pooping (which is good!). He's been swimming about normally, which gives me hope since he isn't moping in a corner somewhere  Thanks for checking in again!


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## TiffanyP

Hey again... not much to update on at the moment.

I made a post about Bash's eyes and lilnaugrim thinks he just has big eyes and that he should be fine. So I'll keep tabs on that but he should be fine 

And poor Gandalf isn't doing well  he's not responding to the epsom salts and I think I saw some pineconing this morning when I peeked at him, so after I'm off work I'll see about medicating him with something stronger... my poor boy


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## LadyNightraven

I'm sorry Gandalf still isn't doing well. Crossing my fingers that some stronger meds will help. Keep us updated!


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## TiffanyP

By the time I got to him on Friday after work, he had blood in his belly/on his insides (he's white so it was easy to see) and the pineconing had worsened  I was too late but I couldn't treat him while I was working with the boys. He passed away in the night on Friday  

So now I'm down to 3... Beenz, Bash, and Sven. I want to get another fish, but it'll have to wait til this snowstorm passes! Hope you all are doing well... I'm going to continue my hibernation lol


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## LadyNightraven

Oh no. I'm so sorry, Tiffany. SIP Gandalf.

Stay safe and warm! We're experiencing some wintry weather here in Oklahoma as well. Sleet and freezing rain is what we got here today, and what we're supposed to get tomorrow is anyone's guess.


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## TiffanyP

Thanks Lady  I was really bummed - he was my favorite... but life goes on 

Bash and Beenz are doing fine, I've been watching Bash's eye and it seems to be staying the same size. It's not cloudy, swollen in like an injured sense, or anything so I hope it's just his norm  Sven's doing good - he seems to really like the NLS pellets I've been giving them (I try and rotate between Omega One and NLS every few months). 

I didn't sleep well at all on Saturday night, so when yesterday afternoon hit I was doing everything I could to stay awake lol I cleaned everything in my room as good as I could, rearranged some stuff and organized... but it was only about 430 pm and I couldn't go to bed then! So in the middle of a lil snow storm (we got a good half an inch in a short amount of time, didn't last long though!) I decided I was going to go out and walk around a few stores. Naturally my first stop was Petsmart - there's a toy for Smeagol there I've been keeping my eye on to see if it'll ever go on sale. Y'all know where this is going though lol I walked by the bettas and they were in sad shape  This Petsmart doesn't do a great job of keeping up the betta cups, not to mention it's winter and all of them but that one odd one that seems to thrive in cold water were all clamped and cold. There were a few dead ones even  Poor boys. Anyway, there was a female crowntail that was super cute, a red/blue crowntail, and a veil tail with a white body and yellow fins. I thought about it for a while and I've got Gandalf's old tank sitting around... so why not! So I grabbed the white/yellow VT  After I bought him I stuck him in my coat (they looked at me funny lol) and brought him home. He stayed warm enough between my legs with the butt warmer on. I stuck his cup in Bash's side of the tank to start warming up while I cleaned out Gandalf's old tank with some hot hot water. Got it all set up and ready to go, fast forward to when I'm ready to release him into his new tank. As I was taking out the dirty water in his cup and replacing it with clean I began to notice that his fins aren't yellow at all! But darker... couldn't tell completely until after all the blue water was gone. When he was finally released into the tank of clean water I saw he had a white body, but his fins were a very vibrant pinky orange! He darted around a bit and his bright fins looked like flames flowing after him... so that earned him the name Flame  Here's the best picture I have of him so far. He's settling in nicely and I offered him a couple of pellets last night which he happily ate!










This is what Flame looked like in the blue water, not at all like he does out of it haha









Bonus picture: Smeagol being spoiled by sleeping on my lap covered up with a blanket


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## LadyNightraven

Congrats on the new fish! He's pretty. Flame really suits him. It's crazy what a difference there is between how he looked in the cup and how he looks in warm clean water.

Smeagol looks like one very happy, very spoiled kitty.


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## TiffanyP

Right? I was so shocked when his fins turned out to be orange haha couldn't tell at all when he was in the cup! He's settling in so nicely, he's been swimming around and eating well, his fins are so nice and healthy looking - so even though he wasn't the color I expected, he's a great addition to my group and I'm happy to have him 

Today is my 1 year Colorado-versary! When it hits about 9 pm it'll be official  I can't believe I've been here a year! And along with that, on the 9th I'll have had Beenz for a year! His transformation from nearly dead little fish to the big fish he is today is amazing! I'll post a then and now pic on his 'birthday'  

I'm going to list the cursed 5 gallon tank on craigslist today, I'm throwing in a brand new filter (that I've had sitting around for about a year) too since I threw the one that came with the tank away. Hopefully someone will take it lol I was thinking about upgrading Bash and Beenz to a 10 gallon split tank sometime in the future. They have the whole stand to themselves now, so why not maximize their space? I might even consider a 20 gallon if I can find a way to properly and securely divide it  I'm hesitant though since Beenz is partially/going blind... he knows his way around his side of the tank now and I hate to take him out of what he knows. We'll see, nothing's set in stone yet - just some contemplations!

I've got a few things to do around the house, I hope you all are doing well! If you read this, make a post about your fishy boys/girls - tell me about your favorite one! I'd love to see more about y'alls fish families!

Bonus! Picture of Flame now that he's settled in


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## TiffanyP

It's Beenz's one year 'birthday'  I think technically yesterday, but today is officially official haha So here's to my old fart, going blind, lazy fish boy!

The day I got him:









And just now!:


















What a change! I'm happy he's got a good home here with me 

To celebrate I got pics of 2 of the other boys  Sven is in a corner I couldn't get to because of a sleeping baby, so pictures of him will come later. 

Flame - he's doing so well! He's active and swimmy and overall very happy I think! Can't wait for him to gain a little weight, he's such a little guy!









And Bash - I'm going to do twice weekly water changes (if time allows) for a little bit... I think he's particularly sensitive to any minor change in the water chemistry :/ A water change seems to help him though, so if that's all it takes, I'll happily do that! He's so handsome!!









That's all for now I think


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## BettaLover1313

I'm sorry to read about some of the troubles you had. Also, congratulations on the two new boys and having Beenz for a year!

Smeagol is also adorable!


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## TiffanyP

Thank you BL1313  I got rid of the cursed tank and I have high hopes for the remaining 4 boys I have! Beenz celebrated his 1 year 'birthday' with an extra pellet (for whatever reason I can't get them to eat the bloodworms I bought, so I might opt for another brand next time).

Bash has been bloating very easily lately, so I've been feeding him every other day... I switched from Omega One pellets to the NLS I had laying around (not expired!) a couple weeks back, and I'm wondering if the switch got him all mixed up. When I feed him I've been doing O1 again... Sven prefers the O1 as well, Beenz will eat both, and so will Flame 

Flame, by the way, is doing great! His fins have grown so much since I got him! He likes to sleep by the intake of the filter though, and because of that he's gotten a couple of fin rips - one in his tail fin, one in his anal fin. But they heal up within the day, so I'm not too worried about him  I am looking to find him a new filter though, which is tough with his tank being a 2.5 Minibow... Not a lot of room to fit stuff!

Smeagol is full of beans tonight! He's been attacking his little mice all night, which admittedly is super cute ^_^ He's almost a year old! April 23 he'll turn one  I've had him since he was 2 months old, so June 22nd is his gotcha-versary. It's been an amazing year with him and I'm so glad he's mine. He's been very therapeutic in coping with the loss of my other cat, Kolbee. Maybe too therapeutic as I've caught myself calling him Kolbee a couple of times lol oops!

Thanks for checking in on us again!

Here's a picture I took of him tonight with my digital camera  He just looks so proper and cute!


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## LadyNightraven

Good to hear the betta boys are doing well overall. I hope Bash's bloating clears up soon. 

I love the picture of Smeagol! As you said, he looks so proper and adorable. 

It really does help to have a new critter to love after losing a beloved furbaby. Bringing Yurei home helped me a lot after I lost two of my cats last year.


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## BettaLover1313

Glad to hear that things are going well for you! Also glad to hear that your new boy, Flame, is settling in well.


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## DaytonBetta

Glad it's going well. He is such a cute cat!


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## TiffanyP

Hello again everyone! Things are pretty stable here, and I'm okay with stable even though it's not quite 'good' yet.

Bash is still off... and I'm beginning to think he has a tumor  The right side of his stomach constantly has a bulge on it and he's either hiding under a leaf of his plants on his side, or floating at the top on his side... But he can swim just fine, and he gets excited to see me coming by the tank... it's only when he's not actively swimming that he gets on his side. I'm not sure what to do - epsom salts didn't seem to do anything for him and I did that for a week.

Beenz is doing fine  He's happier that I switched back to the Omega One pellets I think, though he'll eat the NLS too.

Sven had some kind of fin issue this past week - the back end of his anal fin and a small part of his dorsal fin were disintegrated. I changed his water and put in some AQ salt and it cleared it up within 36 hours and got some definite regrowth going on day 4. I kept the up the AQ salt and water changes all this week though even after the regrowth just as a preventative measure. He's doing much better now 

And Flame is doing awesome still - he's building a bubble nest right now, which he always does after i change his water. His fins are growing SO much and he'll always flare for anyone who dares come too near to his tank lol I'm on the last filter for his tank so I really need to get his new filter ordered... blech haha

And Smeagol is great of course, spoiled rotten as always haha Thanks for checking in with us! I'm off to read a book and then hit the hay. Hope you all are having a good beginning of spring!


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## Julie7778

Hello! I just read your whole journal XD it was very interesting, I loved reading about all the little guys you had. I was wondering if you could show a picture of your "fish room" or set ups! How did a divided tank work for you? I am starting a journal too


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## TiffanyP

Sure thing! Give me a few days, I've got a crazy schedule going on, but I'll take pics and upload them ASAP  thanks for reading everything lol its been a journey, but a good one for sure


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## Julie7778

Great thanks


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## TiffanyP

First... Julie - I haven't forgotten about you! I have just been crazy busy!

Second - Beenz died last night and I have absolutely no idea how or what caused it  He was fine last night, I didn't notice anything abnormal when I fed them. He was sitting on his leaf which he does 90% of the day, and he always has done that... this morning it looked like his gills had exploded and his head was tilted back and he was puffy and very much dead  I'm really bummed. And also overnight Sven's eye puffed up and I'm going to start treating him for popeye after I'm off work. Start with some epsom salts for a couple of days and if that doesn't help or if it gets worse, I'll pull out some antibiotics.

I'm not sure if I mentioned last time, but Bash has a tumor, much like Nemo had  I think his is pressing up against his swim bladder because if he's not swimming he's floating on his side at the top or under a leaf. I really just can't catch a break with these boys! 

I change about 90% of the 2 smaller tanks (as much water as I can get out, but leaving enough for about an inch/inch and a half of water for them to swim in) once a week, and the 5 gallon tank gets as much water changed as I can get in the bucket once a week as well. The water is conditioned with Amquel Plus. I clean the gravel as best as I can with a vacuum and I have a turkey baster to get other stuff out during the week. The 5 gallon is most definitely cycled, and the 3 gallon might be, I need to test the water again. The 2.5 gallon's filter is more to keep the water clear and not stagnant. They get about 12 hours of light and 12 hours of dark/no light each day. The water temp in all the tanks hovers right around 80, but might drop a degree or so at night. I'm just at a loss of, if it's something I'm doing wrong, what is it? Or maybe it's just my luck that I get the ones who are prone to sickness. I dunno, I'm just feeling bummed and discouraged right now.

Luckily Smeagol is a piece of cake to take care of 

Hope you all are having better luck with your boys/girls than I am!
-Tiffany


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## Julie7778

Sorry about Beenz, he seemed like a great fish. S.I.P
Good luck with Bash, hopefully he heals


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## DaytonBetta

I'm sorry! It sounds like you are doing all the right things.


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## TiffanyP

I think I'm doing all the right things, but with everything that's been going on lately I'm not convinced I'm not doing something wrong... *sigh* I've got the ES started in Sven's tank, gotta stay up another half hour to get all of it in.

Flame is doing really well however, he's got a lot of new fin growth which is fun to see. He'll always greet you with a flare when you check him out  Such a spunky little personality, and the cutest little face ever I swear.

I usually retreat to my room at night (recap: I live with friends in their basement) around 6 or 7, but tonight I stayed up there with peeps watching Jenna Marbles videos til about 915... Smeagol started bugging me at like 8 to go downstairs haha he's not used to being so social. He's happily fed now, and getting snuggly so I think after I get all the ES in Sven's tank, we're going to snuggle up and go to bed.

I have the day off tomorrow so I'll try my hardest to get pictures of the tanks and the fish area in general for you Julie 

Sweet dreams everyone!


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## LadyNightraven

Oh no, I'm so sorry about Beenz.  Swim in peace.

Sorry to hear about Bash's tumor. I hope Sven gets better soon.

Sometimes things go wrong even when we're doing everything right. You're giving your fishy boys a good life though, and that's what matters.


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## Julie7778

TiffanyP said:


> I think I'm doing all the right things, but with everything that's been going on lately I'm not convinced I'm not doing something wrong... *sigh* I've got the ES started in Sven's tank, gotta stay up another half hour to get all of it in.
> 
> Flame is doing really well however, he's got a lot of new fin growth which is fun to see. He'll always greet you with a flare when you check him out  Such a spunky little personality, and the cutest little face ever I swear.
> 
> I usually retreat to my room at night (recap: I live with friends in their basement) around 6 or 7, but tonight I stayed up there with peeps watching Jenna Marbles videos til about 915... Smeagol started bugging me at like 8 to go downstairs haha he's not used to being so social. He's happily fed now, and getting snuggly so I think after I get all the ES in Sven's tank, we're going to snuggle up and go to bed.
> 
> I have the day off tomorrow so I'll try my hardest to get pictures of the tanks and the fish area in general for you Julie
> 
> Sweet dreams everyone!


Haha  thanks! Btw Smeagol is adorable and I love his name xD


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## TiffanyP

Thanks Julie  he's pretty great!

So a bit of good news... the ES seemed to take the swelling down on Sven's eye almost immediately... it's still cloudy, but I'm not really sure what to do about that, or if there's anything TO do about it lol At anyrate, he's doing pretty well for the time being.

Bash is still hanging in there but I don't think he'll last much longer  the tumor's just squishing him  

And Flame is doing just fine as well. I think after Bash passes and I get the tank cleaned out I'm going to put Flame where Beenz was and temporarily retire the 2.5 gal til I can get a better filter for it. 

Anywho, just wanted to update y'all quickly and get back to work... 3 of the 4 kids (there's a temporary 4th one running around, the K's cousin E lol) are sickly with fevers and just the crud :/ so I'm at the 4th kid's house watching him here. So much stuff going on lol catch y'all later!


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## TiffanyP

Bash died this afternoon  

My room feels so empty! The split tank doesn't have anyone in it at the moment - so I hope to find new inhabitants this weekend. Hopefully there will be a couple of nice healthy boys, or maybe even ladies, to be saved from their little cups  Trying to remain positive.

The 3 of the 4 boys are better, and the 4th boy, whose house I was at on Monday, now has the crud lol so at least they all got it done and out of the way... None of us 4 adults in this house have gotten anything, but the parents of the now sick kid have also been sick. Hopefully we here have escaped it though!

Smeagol will be a year old a week from today! I can't believe it... I really want to get him a kitty tree but I can't afford it at the moment, so we'll just celebrate with snuggles and some treats


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## TiffanyP

I know I just posted last night, but I definitely definitely need new inhabitants for that tank... it's so loudly empty and it really makes me sad! I'll give it a good cleaning out tomorrow and when I go out to get things for chicken and noodles (be jealous, it's delicious!) I'll run to Petco and see if they have some new friends for me. I'm hoping to find a yellow one  and then maybe a red one - I haven't had a red one yet!


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## TiffanyP

I decided I couldn't wait til tomorrow, so I went out tonight and got these two handsome guys!

The first: He is SO spunky, he was on the other side of the display, so I walked around the corner and the second he saw me he started flaring and following me around his bowl as I walked by. He didn't stop flaring until I got to just out of his sight lol He's your 'generic' betta colorwise I suppose, but his colors are especially vivid and I am pretty smitten with him  He's not wanting to be photogenic at the moment, so this is the best I can do right now.









And this guy was in a cup labeled as a baby. He's at least an inch and a quarter/inch and a half long in his body so I know he's not a baby anymore or if he is he's MASSIVE. I do think he's young however, so hopefully he'll color up and maybe the rays on his tail will grow out so he'll be a CT  That would be awesome! 









I'm still thinking of names for them... perhaps a pair of names like Calvin and Hobbes (but not that set lol). Sorry for the post overload lately  Hope you're all well!


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## ThisDragonisNerdy

Subbing


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## DaytonBetta

Congrats on the new fish! The blue one is beautiful and the other looks quite unique.


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## TiffanyP

Thanks Dayton  And thanks to you too, for the sub, THATdragon 

I think I've decided on their names... The baby is Derp lol I was worried that he wasn't quite settling in as he should, he kept spitting out the Omega One pellets I gave him (he's big enough to eat those with no problem though) so I pulled out the NLS small fish stuff to see if he'd eat that, and he's gone to town on it! He's young (but I really don't think he's still considered a baby, he's just too big), so I'm trying to and want to feed him 3-4 tiny meals every day, but it usually ends up being 2 because of my schedule. But he's definitely perked up a bit since he's been eating  I'm interested to see what color he ends up being, or if he'll be stuck in his odd reddish/black color forever lol

And the other guy, whose pictures don't do him justice as without a flash he's such a deep shade of blue, will be named Gary. He's settling in perfectly. He knew from day one that fingers = food so I didn't have to train him! He's got a huge bubble nest going, eats like a little piggy, and continues to be the spunky fish who picked me at the store 

I need to run and do a water change quick before I get too comfy for the evening. Derp isn't young enough to need daily water changes I don't think (I wish I could just let y'all see how big he really is lol) so I'm going to go with 3 times a week. I skipped the first since I was letting him settle in, but ideally the schedule for a few more weeks will be Sunday, Wednesday, and Friday. Before I go! Sven is doing well and his eye appears to have cleared up  And Flame is doing well too - I've really gotta keep on top of changing his filter media (in his 2.5 gal minibow, it's there more to keep the water from becoming stagnant than to be cycled) otherwise if it gets too much algae on it he tends to get the beginnings of fin rot, but a water change clears it right up. I really just want to get him a new tank... maybe with this paycheck... We'll see. Anywho, hope you all are well!


----------



## TiffanyP

Hello hello!

Things are finally looking up here 

Sven I've had for a whole year now as of the end of last week! He's still got that rip in his anal fin that is just part of who he is now lol He's doing very well otherwise - his issues he had were short-lived luckily 

Flame is doing pretty good too. When his light is on and the room is even remotely dim, he's flaring and swimming around the perimeter of his tank and I think because of that he blew out a fin... I think that's what it's called. He has a couple of small holes in his anal fin anyway, and I'm pretty sure it's because he's flared so much.

Gary is still being spunky as ever  He had something on his tail fin for a day, but a water change cleared it up. I'm still not sure what went wrong there as he's never gone more than 3 days without a water change here. He eats like a piggy and has the cutest little face 

And last but not least, the big baby Derp! No joke, with his tail he's a good 1 3/4 inch long. He's just huge! He happily and greedily eats 3 meals a day (except for Sunday I only feed him once in the morning). The little chunk he had missing on his anal fin has grown in  I'm so happy to have a baby again, even if he's just as big in the body as my full grown boys lol I wonder if his fins will grow into him or if maybe he'll end up being a giant! Who knows 

Speaking of giants I had to fight the urge to get one yesterday at Petco. They had just got a new shipment of fish in bc there were TONS of bettas, and they had quite a few giants... there was, hands down, the biggest giant I had ever seen there. He's AT LEAST 4 inches long, and kind of a grizzled whiteish gold color. SO. PRETTY. I just don't have the room for another tank right now  Ack!

Anywho... I'm off to go snuggle with the Smeagol


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## TiffanyP

Hello again 

Not much to update on, which is nice! Right now Derp is probably my most exciting fish - his body is growing, I'm just waiting for his fins to catch up with him. He's bigger in body size than my other boys which is kind of crazy to see lol He eats like a piggy, and poops like one too  Gary is doing well, he eats fantastically and is so enthusiastic about food and greeting me when I walk by - I love it! Sven is just Sven lol He's pretty normal as for a fish. And Flame is doing well too - I've kept his lights off as much as I can this week and have been letting his tank get natural lighting from the window. His fins seem to be healing up some so I think the plan is working  

And Smeagol, of course, is still spoiled and still crazy cute  Walmart had pet sweaters on sale for a dollar so I grabbed him a couple of new ones  He turned ONE on April 23! It was a day of snuggles and his favorite treats!

I'm off to go capture pictures of the weird sky outside! Have a great mother's day this weekend if that applies to you!


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## TiffanyP

Just updating with a few new pictures! Flame wasn't being cooperative so I've got Derp, Gary, and Sven for ya!

Lil Derp









Sven









Gary (best I could do anyway)









I don't have much time right now to update more - hope you all are well! Smeagol and I send our love!


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## PrettyInPinkFloyd

I have read this whole journal, and I just have to say, I love it so much. All of your fish (past and present) make me smile every time I see their pictures. Smeagol too of course. I want to thank you for making this journal. I don't know what I'm going to do with all my spare time now (maybe I'll have to do my homework) because I have been binge-reading this all the time.


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## TiffanyP

Aw thank you! Lol it still kind of surprises me that people bother to read my ramblings, but I'm thankful that you all do! I've been keeping bettas for almost 2 years now! Which is crazy to me... I still love just about every second of it though 

I went to Petsmart tonight to just walk around... came across 2 yellow females! I want a yellow betta so bad! I hope to keep these boys for a good long while, but when the time comes to get another one I want a yellow one or a white one again. I really miss Gandalf 

Well... Smeagol and I have a hot date to catch up on Grimm, so I'm going to go snuggle him so hard and watch that  stay awesome everyone!


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## TiffanyP

Holy crap, Batman, life is crazy.

Luckily nothing too exciting is going on with the fishies... A while back Flame had some kind of infection eating away his eye... I'm not sure if he can see anything out of it or not, but it doesn't seem to bother him and it's clear. 

Everyone else is doing fine - just swimming about lol

I'm back down to 3 kids now, which is nice. Four was utter craziness. The youngest is 9 months old today! And the other two are 17 months today and the oldest will be 2 on Friday! I've been working 630 am til about 540 pm, then I eat dinner, go for a walk (usually about 1.75 miles, but sometimes more), and rinse off in the shower... by the time that's finished it's 8 pm (like right now) and I watch an episode or two of a show or read a book and then crash lol 

Weekends are rather busy too - Saturdays I've decided I'm going to get up early-ish and hit up some Farmer's Markets. I went last weekend with several friends and it was awesome! Made out with some awesome goods and they're only going to get better and better as the summer goes on. I love supporting local businesses/farms/people  For many of them, last weekend was the first market of the season. I got some delicious peach jam from some friendly Amish (about 90% certain on that, if not Amish, some sect similar to that) ladies, some Hawaiian wafer cookies from the coolest Hawaiian man ever - and I tell you what, those things are SO good (and at 35 calories for 2 cookies, they fit in perfectly with my new diet!). I also landed some MASSIVE carrots (seriously, about as thick as a tennis ball at the top!), some jalepenos, a tie-dyed shirt for one of the boys that a 12 year old did, and the best coffee I have ever tasted. And it was black O_O The company is Wallaby Coffee, they're located here in the Springs and they roast the beans here too. It's a family owned business and I couldn't be happier to support them! Did I mention it's DELICIOUS?! Not sure if any of you are in the area, but if you are they have a website (not sure of the rules for posting links, but it's the company name with a dot com at the end lol) that you can order from and it's free delivery anywhere in the Springs! I'm not sure if they deliver elsewhere. The one that I'm in love with is the Honduras medium roast *dies* I'd go make a cup right now but it's almost bedtime...

Anywho, coffee rant over haha I'm gonna feed the fishies here soon. They got fresh water tonight too. I also need to feed the Smeags (who I'll have had for a year next Monday!!). Hope you and your fishies are well!


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## TiffanyP

Happy 4th of July!!

Things here are going very well. All the fishies are doing great... and I think I've decided that Derp should actually be Derpette! I just really don't think she's a male. I've tried seeing if she has ovaries but she's so darkly colored I can't rightly tell. Doesn't matter much anyway, but I've started calling her a she lol her name is still Derp though, that's not changing. She's a little piggy now that she's figured out that she likes the Omega One pellets.

Gary is doing so well - I'm so glad he picked me at the store. He still is very active and spunky and always has a flare to share.

Sven is my current 'old man'. He likes to rest beside his monster cave most of the day, but loves dinner time! Then he'll show off and flare for you. 

And lastly, Flame. He's doing pretty good. He still hasn't learned that sleeping by the filter intake rips his fins... the last big rip has healed up most of the way, and there's some nice new growth going on that I can see. I've been lighting his tank by just window light during the day and having the over-tank light on for a couple of hours at night only. It helps a lot with his fins (he flares constantly if the light of his tank is on) and also with algae growth. He seems to be doing very well with it 

And not much to update on Smeagol  He's still just the sweetest mama's boy kitty ever... of course I might be a little biased haha He has an appointment this coming week to get some vaccine boosters and just a general check up. He'll pass with flying colors I'm sure! 

I'm waiting to hear word on if we're going to go see fireworks or not tonight... it's raining and thundering at the moment. The news stations haven't mentioned that they're cancelled, but we're keeping an eye out. Have a safe and happy rest of the holiday! 

<3


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## TiffanyP

Well. Derp is the most appropriate name for that fish ever haha I cannot get her to eat anything... and it's not that she doesn't want to eat, she very obviously does... she just can't seem to aim well enough to get anything in her mouth -_- Like really fish? She's not blind at all bc she'll follow my finger around the tank and come over when I walk by. She's just too derpy to get food in her mouth. Any ideas about what to do there? I'm scared she'll starve herself to death if she goes too long without eating.

Gary's doing well  He has no problems eating haha and hasn't had any fin issues since the one biting incident. Sven is good too - he's been acting very slow and lethargic the past few weeks so I put a bit of AQ salt in his water this week after I changed it and he's perked up so much! I need to check on it but I might keep a low dose of AQ salt in his water if I can find a safe one. And Flame is doing well too most of the time lol if I'm so much as an hour late for his water changes he starts biting his fins -_- so I'm very careful to keep up with those for him lol He also seems to be happier with a little dose of AQ salt.

Smeagol is doing awesome - he had his one year check up a couple of weeks ago and is perfect according to the vet. He's 12 and a half pounds! But the doc says that's a good healthy weight for him  It's so weird bc my first baby, Kolbee, only weighed 7 lbs on a good day. He was just a small lil squirt <3 

The peeps I live with bought a house this week! So end of September/early October we'll be moving there... it's just across town from where we live now, about 20 or so minutes from here. Hopefully the Smeags adjusts well with that - he's only ever lived here except for when he was a baby. I'll probably strongly consider getting him microchipped soon after we move there since it's a much much more populated area. 

I'm off to go do some tidying around the house. Have a wonderful weekend!


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## Tealight03

I've been following your journal for awhile now. You have gorgeous fish! 

Regarding Derp's problem eating, Phil will act like that too occassionaly. I was worried he was going blind for awhile. Now I don't think he is (he seems to see me just fine) but some days he will let the pellet fly by his face. Sometimes it's a battle to get him to eat two pellets. I use a turkey baster to suck it up and put it closer to him. Sometimes that works.


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## TiffanyP

Wow so much has happened in the past month.

First and foremost, I found out that when the peeps move they've decided they're going to stay home with the boys and would no longer need my services. So I've been job hunting and really working on getting a job lined up for when they move. Then all I'd need is a place to stay, which I have one lined up even though it's not ideal (about 15 miles out of town). I had a really good interview this morning and I would LOVE to have the position so if you'd send me a prayer, positive thought, good vibe - whatever you believe in, I'll take it.

The fishies are doing okay - Derp still won't eat, and she's gotten to the point where she's on her last leg. I imagine she'll pass soon. Gary is wonderful - he had a bit of an infection on his tail so he got some AQ salt in his water and that cleared it up and there's some nice regrowth going. Sven is great! Just lazy and his usual self  Flame is good too, so long as I keep up with his water changes. If I'm a day late his tail starts to disintegrate. And Smeagol is doing great as well 

Gotta run again, I've had an interview and a meeting already today and i've got another interview in about an hour *sigh* Here I go again lol hope you all are well <3


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## TiffanyP

The time has come, the walrus said, to talk of many things! Haha

I leave to go to Iowa for 10 days tomorrow! That came WAY faster than I thought it would... Derp STILL hasn't died, but she either floats completely vertically with her lips out of the water or can't seem to stay afloat and lays on the bottom. I'll have to have C keep an eye out for her so that if she dies she can have a porcelain funeral and not bother Gary.

The other boys are doing fine - I'm not worried about them at all. I plan on changing their water tomorrow morning (my flight doesn't leave til afternoon) and they should be fine til I get back. I'll top their water off when I get back on the 12th and after I get some sleep, I'll do a full change on Sunday.

Smeagol... I'm a bit worried about haha he gets some severe separation anxiety and destroys EVERYTHING. So I'm going to clean up everything in my room that can be knocked over/pulled down and lock them in my closet. I need to find the number for his vet too on the off chance something happens. He should be alright though - C will feed him and water him and let him out to play with the dog during the day, and she'll probably send S down to scoop his litter haha

I've got an absolutely FULL schedule while I'm in Iowa *sigh* so much for a vacation.

Hope you and your scaled and/or furry friends are doing well!


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## TiffanyP

Hello hello! This has been such a crazy time in my life, that even though it can be bothersome - I'm so glad I have my fishies and my cat to keep me grounded. Even though it feels like I have zero control over things sometimes, it's nice to know that life goes on as it always has for the fishies and Smeagol. They still need food and water/water changes and care every day. They've been my sanity these past 6 or so weeks.

Derp finally died last week Thursday (17th), but it wasn't of her own free will. She was laying at the bottom of the tank curled up and would only dart around spastically if you tapped the tank RIGHT beside her or poked her with the net. She wasn't living any sort of life worth living and it was so sad to see her like that  S, the dad of the boys I watch, offered to take her out and flush her or let her 'suffocate' in the air... but I couldn't do that. I ended up making the hard choice to put her in a cup with about an inch of water and letting temperature do the work. She passed in less than 12 hours, which I'm oddly thankful for. It was just miserable seeing her like that for that long. When I was in Iowa C would text me every couple of days saying "She's still alive!". Derp was a fighter for sure. 

Next is Flame! He's been doing incredibly well in his little 2.5 gallon. He's close enough to the window that I can keep his light off during the day to prevent build up on the filter and algae growth which has helped him immensely. Since we're moving soon though (October 6!) and Derp has passed, I moved him to her side of the split 5 gallon tonight when I changed water. Reducing tanks by one will be easier to deal with in the move. He seems to have settled in nicely and doesn't mind having a roomie of sorts 









And Gary! Oh that sweet Gary <3 He's such an awesome little fish. So fiery and full of life! His blue is SO deep and shiny, he's a great eater, and is super healthy. He loves to greet me with a flare when I put my face up to the tank to say good morning 









And last but not least, Old Man Sven. He's doing very well, too. I've had him for a year and a half now! Which is so hard to believe! He's officially been with me longer than any other fish - I've had him longer than I've had Smeagol! He's a pretty lazy fish, preferring to sleep near his heater most of the day. He happily does a couple of laps at feeding time though  His orange color is so vivid and bright - I just love it, and him, so much! And really, who wouldn't love this sweet little face?!









And of course, there's my Smeagol <3 He's just as sweet as ever. He's going to be hanging out at my friend J's house the day we move - he's never been anywhere but here so I'm a little nervous to leave him there. She won't be home most of the day, but I'd rather let him be in a place where he can roam about than to be stuck in his kennel, quite literally all day. We're going to be living in C and S's (unfinished, but brand new) basement for a few months so he's going to have all sorts of room to roam down there. I might have to crochet him up another sweater to help keep him warm when the weather drops  He's just so handsome <3









Thanks for checking in on us! The waters sure felt rough for a while there, but they're starting to smooth out and I'm getting excited to start on this new leg of my journey in Colorado  Take care of yourselves and be well!


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## LadyNightraven

Your bettas and Smeagol are gorgeous as always! I'm glad things are finally starting to settle down for you.


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## TiffanyP

Thanks!! I'm pretty glad things are settling down as well.

Next week is going to be a nightmare... trying to get moved and all. But we'll get thru it and on to the next chapter of life 

For tonight, I'm gonna sleep. It's been cool and rainy/cloudy the past few days and I hope tomorrow morning holds up with that so I can sleep in peacefully  Hope you all have an amazing weekend!


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## DaytonBetta

Good luck with the move and all the changes you have coming up!


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## TiffanyP

Wow, I had no idea it had been over a month since I last posted! Life is busy! We also didn't have internet for 3 weeks so I didn't have much of a chance to hop on and update.

Everyone's doing well - the fish boys adapted to the water at the new place easily and without issue. They're just a little irritated with me since I haven't had a chance to regularly change their water in the time we've been there. I do change it, just not as often as I would like. They seem to be doing alright though  Hopefully once things at work settle down I'll have more time and will be able to change their water more regularly 

Smeagol's doing well too - he's got an entire basement to run around and make a mess of  

I have to run - I feel like I'm always moving moving moving these days. Hope you and yours are well!


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## TiffanyP

Happy 2016! Life. Is. Insane. Things are finally settling down a bit since I got a schedule change, so I'll have more time to be at home during daylight hours - which is SO so nice!

Update on the betta boys! Gary developed a tumor under his gills and passed away a couple of weeks ago because of it  And Sven passed this past weekend - I think he was just old and his body shut down on him. He sure toughed it out to the end though! And I really think he would have fought for a few more weeks, but one day while I was at work last week he got stuck in the filter intake because he was too weak to swim away from the current. He was still alive when I got him out, but he had spent everything he had in him trying to get out. He passed overnight  I had him for almost 2 years, and for a Walmart fish - I don't think that's too bad at all! He had a good happy life with me 

I'm still down to 3 - I've adopted 2 more since Gary and Sven have passed! Here they are, and and update on Flame...

Flame! He's doing amazing! He tends to get fin rot for no apparent reason fairly easily though, so his fins are always in some state of repair. He's been doing pretty good the past couple of weeks, so I hope the nice progress continues 









Meet Nimbus! I just got this little guy today on a whim - I wasn't planning on getting one, but had to walk by the lil guys in Walmart to get to the kitty litter... Had to take a peek, naturally. I've wanted a blue/white one like him for a long time and since I had a vacant tank... I snatched him up and brought him home with me  My best friend suggested I name him Cloud, but I really didn't care for that... but I liked the idea of something cloud related... Hence Nimbus! His water was very clean and I don't think he'd been at Walmart for 24 hours yet - he looks very very healthy and I'm excited to get his personality to shine through. He's settled in amazingly already and ate a couple of pellets for me 









And this guy I've had for a couple of weeks now... he doesn't have a name though. Nothing seems to suit him. He's pretty shy like Darryl was, and doesn't like a lot of attention, so I try to leave him be as much as I can. We're working on getting the tips of his fins to heal up, though I'm not sure if they're just black colored or if it's a bit of fin rot. I've been keeping the water clean and it's not getting any worse, so I'm not too worried about it at the moment. If you can think of a name that suits him, feel free to suggest it 









And then, the obligatory Smeagol picture, because he's so darn cute! It was particularly cold this day, so I put him in his sweater and he still wanted under the blankets to keep warm haha <3









I think that's about all for now! I hope you all are having a great start to 2016 (even though we did lose Alan Rickman and David Bowie already). Best wishes to you and yours!


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## BettaLover1313

I'm very sorry to hear about Sven and Gary. Your new boys are beautiful though & love the name Nimbus. 

Smeagol is too cute!


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