# Mich's Fishes



## micheemak (Aug 8, 2015)

Hey all -

Name is Mich, from Canada. I've just recently (in the last 6 months or so) got into betta keeping, although I've always had tropical freshwater (except for a few years off when I was raising my family).

I currently have 7 males and a 6 female sorority tank.

My most recent obsession started when I brought home Sesshomaru and Betta Ray Bill. They were the last two bettas at a LFS that shall remain nameless, in cups with barely enough water for them to turn around in, and very dirty. I ended up bringing them home with me.

Here's Betta Ray Bill in his log









and Sessh, flirting with me from his driftwood tree









Since then, I've added

Rollo:









Sheng:









Peppermint:









Musashi:









and Horus:









The girls (Mulan, Xena, Bellatrix, River, Hilde and Narcissa) are in a 20 gallon long tank; I just upgraded them from a 10g just a bit over a week ago. So far, so good with them.










I've also got a 65 gallon freshwater tropical with guppies, mollies, swords and coreys, plus some amano shrimp, glass shrimp and snails, and a small 3g filtered tank with golden cardinal minnows. I've got 4 ADF (2 in with Sessh and 2 in with Betta Ray Bill), and all the bettas (except Horus) have pet Corey cats and a mystery snail as well. Horus just has a snail and Oto cat, as he's still very timid. He's the baby of the bunch.

Peppermint and Mushashi share a 10g divided tank, Horus is in 7g modified Fluval Chi tank, Rollo, Betta Ray Bill and Sesshomaru are in 10g nanocubes, and Sheng is in a 7g no-name cube. I use sponge filters with all of them, and do staggered water changes (every 4 days, roughly 25-30% per tank, with roughly half the tanks one day, the other half the next). The 65g tank gets water changes Saturday morning.

I will be adding two more in September, as I've got a couple of Koi bettas on order. One is a female, but I don't think I'll be adding her to the sorority as I don't want to throw off the dynamics of that tank. Right now all the girls get along, so why do anything to disturb that?

I'm thinking of getting another 10g and dividing the tank, or possibly getting two more 7g cubes. I'm quickly running out of room, so the koi bettas will be it.

I work out of my house, and find the bettas super relaxing. I've got 5 of the boys in my office, so I can watch them when I'm on the phone or computer, and I swear my stress has dropped significantly since I've added them.

Anyway, just thought I'd share. I really enjoy reading everyone else's posts and looking at the pictures...so many lovely, lovely bettas. What a great site, for a fab fish and a wonderful hobby!


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## MikeG14 (May 31, 2014)

Wow Mich, Those are some really nice pictures. I'm looking forward to seeing more.

The name Betta Ray Bill always makes me chuckle. As a youngster, Walt Simonson signed my copy of Thor 337, I still have it to this day


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## micheemak (Aug 8, 2015)

I'm jealous about the Thor autograph; my nerd-girl heart would probably explode with joy if something like that ever happened to me. :lol:

Thanks for the comment on the pictures - believe it or not, these were taken on my Samsung phone! It's better than the Canon DSLR I have, which sorta blows my mind.

I've got some more pictures to add:

Peppermint and Mushashi's 10g split (just added more plants)










One of the shrimps in the 65g tank










Betta Ray Bill showing off










Sesshomaru trying to outdo him










One of the African Dwarf Frogs just chilling










one of the Julii Corey cats in the sorority tank










And lastly, my dog Lilee, acting very put out because I am not paying enough attention to her...


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## micheemak (Aug 8, 2015)

So, today was cleaning day for the big tanks - the 65g and the 20g sorority - and my little 3g tank in the same room as the 65 g. Things were going swimmingly. Water change in the big tank was done; fish were fed and happy; water change in the 3g tank done, fish fed and happy...and that's when I make the decision to put my golden dwarf cardinals in the small tank into the 65g with the other fish. I've had them for about 6 weeks or so, they seemed healthy, and they had grown to be the same size as my white cloud mountain minnows, who are thriving in the 65g, and the plan was always to put them in there, so why not now?

To give you an idea, here is my big tank:









I cup them and float them for roughly 30 minutes - not as long as I normally would because I'd just changed out the water in both tanks so I know that it's pretty consistent across the board. And then I tip the cup and out they go.

They start schooling with the white clouds, which I thought was pretty interesting. I am happy with my decision. I go and make dinner (ironically enough, fish). I come back after dinner - and one of my female guppies has one of the golden dwarfs sticking out of her mouth.

This is a picture of killer here, with the much more docile Rex, a male ribbon tale guppy:









I am so upset with myself! Poor little guy! The other two are still swimming, with the white clouds, oblivious to the sudden demise of their buddy. I tried to catch them to put them back in the 3g, but they're too fast with all that room to zip around in, so I guess they're staying where they are. Seriously, though - they're the same size as the other minnows which none of the fish have ever bothered or tried to eat. I feel sick.

Anyway, the rest of the tank doing well. Thought I'd post a couple of pics of my gorgeous male sailfins mollys.

This is Lothario, the creamsicle sailfin molly:









This is my other sailfin male, Lucky:









The girls in the sorority tank were also in fine form tonight - they love getting their water changed; literally come out and play in the bubbles that get made when I dump the new water into their tank.

This is Bellatrix, the alpha in the tank:









Mulan (in the front) and Hilde (in the back):









Narcissa, looking for dinner:









Couldn't get good shots of River or Xena - they wouldn't stay still. But I did get a shot of Ivory, their pet mystery snail:









Tomorrow, I do the boys' tanks.


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## micheemak (Aug 8, 2015)

Got some new ADF's today to add to some of the betta tanks. They were on sale for $2 at the LFS (so, half price).

One of them has spent an inordinate amount of time riding around/generally harrassing the golden mystery snail in the tank. I've never seen anything like that before! So weird.










I also spent about 30 minutes trying to get a better picture of Peppermint, because I need some help figuring out what type of tail he has. He was not too interested in playing nice and staying still for the camera.

This is the best pic I was able to get, and it's still a bit blurry:










This would have been a good picture if he hadn't decided to stick his head behind a plant. *headdesk*










His body is not as red as it appears in the pictures - he's got lots of white, but he's definately grown more red since he came home last week. The edge around his tail is a very defined white. So, what tail-type is he? Bueller?

Lastly, also brought home a new betta - Mr. Cellophane. He's currently in the 3g tank, but I'm hoping to get him better digs in a few weeks.










...and now, off to clean the male betta tanks.


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## Laki (Aug 24, 2011)

Gah how awesome!! I love all your tanks! Did I read above that each of your betta tanks have a cory pet?? Corys way prefer to be in groups of 6+ if you're able to combine them. 

Where in Canada are you that you can import koi betta?? I would love to have koi bettas but currently cannot (unless I sneak another tank in).


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## micheemak (Aug 8, 2015)

Thanks Laki! I have three small cories in each of the 10g cubes, 2 in the 7g, and 4 in the 20g sorority. They're all pretty small right now. As soon as they get too large for the what they're in, I'll add them to the 65g. 

I'm north of Toronto (Barrie) and I have ordered Koi bettas - but they're coming from RenasFishStore.ca. I assume she imports them, and I've just pre-ordered from her. I am expecting them to arrive in September.


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## micheemak (Aug 8, 2015)

I am all by myself tonight, and have decided to stay entertained by attempting to get a good photo of Peppermint (and a few other fishies and various other tank dwellers).

Peppermint:










Amano Shrimp in 65g:










Sorority tank at night, with some new plants added the other day:










Sorority tank, side view, for a different perspective:










Sheng, who I moved into a Marina 360, today. The 7g no-name nano cube has sprung a leak, apparently. He managed to build a crazy-big bubble nest in about three hours, and is still working on it.










Little Itty Bitty, one of the new ADF's I picked up today, in the sorority tank. This is an extreme closeup, as this little guy is about the size of a dime.










Red Cherry Shrimp in Peppermint's tank. He's hanging out on the underside of an Amazon Sword leaf, all by his lonesome. The Cherry's normally stick around the sponge filter; I was surprised to see him!


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## dannifluff (Jul 5, 2015)

Subbing 

Gorgeous tanks, beautiful fish... lots of work! And your pooch, d'awww.

Also, how long would it take you to notice if I zip-wired down and stole Rollo from his tank? I'm preparing the kritter keeper as we speak...


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## Laki (Aug 24, 2011)

Thanks! I checked out her store, she has shipped from ON to NL so that's cray-cray. I'm too scared to email her for prices.


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## micheemak (Aug 8, 2015)

Laki - I don't have my fish yet, as you know, but RenasFishStore.ca has been very easy to deal with - quick responses, very reasonable pricing, so I can only say good things. I actually ended up ordering another Betta from her the other day (Black Dragon Halfmoon Plakat Betta), and she's holding him for me until the kois arrive, which is super nice of her.

Thanks dannifluff - Rollo is very pretty, for sure. I'm looking forward to seeing how he grows, as he is still very small compared to Betta Ray Bill and Sesshomaru, who inhabit the cubes on either side of him.

For example, here he and Betta Ray Bill face off:










Colors depend on how the light hits him, so sometimes he looks almost slate gray, others blue, others green.

Here's a pic I took late last night of Betta Ray Bill just outside of his log hidey. There were no lights in the room, so I used a flash - his colors really pop.










Also got a good one of Sessh in his log, but without the flash and just the blue 'moonlight' effect. The one immediately below is same idea, but the red light from the heater had popped on and illuminated him in an interesting way.



















Another one of Peppermint, coming out to see what the fuss is all about.










And one more of Rollo from about a week ago - he's looking more green in this one. 










I'm completely redoing Mr. Cellophane's little 3g tonight. Got him more plants, and replacing the god awful filter with a sponge filter instead. Will try to get some pics and post them later!


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## Laki (Aug 24, 2011)

Wow, I admit it is tempting! Yours are all gorg. And she sells rescues for 5$


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## micheemak (Aug 8, 2015)

I haven't received any bettas from her yet, but I'm sure they will be stunning. My guys are all lucky finds, with a couple of rescues thrown in.

Betta Ray Bill and Sesshomaru were both picked up from a PetCo, but weren't doing well when I got them - tails were ratty looking, they were lethargic, etc. etc. I've had them about 5 months now, and they've grown a lot and their tails are way better.

Sheng (crowntail) was given by another LFS because he had fin rot, so they couldn't sell him and since I basically STALK them, they asked me if I wanted him. Of course, I said yes and then promptly spent money I didn't really have on a tank and all the trimmings for him.

Horus and Musashi were surprises from my hubby - he had no idea what he was doing, but he picked two winners. The rest of the boys are because I have no will power and can't resist a pretty face. I am shallow that way. :-D


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## micheemak (Aug 8, 2015)

Just wanted to post pics of the improved Mr. Cellophane tank. It's a crappy little thin acrylic I shouldn't have bought; darn thing scratches very easily and the water always looks cloudy because of them. I will eventually replace it, but in the meantime, it looks better than it did.

I put in all new Fluval tank substrate, 2 anubias (one was a baby from my other tank, so yay for propogation!), an Amazon sword, some cabomba and something else (forget what it's called). I kept his little terra cotta pot in there because he likes it, and put in a new sponge filter instead of the crappy HOB filter it came with. Also upgraded the heater, because the one I had in there didn't seem to work all that well. I kept about 50% of the tank water and put that back in as well.

Mr. Cellophane seems to enjoy it so far.



















The red speckle on his tail is much more noticeable than it was yesterday. It gives him a bit of flare.

Also, two more pics of my dogs, because they are freaking adorable.

Lilee, in full stretch. She's just a little thing, about 4lbs on a good day, but she's awesome. She has this thing about stealing our shoes when we walk in the door and hiding them - it's her special way of telling us not to go away and leave her again. It's especially hilarious when she tries to steal my husbands shoes, or those of my sons - all three are size 13, so the shoes are bigger than she is.










And here is Bymkee, the super-snuggly bugapoo. Her favorite thing is to lie on top of me with her head right over my heart, belly exposed, so I can scratch it while she watches TV with me.


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## Laki (Aug 24, 2011)

Gah I love your dogs!! 

There are no Petco's in Atlantic Canada (thankfully), the PetSmart, PetsUnlimited and all the Pet Valu's only carry red/blue VT's, CT's and now some deltas and doubles in interesting colors. As for LFS, there is a new one just opened but it's too far away for me and from what I see on their FB group they focus on cichlids and angels so they most likely will only get the cheapest basic bettas too. That's fine, I'm not really looking for bettas right now, focusing on my gourami for the time being. I'm pretty sure if I got another tank my floor would collapse, and that's saying something because I only have a 20 and a 10! 

Sorry to hijack, your cellophanes tank looks so peaceful!


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## micheemak (Aug 8, 2015)

Laki, where in Atlantic Canada are you? My two oldest go to university at Acadia - in fact, my son is flying back on Monday. I love the east coast so much; would totally live there if I could. My dream is to retire there, in/near Portuguese Cove, where my grandmother used to live.  

What type of gouramis do you have? I have a couple of honey dwarfs in the big aquarium, and I've been eyeing the dwarf chocolates because of their size, mostly. I'll try to get a picture of the honeys and load them up tomorrow.

As to the pooches, they are pretty darn adorable. They're both 7 - Bym's is older by a few months, though. Lilee was very ill when we got her - we purchased her through Kijiji, and I honestly think she's a puppy mill dog. She was on meds for the first year we had her, and never really grew much bigger than she was when we first got her, so she always looks like a puppy. She's pretty healthy now, except she's got bad ears and mucky eyes, and she doesn't gain weight. When winter hits, I'll have to get pics of her in her sweaters and booties, it's ridiculous.

Anyway, on to the bettas!

Rollo's tank tends to get a lot of direct sunlight, so please ignore the algae. I have to do the walls of the tank once a day, and snapped this pic before I cleaned because Rollo was enthralled with his reflection.










Sheng, being adorable. He's getting really interesting purpley tips to his tail rays, along with some interesting reddish/brownish coloration shooting through the orange, and this picture picks it up pretty well. He had a bit of fin rot when I got him on his dorsal fin, but it's cleared up quite nicely. It's pretty hard to see in this picture.










Two shots of Mushashi, neither of which really capture how pretty he is. The first is taken in a dark room with just the tank light on, no flash on the camera. The red band against his body on his anal fin also repeats in the caudal, but I haven't been able to get a picture of him flaring yet. The second shot was taken with the flash on, aquarium and room lights off, so his blue looks really irridescent, and the outside edge of his fins looks pale turquoise, which they're not. However, they are opalescent when the light hits them right - the flash has just really exagerrated the effect.



















Here is how I've got Sesshomaru, Rollo and Betta Ray Bill set-up with their tanks - side by side. The majority of the time, there is a dark lighting gel between the tanks so they don't see each other all the time. I remove it once or twice a day so they can flare at each other. Sessh is pretty chill and mostly just ignores Rollo, who is in the middle. Betta Ray Bill, however, likes to show him who's boss. Water colors are different because of the lights - I've got two Zoo Med 18" LEDs on either side, and a clip on LED in the middle, which seems to have a white, cleaner light. Not sure which I prefer - will either replace the two Zoo Med's with clips, or replace the clip with another Zoo Med.










Upside down catfish hanging under the log. Wish he wasn't so shy - he's got interesting coloring and I really want to get a better picture of him.










Lastly, here is one of my older African Dwarf frogs (from Rollo's tank) chilling in the anubias.


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## Laki (Aug 24, 2011)

I'm in Dartmouth, NS right now. So the "dark side" of Halifax; Halifax is on the other side of the harbour. There are 2 bridges connecting. I like it here but I'm a Newfoundlander through and through. We just moved here 9 months ago, my partner is from Dartmouth we met at Memorial University in NL. I think Acadia is in NS but I'm not sure where. The east coast is awesome  Where is Portugese Cove?? 

I have honey gourami as well! I have 4 now, paired between two tanks. I love the coloring of males! The other 3 are beautiful yellows and I think the three of them are females. 

Poor Byn, chances are she was on kijiji because the original buyer couldn't handle the problems she got at the mill.  What a sin but she sure has a good life with you! I can't wait to get a dog again. We have the 2 cats and now one needs dental work done, plus I have a senior rabbit and we don't drive and we're renting so a dog isn't the best choice right now. Aw booties!! Does she mind wearing them? My terrier would wear them out of the house and then flick them all off as soon we left for a walk.


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## lilyrazen (Oct 25, 2009)

Your fish and your setups are AWESOME. Can't wait to get me own place to start a bigger collection. Your Betta Ray Bill could be my Mogar's brother!
Same coloring both in the light and with the flash, just Mogar has less red right now!


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## micheemak (Aug 8, 2015)

That impulse control problem I have - so not getting better! I ended up getting another betta today - a veil tail - that I currently have in a 2.5g set-up (was the tank I was using to dip my nets, and will become that tank again, but needed a temporary home). He was the only betta at the pet store where I go to get my dog food. They've never had fish in there before, and hopefully won't get them again. He was in a little plastic cup on top of the cash register, and I couldn't leave him there. They don't even sell betta food - just regular tropical fish flakes! The betta 'homes' they sell are those little stackable cubes! 

So, I brought him home. Cleaned out the net tank; stole plants from some of the other tanks, pulled out an extra heater I had for an up to 5g tank, and set him all up. 

I've decided to call him Smudge because of the red smudge on his face and top of his head. The rest of his body is very light blue/turoquoise and white - I originally thought more white, but once he settled down the blue really started to pop. 










Smudge's new home










Smudge checking things out and trying to determine if I'm friend or foe










Also, I took a pic of Betta Ray Bill today and noticed that his tail is split right down the center. This is not something I have every noticed before - I didn't think he was a doubletail - is it possible that he always has been, but that his tail is so long and flowy it just drapes in such a way I would have never noticed? Or could he have somehow split it? I'm a little freaked out.











And just because, a few more pics from today

Horus, wondering when it's going to be his turn for some blood worms










Peppermint, actually cooperating for a picture for a change










Sesshomaru










Lilee, cuddling in her comfy blanket and watching the Jays when the series today against Detroit!


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## Laki (Aug 24, 2011)

New boy is preeety!


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## micheemak (Aug 8, 2015)

Ended up getting a 10g to split earlier than anticipated because (of course) saw a new boy and FELL IN LOVE. I swear to all that is holy, the guys at my LFS know just how to get me - went in for some plants for the girl's tank, and they showed me my new fella, still in the bag, and asked me if I wanted him. 

Stupid question. *headdesk* They shouldn't be facilitating my addiction, because I believe that's illegal.

Moving Smudge into the other side with him. Just trying to figure out which tanks I'm stealing plants from, other than Smudge's tank, since he won't need them anymore.

Pictures to come; if my husband doesn't kill me. :lol:


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## micheemak (Aug 8, 2015)

So, as I mentioned, went to get some more plants for the girl's tank - specifically looking for some type of vallis, because they all seem to like that, and was also going to look at the java ferns and water sprite.

A box of bettas in those miserable little baggies was sitting on the service desk, so while one guy goes to get my plants, the other says - you should see this one betta we just got. You will love him.

Of course, I did. But I held firm. Said just came for the plants. Don't have any space for another betta right now. And I left to go grocery shopping.

Of course, while grocery shopping, I couldn't get the betta out of my mind. Started trying to figure out how I could manage another fish right now. Convinced myself that picking up a ten gallon a week before I actually was planning to was perfectly reasonable. I was planning on doing a split tank for Smudge and Mr. Cellophane anyway. However, Smudge only has a bubbler in his tank because there's no room for a filter; Mr. Cellophane has a filter, and also seems perfectly content in his three gallon. So maybe...for the sake of Smudge, just maybe I should get the 10g tonight, split it, put Smudge in a bigger tank with an actual filter and - OH YEAH - get that betta!

I am pretty sure they laughed at me when I walked back into the LFS to get the betta (still in his baggie), a 10g, a new sponge filter and some tubing.

So, got the tank set up, stole water from the other aquariums, switched out an established filter with the new one, stole plants from some other tanks including Smudge's old home, kept the Java fern I was planning on putting in the sorority tank... and voila!

The new split:










Smudge, checking things out:










My new fishie, Algernon:










I will try to get a better picture of him tomorrow, but he is a gorgeous peachy color with reddish highlights through his tale and BLUE eyes. I absolutely love him.

And, just because I had the camera out,

Rollo:










Mr. Cellophane:










Crazy!


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## InStitches (May 26, 2014)

congrats on your new fish! He is beautiful


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## micheemak (Aug 8, 2015)

Thank you - I'm still trying to get a good picture of him that really does him justice, because he's beautiful. He looks like a peach skin, with shots of red throughout. I'll be interested in seeing if that red becomes more dominant as he gets older.

In other news, I have a seriously stupid African Dwarf Frog. They're not the smartest of amphibians to begin with, but this one takes the cake. He loves to sit underneath the sponge filter and try to eat the odd bubble that escapes from the bottom of the sponge. I wish I could get a picture of it, or maybe a video, because it is seriously hilarious.

Not a lot of pictures tonight, since I've been running around all evening, but I did manage to snag two today I like. The first is of Mushashi, mid-flare. The white on his fins is really starting to turn a light turquoise - it wasn't just the flash the flash the other night; I'm noticing it more and more during the day as well. It's fascinating to watch! 










The second is a top view of Peppermint, mostly because I mentioned that none of the pics I've been able to snag of him so far really show off his red on white patterning - he tends to look more pinkish or red in the ones I've got so far - but I did take a good top view of him today while he was waiting impatiently for his food, and the red 'freckles' standout.










Lastly, because I seriously can not have a tank in my house without anything living in it, I picked up some pretty cherry shrimp today for the 2.5 gallon. Not a lot, just a few - we'll see how that goes. I'll try to get some pictures tomorrow; for tonight, I'm just letting them settle in.


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## BettaLover1313 (Apr 15, 2013)

You've got gorgeous fish! Subscribing.


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## micheemak (Aug 8, 2015)

Thanks BettaLover1313!

So, not quite as crazy around here tonight, which was nice. The LFS finally got a shipment of Jungle Vallis, so I picked some up to add to the girl's tank. I've got just a bit more to do in there, and then I'll be done.

Here's three different pics of the tank - a front view, and then the long view from either side (left first), which gives a neat perspective.




























Algernon has been building a bubble nest, but I couldn't get a picture of him with it, unfortunately. He seems to have camera radar and darts for the plants if he thinks I've got one in my hands. However, I did manage to get a couple of decent shots by tricking him into forgetting I was there.

I like the effect of the light in this picture - check out the blue ring around his eyes:










Here he is just floating in his tank. The shots of red through his tail are so pretty.










Here's a picture of Algernon and Smudge's split 10g:










Also managed to get two similar pictures from a couple of tanks of the African Dwarfs doing what frogs do.

The frogs in the sorority tank seem to have established the floating log as their home base. When I turned on the lights this morning, this guys was just snoozing up there.










Over in Musashi's tank, one of his frogs was actually hanging out on the dwarf water lettuce. He's the smallest one in the tank - to give a bit of perspective, the largest floater in the picture is just a bit larger than a quarter.










Mushashi's color is really getting richer - his blue is just stunning. I managed to get a good shot of him from the top when he was waiting for breakfast - check out that color!










And here's a top view of his and Peppermint's split from the top. I love their floating plants, and all the others in there. Everything is growing like crazy!










Another pic of Peppermint!










The Red Cherry Shrimp seem to be doing okay - I'll try to get pictures for tomorrow - they're fast little dudes, so everything so far has just been blurry. 

Betta Ray Bill's big split in his anal fin is slowly repairing itself. He's been coddled mercilessly since he ruined his tail - frozen daphnia, mysis shrimp and blood worms (not all three every day, but one or sometimes two of them a day), daily water changes...he's not going to know what to do with himself when he's back to normal and only getting his frozen treats every other day. I think he might go into a sulk.










I also did a water change and general clean of my 65g tank tonight:










The amano shrimp seemed to love it - especially this one:










I've got some baby guppies hanging by the filter - will try to get pictures of them soon. They're still pretty tiny. I'm rooting for them, but the honey dwarf gouramis have been looking a little chunky lately...

Lastly, two photos just for fun - Sessh, getting caught rolling around in his tank grass:










And a picture of a very angry baby bird that spent a few hours on my veranda about a month ago. I think it was some type of raptor, like a kestrel or a falcoln maybe? No idea, to be honest - never saw momma bird. Just made sure to keep the neighborhood kitties away until he decided it was time to move on...


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## micheemak (Aug 8, 2015)

Massive photo dump coming up, you have been warned.

First things first, inspired by the beautiful little girl FinnDublynn snagged, I was also motivated to try to find a little crowntail female. Got to pick her up today - she's adjusting well to her new tank, but she looks so tiny in it, it's a bit ridiculous. Had her floating for a very short period of time in her cup in the sorority tank, and I have to say I would never add another girl to that mix. The stress stripes and the flaring were over the top - if I'd put her in with them, they'd've torn her to pieces.

So, I think I'm going to call her Hoshi - but that could change. I'm still not 100% on it. These were taken earlier today, but she's starting to color up. I'll try to get better pics tomorrow.










She's got a cute little red cap on her head.










I also ended up picking up a little black orchid crowntail male. Haven't been able to get a pic of him yet - he's super stressed and in hiding. Will see if he's better tomorrow. I'm going to need a name for him as well - too hard to come up with something until I get an idea of what his personality is like.

It was also water change time tonight for the boys' tanks (except for Mr. Cellophane's, and the new 10g split with Smudge and Algernon). I decided to do a major clean of all the cubes, and rearrange plants. I also wanted to get Horus a piece of wood and get rid of the rocks. Some of the wood in the other tanks was pretty gross - ended up using a new toothbrush to clean off some of the slime and algae. Pics below.

Side by side of the cubes, after cleaning:










Sessh's new tank look - just a slight culling of plants and moving some around and/or out:










Sessh pouting in the back of his tank because he doesn't like the new look:










Rollo's new tank look:










I added a lot of new plants to Betta Ray Bill's tank in the hopes that they'll protect him from anything that might snag his tale, especially now that the split has started healing:










Horus' new tank look, with wood:










Horus making sure nothing is going to pop out at him when he's not paying attention:










I think he's been biting his anal fin. Not happy about that.










Hopefully, the new decor will distract him enough that he stops. It would be just my luck to have a beautiful mustard gas that eats his fins.

I spent about 4.5 hours cleaning and rearranging everything, so we'll see how the boys react. I smell like tank water, but once the tanks settle, they're going to look great.


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## micheemak (Aug 8, 2015)

When I was cleaning and rearrange the 10g cubes yesterday, I came to the realization that the bristol board I was using to card between the tanks was not going to work. It was getting wet all the time and then sticking to the sides and hard to slide in and out for when I did want the boys to see each other and flare.

I ended up going to the Dollarama and got four plastic ventricular placements with an image of a pond on them. I need to find my paper cutter so I can trim them to size, but I think they'll work well. They'll be a little short, but I only need them to go down to where the substrate starts anyway. I have four of them so that none of the boys has to look at the back of a placemat, and I've got them in there for now even though they're a bit too wide. They seem to be exactly what I needed.

This is what the placemat looks like:










Got some better pictures of the new miss today as well. Decided against the name Hoshi because it doesn't really suit her, so suggestions are welcome.



















Also got a new baby boy. Also currently nameless.










I will try to get better pics of him tomorrow. He's not settling in as well as the little girl, so pictures have been difficult.

For the heck of it, here's a picture of the slightly revamped Peppermint/Musashi split:










Also got a couple of nice ones today of Mr. Cellophane. He seems to have a favorite spot under an Anubias leaf, but he's a bit too big for the plant.










Making sure he didn't miss a blood worm:










Algernon and Smudge's split - added some new plants, and had to take out Algernon's little faux rock bridge because he somehow managed to break it. (WTH?) When I went to feed him this morning, it was lying on it's side in two pieces. I have NO IDEA what happened, but it's very odd.










Here's an Amano shrimp in the 65g. I fed them all spirulina flakes for breakfast today, and he obviously got his fair share since he's turned greenish-blue.










Lastly, my baby girl, trying to intimidate me and show me who's boss.


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## micheemak (Aug 8, 2015)

Happy Labour Day long weekend!

Just a few quick pics today - Sesshomaru finally decided to build a bubble nest, and it's crazy looking and takes up about 80% of the surface of his tank with plants.










Sessh still blowing:










Horus' new favorite spot in his tank is draping himself over the wood. 










However, the wood has gotten a bit of a white algae coat.  I know it will disappear on it's own, it just looks funky.










Here he is just showing off










One of the snails has decided to bury himself in the substrate. Keeping an eye and hopefully he starts moving again soon.










Lastly, two new pictures of Pip, my new baby girl. She's got crazy spunk!



















Still trying to get a really good picture of Nix!


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## micheemak (Aug 8, 2015)

I have a feeling it's going to be one of those weeks. Just a frustrating day all around - crazy at work, back to school for my lone chick still in the next, university goings-on for the other two, and HOT. Literally, I feel like I'm melting.

Even my fish got in on the action - Betta Ray Bill has some weird white spot just above his eye that showed up over night (posted for help in Diseases and Emergency thread, if any cares to take a look and offer a suggestion), and one of my snails somehow managed to get out of the tank (despite the lid) and almost killed himself. He's back where he should be now, and seems to be no worse for wear, but he's lucky I found him.

So, just a few pictures for tonight - I find taking pics of the fishies very relaxing, but also trying to watch the Jays game, which isn't conducive to even mediocre photography.

First, Betta Ray Bill - despite his weirdo eye issue, everything else is moving along well. He's got lots of new fin regrowth, which I am happy about. His daily water changes are going well, and he seems to be enjoying them. Plus he really likes all his new plants.










And hiding in his log - as if I can't see him peeking out at me!










Rollo, showing off his so-much-longer-than-anything else anal fin. 










He's not the most perfectly formed fish, but I love his little finny quirks. Here he is, also in his log.










Last two of Sesshomaru, almost the exact same picture, but one is with flash and the other is just with his blue LEDs on.



















Still haven't been able to get a good one of Nix. I guess there's always tomorrow.


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## micheemak (Aug 8, 2015)

Had to clean out Mr. Cellophane's crappy little tank tonight, as practially overnight it developed a crazy hair algae problem. Seriously, noticed *a bit* of hair algae yesterday, took it out of the tank and gave it to my amano shrimps who went crazy on it, and went to bed.

Got up this morning, it looked like the water was full of thin green spider webs. I wish I'd thought to take a picture, because I've honestly never seen anything like it. Poor Mr. Cellophane - I don't know how he managed to swim through it. Had to cup him until I could clean it during my lunch break (I work out of my house, luckily) but he's back in there now, and feeling much better with it.


I also managed to snag a shot of Peppermint (mostly) flaring, and got another nice picture of Rollo. 










Rollo, trying to get my attention by being adorable. It's working. 


Last pic is of Turbo, the mystery snail in Algernon's tank.


In other news, I seem to have a bit of a Guppy explosion in my 65g. I shouldn't be surprised, because I have a fair amount of guppies in there, but I don't keep nurseries. In the past, I've had a few babies make it to adulthood, never enough to overwhelm my tank, and just enough that as the odd fish succumbs to old age/illness/whatever I don't need to go to the LFS to replace.

In other words, I don't get why all of a sudden there is roughly 8-10x more fry in my tank then I've ever noticed before (I got up to 25 babies before I lost count today, obviously all born at 3 different times). I have the same amount of plants, the same type of fish, so what's going on? I'm going to have to go in there this weekend and see what I can catch and pull out, because they're going to overwhelm my tank. And then what do I do with them? They're too little to sell to the LFS, and if I split them up and put them with the bettas they'll be dinner post-haste. Not that I wasn't expecting most of them to be dinner anyway, but that part of it has always been 'outside my notice', as it were. Once I pull these babies out, I'll have a relationship with them, so I can't give them to the bettas.

Suggestions, anyone? I'm stumped.

edited to add - pictures loading weird. If you click on the smaller ones, they'll expand.


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## micheemak (Aug 8, 2015)

I'm not sure whether I like the first week back to school or not. Seems to me that every year, first week costs skyrocket! Had to go up to the local art store to get some items for a big art project my son has due next month, and $100 later he still doesn't have everything AND he informs me this is one of THREE major projects he has this semester. Not happy.

On a brighter note, I saw a Walking Stick on the art easel on display, and managed to get a picture of it. It's literally been years since I've seen one.










Managed to get two semi-good pics of Nix tonight. He starting to settle down a bit, but still goes and hides when I get too close to his tank. He's a bit of a spazz, but he's eating now - so there's that at least. He's only in a 2.5g, but will be upgrading when I get my new 20g long and split it. He's really not that big yet, so the 2.5g leaves him with plenty of room.



















Broke up some more plants and was able to adjust the sorority tank a little bit. Girls are all fat and sassy. It was blood worms for dinner today, so the little piggies went to town - they're looking a bit rounder than normal.










Pip's tank - the plants have really taken off in it, and Pip seems happy. Will try to get a picture of her tomorrow. She's loving just draping herself all over the plants, and also appears to have a fondness for lying on top of her sponge filter, which is adorable. She is a teeny little thing, flares everytime someone looks at her, and eats her blood worms like she'll never get another as long as she lives. I absolutely adore her.










Last, the sorority's mystery snail seems to love the terra cotta pot in the tank. Ends up in there every night!


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## micheemak (Aug 8, 2015)

My lights that I order finally came in, so I am excited. Will be getting them set-up tomorrow! Still trying to figure out the best way to consolidate the majority of the bettas into my new office, so that I don't have small tanks all over the house. The freaking stands I've been looking at so expensive. 

Had a great time watching the Jays whoop the Yankees tonight - I think I will need to name one of my new bettas Bautista when they finally arrive, or perhaps Edwin...or maybe both. LOL. I had a little black cat many years ago that I got the last time the Jays won the world series (1993) and named her Paul Molitor (Molly for short), so there is a precedent there...

Sessh has been going nuts with his bubble nest building lately. Caught him today working at it:










He wasn't too impressed with me about that:










I noticed he's got an odd little bump on his side - it doesn't seem to be bothering him, but I'm going to have to keep and eye and see if it gets bigger.

Is it terrible to say that he's my favorite betta? I love all of them, of course, but there's something about Sessh that just gets to me. I think he's my sole-mate (rimshot here)

Was playing around with the settings of my phone camera today and trying to get a picture of my dog Bymkee, who was curled up on the sofa watching the ball game with me. Managed to get one before Lilee decided to get in on the action via sneak-attack photobomb.



















A good friend had to put her dog down the other day, one a year younger than my girls, and one I've known since she was just a puppy. The dog had a freak accident and somehow broke her back just below her front legs while playing. Was unable to eat or even go to the bathroom by herself - it was awful. I've been feeling particularly emotional over my doggies ever since. What a terrible way to lose a beloved pet! Extra treats and cuddles all around, and when Lilee snuck up on my bed pillow, I didn't even make her move. 

Anyway, good night to anyone reading this. Hope you all have healthy pets you love to pieces, and that they stay that way!


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## micheemak (Aug 8, 2015)

Great sale at Canadian Tire this weekend on their heavy duty Mastercraft shelving! We picked up a unit this afternoon and we're going to put it together tomorrow. Trying to consolidate all the betta tanks into one room, including my new 20g long aquarium for my new boys, which should be arriving this month sometime.

I'm excited to see how this works! Will take pictures tomorrow, if everything goes according to plan.


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## micheemak (Aug 8, 2015)

Spent what feels like the whole day building shelves and moving fish tanks around, as I set up my new office!

With my oldest daughter off at university for three years now, I figured it was finally time to upgrade my office out of my bedroom and into hers, and also wanted to consolidate the fishies as much as possible into one place.

Managed to accomplish the first part, and almost accomplished the second.

Here's my new desk, with Sesshomaru's tank on the corner:










Here's the Mastercraft shelving unit from Canadian Tire. Each shelf can hold up to 330lbs - and the whole thing was on sale for $50. Very happy with this, as the other unit we were looking at would have cost over $200. I've got this set-up along the wall to the left of my desk.










That 20g long on the top left is new - I bought it in preparation for the new bettas hopefully arriving this month. I still need to put dividers in and purchase a heater that will fit with them, but overall I am pretty happy with it. PLUS I've been able to retire that crappy little acrylic 3g that I hated - Mr. Cellophane is in the new tank, swimming around like he owns the ocean.










I almost hate the thought of putting in the dividers, but I suppose he'll adjust when it happens. In the meantime, I keep telling him to live it up!

The 20g sorority tank is on the cube bookshelf to the right of my desk.










I managed to get a couple of nice shots of Sheng and Nix flaring - they didn't like all the moving around, so were pretty much full flare most of the afternoon.



















Pip was also out, getting her shark on. She's on the top right shelf on the left side of Sheng's tank; Nix is on the right.










Peppermint and Mushasis are on the bottom left - I had them cupped while I was moving things around:










Algernon and Smudge are on the bottom right:










We obviously left the 65g on the main level. I also ran out of room on the shelves for Betta Ray Bill, Rollo and Horus, so they are all still in my old bedroom office. I think I'm going to keep them in there, just get them moved out of that corner and more into the seating 'nook' area of the room. That will be next weeks challenge!

All my hard work exhausted Lilee. She decided to play a game we like to call "Ou est le chien?"










There she is!


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## micheemak (Aug 8, 2015)

Had to remove Bellatrix, one of the female bettas, from my sorority tank today as she's decided to turn into Cujo and terrorize everything else in the tank. Guess it serves me right for naming her after a crazy, murdering psycho witch. The other girls were obviously stressed out, and I was afraid death/dismemberment would be forth coming. She's in the 3.5g I was cycling for one of the new bettas when they arrive, so I'm not sure what I'm going to do now. She definitely won't be going back into the big tank - I'm pretty sure that if I had to work out of the house, I would come home one day to a tank full of dead girls and serial-killer Bellatrix swimming around like she owned the tank.

Once I got her out, things settled down and the girls got back to normal and the stress stripes calmed down. I treated them to blood worms and mysis shrimp, which they enjoyed.

Here's a few pictures I managed to get




























Couldn't get the other two girls to stay still long enough to get a good picture - they were too busy enjoying being able to swim around the tank again without fear of the demon betta ripping their fins off.

The frogs in the tank really enjoyed the blood worms and shrimp as well










Sheng kept looking at me like 'Where's my blood worms, wench?'










Also, just thought I'd share how much I enjoy the white and blue LED clamp lamps I have for the 10g cubes. At night time, I really like the way they make my tank look in a darkened room. The colors are very cool.










Fingers crossed the girls will settle down with Bellatrix moved out! Wish me luck!


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## micheemak (Aug 8, 2015)

Started off this evening with a water change for the 65g freshwater tropicals - tank is looking good, and the fish are all doing great. Lots of baby guppies swimming around - I'm going to have to start pulling some of them out, but for now they're too hard to catch and little enough that they're not throwing off the water parameters yet.










Also got the new 20g divided, and moved Peppermint and Algernon in with Mr. Cellophane, leaving Mushashi and Smudge in the 10g splits on their own for now.










Mr. Cellophane has calmed down significantly over the course of the evening since I split the tank up. He seems to do much better in smaller spaces vs. larger spaces. I think the 20g on his own was overwhelming him. Here he is resting underneath his Anubias.










Peppermint is in the middle section since he's the most chill.










I still haven't been able to get a picture worthy of how beautiful Algernon actually is. His colors are just magnificant.










My black orchid crowntail Nix HATED all the hub-bub and flared non-stop the whole time things were being changed around.










Managed to get a couple of nice shots of Horus and Rollo (with flash). Horus likes to hang around the front of his tank in the evenings waiting to be fed. He likes to eat.










Rollo is like a chameleon color-wise - he's normally copper-silver-greenish, but the flash brought out some nice bronze colors in his tail...










Lastly, here's a pic of Bellatrix in her new home. She's not happy and keeps attacking the glass. So glad I took her out of the sorority when I did - I'm pretty sure the other girls would have been dead by now.










Really enjoying my new office set-up! Love having most of the bettas in the one room, and enjoy watching them while working. They're like my therapy.


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## lilyrazen (Oct 25, 2009)

Your office/tank room is to die for. That's something straight out of my dreams. Maybe one day, after college, I'll have something even remotely similar...


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## micheemak (Aug 8, 2015)

> Your office/tank room is to die for. That's something straight out of my dreams.


Thanks Lilyrazin! It is pretty nice, I must admit. I'm a bit bummed I can't get Horus, Betta Ray Bill, Rollo and Bellatrix in there, but I would need another wall. Either that, or take the twin bed out to free up the space and make my daughter sleep on the sofa when she comes home at Christmas...

hmmm....:lol::lol:


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## micheemak (Aug 8, 2015)

*posting from my Samsung mobile phone*

I am so bad. Just bought another 5.5g tank and three more bettas. Husband actively aiding and abetting my insanity. Will post pics tonight.

Somebody stop me.


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## BettaLover1313 (Apr 15, 2013)

The betta bug is a vicious thing I tell you. I'm sure if I had the money/room there would be more bettas (and some other fish) in my room/throughout my home XD. 

At least your husband supports your hobby


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## micheemak (Aug 8, 2015)

> At least your husband supports your hobby


True - today HE was the instigator.

So, this is what happened today. We had to go to PetSmart to get the dried beef dog treats my puppies love, and OF COURSE I had to look at the bettas. I'm not normally a fan of veil tails, having only one that I had to rescue because I felt so bad for him - that would be Smudge.

Anyway, I saw this beautiful purplish bodied, reddish finned VT and of course, he made eye contact and I fell in love. BUT I wasn't going to get him, because I'd just set up my tanks and had only enough spots left for the three bettas I have coming from Renasfishstore.ca.

Hubby says, "If you like him, get him."

Me: "I love him, but no room."

Hubby: "What about the spaces you just opened up the other day?"

Me: "Those are for the fish I ordered."

Hubby: "Couldn't you just get another tank when they come in?"

Me: "...!!!"

Hubby: "It's obvious you want him. Hey, look - this 5.5g is on sale. We could put him in that and move the empty stand back into the office for it."

SO, fish number one purchased, along with the new tank. I had plants I could pull from other tanks, but none of the substrate I like, so off we go to Big Al's. Hubby comes in the store with me, and OF COURSE, I need to look at the bettas. (You can see where this is going.)

Hubby: "Why don't you have a red betta?"

Me: "I don't know. Haven't really seen one that captured me yet."

Hubby: "I think you should get a red betta."

Girl who works at Big Al's: "We have some nice ones that came in the other day that aren't out yet. Wanna see them?"

Me: "...!!!"

Hubby and I are sorting through the bags. I find a pretty little crowntail that's mostly red but with an amazing purple wash of color on his body. I am in love. Hubby finds a reddish orange delta tail in one of those teeny little bags. He shows him to me.

Hubby: "This guy's pretty. And he's pretty active, considering this bag is so tiny. I feel bad for him. You should get him."

Me: "But if I fill up the two open spots in the 10g splits, I'm going to need to figure out something else for before my other three fish arrive."

Hubby: "Don't you have a bonus coming soon? Maybe you could get another 20g long and split it, and just rearrange the tanks in your office a bit."

Me: "...!!!"

Hubby: "You should get them. You know you want to. But this will be it - no more bettas once the other three arrive. Promise."

Me: "Done."

So, walked out of Big Al's with two more bettas.

*headdesk*

Let me introduce you!

My lovely VT is now sharing the 10g split with Smudge. His name is Orpheus:










Here's his tank:










It didn't take him long to get the adorable going:










This is Ixion - he is sharing the 10g split with Mushashi.










Ixion's tank:










Ixion's frog, suspicious of his new tank mate:










Mushashi could care less about the entire business:










Ixion, posing for the camera:










Last but not least, Atticus. I will try to get better pictures of him tomorrow - his tank is still a bit cloudy, and the light that came with it blows, so it's hard to see the beautiful irridescent wash on his body.

Atticus' tank:










Atticus being shy:










Atticus trying to be stealthy:










Nix, who normally flares any time I do anything to any of the tanks in here was super chill, relaxing on his favorite leaf the whole time I was sorting things out.










...and the only thing Pip cares about is when she gets to eat next.










Lastly, a pic of Mr. Cellophane, who is making me a little crazy with the picky eating. I FINALLY got him to eat something other than frozen foods today, but man, it took a lot of work. I ended up crushing his pellets, adding a bit of garlic juice, adding a bit of salmon oil from a can of salmon I made up at lunch time, and some of the Omega buffet flakes. Pounded it all together and then made my own pellets from the mix. BUT IT WORKED! Hallelujah. I made enough to last a couple of days, but I have a feeling I'm going to be eating a hellalot of canned salmon for the next little while. 

Here he is, top view, after finally eating. Look at his skinny little body. Fingers crossed that we've finally jumped a hurdle together!


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## BettaLover1313 (Apr 15, 2013)

I feel like you should have made him promise not to be an instigator for buying more fish lol.

Beautiful new additions!


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## micheemak (Aug 8, 2015)

BettaLover1313, if I made him promise that, he would follow through. LOL.

So, I did get some better pics of the new boys today, plus a few of the other bettas.

Before I get to the bettas, just a few nice pics of the other inhabitants sharing the betta tanks.

An African Dwarf Frog in Sesshomaru's tank - first is from the side, second if from the top. You can just see his head peeking out between the floaters.



















The Snail in Mr. Cellophane's tank:










Mr. Cellophane, who has suddenly decided he loves to eat pellets and his new best friend is me. When I first got him he only had one little red spot at the base of his tail, but now he's got more. I didn't realize how much more until I managed to get a good look at him today when he was flirting with me.

From today: 










The day after I bought him:










I cannot wait to see how much more he changes.

Smudge, the VT who shares the 10g split with my new VT Orpheus.










Orpheus - his colors have already darkened up after just one day. He really is pretty, and this picture does not showcase that as much as it should.










My SD, Ixion:










He's not happy with me. I noticed planaria worms in his tank today, which I've never had before. Trying to figure out where they had come from, realized his snail had died. Not happy. Had to jar him, jar Musashi, jar the frogs, remove the snail on Musashi's side, take out the plants and vacuum the heck out of the gravel. Ended up doing a 50% water change, and will have to probably do it again for the next few days to ensure I got all the damn things out. Grrr...

My handsome Peppermint, challenging Algernon.










Algernon, mocking him.










Seriously, Algernon never flares for anything. Mr. Cellophane would probably respond more to Peppermint's showboating, but Peppermint ignores him and focuses solely on Algernon. You always want the one you can't have...

Pip's tank - her plants have taken off!










Finally, a semi-decent picture of Atticus, my new crowntail. He was feeling more confident today. The wash of color he gets over the red is very pretty - in some lights, it's a really deep purple.










His tank, now with clear water. He still needs a better light though.










Lastly, Sesshomaru, looking particular pinkish today. 










Anyone have any suggestions for an algea eater/bottom feeder for a 10g split? I don't want to get another snail for Ixion's side, but I do need to have something in with him. Help?


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## micheemak (Aug 8, 2015)

So tired today! Watching the Jays game all by my lonesome since hubby has night shift and youngest kiddo is at the game LIVE...so jealous.

Don't have a lot to post today, just checking in. Trying to commit to journaling, even if it is just a bunch of photos, mostly to ensure that the fish get lots of extra attention and nothing slips through the cracks. 

Did another clean of Ixion and Musashi's tank to try to get the planria infestation under control. Musashi is still in hiding, and not a happy camper about the whole kerfluffle. 

Ixion was also not impressed. However, on the bonus side, having his tank messed with has made him grumpy so he's been getting his flare on - and I managed to get two pictures of him that I like. He really is a good looking boy - hubby has good taste.

First pic is of him just flaring in general. The second is of him flaring specifically at me, which was hilarious. Even bribery with blood worms couldn't appease him.



















Smudge has darkened up since I got him - he used to be much more turquoise, but his blue is almost a royal blue now - his face is still red though.










This pic of Algernon shows his coloring really well, even though he's a bit blurry. The background is remarkably sharp though, for some reason. His anubias is really looking good.










Lastly, Lilee decided to get in on the picture action. She is a very jealous little girl, who demands all my attention.


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## micheemak (Aug 8, 2015)

Had to clean Horus, Rollo and Betta Ray Bill's tanks last night, and decided to take pictures afterwords since I haven't really done any recently with those particular boys.

Managed to snag some cute shots of Horus, in particular. He has a favorite spot in his tank, between his log and some valis that presses up against it - he likes to sleep there. I think the grass supports him against the side of the log, but it always makes me think he's tucking himself in. His tank was done first, so while I was doing the other two, he got himself all situated and luckily I had my camera ready, because I've never been able to snag a picture of this yet.

Here he is 'tucked' into his spot:










Not to happy that I took a picture of it:










Trying not to think about how much he wants to go back to his spot:










Gazing longingly at his spot and cursing me out silently for not getting the hint and leaving him alone:










Rollo tends to choose a spot and stay there for ages after a water change, just floating. I only managed to get one picture of him, because he literally would not move.










Betta Ray Bill hangs out near the bottom for a bit, before deciding to check things out:



















His fins are looking better, but he's obviously a biter. Trying to fix that, but no luck so far.










Also got a picture of Sesshomaru's frog, Jaken - he likes to hang out on/near the floating log, just barely in the water. He was up there yesterday for about 30 minutes or so while I was working, trying to distract me.










And lastly, I have Mystery Snail babies! They're in Betta Ray Bill's tank, which has a couple of assassin snails to control a little bladder snail explosion I had. The Mystery snail that was in there died a day or two before I put the AS in, but these are definately Mystery snails. Don't know if the picture is good enough for you to tell by the shape/color of the shell, as I couldn't get a better close-up. As I see them (they are very tiny still), I pick them off the glass and put them in a different tank.


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## micheemak (Aug 8, 2015)

I was gifted another betta fish today.

I feel like whispering it, because I am quickly coming to the realization I have a problem, and probably need intervention and some type of 12 step program before I get things under control.

This one is not actually my fault - my hubby got him for me, along with a pretty nice 3.6g bowfront tank that only cost him $22 because the filter was missing a clip. Gave him to me at lunch time. He's absolutely gorgeous - the color of those dark pink flamingoes you sometimes see on nature programs or in the tropics. He's got a couple of darker spots on his body - I am hoping they don't cause him to change color because WOW - he is stunning. I've got him set up on my desk for now, on the other side of my computer. He won't be staying there - I need more shelving - but it's good for now.

I've named him Mesmer!





































Also, because he's been making me laugh all afternoon - Sesshomaru seems to be pretty enamoured of himself today. He's taken to artfully draping himself on his driftwood at different points around the tank and staring at his reflection in the glass. No flaring; just deep, soulful, meaningful eye-contact with himself. It's hilarious. I think I should have named him Hyacinth.


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## BettaLover1313 (Apr 15, 2013)

Ixion was a great find! Absolutely gorgeous! Great choice of name for Mesmer, he is stunning. lol to Sesshomaru being silly


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## micheemak (Aug 8, 2015)

Got two new really beautiful male swordtails for my 65g today - they're extreme lyre tail sword tails. Very zippy - it's hard to get good pictures of them because they are all over the place. Their tails are just WOW - super long, really ethereal - just gorgeous. 

The first is this marvelous little black lyre tail sword tail - he's got a few purplish scales throughout his body.










Here's the orange one:










Nothing much on the betta front tonight - they're all doing great, but I didn't do any pictures, other than one of Mesmer just to compare today's pink to yesterday's. He is definately darkening up, but the color is blowing my mind!










Good night one and all!


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## micheemak (Aug 8, 2015)

Had to get the tanks in my office cleaned before the Jays game started - missed the first inning and the Ray's already have two hits? WTH?

Anyway, I ended up a rescuing a betta much earlier today - long story, posted elsewhere - but I'm still fuming a bit about the whole thing to be honest.

His fins are a mess, but he's enjoying his tank and his color is already improved significantly since he's went into his little tank. I think with lots of water changes, regular feedings and a little TLC, he's going to be stunning. I can't wait to see what type of tail he has.

I've decided to name him Dracarys.










Some pics of my other boys from a few of the tank cleanings earlier.

Nix, flaring at the turkey baster:










Smudge, flaring at Orpheus on the other side of the divider:










Orpheus, flaring (sorta) right back at him:










Atticus, hiding against his plant. I love the purpley wash on his body.










Mesmer - check out his little freckles. I *HOPE* they don't take over his body and change his coloring, because that would be very sad. He was not a fan of the water change or the turkey baster. However, he was a fan of the bloodworms that followed the clean tank.










Didn't get pics of Mr. Cellophane, Peppermint, Algernon, Ixion, Musashi, Pip or Sesshomaru because JAYS GAME. Will try to get some tomorrow.

Wish me luck with Dracarys!

Go Jays!


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## BettaLover1313 (Apr 15, 2013)

Good luck with Dracarys. Poor guy looks like he's been through the ringer.

Mesmer is a lovely shade of pink, I agree with you not wanting him to change colors.


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## micheemak (Aug 8, 2015)

Crazy day today - so much running around; tons of errands to do, CRAZINESS.

However, a few lucky breaks were caught!

First, the Mastercraft shelving was on sale again, so we picked up another unit for the rest of my aquariums. $50 for 6 feet long worth of shelving, two levels = can't be beat. May put it together tomorrow afternoon and rearrange the tanks slightly in the office so I can get Horus, Rollo and Betta Ray Bill in with me during the day. Will take pics if it happens.

Second: Big Al's was having a tent sale today, and since I practically live there anyway, we went to check things out. Found a GREAT RIMLESS 20g for $22 - it was cheap because the glass lid broke and they can't get a replacement. But I can get one cut for $7, so hello new tank!









(sorry the picture is upside down!)

The plan now is to move the sorority into this tank, split the 20g long they're currently in for the three fish coming from Renasfishstore.ca, and THAT WILL BE IT for bettas/tanks.

Third, hubby wanted to go to the Hock Shop and check out the old 60s comic books that they have. I went to a particularly crappy little pet store at the mall just to see what they had while waiting for him and I found *TWO* 25w adjustable Marineland thermostats on a clearance table because the store is getting out of aquarium supplies. These were regularly $32.99, marked down to $19.99 and than 50% off that price! TWO ADJUSTABLE THERMOSTATS for $20!!!!! SO HAPPY.

Didn't get Horus, Rollo or Betta Ray Bill's tanks done today, but will do tomorrow after I know if I'll be able to move them into the office to the new shelving unit, because will have to empty the tanks beforehand anyway, so trying to kill two birds with the one stone.

In the meantime, some pictures from fishies I missed yesterday because of the Jays game, plus some extras of other fishies, just because.

Atticus, taken with a flash so that the purpley-wash overlaying his red would show up. His fins are deep red, so the contrast is amazing.










Mr. Cellophane, whose fins continue to turn red. Eventually, I might have to rename him - especially since I don't believe he'll be a cellophane for much longer. I'm thinking Houdini...










Musashi, who is also loosing the white band on his fins to an overall tealy-blue color:










Algernon - I can never seem to get a non-blurry picture of him for some reason. I noticed today that he's got a couple of thin shimmery blue stripes just starting to show in his fins. What's up with so many of my boys developing new colors?










My wonderful Mesmer, spazzing out about his new heater:










Couldn't get any good pics of Peppermint or Ixion - but there's always tomorrow!

Lastly, Dracarys seems to be settling into his little tank very well. I've added plants for him to help filter the water since the darn thing is too small for an actual sponge filter. I've got the tank sitting on the end of the bookshelf the 20g long is on, and had to throw up a block to keep him from trying to flare his ragged wee fins at the girls all day. As soon as his fins heal up, I'll upgrade him to something nicer. He's doing very well, though - settling in nicely. Gobbled up his blood worms last night and had some mysis shrimp today - not eating pellets though. His color has really brightened up a lot. Here's a picture of his tank and the best one I could get of him hiding in his plants. Will try to get a better one tomorrow - want to track his fin regrowth, and won't be able to if he hides in his plants everytime I take a picture!


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## Julie7778 (Mar 20, 2015)

WOw! I love your fish, so beautiful. Wow I've never seena rimless in big als! Which location are you?


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## micheemak (Aug 8, 2015)

We go to the Big Al's in Barrie the most, but have also been to the one in Newmarket and Vaughn - I've seen rimless at all three, but the one in Barrie was the tent sale this weekend.

Will have pictures of it up and running tomorrow - there's no light yet, but it's got water and a few plants in it now. I need to get a sponge filter for it as well, but in the meantime have an old HOB for a 10 g on it - not big enough, but will keep the water moving until I get the sponge. There are no fish in it yet either. I'm determined this time to keep it fish-free until the new boys arrive.

Posted in a different thread earlier about my poor Mesmer - he got caught up in the crappy HOB filter in his aquarium and his beautiful fins were shredded. He's out of there now, and in a Fluval Spec V, which is where he will be staying. HOpefully his fins heal up quickly, and his color comes back. Right now, he's the color of old salmon.










His new tank. Filter is on the lowest setting, has been baffled with sponge and filter floss from the inside and the flow seems very calm. However, he will be getting a sponge filter in here sooner rather than later.










In other news, little Dracarys seems to be doing well. His color is a very deep red with blue irridesence on his scales. His fins are still a mess - his caudal fins in particular are mostly rays about half way up. I haven't been able to get a good picture of this yet, but it's very sad. He likes to hide in his plants when I pull out the camera, the little brat. When I don't have the camera, he's Mr. Personality; with the camera, he's a wallflower. He eats like a beast, though - so I guess that's a good thing?


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## micheemak (Aug 8, 2015)

Sometimes I just want to run away. 

On that positive note, Dracarys is coming along swimmingly (ha.HA.ha). He's a really pretty dark red, the color of a nice wine. Hubby says I should have called him Merlot. I've moved him into Mesmer's old tank for now, but managed to rejig my airpumps and sponge filters to replace the HOB filter that was in there. He seems to like it. Not sure how long he'll stay in there, as I've been thinking of switching Mesmer back in, but we shall see. His fins are already starting to look better.










All other bettas doing very well, except for Mesmer - he is still pale and stressed from his ordeal yesterday, but he is eating - so there's that.

My little Lilee was sick today - very sore and yelped when I picked her up earlier, an also had the vomits and diarrhea, which wasn't fun at all. Kept her off her foods and only water for the day, and tomorrow will start her on brown rice and baked ground hamburger. She isn't the healthiest of doggies and never has been (pretty sure she's a puppy mill dog), so we go through this at least a couple of times a year, but it's so heartbreaking to see. Had to give her a warm bath to clean her up and she's snuggled up in bed with hubby right now.

Have a good night everyone!


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## micheemak (Aug 8, 2015)

I am so glad tomorrow is Friday, I can't even begin to explain.

Mesmer is slowly but surely getting back on track after his scare a couple of days ago. I am going to switch him back into his regular tank on the weekend, and see how he does with a sponge filter. He won't stick around for a picture, so I'm hoping getting him back in familar surroundings will make him less skittish.

This means Dracarys will officially be moving into the Fluval Spec V. I think he will do well there - it's been really amazing watching him improve the last couple of days; he's a gorgeous fish and very inquisitive. He notices everything, and will literally come and pick food right out of my hand. His tail is looking better too - it's really amazing how resilient Bettas are! I can't wait until his tail is fully healed and I can figure out what type of tail type he is.










Speaking of resilient, Pip is still swimming along, none the worse for wear from her escape from her aquarium. Not sure how long she was out of water and on the floor, but she wasn't even slightly wet anymore when I found her, so I am AMAZED that she survived. No pics, because she won't stay still. Maybe tomorrow.

Will for sure post pictures of the 20g rimless tomorrow as well - just keep forgetting to take a shot before it gets dark, as I don't have a light for it yet and the flash bounces of the front of the tank. Picked up some more Valis tonight, so will be getting that all planted tomorrow. It's floating in the tank right now.

Mr. Cellophane seems to be picking up more and more red by the day. When I first got him, he only had one little red freckle at the base of his tail, and now his fins are shot through with red. He's also gotten over his nervousness completely, and is the first to greet me in the mornings when I come into my office. He's really adorable!










Here's a picture of Rollo I got the other day - it's a bit blurry, but what can you do. He's got such a stocky little body compared to my other fish, it's kinda ridiculous, but his copper coloration continues to spellbind.










My mustard gas, Horus, seems to be picking up a more royal blue tone to his tail - and he's got lots of wild spots coming out. I can't get him to flare all that often, as his finnage is ridiculous and heavy. I'm thinking he might be a rosetail, or at least closer to that then to a half moon. He always makes me think of those ruffled tuxedo shirts that were all the rage in the 70s for some reason...










My dog Lilee is still not 100%, but getting there. She's going to get lots of love and attention this weekend; lots of lap time for her!

Good night and good luck!


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## Innerbeauty (Jul 31, 2014)

What a beautiful bunch of cuties!!!!

How is Pip doing? I just read the post about her in the emergencies section, I don't know how I missed that....


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## micheemak (Aug 8, 2015)

Pip is doing well, thanks for asking! She's bounced right back, apparently none-the-worse for being a fish out of water at all. I will try to get some pictures of her later, if she will just chill the heck out and stay still for a few seconds!


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## micheemak (Aug 8, 2015)

So much going on today, I don't even know where to begin. 

I guess I'll start with the fact that I put my sorority into the new rimless tank. They had told me at Big Al's it was around 20g, but it took almost 6 full 4g jugs of treated water to fill it the other day, so I measured it up and did the online calculator for it, and it's actually 24.33g! I decided that instead of splitting that into two, I would just switch the sorority over - so far so good. I need a few more plants and a light, but it looks pretty good.










I moved Horus, my mustard gas, out of his 7g cube into the 20g long for now. He's loving the space. I'll be dividing it up this weekend to hold two other bettas, but for now it's all his.










Because his 7g was free, I decided to give it a good vacuuming and did an 80% water change, and moved Dracarys into it. I am really loving this little guy - I'm already seeing regrowth on his fins, and I'm so glad I managed to get him despite Petsmarts totally bogus policy of not selling sick fish. I would say he's definately a crowntail, so I've basically gone from having no 'mostly red' bettas to having several in the span of two weeks, but it's totally worth it.










With Dracarys out of the half-moon, I decided to move Mesmer back into it - I was planning on getting him back in there anyway, because I missed having him in my office. He seems happy to be back in his original tank. I got him a floating log as well, which he enjoys, and his color is starting to come back. His fins still look bad, but other than that he's on the mend.










Of course, moving Mesmer meant the Fluval Spec V was empty. Not a problem - it is now home to my Black Orchid crowntail, Nix. I am going to get a blue backing to put on it to make him stand out a bit more when I take photos, but I managed to get a great one today. He's got the greatest gun-metal silver in his fins!










With Nix moved, that left me with his little tank empty. I was planning on keeping it that way until my new fish arrive, but Big Al's called me to let me know my tank dividers for the 20g long were in. So, off we go to Big Al's. Two things happened while I was there - the first was I got chatting with a woman there with her two children to buy a betta for them each. She had those crappy little zen cubes that basically hold about half a gallon of water. I helped her daughter pick out a nice looking mustard gas while waiting for one of the employees to make it over to the service desk, as they were pretty busy. I asked this women if she was at least planning on getting a heater, and she was very surprised by the question - didn't think bettas needed heaters. So I very kindly gave her the spiel, showed her a couple of different tank options, included the API 3.5g acrylics, talked about filtration, etc. etc. etc. She ended up buying two of the 3.5g acrylics with sponge filters, two adjustable heaters, a bio-additive, water treatment, frozen blood worms and the Hikari bio-gold pellets, along with two nice looking bettas. I was so happy - and the little girl in particular was thrilled to be getting a larger aquarium for her fish. I gave the mom this website as well, and told her she should at least check it out. So, two bettas saved from crappy little cold tanks!

AND, while I was helping this little girl find the 'perfect' fish, I spot this tail-munching buttery-yellow super delta, so he's come home with me and is now residing in Nix's old tank. I think I'm going to call him Brulee. That could change, but that's the way I'm leaning right now.










And his tail, mostly flared.










Seriously, it was musical fish around here tonight! 

Managed to get a picture of Pip - she's doing super - looks a little fat in this photo because she just ate. She's still just a wee little thing - that's her belly after 2 pellets. She also decided to flare at me, which is ridiculously cute.










Some other pictures from this evening -

Smudge:










Orpheus: 










Rollo:










Sheng:










Betta Ray Bill, resting on his Amazon sword:










Peppermint:










Sesshomaru, watching the tank swaps from his log:










AND THEN!!!!!!

As if all that wasn't enough with a side of crackers, I got an email after the Jays game that my Bettas I had ordered from Renasfishstore.ca are in!!!! I've been looking forward to them arriving for so long, I can hardly believe it. I'm hoping my bro can get them for me tomorrow before he comes up to celebrate (Canadian) Thanksgiving a week early with us (we're going away next weekend for actual Thanksgiving), and if not hubby and I will go and pick them up on Sunday. This means I've got to get the dividers in the 20g long, get Horus situated in his section, and also get the acrylic 3.5g I HATE up and running tomorrow for the new arrivals. (That 3.5g WILL be replaced sooner rather than later, this I swear!)

I will post pics of the new bettas as soon as I get them - one Black Dragon and two Koi halfmoon male plakets!

After this, I am done. No more bettas, not because I don't want anymore but because I have NO MORE ROOM.

PHEW! and I am done for now - good night, all!


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## micheemak (Aug 8, 2015)

Mesmer died.

Managed to find the only opening in his lid (where the heater and light and sponge filter cords all go) and jumped out of his tank. I wouldn't have found him at all tonight since it's so late here, but I went into the office to do a quick scan of my boys before I went to bed and couldn't see him anywhere. Finally found him by following the water drops, about 4 feet away from the tank and under the shelving unit.

I was hoping I'd found him in time, like I had with Pip, but no such luck. He must have jumped out right after I turned the lights out about 45 minutes ago.

I am devestated.


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## Innerbeauty (Jul 31, 2014)

I am SO sorry about Mesmer! He was such a gorgeous fish. 
(((hugs))) I glad you had him for a time. I so enjoyed his pictures.
I don't know if you like that sort of thing or not, but kittenfish makes the cutest clay figurines, here. Maybe she could make one of Mesmer. You could put it someplace in his memory. I understand if you don't like that idea... I was just thinking that would give me closure so it might help you, too. I know I'm not doing a very good job of cheering you up. Please know I am very, very sorry for your loss. 

I am glad Pip is doing better, her flare _is_ ridiculously cute.


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## micheemak (Aug 8, 2015)

> I am SO sorry about Mesmer! He was such a gorgeous fish.


Thank you. Honestly, I doubt I will ever find a fish that particular shade of pink again. I am going to strongly hint to my husband that a little sculpture of Mesmer would be a great anniversary gift, so thanks for sharing that link.

Onwards and upwards.


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## micheemak (Aug 8, 2015)

So, I have to say, my first go at ordering fish has turned out quite well. I had placed an order with Renasfishstore.ca about a month ago for 2 Male Koi bettas, and then added a Black Dragonscale about a week and a half after. I was informed they had arrived last night, and Rena graciously allowed my brother to pick them up for me today on his way up for an early Thanksgiving with the family.

They are all three exactly what I expected. I'm not brave enough to order from Aquabid yet, but I also don't really know if that's necessary now that I've dealt with Rena and am so happy with the results.

So, let me introduce you.

Starting from the left of the tank, we have the Black Dragonscale Halfmoon Plaket, Tulo (short for Tulowitzki). I was planning on calling him something different, but he just looked at me and said - _"It's Tulo, oh-bringer-of-bloodworms!"_, so Tulo it is. He's not very big yet, but very pretty. He's got some gold/brown tones in his caudal fin. I'll be very interested in seeing how he colors up as he grows.










He's a very suspicious fish.










In the middle, we have Bautista, one of the Koi Halfmoon Plakets. He's about the same size as Tulo.










On the right, we have Edwin (Encarnacion) - or Edfin, as I have been calling him all day. He is huge compared to the other two, and already king of the tank. 










He also has Kewpie Doll lips, which I find hilarious.










I literally cannot wait to see what will happen with these three. I am hoping that the Koi's don't marble out, as I've read all over the place that it happens a lot, but if they do at least I'll be able to watch it happen.

I ended up moving poor Horus again, into Mesmer's tank.  I've got the tiny opening Mesmer jumped through blocked off with a food jar for now, and will be getting sponge to stick in there tomorrow. I was going to have Horus in the 20g long with two of the new guys, but decided I couldn't split up my trio, especially since they're all named after Blue Jay players.

Horus wasn't impressed. This is his, _"Make up your damned mind, woman!"_ face.










Betta Ray Bill came out to see what all the fuss was about, and I managed to get a picture of him that actually shows how much that split down the middle of his caudal fin has repaired ( excuse the blurriness!). At one point two or three weeks ago, it ran all the way to his body, but now it's almost halfway healed.










Sweet little Brulee is still playing shy, but is starting to poke around a bit more than he was before. The yellow in his fins is really very pretty - you can see from this picture, though, that he was noshing on them. I'm hoping that will stop now that he's got a nice tank, a pet snail named Gary, and some plants to keep him entertained.










The sorority tank still seems none-the-worse for the move from the 20g long into the 24g rimless. I've been keeping my eye on them, but there has been very little aggression going on. The girls have some African dwarf frogs in there with them, along with three Oto's and three peppered Cories and Olive, their Ivory Mystery snail. I need to add some more plants, and will be switching out the (incredibly baffled) HOB filter next week for a Seapora 60 sponge filter.










Lastly, managed to get a great close-up of Sesshomaru, with the light refracting through the frogbit and just putting a neat shadowy effect on him. With the amount of folding in his tail, would he be a rosetail, do you think? He is weighted down by his fins for sure, and they are very ruffled. AND, I haven't seen him flare since I first got him several months ago now, and I think it's because his fins - especially his caudal - are just too much.


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## Julie7778 (Mar 20, 2015)

Love the new additions. When I have space o hope to buy from Rena! It'll be my first time getting fish shipped but I'm only an hour away from her location so shouldn't be bad. The fish were packaged well and everything? 

Congrats again!


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## micheemak (Aug 8, 2015)

They were packaged really well, and I was lucky because my brother lives in Mississauga, so he picked them up for me. However, I don't think I would worry about shipping, seeing how well they were packaged for a pick-up.


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## BettaLover1313 (Apr 15, 2013)

I'm very sorry to hear about Mesmer. You gave him a good home. 

Your new fish are all beautiful. Brulee is lovely!


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## micheemak (Aug 8, 2015)

So, it's been a few days - been very busy this week with work, so that's my excuse.

The new bettas are doing really well - I'll try to get more pics sometime this week, but I did manage to get anicer one last night of Tulo.










He's not as flashy as the Koi's are; his coloring is very understated, but I find him very pretty. The burnt orange/brown in his fins adds just the right amount of dash, and the dragon scale on his body has darkened up a bit. He's a bit on the skinny side, but he'll fatten up soon enough. Eats like a pig!

ALSO, my hubby surprised me with a beautiful new veiltale the other day in an attempt to cheer me up about Mesmer. 

Shortnsweet suggested Neroli (Italian for Orange Blossom, apparently!) as a name in another thread, and after sleeping on it, that's the name I am going with. So, meet Neroli!


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## Innerbeauty (Jul 31, 2014)

Edwin's close-up is priceless! I love it!! Thanks for posting the eye candy 

Your new additions are striking.  Also your originals ;D


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## micheemak (Aug 8, 2015)

Thank you, Innerbeauty - I think they're all lovely as well.

I had to switch around some tank inhabitants today - Bautista seemed overwhelmed in the 20g long split, especially with Edfin being so much larger and staring at him through the divider all day long. I moved him into the 3g cube for now, and will be keeping an eye on him. His fins seem a little clamped, but he's eating. I'm hoping it's just stress and that he'll come around. He seems to like resting on his moss ball, so there's that. Plus, he has blue eyes.










Getting the 3g cube going meant I had an available spot in the 20g long, and since I needed to go pick up the New Life Spectrum Betta food I had special ordered, I thought I might get a new betta just so that spot wasn't empty. Because, of course.

They were unbagging bettas when we were there, which always makes me feel terrible. Those little baggies they get shipped in really are the worst.

So, I bought this beautiful boy - not sure what his coloring would be called - chocolate? Burgundy? Whatever, he's gorgeous, with beautiful blue irridescent spots. I've decided to name him Mephisto. He was the first boy I saw that just captured me.










Then hubby pointed out two other fish - a beautiful yellowish half moon with purple speckling and a somewhat chewed-on caudal, and a little guy of really indeterminiate color right now with terrible raggedy fins and hardly any caudal to speak of. He's supposedly a half-moon, but honestly, I have no idea. He made eye contact, and that was it. Of course, I didn't have a tank for him so we also ended up getting a 10g. 

Then, because we got a 10g, hubby says you may as well get a divider and then you can get the purpley one too. *headdesk* 

He has really turned into a huge enabler. I don't think I can let him come into the fish store with me anymore, because even though I try to stay strong, I fold like cheap paper fan when he suggests a betta for me. 

We came home, I set up the tank, stole a few plants from other sources (but definately need to buy more!) and slowly acclimated the new boys to their tanks.

My yellowish-purplish boy has decided his name is Monet, because he reminds me of an impressionist painting. The picture doesn't do him justice, as I've got a crappy old canopy on the new tank until I can get a glass top, and the lights are old and very yellow. Will try for a better shot tomorrow when it's daylight.











This other little guy is showing major stress stripes and just hanging out at the back. He's very pale right now, but I'm hoping he'll come around. He needs more plants. I've decided to name him Bojangles, after the song, since that's what I've been singing all night because of him. 










Tulo is quickly becoming Mr. Personality. Managed to get a couple of good shots of him tonight.










He DOES NOT like the camera. It's hilarious.










Peppermint was also feeling especially cantankerous, and spent the entire night flaring at everything. 










Tomorrow and Friday will be big tank cleaning days, since we're going away this weekend for Canadian Thanksgiving. I'm a bit nervous about leaving my boys for three days.

LASTLY, question - can African Dwarf frogs get hernias? One of the frogs in Sesshomaru's tank has an odd little bulge on his side. He has no problems swimming around and it doesn't appear to hamper him in any way. He eats like a piggy - I'm just curious as to what it could be.

Side bottom view - see the bump on the right?










Top view:










Anyone have any ideas what this is?


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## micheemak (Aug 8, 2015)

We are going away for Thanksgiving this weekend, and I'm a bit nervous about leaving my fish, especially Bojangles and Bautista.

Bojangles is looking a *bit* better color-wise, but he's very lethargic and not really paying much attention to his food. Most of the time, he's on the bottom of his little tank, or up top on one of the Amazon Sword leaves. I moved him out of the 10g split and into the 2g bowl just so he doesn't have to work so hard to get to the top. Neroli has gone into the 10g split with Monet.

Here's Bojangles, looking pathetic. He HATES his water changes. I did a salt bath with him tonight and have added a bit of Betta Revive to his bowl - we'll see if that helps any. I've become oddly attached to the little guy in a very short period of time. I think if he makes it through this, he'll be an amazing betta.










Two daylight pictures of Monet (one in front of the black sponge filter) which really shows of his beautiful purpley coloring. Hopefully, there will be no more tail biting.



















Can't get Mephisto to stay still, but his color has just popped today. I was told in another thread that he's a wild coloration, which is absolutely beautiful. The blue overtone is amazing. YOu can't see his face in this picture, but you can see the rest.










Neroli is enjoying the extra space in teh 10g split. He flares every once in a while at Monet, but overall, he's pretty chill.



















Mr. Cellophane continues to get more and more red in his fins. It hasn't really moved into his body yet. I'm hoping it doesn't, but I have no idea at this point.










Picture of Tulo, because the grumpy face he's making is the best. He looks like he's got little fishie eyebrows and a scowl.










Cleaned all the 5g and <5g tanks tonight. Doing the rest tomorrow night before we leave. I am seriously debating taking Bojangles with so I can keep an eye on him and change out his water, but I think the drive there and back would be more stressful on him that anything else, so he's staying home.

Will try to post more pics tomorrow!


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## micheemak (Aug 8, 2015)

Hello, fellow fish lovers!

I am glad to be back to my fish and my journal. We didn't get in until very late last night, but all the bettas were happy to see me...mostly because of the food.

Unfortunately, sweet little Bojangles did not make it through the weekend. I didn't think he was going to, but I had hope. On a brighter not, one of the male sailfin mollies that I've had in a quarantine tank for the last week with some type of fungal infection is still alive, so that's a bonus. He's even looking better, and the rot that he was displaying on his head seems to be disappearing. I'm hoping that he can go back into his 65g tank within the next week or so.

While away, I did end up getting some new bettas. Go figure, right?

First up is Pillar (back on the Blue Jays name kick, and since he's blue and white, it seemed to fit). I have a feeling he's going to slowly turn all blue, but I don't care. His fins are not perfect, but they'll heal. He's currently in a fitered and heated 2g fish bowl, but he'll be upgrading on the weekend (Yay for tank sales at Big Al's!).

Here is Pillar (he's got blue eyes):










I also got this pretty little crown tail; still nameless. In some lights, he's got a pickish tinge, in others, very peach-tones with an opalescent shimmer. I'll try to get a better picture when he's in his new home, again waiting for the tank sale this weekend. I currently have him in a 2g preserve jar with heater and air stone. He's doing alright, but I can't wait to get him out of there.










My son (who has never been overly enamoured of the bettas in the past) has also caught the bug - at least, for one little betta. I can't get a good picture of him, but will keep trying. He's a multi-colored crown tail, with white, red and blue the color of denim. He's debating on names right now.

A couple of other pictures, just because!

Atticus:










Sesshomaru (with flash):










Rollo:










More will come, I'm sure.


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## micheemak (Aug 8, 2015)

Got an okay-ish photo of my son's new betta - I think his name is Linguini, although that changes every time I talk to him.










Also, Lilee got shaved over the weekend - she looks adorable. I will try to get a picture of her cute little face, but for now, voila:


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## micheemak (Aug 8, 2015)

Was at the pet store today buying a new sweater for Lilee, and they had double tail Bettas on sale for $2.88! Holy cats! I have NEVER seen them except in pictures on this site, so knew I was going to get one.

However, I was having a hard time choosing between two - one was multi-color, light blueish-whitish body with cellophane/red tail. He was the size the bettas around here normally are at the pet store; body a bit longer than an inch. And then there was a teeny-weeny little baby double tail! He was very small - his body was not quite a 1/2 inch, and he was a bit less than half the size of the other guy I liked.

My brain said get the bigger one, babies are so fragile. My heart said get the baby, because he's going to need some TLC to make it, and he won't get as nice a home from anywhere else, my hubby said, "Get them both!" :shock:

So, I did. For now, I've got the crappy little 3g acrylic up and running for the bigger boy, whom I've decided to name Osuna. He's very shy, and not fond of posing for the camera. He likes to hide behind his plants.










I'll try to get better pics as he settles down and isn't so skittish. Here's one that looks neat, only because of the lighting.










The little guy is in a bowl, for now, with an airstone and a heater. It's only a gallon, but it's temporary. I am planning on setting up another 20g long triplex, and he'll be going in that one. Since my tiny little girl is named Pip, I've decided to name this little guy Squeak. I'm very interested in seeing how he ends up coloring.










This is his bowl. He is enjoying the valis. The top is covered with saran wrap to keep him from jumping.



















My desk is getting crowded!










Pillar is in the bigger 2.5g bowl behind him, with sponge filter. He will also be moving into the new tank once I get it.










My son has decided to officially name his fish Linguini. I got him a 3.6g cube, now set up in his room.



















Sesshomaru!










Edwin:










Dracarys:










In other news, Bautista is very sick, so please keep fingers crossed.

Also, my dog Bymkee has an ear infection! 

Go Jays!


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## micheemak (Aug 8, 2015)

Managed to get some tanks changed around yesterday! I've got Squeak out of that little temporary bowl I had him in, and he's now in the 2.5g filtered bowl Pillar was in. I'll try to get a picture of him today - the move stressed him out quite a bit, so he was hiding all evening.

Pillar has been moved into a new 3.5g cube. So far, he seems to love it. I moved his plants with him as well, and he still continues to uproot the vallis every opportunity he has. 

Here's his tanks, with his (now) floating Vallis:










And two pictures of him, scoping things out. It's hard to tell how blue his coloring is - with the dark black background here, it looks black.



















Lox also got upgraded. I moved him into Bautista's tank, after I disenfected it and ran it through the dishwasher (no detergent).

He's got all new substrate, his plants from his old bowl (plus some new ones) and way more space. He not so sure what to think, and has been showing the plants who's boss by flaring at them all individually.



















Managed to also snag a great picture of Tulo last night. He's so very understated and stealth; he's like the James Bond of bettas.










Will try to get more pics of the gang tonight, including pics of the two twin tails. In the meantime, I leave you with the adorable cuteness of Lilee - she just got all shaved up last week (she hates beeing brushed, so it's easier to keep her short) in her brand new sweater. It snowed here yesterday (GACK!) and she will be in sweaters and jackets from now until the end of winter. She is only 4 pounds at the best of times, so she needs the extra warmth!



















Bym's was having none of the camera, so I'll get something of her tonight as well, if I can.


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## micheemak (Aug 8, 2015)

Totally forgot that I had a business trip this week! Ended up scrambling around the last two days getting ready and am now in Las Vegas until Tuesday.

Hoping that the bettas all do well without me there; I've left my husband and son in charge. Managed to get all the tanks cleaned last night, so the water should be good while I'm gone.

Basically, what this means, is that I will be taking lots of pictures next Wednsday when I'm home to assure myself everyone is alright.

Fingers crossed!!!!


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## micheemak (Aug 8, 2015)

Hello fellow fishlovers - I am back from my business trip. I actually got back yesterday, but ended up sleeping most of the afternoon and into the night due to mental exhaustion, and today's been filled with work, work, work!

However, all my bettas made it through the (almost) week without me none-the-worse for wear, so I have to give hubby two fins up for his excellent care.

Tomorrow night will be water changes for all. One of my 20g longs seems to have had a hair algae bloom in the past few days, so will have to get that addressed as well.

The biggest change has been in Pillar! I suspected that his blue was going to slowly take over - that's one of the reasons I bought him, actually, was to see if I was right - and holy cats, has it ever!

Just a reminder - this is what he looked like just last Tuesday:










This is what he looks like now:










Look at all that blue! But it's so neat, because his face is still all (mostly) white, and the blue isn't that rich yet - he looks like he's been painted with water paints, and the blue is just very light over the white. It's very neat.

Will be gone all day tomorrow, but will try to get some pics of all my lovelies tomorrow night when I get home. If not, for sure by the weekend!

Hope you all had a great week.


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## Innerbeauty (Jul 31, 2014)

Aww, Pillar is so pretty, before and after!!!

Lilee has filled my cuteness quota for today. *love it*


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## micheemak (Aug 8, 2015)

Thanks Innerbeauty - she is pretty cute. She's got two absolutely adorable/ridiculous habits that I love.

Whenever I walk in the door, she immediately steals my shoe and takes off with it and tries to hide it so I can't leave her again. She will sometimes try to make off with it _while my foot is still in it._ She sometimes attempts this with my husband and my son as well, but since they're both size 13, she's not very successfull. Their shoes are bigger than she is!

She also will put her paw on my hand if she's sitting on my lap and I'm not petting her enough. If I don't pay attention, she will get right up in my face and put her paw on the side of my face and keep doing it until she gets sufficient adoration, at which point she will calm down. :lol:

Anyway, it's been a bit since I posted anything of significance - just been really busy at work; and I have two trade shows coming up - next week I'm in New York, NY and the week after in Nashville, TN. I'm home for a grand total of 3 days between. This means that my Saturday will consist of major water changes and tank cleans for all tanks, and then another 4 days of fingers crossed while I'm gone hoping no one gets sick. Last show I was at, within a day of coming home Monet developed fin rot. He's doing better, but I'm nervous about going for so long when he's not 100% yet.

In other news, I have a new betta. My husband bought him for me as an early anniversary present (21 years tomorrow!). He's an elephant ear, and he's got a very big bowl that he's in. I'm not normally a fan of bowls, but this looks pretty good - it holds around 5 gallons (a full water jug from the cooler - treated, of course) and currently has valis, Amazon swords, reddish something or other and one mystery snail. His name is Nod, from the children's tale "Winky, Blinky and Nod". He's a little guy, and won't stay still for a picture, but he's quite lovely.

Here's his home:










And these are the best I could get of him so far:



















Bautista, my koi betta, continues to grow. He's got the best face.










This is the crowntail formerly-known-as Lox. For whatever reason, I keep calling him Nox, so that's now his name. The crown part of his fins is amazingly long - and he's got translucent baby blue through them, which is quite striking.










Here's one of Nix, his brother from another mother:










And Atticus, who also has beautiful long crown rays.










Lastly, since I've fairly recently shared the amazing change in Pillar, I thought I'd also share a photo comparison of Mr. Cellophane when I first got him and what he looks like now. Everytime I'm anywhere near his tank he does his spazzy 'feed me' swimming frenzy, but I managed to get one where he was relatively stationary for a couple of seconds. The picture does not do him justice.

Mr. Cellophane then:










Mr. Cellophane now:










I am hoping he stops with the changes, because he's so beautiful now. Pillar seems to have settled down - his face is still white - but we will see. I could come back from NY to an entirely blue fish.


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## Julie7778 (Mar 20, 2015)

Wow,He's changed so much! Love the new addition as well. What kind of light is that on his bowl?


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## Innerbeauty (Jul 31, 2014)

LOL, those are some adorable habits to have... stealing your shoes!! hehe I would love to see that!  I once had a kitten that would sleep in my shoes, and when I would go to put them on my foot would hit something soft & squishy.... she was so tiny.
My current cat likes to carry my flip flops and sandals all over the house, but it's nothing smart like keeping me with him, I think he just likes the smell of my feet


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## micheemak (Aug 8, 2015)

Wow - feels like it's been ages. I am back home again after yet another business trip (my last one until January, yay!). Will be loading some pictures later, but have some crap news. Two things - I've had to break up my sorority tank - without me here everyday to keep an eye on them, all heck broke loose and I now only have two female bettas left, both in seperate bowls. One is pretty beat up, but at least she's still alive. Hubby didn't realize what was happening, and I lost a betta in the less than 30 minutes it took me to get situated and prepare temporary tanks. So - never again will I attempt a sorority. Too stressful, and to harmful to the fish.

The other - my koi plakat Edwin decided while I was gone that he wanted to destroy Mephisto (they were in a 20g with a three way split WITH A TOP. He managed to jump over the divider and into Mephisto's section (I think via the raised space where the lightbulb would be, if I wasn't using LED lights, or *most likely* hubby forgot to put the glass top back down after he fed the bettas in the evening and didn't realize Edwin had jumped) and proceeded to do a number on Mephisto. Again, I was gone - got home, got the remaining girls situated, looked at the rest of the bettas and noticed that Mephisto was just destroyed. His fins are shredded, he's missing some scales, just a mess. At first, I couldn't figure out what the issue was and then realized when Edwin came charging up to the front of the tank that he was where he shouldn't be. He has *some* slight damage to his fins, but nothing compared to Mephisto.

SO - quick tank change there as well. I had to play musical chairs with the boys, but ended up moving Mephisto into Dracary's tank, where he will be by himself, and Daracrays into Mephisto's. Edwin has been moved into Horus' half-moon Marineland tank. Because Tulo is also a plaket, he's been moved into Rollo's nana-cube. I know have three heavy tailed bettas in the 20g long. Mephisto off on his own being treated, and Edwin and Tulo in tanks they cannot jump out of into other tanks.

Hoping Mephisto will pull through. He got a special helping of Daphnia and blood worms last night after I got him settled, and more daphnia today, and I've got some aquarium salt in there for him, so we will see how it goes.


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## micheemak (Aug 8, 2015)

Just a few pictures - a couple of Mephisto to show the damage that Edwin inflicted, compared to the damage that was inflicted on Edwin, and pictures of Tulo and Rollo, who seem to be quite happy in their new space. Trying to get one of Dracarys, but they're all too blurry.

This is what Edwin did to Mephisto:









This is what Mephisto looked like before:









I don't know how long Edwin was in with Mephisto, but it was long enough to almost kill him. It couldn't have been longer than an hour or so, since hubby said he fed them and they were in their own areas, and I got home shortly after that. The split they were in had a customized glass top and then the tube light over the space there there was no glass - I think this is where Edwin jumped over from - keep in mind, there's a two inch gap between the water and the divider, so he would have had to time it perfectly. 

I've moved him into a solitary, heavily-planted tank, warmed the water to 82, regular water changes, lots of protein-rich food, a bit of salt and some NeoPlex for external medication. Yesterday he was very timid, just hid in the plants, but today he's out and about a bit more. Poor guy is scared of his own shadow though. I hope his tail grows back to be just as beautiful as it was - will keep taking pictures!

Note the minimal damage Mephisto inflicted in return:









Rollo in his new split. Hopefully his heavy finnage will prevent him from jumping - I am picking up a second piece of glass to go under the light this weekend to completely remove the gap.










Horus:










Tulo was moved into an individual (non-split) tank because I was also worried that if Edwin could jump the divider, he could as well since he's also a plaket. He loves having his own tank. This little guy is really growing on me with his understated colors and great personality!


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