# Stellas Life Journal



## StellaBetta (Dec 7, 2015)

So on the day I rescued Stella from Petco I originally dragged my boyfriend with me to fawn over some cats which I am very fond of but sadly cant have in my dorm room. Long story short after an hour and a half of pouty faces and pleading with my boyfriend and $30 dollars later (im rather cheap and dont like to spend much money if I dont have to (ignorant me had no clue what I was in store for since I had never had fish before)) I walked out with a beautiful blue-green and black metallic female crowntail that I instantly fell in love with. The lighting was horrible along with the phone I was using but no amount of photo quality would do her justice she really was gorgeous



Along with her I bought a marina betta kit tank as per the employees recommendation (stupid employee) and a little cup with 3 marimo moss balls in it. When I got home I opened up the tank box and realized that the food that it was supposed to come with wasnt there so I had to run out to my LFS and buy the only betta food they had which was $5 (ignorant me knowing absolutely nothing about fish soon regretted this). I got to my dorm room and dechlorinated the water the way the instructions said and floated her for a while before I put her and her moss ball in the tank 


The first time she saw her new (temporary) home 

The next few days were filled with tons of research. I wanted to learn anything and everything I could about these guys. I very quickly learned that her housing conditions were less then optimal. I had no clue fish needed a filter and a heater and a bigger tank I was so new and clueless about the world of fish (I still am new to things). 

Stella did good for that first week and the second day she finally relaxed and lost her stress stripes


Her with the rubber duckie I put for her to play with

That Friday morning I ordered a heater and a silk plant (the original one was plastic not a hard plastic that would tear her fins but still plastic) and a thermometer along with a krusty krab cave and betta hammock I started noticing things for this little fish which I thought wouldnt cost me anything were starting to get pricey. I went to Petco that weekend when I was home and bought a bigger tank (Icant find any link for the one I bought but I got it from water and its basically just like this) because I just felt bad having her in such a tiny tank with no filter and space. 

I put her in the new tank and set up the filter and patiently waited for the rest of the things to arrive. They got to my house on Sunday and I was very dissapointed with the plant as it wasnt the soft silk I imagined it would be I was more a smooth fabric and plastic base. I set up the tank with all the new things and left her be for a few hours. When I came back she was all calmed down. No stress stripes anymore Yay! 


Please excuse all the gross waterstains


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## StellaBetta (Dec 7, 2015)

*My continued background story*

When I had set her up in her new tank I wanted to go back to Petco and look at getting an air control valve and a check valve because I noticed the current from the filter was too strong for her I also wanted to look at getting her some different food because in my days of research (which are still continuing as I learn something new everyday) I found out that pellets are better and that blood worms and brine shrimp are good for them as well. So I bought the air pump stuff and some Omega One mini pellets and Omega One bloodworms.

I came back home to set up the air control valve only to see when I opened the box that it was broken! I installed the check valve but the Petco was closed by this time so I had no choice but to wait (poor girl was getting pushed around  ). The next day I returned it and bought a less expensive one which worked perfectly fine and was even able to buy a pre filter for the intake tube with the leftover money. 

I went back to my dorm for the week and Stella was getting more and more energetic everyday (she was always energetic from the beginning which is why I waned her). Her personality was starting to show and I learned that I had a little diva on my hands. She wanted things her way I would feed her and she would only pick out what she liked from the food (the freeze dried brine shrimp pieces that were in her flakes) and leave all the rest. Whenever I would walk by her tank and not give her attention she would start flashing and splashing around demanding my attention but would flare in anger when I finally came to visit her. I started loving her more and more as I learned what kind of fish she was going to be.



She is currently now doing very well and is very happy in her little home. And I am always looking for new ways to improve her quality of life. Currently I'm looking into getting some live plants for her tank to replace the plastic and "silk" ones she has now. Im also looking at getting her a bigger tank possibly 3 gallons along with some cherry shrimp to put in the 1.5 gallon. 


Here is the most recent picture I have of her


And this one is to show the metallic tint she has 

You are now all caught up on backstory and I will be continuing to post our adventures together


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## Sadist (Jan 1, 2015)

She's a lovely girl! I'm glad you brought her home and are interested in giving her a good home.

For the shrimp, they probably would like a filter and heater, too, and an aged tank. That means it's been set up for several months and has micro stuff growing in there for the shrimp to snack on outside of feeding time. I love shrimp, and they are so fun to watch!


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## StellaBetta (Dec 7, 2015)

Sadist said:


> She's a lovely girl! I'm glad you brought her home and are interested in giving her a good home.
> 
> For the shrimp, they probably would like a filter and heater, too, and an aged tank. That means it's been set up for several months and has micro stuff growing in there for the shrimp to snack on outside of feeding time. I love shrimp, and they are so fun to watch!


Thank you! Ive learned that with fish care you cant be cheap so I started just looking at quality over quantity because I want her to live as long and happy as possible. 

As for the shrimp tank Im most definitely not going to immediately set that up until it is fully prepared and cycled. I don't yet have the stuff to set a new tank up and I won't have money to until after the holidays most likely. I still am not sure what kind of shrimp I would like to get they all look and sound so fascinating to me but Im leaning more toward cherry shrimp because I know their on the small side which would be perfect for me


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## StellaBetta (Dec 7, 2015)

*Plant(s)!*

So today me and my mom went to Petco looking for some breath treats for my dog who is starting to develop halitosis and ever so naturally I just so happened to wander off into the fish section (Its their fault for having the dog and fish section so close!). As I was looking at the bettas I noticed some cups marked with rose petal tail mmales. I had never heard of this kind as I only recently started the fish hobby and so I took a look. My o my! They are so gorgeous! There was 2 boys in particular that caught my attention and especially one. He was so gorgeous with such a full tail and bright vibrant colors! He seemed healthy and active and even flared at my fingers. Of course my dumb phone wouldnt get any good pictures of them (grrrrr). 


This is the best my phone would get and even still I think he is so pretty 


This is the other one that caught my attention but I think he was falsely marked but im not sure since I am very new to this

I took a look at some of the tanks to see if they had any sales but sadly no such luck. I then went to look at some of the plants because I really want to start putting live ones in the tank. I saw some anacharis in a tank but was iffy on buying any because some of them looked very unhealthy so instead I went to the tubed plants and saw a few really good looking ones. One of the anubias ones was looking very healthy and so I ended up buying it (I had previously done tons of research to find the best plant for my tank). I got home to plant it (which was a battle because it did not want to stay under the sand and gravel I have) and took out the "silk" one that I had bought off of amazon because it really was too rough for Stella imo. 


Of course my camera didnt want to focus and take a clear picture so this was the best I could get. I will definitely have to fix it when I do my next water change which will be tomorrow

Update on Stella:
Shes doing good she flared at me yesterday when I went to feed her because I hadn't been able to give her much attention that day and she got impatient with me when I was putting her pellets in the water and she decided to jump and take the food off my finger rather than wait for me to put it in (such as the little diva she is :roll: ) She seems pretty happy about the plants and has been swimming around between them for a while now checking it all out. 

Im thinking about maybe getting a snail for her but I know it may be a big bioload for such a small tank. Ughh I wish I had the money for a bigger tank already :-(


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## StellaBetta (Dec 7, 2015)

*A new baby boy*

So yesterday I went into petco with the intention of buying a new 5.5 gallon glass uncovered tank that they were selling for $13.99 and a new Rosetail betta because I just thought that boy was so beautiful. When I got there I promptly grabbed the tank and some white sand substrate to put in Stellas tank for the anubias to be planted better because the gravel really wasnt working out (roots kept coming unburied and would float to the top). I then went to pick out my new little boy. Sadly the 2 that I had seen just a few days earlier were gone (I kind of figured they would be scooped up really fast :/ I just hope whoever got them will take good care of them). So instead I looked at some of the elephant ear males but they were all seriously sick and unhealthy. One had "float" so bad he couldnt even swim he was just on his side at the top of the cup going around in circles it was so sad. I had already told myself that I wouldnt get another female so I restrained myself from even looking because I knew I would take one home if I did. I started looking at other stuff that I needed instead but would still come back and look at the same fish again and again (I was probably in there for an hour going in circles around the fish section so much even the employees were giving me funny looks). Eventually I realized I wouldnt be taking anyone home that day so I just put the tank back. For some reason and I dont know why I decided to go look at the baby bettas. I know theres a big controversy over the selling of bettas at such a young age so I wasnt planning on getting any (look how great that turned out). As soon as I picked up the first baby boys cup I feel in love. He gave me those eyes and that face we all know it the face a betta gives when they are pleading for you to take them home. I immediately put him into my cart and wanted to buy him. I was also really in luck because he was the only one there with color and he was also the biggest (more reasons why I felt he would be perfect to take home with me). He was still small enough to fit into my boyfriends old 1 gallon tank so I didnt need to buy another one until he starts to get bigger which by then I will have gotten my 5.5 gallon and moved Stella into it (thats the plan anyway Ill most likely get more fish before then (I really have no self control when it comes to these cute little guys anymore)). He survived the ride home and the time it took me to dig out the 1 gallon tank and get it all set up for him. 
Here he is! I still havnt decided on a name for him but Im stuck between Kratos and Thantos. The first because my boyfriend pointed out he is very very fearless just like the God of War character and the red also fits.

You can't tell from the picture but he is a bright red little guy with some blue dots along the edges of the base of his dorsal fin. I know he has some tears in his fins which makes him even more of a precious baby to me. 
He is a very active little guy however in no way as active as Stella who is constantly swimming around in her tank. Shes like a little energizer bunny. 

Today was fasting day so she was not very happy with me.

I redid Stellas tank with the sand which was a nightmare. I knew I had to rinse the sand off but I didnt realize that you had to rinse it off so much so when I put the sand in the tank and fought with the plants to get the roots in the sand (which was another battle in itself) it kicked up all the dust and particles I hadnt washed off and completely clouded my water. I had the filter running for 30 minutes and it was still cloudy so I had to do a 50% WC which didnt help much either so I did another 50% WC and it made it alot better. Theres still a small layer of dust along the top of the water but as I do water changes its been getting less and less. This is the final product

The 2 anubias plants have already started floating out of the sand as I type but im just going to leave them for now and let them bury themselves.
I put the old purple gravel into the new boys tank along with the plant and krusty krab that used to be in Stellas and the marimo ball too to kick start a cycle. He seems to love the plant and is either always swimming in it or hanging out at the top of the tank. He is super curious about anything that goes into his tank. He has no problem swimming straight up to whatevers going in whether its my hand (which he has already mistaken for food and tried to jump out and bite multiple times now) or a new object going in. He really is fearless. Tonight I am going to try the flake food for the first time with him and see how he reacts to it.


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## StellaBetta (Dec 7, 2015)

*Updates*

I have officially decided on the name Kratos for the new baby boy. Hes getting bigger already and getting more and more red everyday. Its really interesting to see though because he has the random blue dots along his body. I dont know if that means he will change color or if thats just how he is. I guess thats the beauty of buying him as a baby though its all a surprise as to how he turns out looking. He started getting a lot braver and will now jump out to get his food when he is being impatient. I have also discovered that he is a big eater he begs for food every time I go to look at him. So far his favorite food is surprisingly the Bettamin flakes but I think thats because it has freeze dried brine shrimp in it. The tears in his cadual and anal fins are starting to get better but the one on his anal fin is still there and very noticeable. Makes me wonder how he got it in the first place I mean hes only a few months old and im sure he sadly spent most of that time being shipped and left in a tiny cup on a shelf so I dont understand how he could have gotten a tear straight down like that. I feel like the colder weather is throwing him off a bit. I have a heater that usually keeps his water at 78-80 F because the room temp is usually 74-77 F but with the colder weather the room has been about 72-75 F so his tank is around 74-76 F. I wish I could put the same brand heater Stella has in her tank that automatically shuts off and on to keep the water at 78-79 F but its too big for his tank. He doesnt seem to mind the cooler water too much but his active lifestyle has certainly become a little less energetic. Other than that he is really an interesting guy to watch I cant wait to see what he looks like all grown up. 

As for Stella she is doing good. I put Kratos tank next to hers for a little bit while doing a water change and she freaked out and started flaring at him like crazy. Im really glad I decided not to get any tank mates for her seeing how aggressive she got just from him being next to her. Poor little guy was so confused he was trying to flare back but his flare was so tiny and didnt last very long. I had to move him to an opposite end of the counter just so Stella would calm down. As for the plants in her tank I completely gave up on trying to keep the roots buried they have almost completely become unburied and every time I try to fix them it ends up the same way. Im just hoping they will eventually bury themselves so I dont have to see the exposed roots all the time. Ive even tried tying them down to no avail the same result happens.

I really want to get a 2.5 gallon from petsmart but I know my mom would be so upset with me for spending more money on another tank. Im planning on waiting until the holiday season is over and when I go back to my dorm getting the 2.5 and just keeping it there and have Stella in it and Kratos moved to the 1.5 that Stella has now and using the 1 gallon that Kratos is in now as a hospital tank or a snail tank. I also want to get some plants for Kratos tank as well. Im looking at some anacharis but I really dont want to have to order it because ive heard horror stories of people receiving all dead plants and I dont want to have to fork up the money for expensive shipping only to have them get to me all dead or dying. The anacharis at my Petco looks dangerous though because they have it in a big community plant tank and most of the ones in there are dead or dying there are a few healthy ones but I dont want to risk them having something that will kill them off in a couple days. For now the anubias is looking good and healthy and appears to be growing which is good for me. 

Picture Time!

 
Kratos is so hard to get pictures of because hes such a dark color and my camera kinda sucks you cant even see his blue spots


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## Sadist (Jan 1, 2015)

Sweet little guys! My girl is really aggressive like that, too.


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## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

They are both so cute!

A couple of things. I hope you don't mind. I can't tell if the Anubias is buried completely. If so, you want to leave the rhizome above the substrate or it will rot. You can use a plant weight to hold it down, tie to a piece of decor or just let it float.

The other is you don't really need a heater for shrimp. They prefer cooler temps so when you do get one set it on 76 or so just to keep the temps steady.

Congratulations on your babies!!


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## Sadist (Jan 1, 2015)

Thanks, I'll make sure to fix my shrimp's tank tomorrow morning, too.


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## StellaBetta (Dec 7, 2015)

RussellTheShihTzu said:


> They are both so cute!
> 
> A couple of things. I hope you don't mind. I can't tell if the Anubias is buried completely. If so, you want to leave the rhizome above the substrate or it will rot. You can use a plant weight to hold it down, tie to a piece of decor or just let it float.
> 
> The other is you don't really need a heater for shrimp. They prefer cooler temps so when you do get one set it on 76 or so just to keep the temps steady.


The rhizomes arnt buried at all just the roots. In all my research about anubias I definitely understood that loud and clear. I actually was finally able to get the roots all buried and in place in my recent water change. Took a lot of frustrating time but I got it so Yay! I will post some pictures tomorrow because its lights out already for the tanks

Thanks for the heads up about the shrimp! I am still debating whether I want to do a shrimp or a snail tank at the moment but nothing can be decided until I actually get another tank to have them in.


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## StellaBetta (Dec 7, 2015)

Sadist said:


> Sweet little guys! My girl is really aggressive like that, too.


Thank you! And I dont know where the aggression came from shes been in close proximity to my boyfriends betta sorority tank and never had such a reaction to them. I guess its just more of her "diva"ness coming out :lol:


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## StellaBetta (Dec 7, 2015)

*Christmas Update*

I hope everyone had a great Christmas! Mine was very nice all my family came over on Christmas Eve as usual and we had dinner and opened our presents and I also went to have dinner with my boyfriends family (Authentic Italian is the best food ever! :-D ). This Christmas was rather strange because its the first one where I wasnt as excited anymore. Christmas has always been my favorite time but I think as I'm getting older its becoming not as exciting as it used to be :/ I still love it and love seeing my family though of course! 

This is the first year I've had fish so most of my presents had to do with them which was really different. My wonderful boyfriend forked up some extra money and bought me a new 2.5 gallon tank kit and new gravel and plants along with some other human gifts :lol: I also have my 10 gallon (which I plan on dividing in 2) on order which isnt going to come until around the 15th of January. I decided I'm going to move Kratos into the new 2.5 when I go back to school and leave Stella in her 1.5. I am planning on receiving a new red and white boy from someone on this forum for one side of the 10 gallon and I'm thinking of getting one goldfish for the other side because I used to have goldfish when I was young and I really love the black moors they are just so cute! 

Kratos is starting to change colors. He is getting white in his ventral fins and the edges of all his other fins are turning blue. Im really excited to see what he will look like when he gets bigger especially when I have him in the bigger tank. His tear is almost fully healed now which I'm really happy about but this morning I woke up and went to feed him and noticed he had a small tear in his caudal fin so I took out the plant he has and bought a new little rubber anemone thing. 





On a really good note though he made his first bubble nest this morning!!! 

I ruined it when I moved his tank so its kind of falling apart in the picture



Stella is doing good as well and the anubias in her tank is growing well. It is growing new sprouts like crazy. I want to get some java fern for her tank as well because just having the one anubias looks weird plus I know Stella likes having a lot of plants to swim around in. she has been bloated the past couple days so Ive been fasting her so her body can flush out whatever is building up but if it lasts for another day im gonna start giving her some pea to help her out with it. 




I had just done a water change so the sand left some dust and specs on the plant leaves


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## StellaBetta (Dec 7, 2015)

*Sucked up the Vacuum*

So I spent the night at my boyfriends last night as we had to make a big time consuming meal for his jobs potluck tomorrow and I left Stella and Kratos in my moms care. She has taken care of them before and had no issues. All she had to do was gravel vac Stellas tank and redose the Prime in both tanks also feed them both. Shes used the gravel vac before so I wasnt worried but this morning when I come home and check on them Stellas fins are torn up and so has wounds all over her body! When I asked my mom what happened she said that when she was cleaning Stellas tank she swam straight up into the gravel vac! I know it was just an accident but I wish she had been more careful. She is still swimming around alot as usual and eating like a piggy which is a good sign. Her colors are also still looking fairly well considering how much stress and damage she went through. Currently I am treating her with AQ salt and Stress Coat in hopes that her fins get better and the cuts dont get infected.
My poor girl it makes me so sad to see her like this




In other more exciting news. I put Kratos's new 2.5 together and he is now happily in his big home. I plan to do a fish-in cycle as I did with Stella so I am all stocked up on Prime. As soon as I put him in his fins opened up so huge I didnt even realize they were never fully open before. He seems very happy in his new house with alot more space. The light that came with the kit has multiple light settings and he looks best with the blue green which brings out all his blue accents and the plain white light which shows how deep red he really is. I am ordering a heater for him today because even though it stays warm in my house when I go back to school it does not.









I dont plan on planting his tank just for the sheer fact that dealing with the anubias in Stella's tank constantly uprooting and floating around has frustrated me and turned me away from any live plants in his tank.







Im going to keep his old 1 gallon as a QT tank for now as I'm sure eventually I will get another little baby they are just so cute As for the 10 gallon it is still set to arrive on the 15th and I am trying to decide what theme I want to give the tank. I'm planning on dividing it between my new guy that I'm planning on receiving pending his fin recovery along with a mystery snail and either another betta or some neon tetras and guppies or glofish for the other half. My boyfriend fell in love with the neon tetras when he first saw them and I think they are very interesting to watch as well. I really like the idea of an ancient greek city ruin for the new guy:

And a spongebob theme for whatever will go on the other side:


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## StellaBetta (Dec 7, 2015)

Today is my first day back at school and I got all moved back in yesterday. Stella and Kratos had an interesting car ride here but they made it with no issues and are doing very well and already adjusted to their new surroundings. I am still waiting for the new 10 gallon to get to my house and have decided im just going to divide it between Merah and an apple snail on one side and guppies and tetras on the other. Thank goodness I dont have a roommate or I would never have space for all these fish. The anubias is starting to uproot again :evil: Darn plant. Other than that no issues with the tanks. Stella is healing up well after her gravel vac ordeal her dorsal fin is already healing and so are her cuts. The stress coat and AQ is really helping speed up the process. I think Stella likes being at my school more than being at my house because at my house she was never as bright as she used to be she was still bright blue but not like before and as soon as I put her in the tank at school she is instantly all bright blue and shiny again. Kratos my tough little guy is still doing good as always. He never gives me issues with anything he has a great personality. His fin is already almost completely healed all thats still left to go is the edge. I think I'm going to buy more baby's from now on. I like basically raising them and seeing what kind of fish they are going to turn into and seeing their little personalities develop. 

Here is the tanks on top of my desk with the lights both on and off 



I had to put the basket in between them because they hate seeing each other


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## StellaBetta (Dec 7, 2015)

*New Pets!*

So it has been a super busy couple of weeks for me being back at school. Im taking a lot of classes that take up alot of my time plus dealing with Stella and Kratos takes more time. Speaking of them they both seem to be doing really well. As I said before I really feel like Stella likes being at school so much better than home I really wonder why? Maybe because its the first place she was in when I first got her so its what she considers home? Regardless shes doing great her wounds have healed up and her fin is halfway healed. As for Kratos hes as vibrant as ever I recently had to buy him a heater because I thought I could just have the temp in my room raised but it got super hot in such a small space so I just forked up the money for a Tetra heater that I have in Stellas and my boyfriends tanks. It seems to be working fine ive had it for a week now and it keeps the water at 79 which Kratos seems to love because hes perked up so much after I put it in. The only weird thing I would say about him is that for the most part his fins are always open and never clamped but sometimes when hes swimming around or stops to look at something or rest his fins clamp up for a while then they open right back up and continue on his merry way. Ive never seen that kind of activity from him before so I dont know if its normal or not. There doesnt seem to be anything wrong and like I said hes pretty much always fully opened fined so I dont know if theres means for concern. The status of the new 10 is still being shipped. It should get tovmy house this weekend when I have to go pick up some more gravel and decorations. I know I originally said I didnt want a planted tank but now I feel like I want to Im getting the planted tank urge. I feelclike they just look so much nicer. As a start I would like some anubias nana some crypts some swords some salvinia minima and maybe some anacharis. I also want to get some java moss because Im planninv on getting some cherry shrimp and ghost shrimp and maybe some mystery snails to go with the betta that Im planning on recieving. I've decided on the ancient Greek ruins as my theme I just really like the way it looks all together. In big news that I am very excited to talk about I got a new fish type friend!  As I've said being in a college dorm you meet a lot of people and in my dorm everyone knows I'm the fish person. They ask me about my bettas and tanks and ask me questions about what kind of fish they should get and any sick problems. There is one other person in my building that is into fishkeeping but sadly he is going to be switching colleges and where hes going they dont allow any pets at all. He has a 10 gallon himself with a sorority and a 5.5 gallon community tank with ADFs and tetras and platys and cherry shrimp. He can only take the 10 gallon home because his parents dont have time to care for 2 tanks with so many fish soooo he had to find homes for all his other fish which he did with no problem except one. He had one last ADF that no one was able to take and Monday was his last day here and still no one was able to take him so he just gave the frog to me. He literally just showed up at my door as he left with a tupperware bowl and said here basically. So that is how I came to be the owner of a new African Dwarf Frog. I have named him MR. Toad from the little kids book. Right now I have him in the 1 gallon to QT but I think Im going to put him with Kratos once he checks out because Kratos doesnt mind having others in his tank as Ive learned from helping my friend acclimate other fish. so far he's been doing good and I dont think theres any problems but I'm still in my research phase since he was just thrust upon me so suddenly. I dont know much about them so far so I dont know how old he is right now im feeding him bloodworms which he eats up like crazy. I dont know how often or how many so I'm just giving him based on how big his stomach gets. If any one could give me some info on these guys from your experience I would greatly appriciate it. Anyway thats whats new in my life and updates and I hope everyone else is doing well 

Picture Time!


This is Mr. Toad to me it looks like he still has a little tail so I dont know if that means hes still young or not. I really dont know much about these guys but I'm trying to learn as quickly as I can

Sorry for not having more pictures or updates but I have to get back to writing 2 papers that are due Sunday :/


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## Olivia27 (Nov 26, 2015)

I don't think there's anything wrong with Kratos at all. If anything that's exactly how all my boys swim. The "clamping" look is to help the fish propel forward. As for ADF, you really can't have just one. They need to be in a group of at least three. I also heard you can't have any decorations with a solid top (like a cave), as they won't be able to figure out their way out that way. Good on you for taking him in though!


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## StellaBetta (Dec 7, 2015)

O ok thank you so much for letting me know! I keep reading mixed info on how many should be kept together. Some places say their shy and dont mind being alone other say their social and like to have other ADFs with them so I really dont know what to believe. I'm most likely going to get a 3 gallon and have 3 in there then because I really cant have anything bigger than that at school as it is im already way maxed out with the 10 gallon coming in. Im going to have to hide the frog tank on inspection days shhh :BIGvault: So far I dont have any decorations since I dont have anyway to get to a pet store around my school and I havnt gone home for the weekend yet so right now all he has is a big wide stalk of anubias which he likes to lay on the leaves and a big marimo ball that he likes to lay half underneath. I was planning on getting one of those terra cotta pots and using that as a hidey space and maybe making a mesh tube to float cause I do know they like hidey spots and he seems to be a hider. Im trying to do my best with him since he was basically thrown at me so quickly with no explanation of how to care for him and I really would like to keep him and make him comfortable and happy as hes already growing so much on me  He even sings for me at night 
As for Kratos I'm glad to hear hes not the only little guy that does this but he doesnt only do it when swimming he also does it when hes just stopped and looking at something or resting to but for the most part he is fully open I was just curious if he was just a special case or not


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## StellaBetta (Dec 7, 2015)

*Updates*

So its been a while since I posted any updates but its been crazy busy at school the past week. I've had so much homework and projects and hardly any time for myself. So updates on the fish babies I apologize for not having pictures I just got to my house and had some spare time so I decided to update but I didnt take any pictures before I left school

Kratos: Hes doing good as always my little fighter. Hes a little piggy and loves to eat all the pellets I give him and then sit there staring at his feeding spot like "hey there wheres the rest im waiting" His fins are growing more and more each day right now hes in the process of growing his dorsal and caudal fins so his dorsal flops over and he stares at it like what the heck is this that keeps touching my back almost like he has no clue what it is or what to do with it cause hes never had it so grown out before. . His caudal is kinda the same as its growing it has a clear coloring though not the red like the rest of his body but I think the red is creeping up on it though so we'll see. I still think hes the most handsome boy (says every betta fish owner lol) I also finally got around to making him one of those mesh tube float things because I noticed he never really spent time around the decorations at the bottom of the tank because the tank is a little on the tall side. So far I havnt seen him in it much but at least he has it there and it gives him something to do.

Stella: Im thinking of gutting out her tank and completely redoing it. I definitely made a mistake on buying the sand for her its such a hassle for me to clean and its constantly clouding up the water if I move something in her tank or she stirs up the sand. The only reason I got it was because of the anubias I bought for her but right now I have that in the frog tank so when I get back to school the first thing im doing is taking the sand out cleaning the whole tank and putting gravel. Im doing a mix of the original purple that she had and the blues that I have in Kratos's tank cause I have tons left over. Sometime this weekend im gonna go to the pet store by my house to see if he sells any silk plants and if not to Petco it is! She herself is doing good except shes starting to have a problem with eating. Its not that she doesnt eat she definitely does its that she doesnt see the food when I drop it in the tank. Even if its right in front of her face she doesnt go for it. And when I try to point it out to her she thinks the food is on the little feeding spoon and jumps for it and makes all her pellets sink and then she'll finally see them and swim down to the bottom and eat them off the sand. Which is another reason I want to switch the sand because shes always swallowing up sand and having to spit it out and I dont want to mess up her stomach with all that sand. Other than that shes good shes getting a little chunky because I have to drop more pellets in for her to notice theres food so shes been getting big. Im gonna have to cut back at feeding time.

Mr. Toad: He is doing amazing! I am so in love with this little guy and his adorable personality! One thing that I do have to say I wish was different is the volume that he sings with at night. I love hearing him sing its one of my favorite parts of the night but lately hes been getting louder and louder with it and its making it harder for me to sleep. I have to sleep with headphones now so I cant hear it. I love hearing him just not so loudly. Other than that he is amazing. He loves food time and I hand feed him with tweezers because if not he wont eat anything (He's such a little baby) Right now hes been eating freeze dried brine shrimp and freeze dried bloodworms as treats and occasionally I'll try to give him some freeze dried baby shrimp but he has issues eating it and it usually makes a mess every where. I know giving him all this freeze dried food can be bad for him but its the best I can do I dont have a fridge at school to keep any frozen stuff and I definitely cant do live so he has to stick with freeze dried. I heard theres a frog pellet food that alot of people give their ADF's so I might look for it when I go to the LPS and Petco this weekend to try it out. He also loves eating his molting when he does it once a week which gets his stomach huge which means no dinner for him that night which happen to be the nights he sings the loudest. Whenever I feed him and he wants more if he sees me packing the food up and walking away he starts yelling at me like hey you get back over here and feed me I wasnt done. Hes starting to get a little belly though so I'm trying to cut back on portion sizes. Hes so interesting to watch. He loves to swim around the central anubias plant I have in his tank and hes actually a pretty active little swimmer hes always swimming around. When he needs to come up for air he stops swimming stares at the top of the tank and does a huge leap for the top and then dive bombs underneath the marimo ball I have which is his favorite hidey spot. I tried making a sinking mesh tube for him so he could hide out in there but he only would go underneath the whole tube and I didnt want him getting stuck so I took it out. Whenever he notices that im watching him he stops and stares at me as if to say "I wasnt doing anything" When I walk over to his tank he likes to swim close to the top to look at me and see if im going to feed him. Just this morning before I left when I was feeding everyone I walked over to where his tank was and I see him staring at his bottle of food which is his way of telling me your late on feeding time I'm hungry. He really is such an interesting character and I definitely want to get more buddies for him. I couldnt get any last weekend because I had no time to go to the store and see if they had any but this weekend I definitely want to go pick up a 3 gallon critter keeper my LPS has and then check out the ADFs at Petco to get some for him. Definitely males because I really dont have the space for any little tadpoles. 

And in sad news with the 10 gallon that arrived last weekend I found out it had a tiny hairline crack in it after I had just finished setting it up and woke up the next morning to water all over my bathroom floor. So I had to reship it back and either wait the 3 weeks it would take before I got the new one back or just get a refund and get a different tank. I took this as a sign that this particular tank wasn't meant for me and I'm just going to get the 5 gallon kit that Petsmart has on sale right now. This really bums me out cause I was really looking forward to starting a community but its probably for the best because I could have gotten in a lot of trouble if my school found out that I had a tank that big plus a bunch of other tanks around the dorm so as much as I hate having to get a smaller tank for my new eventual incomer Monty it is what it is :/ its the best I can do at the moment but when this first year is up and im back home I'll definitely be getting the 10 gallon and starting a community with him because thats really what I want


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## Sadist (Jan 1, 2015)

Look it up to be sure, but I think betta pellets would do in a pinch instead of freeze dried stuff for your frog. They eat bugs in the wild just like bettas. It's something to look into until you can get frog food.

I guess the community tank isn't meant to be while you're at school. You definitely don't want to get caught with something you aren't allowed. They might kill all your pets in there and throw it out or something. It's something to look forward to! I do want to warn you that 10 gallons isn't as big as it seems at first. Since a lot of community fish are social, they need 6 of their kind. That's 70% stocked already with just one school of fish. You could do your betta with a school of pygmy cories (though I've read they liked sand better than gravel, not sure if it's true) or a betta with some other sort of clean up crew that still needs to be fed.


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## StellaBetta (Dec 7, 2015)

O ok thats good to know for if the frog food ever runs out. And for the 10 gallon I was planning on doing a betta and neon tetras and maybe a mystery snail. Im not to sure yet but I really love the way the neons and embers look so I may just stick with those and of course a new baby betta when the time is right I really love raising those guys

In good news today I was able to buy the frog food which I had to go all over the place to find because it wasnt at my LPS or the petsmart that was in the area I was at so I had to go to a Petco where I finally got it. At the petsmart though I was able to get a 3 gallon for the frog tank with a little cocnut hut cave and a 5 gallon to set up for Monty. Both petsmart and petco had ADFs but none of them looked very healthy and one looked like he had just transitioned to frog from tadpole it was really quite sad so I wasnt able to pick up any buddies for Mr Toad yet but as soon as I see some healthy ones im gonna scoop them up. Also in the petsmart they had 2 tiny tall vases on display with filthy water and hardley any swimming room one had a big veiltail with ich and the other had wait for it....a king betta can you imagine that a king in a tiny vase like that it makes me so sad to see them in such horrible conditions like that I made it a point to very loudly tell my boyfriend that it made me sad to see them treated so horribly.


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## StellaBetta (Dec 7, 2015)

*Leaving the forum*

I am sorry to announce to anyone who follows me but I am going to be leaving the forum and possible fishkeeping, aside from the ones I currently have. I have recently had a very serious family emergency and someone I care about deeply is very ill and I need to focus my attention on anyway to make them better. I may come back to fishkeeping but with how much of my finances this is going to take from me I dont see it happening any time soon. I am going to be keeping the fish and frogs I have currently but as for any new additions it will not be happening I am taking back the tanks I recently bought so I can get some money back so I have no space and certainly not enough money to be buying anything other than essentials for them and myself. I hope to return again in the future when things are better. 
Goodbye for now everyone


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## StellaBetta (Dec 7, 2015)

Wow it's been such a long time since I've been on this forum I didn't even remember the way it looked lol. So much time has passed between my last post and this one and so much has happened both in my personal life as well as animal wise. I guess I can start off with my school life...

I'm not sure if anyone knows but I currently am in a 4 year school studying to become a veterinary technician. I am in the end of my second year right now so I still have a long ways to go. I love the school and I love the subject matter but boy o boy is it definitely getting harder with each new quarter. Right now I am taking a terminology and law class as well as anatomy and physiology. Both are very difficult courses and really heavy on memorization which I have never had any issues with before up till this point. I think the sheer amount of stuff that we have to memorize is what's making it so difficult for me. I have A's in the classes right now but then again ito only going to be week 4 so we'll see how that continues. 

As far as animal life there has definitely been alot going on. After my last post and what happened which I will also get into later on I had completely stopped being interested in fishkeeping. Not because I didn't enjoy it but because I had so many other things on my mind that fish weren't a priority anymore. Towards the end of the summer of my first year of school when things has finally started calming down in my personal life did the itch come back. The fish itch. At this point I still had Stella and she was still as bratty as ever. She was still in the 1.5 gallon that she's been in for basically all of the time that I've had her because anytime I tried to move her to something bigger she would freak out. I also still had Kratos at this point and he had grown so so much it was a huge transformation and he was a stunning deep red color with blue highlights. I had moved him from the triangular 2.5 gallon into a normal rectangular 2.5 gallon because I noticed that he was always in the top of the original one and I figured it's because it was too tall for him. I was right about that cause when I moved him into the normal shaped one he perked up so much and he had already been a pretty energetic fish. As for Mr. Toad unfortunately I can't give any good news he hadn't even made it up to this point. I had him for a couple months before I came back to my dorm room from class one day to find him ballooned and floating  I'm still not sure what caused it he had never shown any signs that he was sick and he was eating and using the bathroom and singing as usual up until that moment. Anyway back to late summer when I got the fish itch. I was looking at pinterest and some of the people I follow were posting betta pics of gorgeous all white elephant ear bettas and I instantly feel in love. I had never seen such a pretty fish before and I really really wanted one. After all I had a 2.5 gallon lying around that needed a fish for it ? So I started looking some up on ebay and aqua bid but I wasn't finding any that I liked. On one of my trips to Petco picking things up for my dog I decided to take a look at some of the fish when low and behold guess what caught my eye...An all white delta tail boy! I immediately went to him to inspect his condition and his tiny cup and it seemed like Petco had just gotten this new shipment in because he was pristine. So of course I wasted no time and immediately bought him he was absolutely perfect and exactly what I had been looking for (to this day all white betta boys are still my all time favorite number 1 choice). I set up his tank at home and just watched him for hours he was so pretty I couldn't take my eyes off of him. I named him Baymax cause Big Hero 6 had come out at this time and I really like that movie. So now I had Stella Kratos and Baymax and you think I would've stopped there but nope I kept going I was in full swing. A couple weeks later I bought 2 golden mystery snails and put one in Kratos and one in Baymax tank so they could have some buddies and because I really wanted mystery snails. Once school came around again I had gotten an on campus apartment building that was similar to the dorm rooms expect it was an apartment style so I still share a room with someone and theres also another room which has 2 girls in it as well in the building both rooms have their own bathrooms but we all share a kitchen living room and dining area. I realized that when I moved in I didn't really have space for all of my tanks. Before then I had a whole dorm room to myself because my roomate had never showed up so I had both sides. Now I only had one side and very limited furniture space. I ended up putting Stella and Kratos at the foot of my bed on a mini cabinet that was there and put Baymax on my desk next to my computer. All of my roommates were really interested in my fish and thought they were great to have so there was no issues there. Unfortunately I guess the stress of moving so far and being in such a new environment was too much for Kratos and he passed away a couple weeks after I had moved in the the apartment  It was a really sad day because he was the one fish that I raised from a baby and my youngest boy. I had taken extra precaution when moving them cause I didn't want to stress them out too much but I guess it still want enough for him and he didn't make it. I still had Stella and Baymax and the 2 snails who were now both in the empty 2.5 gallon. The first break came around which was thanksgiving we had a week off and I was very stressed because I would have to be leaving my fish in the apartment while u traveled for the week. Luckily my roomate was going to be staying so I asked her if she could take care of the fish and snails while I was gone and she agreed so I showed her how to feed them and check the temps and do water changes since I have small tanks. They did survive the break and she had no issues caring for them that week. Then came winter break which was 3 weeks long for us and again I had to leave my fish in the apartment because I had to travel. One of my roommates frequently uses the apartment as a stopping point to visit between her mom and dad who are seperated so I asked her if she would look after the fish for me and showed her how to do it. When I got back to school however there wasn't good news to report to me. According to her during one of the water changes she did Baymax jumped out of the cup he was in while she was re filling the tanks so she didn't notice. Needless to say he was no longer alive when I got to school. You can imagine how sad I was to come back and see his empty tank. My gorgeous boy was gone after such a short time spent together  I was really upset with my roomate but at that point what could I do he was already gone. There hasn't been any breaks that I've had to be away from the apartment for a long time since then except spring break which was a week for me and having only Stella made it very easy for me to transport her to my house at the beginning of the week and back to school the Monday it started. That's all up to date as far as the animals go currently I only have Stella who surprisingly is my oldest fish I have had her for almost 3 years now and she's still good as ever and still a brat. She sits on my desk with me now and the snails sit at the foot of my bed. I would love to get another all white boy again but who knows how long that will take to be lucky enough to see one. I had gotten really lucky the day I found Baymax cause you rarely find all white males where I am. 

As this post is already long enough I will talk about what's been going on with my personal life tomorrow. It's late as it is right now about nd I have to be up for anatomy in the morning. I look forward to rejoining the betta fish community again and can't wait to further my collection


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## Sadist (Jan 1, 2015)

What a busy year! I'm sorry about losing the ones that are gone. Stella, always sticking around, though!


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## StellaBetta (Dec 7, 2015)

So I'm not sure if this one will post I've been trying to finish my story for a few days but it won't show up so we'll see about this one....Anyway so on to what it wells at happened a couple years ago. So at the time I had 2 fish and was going to be receiving another one that was being fostered and I was really excited about it along with that i had 2 apple snails and a dwarf frog but unfortunately at that time I found out that my grandmother had a stroke and was now going to be disabled so my family would be having to take care of her which was really hard because they were always at work. She wasn't able to do anything for herself and we had to pay for atndll her hospital bills along with her medications and making our house wheelchair friendly it was alot of money and a really big time commitment and since my parents weren't able to do it I had to step up and be the one to help out. I just didn't have time to give attention to any extra fish like I wanted to and like they deserved it was really hard as well because I had to transfer schools to my local community college and take as many online courses as I could at the time so I would be able to care for her. My parents were working alot of overtime to ttry and pay for all the bills we had accumulated and it was just a really hard time. Currently the situation is a lot better my mom got a big promotion at work and made I really huge pay boost and we were able to eventually pay off the bills and even get a hospice nurse to be able to care for her so I was able to return to school. Things are much better now but for a while it was rough. Anyway that's the story about what happened and why I was gone so long.


In other news I have something very exciting to show you guys.....some updated pics of Stella and the new boy I just picked up today


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## StellaBetta (Dec 7, 2015)

I picked him up at petsmart today and surprisingly all the fish looked really healthy and it wasn't a new shipment cause there was hardly any bettas left at the one I went to. It was a really hard choice between him and another really gorgeous marble butterfly tail boy which of course I forgot to get pictures of him  he was really pretty but really expensive otherwise I would have gotten him. I still havnt decided on a new for this new guy but I really like him and he's settling in really well to his new home so far


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## StellaBetta (Dec 7, 2015)

And here are some updated pics of the sassy miss that is Stella 
She is very chunky I know but thats how she always looks now Ive tried fasting her for a few days and her stomach still looks chunky
Shes my little chunky girl


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## StellaBetta (Dec 7, 2015)

Im gonna take better pictures of the boy in a couple days cause I know the phone ones suck but I want to let him get used to his new home before busting out the DSLR on him
If you couldnt tell he is a Dumbo Halfmoon and I chose him because I was really wanting a marbled betta for a while I think they are really pretty and interesting to watch their colors change 
I still also want an all white HM or Dumbo HM again so I am actively on the lookout for that 
I noticed that all the bettas I really gravitate towards are usually Halfmoons I just think their fins and body types are so gorgeous! 
Anyway so that was my exciting news for the day also for anyone whos curious I have him right now in a 3 gallon heated tank with some floating anubias nana and 2 hides as well as 2 silk plants. As for Stella she has remained in her heated 1.5 gallon that she has always been in mainly because of the fact that whenever I tried to move her she would get really stressed out and lethargic in any tank that was bigger or different from her usual one. She also has some floating anubias nana and 2 soft plastic plants and one hide with a betta leaf her tank is also filtered because she likes the current of the water.


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## Sadist (Jan 1, 2015)

I think that chunky belly on Stella is just her ovaries. My crowntail girls carry their ovaries way low like that, so they always looked chunky in that one spot.

New boy is gorgeous! I can't wait to see how his colors change over time. I've never had a marble with red on them instead of blue.

You did have a busy year. It's nice you were able to transfer schools and take online courses to help out. When my grandma was that way (not from a stroke, but helpless and needing full time care), I was too little to help out. It was a huge strain on my parents, as one had to be home all the time and both worked full time jobs with crappy pay. Thankfully, I was too little to understand just how horrible it was for them and just liked having my grandma living with us for a while.


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## StellaBetta (Dec 7, 2015)

Sadist said:


> I think that chunky belly on Stella is just her ovaries. My crowntail girls carry their ovaries way low like that, so they always looked chunky in that one spot.
> 
> New boy is gorgeous! I can't wait to see how his colors change over time. I've never had a marble with red on them instead of blue.



That's good to know! I've been kind of worried about it since it's been that way for so long but it really doesn't seem to have any negative effects on her she's still her usual self.

I'm so excited to see the change in him too! He's really cool because he has purple and blue and red colors and then certain areas in his fins looks transparent and iridescent it's really pretty  Still haven't decided on a name for him yet Thinking maybe Baloo or Hikory I'm really not sure


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## DangerousAngel (Mar 26, 2015)

He looks like a Baloo to me!


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## StellaBetta (Dec 7, 2015)

*Meet Ray!*

So I finally got around to getting some pics of the new guy who officially has a name now! His name is Ray. It's not the most creative of names but it suits him he's a very simple fish and really easy going so I thought he deserved a really simple name to match. Anyway I have a huge amount of pictures I'm about to share but I really couldn't decide between any of these which were the best so I'm just gonna post them all :smile2:


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