# Betta Nut's Journal



## Betta Nut (Dec 3, 2013)

New year, so figgured I'd start a journal!
This first part will probably be long, since I'll start from the beginning.
Used to really be into fish keeping when I was younger, had a 30 gallon I was always playing around with. Bought TONS of books about everything fish and read them all voraciously. I learned a lot, but only about regular tropical community tanks. I never had a betta though. Maybe I did once, when I was very young, but have forgotten about it.

Many years later, I decided to get back into fish. Budget and space wasn't going to allow me to have a big community tank like before though, so one day when I was picking up some stuff at WalMart, I went to look at bettas. Remy was love at first sight, and though I hadn't planned on doing anything but look, I grabbed him, and bought some basics to set him up.
Remy in his first home:








I didn't have his heater or live plants at first, just a log with a silk plant attached and sand. I joined this forum pretty quickly though, and learned bettas need warm water! Also decided to get some live plants to help with ammonia, something else I didn't know about. I thought you only changed water when it looked dirty. So glad we have so much info here 

So, Remy started looking rather big for his one gallon, so I went out and bought a 3 gallon kit that was on sale. In went Remy, and he sure used every square inch of that tank! Active guy.








Now, I had a spare tank. We know what comes next, yes? I went to a LPS to see what they had, with the intent to get a sickly fellow who noone would pick and was doomed to death in a cup. Little Wilbur was a sad sight there on the shelf. Tan body, brown fins, no hint of color. To make it worse, his fins were just single skinny spikes no thicker than a pencil lead their entire length. I knew he was the guy I was looking for.

I got him home and warmed him up a little before putting him in Remy's old tank. Within an hour of being in there, he was clearly a solid red veiltail. He didn't swim, just floated on the top with his still spiked fins, uninterested in food. I had doubts he'd make it, but figgured I'd at least make him comfortable til he died. 
2 days later, he started trying to swim a little, and ate. Fins were the same, and he'd try really hard to swim to the bottom, but he'd get tired and popped back up like a cork. I was getting hope in his chances though, since he was eating (he was practically skeletal)
On the 4th day, I woke up and saw his fins had almost completely unfurled, and were remarkably undamaged... And he was swimming normal!
It was literally overnight he went from a sickly thing to a normal betta with nothing more than a warm home with room to move.
I don't have pictures of him unfortunately, but he's in Remy's old 1gallon with the old log, plant, and a few sprigs of moneywort. He's doing great, but got moved to the nightstand to make room for the next guy on my desk. I wish I had all 3 right here to watch while I'm on the computer.

So, a couple weeks passed, and I really, really wanted to add a lighter color or marble to my "family"

Petco had a nice looking marble, but he was really quite sickly, and this time, I wanted a healthy one.

Petsmart on the other hand, I found Igavon. Well, he found me, isn't that the way it works? I really couldn't afford another betta and setup, but I was in the throws of the addiction, so I did the best I could.









So now we are at present date, redid Remy's tank a little because I have been so inspired by tanks shown in the big "show your betta's home!" thread, I just needed to add a few things, plus his plants have really grown!








One last thing, about tank mates for Remy. I got 2 super cute whisker shrimp to be janitors. They have soooo much personality, they got named Lenny and Squiggy. They are pretty big, and fearless, which in the end was their undoing. The first few days, everyone was just going about their business, and I was really pleased it was working out. Then for no apparent reason, Remy started tormenting them. He seldom bit, was just "nose herding" relentlessly. I was hoping he'd get over it, but in the end, he exhausted both of them to death  The shrimp were not smart enough to hide, although they had plenty of cover for it. They'd just scurry around on the bottom or swim merrily through the middle of the tank.
Oh well, live and learn.
Now I am trying out a snail, but it's not looking too good eaither. Remy is such a brat. He's bit off the poor things antannae. I have heard they grow back pretty fast, so have just been letting things run their course, hoping Remy will finally accept him. He's not constantly bugging it, just flares at it now and then with an occasional shell peck. I'd put the snail somewhere else, but they just poop too much for a 1 gallon, so since I'm not as compassionate as if it were a fish, I'll just see how it works out over time. Sorry if someone thinks "You're being so cruel!" But for me, a snail is not like a fish!

That's all for now. I'll update here now and then. it's just nice to have a record of things I think!


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## Confishius (Dec 1, 2013)

good luck with your snail! I personally prefer brittlenose plecos to snails or shrimp, they're hardier and less maintenance. But I guess it depends on your betta's temperament, Confishius is a very mellow boy and just stays out of plato's way.


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## Betta Nut (Dec 3, 2013)

I'd love some corys or other bottom feeder, but with a 3 gallon, really shrimp or snail are my only options. Soooo if snail gets dead too, I will have to be the janitor more often 

Interesting though.. I thought all plecos got to be giants, but I see the brittlenose is only 3 or 4 inches. If I ever get a bigger tank, I'll keep them in mind!


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## Betta Nut (Dec 3, 2013)

Today's observations: Remy is terrified and flares and darts away if I put my finger to the glass of his tank, but I can put my whole face right up there to look at him closely, and he swims right up for a staring contest, doesn't move. Wierdo.

Igavon is gross and eats his own poo.

Wilbur looks like a catamaran sailing around his tank in circles rapidly in full flare at his reflection if I don't have the bedroom lights on. Stresses me out seeing him like that so I keep a light on til it's time for us to sleep.


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## Betta Nut (Dec 3, 2013)

Today did 100% changes for Wilbur and Igavon, used the API test kit to check Remy's parameters before I gave him a partial. 
Learned a valuable lesson to not just read directions for the tests, but the warnings too! 
I shook off a little excess solution at the top of the dropper bottle for the second ammonia test addition, to get accurate drops, and 2 drops fell on my pants at my thigh. I felt something, at first I thought it was just from feeling wet, but within 15 seconds it was burning bad! I hurried and rinsed it off, and got a little blister there.. nasty stuff. Think I'll get a pair of gloves to use from now on!
Anyway, tests were good, 0 ammonia/nitrite, 10 nitrate, so whew.. Me cleaning Remy's tank 100% a week ago to redecorate and foolishly adding dechlorinator *after* I put tapwater in the tank didn't kill my cycle.


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## Betta Nut (Dec 3, 2013)

I think I am going to switch out Igavon's cheezy plastic bowl for one of those glass 2 gallon "brandy snifters" in WalMart's craft section. They are bigger, prettier, glass instead of plastic, and the same price as this cheapo plastic bowl I got. Isn't it funny how just because something is "for fish" it doubles the price? This bowl of his now got a little algae on the front, so I scrubbed at it with a wet paper towl, now it's all roughed up/scratched. So cheap.
Good thing is, when it's replaced, I won't consider it another opening for another betta, lol. I'll keep it for a hospital tank. Although I will use the force of positive thinking that my boys will never get sick


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## Aus (Feb 3, 2012)

Ahaha, Lenny and Squiggy.. I am now hearing shrimp conversing in -those- voices. 

Gorgeous little tanks, you really have some flair for decorating. Lovely fishies, too. I see you've already the gained the inability to leave a LFS without a betta under your arm, LOL. They are addictive! 

Oh my, and that creepy betta stare. It's like they're sort of drifting off in thought, wondering if your head will fit in their mouths, and how they might go about testing this hypothesis. :shock:


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## Betta Nut (Dec 3, 2013)

lol Aus.. yes, I heard them conversing in -those- voices too! Would of been a great video to record the 2 shrimp with a backtrack of Len&Sq from the show! I am so sad they didn't work out 

I was worried my mystery snail was going to die in the tank and foul the water, so he's been chilling out in a tupperware container with a few pieces of broccoli and an occasional algae tab piece til I figgure out what to do with him. His antennae already have fully regrown.

I picked up a nerite tonight "just because". He looks like a piece of my gravel and Remy has been ignoring him for a few hours now. Plus it doesn't have those irresistable wiggly antennae.

Friday is payday, and I am really considering getting a 10G L and dividing it up for my 3 boys. Thing is, I usually don't like how they look, plus I'd have to buy something for a stand. And buy who knows what else. The mesh dividers always look cheezy to me *sigh*

It's probably what I will do eventually, but for now I will probably just end up putting Igavon in something else.


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## Aus (Feb 3, 2012)

You know.. I have thought for a long time that the fishkeeping supplies industry is a little retarded when it comes to bettas.. They sell these HORRIBLE dinky 1/4L tanks with spiky plants and disco lights.. guaranteed to kill your fish in a week.. When they -could- be selling attractive, pre-divided 10g tanks for probably not much more. 

Ah, well. Yeah, I don't like the look of most dividers, either. You could try a moss wall? Like, mesh with java moss growing all over it? I am sure there's plenty of places online with instructions for those, and they do look quite nice.


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## Betta Nut (Dec 3, 2013)

yeah, I have seen the mosswall too, but it never looks quite right.
I'd prefer just a solid black, possibly clear, sheet with small holes for flow. It'd be easy enough I guess to get some cut the perfect size and silicone it to the sides... 

Actually, writing this down is making me envision a triple layer sheet, black on the two outer ones, clear in the middle, with some artsy-fartsy cutout designs in the blacks.. Hmmm.... Now I want to try that


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## Aus (Feb 3, 2012)

Ooh. Now that sounds really nice.  What a good idea!


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## Betta Nut (Dec 3, 2013)

Woot! Got Igavon upgraded.
I stopped in at Petsmart after work to check out what tanks might be on sale, and they had the Fluval spec 2 gallon on "clearance"... $36 was $10 higher than two other tanks I was considering, but I've really been wanting to try out a Fluval, and the price was right.
It's really not that much bigger than his bowl, since I think 1/2 a gallon is taken up by the housing, but whatever.
At least now he's in filtered water, with a little more room, even if it's vertical room. I really like the look. 
And the fact it's glass.

I'll maybe get a pic up this weekend, but it's such a pain taking them!
I have to make like a contortionist maneuvering my big laptop so the camera on the top of the 17 inch screen gets at the right angle and distance. 
For a really crummy picture. 
If I had something better for taking pictures, I'd be spamming them all over the place!

Snail saga: Remy has decided snails are OK. He's not mean anymore, and even cuddles with them. 
Yes, I said cuddles. 
He'll go over where one is chewing on some gravel, nose around beside them, then sorta leans up against them and hangs out with his new buddy for a couple minutes.
Other times, the mystery likes to just freefall from the top of the water line once he gets some air, and more than a few times, he has landed right on top of Remy, who only slowly scoots out of the way and then checks to see if his buddy found anything interesting where he landed.


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## summersea (Jul 26, 2013)

Haha! Love the snail saga! I am looking to find a couple snails for my guys. Hoping my boys take to them te same way aren't has!

I can't wait to see the upgraded tank!


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## Betta Nut (Dec 3, 2013)

Must.. stop.. getting... fishies!

This is the last one, for real. There. It's now in print, so I have to stick with it.

But... she was so cute! I had to have her! It was her, or a digital camera to take pics, so, you know how it goes.

Lulu, and no pics 

She was tan with stress stripes in the cup, so I didn't know what color she'd be, but she had these pretty, gentle eyes that said please take me home. So I did.
She still hasn't really colored much, it'll either be blue or purple, and she still has faint stripes. I am sort of wondering if she's just a baby still. She's teeny.

I have set her near both Igavon and Remy to say hi, and the boys are all flirty and showing off. She just swims to the front of her house and inspects them. So cute! Wonder what goes through her head.
"Yeah, you're OK, but can't you do something more impressive?"

Her normal spot to sit is on Igavon's side, but a few feet away, and a foot or so lower, on another table. I don't know how he could possibly see her, but when she is there, he glass surfs on that side constantly, not flaring, but rather like he'd like to get a bit closer!
I only just now noticed it, because he stopped doing it soon as I put her by Remy.

No, I am not constantly moving her, she's only sat by each one once. I just wanted to see what they'd do. She's stuck with one gallon for now so it's easy for me to make the introductions. 

So, the wish list now includes a sorority tank. I had no idea females were so endearing.

Wait.. I said this is it. Yeah. I did. "The last one for real" (til I get a 10 gallon)


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## BettaLover1313 (Apr 15, 2013)

I've been reading this every time you posted, but I finally decided to stop stalking and post lol.

Love your last post with "Wait.. I said this is it. Yeah. I did. "The last one for real" (til I get a 10 gallon)" lol made my day!


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## Betta Nut (Dec 3, 2013)

Been a while since I posted, but nothing really of note til today.
Had to move all my tanks this morning because landlord was putting in new carpet.. Apartment had flooded out last weekend, and it had to be replaced.
Ugh what a chore, glad I didn't have any larger tanks! 
Bad enough as it was,my kitchen and bathroom were stacked almost to the ceiling with furniture!
Somewhere amid the mess were my tanks, refilled and necessities plugged in.
Had to move them back to their regular places tonight after work.
Boy am I tired now!

I stopped at Petco on the way home to get a 10 gallon before their $1 a gallon sale was over. Future sorority!
It'll be quite some time before it's set up. I have nothing to put it on, so I am going to do a sorta DIY stand out of decorative concrete blocks and wood. Probably 2 tier, so I can put the smaller tanks on the lower level. 
Maybe stain the wood parts so it looks "pretty"

Been talking to a seller on Etsy about making aquarium frames, and he's sort of psyched about it. I found him because amid his other rustic hand made stuff, he had an aquarium, very pretty, but too big for me, and way too much to ship.
So we're talking about having him make just a frame, unassembled, to go over a standard plain aquarium to make it look amazing.
Now that I have this new one, I can get him the dimentions, and see what we can come up with. Super nice person, very pleasant to work with. I hope it'll pan out


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## Betta Nut (Dec 3, 2013)

So picked up the concrete blocks and wood today at Home Depot for the stand.
I think it'll actually end up looking kinda nice in the end. Can't get a stand nearly as sturdy for the $21 I paid, anyway.
It was funny, cause the guy in front of me in the line looked at my cart, said "entertainment center?" I laughed and said aquarium stand. He had made his entertainment center out of the same stuff, and I have too in the past, for that matter. I think a lot of people have, it works!
I'll get it set up this weekend, put the 10 on the top and maybe go ahead and get my boys on the middle shelf to get an idea how it'll look in the end.
I wonder where I can get some old-style thin rope fishing net with the floaties to drape behind it and over the top shelf... hmmm.
Hopefully I can get a camera to take a pic when it's all done 
I am as much into decorating tanks/acessories as I am into the bettas themselves, lol. This is why I want my own store! I have it all decorated in my mind, and it's called Fresh Fins, hah. Specializing in freshwater fish and supplies. Of course it'll have a separate room in it called Betta paradise 
Soon as I win the lottery, it'll be open. Yeah. I'm right on it.


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## Betta Nut (Dec 3, 2013)

Incoming pics!

Worked all day on getting the 10 gallon set up. 
One 32 oz cup at a time. *pant*
I had been sort of kicking myself for not just getting a 20 for $10 more, but now I am glad I didn't.
I thought it might be cool to take pics as I went along with it, so here they are!

Finally figgured out placement of blocks and tank for best support and stability:








Time to put in substrate! I went with black CaribSea Super Naturals, two 5 lb bags for the majority, then added a path thingy with some leftover brown pebble gravel, 
then over the pebbles I added some white petco brand sand. The CaribSea brand is great, very clean and stable, but I wouldn't reccomend that petco brand. 
It clumps up, flies everywhere, floats on air bubbles to the top, and is just really not very good.








Time to put in some plants! I'm limited right now on spending, so only bought two new plants. 
Dwarf hairgrass, and an amazon sword. I had lots of moneywort already, crypt, and hijacked Remy's banana plant, since his tank is super overgrown anyway at this point. 
I couldn't afford any hardscape or ornaments yet.








I also couldn't get any ferts yet, but so far my plants love me in other tanks without them, 
so hopefully they will be ok til I can get something.

Fill 'er up!






















Added my big snail to help with ferts, and Lulu is zipping everywhere in it, so much room for one little girl!
I'll be adding way more stuff to it in the coming month or two, and waiting for it to fill in before I start a sorority.

Also, had to come up with a makeshift baffle for the filter. I got the whisper 10i, because I really like the smaller version Remy has
in his tank. The thing is, his is adjustable, has a soft flow, and doesn't need a baffle. This big one though, is not adjustable and way stronger.
I would of got another kind if I had known that, but I am lazy to exchange anything as long as it works, so that big bag you see in the pics is the baffle


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## Betta Nut (Dec 3, 2013)

Oh and took a pic of Igavon's new digs, since I hadn't done that yet....









I'm actually not a fan of this tank, although I know others love the specs.

It's fine for partial water changes, but it is awkward to do a full change.


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## Betta Nut (Dec 3, 2013)

So, I took a sick day today on account of a tooth abcess swelling up. Did a full round of water changes and minor tank rearranging.
I realized Wilbur, my rescue, hadn't said hi to everyone yet, and felt a little guilty about that, so took a few pics 
His fins have not recovered fully, they are still quite stiff and not flowy, but it's not clamping per se, because even when he's fully flared, they are stiff and scrawny.
He's very friendly and loveable!























I'm impatient to get more stuff for the 10 gallon, and also Lulu refuses to come out of hiding when I have a big ole laptop up by the tank taking pics!















Remy wanted to get in on the action too. He's my only one who loves to show off when it's picture time. Pity I can't do him justice.









Nothing much new, just a little worried about Igavon's tail.. The rest of his fins are in perfect condition,
but his tail has been getting bad. It looks like fin rot, not biting or tearing, but there is no edging on it.
I've just been going OCD about having super clean water for him and hoping to see some sign of regrowth, since it's been staying the same now for a week or so.
Otherwise, he's healthy, eats like a pig and poops like a horse, lol
(every single day I have to syphon out 5-6 poos laying on the bottom, food seems to go right through him)
I feed him more than Remy, and he's half his size, but he's still so slender. I wonder what's up with that.


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## Betta Nut (Dec 3, 2013)

Little updates and more pic spams. I picked up a marginally better webcam to take pics with tonight. I'm disappointed on the quality, but at least I don't have to maneuver my laptop around to take them!
Got my root tabs and flourish in the mail, so hopefully my DHG will perk up some now, it's been looking a little sad. 
Petco had some HUGE hunks of wood with anubias in a tank for only $10, so I totally snagged one. Great deal, since usually they are just teeny little hunks barely big enough for the anubias stuck on them. The one I got has some nice little swim-throughs too, not that it'll show in the pic.
Also am giving the betta bulbs another go. I decided to follow my own advice this time and try to get them to sprout in their own little bowl so they don't sit and rot in a tank. Last time, only the onion plant grew. Figgures. Big ugly thing.

Well, here are the boys, the girl, and the slowly progressing tank!

The tank:








Miss Lulu:








Shy Wil:








Sir Igavon:






















And Mister Remy Lebeau:















I took a couple short vids as well, they probably will look better than the pics, but have yet to load anything up to youtube, ever.


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## Betta Nut (Dec 3, 2013)

oops double posted, d'oh!
well since it's another post, here's another pic


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## Betta Nut (Dec 3, 2013)

OK, I made a silly video debut of Remy having "issues" with his snail buddy. He only does this when the snail has the audacity to interfere with his view out the front of his tank. I like to think he likes to make sure I can see his prowess with bubbles 
He ignores it if it's anywhere else.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=38J9XSFlZ38


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## summersea (Jul 26, 2013)

Haha! I love the video! Remy is both hilarious and gorgeous! These guys have such personalities!


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## Betta Nut (Dec 3, 2013)

Thanks! 
And yeah, their silliness is best shown in videos I think, lol.


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## Betta Nut (Dec 3, 2013)

I'm so excited right now!
I went to petsmart to pick up a few more nerites so I wouldn't have to keep rotating tanks for the one I have now. 
Went to have a look at female bettas there to see if the color combo I have been watching for happened to be there. 

You see, I have my heart set on a yellow body/ red fin combo, because I've been wanting to name her Zia. Zia is the New Mexico state flag emblem, which is a red symbol on a yellow background.

Well, as luck would have it, Zia was there, and sweet as can be. She also had super red cheeks and blue eyes which pretty much sealed the deal 

So, of course that meant the start of the sorority, so I got 2 others. With Lulu already at home, that made 4. 
I wanted to get more, but there were only 3 others, and they didn't look so hot. 

I'll probably go to petco next weekend in hopes they stocked up for their 50% off fish sale. Ideally, I'd like 7 or 8 for the sorority.

I can't even begin to explain the feeling when it's time to let everyone loose.

I floated the 3 new ones for about an hour, with Lulu still loose to get aquainted, and to get an idea how everyone was going to act.

It was pretty predictable from that point. I took Lulu out after an hour and cupped her, then released the shyest one, the marble crowntail, first.
I let her swim around and explore for about 10 minutes, then let Zia and the red veiltail who had been most reactive to Lulu out together.
10 minutes after that, I put Lulu back in, and watched, entranced and enchanted for about 2 hours as everything unfolded.

The red one, who I named Dezba, navajo name for "going to war", had to duke it out with Lulu for a while to establish who was boss.
Dezba wasn't giving an inch, and now Lulu has reluctantly accepted she doesn't own the whole tank any more. There have been no injuries or damaged fins between them so far. 

I think this has a lot to do with Zia, who is the most mellow gal ever. She doesn't make any agressive gestures towards the others, nor does she react in any way when she's being flared at. Totally ignores it.
She likes to hang around Dezba and stays near often enough to act as a diffuser between her and Lulu. She often gets right between them, distracting any agression.

The marble crowntail, named Quilla, is the scaredy-cat. And a piggy. I'm glad she's so interested in eating, because it'd be easy for her to be stressed from all the running away and end up sick.
She at first was freak-out darting any time anyone got close, even by accident, and her running away just made them chase her.
She's chilled out now though, and just keeps to herself poking around on the bottom looking for leftovers. Once in a while she'll go to Zia and flare, but gets ignored.

Sororities are so FUN! I'll be up all night watching them! I know things can change fast with sororities, but so far, things have really settled down, and everyone seems cool.

I took pics of everyone before they got together. The quality is god-awful, mostly I just wanted to show coloring.

Zia, the little angel who told me it's time to get this ball rolling! Her fins are redder than the pic shows, and body more yellow. Hopefully I can get a better pic soon.








Dezba, who lives up to her name. Most of the time she looks a dusky dark red, but this one shows the other colors when she shines.








Quilla, the shy one. I think she's marble, but for now it's a bit of a grizzle. her fins in person are a pale turquoise at the base fading to a lilac color.
She'll grow into a pretty girl.








And Lulu, who has had to give up her crown for queen of the tank. She'll live


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## Betta Nut (Dec 3, 2013)

Well, sadness this morning (

I woke up, and went straight to the tank to see how the girls were doing. Great! Still no evidence of fighting on anyone, and they all looked content.

But... Where was Zia?
Zia?
Zia??!!?? 
ZIA!!!???

Zia was dried up on the floor. I could just die.

She was so special, even after only knowing her less than 24 hours. My little blue-eyed peacekeeper. I don't have a lid, but my water level was over 2 inches, more like over 3 inches down from the top, I simply wasn't worried about a jumper 

She must of been scared of the dark, poor thing. It had to of happened pretty soon after I went to bed, she was so dried out and I only slept for about 5 hours. She was so calm and mellow, she'd be the last one I'd expect to do something like that.

Well, now a towel will be put over the top every night, especially now that I went to go get an ADF today to make me feel better. Also got 5 pygmy cories, which are 10 on the cute scale. I had planned on picking up a couple more females, since I am down to 3 now, but the LPS I went to had really awful ones. They kept their females all together in a tank, which may be better than the cups like other places, but they were very scrawny and there were one or two dead ones.

There was some initial nipping at the cories for the first 30 minutes or so, but now they and the ADF are left alone to do their thing.

The girls are all getting along fine, so I am not in a big hurry at this point to get more. I'll see what's in stock next week, but if noone jumps out at me, I'll keep waiting.

I'm gonna leave Zia in my sig, cause I think she's still here, making sure Lulu and Dezba behave 

Not much new with the boys, Wil keeps trying to get the girls attention next door to no avail, Igavon definitely is getting fin regrowth, and Remy has been mopey lately for some reason. Maybe he noticed he isn't the main star the past day or two.

*feels a pang of guilt and wiggles a finger on his glass for him to flare at*


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## Betta Nut (Dec 3, 2013)

Yay for the 1/2 price sale at petco!

Lets see, what's new....

Am seriously regretting my ADF purchase last week. He's cute and all, but I am finding it impossible to feed him. The girls play tag with my net chasing them away from his food, but still manage to eat all of it in front of his nose while he lays there going "duhhhhh". I got him a little food dish today so maybe he'd start associating it with dinnertime. I managed to get him in the dish, but he just sat there not doing anything for about 3 minutes, food all around him, and wandered away. Sigh. I'll keep trying.

So the girls! I got 4 of 'em at petco, they had a nice selection of females. All crowntails I ended up with, they just had the best colors.

So far, have named two, others are stumping me.

Star is brilliant, she had her name before I even left petco, cause I thought "wow, she's going to be the star of the tank!" She's hugely agressive though. There is no doubt who intends to be top dog. The three who were already home never acted like her, she's relentless. I'm a bit worried she's not going to work out, but it's too early to tell. There is no actual fighting going on, but she chases the three who were already here endlessly, switching from one to the next. No battle scars yet on anyone or nipped fins, but I have a feeling that may be coming. The three I bought along with her are all so mild mannered she doesn't bother them unless they accidentally get in the way.

Quilla, suprisingly, turned out to be the bossier of the original 3. She started out the meekest. But she's the only one who ever dares to occasionally challenge Star. Star, of course, reacts by chasing her all over. Everyone else just tries to stay away from her, but she starts chasing anyone she happens to see. 

Also got a glass cover while I was there, one less worry anyway. I don't need a repeat of last week.

I got some plants from Peachii thursday, so am doing ok in that department, although I picked up another driftwood/anubias piece since they were 1/2 off and all.... 

So without further ado, here is the progressing tank, and new girls!
















Star (she's the only one I could get a pic of out of the cup) :



Fae, my other named girl, because there is something fairy-like about her:



Unnamed purple girl, she looks a little droopy here:



And finally the cambodian with red spots on her head and black markings near her tail:



I know she looks a lot like Zia, but the wierd thing is, she has the exact same personality 

I wonder if they were sisters.....

I have finally sated my thirst on bettas with this sorority. Now I can stop plotting on what's coming next 

Anywhoo, that's the latest. I seem to only update on weekends, lol.


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## Betta Nut (Dec 3, 2013)

All is well today on the sorority... Star has chilled out some, and the still unnamed red/white one has gotten very sassy when it comes to trespassers on her little grass patch. Little miss unnamed purple is a big pain in the butt for her. Funny how the two with the most personality I can't figgure out names for, lol. Here is a vid of their antics: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J6D6i0Ky4TE

Got frog to eat this morning, yay! The girls decided his new food is gross. I think it's a she though, since it has a little tail bud and no light spot behind it's arms. So need a name for her too.


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## summersea (Jul 26, 2013)

They look great in the video! Very spunky! They must be entertaining to watch all the time. A sorority is on my wish list now!


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## Betta Nut (Dec 3, 2013)

summersea said:


> They look great in the video! Very spunky! They must be entertaining to watch all the time. A sorority is on my wish list now!


 haha .. yes, they're super entertaining. I lubbs mah girls!


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## Confishius (Dec 1, 2013)

the captions....i'm dying


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## Betta Nut (Dec 3, 2013)

Just a quick update because I was up way too late trying to take pictures!

Sororities shift so fast while settling. Originally, with the first three, Dezba was the clear boss. Now with everyone else, she just keeps to herself and is chased far more than being the chaser. In fact she never chases, is totally passive. Star is no longer boss, the cambodian, who is now named Darla, is the smallest, but seems to think she is the ruler.
Fae, who ignored everyone the first two days, is second in charge, and also loves jumping.. a lot! She thinks she sees something on the cover, and is always bouncing out trying to get it. It's fun to watch.
Little purple gal is named Tink, and is my favorite I think. She's so animated but mellow towards everyone.
So, so I don't forget, as of today, the pecking order I'd say is 
Darla > Fae > Lulu > Star > then Dezba, Quilla, and Tink as couldn't care less minions. Amazingly, still no nipped fins on anyone.

All 5 cories are still alive and frisky, and Frog doing well. The girls ignore all of them. Oh and all 5 snails are still ok too 

Boys are just being boys, and I'll let them have the pics tonight.

before and now for Igavon's tail, and Remy's grumpy face because it was past his bedtime.


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## Betta Nut (Dec 3, 2013)

Tink is having issues with some SBD. I looked over, and saw her being wierd at the top of the water in front, acting as if she was eating, but nothing was there. She was just constantly pecking at the edge of the water, gulping air I guess, while swimming along as if excited.
She'd occasionally swim down a little, then popped back to the top like Wil did when I brought him home. I am floating her in a cup with treated tap water rather than the tank water, just in case there is an issue there. When she stops swimming, she tilts, so I put a piece of frogbit in there to rest against on the top overnight.
I'm hoping this is just a temporary thing from being full. She was very thin coming home, and now she's got a normal sized tummy. I haven't got epsom salt to treat her for constipation, but since she isn't bloated or anything, I'm hoping a poo will straighten her out. 
I'd probably be out of sorts too if I went from being starved in a cell for a long time, to eating like a normal person all of a sudden.

All the girls are still getting along great. No chasing at all now, other than the occasional 1 second or less "get out of my way" type nudge.


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## Betta Nut (Dec 3, 2013)

So, Tink was all better this morning, whew!
A lil poo in her cup and swimming normal, so out of the cup she went, and all of the other girls pushed past her to check it out inside, lol. Silly things. 6 betta girls in a cup satisfying curiosity about the big thing that had been in their tank all night.
They have started eating Frog's food again. It's anchovy as main ingredient and 50% protien, so maybe it'll be good for them, or at least not harmful. Frog bites them to try and keep them off of it, but her bites must not hurt, because they go right back, lol. She still gets enough. I just have been cutting back on the girls' normal food so they don't get too fat.

Friday, yay!


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## lemmyloop (Jan 10, 2014)

Just read and caught up on your journal. Always fun to read about the antics of everyone else's fish babies! Makes me want to go for a sorority as well...

Glad Tink turned out okay.

I've got a couple of frogs in with my betta, and there are a bit of feeding problems with them. :/ Bettas just want to eat everything it seems! It's easy enough for me to distract my one boy from eating the frog food, but with all those ladies that seems like it'd be impossible. Since I've been rearanging some plants in my tank my frogs have gotten used to my hands in the tank, so I've found that sometimes I can offer them food and they'll eat it from my fingers. If you're worried about the frog not getting enough food you could try that.


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## Betta Nut (Dec 3, 2013)

Yeah, mine will eat from my fingers too, but that was some dried bug something or other that would float if I didn't. These "pellets" I have been giving her now though are too teeny-teeny to hand feed.. They are less than half the size of the betta pellets, but in a way that's good, because she gets a lot that the girls miss. I just put them in a small area so she can get some bites between shooing the girls away. Some of the girls don't like them, and spit them out chewed up, which she eats pieces of later sifting the sand. It's cute watching her do that, she scoops up a mouthfull of sand, then chews, sand coming out the sides of her mouth, lol.

I do plan on picking up some frozen bloodworms or something though next time I am at the pet store to hand feed once in a while.


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## Betta Nut (Dec 3, 2013)

This pecking order thing with the girls has just been changing daily. I hope they figgure it out soon! Lulu seems most dominant over the other girls, but Quilla bosses her. Q leaves the other ones alone, and Fae is her boss, so I don't know what's going on there. Maybe she's just keeping Lulu in line. Star has turned into the most passive, chases noone, and just swims along the back, occasionally being bossed by anyone near. Fae is still pretty near the top of the hierarchy, and now Darla, Dezba, and Tink are the minions, lol.
In spite of the constant upheaval, noone seems stressed at all. Overall I feel pretty lucky with how things have gone.


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## Betta Nut (Dec 3, 2013)

Did some plant adjustments in Remy's tank. I just couldn't stand looking at his crypts anymore with stubborn algae all over them. So they are now in the trash, along with the one that I had in the girl's tank that had the same problem since it came from his tank. So, he's got just two stems of wisteria, a bunch of frogbit, and a teeny little sprig of pennywort I stole from the girls and hope it grows. 

I also moved one of his betta bulbs that had taken off, apongeton. OMG this stuff I swear you can sit and watch grow. It had reached the surface of his tank with what I guess is it's flower stem, but when I moved it to the sorority, it had a bit over 4 inches to go to reach the top. I am not lying here, in 3 hours, it was poking out of the top of the water. Geesh! I think it wins the contest for fastest growing plant. It has 5 or 6 leaves below that are 4-5 inches long from first appearing a few days ago.

I stuck a bubble stone in the sorority too, just because.
I thought maybe the extra air exchange would help the plants, and the little cories might appreciate it, even though they seem to take air from the top like bettas. I thought at least _one_ girl would get a kick out of the bubbles, but they all ignore it like it's been in there for 10 years.


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## Betta Nut (Dec 3, 2013)

New news, not much really.
Sorority has become a peaceful place. I have no clue really who turned out to be alpha. Quilla is like the house frau, or a hall monitor, or just mom. I suppose she's boss, only because she never let anyone push her around while it all settled. Other than that, it's like a normal peaceful community tank.

I got Frog her own tank last night, because feedings simply weren't going to work. The girls were all getting too fat, and the whole attempt at keeping the frog in there was stressing me out. I had considered just returning it, but fact is, I've grown fond of her. She had a good meal last night, and finally has a nice little tummy 
The girls are being fasted today to get back on a normal diet. Normally I never fast anyone, advice aside on feeding. I haven't seen a need for it.

Wil got a new home too, a little larger, since bare tanks are pretty cheap and I already have everything for them. He seems happy 

Remy is his same old self, has started getting a little clumpy/curling going on with his "split ends" but nothing to be concerned with, he has lots of fin growth areas.

Igavon's tail continues to grow, another couple weeks, and it'll be hopefully good as new!

Unrelated to bettas, but since I started getting into them, I weaned myself off video games, lol.. I used to spend every hour not working or sleeping playing either LOTRO, GW2, or Mabinogi. For years. I just got bored of them, and bettas took their place. I feel more grounded in reality now, rather than living some fantasy life. I think I'll pick up Mabinogi again though, it's a nice mindless, relaxing way to while away some time.
Watching my fish and reading forums only goes so far for entertainment, and I'm not much of a TV person


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## Betta Nut (Dec 3, 2013)

I tried taking ONE decent in-focus pic of a fish to enter in one of the contests, but gave up. Pics of my dog turn out fine though, so Mimi says hi! She's 5 or 6, and according to the previous owner is a "french chihuahua" 1/2 french bulldog and 1/2 (in her case, long-coat) chihuahua. I have my doubts after looking those up, although she does have the tempermant of the frenchie.. She is so quiet, never barks unless someone is at the gate knocking. Doesn't act like any chihuahua I've ever met.
I've never liked "rat dogs" (sorry), always loved big dogs, til I met her. She's incredibly sweet, mellow, and well behaved. Her tongue is always sticking out too, which is adorable and was what first made me fall for her.
She has "soft ears" too, which makes her look even more like a mutt 

let me sleep pweeease??? *sticks out tongue*









Fine, I will sleep anyway.


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## Betta Nut (Dec 3, 2013)

Weekly update... Not much to update, so that's a good thing!
Everything is still good with all the boys and girls. The only change is, I am not sure how many pygmy cories I have.. They used to school around in the middle of the tank most of the day, but for some reason now, they only come out of hiding when the tank light is off. I've only seen 2 at once, and they don't school any more like they used to. I haven't seen any bodies though, and ammonia level isn't up, so who knows. 

/shrug

Everyone got pictures tonight, so here they are, the good, the bad, and the ugly.

First off, here is Wil's new tank. I decided to go with not as natural of decor as my other tanks, but I still like it. I don't have to worry about changing the light for something brighter. He's still got some frogbit and a wad of java moss to help the water.









And Remy in his lightly remodeled home:









Igavon in a pic that looks like he was painted:








He's started getting odd coloring now on his body, it was always a solid milky color til this past week.

(clockwise) Tink, Lulu, and Star:









Fae: (I love the 2 white stripes she has on her gills both sides)










Dezba (top) and Quilla (bottom) :









And last but not least, little Darla:









That's all, folks!


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## Betta Nut (Dec 3, 2013)

So, I have decided today that when I get my work vacation next month, my project will be switching the sorority tank to a NPT. I've been unhappy with the depth of the substrate anyway almost since I first got it set up, so if I have to pull everything to fix that, I may as well go all out.

Now that I have a few plants going with big root systems, I really need a deeper bottom. I also need to get a lamp that can handle a stronger bulb for it. The 10 watt I am using now is keeping everything alive, but some things like my amazon sword and DHG simply aren't growing. They're just "there".

I guess I'll need to buy some replacement sand for the cap, since that dang petco white sand didn't stay put when I set it up and moved all over from floating around on bubbles. Now my black sand is salt and pepper sand :/

I just hope the girls won't mind having to be in cups for most of the day. I imagine trying to net the cories is going to be a nightmare too! They're so tiny, fast, and good hiders. At least I'll finally find out if I still have 5. The little buggers never school anymore. There's one.. there's another back there... there's one over there on a leaf. Oh wait.. I think that was the first one. yeah.

I should just be glad I don't have shrimp!

I will start looking for a 10GLong tank as well. yep.
I've been really thinking hard about breeding. There is no end to this hobby I swear. The spawn log section here has fascinated me since I first joined. I've always been envious of people who do it. But I wrote off actually doing it because of the time commitment. It seemed impossible to have a full time job you go to every day and still be able to care for things right.
After a lot of thought though, I think it's possible. It's worth a try anyway, I think.
The indecision now is what to breed. I feel I need a goal with what I want to accomplish besides watching baby fish grow up. The whole geneology is sooooo hard for me to get a hold on. Most things I can pick up with ease, others are like there is a huge wall there between comprehension and duuuuuuh.

I was really strong on the idea to breed Fae to a dragon scale, and try to start a pale MGDS line. After someone in the breeding section kindly expalained what to look for and how the dominant/recessive stuffed worked, I feel even more lost! I wish all I wanted to do was cross a boy and a girl and see what I end up with. But nooo, I want to be picky on form and colors, and get a specific result.

I am kinda leaning now to getting a dumbo female, since I want one anyway, and crossing her with a DS. And not be worried about colors, just getting a dumbo of any color with the scales. At least I know dumbos are popular and shouldn't be hard to get rid of. Not sure I have seen any Dumbo DS either. Maybe there is a reason, because it's a bad gene mix. 

Sigh. I'll work it out, and I know I'm going to be trying something eventually.


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## Betta Nut (Dec 3, 2013)

Just a quick little entry tonight, because I got my first baby betta!
I stopped in at petco just to look and see if they got any nice dumbo males in, or dragon scale, or whatever 

They had tons there that came in the day before, but nothing jumped out at me. So, I look at the babies, since there were 20-ish there, and they were all "fresh", so worth a look. 
Some poor little guy was about the size of my pinky nail. So cute, but I know he'd never make it past a week more than likely, being so small and already going through all he had.

They were ALL very healthy looking and unclamped, so it took me quite a long time to decide. I settled on a very handsome baby who had a greenish body already and blonde fins... 
I am pretty sure it's a boy, he has long ventrals and no visible egg spot or ovaries, and I *thought* I saw some ray extensions in the store like he'd end up a CT, 
but now I can't really see them in his little home.

He's in a teeny little critter keeper, the .75 gallon size, but I have an adjustable 25 watt heater in there that seems to be holding the temp a steady 80. 
He happily ate a couple crushed up omega flakes and is very feisty, so, so far, so good!

Nothing has phased him at all.. The trip home, the acclimating, the new home, me fussing with a flashlight and tape measure, or Igavon behind him being all flarey. 
Hope we have a long future 

His teeny little hobbit house:








Blurry fella: (with me, they are all blurry, eh?)








And mostly as a record keeping for size, this is the closest I could get
to an accurate length. He's above it, but if I measure and slide down, he's about 3/4 inch nose to tail base (he's at the front of the glass) 
So teeny <3


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## Betta Nut (Dec 3, 2013)

I love feeding the frozen bloodworms to everyone!

I originally got them for my frog (who is doing great now in her own tank), but I have taken to feeding them to all my boys and girls, since they all love them so much. Even baby got one this morning, and though I thought it would be too big, he/she sucked it right down.

The girls are absolutely vicious over them. Not to eachother, but to my finger! Darla is crazy. She'll latch on to a mouthful, and I can actually lift her out of the water, lol. I shouldn't of started doing this, but I like making them jump to get them. This has already backfired, because yesterday Lulu did a kamikaze the second I lifted the lid and landed on the floor  
I scooped her up right away and plopped her back in, but she had a few pieces of mystery junk on her. No harm, no foul though. She panted on the bottom for about 30 seconds, then was back to complete normalcy, mystery junk and all. Poor thing.

I have been seeing a lot of sorority failures lately on the forum, and I feel really lucky I've had no problems. I think a big helper is having a half dark tank with my lighting setup, so maybe I won't be upgrading after all. That dark side is always very calm, the more passive ones favor it a lot. I can just keep the low light plants there. Heck. Maybe I won't even go NPT like I was planning. I don't want to mess with what's worked so far. Things aren't growing very much, but they are all healthy, and slow growing means less maintenance with pruning and weeding.









I'll never get over how bright Star is. From the second I saw her in her cup to now, every time I look at her, I wonder if one of her parents was a neon tetra! She doesn't even need light on her to be glowing.

I saw an egg spot on baby last night, darn it! I'm not sure if it's boy or girl though, since when I shone a light behind it, I didn't see a triangle for ovaries, just stomach. Time will tell. Even though I was trying to determine gender and get a boy in the store, I'll love it no matter what, and at least a girl can go in with the sorority when she's bigger, wheras I had been planning on getting yet another tank if it was a boy. It's only in the little critter keeper til I know it'll make it and am certain on gender. It's getting daily 50% changes and 100% every 3 days. It doesn't mind. The easiest going lil fishy ever.


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## Betta Nut (Dec 3, 2013)

Been a while, haven't felt much like posting.

My baby betta didn't make it... from healthy and frisky the first week, to sudden dropsy overnight. She fought another week, but she didn't make it in the end 
I don't think I'll try babies again. That was too much of a bad suprise.

Ended up with Ben though, on a dog food trip to petco tuesday 

He's an EE!!















I have to learn some restraint.

But he's probably going to be the daddy in a future spawn :-D

Speaking of restraint...

Had a shopping trip to Wal-Mart today, and cruised by the pet dept to do my usual betta checkup. I like to rearrange their bettas so the display looks more attractive in hopes some may find a home. I am typically able to resist getting one, since they are all pretty bland and lethargic.

As I was arranging the females, I saw one who I was pretty sure was male, and a crowntail. And purple. His cup was thick with uneaten food, and he was just sorta flopped on the bottom against the side. He looked like he didn't have much time left. I just couldn't help myself though, because if he really is male, and lives, I think a purple CT would be pretty awesome 

So I grabbed one of the 1 gallon glass cookie jars, and a random ugly plastic plant so it wouldn't be empty, and home he came. I had the 2 gallon one in my cart a while, but concluded there just is no more room in my place. 

He's still mostly laying on the bottom, just going up for air. I am hoping he'll perk up being in clean warm water. He needs to eat bad. Who knows how long it's been, with all that old food in his cup. I wish there was something else I could do to help him besides watch and wait 









Can't see it with the fins all limp, but he is a CT. It's still possible it's a she I suppose, but there is no egg spot, and the fins are twice as long as my other females. Short fins for male though. So either he's a young male, or a very old female. I just hope he lives.

Remy, Igavon, and Wil are all doing well, and the sorority girls are all happy and behaving 

And I'm on vacation... YAY


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## summersea (Jul 26, 2013)

Ben is gorgeous! Don't you just love EEs?! And I understand not having restrain as I just picked up another boy myself. No will power here! ;-)

Hmm while I am as far from an expert as you can get, I would say the purple CT is a boy. I could be wrong but that's my vote 

I will keep my fingers crossed for the little guy!


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## Betta Nut (Dec 3, 2013)

ha... yes, I just read your journal too and saw that 

I'm going to have to get more blocks and boards for a larger "stand" so I can get proper homes for everyone. Problem is, then I will probably end up with all these empty small tanks begging for another rescue!

I love living alone, but it allows my addiction to run rampant, lol.


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## BettaLover1313 (Apr 15, 2013)

I'm sorry that you lost your baby betta 

Ben is gorgeous and I really hope your purple CT pulls through for you! I'm voting on male as well, just from what I can see. Could be a longer finned female though. Maybe once he/she perks up you'll be able to tell.


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## Betta Nut (Dec 3, 2013)

Purple (that shall be his name until he recovers, shows his personality, and I know for certain if he's a boy or girl) is showing some signs of improvement after a night of rest. 

I had put a tsp of aquarium salt in with him yesterday afternoon, since he would often do some frantic flashing against the plants after coming up for air, before settling again on the bottom. He doesn't have velvet or ich, but something was obviously bothering him.

Today, he's actually moving around normally sometimes, and when he's not, he isn't flopped on the bottom like yesterday, but actually hovering, moving his pectorals. No more flashing I've seen either. He still won't eat though 

His change in behavior though, really has me hopeful!


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## BlueLacee (Dec 8, 2013)

Wow, reinired me for a sorority (although it's been about ten minutes since I thought about one). Good luck with yr new guy and I'm sorry your baby died.


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## Betta Nut (Dec 3, 2013)

Purple is about the same as yesterday.. Occasionally moving about, still not eating.

Yesterday I wore myself out for my first vacation day... Went on a quest for a new tank around 11am, and didn't get to finally plop down and rest til 9pm.

Went to a LPS nearby first to see what they had for 5 gallons, since I kinda wanted to find a long version, and I know the big box stores don't have any. Struck out there, but picked up another banana plant and some cambomba while I was there. I have decided cambomba is one of my most favorite plants.. It looks so nice now in my tank!

So I moved on to petsmart, to see if they had anything I wanted on sale or clearance. Bingo! Their 5.5 gallon kit was on sale for only 20 bucks! The big deal with getting the kit was the hood and light. I've found that is the most expensive when starting from scratch.

The 5 gallon was planned to home Igavon and Wilbur together. I decided to skip the premade divider, since Walmart was right next door, and would get the mats needed for the DIY. While at petsmart, I went ahead and bought a 20 lb bag of floramax. I was dreading it, but I was going to have to empty the sorority to move everything to accomodate the new 5, so, I decided to go all out.

Walmart had neither report binders, nor craft mesh... arrrrg! I spent over an hour looking in different departments trying to think of alternatives. I got wooden dowels for the ends, and was seriously thinking about using screen for the material.. it'd actually look decent I thought, but wasn't really sure if the material was safe. It was black, and made of fiberglass. I ended up getting a yard of some large mesh type material, and large heavy duty zip ties that were pretty rigid for the top and bottom. I'll jump ahead on that, and just say it was a miserable failure after sewing for almost 2 hours 

Igavon has the 5 gallon all to himself for now, and Ben is in his old tank.

Anyway, got home, and felt a little overwhelmed at the task ahead. 

Got the girls all in their cups, pulled all the plants worth saving, pulled out the filter cartridge (which was disgusting) and anything else I thought was a good candidate for keeping the cycle and left them in a pot with tank water. Drained it, then took the tank outside to dump out all the sand and rinse with a hose. No way I was going to reuse the substrate, it smelled disgusting. So the plants I still need to plant in that section of the yard will have extra ferts 

Now I could rearrange the blocks, which in itself was a bit of work, since they each weigh 35 pounds or so! I tell you, by the time I was filling up both tanks with a gallon jug, holding it up to pour the 10th time or so, my arm was killing me!

So, finally, I was done. I could of made that a lot shorter, but this is a rant/whine post more than anything :-D

anyway, let's have some pics! I am sooooo mad I have nothing that can take quality pics, because the sorority turned out pretty good! The 5 gallon is pretty barren for now, but it'll do. I don't want to go crazy decorating if it just has to be redone when/if I get it divided.

The sorority, and the new setup with the 5 gal:















And Ben got his first photoshoot. I was into mirror images.

two fishy!















many fishy!









We can fly!









Just Ben:















And finally, my favorite. My "camera" does a countdown.. 3..2..1 before it takes a pic, so trying to snap something specific is blind luck. Not only did I catch him in a yawn, but it looks like his reflection is eating an air bubble :-D









OK, that's long enough, time for me to enjoy a day of doing absolutely nothing!


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## Betta Nut (Dec 3, 2013)

Purple just ate some frozen bloodworms! yay! pellets and flakes have been getting ignored, so I thought I'd try the worms. I got lucky, and managed to drop them right on his nose where he was laying on the bottom. He kinda twitched when they hit him, then stayed laying there for a minute, then bam! he ate all 4 

The things that make us happy.

He's still mostly just laying on the bottom, but eating is always a huge sign they are on the path to recovery.


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## BlueLacee (Dec 8, 2013)

Te good Purple is eating, and the pics are funny


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## Betta Nut (Dec 3, 2013)

Purple is definitely going to be fine, other than some serious fin rot on his dorsal I had missed since it had always layed flat against him til he started feeling better. Other than that, and having to swim in water that looks like car coolant because of the treatment, he's totally normal. He's always active now, and will definitely need more space once he's not needing a hospital tank.

And I named him Smeagol, lol.

I just couldn't help it. I was going to name him Melnik after a type of grape. But then, because I am a Lord of the Rings fan, it was going to be Boromir. But dangit, Smeagol is such an awesome name, I had to do it! And oddly enough, it seems to fit him now that he's happy and swimming about. He acts a lot like Remy.

Redoing the 10 gallon earlier this week thankfully doesn't seem to of messed with the sorority. If anything, it's even more mellow in there.

Tink is my favorite. She's like a little kid who likes to instigate things. She's definitely low on the totem pole, but sometimes she feels frisky and will flare at someone just so they chase her. I swear it's only playfulness, there is something in the way she acts you just know it's playing. Even from my day 2 video, when everyone was settling in, you can see that in her. (the purple one who keeps trying to sneak over to Darla's grass patch.)

Darla is very sassy. She is the smallest girl in the tank, but she thinks she's the boss. Dezba did turn out to be the top dog, but as long as the others stay away from "her" floating log, she's cool with them. For a while, Lulu seemed to be her deputy. She was the only one Dezba allowed in her space, and they seemed to enjoy eachother's presence, usually hanging out together, but now Lulu seemed to bore of it.

Quilla I think is Drain Bramaged. I don't know why, lol... She just has a vacant (but cute) stare and always seems like she has no clue what's going on.

That leaves Fae and Star, who don't get a lot of impressions on their personalities, because they are usually out of sight somewhere. Noone picks on them, and they stay nice and bright with their colors, they are just reclusive loners I guess! 

All I have to do is walk up close to the tank though, and all 7 obediently pile on top of eachother at the front! I imagine all these little high pitched voices going eee eee nummmeeee eeee squeeee eee meeee foood meee wheee in there.


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## DaytonBetta (Feb 4, 2014)

I'm glad your purple guy is doing well. Purple is my favorite color and I think the purple bettas are so beautiful. I look forward to seeing more of him! Precious.....


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## Betta Nut (Dec 3, 2013)

Just a short update, since not much is new....

Naturally, all my cabomba is toast. Can't say I'm suprised, my lighting is pretty bad. Kinda bummed though, since it was my fave. I may try to find some realistic fake ones that look like it. I'm tired of always cleaning up dead plant junk, and need more filler now that it's gone.

Smeagol's fin rot is all gone, woot! He's really a character and loves sitting beside me to watch what I am doing. Very curious when I put my finger against the glass. I can't believe he didn't die, honestly. It looked pretty dire when he came home. Now he's fat, sassy, and active. Took some pics of him to keep a record of progress. He's got some fin regrowth to get working on!


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