# The Bar (Nimble's Betta Journal)



## Nimble (Aug 31, 2014)

Hello fellow fishkeepers. Welcome to The Bar, where I'll be giving you an insight into my own adventures in the Betta keeping hobby.

To start off my inaugural journal, I suppose I'll give you my current tank setup as a start.

Hardware(Bartop)
-Tetra 10 Gallon Aquarium
-Tetra Whisper PF10 Filter
-Hydor 50W adjustable Aquarium Heater (Set to 80)
-Fusion Smart Temp Aquarium Thermometer
-Generic Suction Cup Thermometer
-Marineland 20" Recessed Full Hood, w/ Flourescent Lighting

Software(Glassware)
-Seachem Prime
-Seachem Flourish
-Seachem Neutral Regulator (Use is monitored carefully)

Hardscape(Ice/Garnish)
-Seachem Flourite Aquarium Substrate
-Stoney River Aquarium Sand, Black and White
-Malaysian Driftwood, 11"
-Small Ceramic Rock Cave, with Large Entrance Hole

Flora(Mixers)
-7 Small Sprigs of _Cryptocoryne wendtii_
-1 Java Fern (_Microsorum pteropus_, attached to driftwood)
-1 Bunch Mondo Grass (_Ophiopogon japonicus,sold to me as an aquarium plant, not actually aquarium plant. Will be removed if/when degradation begins to occur)

Fauna(Hard Drinks)
-1 Ivory Mystery Snail (Pomacea diffusa), female(?), Bailey('s Irish Cream)
-1 Tiger Nerite Snail (eritina natalensis), sex unknown, Tuaca (Italian Orange-Vanilla Liquer)
-1 Black/Red Butterfly Halfmoon Plakat Betta (Betta splendens), male, Angostura (Aromatic Bitters)


Pictures will be soon to follow, once Angostura has had a chance to settle in. He just arrived today, and needs a couple days of relaxation before photographs. As most of you have guessed, I'm doing a Bar theme for the names of my critters.


So far, Angostura is very lively, despite his long day in shipping. He's eaten a few pellets, and is currently floating in the tank, with more water being added to his floating container to slowly acclimate him to the new digs. I sincerely hope he enjoys his new home, as I sincerely hope you enjoy your stay, here in The Bar._


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## BettaLover1313 (Apr 15, 2013)

This already sounds interesting. I look forward to reading additional entries.


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## Nimble (Aug 31, 2014)

Angostura is now in the tank properly, swimming about and exploring his new home. So far, he seems very interested in his reflection in the glass on the sides of the tank. I might have to do something about this.

The filter outflow might be just a little bit strong for him, but so far I don't see any issues unless he is directly underneath it. I'll need to build a baffle eventually, but he seems smart enough to go around the spots with a heavy current.

He initially took an interest in Bailey, my Ivory Mystery Snail. He's nipped at her once, and flared at her a couple of times, but it seems he's gotten bored of her in the last hour or so. Bailey seems fairly nonplussed about the whole thing, hardly even noticing her new room-mate during her laps around the tank.

Tuaca, as he is wont to do, has been lazing about in his corner of the tank for the better part of the day. He's such a lazy snail, though I've heard that Nerites have fairly low levels of activity.



BettaLover1313 said:


> This already sounds interesting. I look forward to reading additional entries.


Thanks! I'm glad you're intrigued. I'll do my best to make this an interesting read.


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## DaytonBetta (Feb 4, 2014)

Haha! I like the bar theme! I'll have a Captain and Coke with Lime... Have you ever seen the martinis with swedish (red) fish in them?

I'm glad you've started a journal and look forward to hearing about the bar room adventures. Hopefully no brawls!


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## hrutan (Jun 25, 2014)

Although brawls can be interesting...from a safe distance.  Following.


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## Nimble (Aug 31, 2014)

I don't expect too many brawls, but a little bit of tipsy romance could potentially be seen in the future. :3

Angostura seems to have developed a fondness for the clump of mondo grass, of all things. I might move the driftwood and some more plants to that side of the tank, just in case I have to remove that one.

He seems to have lost interest in Bailey, other than occasionally giving her a glance now and again.



DaytonBetta said:


> Haha! I like the bar theme! I'll have a Captain and Coke with Lime... Have you ever seen the martinis with swedish (red) fish in them?
> 
> I'm glad you've started a journal and look forward to hearing about the bar room adventures. Hopefully no brawls!


Morgan was actually one of the names I was debating on giving him. I wanted to give him a Dark Rum name at first, so I was thinking of (Sailor) Jerry, (Captain) Morgan (Black Rum), or Bacardi/Oakheart... but I decided to go on the bits of red he has, and decided that it was close to the Angostura Bitters I dash into my ginger ales.


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## Nimble (Aug 31, 2014)

It seems I've already had to break up a Bar fight this morning, my dear patrons. This morning, I noticed my devilish lad Angostura nipping at Bailey once again. I had told myself last night when I first saw the nipping, that if it were to continue, one of them was getting moved.

Bailey's colors will pop out better on the black, sandy floor of the 5.5g, and the new resident should be a bit more docile than her neighbor.

I'm fairly certain Angostura hasn't even noticed that Tuaca is alive, due to how little activity the Nerite Snail exhibits.

This, of course, leaves a bit of room in the 10g, and makes me want to get Angostura some Bar-mates to keep him company and to keep the walls clean, since Tuaca is kind of a slacker, in my opinion. I was thinking of getting a few Otos, but I'm open to suggestions. I always like learning a new drink recipe.


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## hrutan (Jun 25, 2014)

Have you considered a few Pygmy Cories? A few half-pints could round out your menu...


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## Nimble (Aug 31, 2014)

I would love some Pygmy Cories, but my LFS doesn't stock them, sadly. At least not the one that's within bicycling distance, as we're still without a car at the house. But no, I would adore some Pygmy Cories to put in the tank.


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## Nimble (Aug 31, 2014)

Ladies and Gentlemen, dear patrons of The Bar, we have a new arrival!

So, because our regular postman had the day off today, we had a different postal worker deliver our mail. Unfortunately, this different postal worker must not have understood how to operate a doorbell, because when I went out to go to the LFS to pick up some frozen bloodworms and various other things, I saw a peach-colored slip of paper in the mailbox.

"Sorry we missed you!", it said. Missed me? But I was home all morning, good piece of paper.

So, I had to change my plans and direction, head down to the post office(which thankfully is only a few blocks from my house) and wait for the better part of an hour to rectify the issue and get my package.

Again, I reiterate: I would have answered the door, if it had been rung. I heard no doorbell. There were three of us at home this morning, two of us awake, and the third a light sleeper. We would have heard the doorbell.

Anyway, that's not important. What is important is that we have a new resident in a new tank! The lovely lady Smirnoff has arrived. Here are her tank specs.

Hardware
-Tetra 5.5 Gallon Aquarium
-Tetra Whisper 10i Filter
-Hydor 50W adjustable Aquarium Heater (Set to 80)
-Fusion Smart Temp Aquarium Thermometer

Software
-Seachem Prime
-Seachem Flourish
-Seachem Neutral Regulator (Use is monitored carefully)

Hardscape
-Seachem Flourite Aquarium Substrate
-Stoney River Aquarium Sand, Black
-Large Ceramic 'Mud Hut', with Large Entrance Hole

Fauna(Hard Drinks)
-1 Ivory Mystery Snail (Pomacea diffusa), female(?), Bailey('s Irish Cream)
-1 Cambodian CT(Combtail, possibly?) Betta (_Betta splendens_), female, Smirnoff (Recipe No.21, Vodka)

No plants yet in the Lady Smirnoff's home, but I'm thinking I might transfer a couple springs of the Wendt Crypt over.

She's currently relaxing and acclimating. I should be able to post pictures tomorrow or Thursday, when everyone is settled and happy. Hopefully she treats Bailey a little better than her future mate does. Thankfully, vodka pairs nicely with everything. I should have known better than to mix Bailey's and Bitters. Blech~


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## Schmoo (Oct 3, 2014)

I love how you've set everything up in bar terms. :3


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## Nimble (Aug 31, 2014)

After a successful restocking trip, I've come home with frozen bloodworms and frozen brine shrimp. These tasty snacks will be fed to my beloved Bettas, along with their floating betta pellets and krill-and-spirulina-based sinking food pellets. With this tasty variety of foods, and a fasting-day every four days, I should be able to make them full and strong, perfect ingredients for a delicious spawning cocktail.

In addition, I got each of them a nice plastic leaf-hammock to rest on while they sleep. Smirnoff was able to find hers, after I left a bit of food on it... and I assume that Angostura found his when I was at the pharmacy, because the food that was on it is mostly gone now.

I also got some filter floss to slow the outflow in both tanks, as well as a turkey-baster, a more appropriate fluorescent bulb for growing plants, and some more bacteria-in-a-bottle, just to help the cycle maintain.





Schmoo said:


> I love how you've set everything up in bar terms. :3


What's the point of having a themed tank and journal if I'm not going to use bar lingo?


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## Nimble (Aug 31, 2014)

Good patrons, it seems we have a picky eater.

I decided to be nice to the new arrivals, and gave then a nice, yummy breakfast of thawed, frozen bloodworms. After a bit of hesitance, Smirnoff found them to her liking, and promptly gobbled them up all I gave to her. Angostura, on the other hand, wouldn't touch them. He would nip at one or two, but promptly swim away from the rest, not wanting any.

That's fine. I gave him a couple of pellets, which he ate promptly, and things are fine now... Ungrateful little boy... I'll update if he does manage to eat a few.

Anyway. Bailey seems not to mind which tank she's in at all, so long as she has plenty of space to zoom about on the walls and floor. It also seems like Smirnoff and Bailey get along very well together. I just need to get a Black Mystery Snail (named Kahlua, perhaps?), and I'll have a White Russian going in that tank, won't I?

Tuaca is still alive, and still doing his thing. He's moved a few inches since last night. My only worry is that he's eating enough, since there's no algae in the tank yet... but I suppose that if he's practically immobile most of the time, he doesn't expend a lot of energy, and thus doesn't need to eat a lot. Oh well. I should have expected this, getting a Nerite snail.

Smirnoff slept on her Betta hammock last night... at least for part of the night. Angostura seems to favor the space in front of his little rock-cave. He's my strange, strange little Bitters boy. Good gosh, I love them both. <3


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## hrutan (Jun 25, 2014)

So you know, the little dears don't need a "dinner break" while you're preparing them for their hot date. In fact, while they are enjoying meals of live or frozen food, they are unlikely to experience the digestive issues that a constant diet of dry pellets may cause. After talking to other breeders, I no longer fast my fish unless preparing for shipping. The local IBC chapter chairwoman had expressed shock that one would do such a thing.

A guest should never remain hungry!


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## Nimble (Aug 31, 2014)

hrutan said:


> So you know, the little dears don't need a "dinner break" while you're preparing them for their hot date. In fact, while they are enjoying meals of live or frozen food, they are unlikely to experience the digestive issues that a constant diet of dry pellets may cause. After talking to other breeders, I no longer fast my fish unless preparing for shipping. The local IBC chapter chairwoman had expressed shock that one would do such a thing.
> 
> A guest should never remain hungry!


Huh, good to know. I tried again, just a little while ago, and Angostura was more than happy to eat a few bloodworms. I guess he just wasn't hungry earlier. Strange boy, but happy that he likes them.

I'll probably fast them on the day after their pellets only day, just so that they're extra hungry for brine shrimp or bloodworms the next day. I'm thinking of a schedule along the lines of;

Frozen/Frozen/Pellet/Fast/Frozen/Frozen/Pellet/Fast.

Just so they have a day to let everything move through their system.

Upon closer inspection of my new little girl, I've found that she only has one-and-a-half ventral fins. I didn't notice it in the display photo, but upon looking at her and doting upon her, it was easier to see. I'm wondering if it was nibbled on by an aggressive sibling before shipping, or if it just didn't develop properly.

Bailey has definitely grown a fair bit in the two-and-a-half weeks that I've had her. I'd been feeding her and Tuaca very well during the cycling of the 10 gallon, so that they'd produce plenty of food for the growing bacterial colonies. My guess is that she's undergone maybe a 20% increase in size? She's bigger than Tuaca now, and when I purchased them, they were the same size.

I took out the Mondo Grass this morning, and I think that Angostura is missing it. He's swum by the spot where it was, and looked around curiously for a few moments, before retreating to the curve of the driftwood. I hope he's not mad at me.

I can't wait for Umar to send me some new plants. Smirnoff's tank is a little bare, and while she enjoys her little ceramic mud-hut, I can tell she's a little bored with all that space. She does like to hide under the IAL at the bottom of her tank, though, and underneath the filter. Silly girl.


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## Nimble (Aug 31, 2014)

Oh! I have pictures, too! They're fairly massive in size, so I'm not gonna post them in the thread and distort the page.

http://i.imgur.com/tBkXStW.jpg This is Bailey last week, before I moved her over to Smirnoff's Tank, and before Angostura got here. She loved to sit on the underside of that IAL, and move around on it. She loved the driftwood, too. I'll have to get some for Smirnoff's tank for her.

http://i.imgur.com/MoGAJm8.jpg This is Bailey last night, peeking out at the light on my phone. I noticed this morning, though you can't see it in the picture, that Angostura must've trimmed one of her antennae before I moved her, as one is shorter than the other now. Hopefully it wasn't Smirnoff's doing, but she's seemed to leave Bailey alone.

http://i.imgur.com/4W37fLr.jpg Smirnoff getting ready for bed last night.

http://i.imgur.com/zJN9n5G.jpg Smirnoff again, this time looking at the camera. Didn't mean to disturb your rest, dear.

http://i.imgur.com/ZR3vB8w.jpg Angostura, holding still for once. No flash on this photo, since I didn't want him to get laser-eyes. You can see the small amount of irid in his caudal and dorsal fins, but he has none in his body, thankfully. He's my handsome boy.

http://i.imgur.com/7xsNqpS.jpg Smirnoff again, this morning, with flash. You can see the slight green irid in her caudal, and at the front root of her dorsal.

http://i.imgur.com/bO3BSEN.jpg Bailey standing on her foot, and Smirnoff watching.

http://i.imgur.com/kwer4gG.jpg A photo of Angostura that shows his colors a little better, particularly his red. He's a little bit narcissistic, looking at himself in the reflection... or he's looking at the reflection of the heating element in the heater. Either way, he's not fully flared.

Those are all the pictures I have for now. I'll get one of Tuaca later today... if I can catch him doing something other than his imitation of a pebble.


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## Nimble (Aug 31, 2014)

Oh geez, do I ache.
Last night's New-Year's-Eve party went very well at the club. I made out very well in terms of both sales and tips, and I'm very happy with my performance. I was stuck at the club helping clean up until like 6:30, because everyone was popping the balloons and such, and it was much more of a mess than usual. I'd heard that our club was the busiest spot in the city that night, so that makes me happy. I know I finished off quite a few bottles(not myself, serving for others) so I think I did pretty well.

As for The Bar here? Not a lot has changed. I woke up rather late today (about an hour ago), so the kids are about to get their breakfast. Thawed brine shrimp is on the menu, and lets hope they like it.

Bailey and Smirnoff are getting along very nicely in the 5.5g, as usual. I think Smirnoff is slowly getting used to seeing my fingers in the water whenever I feed her, so I think she's becoming accustomed to my presence. When I got home last night, I couldn't see her, so I'm assuming she slept in her ceramic mud-hut.

Angostura and Tuaca are doing alright, as well. Tuaca moved from the front of the tank, to the back glass behind the driftwood, so when I checked on them this morning, I couldn't see him immediately, and did a little bit of a look-around. As for Angostura? Well, he's continuing his usual routine of hanging around the driftwood, then every now and again going over to do a couple of laps near the glass. I'm wondering if I should be worried about that, but he seems perfectly healthy, otherwise.

How was your New Year's, folks?


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## hrutan (Jun 25, 2014)

We had about fifteen friends over for drinks and company. I dusted off the old Rock Band equipment that had been stored in the garage, sang until I got hoarse, and then passed the mic to the next victim. Others spectated and played MTG. This time no one spilled any vodka on any cards. Much fun was had by all, and no hangover despite a few too many Jell-O shots.


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## Nimble (Aug 31, 2014)

We dropped balloons in my section of the club at midnight, and for the rest of the night, people would stomp on them and pop them all through the night, even until 4am when we close. It was so annoying, and I wanted to yell at them to stop.

I know... I shouldn't hold people's drunk behavior against them. They're drunk, they can't help it.


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## Nimble (Aug 31, 2014)

Good morning, dear patrons.

Today is just a light meal for the pair, only a couple of pellets each, so that they're hungry for their bloodworms tomorrow.

I awoke this morning to find something wonderful on the surface of the water. Angostura had built a small bubble-nest, and I snapped a picture of it before it could be washed away by the outflow of the filter. It may have even been bigger earlier, but I wasn't awake to see it. Tuaca has once again switched sides of the tank, and is stuck to the front of the glass, about an inch from the substrate. He must be properly nocturnal, since I never see him moving.

Smirnoff is quite an expert at hide-and-seek. I constantly have to look around the whole of her 5.5g tank to find her, and oft-times she'll be hiding under the filter, under/behind her IAL, or in her little mud-hut cave. She's a teeny little thing, so I'm not surprised. Bailey seems to like the IAL as well, since she's often zooming around on the edges of it, cleaning the detritus off of its surface. I've taken to putting Bailey's meals on the flat-laying one on the far end of the tank opposite the filter. The sinking-pellets I give to Bailey are too big for Smirnoff to eat, so she tends to leave them alone, only giving them a nibble if they've soaked up enough water that she can have a nip at them.

I'll post pictures again, perhaps tomorrow. For now, I'm gonna go watch Bailey eat her breakfast. It's amusing, because she'll use part of her foot as a hand to bring it closer to her mouth. Really fun to watch.


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## Schmoo (Oct 3, 2014)

Smirnoff is such a little cutie. :3 And your boy is SO GORGEOUS, omsj (oh my sweet Jesus, haha).


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## Nimble (Aug 31, 2014)

I'm glad you think so. I'll start my attempts at breeding them in a few weeks. If everything goes well, I should have juveniles available for sale around late April-May. But, let's not make any promises, shall we? Don't want to jinx anything.


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## Nimble (Aug 31, 2014)

Good morning again, dear patrons. What's that? It's after 2pm? Well, it's morning for me, so that's all that matters.

Today is bloodworm day for the two little ones. Smirnoff is swimming around with a full, happy belly, and Angostura even has a little bit of a bulge in his sides. I got Angostura to ALMOST eat out of my hand today. I have a small, 2-inch length of aquarium airline tubing that I use to break apart the frozen foods once they have thawed a little, and was using it to hold and dangle the bloodworms for the fish. They both happily ate directly from it, which I think is a good sign, which means I might even be able to feed them by hand one day.

Angostura is starting to calm down a little more. He's making a little more use of the full space in his tank, although he still enjoys racing back and forth along the walls, he's spending less time doing that. Tuaca's position today? Near the surface, by the top of the thermometer. Probably sneakily snacking on biofilm and such.

Bailey's crawling around near the top, on the back of the filter, looks like having a breath at the moment. Smirnoff is hanging around as well, enjoying the gentle currents around her mud-hut and the leaning IAL. She's so little, I have to keep an eye out for her, or else she disappears on me, even with her pale body against that black sand.

Tomorrow is water change day. I'm doing a 50% change for each of them, or at least that's the plan. We'll see, won't we? Everyone seems to be fairly happy for the most part. I've got a little bit of new growth appearing on the Wendtii Crypts in Angostura's tank, though nothing so far on the Java Fern attached to the driftwood. Oh well, patience.

Hopefully my plants from Umar get here soon, so that I can give Smirnoff a little foliage in her tank, and make Angostura's look a bit more jungle-y.

As for myself? Work went well last night. It was a bit slow, but we expected it to be, considering it's the first weekend after New Year's. However, it was not as slow as we expected. Numbers were good, but it just felt a little sleepy last night. Hopefully tonight is a little better.


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## Nimble (Aug 31, 2014)

Greetings and hello, my dear friends and guests. Welcome back to The Bar~

We're serving up thawed, frozen brine shrimp to the couple this morning who I'm sure are both very hungry. After their breakfast(and after I have mine), it'll be time for a water change for the both of them. I think I'll do Smirnoff's first, that way I can put in her new plants that I got from Umar, which got here last night. Then when she's back in and recooperating, I'll do the same for Angostura, and put his new plants in as well. I'm sure they'll both be happy for a little bit of extra coverage in their tanks. Though, I'm debating fixing up the substrate in Angostura's so that it's a nice, even separation between Flourite and sand, rather than that chunky mix I've got going on right now.

I had a bit of a scare last night, folks. Yesterday morning, I had a bit of a tickle in my throat. I thought it was just dry, until about a couple hours before I left for work, where I thought that it should have cleared up by now. With my throat on fire all night last night, I suspected that I might have caught the Strep Throat that one of my roommates has. 
So, I drowned myself in a mix of ginger-ale, orange juice, and aromatic bitters to keep myself healthy, and gargled a few cups of salted club soda to get the tingle out. I feel a little bit better this morning, but if I'm still not 100% tomorrow, I'm going to head up to the clinic and see if I can't get some antibiotics to nip this in the bud.
I really hope I'm feeling better by tomorrow. I don't want to have to miss the Company Christmas Party. Our owners host it at the restaurant that they own, and we get to eat for free there that night, and then we get to head back to the night-club, which is closed on Mondays, and drink ourselves silly(for free on the cheap-o stuff, but anything else we have to pay)... Of course, knowing my luck, I'll be the one who draws the short straw and has to tend the bar that night.


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## hrutan (Jun 25, 2014)

Emergen-C, that's what always works for me! Lots of fluids, chicken soup, hot showers, rest when you're tired, and bundle up for the cold...sadly if it's the flu, antibiotics won't help you in the slightest. My doc won't prescribe antibiotics for anything that lasts less than 10 days, and my mother-in-law (a nurse) would murder me if I pushed for them.


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## Nimble (Aug 31, 2014)

I just want them because I know that if I get it early, I can kill this thing off before I get worse and have a chance to spread it. My mother is an RN as well, and I know how bad strep can be, so I'm going to make sure on this.


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## Nimble (Aug 31, 2014)

That's one water change done! I managed to plant a few sprigs of plants here an there, a little bit of everything, except for the _Rotala rotundifolia_ went into Smirnoff and Bailey's tank. Hopefully that should give them a little bit more fun in theirs, though Smirnoff has a grand time just hiding in her mud-hut.

I'm debating putting off the water change for the 10g until Tuesday, that way I can both rescape AND change the water. What do you guys think?


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## kjg1029 (Jun 14, 2014)

so long as the params are good, then do it! I love re-scaping its fun lolxD

oh and your only sick if you think you are! lol

( I know its not true, but hey I swear it helps!)


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## hrutan (Jun 25, 2014)

My husband always acts like that (pretends he's not sick) and ends up getting totally blown up by what could have been a mild head cold, haha.


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## kjg1029 (Jun 14, 2014)

lol! Lets not go there with men and being sickxD!

I really think it helps...unless I just don't get sick often...either way it works for me!


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## Nimble (Aug 31, 2014)

I decided to only do a 30% WC instead of a 50, since I only had about that much water left in the aged water bucket.

I planted the new plants, re-dosed with new bacteria, and now I'm about to dose Excel for the new plants, so that they can start their photosynthetic action. Smirnoff is definitely interested in the new plants, and is exploring and checking them out. Angostura seems so far unimpressed, but I've a feeling once everything starts to grow in, he'll be very, very happy.

I accidentally snapped the rhizome of my adult Java fern, so now there's a single leaf on each side, each with its own set of roots and rhizome... so, now I have two Java ferns adults? Anyway, everything is mostly planted and secure, but I have a feeling that in the morning I'll see some plants floating about. I'll save the 10g rescape for while Angostura and Smirnoff are in the breeding tank.

So! Waterchanges are done, I'm about to feed the couple for the second time today, another little snack in a couple hours. Speaking of food, I should look for some.

I really think I need to get a second mystery snail for Smirnoff's tank, and a good cleaning crew for Angostura's. Sadly, I can't find any Pygmy Cories, since those are my ideal for the 10g, since they're small enough I can keep a proper school. I've been asking the Freshwater manager at my LFS, but he's a cocksure guy in his mid-20's, probably only a few years older than I am. I don't like him very much, and I don't think he really cares as much as the other guy.


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## kjg1029 (Jun 14, 2014)

there's another type of Corey starts with an H...itll work (sorry brain fart lol!)

had you considered shrimp? Idk if it would work with your betta..but it could.

I'm torn between a mystery snail , or shrimp as a clean up crew in my 5g..but I'm not sure yet haha


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## Tress (Jun 6, 2014)

oh, the dwarf cories? ..Hast... something? or is it hab.. something.


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## kjg1029 (Jun 14, 2014)

Russell.. knows...lol!


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## Tress (Jun 6, 2014)

LOL. Yes, the almighty Russell will know


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## Nimble (Aug 31, 2014)

I might get some shrimp, but the close LFS doesn't carry them, and I'm not going to make the trek out to the better one in this weather.

Maybe I'll order some online?


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## Schmoo (Oct 3, 2014)

I believe Russell also knows a great place to order shrimp online from.  I love my ghost shrimp. I have them in my community tank, but they can work well with a betta, too.


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## Nimble (Aug 31, 2014)

My only worry is that Angostura will try to eat them, like he did with Bailey, the Ivory Mystery Snail. Tuaca seems to be slow-moving enough and nocturnal, so he seems to avoid Angostura's aggression.


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## Tress (Jun 6, 2014)

Good point, generally short finned bettas are hunters and not a good idea with shrimp haha


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## Nimble (Aug 31, 2014)

Hah! Yeah, hunters. Angostura's such a good hunter, he'll miss a thawed bloodworm floating right next to him. He's goofy, and grumpy, but I love him.

Ugh, my face is all stuffed up. I think it might actually be the flu, and not strep.

Edit: It's not strep, as my room-mate looked down my throat. Didn't see any white spots signifying strep, but she said it was red and tender, probably because of a post-nasal drip, which makes sense since I'm all stuffed up and congested, and have been clearing my throat the last couple days.


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## Schmoo (Oct 3, 2014)

Oh no! D: Feel better, Nimble!


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## Nimble (Aug 31, 2014)

Thanks, Schmoo. I feel alright right now. Gonna take some cold medicine, then probably have a hot bath before I go to bed.


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## Schmoo (Oct 3, 2014)

Sounds like a good idea. :3


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## Tress (Jun 6, 2014)

Awr :< flus suck. Take it easy an get better soon!


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## Nimble (Aug 31, 2014)

Good morning lovely friends and patrons of The Bar. How are you all this morning?

It's funny to see how early I wake up without the help of my alarm. Odd. In any case, I'm up and about, and have decided that I do not have strep throat, but instead have a headcold, and my sore throat is coming from sinus leakage and what-not.

But that's not why you're here. You're here to read about fish!

It's pellet day for the young couple. It's easy enough to get Smirnoff to eat them, especially when I crush them up. She may have to spit out chunks now and again while she chews them, but she manages to fill her belly without TOO much trouble. However, Angostura refuses to hold still long enough for him to see and eat the pellets. It doesn't help that his tank has a bit of surface movement, so the pellets move around and he has difficult seeing them. I'll need to fix this somehow... probably take some AQ-safe silicone and connect a length of airline tubing to make a 'still water' spot, for him to come and eat and make bubble-nests. That might be nice for him.

I'll give them a very slight snack tonight, probably bloodworms, and it's bloodworms tomorrow as well. Hrutan is right about them not needing to fast with the live/frozen food. They've all been pooping fairly regularly, and I'm happy to see them happy and healthy. Just a few more weeks, and I'll be ready to urge them towards love~


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## hrutan (Jun 25, 2014)

If you take some air tubing, you can fit it in a circle fairly easily without need for silicone. Stick a pencil in one end and push until the plastic permanently stretches, and then you should be able to pull it over the other end. You might need to cut little notches to help it expand, or use pliers to pull.


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## Nimble (Aug 31, 2014)

How would you get it to stick in one spot, though, is the thing?


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## hrutan (Jun 25, 2014)

Hmm. I always let mine float around. Hook it on a plant, perhaps?


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## Nimble (Aug 31, 2014)

Made it big enough that it floats and sticks in around the same spot. Works very well! Let's just hope Angostura figures it out. He's always rushing about back and forth, he misses things sometimes.


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## Nimble (Aug 31, 2014)

I just did one better on myself! Instead of creating a small space of still water in the tank, I settled the new plastic rings so that they were directly in the outflow of the filters, so that their small inner areas would be turbulent, but not the rest of the tank's surface! I can't believe I didn't see it earlier.


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## hrutan (Jun 25, 2014)

Oh, I didn't think of that either. lol.


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## Nimble (Aug 31, 2014)

Let's just call it teamwork, since you gave me the initial idea, and I improved upon it.


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## Schmoo (Oct 3, 2014)

I need to do something similar for my tank. I have a lot of dwarf water lettuce on the surface, so I always have to nudge it out of the way when it's feeding time...


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## Nimble (Aug 31, 2014)

Hello again, dear patrons of The Bar. Welcome back, and please come in out of the cold.

Today is bloodworms day! Angostura and Smirnoff both are enjoying their snacks of bloodworms today, as I'm feeding them small amounts every few hours, so that they have time to settle, and not overeat.

Bailey and Smirnoff are still getting along swimmingly, and as usual are making full use of their tank space. Bailey has the walls, and Smirnoff the open water and decorations.

Angostura and Tuaca are equally enjoying their day. Tuaca's spot of the day? Lower left front corner of the tank, about 6 inches diagonal down-left from where he was yesterday. I never see him moving, but he's in a new spot every day, so he must be enjoying himself.
Angostura now knows what the tube in the water means. It means feeding time! He'll see me standing overhead with the tube in my hand, and he'll swim towards the surface, waiting for a snack, which I promptly give to him. Maybe in time he'll be able to eat from my hand... Maybe.

We have some new residents of The Bar today, ladies and gentlemen. Four teeny Oto catfish and a Golden Mystery Snail are soaking in the 2.5g QT tank, with a little bit of Melafix added as a precaution while they rest and relax, before I release them into the main tanks. 

The Mystery Snail will be going into Smirnoff and Bailey's tank, while the four Otos will be going in with Angostura, who will hopefully not be too aggressive with them. I'll be keeping my eye out for any trouble. If they don't get along, I may have to return them to the LFS.

As of writing this post, none of the new residents have been named, so if any of you would like to suggest something, please go right ahead. The only rule is that it has to be related to alcohol or cocktails in some form or another. If I see any that are fitting and that I like, I just might snag them and use them.

As for my own life? Well, last night was our company 'Christmas' party, where the owners provided us with a free three-course meal at their upscale restaurant that they own. The meals and horderves were complimentary, but cocktails were not, but I'm not complaining. 

The food was delicious, as could be expected. Truffle-seasoned fries with spicy aioli; crostini with goat-cheese fondue; spinach and shaved-carrot salad with raspberry balsamic vinaigrette, spicy; crispy fried chicken breast over sauteed potatoes, carrots and onions, with a spicy bourbon-chili sauce and red cabbage slaw; and for dessert, Derby pie... which is basically Pecan pie with chocolate chips in it, served over dark chocolate syrup and with whipped cream. It was fantastic. <3

Tried an interesting combination for the first time last night, which worked very well. Amaretto(Disarrono to be specific. Good stuff), Ginger Ale, a squeeze of lime, and a dash of aromatic bitters. 
It was good. Faintly sweet, a little spicy, and overall very balanced. It was almost worth the $9 price tag. Disaronno is not cheap, but it's so good.

After that, we moved on to the nightclub for drinks and karaoke. We're closed on Mondays, so we had the club to ourselves. Well liquor, domestic beers, and any cooler-kept liquers and schnapps were free-of-charge, so everyone had a good time. I held back on my drinking, mostly because my stomach was so full from dinner at first, and also because I cannot drink stuff like Jagermeister or Fireball Whiskey. 

I sang like... 5 songs on the karaoke, and was complimented on my baritone, which made me feel good about myself. My room-mate who also works with me at the club had far too much, and thus had to be driven home early by our guest. At the end of the night it was the GM, myself, my guest, and two other bartenders(one who has been with the club for almost 15 years, and the one who is newer than I am) who handled closing up shop and what-not. All-in-all, a good time.

Anywho, that's enough of my rambling. Let's get back to talking about Bettas!


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## Schmoo (Oct 3, 2014)

Kahlua! That should be the GMS's name. :3


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## hrutan (Jun 25, 2014)

What? No Fireball for you? Uh oh. It's a "must-have" for our freezer, although not for me. 3 Olives Vodka is my drink of choice. They have some fantastic flavors.

Hmm. I think I second the Kahlua choice. As for the otos...how about Cacao, Carolyn, Cosmo, and Cointreau?


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## Nimble (Aug 31, 2014)

I was gonna save Kahlua for a Black Mystery Snail, since that's closer to the color, I would think.

Absolut and Three Olives are my go-to vodkas for flavored vodkas... though UV is a good backup. My favorite flavored vodka is the Three Olives Marilyn Monroe Strawberry. It's so tasty, and makes me happy.
Although, Absolut Citron, Raspberi and Mandrin are good runners-up as well. I'm very fond of Swedish vodkas in general.

I was thinking of giving the Oto boys names of Bourbon, or perhaps names of Schnapps. Hard to say.

What do you guys think of Cointreu for the GMS, though?


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## hrutan (Jun 25, 2014)

Agreed UV is a good backup (UV Caramel is a MUST - Oh myyyy), and Marilyn is the house favorite, here...even the husband, who's a whiskey guy (yuck), enjoys Marilyn.

Cointreu has a good ring to it, but I'm biased.


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## Nimble (Aug 31, 2014)

I'm kinda yuck on whiskeys myself. The only brown liquor I'll drink is dark rum, or maybe a reposado tequila, but the latter is a rarity, and the former is best mixed with cola or ginger ale. 

But yeah, Cointreau is a good for the new snail. Now I just need to figure out a good name for the Ottos. What direction do you think I should go? Schnapps? Rum? Tequila? Whiskey?


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## DaytonBetta (Feb 4, 2014)

I think Schnapps would be cute for the oto's since they're little and sweet.


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## Nimble (Aug 31, 2014)

Then I'll have to think of names based on schnapps and liquers.


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## Nimble (Aug 31, 2014)

I think something might be wrong with Bailey.

She seemed fine this morning, but earlier this evening, I found her just hanging kind of listlessly, halfway out of her shell, with her foot curled underneath the outflow of the filter, not really attached to anything. She didn't seem to be moving, so I moved her over to the Betta-leaf hammock, so that if she wanted to, she could slip her snorkel out and breathe. Problem is, she hasn't moved since then. It's been a couple of hours, and she looks just kinda... catatonic. Like she's asleep, but she's not responding typically, like she would if I'd poked her. She's just kinda laying there.

I'm concerned. She seemed perfectly fine this afternoon, and Smirnoff is just fine as well... but I feel like there might be something wrong with her. I'm wondering if it's a calcium deficiency, but with the level of calcium in my water, that can't be it. She eats fairly well, although I didn't see her eat yesterday... but she's always feeding on scrap leftover. Anyone familiar with Mystery Snails had this happen? She's just kinda sitting there, with her foot partially out of the shell. Maybe she's just asleep, and I'm worried over nothing?


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## Nimble (Aug 31, 2014)

Ladies and gentlemen of The Bar, I'm afraid we have bad news.

It's as I feared. Bailey hadn't moved all night, and when I went to check on her this morning, she was worse. She was in her shell, but her operculum wasn't sealed, and she wasn't responding to touch. I put her in a private cup with some of her tank water, hoping that she'll move sometime today. If not, I'm gonna put her in the fridge to slow her metabolism, then the freezer to euthanize if she's not already completely dead. Maybe if I'm lucky, I can save the shell and clean it out to use as a decoration.

This morning, I floated Cointreau in Smirnoff's tank in his little bag that he came in, and the did the same with the four Ottos. So far, everyone seems to be getting along. Angostura did a cautionary nip at one of the Ottos, but when it didn't bite back, he lost interest, which is a good sign.

Tuaca was moving around quite a lot last night, and I even actually saw him moving! He was hanging out on the driftwood before I went to bed, and now he's on the front bottom right corner of the glass. Angostura seems to be getting used to his new tankmates, who are all swimming well and exploring their spaces. Even Angostura's swimming with them from time to time, and he seems happy about it. The four Ottos do, they're zooming about on the glass like hummingbirds. They're so cute and sweet.

I I'll just call them all The Schnapps Gang until I can notice any identifying characteristics of each one. Stay tuned, ladies and gentlemen.

I'm not sure if Smirnoff has realized that Bailey is gone, but I'm sure she'll find Cointreau's company equally enjoyable. Cointreau is crawling around the top of the ceramic mud-hut, circumnavigating it's roof and hanging out near the IAL leaning against it. Good luck, newbie. You've got a big shell to fill.

I miss Bailey already. ;-;


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## Schmoo (Oct 3, 2014)

I'm keeping my fingers crossed for Bailey!


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## Nimble (Aug 31, 2014)

My hypothesis is that her mantle collapsed, and she suffocated. So far, nobody's understood why or how these things happen, but I've put a few drops of Melafix in the tank with Cointreau and Smirnoff, just to be safe.

She's got four hours to move or stir, and if she doesn't in that time, I'm calling it. She's in isolation, so she'd better recover quick.


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## Nimble (Aug 31, 2014)

Okay... now I'm just confused.

As I was feeding Angostura, I noticed something strange on his body as he was swimming back and forth. I turned his tank light off, and shined a flashlight on it, and found that he had a scale loose, as if something had bitten him. He also had a very faint tear in his caudal fin which was not there before.

He's a Plakat... he's not supposed to be able to bite his own fins. What could've bitten him? Is it possible one of the Otos took a suck on his scales, or perhaps he's scraped himself on the driftwood? I tested the water, and found only .25ppm ammonia levels, which is normal, and 0ppm nitrite, and nitrates around 5ppm. I put a small dose of melafix in there, just as a precaution.

Now, I have some AQ salt, but I'm worried about salting the tank with a Nerite snail and four new Otos, as I'm not familiar how scaleless fish and inverts handle increased salinity.

Why is everything happening all at once to me? Why?


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## hrutan (Jun 25, 2014)

You'd be surprised how well they can reach, but the more likely answer is the driftwood. I'd keep an eye on him, but a minor injury will probably heal quickly. I'm so sorry to hear about Bailey. Snails are so cute and funny.


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## Nimble (Aug 31, 2014)

Yeah... Though, in my grief I may or may not have ordered an assorted 6-pack of 6-different color combos of Mystery Snail from eBay. Bailey II will be joined by 5 other mystery snails... though I might have to come up with some more creative names for them!

I put a dash of melafix in the tank, and I squirted about 1/4 tsp worth of dissolved AQ salt-saline solution into the 10g tank, so that should help a little. I rinsed and cleaned the QT tank, and if I'll move him if he's not healing well in a few days.

Everyone is eating very well, and the Otos have decided that their favorite snack location is on the pre-filter on the intake in the 10g tank, which has some detritus and dead plant leaves on it, so good for them. I bought them a zuchinni, which I'm gonna slice and blanch piece of it periodically for an extra snack for them. Second favorite seems to be the driftwood.

Smirnoff and Cointreau seem to be getting along just fine, and Smirnoff's ovaries are starting to fill up with all the good food she's been eating. I may be able to spawn them ahead of schedule, if I'm lucky.

Other than his injury, not much seems to have changed in Angostura's behavior. He's still swimming back and forth, almost like he's pacing in his tank. I feel like I should put another cave or something in there for him to have more hiding space, although it's hard to say why he's doing that in the first place.

((Current names running through my head for the Ottos: Calling them all 'Rose' as a callback to Four Roses Bourbon; calling them the ingredients of a Four Horseman shot (Rumpleminze, Goldschlager, 151, Jagermeister); grouping them together under a single brand name; calling them by a different brand of a similar liquor(such as tequilas or rums); calling them by different flavors of a particular brand of vodka))

I've still got time, and I don't really need to worry about it right now. Thanks for your support everyone.


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## Tress (Jun 6, 2014)

Could he have blown the fin from his glass surfing? I just had mine blow his tail and dorsal >.< mines not a PK though. Other than that I'd place my bets on the driftwood. I wouldn't worry, you take great care of your bettas. He'll be healed in no time!


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## Nimble (Aug 31, 2014)

Is glass surfing a common behavior with Bettas? And if so, is it a signal of any potential problems he may have?

Anyway, good morning folks. I had an early start to the day, as I had to accompany my house-mate/best-friend to the doctor's office. I'm not going to go into details about that. We had Taco Bell on the way back, and froze our fingers waiting for the bus.

Angostura's missing scale is looking better already! The reddish tinge is gone, and I could barely even notice that he was missing it. I guess the treatment must've worked.

When I got back, Smirnoff and Cointreau's tank temperature had dropped down to 77 from 80, since I had left the door to my bedroom open and heat had the chance to escape and chill the waters. I popped the thermostat on her heater up to 81 from 79, so that should compensate, hopefully. Angostura's was at 80, but his is normally at 82, but it should recover just fine.

Bloodworms for breakfast today! Both should be fairly happy, and if they're not wanting bloodworms, I have pellets for them. Neither of them really seem to be as avid a fan of the brine shrimp as they are of bloodworms, though Angostura will eat them more readily than Smirnoff will... Most likely because he has a bigger mouth.

The four Otos are giving Angostura plenty of exercise. I'm still fairly certain he's not entirely fond of them, but they're faster than he is, and they outnumber him, so they're safe from any real harm. It's interesting to see him chasing them about, and them swimming around not really bothered about it. 

On closer observation of his behavior, I realize what he's doing. He's doing a patrol of his territory... which makes sense, I guess. I suppose it's good that he's moving about, rather than hanging around listlessly.

I'm curious as to whether or not Smirnoff likes Cointreau yet. She got along just fine with Bailey(SIP), but she seems to be keeping a closer eye on Cointreau. Maybe she misses the little Ivory-shelled beauty as well.

The four Otos are thriving, it seems. Other than the occasional scurrying away from a patrolling male Betta, they seem happy to frolic about and hang on the glass, sometimes together, sometimes separately. Their quick litle bursts of speed are fun to watch when I can catch a glimpse.

My headcold seems to be slowly fading. I didn't have as much congestion today as I did in days past, which is a good thing... and I woke up fairly well-rested this morning, thankfully.

Smirnoff's ovaries are starting to fill up very nicely. Even on an empty stomach, she has a nice plumpness to her, and they're even a little more visible through her colorless scales.

All-in-all, a decent day as a relief from yesterday's stress.

Oh! I saw The Hobbit: Battle of the Five Armies last night in the theater. While it was good, I kinda have to say it had trouble with the pacing. I think they bit off more than they could chew with this one. I'm not gonna go into any spoilers, but there was really very little falling action in this film other than towards the very end. It just kinda reached a high-point early on, and hand to grasp at straws to keep the viewer's attentions. But, if you like big battle scenes and lots of sword-fighting, it's a good movie. A solid 8/10.


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## Tress (Jun 6, 2014)

Glass surfing is annoying, but mostly harmless. It's generally the aggressive boys who do it. My Shreddy(SIP) eventually took to biting his fins and nothing I did to reduce the reflection helped. His death was unrelated though. My newer boy, Ruben, also glass surfs. He can get himself all upset and tired out. Recently he ripped his tail and dorsal from flaring (not biting, just split the webbing from flaring). So I have to be careful how long I leave the light on for his plants.

To sum it up... Yes, glass surfing is normal. It's just one of those annoying things that bettas will do. Just watch for him blowing fins, tail biting, or tiring himself out. You can do some things to reduce it, but it will take some trial and error.


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## Nimble (Aug 31, 2014)

I figured it must've been something like that, Tress. He is a Plakat, so he is a very aggressive little guy. Thankfully, I think chasing the Otos has actually lessened his glass-surfing issue. He still does it, but h'll take a break to harrass them, even if they are faster than he is. 

Smirnoff doesn't have much of an appetite for blood-worms today. She happily ate some crushed pellets, so maybe she's just not very hungry... or maybe they eat them as they sink while I'm not looking. Hm... Well, at least I know that first thing in the morning, Angostura will always jump for his breakfast.

I topped off each of their tanks with some treated water that I'd left to set out for a couple of hours. Because of the cold, I've been leaving my space-heater on all the time so the air is rather dry in here. Evaporation issues aside, the new water will probably help to dilute any ammonia that is present in the water.

I think I'm warming up to Cointreau, and while he'll never be the same as Bailey(SIP) was, he'll do just fine in her place. He's crawling along the IAL that rests diagonally on Smirnoff's ceramic hut, cleaning and nibbling up the detritus that IAL and driftwood seem to accumulate.

Tuaca is up near the surface today, it seems. He's in the middle of the front glass, less than an inch from the surface of the water. So far, no names for the Otos come to mind... but they don't necessarily need to be named, I suppose.

Oh my gosh... I think I just saw how Angostura may have injured his scales. He might've gotten caught between the prefilter and the glass when doing his rounds. If he did, and that's how it happens, it does explain a bit. Except how the prefilter could tear off a scale. Oh well.


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## Nimble (Aug 31, 2014)

Good morning good patrons and fellow fishkeepers. Welcome back to The Bar.

The kids are only getting fed a little bit of crushed pellets this morning. I'm still periodically feeding them pellets so that they still feel comfortable eating them and aren't picky about it later on. Probably some time this afternoon, or tonight before work, I'll give them each a little snack of bloodworms.

I figured out how Angostura scraped his fin, finally... It turns out that my driftwood is still partially floating, since it's anchored under the sand-cap, a little bit still floats up. He must've swam underneath and gone through, something I saw him do yesterday. Crazy little bugger nearly gave me a panic attack.

The Otos are getting along just fine. I put a couple of thin slices of blanched zucchini in the tank for them to nibble on, which I think one or two have been periodically sucking on them, I can't know for sure, since I didn't see them while I was working last night.

I worked last night, which in this cold weather was downright dreadful. My co-worker who normally works Thursdays asked me to cover for him, because he didn't want to because it was so cold, and he needed a lazy day. I could use the extra money, so I sure didn't mind.

Smirnoff is really getting nice and heavy with eggs, which makes me happy to know that she should hopefully be a very good breeder. I figure that I should have everything setup by the end of this month, and I can start their courtship around the 27th, or so, as the moon is waxing.

Ugh... I hate this headcold and this nasty weather. I just wanna take all the DayQuil and sleep for hours. Can I do that? I can hardly breathe, and I feel just achey. I just wanna stay wrapped up in my blankets and eat Pop-Tarts and drink orange juice and play old video-games. But alas, I have to work.


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## Nimble (Aug 31, 2014)

Thank goodness for spicy Chinese food and for DayQuil. I feel... not 100% better, but I'm functioning, at least. Gonna have to drown myself in orange-juice at work tonight, like I did last weekend, but I'm prepared for it.

Did a little bit of cleaning up in the tanks. Took the IAL out of the tanks, scrubbed all the junk off, and put them back in. Looks much nicer without all that gunk coating the surface of the leaves.

Sadly, some of the plants in Smirnoff's tank aren't doing so hot. I'm dosing Excel at the appropriate levels, but I guess they're just not getting enough light. I need to get an appropriate light for the 5.5g, I guess.

Same story in Angostura's tank. The _Rotala rotundifolia_(or whatever the red plants that Umar gave me were) leaves have melted away, and I'm hoping that they'll grow back. I'll need to pick up some iron supplements and ferts when I am at the pet store next. Honestly, I really wanna completely start over on their tanks and go full Walstad, but I don't have the money nor transportation to get the supplies, and I don't have the backup space to house both Smirnoff and Angostura in the meantime. Maybe once they're in the breeding box, I'll be able to.


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## hrutan (Jun 25, 2014)

Watch them not cooperate with your renovation plans by wrapping right away. Haha.


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## Nimble (Aug 31, 2014)

Hah! That would be a laugh. I wouldn't even be mad.

So, after fiddling about on a Betta-focused Facebook group, I've decided that after this spawn, I'm going to start to attempt a long-term goal that I want to work towards with my Betta breeding efforts. 

I want to try and bring back the Traditional Cambodian. Cambodians have been my favorite color-pattern of Bettas since I got my first fish 10 years ago. I that if Smirnoff/x/Angostura is successful, I'll have the drive to start such a project. 

It won't be easy, and it'll probably take several generations, but if I can get a true-breeding line of True Cambodians, then maybe I'll be able to get a little publicity in the hobby, and of course I'll be happy that I'll have brought such a beautiful strain back into the world.


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## Nimble (Aug 31, 2014)

Good morning lovely patrons of The Bar! How are you today?

This morning, when I woke, I found a package sitting for me on my desk, with 'Live Fish' stamped on it. Since I was still blear from waking up, it took me a minute to remember that these were the Mystery Snails that I had ordered.

I opened the package, and found that there wasn't really a whole lot of water in the bag, just enough to cover the snails to the top of their shells. I guess that since they're air-breathers, that's okay, so long as it's humid then they won't die. They're warming up right now, and I'm gonna split the six between the two tanks. Gotta figure out who goes where, though.

I received one Ivory, one Blue, one Golden, one Jade, one Purple, and one Dark Striped. An interesting, fun little six-pack, for whom I need to pick names for, now. Naming all these things is hard when you have to stick to a theme!

Brine shrimp for breakfast today, and my suspicions are confirmed. Smirnoff doesn't really like them all that much. Angostura will gobble them up readily, but Smirnoff will only have a nibble, and then let them float around her, maybe eating some of them later. If the girl's gonna be picky, she can have pellets.

My nose is still congested, but I'm feeling alright overall. I'm gonna take some dayquil, do some laundry, and transfer the snails to their new homes once everything is good to go.


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## hrutan (Jun 25, 2014)

Well, OBVIOUSLY, the dark striped should be Mudslide... *ahem*


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## Nimble (Aug 31, 2014)

Heh, that works for me. I guess I'll name them all after different shot-style drinks. Especially since they're so little, less than the size of a dime.


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## Nimble (Aug 31, 2014)

I only fed Angostura a little bit today, as while I was feeding him, I noticed his tummy was already a little bit round this morning. I'm gonna fast him today, and hopefully he'll poop today.


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## hrutan (Jun 25, 2014)

You can try flaring him, too. If he's ready to go and just being a bit stubborn, he'll "go" lol... you wouldn't believe how many times I had to clean the photo tank...


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## Nimble (Aug 31, 2014)

I need to get a good mirror for flaring purposes for Angostura. I've been trying to manage using my cell-phone's screen, but it's not really that reflective.

Come on and poop already, you dopey fish.


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## hrutan (Jun 25, 2014)

Maybe you can turn your phone's camera on, then switch it to "selfie" mode to show it to him?


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## Nimble (Aug 31, 2014)

My phone doesn't have a forward facing camera.

Good news though, he did poop.

I also used one of my new shipping bags to good use by bagging Smirnoff, and letting her float in Angostura's tank for a little while. He flared up almost instantly, trying to impress the pretty young lady in his tank. That's a good sign, I would think. It means that they'll be quick to get along, hopefully, and hopefully quick to wrap. I need to start getting things into gear. The big date approaches.


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## Nimble (Aug 31, 2014)

Welcome back to The Bar, ladies and gentlemen.

So, bad news first. The new snails I purchased were DOA, and had not moved or opened up when I checked this morning from where I placed them the last night before leaving for work. Thankfully, the seller will refund me, so long as I show a picture of their crushed bodies. Yucky work, but it's gotta be done in order to get my money back.

Yesterday was brine shrimp, so that means today is blood worms! I forgot to take them out of the freezer last night, so they're still frozen, so I'm waiting for them to thaw so I can feed the hungry kids.

Smirnoff is developing quite beautifully. Her fins are developing nicely, and she's got a nice belly full of eggs. She and Cointreau are getting along nicely as well, which is a plus.

Angostura's ever the active little boy. He's always swimming about, looking over at me, or investigating what the Otos are doing. He tries to chase after them sometimes, but he's slower than they are, and will often get distracted from one by another. It's a good balance, I would say. Tuaca has been hanging around the rock-cave over the last couple of days, and he's been actually active enough that I can see his movements. It's a nice change of pace, I think.

I had a good weekend at the club, as well. Last night was one of the busiest nights we've had since mid-Autumn(not counting New Year's Eve). Unfortunately, an ambulance had to be called because one of our regulars who is a little bit of a menace(to himself and others) got knocked out by another guy. I'm not gonna go into details about what else happened, but suffice to say that management was not happy, nor will the owners be.

But let's not think about that negativity. We have pretty fish!


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## Nimble (Aug 31, 2014)

I had a really good evening tonight. We were all feeling well enough tonight, that my room-mate/best friend and I decided to cook dinner together for the first time in a while. I helped her make her rustic meat ragout, and we served it with spaghetti. It was one of the best meat-sauces I've ever had. After that, she and I sat on the couch and listened to cool bands I didn't know about, which was fun. She's got great taste in music, and introduces me to some cool stuff.

Yeah, I know. Nothing really to do with fish, but this is my journal. I can post what I like, so long as I abide by the posting rules.

I'm thinking of getting a Banana Lilly or two for the tanks. And possibly some more Crypts, since they're almost impossible to kill. What do you guys think?


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## hrutan (Jun 25, 2014)

That sounds like a good night. Good food, good company, good music. What more can you ask for?

I'm not so sure about the banana lily. Crypts are awesome, though.


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## Nimble (Aug 31, 2014)

I feel like I couldn't kill my Crypts, even if I tried.


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## Nimble (Aug 31, 2014)

Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome back to The Bar.

On menu for the young couple today is an even mix of bloodworms and pellets. The pellets today are krill+spirulina pellets that have been crushed to be easier to eat. The spirulina is good, because it helps keep them regular, and can help avoid constipation.

On feeding this morning, I noticed that Angostura may have scraped another scale off, very likely playing under the driftwood again, silly boy. I'm gonna have to rescape if this happens again. I mixed a little bit of AQ salt and medicine into a bottle of his tank water, and will be dosing it periodically over the next couple of days, just to make sure that no infection happens.

Smirnoff is being a lovely girl, always so friendly and happy to see me. Her ovaries are getting quite full, and she's looking so happy to see me. I think that maybe I'll bad her tomorrow and have her float in Angostura's tank for a little bit, to get them flaring at each other again.

Nothing much else going on today. Other than that I have to crush those dead snails to get my money back. That's gonna suck.

Thanks all for stopping by. Please enjoy The Bar.


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## Nimble (Aug 31, 2014)

Good morning, ladies and gentleman. Welcome back to The Bar. I'm very glad to have you back.

I was woken up a bit earlier than normal, thanks to my upstairs neighbor going down the staircase rather loudly. As such, this is why I'm posting early!

Angostura and Smirnoff are having bloodworms again today, since they've decided that they don't like the Brine shrimp. They've made their decision.

Angostura scuffed off another scale yesterday, it seems. I feel like he's the equivalent of that stereotypical child who always has bandages stuck to him in several spots, especially knees and elbows. It must be because he's a Plakat, and they're naturally more aggressive. I did a salt and medicine treatment, and he seems fine today, no worse for the wear... but I'll keep my eye on him.

Smirnoff is happily more docile than her male partner. I feel a little bad that her tank is a lot more stark than his. I'll have to do some rescaping as best as I can the next time I get a chance. I'm sure she would enjoy some driftwood and more plants, but I can only do so much.

The Otos and the Snails seem to be having a good day. Tuaca is in the middle of the front glass, having spent the last few days near the driftwood and rock-cave. The Otos are happily munching away at two slices of blanched zucchini that I put in the tank for them. Cointreau is hanging out on the corner of the tank closest to my computer desk, where I usually feed Smirnoff. 

My adult Java Fern has a baby starting to form! It's this little curly appendage on the rhizome, I'm so happy! As well, all of my Crypts are putting off new growth.

I finally got around to uploading pictures. Soon after this, I will make another pictures post. I still haven't gotten around to borrowing my housemate's digital camera, so don't mind the quality.


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## Nimble (Aug 31, 2014)

Picture Day!

Cointreau, hanging out by the filter, nibbling at the surface snacks. Of course he picks the one place I can't get a good shot.
http://i.imgur.com/3azjK1I.jpg

Smirnoff, my lovely sweet girl. You can see the faint green sparkle in her eyes. That is, if you can ignore the water stains on the glass. I hate having such hard water.
http://i.imgur.com/3azjK1I.jpg

Full-tank shot of Smirnoff's tank, with her visible on the right side. 
http://i.imgur.com/WaxRTPa.jpg

Full-tank shot of Angostura's tank. Tuaca on top of the rock-cave, Angostura in front of it. That's one of the Otos hanging out on the prefilter sponge. Good luck finding the other three.
http://i.imgur.com/TCGNi47.jpg

A flaring picture that shows off his colors very well, look at the contrast of that powerful red to his deep black.
http://i.imgur.com/m0OnNIX.jpg

Another flaring picture, this time showing off his form a little bit better, as well as the minor irid in his tail.
http://i.imgur.com/bPw0WDh.jpg

A rather cute bubble-nest that appeared the other day, that was caught spinning in the current.
http://i.imgur.com/7MtJ9Or.jpg

That's all for today! Thanks very much, my beloved patrons!


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## Schmoo (Oct 3, 2014)

Ang's such a pretty boy! Gah, I love his coloring.


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## Nimble (Aug 31, 2014)

Isn't he just? I'm really hoping I see more like him in the F1.


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## Nimble (Aug 31, 2014)

Greetings again, good patrons of The Bar. How are you all this afternoon?

I did water changes on both tanks yesterday. Both look much better full and happy, and I'm sure the fish all appreciated a little freshness, even though my parameters were still pretty good.

I noticed today, something about Cointreau. I'm concerned that Smirnoff might be a nibbler as well, and may have shortened his antennae. And when I mean shortened, I mean turned into little nubs. I feel bad for subjecting a snail to a bitey fish. When Smirnoff and Bailey shared the tank, there were never any issues with biting.

Angostura is still his racey little self. He still enjoys swimming back and forth, patrolling his territory. I really don't like his glass-surfing, but he's perfectly healthy otherwise. Tuaca's up near the top of the waterline today, probably happy about having an extra half-inch of space to crawl up and down. The Otos are all doing very well, and have become a bit more brave about Angostura. He still tries to nip at one now and again to maintain his position as the big fish, but they're still faster, and they still move about fairly freely. Their hiding spots are getting more obvious, however. I don't have to look so hard for them, anymore.

My headcold is basically entirely gone. I still wake up a little phlegmy in the mornings thanks to the dry air in my bedroom, but everything else is great~ Fish are happy, I'm happy, and in a couple of weeks, the big date starts. I'm so excited. I'm resisting the temptation to spawn them early.


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## hrutan (Jun 25, 2014)

Hahah, resist. Let the vinegar eels arrive and grow a bit.


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## Nimble (Aug 31, 2014)

I know, I know. I'm just getting so antsy. I don't want to be ill-prepared, I know.


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## Nimble (Aug 31, 2014)

Good afternoon, good patrons of The Bar. Good to see you, as always!

The fishes had their breakfast of blood worms and pellets, and are swimming about as per usual. I've taken to feeding them small amounts every few hours, rather than big meals. Lower chances of constipation, and it keeps their appetites healthy.

My Otos have devoured their zucchini slices with great vigor. They've eaten the entire middle of the slices, and only the rind, and about 5mm(.25 inch) of the flesh is left. These are 4cm(1.5 inch) diameter slices. I like using metric for smaller measurements. Four little Otos cleaned two of those things in 2 days. Hungry little buggers.

Hrutan was nice enough to send me a starter of vinegar eels in the mail. They should be getting in today, and I'll get to work on starting the culture going. Once they're kicking and thriving, I'll be able to feed the fry if/when the spawn is successful. I need to do a test hatch of my brine shrimp eggs, to see how well they hatch.

I found out a little bit about Smirnoff's genetics. Her mother was a Cambodian CT, like she was. Her father was a (assumed Cambo-based)Red CT, apparently. So, it's safe to assume that she has Cambo and CT all the way back. I'm not sure how that will translate to ray-branching in the fry. I'm guessing her offspring will only be 2-rays as well, unless they get it from their father. I'm really hoping for some 4-ray branching from this spawn.

I've asked the importer about Angostura's parents, and hopefully I get a good answer.

The water in both tanks is looking fairly tea-like today... I may have overestimated how much IAL to put in both after the water changes. Frankly, I like it, and the fish seem to as well. However, Angostura has been flaring up a bit more than usual lately, so maybe I should take out one of the leaf segments, and do another water change. What do you guys think?


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## Nimble (Aug 31, 2014)

The Vinegar Eel culture has been started. Hopefully I did it right, and in a few weeks I should have a thriving culture of food for my beloved baby fry.

I just discovered that my rear tire on my bicycle has a flat. I've gotta get downtown to pick up a new tire tube. This is a great day.


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## Nimble (Aug 31, 2014)

So, my trip to the LFS today bagged me two banana plants(one for each tank) a pot of micro sword grass, 20 feet of airline tubing(at 10 cents a foot), a new air pump for use with the 30g tub when breeding time comes, and... five adorable little pygmy cories! They're just the cutest things ever, and they're all about 1.5cm or so in size. Just adorable and teensy! I love them!

Names aren't really an issue at this point. I figure I'll only name fish(or snails) that can be identified, rather than ALL my fish. If I have a bunch of something that all look the same, there's no point in naming them, because I won't be able to tell them apart.

In any case, they're all adorable, and I love them!


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## Nimble (Aug 31, 2014)

Good morning, everyone. The hungry lovers have eaten their breakfast, and everyone seems to be doing pretty well. I dropped some more blanched zucchini slices into the tank, glad to see that all the catfish critters like them.

I've discovered something pleasing, this morning. My new Pygmy Cories are happily schooling/shoaling with the Otos, creating a mixed school of 9. It's great to see all of them together on the driftwood, moving over to the zucchini as a group. It makes me happy, but I'm not entirely surprised. They're all Armored Catfish, so it makes sense.

Angostura decided to nibble on some of the zucchini as well, once I'd put it in. I'm not sure of his opinion of it, though. Silly fish.

I feel like Smirnoff is a little lonely in her tank, all by herself with nobody but Cointreau to keep her company. I'm debating switching Tuaca over to the tank with her, since I have plenty of cleaners in the 10g now. What do you guys think?

My vinegar eel culture is still alive and kicking. Itty-bitty swimmers are moving and nibbling on the matchsticks of apple, and I'm glad to see that. Hopefully in a couple of weeks, we'll have plenty enough for all the little babies, unless I wind up like Hrutan and have a MASSIVE spawn for my first time.

The little Pygmy Cories are better at hide-and-seek than the Otos are. I have difficulty locating even three at a time. There are always two together, though. I know there's one pair amongst the quintet that stick together like best friends.


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## Nimble (Aug 31, 2014)

Good morning everyone. Welcome back to The Bar.

Bad news this morning. I found and removed one teensy little body today. One of the pygmy cories was found by the new banana plant, on his back and dead. One of them was looking fairly pitiful, so I'm not entirely surprised. I've only been able to find two others this morning, and he looks just fine. The other two must be hiding somewhere, probably behind the driftwood with the Otos, where I an't see them. I hope I see them, so I can make sure they're all okay.

Angostura's tummy is still looking a little bulgy today, and I haven't fed him yet. He's getting fasted today, until he poops. He's too much of a little piggy... and I'm probably an enabler.

I'll keep you all updated as the day goes on.


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## Nimble (Aug 31, 2014)

And we're back!

Angostura's pooped, thankfully. Apparently he's been nibbling and snacking on the zucchini about as much as the catfish have, which is interesting.

Currently, I'm still only able to find two of the Cories at any one time. I'm starting to get a little concerned, but I'm sure that they're just hiding under the driftwood or one of the IAL. I'll keep my eye out for more little bodies, but I suppose that if I can't find them, that means that Angostura can't either.

I really gotta get myself a new shelf, or something to hold more tanks.


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## hrutan (Jun 25, 2014)

Aww, I'm sorry to hear that about your little cories! It took me quite a while to get a stable group of pandas - they seem to be so fragile but are wonderful when they finally settle in. My community tank female betta eats cucumber seeds, by the way. Scared the stuffing out of me the first time I saw it, because when chewed upon, the seed looks far too much like a shoulder blade. :shock:


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## Nimble (Aug 31, 2014)

Yeah. I don't know what it is about the zucchini, but Angostura seems to enjoy nibbling on it. That must have been why he's had a bulging belly; he's been snacking on zucchini.

Still can only find two of the Cories at a time. It figures that once they finally have some Pygmy Cories in and I can get them, one doesn't make it through two days, and two out of the remaining four are hiding.

I'm gonna have to probably fiddle about with the driftwood, maybe see if I can find them. Maybe tomorrow.


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## Nimble (Aug 31, 2014)

Well... I found three more little bodies. I knew it was too good to be true. 

One of the bodies had a strange red splotch and a wound on his side. It may have been Red Splotch disease, which can affect Cories. I should've QT'd them for at least three days, but I was so excited I wanted to put them in right away.

One of them is still alive, but I'm not sure for how much longer. He seems fine, and is exhibiting seemingly normal behavior. I've dosed the tank with Melafix and AQ salt, just to make sure it doesn't spread, and as a preventative. Hopefully he'll survive and be happy with his larger cousins.

I should keep an eye on the Otos, too... Red Splotch can affect all Armored Catfish. Eep~

Angostura seems just fine. I'm suspecting he's partly at-fault for their deaths. He was really into hunting them, and it's just as likely that they died from wounds and stress as it is disease.

I don't have time to go back to the pet store and get my money back for the dead fish, which sucks because it's only a two-day window. Maybe if I go by tomorrow, they might be lenient and give me a refund.

I'm really hoping that the remaining Pygmy Cory survives. Hopefully he'll feel comfortable enough around his larger cousins that they'll stick together, and he'll be that stubborn little guy who lasts forever.

Huh... now that he's the only one of his kind in the tank, I suppose he'll need a name, won't he?


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## hrutan (Jun 25, 2014)

Oh no.


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## Nimble (Aug 31, 2014)

Checked my parameters. Ammonia is at .2ppm, even though I just replaced some of the water today, and nitrite and nitrate are at zero. I'll put a little Prime in there just to be safe. Everyone else is acting normally, and as far as I can tell, the remaining Pygmy is in good health, as are my Otos. I'll watch them over the next few days.

And... now I can't find the lone survivor. Where the hell did that little thing get to?


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## Nimble (Aug 31, 2014)

Good afternoon everyone. Welcome back to The Bar.

So, I woke up about a half-hour ago, which makes my total sleeping time about 9 hours, or so. I was surprised at what time I got up, but I'm not surprised that I needed the sleep after this weekend. The nightclub was amazing all weekend. I'm very pleased with everyone's performance.

The bloodwoms are thawing for Angostura and Smirnoff, so they're probably mad at me that I haven't given them their breakfast yet. Well, I haven't eaten yet either, so they can just chill.

I must be dehydrated, because I'm all snuffly and congested. I know I can't be sick again... I hope.

The little surviving Pygmy Cory is still alive, as are all of my Otos, so my suspicions of disease in the tank are waning. I'm still gonna dose small amounts of saline and Melafix over the next coupe of days, but I'm pleased to see them all exhibiting normal behavior.

My scheduled start for the beginning of spawning is about 10 days from now, and I'm getting antsier as the date gets closer. I wanna just drop them in the spawn tank right away and just watch them go, but I know it's good for me to wait until everything is perfect.

I'm happy to see that all of the fish in the 10g are happy with the new Micro Sword grass and the Banana plant. I rotated the driftwood yesterday, so it's slightly different in the tank now, and I'm not sure if I like it or not. The Java Fern plantlets are growing more each day, and the new plantlet budding from the adult Java Fern is looking lovelier as it grows longer and longer. I'm even beginning to see the leaf forming as it grows. Hooray!

That's all for now, ladies and gentlemen. Stick around the bar, enjoy something to drink, and I'll update again tomorrow morning, if I don't later this evening.


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## Nimble (Aug 31, 2014)

Angostura killed the last remaining Pygmy Corydora.

The last one was just fine this afternoon when I woke up. Two hours later, when I went to check on them, I saw the body out in the open, with an obvious attack wound on its side. I'm mad at him, but at the same time I can't blame him for his natural behavior. There's no way it could have been Red Splotch, because that takes a LONG time to become fatal, and with Angostura's behavior lately, it seems much less likely than him attacking and killing the Cories.

So, I'm down about $15, as well as a group of fun, lively little creatures. Oh well. Maybe I'll get another group when I get a tank of schoolers, without Bettas. 

All of the Otos are exhibiting normal behavior, all happily sucking on the driftwood or IAL pieces.


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## Schmoo (Oct 3, 2014)

So sorry about your catfish. :c I experienced something similar with my Mace when I first got him. I wanted to add him to a tank with three guppies, and things were fine for the first 24 hours. Then, out of nowhere, he bit off roughly half of one of their tails. He didn't kill her, but I was very frustrated with him.


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## Nimble (Aug 31, 2014)

Good morning Ladies and Gentlemen. Welcome back to The Bar. I'll be right with you, if any of you need anything.

Bloodworms were eagerly feasted upon this morning. Each of the eager pair were happy to have their breakfast. Everyone is looking very lively this morning.

I did something this morning I should have done about two weeks ago. I stuck the sponge filter that will be going in the spawning/growout tank into Angostura's 10g. It needs to be cycled, and I'm going to try and do what I can to help it along. Unfortunately, it really shakes up the surface of the water. I put another big ring of air-line tubing on the surface, and that's made a fairly sizable spot of placid water for Angostura to get air from and feed from. Although, he seems interested in the new piece of hardware, and has been examining it all morning.

I need to change the carbon filter pad in the 10g's filter, but I figure with the new filter in, it'll be fine for a little while. I've still got like... a week and a half before I start the spawn.

I'm curious as to how thick with vinegar eels my culture needs to be before I can harvest. I checked it this morning, and it's chock-full of little wigglers. I'd say there's at least 100 per cubic centimeter, but I couldn't really get a good gauge on them, and I'm probably being a little hyperbolic.

Patience, Nimble. Patience. If you have to delay spawning by a few days, that's not a big deal.


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## Nimble (Aug 31, 2014)

Good morning, lovely patrons of The Bar. Good to see you again, as always. I'm here to report on how our lovely cocktail-to-be is doing.

Bloodworms and pellets were eagerly consumed, and everyone seems to be doing very well. Water temperature is stable, and I'll be checking the parameters later today.

If all goes as planned, I'll be picking up the 30g tubs from Wal-Mart today, and get to work the spawn tank and grow-out. Gotta make sure the little ones have plenty of room to grow up beautifully.

Angostura seems to actually enjoy the presence of the 30g bubble filter. He likes swimming around through the little nooks between it and the corner of the tank, allowing him to be sneaky. The Oto's like it because it collects detritus that they can nibble on.

Smirnoff is her usual self, hanging out near me, watching what I do, waiting for more snacks. Hungry little girl, I just fed you!

Everyone else seems to be just fine. Things have returned to normal after the death of the Pygmy Cories. Nobody is ill, and that's good!

Just another week to go until I can spawn them.


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## Nimble (Aug 31, 2014)

I got a good look at Smirnoff this morning, and I've found that she's starting to develop more red along her body and face. Her face is coloring up very red, which is kinda disappointing, as I'd hoped she'd stay bright pale. Oh well.

Picked up a new tankmate today. A new mystery snail. I think it's a striped purple, or something. He's got a white foot/body with a light shell with the mahogany stripes. I'm thinking of calling him Godiva, after the Godiva chocolate liquers, which come in both dark and light. How's that sound to you all? I'll probably have him hang out with Cointreu in Smirnoff's tank.


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## DaytonBetta (Feb 4, 2014)

My husband loves this martini we make with Godiva liquer, Baileys, vanilla vodka and Hershey's syrup for garnish. We call it the Milky Way.


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## Nimble (Aug 31, 2014)

I really wish we had the Godiva liqueurs at the club I work at. We just have Bols brand Creme de Cacao(both dark and light), which aren't bad, but don't have the same flavor as the Godiva.

There's a lot of things that I wish we had at the club that we don't carry. Like a real, decent tequila. The only tequilas we carry are Patron and Jose Cuervo Especial Gold. Your choice between overpriced, flavorless REAL tequila, and 49% garbage fake tequila.

If I had my choice, we'd be carrying Jose Cuervo Tradicional Reposado, which is delicious. That's my choice of tequila, if I were to drink tequila.


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## DaytonBetta (Feb 4, 2014)

Don't get me started on tequila!!! We go to Mexico every year and buy repasado and anejo in varieties that aren't imported and host tasting parties at home. It's so much fun! I love tequila.

Even the best tequila I like with salt and limes. My husband says that's a crime, but I like it that way.


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## hrutan (Jun 25, 2014)

Hey there is nothing wrong with salt and limes. Tequila straight is good, tequila in margaritas is good...tequila with salt and lime is good.


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## Nimble (Aug 31, 2014)

I'm not a huge fan of tequila, myself. Mostly because I've been soured from it thanks to Jose Cuervo Especial Gold, that disgusting trash made from 49% rotgut NGS(Neutral Grain Spirits) and caramel coloring.

Godiva has taken well to his new home. I'm not quite sure on his sex, nor on Cointreau's, but I've got a 50% chance of them both being the same sex, so I'm fairly certain I won't have to worry about any egg clusters quite yet.

I'm heading to bed now, I think. Goodnight, dear patrons. The Bar is closed, but we'll be back open tomorrow, first thing in the morning!


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## Nimble (Aug 31, 2014)

Good morning, and welcome back, dear friends and patrons. Welcome back to The Bar.

Breakfast is currently thawing for the two Bettas. I gave them a single crushed pellet each to sate their hunger until the bloodworms thaw out so that they can eat.

Godiva seems to have settled in nicely. He's enjoying a relaxing snooze along the wall near the top of Smirnoff's tank. Cointreau, as usual, is by the canister of the filter.

Angostura seems to be doing well this morning as well. I wish that I could see the Otos more easily, since I get nervous when I can't find all four of them. But, I'm sure that they're all okay. Silly things.

I'm doing water testing on today, just to make sure that everything is as it should be. If it's not looking good, I'll do a water change, of course.

So, I may wind up having to delay spawning of the pair for another month. My mother and stepfather invited me to go to Puerto Rico with them and my younger brother for my younger brother's... Well, it's like Spring Break, but in February. His school has a strange schedule. If I decide to go, I won't be able to care for my fry. So, I'll have to delay spawning them until after that's over. 

I've never been to Puerto Rico, so it's an exciting opportunity. I could use the vacation, but I also would love to just go ahead and get things going on my spawning plans. I'm probably the only person complaining about getting a free vacation to Puerto Rico, but I've been looking forward to spawning for months.


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## Nimble (Aug 31, 2014)

Mark up another death in the tank, ladies and gentlemen. The mighty, bitter hunter Angostura has struck again.

One of the four Otocinclus was found today, partially decayed. I had been worried when I'd not seen him in a couple of days, and he must've been uncovered by the water change today. I think I'll have to do another, bigger water change tomorrow, just to make sure that there's been no negative effects. I'll dose some saline and Melafix as well.

I'll need to get another pair of Otos, just to make sure that the other three don't get too lonely. Or maybe I'll just switch Angostura to the 5.5, and let him be in a tank by himself, the big bully. He probably got a hold of that one as well. 

I got some Red Root Floaters in the mail today, my order from lilnaugrim. I split the bunch between Smirnoff and Angostura's tanks. Hopefully these ones will last longer than the Dwarf Water Lettuce that I had.

To those of you following Hrutan's journal, you will probably already know that I found a lovely 'chocolate' bodied, orange finned boy in the family-owned pet shop farther from my house. My friend let me stop in on the way home from driving me to Wal-Mart when I needed to get 35g plastic tubs for the spawning tank/water aging tubs. I mentioned him to her today, and showed the picture that I had gotten. She lost her lid, and asked me if I could get him for her. I called the pet store, and told them to hold him for me until Friday. I should be able to head out tomorrow, and take him home and hold him in the 2.5g tank I have until the weather warms and it's safe to send him.


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## Tress (Jun 6, 2014)

Personally I would give him his own tank. It's unfair to the other fish if he's just going to keep stressing and attacking them.

That choco boy is so lovely <3 you must post pics of him during his stay :3


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## hrutan (Jun 25, 2014)

Sadly, it seems some fish just don't want company.


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## DaytonBetta (Feb 4, 2014)

Nimble said:


> I'll need to get another pair of Otos, just to make sure that the other three don't get too lonely.


I have otos. They are so delicate the first few months! They are almost all wild caught and they just don't adapt well to aquarium life, I think. I had four and 3 died. I tried again and got 4 more... 3 died. So I have 2 now. I just couldn't face bringing home another batch and losing almost all again. One of mine is quite small, but both seem to be doing fine. I feel bad they aren't in a community, but they're ok. When there were more of them they were out more often. 

So, I wouldn't feel obligated to get more, but if you do, best of luck with them!


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## hrutan (Jun 25, 2014)

Sounds like me with the Pandas.


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## Nimble (Aug 31, 2014)

I don't know if it really is Angostura, or if whatever killed my Cories transferred to Otos. I found another dead this morning. I looked closely at the body, and saw a red area on the topside behind his head, looked like a bruise/internal bleeding. I'm suspecting Angostura, but it could still be Red Splotch... which doesn't make sense, as it tends to take a very long time to kill. Other than the red mark under the skin, the body was pristine. The other two seem perfectly fine. I'm gonna get them a slice of zucchini to snack on today.

I've decided I'm going to put Angostura in the 5.5g, and put Smirnoff in the 10g. Hopefully a female will be more docile with the Otos... of which I'll have to get a few more. 

I've got the 2.5g filled with good tank water, a mix from Angostura's tank and from the water-aging tub I have. When Roc gets here this afternoon, he should be very comfortable. I'll be sure to feed him and take care of him as I would my own.

I'm getting very frustrated with Angostura... almost to the point where I'm even reconsidering breeding him. I'm not sure I want such aggression being passed down to future generations... but he is just so pretty.


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## hrutan (Jun 25, 2014)

I wouldn't be too concerned about it, honestly. Unless he is overly aggressive with the females, he's just acting out very natural instincts. Do you know if he comes from a fighter line?


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## Nimble (Aug 31, 2014)

He is a Plakat, so they're naturally more aggressive, but I'm not sure. I'd asked the importer, but I've not received word back from them.

I mean, he flared up and started bubbling when I showed Smirnoff to him in the past, so hopefully he's a good breeder.


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## KitDewStein (Jan 20, 2015)

Lets just hope he isn't an egg muncher.


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## Nimble (Aug 31, 2014)

skyemuff, take that to the proper subforum, which is not here. Don't hijack my journal just because you saw people posting, and thought this would be a good place to ask a question like that. 

Rams and Bettas should never be put in the same tank, if you had done research, you would have known that. You need to get rid of the Ram.


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## Nimble (Aug 31, 2014)

Anyway. Back to the reason this thread is here.

Partial water changes have been done, and the Bettas have been switched.

Smirnoff is eagerly exploring her new, bigger tank, and Angostura is doing the same. So far, I don't think he's too annoyed. He spent about an hour in the 32 oz cup I used to hold him in while he was being transferred, so I'm sure he's just happy to move around and stretch his fins.

Smirnoff is now sharing the 10g with Cointreau and the two remaining Otos. 
Angostura is in the 5.5g with Tuaca and Godiva, the new Brown-shell, White-body Mystery Snail I got the other day. Though, I might switch him over to the 10g as well, if Angostura continues to be a nipper. I hope it won't have to be that way, but you never know. Maybe I should just go ahead and do it now?

I also switched around some of the plants. Both Banana Ferns are in the 5.5g now, along with one of the nano marimo balls, and the adult Java Fern. I need to get a stronger light for the 5.5g, which I'll probably do today while I'm out getting Roc to keep for our dear friend Hrutan.


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## Nimble (Aug 31, 2014)

So, I come back from the pet store to pick up Roc for Hrutan. He's safe and sound in the 2.5g tank, with a heater and the bubble filter, and two IAL halves.

I purchased some new Silica sand, part of which went on the bottom of Roc's tank, and part of it as extra substrate in Angostura's 5.5g, to help cover the new Amazon Sword I got for him. The new white sand is good for reflecting light back up, and making it brighter, and helps the tank glow with a slight green, thanks to all the new plants.

I figure he'd like his tank a little more densely planted, so I decided to get him a BIG plant that had lots of leaves. I also got a lid with an LED light on it, so that the plants can HOPEFULLY get a little more light. I'll have to find an LED with better spectrum on it, but this will work for now.

I also picked up a new bottle of Tetra Quick Start bottled bacteria, a 150w heater for the water aging/breeding tub, and two more Otocinclus who are currently in Quarantine right now, with a little bit of zucchini. One of them has a very round belly, so I'm concerned that it may have parasites. If they survive the night, we will see.


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## hrutan (Jun 25, 2014)

Thank you again for Roc, and good luck with the new Otos! Hopefully these will work out...it took 3 tries for me to get a stable group of Pandas :-(


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## Nimble (Aug 31, 2014)

You're welcome, Hrutan.

And yeah, I hope they do well too. I REALLY hope that the round-bellied one is either full of eggs and ready to breed or has a full belly from food. I really don't want parasites to be the case. Which is why I'm holding them in QT for a while.


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## Nimble (Aug 31, 2014)

Good morning ladies and gentlemen, welcome back to The Bar!

Sadly, the round-bellied Oto didn't make it through the night in the QT tank. The other one, however, did make it, and is currently floating in the 10g, acclimating and hopefully ready to join the other two remaining Otos.

Breakfast is currently thawing out. Both Angostura ad Roc are swimming hungrily. Angostura keeps looking at me, waiting for me to feed him, bitter little brat. Smirnoff's wondering why the lights are out still(because I don't want the new Oto to stress out). Hopefully everyone gets along.

Roc's color has darkened a little bit, and I'm glad to see that he's doing well. He's such a handsome boy, I'm glad I was able to nab him, even if only temporarily.


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## hrutan (Jun 25, 2014)

Hmm. I wonder if you should, perhaps, treat the tank with an anti-parasitic?


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## Nimble (Aug 31, 2014)

I don't think I have any of that. D:

I'll dose with what medicine I have, and some AQ salt. The one who survived showed no signs of illness, so I don't think there should be any issue... I hope. I'll keep my eyes out.


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## hrutan (Jun 25, 2014)

If there's a chance of internal parasites (big belly is a typical symptom), you can also soak your fish food in garlic juice before feeding. It's a natural anti-parasitic, and the fish love it so a nice treat for them as well.


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## Nimble (Aug 31, 2014)

Good to know! Next time I drop zucchini in there, I'll make sure to prepare it with garlic.


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## Nimble (Aug 31, 2014)

Good afternoon, my dear friends and patrons! Welcome back to The Bar!

It's a fairly simple day today. Everyone has been fed their combination of bloodworms and pellets, and seem to be doing well. I'm happy to report that everyone is alive and accounted this morning.

Roc, our guest for the moment, is in a preventative/curative course of saline and medicine for fin rot. He had some tail damage, and I wasn't happy with that. Despite this, he seems lively and healthy, and is eating well. His 2.5g tank looks a little stark compared to the bigger ones, but he seems to be doing well enough. He enjoys swimming between the little tight spaces between the glass and the heater and the bubble filter. I'll have to get a full tank shot of him up in my image album.

Angostura is doing well this morning, after a little bit of a scare last night. When I came home from work last night, and checked on the tanks, his 5.5g thermometer read 87 degrees Fahrenheit. That's a bit too warm for my liking, so I lowered the setting on his heater, and left my space heater off through the night. This morning, things are back to normal, and he's no worse for wear.

Smirnoff seems very happy in the 10g, and it seems that the three Otos are enjoying not being chased by an aggressive male, as well. I switched Godiva over to the 10g last night, as Angostura was eyeing him a bit too much for me. He was hanging out by the driftwood and zucchini when I last checked, so all's good there. I don't think he and Cointreau have noticed each other yet, but I suppose that's good. They might both be the same sex, and I really don't need a big bunch of baby Mysteries at the moment.

The Otos seem to be doing well today. The new one I purchased the other day is quite friendly, and isn't afraid of being out in the open. The other two are slowly warming up as well, though one of them still enjoys hanging out upside-down under the driftwood, scaring me when I can't find him. He pops out now and again, but that's his favorite spot to be. They all seem healthy, so I'm not complaining.

Work at the club was slow last night. Nobody wanted to come out last night, thanks to a light dusting of snow on the ground scaring people into staying home. Hopefully tonight will be better, since people will be more prone to coming out, since they stayed home last night.
I was not pleased with how people were tipping last night either. One couple bought two rounds of drinks from me, but didn't tip even a dollar. After the first round without a tip, their drinks were a little light. I don't normally do stuff like that, but they were rude on top of not tipping.

Anyway, that's all for now, my dear friends and lovely patrons. I'll keep you all apprised of any happenings throughout the day. I hope to see you back again!


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## Nimble (Aug 31, 2014)

Good afternoon, my lovely friends and patrons. Welcome back to The Bar!

I can always tell I had a good night at work when I wake up sore. Last night definitely made up for Friday's dreariness. It was a very good night. Not as good as last Saturday, but still very nice.

Everyone in the tanks seem to be in good spirits today. They're all probably a little bit grumpy that I'm so late getting them their breakfast, but I just woke up about thirty minutes ago, and I haven't even had mine yet.

Smirnoff is her usual self, happily exploring her big tank, playing with the Red Root Floaters(What's left of them) and the other plants in her tank. She's such a little sweetheart. I love her dearly. The Otos are all doing well, it seems. At any given moment, I can see two darting about from one piece of glass or driftwood to another, and the third seems to be sticking around his little territory under the driftwood, in the little cavern there. It makes me wonder if there's a batch of eggs underneath there that I don't know about. Otos don't defend their eggs, do they?

Angostura gave me a look today when I said hello to him. He looked indignant, as if he was expecting me to feed him right then and there. He's always gonna be a grumpy, bitter boy, I guess. Tuaca is doing alright in there with him, I would say. I'll probably do a partial water change tonight or tomorrow.

Roc, our dear guest, is doing wonderful. He's a very energetic boy. I moved Angostura's Betta-Hammock into his tank, since Angostura never used it. I found Roc resting on it this morning, so that's a good sign, I would say. I dosed a bit of saline and medicine in his tank to treat/prevent fin rot. He seems to be in good spirits.

That's all for now, folks. I'm going to feed the Bettas, and then myself. If anyone needs me, just give me a holler. I'll be right with you. Please enjoy The Bar.


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## Nimble (Aug 31, 2014)

I found Angostura dead this morning. No idea on the cause of death.
He was acting a little sluggish yesterday, and didn't eat bloodworms when I offered them to him. I should have suspected something was strange, since he normally attacks them with vigor.

Water Parameters:

PH: 7.6 (Both High End and Regular PH scales)
Ammonia: .25 ppm (I was planning on doing water changes today)
Nitrite: 0ppm
Nitrate: 0ppm

He was perfectly healthy on Friday and Saturday. I have no idea what could have happened, and how he could have passed so quickly.

I'm resisting the intense urge to grab that bottle of vodka out of the freezer. It's looking really tempting.

I'm not going to be able to find another one like him. His form was beautiful, his colors were ideal... He was the perfect Betta.

The Bar is closed today. We apologize for the inconvenience.


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## Tress (Jun 6, 2014)

Oh Nimble... I'm so sorry for your loss D: He was a lovely boy, it's not fair to lose him so soon..


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## KitDewStein (Jan 20, 2015)

I am sorry for you loss  May Angustura swim in peace


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## hrutan (Jun 25, 2014)

What? Oh my...Nimble, I am so sorry for your loss. That's awful. He was a beautiful fish. SIP, Angostura.


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## LadyNightraven (Jun 30, 2013)

Oh no, Nimble, I'm so sorry.  SIP Angostura.


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## DaytonBetta (Feb 4, 2014)

I'm sorry!


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## Schmoo (Oct 3, 2014)

I'm so sorry for your loss, Nimble... :c


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## Nimble (Aug 31, 2014)

Thank you all for the kind words and well-wishes. His death was hard on me, but I will be okay.

Changed the water in Roc's 2.5g tank, and moved him to where the 5.5g tank was. He immediately flared up at Smirnoff when he saw her. He had quite the impressive beard, as Smirnoff curled into an S-shape at the sight of him.

The 10g got a couple slices of zucchini in, and both snails and all three Otos were latched on to one piece or the other within 10 minutes. It made me happy to see. Cointreau is still chowing down on a piece.

I cleaned all the plants with warm AQ-salt water from my tap. Hopefully the chlorinated water will kill any bad bugs on it, and whatever it doesn't, the salt will. I will monitor the plants for wilting and such.

I put the filter that was in the 5.5g into the water-aging tank, so that the bacteria can still survive until the tank is ready to be cycled again. I'm thinking I'm gonna either get some ADA Aquasoil, or do a Walstad on it. Either way, I'm gonna do some intense planting.

I've started looking at a replacement for Angostura. I found an American seller who is selling her spawn of Red PK x Red Marble HM, so I figure a good male from that would be nice. In addition, I'm looking at getting a good Cambodian HM female from another American seller. If I'm lucky, I can get some Red Butterfly from that spawn, and maybe even some Cambodian Butterly(wouldn't that be a sight to see?). I'll could also cross that to an Orange Plakat to get some interesting offspring, as well.

That's all for now. The Bar will resume regular business in due time.


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## Nimble (Aug 31, 2014)

Welcome back to the bar, Ladies and Gentlemen. How are you all today?

Breakfast this morning was crushed pellets. Roc and Smirnoff will get a snack of bloodworms later in the afternoon if they're good. The Godiva, Cointreau, and the three Otos are still munching on the remains of those zucchini slices that I put in yesterday. I'm gonna top-off Smirnoff's tank water today, since it looks like it could use it.

Roc's fin-rot isn't getting better quite yet... but you know what they say. Things have to get better before they can get worse. Luckily, it's just in his tail, I think. I haven't noticed any in his anal or dorsal. If worse comes to worse, and he doesn't stop degrading, I'm going to have to trim him... which is something I really don't want to do, since I've not done it before. I'll be sure to keep giving him his medicine so that he can recover, and start regrowing his pretty orange fins.


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## Nimble (Aug 31, 2014)

Hello and good afternoon, my lovely friend and patrons of The Bar.

Bloodworms for breakfast. Everyone seems to be in good spirits this morning, and all have been eating well. Things seem to be in good order.

Roc's tail is still not looking well, but these things take time. I just have to keep medicating him and hope that it'll start healing soon.

Smirnoff's tail, however, is showing something interesting. At the very tip of some of her rays, there seems to be the beginning of some excess branching. A couple of her rays have a small split at the end of them. This may hint at some DeT or HM far away in her background, as both of her parents (Red Father, Cambodian Mother) were CT, according to the importer. In any case, it's a cute little tidbit that I think is interesting.

All the Otos are alive and well, hopping around and sucking on the walls or the driftwood. The snails are doing equally well, and look to be having a nap while stuck on the wall at the moment. Dorky little things.

Nothing else to talk about, really. I'm going to keep doing my best to heal up Roc, in the hopes that by the time I send him off to Hrutan, his fins are full and beautiful again.


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## Nimble (Aug 31, 2014)

Hello again, everyone. Welcome back to The Bar.

I've decided that I'm transferring Roc to a smaller, 1qt jar while he's recovering from Fin Rot. The smaller size will allow me to do daily water changes, and it should reduce stress on him. I'll be changing his water in a little while, and I sure hope he doesn't object too much.

Both have had their bloodworm breakfast already, and it's a good thing to see that everyone still has an appetite. Smirnoff grabbed a mouthful of them, and had to spit out a few so she could swallow them, greedy little girl. Roc tends to take his time with eating them, so that's good for him.

It's getting close to tax time, and since it's pay day, I'm hoping that work will have the W-2 statements ready, so that I can go ahead and do my taxes and get my rebate.

Nothing really big today in The Bar, so that's it for today. I hope you all have a happy weekend!


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## hrutan (Jun 25, 2014)

The girls always seem to be more crazy for the food than the boys are. It's pretty funny to watch at feeding time. Such hungry, hungry ladies.


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## Nimble (Aug 31, 2014)

Greetings dear patrons of The Bar. Good to see you again.

My apologies for not posting yesterday, it was just very busy. Last night was very likely the busiest Saturday I've seen during my time tending bar at the club. My sales were the highest I can ever remember them being, except for maybe New Year's Eve, and possibly even more than that night.

Roc's daily water changes and medicine-salt treatments are going well. The black edges on his fins are disappearing, which looks good as it means that the fin rot is slowing and hopefully stopped. He's not entirely happy when the water changes happen, but he gets a bloodworm snack before and after each, so he can't complain. Not like I'd understand him anyway.

Smirnoff and the 10g crew are doing well. Everyone but her is snacking on some fresh zucchini slices I put in today. My Banana Lilies are growing new leaves, and on one them, its regular roots are looking for the soil. All the plants are doing well so far, except for the Red Root Floaters, which failed to float and got caught in the undercurrent and prefilter sponge. Oh well. All my Crypts are doing well, as are the remaining stems of... whatever it was I got from Umar. I want to say Bacopa.

Again, I have to work the ticket-booth tonight at the club. The girl who regularly works it has Rheumatoid Gout, so her joints swell up when the weather is wet. That makes it painful for her to work, so she called me and asked me to work for her. Thankfully, it was before 8pm this time, so I have time to get ready.

That's it for now, ladies and gentlemen. Please enjoy The Bar, and I will see you again later. Please let me know if I can help you with anything.


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## Nimble (Aug 31, 2014)

Good morning ladies and gentlemen. Welcome back to The Bar.

First off, we'll start with some good news. Roc's fin-rot is all but entirely cleared up. There's hardly any black discoloration to the edges of his fins anymore, and I'm hopeful about what to expect in the future. Hopefully the weather warms up enough that I can send him out to Hrutan soon, otherwise I'm gonna get attached to him.

Smirnoff is doing well in her 10g with her tankmates. Everyone is happy and healthy, and thanks to it being fully cycled now, ammonia levels are sitting happy at 0. I'm thinking of heading out to the pet store today and perhaps picking up another Oto for the gang. Not sure.

I'm trying to decide what I want to do with the 5.5g when it comes time for me to get another Betta. I'm thinking of doing a Walstad with it, or a dirt-bottom tank. I gotta go to Lowe's or Wal-Mart and pick up some Organic dirt.

Not much else going on today. But, if you need anything, just let me know.


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## hrutan (Jun 25, 2014)

Hooray for Roc! Healed fins for a happy fish. Dirt bottom makes for some amazing plant growth (don't forget the sand cap) but the outgassing can be annoying. But my experience is with a HUGE 60 gallon tank, not a small betta tank. It probably wouldn't be as bad for you. But remember the dirt will release ammonia for two or three weeks after being immersed so you'll want to check the water frequently.


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## Tress (Jun 6, 2014)

From my experience in a 15g dirt/sand tank... I'm probably never doing dirt again. Cap leaks became the bane of my existence. Though, the plants really enjoy it. Even the young crypts were heavily rooted and growing like weeds.


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## Nimble (Aug 31, 2014)

Good to know, both of you. I was thinking of doing a mix of dirt and SeaChem Flourite together for the soil. I'll need to find a good plant-growing-lamp for the 5.5g tank.

The culture of vinegar eels is going great, but I'm wondering if I need to put some more apple in there just to be safe. There's still plenty of it down at the bottom, however.


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## hrutan (Jun 25, 2014)

I haven't fed mine since I started it and it is TEEMING still, months later. A teaspoon of white sugar every couple of weeks shouldn't hurt though - works just as well as the apple, I'm told.


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## Schmoo (Oct 3, 2014)

Yay Roc! :-D


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## Nimble (Aug 31, 2014)

Good news, patrons of The Bar! We have a new arrival!

http://i.imgur.com/o0NN8Q7.jpg

This is my new male. As for his name, we're currently trying to decide between a few names. So far, the three most popular are 'Grenadine' (a pomegranate-cherry syrup used in many mixed drinks), 'Hot Damn!' (a spicy cinnamon schnapps), and finally 'Heering' (a classic cherry liquer). I'll let you all know his final nomenclature when I decide.

He's currently warming up, as the trip was a little chilly, I'm sure. But, he's eating bloodworms and looking around, so I'm expecting good things.

In other news, breakfast has been served for everyone else, and fully tummies around seem to be the norm. Roc's fin-rot is entirely cleared up, looks like, so I need to figure out what I'm doing with him now that I don't need to keep him in the little one-quart jar.

I'll keep you guys updated, thank you very much. Please, enjoy The Bar.


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## hrutan (Jun 25, 2014)

Such a hot, spicy boy. He is so vivid, and will look so good amidst the green plants.


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## Tress (Jun 6, 2014)

Can't wait to see him once he's all settled in!


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## Nimble (Aug 31, 2014)

Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome back to The Bar!

All the Bettas have been fed today, a yummy mix of bloodworms and pellets, so let's get going on their progress.

Our new resident, the happy young Grenadine is settling in nicely. I've set up the 5.5g as much as I could, and he seems to very much appreciate the extra space to swim around in. He's quite the curious little guy, I must say. After closer inspection and comparison online, I have determined that he is a Cambodian-based Red. 8-ray plakat as well, which gives me a higher likelihood of producing HMPK offspring in future generations, if bred to the right female.
I decided on Grenadine after watching him over the course of the morning. He's a very sweet, mild-mannered boy, as far as I can tell. The name suits him more than Hot Damn! would have.

Roc is doing well today. He's rather quiet today, but his fins are healing up very nicely. He's probably bored in that 1-qt hospital jar, but until I start to see regrowth of fins, that's where he's staying.

Smirnoff is doing well in her 10-gallon palace. Her ovaries are nice and plump with eggs, but not too much so. The Otos and Snails demolished one of the zucchini slices I put in yesterday, and are happily working on the other one.

Everyone seems to be happy, which makes me happy. I'm looking forward to a very good night at the club tonight, which will make me even happier.

I'll try to get another group of photos to happen, so that you all can see Grenadine in his new home, as well as Roc's progression. In the meantime, please enjoy The Bar.


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## Schmoo (Oct 3, 2014)

Wow! What a great looking betta! Love that color!


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## Nimble (Aug 31, 2014)

He's not quite that bright in person, but when he's under the light, it does show like that. Otherwise his body's red just looks a bit light.


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## Nimble (Aug 31, 2014)

Good afternoon everyone. Welcome to The Bar.

It's been a couple of days, so I figured I should update, to let you guys know what's up.

Grenadine is nicely settled into the 5.5g tank, and seems very happy. No rot or disease, and he's a very voracious eater. He enjoys the Betta Hammock more than Angostura or Smirnoff seemed to, so that's a plus.

Roc's fins are no longer decaying, which is good, as it means that healing and regrowth can soon start to occur. I'm gonna continue his course of treatment for a little while longer, and when it seems that he's in proper condition, I should have a proper barracks set up for my stock. Looking at getting another 10g and some dividers.

Smirnoff is doing well, as per usual. She's a hungry girl, and eats bloodworms by the mouthful. The Otos are being their usual weird selves, especially when I turn the lights on first thing in the morning, and they freak out and jump in ten different directions.

Sadly, Cointreau seemed to have passed yesterday morning. He had been in one spot Saturday night before work, and when I woke up yesterday, he hadn't moved, and his foot was out, and he didn't retreat when I poked him with the net. I'm thinking that the high temperature I keep my tanks at speeds up their metabolism too much. I'll have to keep an eye on Godiva.


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## Nimble (Aug 31, 2014)

Good evening, dear friends and patrons. Welcome back to The Bar!

So, it was rent day, which means I had to ride my bike all the way up to the management office for our management group. Our management group is the worst in the city, but they have contracts on nearly all of Old Louisville, so we're kinda stuck with them.

Anyway. After going to pay rent, I take the long way back, which takes me to the small-chain LFS. I have to say, that I have warmed up to the new fish manager. I judged him too quickly. He knows his stuff, and is very friendly, and even willing to get rid of stuff they don't want.

Like duckweed. :3

I noticed that in their planted tank where they keep the plants, they had a bunch of duckweed on the top. I commented on it, and he said that it comes in from the shipments attached to the plants, and that I could take as much of it as I wanted and could get into a bag. So I did. I only took a little bit, but it was enough to fill up a little plastic ring in Grenadine's tank. It should propagate nicely, and by the time I return from my vacation, it should have spread and I would likely have enough for the spawning tank. Duckweed is great for absorbing nitrogen, which will help keep the ammonia/nitrite/nitrate levels down in the spawn-tank. That should make raising the fry a little easier. I picked up a new thermometer as well, since I don't trust the one in Grenadine's tank.

Grenadine tried to eat some of it when I first put it in, but he promptly spit it out. He still seems to be curious about it, though.

Smirnoff is as she usually is. Eating whatever I give her like a little glutton. Thankfully, she lets the snails and otos have the zucchini slices to themselves.

Roc is doing well today. His fin rot is cured, but he will need time to regrow the fins. I'll be putting him back into the 2.5g properly before I head out for my vacation.

That's all for now, good customers of The Bar. Please enjoy your stay, and have a happy Mardi Gras.


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## hrutan (Jun 25, 2014)

They ALWAYS try to eat the duckweed.


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## Nimble (Aug 31, 2014)

Well, I do suppose it's because it's so small that it looks like food at first glance. Then they realize it doesn't taste like meat, so they ignore it. But Grenadine has taken a liking to it, sitting nearby and looking up at it.


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## Nimble (Aug 31, 2014)

Nothing really new to report.

This morning when I woke up, the water level on Grenadine's tank was surprisingly low. I didn't have any idea why, so I just topped it off, and went about my day. Apparently, water had been dripping down the cord from the filter, and dripping onto the floor below. I noticed this about a half-hour ago and rearranged things so that it wouldn't drip out.

Everyone else is fine, today. They've all had a nice meal of bloodworms when I woke up, and I'm about to feed them a snack in a little while.


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## Nimble (Aug 31, 2014)

Good afternoon, my friends and patrons of The Bar!

Just a small update today. Nothing special, but keeping you guys apprised of what's going on.

Grenadine, Roc, and Smirnoff are all doing well in their tanks. They've all eaten breakfast, the voracious little gluttons. The Otos and Godiva are doing well; I'll probably give them another slice of zucchini on Sunday before I leave for the airport Monday morning.

Surprisingly, I discovered that the floating leaf of one of the Java fern pieces that got detached is still alive! Little baby plantlets have formed roots coming from the leaf, and I'm so excited! When I get back, I'll separate them and let them start to grow and have their own lives. It's great when your plants co-operate with you and start to fill out the tank on their own, without you having to get more from your LFS.

I'm not sure if the duckweed I put in Grenadine's tank is going to stay or not. The majority of it is still there, but maybe it's just spreading around and I'm not paying attention. Anyway, here's hoping that it grows and grows.

That's all for now, friends and patrons. Please enjoy your stay here, at The Bar.


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## Nimble (Aug 31, 2014)

So, this will probably be the last update until Friday or Saturday when I get back. I won't be able to bring my computer with me, so this is a temporary hiatus of The Bar.

So, I did something stupid today. I was cleaning the 2.5g to get it ready for Roc to go back in during my vacation. I don't know why, but I rested it on the sink in the bathroom while I was cleaning the bathtub and getting all the sand and such t go down the drain... and it dropped. It fell and broke. I'm pissed at myself.

So, I now had no place to put Roc in. Thankfully, preparing for such a moment, I had an aquarium divider on hand, so I put it in securely, and I put Roc into the 10g, divided off from Smirnoff. Hopefully, with my room-mate checking on the fish every day, I shouldn't have anyone get through, and if they do, he can cup and separate them. I thought about separating Roc and Grenadine, but I figured that would be a little more dangerous. Hopefully Roc will lose his interest in Smirnoff over the next few days. I don't want to come home to any accidental CT x VT spawns. D:


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## hrutan (Jun 25, 2014)

Oh man! Don't you hate it when you do something that seemed like a good idea at the time...and wasn't... That sucks!

Well, sticking him in with the girl at least is safer. Assuming she doesn't decide to become the mistress of her own fate, anyway. Ha. Dem females, sometimes they just see this handsome guy and...

Well. There really isn't anything to worry about. Things happen, right? It'll be fine!


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## Nimble (Aug 31, 2014)

On the bright side, the space has been freed up, so I can get a bigger tank now, if I wanted.


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## Nimble (Aug 31, 2014)

So! Good news and bad news!

Bad News! My trip to Puerto Rico was cancelled. The airport is basically not letting any flights go north, and since I was headed to Newark before flying south, I'm stuck here in Louisville.

Good News! This means I have a whole extra week to start my spawns!


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## Nimble (Aug 31, 2014)

Gentlemen! Behold!

http://i.imgur.com/TWVyVad.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/mtqOkwD.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/68bhru8.jpg

We begin.


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## hrutan (Jun 25, 2014)

:-D


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## Nimble (Aug 31, 2014)

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome back to The Bar. We're currently waiting with bated breath for our own special cocktail to be ready to mix. Grenadine and Smirnoff are still in the spawning tank, and Grenadine's bubble-nest has definitely improved.

As you can see.

Smirnoff seems more attentive to the male, and she seems a little more interested. I don't think she's quite ready yet, but so far seems so good. Hopefully by tomorrow they'll be ready.

Roc is cheerfully/grumpily still in the 10g, still separated from the others. I've had enough issues with aggression from males, so I'm not gonna let him get at Godiva or the Otos.

The snow is still fairly thick here, so I'm mostly certain the roads are still blocked, but I'll update you later.

Please enjoy The Bar, ladies and gentlemen.


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## Nimble (Aug 31, 2014)

Good morning everyone! Welcome back to The Bar!

Let's get started on spawning tank news. Sadly, things aren't going quite so ideally. I let the two have the night to get acquainted by letting Smirnoff out of the cup to interact and get a closer look, and when I awoke this morning, Smirnoff's fins had been kinda bitten up. Webbing damage, and a nice chunk taken out of her anal. 

Grenadine got a little too aggressive with his love bites, but he was still trying to flirt with her, going up right next to her and wiggling to attract her over to the bubble-nest, which is looking pretty good so far. I can understand his frustration.

Roc is doing well enough in the tank. He's calmed down a bit, thankfully. Godiva and the Otos are enjoying fresh zucchini for their lunch.


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## Schmoo (Oct 3, 2014)

Oh no! Aside from the harsh love bites, how's the couple doing?


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## Nimble (Aug 31, 2014)

Well, Grenadine is still working hard on his nest. They're both happy to eat bloodworms when offered, so that's good. Smirnoff seems a little stressed, but she's clamping less as the day goes on. Hopefully before the end of the day, she'll be ready to jump his bones. But if not, we can try tomorrow.


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## Schmoo (Oct 3, 2014)

Fingers crossed! :-D


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## Nimble (Aug 31, 2014)

Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome back to The Bar!

Spawning is up to day 3, now? Or is it day 4, I can't remember. In any case, Smirnoff seems to be okay for the most part... her fins are quite a bit worse for wear, but she'll recover with the right TLC. She's eating, and her belly is nice and full. Grenadine's nest has gotten BIGGER, and he's maintaining it very nicely. Hopefully in the next couple of days, Smirnoff shows some interest, and they decide to wrap.


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## Nimble (Aug 31, 2014)

Have I mentioned how much I hate snow? In small amounts it is great, but with all this crazy winter storm nonsense, I don't want to see snow again for a long time.

Anyway, welcome back to The Bar.

So far, things are looking okay here. Smirnoff seems fine for the most part, but it doesn't look like she's going to be interested in Grenadine any time soon... although, she is playing 'follow the leader' any time he swims by. She's paying closer attention to him, and he's still working on the nest. I'm thinking I might release her tomorrow and see what happens.

I also inexplicably found a bladder snail in the spawning tank. I don't know how, but it must've been clinging on the detached mother-Java Fern leaf, or on the Banana Fern... is this Fizz? Has he been hiding all this time?


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## Nimble (Aug 31, 2014)

Welcome back to The Bar.

So, I've decided to cancel this spawn for the time being. Smirnoff's been beat up too much, especially after Grenadine jumped into her cup and chased her around before I left for work yesterday. Thank goodness I was there to separate them, I would hate to have imagine what would have happened had I been at work and it happened. Yeah, I might have wound up with eggs, but I might have wound up with a dead Smirnoff as well.

Last night was an atrocity. It was frozen rain and snowy and hardly anyone came out to the club. On top of that, the roads were too slick for our ride to come and take us home, and so my room-mate and I who both work at the club had to walk home. This week has just not been good for me.


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## Nimble (Aug 31, 2014)

Welcome back to The Bar. It's been a while since I've updated.

Over the last few days, not really much has happened. Smirnoff has been in recovery, and everyone else seems to be carrying on as per normal.

Until this morning, that is. This morning, I awoke to find one of the Otos floating on his side near the surface of the water. I checked the parameters, and nothing out of the ordinary. No ammonia, no nitrites, no nitrates. The pH value is where it's supposed to be, so I have no idea what happened. Just to be safe, I dosed the tank with some antibacterial, and am hoping for the best. Hopefully this was just an isolated incident.

In happier news, Smirnoff's fins are beginning to grow back, and Roc's fins are nearly back to full plumage. Smirnoff has this ghostly-clear webbing where it's starting to grow back, but I'm glad things are starting.

That's it for now, folks. I'm still hating this excess of snow.

Please, enjoy The Bar.


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## Nimble (Aug 31, 2014)

Has it really been a week since I last posted? Dang.

Anyway, sorry about not updating The Bar. Things have been busy, and this weather has gotten my Seasonal Affective Disorder acting up. As such, I've been very not up to do anything.

Anyway. New changes!

I got my federal tax refund the other day, so I went and spent it rather quickly. I got two new tanks (a 10g and a 20g-long), and necessary equipment to go with them. I got some good black-sand type substrate, and a couple bunches of _Crypt. wendtii_sp. red.

The new 10g is currently being used as a spawning tank. I'm trying again with Grenadine and Smirnoff... hopefully this time they'll both be agreeable. Roc has taken up residence in the 5.5g now, so hopefully he enjoys the new digs. Gotta keep an eye on his fins, too.

In addition to my current pair, and my dear guest Roc. I've got my eyes on some new additions to be coming in the Spring. I've got a couple of projects I want to work on, so keep your eyes peeled for updates.

Please enjoy The Bar.


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## Nimble (Aug 31, 2014)

20 days since my last post. Sorry about that folks. Times have been rough this last three weeks.

Let's see... what's happened since then?

There was a 25-hour power outage due to some problems with the power company. I lost my snails and otocinclus due to that. That sucked.

Smirnoff once again refused to breed with Grenadine, so she's now a nun. She has her own little section in the 20g-long, and she seems to be happy. Her fins are growing back slowly.

Roc got some fin damage from his filter, so he's in a 32-oz deli cup recovering and healing. Grenadine now has the 5.5g, and he's very happy. I moved the driftwood and most of the plants over to that tank, and he seems very happy with how heavily planted it is.

I also got two new Bettas.

Habushu: http://i.imgur.com/58zcJz4.jpg
Named after a variety of Japanese Snake Wine. The red in his midsection has spread further forward, and is more solid than the picture shows. He's quite big.

Sansachun: http://i.imgur.com/wounlKb.jpg
Named after a Korean wine made from the fruit of the Chinese Hawthorn Tree. She looks pretty much the same as her picture. That sparkle over her body is some blue iridescence, which I'll be trying to reduce in the future generations.

I decided that because of their 'Koi' patterns, to name them after East-Asian wines. I thought it was fitting.

My immediate plan is to spawn Grenadine to Sansachun, as Grenadine's finnage and form will improve upon Sansachun's flaws. I'm letting the new arrivals have a day or so to relax. I'm feeding them up nicely, and they both seem hungry. Tomorrow I'm dropping Sansachun and Grenadine into the spawning tank. Gotta make up for lost time, as if Smirnoff had been agreeable, I'd be tending to a one-month old spawn by now.

Now that things are happening again, I'll be posting more often. If I manage to get a successful spawn, I'll post a spawn log after they've been alive for two weeks or so.

Keep your eyes peeled, as The Bar is filling up.


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## LittleBettaFish (Oct 2, 2010)

I love the splash of red on Sansachun. I also love the iridescence on her sides, but coming from my wilds, I like iridescence on my bettas. 

Good luck with your breeding plans. I'm thankful I got into breeding wilds and not Betta splendens because they seem like the most infuriating fish to try and spawn.


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## Nimble (Aug 31, 2014)

I do eventually plan to branch into the rest of the B. splendens complex. I have a source for some wild-caught varieties, and if I can, I'll try to get a Guitar Smaragdina, because those are some nifty fish.


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## LittleBettaFish (Oct 2, 2010)

Yes the Guitar Smaragdina is absolutely lovely. The rest of the splendens complex outside the ornamental strain of Betta splendens definitely seem a lot easier to spawn.


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## Nimble (Aug 31, 2014)

Because the ornamental strain was bred out of the fighting strains which were bred from wilds. They were selecting for aggression and fighting capability before they started selecting for beauty. So, all modern splendens complex are derived from stock that was bred for fighting, thus the aggression that goes on in the domestic splendens.


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## Nimble (Aug 31, 2014)

The pair wrapped today. Eggs were dropped and Grenadine got tired of Sansachun and chased her off. There's roughly 100 eggs or more in there, so wish me luck.


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## Tress (Jun 6, 2014)

Nice! Good luck


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## Nimble (Aug 31, 2014)

Grenadine devoured all of his eggs, the little shmuck. I've heard this is not uncommon with virgin pairs... so, I'll be trying them again in a week or so, after everyone is healed up and Sansachun has a belly full of eggs again.


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## Nimble (Aug 31, 2014)

Good afternoon, everyone. Welcome to The Bar.

I took Grenadine out of the spawning tank this morning, since I finally have the free day to do so. When I did, I was surprised to see something interesting in the tank.

No, it wasn't fry. Sorry to get your hopes up, but all the eggs were eaten and there were no survivors as far as I can tell.

But, what I did find was a bunch of tiny little copepods swimming about in the water, barely visible to the naked eye. They were tiny, smaller than grains of salt, but I could still make out features and monitor how they swam. I'd take pictures, but they're too tiny to make out properly with my crap phone-camera.

I'm gonna let them grow a bit in the spawn tank until it comes time to clean it for the second attempt, and then I'm gonna try and keep a culture of these going. Something like this, having a good infusorial culture would be great for fry, and be a good secondary food alongside VE and BBS. Wish me luck!


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## Nimble (Aug 31, 2014)

I bottled as many of the copepods as I could in a 2-liter soda bottle, and have cleaned out the 10g tank and refilled it just under halfway. The copepods will be fed with a yeast/sugar slurry now and again, and I'll be hoping that they flourish.

I'm going to be trying again with Grenadine and Sansachun in a few days. If all things go well, I'll keep you guys updated on the spawn and the hopefully-eventual fry. I'm not gonna create an actual spawn log until the two-week mark. I gotta get past that initial day-10 benchmark where the first big die-off usually is, before I can feel comfortable posting a log.


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## Nimble (Aug 31, 2014)

Grenadine and Sansachun wrapped today. I counted about 75 eggs or so in the tank, as best as my glance could wager. Hopefully I have a successful spawn this time around. Hopefully Grenadine doesn't eat any eggs... little fatty.


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## Tress (Jun 6, 2014)

*crosses fingers and toes*


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## DaytonBetta (Feb 4, 2014)

Exciting! I hope the babies grow well.


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## Nimble (Aug 31, 2014)

Good news: There are still eggs in the nest, so I'm hoping that things are still all well.

Bad news: Grenadine has a full tummy, same as he had last time, but not as big. This means he ate SOME of the eggs again, but I'm not sure how many. Maybe about 20-30 of them? In any case, I'll be watching him throughout the day, and I might have to remove him before I go to work tonight. If he eats all the eggs again, then I'm just going to have to artificially hatch the next time I spawn him, as I can't take that risk again.


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## Nimble (Aug 31, 2014)

So, I had to separate Grenadine from the eggs, as he was eating them again. I put the eggs I could gather into a cup floating in the tank, and have been artificially hatching them to pleasant results.

So far, I'd say there's a dozen or so little wiggles in the cup, and I am very happy to see my work paying off. I've still got a long road ahead, but I'm confident that if I can get past the 10 day marker, I'll be home free.


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## Tress (Jun 6, 2014)

Aww, too bad he was an egg eater, but at least you have wigglers!


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## Nimble (Aug 31, 2014)

Here's hoping I can keep them wiggling.


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## Nimble (Aug 31, 2014)

Who wants pictures?


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## Nimble (Aug 31, 2014)




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## hrutan (Jun 25, 2014)

Eyeballs tummy tail! How many do you think you have?


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## Nimble (Aug 31, 2014)

I'd say at most 15. They're getting better at swimming, so I'll have a better judgement of how many there are in the morning.


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## Nimble (Aug 31, 2014)

Today's count, now that I've cleaned out the decaying eggs and the little ones are free-swimming.

We're sitting upon a grand total of 9 ickle babbinses~ 9 baby fry in their cup, happily munching on Vinegar Eels. Not a bad start... let's just hope I can keep them alive.


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## Nimble (Aug 31, 2014)

http://i.imgur.com/PsYJA3U.jpg

Today's picture~


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## ThisDragonisNerdy (Mar 28, 2015)

Good luck with the fry! I'm excited to see the results! (I've never read a spawn log, nor do I know much about breeding) :-D


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## Nimble (Aug 31, 2014)

I'll post a proper Spawn Log in about a week or so. After they reach two weeks of life.


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## Nimble (Aug 31, 2014)

The little baby ones have been fed today, and I'm giving them some added clean water to their cup. I'm thinking I'll add them to the main tank tomorrow, unless I can get a little 2.5g tank for them at the pet store today when I go get more PH Neutralizer.

The rest of the gang seems to be doing well. Smirnoff's fins are completely regrown, except that one of her caudal rays at the edge was bent during injury/recovery, so it's growing back crooked. Otherwise, she seems to be doing fine.

Habushu and Roc are doing well on the opposite side of the 20-gallon. Habushu is quite the nest builder... I'll have to take a picture of his work.

Grenadine and Sansachun are doing well also. Sansa is quite the cheerful little girl, so full of pep and the most voracious little piggy. Grenadine is alright, but he seems to be mad at me since I took him out of the breeding tank. Sorry buddy.


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## Nimble (Aug 31, 2014)

I released them into the main tank last night, and made sure that there were plenty of Vinegar eels swimming around in the water column. This morning when I woke up, I could only spot two or three of them. The rest must be hiding somewhere.

Nobody told me that I would be constantly playing hide-and-seek with them.


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## Nimble (Aug 31, 2014)

Welcome back to The Bar, ladies and gentlemen.

So, I found a runt hiding in the corner today. He was searching for food all on his own, away from his siblings. I dropped a couple drops of vinegar eels for him to munch on in the hopes he'll catch up. That brings the total number of fry up to 10.

A few of them seem to be ahead of their siblings in terms of growth. I'm hoping that they're not hogging too much of the food for themselves, and that the others are eating well. There's about 3 bigger ones, 4 middling ones, and 3 smaller ones. Now that they're all big enough to see, I can start spot-feeding them to make sure they all have a chance to eat. I don't want those big ones bullying the others out of a meal.

My pretty single-spot Koi Betta, Sansachun, who is the mother of this spawn wasn't looking too hot yesterday. She was swimming funky, and having trouble staying afloat. I dropped some IAL into the water, along with a small dose of melafix, and some diluted meth-blue into her cup, and cranked up the space-heater in my room to warm up her water, and lowered the water level so she could get to the surface more easily. Today, she seems to be better, so hopefully that scare is over with.

I dropped an IAL chunk in Grenadine's cup as well, since he was looking grumpy yesterday. This morning, I was rewarded with a bubblenest underneath it, and his water nicely golden.

Roc, Smirnoff, and Habushu are all doing well today. They're all being their usual, swimming selves. Sometimes I feel like I'm not giving them as much attention as they deserve, but I've got little babies that need my constant care.

Right now I'm debating on who to spawn next. In about 7-8 weeks, some of the current fry should be big enough to cup, so that'll open up space again for me to set up another spawn.
I'm debating between spawning Grenadine and Smirnoff, and finally getting my Cambodian/CTPK spawn a try, or pairing Sansachun with Roc or Habushu. With Grenadine x Smirnoff, I get more Cambodians and Reds, as well as Crowntail Plakat with enough time. 
With Sansachun, I can either get more Koi PK (along with some cellophane and solids, and maybe butterfly if lucky) by pairing her with Habushu; or I can play the lottery and try for something interesting popping out of a pairing between Sansachun and Roc. With that one, I'm not sure what I'll get, but I'm sure they'll all be interesting. Plus, there is demand for high-quality VT now, as it becomes more popular in the hobby again, and I'm sure that having Koi VT would be a good opportunity to get in on that action.


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## Nimble (Aug 31, 2014)

Not much to report today, really. All 10 of the little ones are still swimming, although the runt is still lagging behind in growth. I really hope he starts to catch up soon.

Everyone else seems to be doing just fine.


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## Nimble (Aug 31, 2014)

I stand corrected. Something did happen today, other than water changes.
I found another fry in the tank.

I was doing water changes, draining out the old water, and I counted them just to make sure they were all there. Then I counted again. Then a third time. All three times I counted 11 babies. 7 on the left side, 4 on the right.

It's crazy.


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## DaytonBetta (Feb 4, 2014)

Glad you have some babies! I can't wait to hear how they turn out.


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## Nimble (Aug 31, 2014)

So, since the kids are approaching their 2-week mark, I decided to test to see if they'll eat on something besides Vinegar Eels. I thawed some frozen daphnia in water and squirted a bit in the tank. Some of them seem to be into it, and have nibbled on pieces here or there. The others have not yet noticed this new source of food. I'll continue this every couple of days, but still be feeding them VE, to get them used to the idea of daphnia being food. Golden pearls will be introduced probably around week 4.


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## Nimble (Aug 31, 2014)

I've reached the point in their lives where it seems like there's really nothing going on with them other than feeding and water changes. Nothing new to report.

More of them are eating frozen daphnia now, so that's good, I suppose. Gonna try them on Golden Pearls probably tomorrow, to see if they take to it. If they do, that's fantastic.


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## EvaJupiterSkies (Oct 25, 2013)

I'm glad to hear the wee ones are well. Perhaps there will be pictures some time soon?


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## Nimble (Aug 31, 2014)

If it's pictures you seek, then you should check out my newly-posted Spawn Log.

http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=548602

I've posted all the best pictures I've taken over the last two weeks, and I think you'll be happy to see them.


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## EvaJupiterSkies (Oct 25, 2013)

That truly helps make my day. Thank you. I shall now consume ravenously (but responsibly!)


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## Nimble (Aug 31, 2014)

Not much news today. Grenadine has been taken out of the 20-gallon because he kept trying to nose through the mesh separators, and rubbed some scales off. His nose is rubbed a little raw and swollen, and he's starting to look like a cichlid with that bump on snout. He's such a dork.

Smirnoff is getting nice and eggy because I've been feeding her in preparation for her upcoming spawn. In about 6 weeks, some of the current batch of babies will be cuppable, so I'll be ready to have a second spawn going. Gonna start my work with the Cambodians, and do some CTPK. Hopefully things go well, and I have a nice manageable spawn from them.


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## Nimble (Aug 31, 2014)

So... turns out that him rubbing some scales off of his snout was not what it seemed.

Grenadine died on Tuesday afternoon. Columnaris struck him quickly, and stole him from me. I feel partly responsible for not catching it sooner, and not being able to help him. It really, truly sucks.

Yeah.


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## Fenghuang (Dec 28, 2012)

Sorry for your loss, Nimble. He was a beautiful fish and I am sure his fry would grow up to be beautiful too.


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## EvaJupiterSkies (Oct 25, 2013)

SIP Grenadine. Sending you and the rest of the Bar some good vibes.


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## FinnyNina (Apr 19, 2015)

i'm sorry for your loss


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## Schmoo (Oct 3, 2014)

Swim in peace, Grenadine. <3


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## Nimble (Aug 31, 2014)

It's been enough time now that I've accepted his passing. So now, I must be on the lookout for another good Cambodian-based ROY HMPK male for my project work. If I'm lucky, I'll be able to find one with a stronger dorsal and better ventrals; but his caudal fin was perfect, so that'll be tough to find.


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## Nimble (Aug 31, 2014)

I'm running different plans through my head, trying to figure out who I should breed to whom for my next spawn. I have many different options, so trying to figure out the best one will be tough.

Option 1, Habushu x Sansachun: This is fairly simple, really. Koi x Koi, to result in more Koi. Habushu is only a 4-ray Plakat, with a spade-shaped caudal. He has 180-degree fin-edges, though. Sansachun's caudal has pretty lackluster spread, and her branching is kinda funky, so I have no idea what I can get out of these guys. It should be interesting, though.


Option 2, Roc x Sansachun: I still have Roc, the Orange Chocolate VT boy I purchased back in January(?) for Hrutan. I could pair him with Sansachun to fix his long anal fin, and potentially get some Orange Koi VT out of it, if Sansachun is carrying Yellow or Orange in her recessive background. Since I'll be looking for VT from this, I don't really care much about Sansachun's lack of good spread. Her good body form will fix Roc's flaws in their offspring, so it's a good match.

Option 3, New male x Smirnoff: I still have my lovely Cambodian Red CT Female, Smirnoff. She's a lovely thing, and deserves to be bred. I would have to find a new HMPK male for her, so that I could start my work with CTPK. Either a Cambodian Red male is the most obvious choice, but a Cambodian Yellow male would be ideal for my goals, with the added bonus of having yellow show up now and again in the F2 and later generations. This can also be worked with the right selection for many different tail types.

Option 4, Habushu x Smirnoff: This is an interesting one. By breeding Habushu and Smirnoff, I start down a path that results in Koi CT, and eventually Koi CTPK if I so choose. It has its merits, and is definitely something that doesn't seem to be worked with very much, but I think that I'll leave it alone for now.

I am not going to breed Roc and Smirnoff together, simply because Veil-Crown crosses are seldom pretty, and seldom desirable, even to pet-buyers.

Any thoughts?


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## Nimble (Aug 31, 2014)

Well, dang. It's been six weeks since I've last posted in this thread? Holy buggers.

Well, let's see what has happened in the meantime.

Over the course of the last six weeks, the number of fish in my spawn has shrunk, and the fish themselves have grown.

I've recently purchased a Cambodian-based Red female HMPK, whom I have named Cranberry. She is more deeply red than Smirnoff, as well as being larger, and has a very nice caudal spread. Her form is very nice, and she will pair very well with my new male.

I purchased a Yellow HMPK male from a friend and fellow breeder who lives in the US. He has a long-going strain of Yellow HMPK, that he has outcrossed into a steady strain of Orange HMPK. Those of you in the know will probably know who I'm talking about. He's rather small at the moment, probably the same size as Smirnoff, and he goes by the name of Citron. He's got fairly decent form, maybe a couple of issues that can easily be fixed in the upcoming generations with selective breeding.

I'm going to be posting a thread that will outline my goals for Smirnoff, Citron, and Cranberry, and for their offspring. Keep your eyes peeled in the Breeding Bettas section.

I also bought three little Otocinclus to take care of a minor algae problem in the 20g tank, and who will be transferred when I rescape and replant the 5g, which has remained vacant for the last couple of months. More than likely, once Citron is done with his breeding duties, this will be a good place to put him.


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## Nimble (Aug 31, 2014)

Who wants some pictures?

I managed to get a small Kritter Keeper box, and decided to snap some photos of my newest purchases, and updated photos of Smirnoff and Habushu, since they look somewhat different from their original photos.


Cranberry, Female Super Red HMPK: http://i.imgur.com/DMxGFDd.jpg

Smirnoff, Female Cambodian CT: http://i.imgur.com/npvkyjr.jpg
I am glad to see that her fins are mostly healed up, though they'll never be back to how they were before. She's also turned pink in her body, rather than the lovely pale flesh-color she was when I bought her. Still cute.

Citron, Male Yellow HMPK: http://i.imgur.com/W3V3EmZ.jpg , http://i.imgur.com/Tk9O2ma.jpg , http://i.imgur.com/uTZL0Q1.jpg
He's much more pale than he looks in his photos. He will get deeper yellow as he gets older.

Habushu, Male Dark Koi(Red/Black Marble) HMPK: Now; http://i.imgur.com/Y9VCFhI.jpg , http://i.imgur.com/68XrDAn.jpg
Before; http://i.imgur.com/58zcJz4.jpg
I suspect he'll be all dark by the time he's finished coloring. Though, his head might just stay light-colored. I think they call that a 'monkey-face' marble, or something like that.

Citron is sitting in the 10-gallon spawn tank, getting the cycle a head-start while I am feeding him up to get strong and healthy to be able to wrap Smirnoff, who is closer to his size than Cranberry. Although, he'll have his hand with miss Cranberry in a month or so, once he's big enough.

Maybe I'll get lucky, and one of the two girls will secretly be carriers for yellow, and I'll have yellow fry in the F1. I doubt I could be THAT lucky, though.


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## Nimble (Aug 31, 2014)

Sad news today, friends. This morning, I discovered Sansachun had developed dropsy; bloating and pineconed scales... the works.

I prepared the clove oil early this afternoon, and did the humane thing that needed to be done. She passed peacefully, and has been buried in the back, by the roots of a tree, near Grenadine, and her passed offspring.

I should have been more attentive, and noticed the signs before dropsy struck. I have to keep my eye on the rest of the tank, and hope that nobody else gets sick.


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## Nimble (Aug 31, 2014)

Well, it's been three weeks since my last update.

Since then, I've had a Birthday, visited with my mother, and been frustrated at the lack of willingness of my fish to breed. 

You'll all be happy to know that, none of the other fish have gotten sick, and as of right now, I have Habushu and Cranberry in the spawn tank.

I also have one new male on the way, a highest-bid on another male, and I'm on the lookout for another female, just to round out my stock.


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## Nimble (Aug 31, 2014)

Ladies and gentlemen, we have eggs!

Habushu is tending the nest beautifully, and I am very happy that things went so quickly. I'll keep you all posted.


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## LoveMyBettas (Jul 9, 2015)

I was reading through catching up! I am sorry for your losses  I can't wait to hear more about your upcoming fry!!)))


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## Nimble (Aug 31, 2014)

The eggs hatched two days ago, and about half of the fry are free-swimming, with the rest catching up. They're eating VE and whatever good little copepods are swimming about in the tank.

I also received one of my new additions today. Ladies and gentlemen, meet Limon:










He'll be helpful in getting my yellows going, since Citron refuses to blow bubble nests.

I have two more fish coming in the mail, one of whom should get here in the next couple of days, and the other some time next week, so keep alert for another update.


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## LoveMyBettas (Jul 9, 2015)

He's beautiful!!!


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## Nimble (Aug 31, 2014)

We've got a new addition to the 20g yesterday, and I want you all to give him a warm welcome.

http://i.imgur.com/1ux2UyW.jpg

He's still without a name for the moment. I'm tossing around a few ideas based on his appearance.

I'm probably going to pick a bourbon or other kind of whisk(e)y for his name... or possibly a good rum, but there's just so many, and lots don't have the best sounding names.

Remember, the theme is alcohol and liquers, so any ideas you have are always appreciated.


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## Nimble (Aug 31, 2014)

Last night, at work, we decided on a name for the new boy.

Everybody give a warm welcome to... Amaretto!

That is all.


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## Nimble (Aug 31, 2014)

We have another pair in the spawn tank today.

Limon, my imported yellow HMPK male is paired with Cranberry, my imported Super Red HMPK female. Both were bred by Senate from Aquabid, but were not purchased as a pair. It just happened that both were from the same seller, as Senate puts out good fish.

The current nest of babies turns 7 days old tomorrow, and so far things are going well.


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## DaytonBetta (Feb 4, 2014)

Wow! You've been busy this summer. Glad it's going well. You certainly have some beautiful fish!


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## Nimble (Aug 31, 2014)

We'll start with the bad news: Smirnoff passed away some time last night, after spending a day in treatment for a mystery ailment. She was buried under an oak tree behind the house. A moment of silence, please...

Let's move on.

The babes are a week old today, so I'm preparing their first batch of BBS eggs. I'm noticing some differences in size already, so the BBS will be necessary soon.

I have Limon and Cranberry in the spawn tank, courting and chasing. Limon is a much better bubble-nester than both Habushu or Grenadine before him (Citron can't nest worth a damn), but seems to be more aggressive than Habushu was. There's plenty of chasing, but hopefully in the morning I'll have the first signs of wrapping.


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## Nimble (Aug 31, 2014)

More bad news!

The yellow HMPK female that I was supposed to receive yesterday made it to my house... but unfortunately, she was DOA.

The water she was in was nasty and rotten, and her eyes were clouding over... this fish had been dead for at least two days, if not more.

Grr... I'm not happy about this. I've talked to the seller, and he'll be giving me a refund for the fish, but I'm still out the shipping fees, and a fish because of his mistake.


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## Nimble (Aug 31, 2014)

It's their second day of being fed BBS, and they've taken to it with much gusto. I've been filling the tank up with about a half-gallon of water every day over the last few days, so it's over half-way filled now. I'll probably siphon the bottom tomorrow, and replace and add the water that gets sucked out. 

Sadly, Limon and Cranberry are still not being cooperative. It's frustrating, but I'm giving them their time, in the hopes that it will be worth it.


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## Nimble (Aug 31, 2014)

The little babes turn 2 weeks old tomorrow, and I'm already beginning to see dorsal fins showing up on the biggest of them. Unfortunately, they're all being camera-shy, so it might have to take a little while before I can get a good photo for you all.
The size difference between the biggest and smallest of them is getting more vast every time I look at them. At this rate, the runts probably won't keep up for very much longer.

I'll get around to posting a spawn log in a few days.


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## Nimble (Aug 31, 2014)

http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=594818

Spawn log is up, people.


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## Nimble (Aug 31, 2014)

So, I've got another 10g all fit and ready for a new spawn. Here's the lucky pair who get to go in on Monday:

Male, Limon:










Female, Tangelo:









The new is getting a few days of good food and medicine while she's in QT, and Limon is already warming up the spawn tank.

Hopefully, this will go better than my previous attempts at breeding my yellow males. If all goes well, I should have a full nest by this time next week.

Wish me luck!


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## Zhylis (Nov 4, 2014)

Wow, Limon is an amazing NR1 HMPK; Senate has the best yellows. (I think I'm going to have to stalk his ABs for a male as well.) Can't wait to see the fry from those two, great combo!


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## Nimble (Aug 31, 2014)

I have two Bettas from Senate, the other being a very rich Super Red HMPK female (Cranberry). She'll hopefully get bred to Limon eventually.

I'm very excited about this spawn as well.


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## Nimble (Aug 31, 2014)

The eggs are hatching from my Limon (Yellow) x Tangelo (Orange Dalmatian) spawn!


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## DaytonBetta (Feb 4, 2014)

The parents are amazing! Good luck!


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## Nimble (Aug 31, 2014)

Despite being an aggressive breeder, Limon is doing a very good job with his daddying.

There's still plenty of unhatched eggs and eggshells on the floor of the tank, but I'll get those when the babies are free-swimming... don't wanna bother Daddy too much.


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## Nimble (Aug 31, 2014)

Wow, it's been two weeks since I've updated this thing. Well, let's get this moving, shall we?

Despite a promising start with the Limon x Tangelo spawn, I'm down to about 12 survivors. I can only count 8 or 9 at any one time, but I'm assuming 12, just because that seems a fair round number. Yellows are notoriously fragile, so we'll just have to hope that these little ones make it. 

I may, as they get a little bigger, consolidate all my un-jarred fry, and let the Limon x Tangelo spawn grow up in a breeding net in the 10g where the remaining Habushu x Cranberry spawn are growing.

That'll open up space, and allow me to try my luck at another spawn, without having three tanks running at once.


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## Nimble (Aug 31, 2014)

Holy crap, it's been too long since I've updated this thing.

Well... let's update.

Limon x Tangelo failed. The fry were too fragile to survive, I think.

I've lost more than a few fish in that time. Habushu, Limon, Citron, Cuerva, and Tangelo all were lost to various reasons. Two illnesses, one suicide, and two heat-deaths.

My chocolate yellow male, Amaretto, has marbled out into a yellow koi. He looks pretty.

I got traded a Yellow Vanda male, who with the best female from my Habushu x Cranberry spawn, I have about 8 fry from in a 10g breeder.

Things have changed, and things have stayed the same. But I'm still here.


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## Nimble (Aug 31, 2014)

Holy heck, it's been 18 months since I've posted in here.

Time to dust off this old thread, and get back to posting. More to come in the future, folks.

The Bar is open, once again.


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## Nimble (Aug 31, 2014)

Things have changed since my post here in January of last year. So, what's different?

I've reduced my current fishkeeping for the time being, and I'm down to 5 of my Bettas.

From the spawn of my F1 Chocolate Orange HMPK female to the Light Yellow Vanda HMPK male, I have two remaining offspring. One Chocolate Yellow Vanda HMPK male, and one BSE Orange HMPK Female.
From one of the breeders here, I have a Super Orange HMPK Male.
And from imports, I have a Chocolate Yellow HMPK Male, and a Black HMPK female. I'm fairly certain the Black female is Black Lace, but I'm not 100%.


No new spawns have happened since I've moved, but in a few months, I'll be moving again and have more space, and I plan to get back to spawning. My first planned spawn is my Chocolate Yellow Vanda male to the Black female.


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