# Axeria's Aquatic Adventure



## Axeria (Feb 6, 2015)

*Welcome!*
​
I got my Aquarium today so I thought to make this journal so you can follow me on my _Aquatic Adventure_  And ofc as a reference for myself as I am terrible at remembering stuff. So keeping a journal with water perimiters and such will help me maintain a stable and healthy aquarium in the end 


Today we are doing a water test on the aquarium, making sure that it holds water after being shipped in the post. I have it temporarily set up in the kitchen without any of the equipment installed. I want to read all the instructions and make sure it holds the water before setting it up in the living room and adding light, filter and heater 


*Some specs:*


The aquarium is called a _Cocoon6_ by _Aquatic Nature. _30L or 8US Gallons
The filter is a _Flow200 _biological HOB also by _Aquatic Nature_
The light is a _Solar Duo Boy_ at 6500K with a moonlight function again by _Aquatic Nature_
The heater is a _Jäger_ 50W from _Eheim_.

Notes: 

Filter: I notice some sort of carbon replacable filter media in the filter chamber, this I will save for a rainy day. I have figured that much from reading online that a carbon filter only is necessary if you have been using meds and the like to clean the water from chemicals and that it is disposable as it will start to leak the chems absorbed back into the water after a time.

Light: I know 6500K is not great, it is however good enough for low light plants as is what I am going to keep. Easy low light plants suit my needs the best.

Heater: While I understand some might think that 50w might be a bit overkill for a 8g (30L) aquarium, it is fully adjustable and suits aquariums ranging from 25-60L, so if I wanted to upgrade in the future, I wont need to buy a new heater. This brand is also considered the best in aquatic products where I live. 


The aquarium with filter and light was bought as a kit, but there was not included a heater so I had to buy one separate. Just as wel really as that gave me the perfect excuse to buy one of the best 



That was all for now, updates will come when I progress setting up my little 8G betta-pad. I hope you will enjoy following me on my wet adventure


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## Axeria (Feb 6, 2015)

*Update*

Good morning all! I had a hard time getting to sleep last night, been worrying about the tank leaking while I was asleep and afraid to wake up to water all over my hardwood floor  

I was happy to discover when I rose earlier that it indeed holds water! Been sitting with water in on my kitchen table since yesterday, so I would say that the water test was a sucsess  

Here ya see the tank, without equipment and lid tho I bet you get the idea  
I like the clear silicone where the plates of glass is conected, and that the front and sides are one big sheet of glass bended to form the front corners. It looks really smooth!

Lol please ignore Heike's tail


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## Axeria (Feb 6, 2015)

Lol I just had to snap this pic of our dog Heike while I was eating breakfast (mmm chicken and pasta salad ^_^) I think he wonders why we have a big glass box full of water on our kitchen table  lol! Or maybe he is looking forward to getting a betta like his mother


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## Axeria (Feb 6, 2015)

So I am laying on my sofa looking at the empty tank wondering about substrate, I seem to be incapable of making a decission... I dont know why I am having such a hard time choosing... Its... Wierd!

I have several types that I like picked out at several favorite online petshops, all dark, but I can not choose between sand or gravel.... The only black sand I can find is crushed quartz which is quite coarse. I wont be keeping corys (Although I would if I had a bigger tank!) so I am guessing it does not matter for my betta as they dont siw sand or roam around on the bottom with their wiskers in the sand  So maybe I will go for the black sand...

But then again I do really like the look of the bigger grains in gravel and even riverstones that I have been looking at in several tanks online lately! 

Riverstones or pebbles are ofc not very dark, but I do like the natural clean look it gives, so maybe go abit lighter with the substrate after all? But if I go for something lighter I could use a nice natural sand as I think that looks great with plants and makes the tank more light and natural looking. But bettas prefer darker substrates I am told so then I am thinking black sand again....

Gaaah! Why can I not just decide already! >_<


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## Alyssalovesbettas (Jul 19, 2014)

Subbing! Black sand and River Rock substrate are both really nice :-D


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## Axeria (Feb 6, 2015)

Aww my first subscriber! Thank you!  

I to like the look of both , so its sooo hard choosing! xD


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## Alyssalovesbettas (Jul 19, 2014)

Maybe compromise? A sand substrate with a rock formation? Something like this..


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## Axeria (Feb 6, 2015)

Yeah I am planning on using rocks found locally and driftwood for hardscaping  but that picture gives me tons of ideas and inspiration! Thanks


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## Alyssalovesbettas (Jul 19, 2014)

Sure! Heike is so cute!! :-D


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## Axeria (Feb 6, 2015)

Haha thanks! He is such a mamas boy, follows me around all day ^_^ No privacy in this house as he opens doors


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## Axeria (Feb 6, 2015)

*Test kit!*

WhoopWhoooop! My test kit is finaly here  Time to get the labcoat on and go all mad scientist ;p 

... After dinner ofc


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## Axeria (Feb 6, 2015)

*Waiting... And testing*

So I have figured that there is a whole lot of waiting in this hobby at the start... Waiting for supplies have taken forever, mostly because I am so indecisive about what to buy and where from and with the rent due I have not had a whole lot of money to splurge on a bunch of stuff at one time so have had to save some and wait... Alot! Which reminds me: I have to get my hands on some sand! And some pretty sand to!

I got a couple of decorations friday, two pink marbles and a silicone coral I have been dying to get. The marbles where cute but my lovely white&light Pink coral is absolutely horrible! I mean it looks awsome but oh the smell!!! It smells like vinegar mixed with plastic.. Blah! I am not pleased! >_< 


On a lighter note!
I played with my testkit the day it came and I was suprised about how _easy_ and _fun_ it actually was to test my tap water.

I did not go overboard but I made the these:
KH: 2
PH: 7,4
GH: 2
NH4: <0.05 

So that tells me abit about my tap water I guess... Seems it is well suitet a betta if I am to believe Norways Aqauatic forum's fish database


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## Axeria (Feb 6, 2015)

*Coral update:*

After a huge bummer with my stinky coral and getting another one yesterday that also smelt bad I had to do something, I put both in really hot water And today when I got up I went to check on them. They both smell still, tho alot less.. 


I changed the water and went on my mail, cause I had written to the seller the day I got my smelly coral asking about what this crap was and that I was afraid to use it. 

My message:


> Hello
> 
> This coral smells really, really bad! I think it wil be toxic for my
> fish. Does all smell this bad or just mine? May it be a manufacturing flaw?
> ...


I have gotten the answer now and they say: 



> Dear Axeria Hawke,
> 
> Thank you for your email.
> 
> ...


So from this I gather that they are supposed to smell really bad in the start but then it fades. I dont feel better about using the ornaments. Resin is safe to use I know but the smell makes me worry. wil keep soaking and maybe boiling it to get rid of the smell, I dont want to throw it away without trying.

Its a shame really cause I love the white coral and the purple leafy thing... Adding some pics so you can see, maybe any of you on here have had the same problem?


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## Axeria (Feb 6, 2015)

Marimo

Hello guys, today I want to show you my _Marimo algae balls_. No, not moss as many believes, but _algae_! Cause Marimo balls actually is a uniqe form of algae that collect in balls because of the current. They are becoming more and more popular and have ofc. as you know made it big in the aqatic hobby  Just a little fact for those that didnt know, for you who did know please just ignore this  haha!

I curently own three Marimo's. They share a vase with a peace of driftwood, they are all (yes the driftwood to) in quarantine for about a week more before I put them in my tank. They have been in their QT for about three weeks at that point. The plan is to just plop the two smaller ones in and flatten the big one so it can make sort of a bed on the roof of a house I have bought for my betta. I have no name for the small ones but the big one is called Algeir. lol! 

Adding two pics so you can see my Marimos and their friend Mr.driftwood 

Update on tank and stuff:

so I figured I should write abit about where I am in the process of setting up my tank, I am done with the water test and thats about it...
I have been struggeling _alot_ with choosing sand or gravel and what color, but have finally made a decision: *Black sand*!

I figure it will be easy to maintain(vacuum) and with a few MTS thrown in I bet I would not even need to poke the sand to get rid of build up gasses  It will also look good no watter what I decide to throw in as far as plants and decor goes.

The plan plantwise is to try and keep to an Asian biotope , buy some low maintanance asian plants that require low lighting and some moss and just go with it from there. 

Btw: The silicone resin coral and leafy purple thing still smells, might just throw it out, but it seems a waste as I am really in love with the coral and I think because of its shape it must be genious for a betta to rest on. Will try boiling next, or maybe bakingsoda and vinegar? 


Have a great day all!  Sorry for a rather boring update ^_^​


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## CelticRavens (Feb 21, 2015)

Subbing. :smile:


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## Axeria (Feb 6, 2015)

Yaaay! Thank you!


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## KitDewStein (Jan 20, 2015)

Subbing


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## Axeria (Feb 6, 2015)

Aww! Thank you


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## BettaStarter24 (Mar 24, 2014)

Subbing, cause I can't wait to see the tank when it's all set up! Any word on when your boy is coming?


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## Axeria (Feb 6, 2015)

Aww! Thank you  I will pay for him on monday and bet he wil be shipped shortly after that


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## Axeria (Feb 6, 2015)

*Update:*

Got my Prime and siphon today, so now I have put the tank in its rightfull place ready to fill with sand, plants, water and hopefully soon my betta boy  

I plan on baffling the filter and adding some Biohome filter media when I get it 

Sorry about the mess  I was so excited showing you all that I forgot to tidy xP


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## LadyNightraven (Jun 30, 2013)

Yay! You got your aquarium! Your betta is going to love having eight whole gallons to explore and call his own!


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## Axeria (Feb 6, 2015)

I did! And I am really satisfied with the look and size of it  I hope he wil like his tank, he might get some tankmates, but no fish, I was thinking of a couple of MTS to keep the sand gass free and maybe try a few shrimp even tho I know they probably wil get eaten


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## Axeria (Feb 6, 2015)

*Sundays and equipment (pic heavy)*

I slightly dislike Sundays, I have nothing to do! I cant go shopping, mail is not coming today and even the time moves alot slower! 
All I can do is sit and watch my empty tank, and go in the kitchen and randomly poke my decorations that are soaking  I have noticed alot less smell from my coral since i used vinegar on it, so will let it soak abit more in clean water and soak in vinegar again and then clean water again.. It is a bore but eventually I hope the smell wil go away. It is *that* perfect for my vision of the tank so I wil try anything to make it good ^_^

On another note, me and my friend went through my fish supplies and she brought me some stuff she bought for me 

I got this super cute pink unused potpurri burner. She tought I could use it as a little fish cave. It is ceramic so thats probably safe.. Right?
I figured I could flatten one of my marimos and lay it in the little bowl so that makes a little bed xD 










I also have to check if I can bettaproof some shrimpcubes in ceramic that I have bought for my shrimp, the holes are about 1/2inch so a betta could probably get stuck? Maybe fishingline and moss woven inn? hmmm...










I also have ones shaped as bent stars, but they pose no threat imo.










The point of these are to have small places the shrimp can hide that the betta wont get to, or so I am told anyways....


I also got three more decor objects from this friend of mine, some sort of whimsical coral thingy (got one pink and one purple) and a hidey-hole-stone  



















I think the hidey-stone might be to small tho, its 1.4 inch x 1.4 inch in the opening... I dont want my bettas fins to get torn by him strugeling to get in. Its also kinda rough feeling...

Aaaand I found some cute pink marbles to use as decoration aswell. lol ^_^











That concludes my post for today and I wil continue to watch Buffy and randomly poke my soaking decor.

what do you guys think about the cubes and the gifts? ideas? suggestions?  

Have a great evening!


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## DancingGirl808 (Feb 27, 2015)

Axeria all of your decor items are really beautiful! It's really such a lovely color scheme you have going. I wish I had been more thoughtful with my tank decor, but I was too impatient.  

If you're worried about rough/sharp edges, you can always use the panty hose/nylon stocking test. If you pull a piece of the nylon a bit tight and run it over the rough/sharp surface and it rips the nylon, then it is not safe for a betta. If it passes the nylon test, the betta should be fine!


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## Axeria (Feb 6, 2015)

Aww! Thats so nice of you to say  Thank you!  
I am sure your first tank setup looked awsome 

Will use the pantyhose test, thank you for reminding me of it ^_^


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## Alyssalovesbettas (Jul 19, 2014)

I would say for the potpurri burner, it would have to depend on if it leeched any chemicals or not. I would say to test that put the burner in a container with water over the top of it. Test the water in the container everyday, if there are no visible color or changes in quality/PH then it should be safe to use. I would at least test it for a week! ^^ Good Luck!


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## Axeria (Feb 6, 2015)

Thank you for the inputt I apreciate it!  
I shall soak all his decorations then to be on the safe side ^_^


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## LarixLyallii (Jan 19, 2015)

The decorations look great so far! I'm excited to see how the tank looks once you've put it together!


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## CelticRavens (Feb 21, 2015)

Alyssalovesbettas said:


> I would say for the potpurri burner, it would have to depend on if it leeched any chemicals or not. I would say to test that put the burner in a container with water over the top of it. Test the water in the container everyday, if there are no visible color or changes in quality/PH then it should be safe to use. I would at least test it for a week! ^^ Good Luck!


That is such a good idea & simple to do! I'd looked at an oil diffuser I found at the local thrift store, but decided against it because I was worried it would leach chemicals into Ronin's water. Now if I find one I like I'll go ahead & buy it.

:thankyou:


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## BettaStarter24 (Mar 24, 2014)

Axeria I can't wait to see pics of your guy in his set up tank!


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## Alyssalovesbettas (Jul 19, 2014)

CelticRavens said:


> That is such a good idea & simple to do! I'd looked at an oil diffuser I found at the local thrift store, but decided against it because I was worried it would leach chemicals into Ronin's water. Now if I find one I like I'll go ahead & buy it.
> 
> :thankyou:


Sure! Hope it works out for you! ^^ 
Axeria, where did you get those cubes by chance? They are really adorable!


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## artemis35 (Jul 11, 2014)

I am loving "watching" you accumulate items and set up your tank. It sure is a fun process!

I have two comments about your most recent décor haul.

First, that stone hidey-hole looks suspiciously like ones sold at Petco in the US. If it is the same, it is way too rough for a betta's fins. Such a pity, because they are so pretty and a perfect size.

Second, I personally would not risk putting any of the (super cute) shrimp cubes in his tank. Most bettas are notorious for trying to squeeze into even the smallest spaces and/or holes. Even if you think, "that's _way_ too small - he'd never attempt it" he thinks "oohh, fun..." . I swear that our bettas have a death wish sometimes :dunno:


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## Axeria (Feb 6, 2015)

Awww you guys! So nice coming on here and read all the nice coments  
Alyssa, I bought them on ebay , got the stars from ebay too  Might not use the cubes tho, or maybe stuff them with moss or a marimo and just use them like a fun piece of decor  


Thank you Artemis for the warning, I will find a way to make them safe as for the rock, maybe I could sand it down or grow moss on it to make it betta proof  She bought it at a LPS dunno if it is the same as the one you thought of but I attached a pic of the box 

I have ordered my sand now, or its a mix between sand and gravel, its abit bigger granules than sand but smaller than gravel... Abit hard to explain xD
I also bought a internal thermometer, some tubing (always handy), a QT tank, a airstone and a airpump. Oh and two silk plants aswell ^_^

Now I just have to wait... Again...


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## Axeria (Feb 6, 2015)

Oh my gosh! This week has flown by! I am still waiting for my fish and my sand. hoping they get here on monday so I can start scaping xD 

I wil not have plants in the start, or I will but they wont be real plants, but silk. I figure it wil be ok for a coupple of weeks while my plants are in QT, I really dont want any snails or freaky deseases from them so I find its best to just QT them at the start. My fish wil have to cope, and I bet he will be able to cause at his breeders house he lives in a .5G betta cube all bare tank... which seems abit sad. but the more fun for him when he comes home ^_^

I am curently having countless of small cups and bowls around the house with varying decor in them, some have fake coral, others have ceramic stuff, they all get tested and poked abit once in a while  

Anyways, fingers crossed for fishy and sand on monday


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## CelticRavens (Feb 21, 2015)

Not a fan of Mondays, but can't wait to see him. :smile:


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## Axeria (Feb 6, 2015)

Lol me neither , but I really hope he is on his way now! I have not heard anything from the breeder after I payed for him this monday, but he said he would send the fish as soon as he recieved payment so I am hoping he wil get here soon  You know how it is with the post, you never can be sure as to when stuff comes


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## CelticRavens (Feb 21, 2015)

Axeria said:


> Lol me neither , but I really hope he is on his way now! I have not heard anything from the breeder after I payed for him this monday, but he said he would send the fish as soon as he recieved payment so I am hoping he wil get here soon  You know how it is with the post, you never can be sure as to when stuff comes


I hated the wait. Normally I'm not hyper-alert to mail, but I had email _*and*_ text updates from the USPS enabled, plus I knew from past experience when the mail truck would arrive +/- 10 minutes. I was watching the clock for an hour before he arrived. 
I don't know that I could survive buying a betta from overseas! :lol:


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## Axeria (Feb 6, 2015)

CelticRavens said:


> I hated the wait. Normally I'm not hyper-alert to mail, but I had email _*and*_ text updates from the USPS enabled, plus I knew from past experience when the mail truck would arrive +/- 10 minutes. I was watching the clock for an hour before he arrived.
> I don't know that I could survive buying a betta from overseas! :lol:


Haha I feel ya! I dont think I would cope well with the stress of shipping overseas, I am lucky my boy lives here in Norway 
I wil be a mess on monday xD


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## Axeria (Feb 6, 2015)

Haha so I am really slow about collecting my mail when I know that its highly unlikely that any packages have arrived  Well when I was walking my dog tonight I figured why not just have a look in my mailbox just in case, and behold, four packages ready to collect and open 

So here it is, my mini haul for the day: 
A silkplant(with woucher for 5$off next purchase), IAL, jellyfish and marbles  cant use marbles tho as they seem to be coated in a metalic paint they where only a dollar for 10 so I guess I can use them for something else


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## Axeria (Feb 6, 2015)

So, nothing in the post today sais hubby who where up at the brake of dawn. The waiting continues! xD

I have finaly figured that Amazon do in fact send some items to Norway, and that they seem to be much cheaper than Ebay. What I dont like is that they dont calculate shipping on each item as Ebay does, so I have filled my basket only to have to go through the entire checkout process to see what shipping is... Annoying! On Ebay you get the price of shipping on the items page! 

Lol my OH was abit conserned when I found out about Ebay as its so easy to just klick in their app and make a purchase so now that I told him about Amazon he is positively terrified xD 

Other than this I have completely F*cked my sleep cycle... _Again!_ I had a terrible time getting to sleep last night and ended up just playing on my phone until early morning hours. I then woke at about 6pm, let the dog out and ever since have just sat here like a zombie... Will have to eat something soon , feel my stomack sack shrinking for each growl it makes  LOL!

Have a great week all! please say a prayer for my fishie thats on his way home ^_^


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## Axeria (Feb 6, 2015)

So I have to say I am really annoyed and anxious right now! 

I have finally talked to the breeder of my fish and got some news: 
My fish where sent yesterday, Without tracking and with a heatpack lasting only 48 hours, because the breeder is sure he wil arrive tomorrow. So that means that _if_ my fish are being delayed somewhere and use more than two days on arriving here, he will freeze to death and I have no way of knowing where he is at! I was under the impression that my fish would be sent with a 70hour HP, and thats what I paid for in case of delays! I really, *REALLY* hope he gets here tomorrow! Or I wil be fumin! 

My sand has not arrived either. Although the shop I ordered from had the decency to give me a tracking number (unlike other people that shall remain nameless)... So its in a town just abit north of here, in a huge processing facility they have for mail, on its way in other words. 

Anyway, this means that I might have my fish before I get my sand, so I guess he wil just have to live in a bowl of some kind for a couple of days...
That is *IF* he arrives tomorrow...* Alive*....!


Urgh! What a mess!


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## Elleth (Feb 23, 2015)

Subscribing! I hope your fishie arrives safe and well! I got my first boy, Arausio, from a breeder in Thailand, and the waiting was terrible! So I completely sympathize. My boy recovered quickly from his shipping experience and is happy, healthy, and totally hilarious. I hope you experience the same with yours.


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## Axeria (Feb 6, 2015)

Thank you for the sub! Thats just awsome! I hope you like my journal ^_^

And I too hope he will arrive safe.. Its really nerve-wracking!! 
I am glad your guy made it and are making a full recovery from the time in transit 

Who knew getting a fish would be so stressful


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## Axeria (Feb 6, 2015)

*Its up and running! xD*

Yes! Finally got my sand, QT-tank, filter media and thermometers! Now I am just waiting for my airpump and stone + AQ salt and epsom salt to finnish my QT/hospital tank/equipment 













So as you might figure I started the day with filling my Aquarium. Finally! I have waited so long on that fricking sand! 
Scaping was much harder than I thought it would be! I was kinda scared at first, and when my filter would not turn on I got even more scared but I got it to work and added some decor. I am not really satisfied, I think I need more plants (Live ones) and some rock and driftwood. Wil have to see what my LPS have in 
I did not add my white&pink coral, the big one which smells, because I am unsure about if it is safe for my fishie, so will let it soak for some time yet  And my heater and filter intake is highly visable, sorry about that! wil try to hide it when I get some taller plants and decor.










I added the same background as on my hamsters cage, but I dont like it and will change it when I can find a cool black background.
Lol I also added both thermometers, just to see if they are accurate and if they give of the same readings. The spare one wil be used to make sure water is the same temperature as the tank water when doing WC and to keep an eye on temperature in the hospital tank.
I also added a IAL just to get some tannins in the water and added Prime @2drops pr gal because of fish-in-cycling.

So now we are going to the post office! I _really_ hope my fish has arrived! If it has I will be sure to update you 

See ya soon! ^_^


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## BettaLover1313 (Apr 15, 2013)

Subscribing!

I hope you fish arrives safe and sound.


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## LadyNightraven (Jun 30, 2013)

Looks great! I especially love the potpourri burner with the marimos. So cute!

Any news on your fishy?


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## Axeria (Feb 6, 2015)

*My little fishie!*

Thank you guys for the nice coments! I got my fish yesterday, and made a little thread called "He's here" to show him off. Then I let him rest for the night with the lights in the living room off 

So he got his name yesterday and it is : *Trevor!*
He is named after my favorite character in GTAV ;D

He was shipped in a bottle of all things! and when I got him home his HP was stone cold! He was chilly and was gasping alot, but perked up really quick during acclimating.


















Because I had the lights of I did not get that many nice quality pictures of him yesterday, but I did get this cute one of him chilling on his heater:










Today I gave him a waterchange, prime and some food. He is so tiny that his NLS pellets are to big for him so I had to crush them up.
We are doing several small feedings aday since he is still growing.

I also got some pics of him! He LOVES his hammock, its the best thing I have bought him and I can highly recomend it! Just check for metal and remove it if like mine had a metal wire in it. I actually have another one coming, and plan to buy several more for him to chillax on 


































Oh gosh! I love him so much already! ^_^


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## LarixLyallii (Jan 19, 2015)

awe, he's super adorable!  Hehe, here's hoping his personality isn't the same as Trevor's, eh? 

I'm happy to hear that he arrived safe and sound - I would've been...*ahem* a little peeved if I experienced the same issues you did with shipping. 

His tank looks wonderful, and he looks like he's settling in well.


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## Axeria (Feb 6, 2015)

Thank you! I do adore him!  HAHA! Yeah I hope he wont take after his namesake! Wont do with a methed out psycho fish that likes to dress up in womens clothes xD LOL!

I was really angry about how he was shipped for sure! My hubby even more so! I told the breeder of his bad condition when I got him and that a bottle is NOT suitable packaging material... Havent gotten an answer yet...

He seem to like it here for sure! he even comes up to the front and greets me now  

He is glass-surfing alot tho... hope he stops and that its not itching....


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## LadyNightraven (Jun 30, 2013)

Trevor is so pretty! But seriously, who sends a fish in a bottle??? So strange. I'm really glad he made it to you safely.


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## Axeria (Feb 6, 2015)

Awww! thank you!  And I know! it is truly bizarre! 


He keeps freaking me out with glass surfing alot....


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## LadyNightraven (Jun 30, 2013)

He might need some more taller plants, whether silk or live. I know my boys enjoy having plants that reach near or all the way to the water's surface to explore and relax in. Yurei was a pretty bad glass surfer for a little while, but I put silk plants in the spots where he was doing it most and he finally calmed down quite a bit.

He also might be still settling in and getting used to his new home.


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## Axeria (Feb 6, 2015)

Yeah I think he might just be getting used to all that space and his own reflection  We are going to the LPS on tuesday to look at plants, I am also expecting a few silk plants with some height to them. I wil be buying floaters also cause I see he likes to chill under his IAL. lol I think I might be worrying to much xD


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## LadyNightraven (Jun 30, 2013)

Bettas are tough little fish, but that doesn't stop us from worrying about them, does it? But it's always fun getting new plants and decorations to spoil them with.


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## Axeria (Feb 6, 2015)

hehe that sure is right! xD I constantly keep looking over at his tank, and freak out if I cant see him xP Need to take a chillpill me thinks


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## Axeria (Feb 6, 2015)

*Bubblenest?*

Ok so I know a bubblenest is not any indication on his health or happiness, buuut is this a teeny weeny bubblenest? Its on the edge of his floating IAL above the heater which is his favorite spot to chill besides his hammock 

Its right next to the filter outflow, so I guess I have done a good job in baffling ^_^


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## BettaLover1313 (Apr 15, 2013)

Trevor is adorable! I'm glad he arrived safe and sound.


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## Axeria (Feb 6, 2015)

Thank you!


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## Axeria (Feb 6, 2015)

So today I woke to finding Trevor in good health and active wriggling at me in front of the tank even tho his temperature had dropped two degrees (from 27 to 25*C)in the night, it seems we got a bit of a coldfront outside during the night so I woke feeling chilly and emediatly ran out to the living room to check on him! :/

He seemed alright despite the temp change so I just gave him some food and the daily WC with added prime  

I added some more backing to the side of the tank, on the side he was surfing on and that calmed him some yesterday. But after each wc he seem to do it again, I think it might be because he is abit scared of my hands and the siphon  I make sure the temperature of the water is matching the one in the tank before slowly adding the water back with his bottle


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## Axeria (Feb 6, 2015)

*Chillaxing!*

I got this pic just now of Trevor having a chillout session on his betta hammock  











I also made a thread for him on my countrys fish forum, I know I will get alot of sour coments about tank size and so on (they recomend 15g as a bare minimum) but I just cant let them win! They have tried to run me of the site for a time now, but I dont care! This will always be my #1 place to go for my betta needs tho! I LOVE this forum!


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## Elleth (Feb 23, 2015)

Wow, 15 gallons is huge! Don't feel bad about your tank size, it's great. And he is sooo cute!  You must be really happy to have him home safe and sound.


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## Axeria (Feb 6, 2015)

I know! a 15 gallon is more than I have room for just now, I went with the biggest size I could keep comfortably in my living room 

Thank you! We where afraid he would die in the mail and it is a wonder he didnt considering how he was packed but he pulled trough and seems really healthy and he is very active 

we have just finnished his flaring for today, lol when i put my finger in the water after he was flaring to my finger  Little wierdo! xD


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## CelticRavens (Feb 21, 2015)

*I missed your betta arriving!*

I was visiting my daughter at college & didn't have time to do more than check in once. Sorry I missed all the excitement. He's very pretty, & you got some great pictures of him, too. :-D

The way he was shipped was horrific. :evil:
He's lucky to be with you in his new home.


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## Axeria (Feb 6, 2015)

Aww! Thats ok! I hope you had a nice trip 

Thank you! I hope he likes it here, but I think he does, he is really social and keeps waiting for me at the front glass of his tank giving me a bad conscience when I leave him and making it impossible to go to bed xP 

We are flaring him abit now, once a day followed by a good meal. It seems it helps him move his bowels as he always has a good poo after. And he has become quite fearless and nips at our fingers if we put them in the tank xD 

I have given him prime today, 2 drops pr gallon and some food, no waterchange as the ammonia was barely detectable at <0.05 ppm. So I guess maybe I dont have to change it every morning as long as the perimeters are ok 

I have taken some flare pics of him and a video and will share them when I get them uploaded to Photobucket ^_^


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## Tress (Jun 6, 2014)

So long as you're testing your water, you just need to change it whenever Ammonia or Nitrites hit .25-.50 or Nitrates over 20ppm. May need to double check that but I think that's it


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## Axeria (Feb 6, 2015)

Lol seems I have been abit proactive then ^_^


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## Tress (Jun 6, 2014)

it's why testing is so highly recommended. I'm guilty of not testing but it's only cause the price and availability where I am. I'd get a test kit if I could >.<


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## Axeria (Feb 6, 2015)

Yeah I have a testkit with all the necessary tests, PH, KH, CO2, NO2, NO3, NH4 and NH3. I even bought GH test separate as it was not inluded in the kit 

My parameters this morning where:
KH- 2 or 3
PH- 7.5
GH- 3
NH4/ammonia- >0.05
NO2/nitrite- >0.01

Did not test for NO3/nitrates as I suspect they have not startet to produce yet 

I will test my water daily, but was adviced to not test the first and second day because I was told I would not get any notable readings, then start on the third, which is today ^_^


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## Axeria (Feb 6, 2015)

*Update!*

Hello all! Its time for an much needed update on how things are progressing with my little Trev! And I believe I made a promise to show you some more pics of him 

Things are going really well! unbelievable well! He is the most charming fish I have ever encountered and such a food monster too! Now that he knows where I sprinkle his food he often swims there looking up and then at me as if he is desperatly trying to tell me something xD So adorable and just proves how much personality these fish have! It is just amazing how quick I have bonded with a fish! I knew I would like him and take propper care of him, but the way he soothes me and makes me just drift of into his world is just baffling! I have truly come to love tihis little guy ^_^

My hubby is taking a shine to him aswell! When he truly sat down with me during a flare session he saw just how cool and theatrical these fish are! He loves that our little fish has a beard 

Our dog Heike is also abit keen to say hello to Trevor, but when he sees him he goes up abit to fast and trevor scoots away, I believe tho that its just a matter of Trevor getting used to that huge black wooly thing that presses its nose up against his home xD

Trevor has almost stopped glass surfing completely, he only does it a few times after I go away from the front of his tank, and only on the front glass. I added some more backing for him on the right side of his tank to make him feel more secure and stop so much of his reflection to show 

To my surprise, his left ventral fin is deformed, or maybe broken and mended while young, anyway I have detailed this over a picture that shows it, and I really dont think it bothers him. It just makes him more special x)


Yesterday we where on a little trip out, I had a meating with my psych.team and therefore demanded a trip to the LPF. Quess what I got for being a good girl! PLANTS!! Yaaay! My hubby rocks! 
I got a Anubias barteri or two actually, and a hygrophila polysperma. The Anubias had loong roots so I just tied the rhizome to a nano cube using the roots. And the Hygro. is still in its pot. I might just go ahead and plant these after a few days, the woman at the LPS was very knowledgable and said they had no desease in their plant tanks, tho I could get some pestsnails but many use those snails as a cleaning crew including her so she thought the term "pestsnail" was wrong and that they poses no danger and can instead be beneficial 



So lets get to the pics:

First my little QT tank with plants in:









And Trevor greating me:




























Then in this picture you see how his left ventral is all wonky, I believe it is a healed injury he got at the breeders house or a deformaty that he was born with, either way he uses his wonky ventral as best as he can and it does not look broke as it is just as stiff as the normal ventral, not just hanging there like a broken limb if you know what I mean. It just looks abit wonky, and i doubt it bothers him much as I have seen him use it many times while resting  









Some low quality flare pics xD oh well..... I tried! xP



















Lol in the last two I think his heart wasent fully in it as he is lacking his beard xD



















Some from today after his morning feeding, I think he might have grown a little more fin the last couple of days 


















Chilling at the bottom abit ....









Before he swims up and away...









For a nap in his fern 










Enjoy the pics and have a great evening


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## CelticRavens (Feb 21, 2015)

Double post sorry


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## CelticRavens (Feb 21, 2015)

Great pics! Before too long your husband will probably want a betta of his own. :-D


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## Axeria (Feb 6, 2015)

Thank you! 

That would be really cool! He stays adamant though about not buying more tanks


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## DancingGirl808 (Feb 27, 2015)

Wow, Axeria! Your tank and fishy turned out great!! :welldone:


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## Axeria (Feb 6, 2015)

Awww!! Thank you! That means alot to me


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## CelticRavens (Feb 21, 2015)

Axeria said:


> Thank you!
> 
> That would be really cool! He stays adamant though about not buying more tanks



You can divide your 15 gallon & each could have their own half. Just a suggestion for the future if he does succumb to betta fever. ;-)


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## Axeria (Feb 6, 2015)

I only have a 8 gallon  I wish I had a 15 tho! That would have been awesome!  Then I deffo would have a school of small corys ^_^


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## Axeria (Feb 6, 2015)

*Trevor is angry...*

I planted his plants yesterday, found that a bleach dip was all I needed to end QT so my hubby mixed bleach at one part bleach to 20 parts water and I dipped the plants for about 2-3 sek. Then I rinsed them off extremely well and let them sit in a bucket of water with waterchanges for about 2 hours before planting. Some of the hygro. did not do so well with the dip, but I think that little stem would have died anyway since I squashed it 

For the planting I had to catch Trevor, and he was NOT happy! He was super fast also but I got him in the end and into his bottle he went for half an hour or so while I was planting. He has not been his self since and seems to be sulking. This might be conected to the changes in his tank as he eats well still. He wont flare at his mirror anymore tho... I just hope he will get over this!

So here it is his new semi planted tank, I kept some of his old decor tho, the pieces he seemed to really enjoy


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## Axeria (Feb 6, 2015)

*Mail!*

So I got my checkvalve and Trevor's floating lilypad today  
Just waiting for my tetra whisper, aq salt, epsom salt and airstone


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## Axeria (Feb 6, 2015)

*Yaay!*

Trevor is doing great! ^_^

He is zooming around checking out his new decor and loving his real plants. He seems to have completely forgot that he got captured during planting the other day. He greats me as usual and are just being his adorable self 

I had a good vacuum in the tank today, moved the filter abit and added some nano cubes stuffed with marimo. While doing so I noticed the plants are looking good! I might jinx myself writing this but I am pleased with how it turned out and are excited to see if they continue to grow


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## Tress (Jun 6, 2014)

Looking good :3


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## Axeria (Feb 6, 2015)

Thank you!  

I am hoping that the plants fill inn a little, gets more leaves and gets fuller. I plan to buy some more live plants tho, some high for the back, some moss and atleast one type of floater


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## Julie7778 (Mar 20, 2015)

Beautiful betta  I always wanted to order one online but it's just so scary! (Most of the time they ship them horribly >_> but I'm glad Trevor is doing great! How did you baffle your filter btw?

Btw XD a noobie me, how do I sub


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## Axeria (Feb 6, 2015)

Thank you! 

I had my thoughts about shipping bettas too. What I did was talk with a breeder in my country, ask about how he shipped bettas and planed it all really carefully with him. 
We agreed upon this: The fish was to be sent no later than Tuesday giving it 4 days to arrive until the weekend, (he told me they usually get delivered after 2 days in our country and he was right). A heatpack with 70hours heat was supposed to be sent with the fish, and he was supposed to be double baged in a bag that breathes. Well insolated and with a "fragile" warning on the box he was to be shipped in.
This gave me confidence in that the fish would be _OK_ during the journey to me. I say ok, because being sent in the mail can't be that great, but taken the steps to provide for heat and air and carefully planing for short transit it is possible. And I think that coming to a comfy home with caring owners are worth the risk if you find a fish you like and a breeder you think you can trust 

My experience got some hickups tho: when the breeder sent word of him being sent on a _wednesday_ I asked about how many hours of heat he got left and It turns out he sent only 48 hours of heat even tho he said he would send 70 just in case of delays. And on top of that, Trevor arrived in a bottle. A bizarre way of sending a fish imo...

But Trevor is fine, he is swiming around his tank happy as can be and I can honestly say that I dont regret buying him 


I baffled my filter using a Blax hairband (its non toxic rubber, *SUPER* strong) and a black coarse block of foam shoved in the outake. The hairband keeps it there nice and secure 

Subbing is done by first klicking the tab that sais "Thread Tools" in the upper right corner of the thread, below the page selector. Then simply click "Subscribe to this Thread" and that takes you to a page where you choose what notification you want and confirm your subscription  And No worries being noob, I am noob too and everyone is a noob at some point at some things xD


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## Axeria (Feb 6, 2015)

*More pics!*

Not something new added im afraid but I figured to post some more detailed pics of my aquarium, different "zones" if ya like ^_^

Going left to right we have following Zones:

Our humble beginning to what is to become "The kingsforrest" with hammock perch and entrance to his white cave. Complete with Marimo's "au naturel" and Marimo's stuffed in ceramic nanocubes  lol!









The reason for the stuffing is simple, safety and curiosity. I dont want my little boy to get stuck in the cubes, but I still want to use them and I wonder if the marimo will become square 









Then we have the cave zone, with another little cave that is really a oil/incense burner. As decor I used pink marbles and bent ceramic nano stars. There are also one more marimo "au naturel" and one that is cut in half and stuffed under a nanostar on top of the pink cave. I added some plants aswell.










The rest of the left side of the AQ is just a mess really apart from his other leaf hammock which he loves. I call this the mess-zone  I needed to fill in with something and I did not want to throw away his orange 'leafything' as he loves to hide in it so I just threw the matcing purple one and a silkplant to hide the heater with in there also. Its kinda unmachy and fake , especially with the jellyfish (loool! look at Trev! little wierdo lurking about!!) xD But this is a work in progress type thing and I have a nice plan layed out with lots of real plants and moss 









I also have tried to hide equipment with IAL, and I think I have succeeded


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## Julie7778 (Mar 20, 2015)

Thank you so much! Subscribed  & I really wish I could order one. I'm in love with the dumbo ears :[ I love your set up! What size tank is that?


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## Elleth (Feb 23, 2015)

Love how your tank is looking! It's awesome.


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## Axeria (Feb 6, 2015)

Julie7778 said:


> Thank you so much! Subscribed  & I really wish I could order one. I'm in love with the dumbo ears :[ I love your set up! What size tank is that?


No problemo! Just happy to be of some use ;P
Thank you! Its not that big tbh, 8gallons only. ^_^ 



Elleth said:


> Love how your tank is looking! It's awesome.


Aww! Thank you


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## Axeria (Feb 6, 2015)

*Pictures!*

took some pictures of Trevs today, or I tried to! He does not stay still for long so I appologize for the crappy quality and the WC bubbles :lol:

Trevor and his hammock, theres a love story right there! xP 
"You looking at me?"









"you want a piece of me?"









Some artistic overexposed pics xD LOL




































Randoms




































Then I wanted to show you something awesome! My Hygro is starting to get pink 



















That concludes todays adorableness


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## Elleth (Feb 23, 2015)

He's so handsome!  And congrats on the plant beginning to turn pink. I am guessing it is supposed to do that?


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## artemis35 (Jul 11, 2014)

I was pretty sure (from previous pictures you posted) that the hygro you have is a "sunset hygo", but now that it is pinking up I am positive. 

And I am very jealous, too  

I absolutely love that hygro variety, but it is banned from sale in the US due to it being classified as a noxious weed. I'll have to live vicariously through yours :lol:


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## SeleneTheSeawolf (Mar 2, 2015)

I loved reading your Aquatic Adventure, on how you got all your items to your final set up. I will have to do this when I begin my set up ^^


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## Axeria (Feb 6, 2015)

Elleth said:


> He's so handsome!  And congrats on the plant beginning to turn pink. I am guessing it is supposed to do that?


Thank you  It is supposed to get some pink yes, but I was affraid of not having well enough lighting for it to happen 



artemis35 said:


> I was pretty sure (from previous pictures you posted) that the hygro you have is a "sunset hygo", but now that it is pinking up I am positive.
> 
> And I am very jealous, too :razz:
> 
> I absolutely love that hygro variety, but it is banned from sale in the US due to it being classified as a noxious weed. I'll have to live vicariously through yours :lol:


Thats interesting to hear! Here it is one of the most comon aq-plants they sell in petstores. Its supposed to be really hardy though so I get the noxious weed thing  I have read online that it is impossible to kill unless you set out to do so xD

Hehe, I will make sure to post some pics of it from time to time 



SeleneTheSeawolf said:


> I loved reading your Aquatic Adventure, on how you got all your items to your final set up. I will have to do this when I begin my set up ^^


Thank you! I highly recomend getting the equipment ready before getting the fish, it saved me and Trevor from alot of stress the day he arrived ^_^


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## Axeria (Feb 6, 2015)

So during wc today I figured to make yet another change in and on Trevor's tank. I found his colors got kinda washed out on the pink&gold background he had so I changed it! And let me tell you who is NOT happy. Trev! He has been flaring alot at the new background, I suspect that the matte black is somhow making his reflection show more... Which is a shame cause I like the look! His colors pops more and the plants look great against the black. However if he continues to flare I wil have to change it again... 

I added one piece of decor and took out a few others. The white cave and the oil defuser had to go. After a discussion on here about the glaze on non-food ceramic items I dared not risk it! So he got a frosted jar from Ikea made of 100%glass ^_^

When rearanging stuff I cut one of my Anubias in two and spread out the plants abit. I read that this is ok to do if one wants to, it is recomended there be three leaves or more on both of the pieces of plant after you cut the rhizome in two. My was long and had over five leaves on each individual rhizome after I cut it. 

I again used IAL to hide my heater. The prefilter sponge is showing still but I have a plan on splurging on some driftwood in the near future. But shhh! Its a secret


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## Tress (Jun 6, 2014)

Looking good


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## Axeria (Feb 6, 2015)

Thank you


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## Axeria (Feb 6, 2015)

*Update!*

Today trevor have been ours for 14 days! Yaaay! 

He is doing really well imo! I am pleased with how easy and stressfree it is caring for him. He is a really cool fish with lots of personality, and he has colored up really nice since I got him. I really like his blue irids, they make his body look blue in some light angles when he really is a soft milky (almost white) pink. I also adore his little face! Is he masked or piebald or something else you think?

I have no idea how far along we are cycling wise, I test every day and change water when needed. But have yet to get nitrate readings, my test is always white or grey or mixed (the powder is grey with white clumps sometimes, that powder is wierd!). I am getting low Nitrites so I guess thats good, things are progressing. I add prime everyday for his safety 

In the spirit of our two week aniversary I want to share some pics ^_^


My favorite pic of him so far. Although you can see his deformed ventral, poor little mite!









In this you see his normal ventral and how his coloring really looks:









Then blue irids:









Rump lol :









Other than this my hubby is really warming up to keeping bettas, he really wants an AquaBid fish, and so does I. So we might set up another tank when Trevor's is done cycling ^_^

Have a great day Y'all!


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## Axeria (Feb 6, 2015)

*Gross!!! Dx*

We have worms in the tank!!! They are tiny white worms!!! And they freak me out!!! 

This is how I noticed it:
Trevor was attacking some invisable thing on the side of his tank and I went over to look, I sat there for a while trying to figure it out and then I saw it!! A teeny tiny white nasty worm gliding up from the substrate on the glass!! Then BAM Trev attacked it and ate it! Ugh! Dx 

I figure this is the reason he sometimes looks full in the morning when I am to give him his breakfast. He have probably been munching on worms all night the little sneak! 

I have worm phobia so I have been afraid of getting planaria or nematodes in my tank so I have to get rid of these, might buy some No-planaria from ebay!


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## Julie7778 (Mar 20, 2015)

Axeria said:


> We have worms in the tank!!! They are tiny white worms!!! And they freak me out!!!
> 
> This is how I noticed it:
> Trevor was attacking some invisable thing on the side of his tank and I went over to look, I sat there for a while trying to figure it out and then I saw it!! A teeny tiny white nasty worm gliding up from the substrate on the glass!! Then BAM Trev attacked it and ate it! Ugh! Dx
> ...


I had this same thing. I saw 1 wrapped up in a little leaf and freaked out. It was on the side of the glass and just jiggling. I threw it out right away. I saw another a few days later, ever since then I haven't seen anymore. I changed the gravel and took out everything. It's kinda weird and spooky xD


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## artemis35 (Jul 11, 2014)

> We have worms in the tank!!! They are tiny white worms!!! And they freak me out!!!


Do your worms look like tiny white strings? Are they mostly on the glass (or floating free in the water)? If so, google "detritus worms" and look at the images.

If you do have detritus worms, _do not _freak out!

They are harmless. Quite common in new, planted tanks. I had them myself in one of my 10 gallons when new. They went away on their own. Just keep up with your normal water change schedule. Be sure to vacuum thoroughly when doing a water change, do not overfeed your fish, and time will take care of them for you (no medicine or special treatment needed).

The planted tank is a whole new world of experiences :shock: ;-)


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## Axeria (Feb 6, 2015)

I dont know if they are the worm you think of, but they do look really similar. Although mine where tiny, about one mm in length... I am glad to hear that they are not harmfull. I have only seen three of them , two on the glass and one floating during wc today that dove into the substrate before I could get it.
They do freak me out still, but I guess I just have to get used to them  

It seems that plantet tanks are freaky indeed xD


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## DaytonBetta (Feb 4, 2014)

I wouldn't worry about the worms. If your fish eats them it's good nutrition. The worms who aren't eating will clean up dead plant matter and fish waste. It's pretty natural to have little critters in planted tanks. 

Your fish is very handsome!


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## Axeria (Feb 6, 2015)

Thanks for your coment, sorry I have not been able to reply sooner 

I am getting used to the idea of tiny worms in the tank but it is still kinda freaky. I am glad to hear it is natural tho! 
Will probably buy a better vacuum, a battery operated one maybe if they are any good so I can keep the level of mulm and muck to a minimum. My siphon is not satisfactory and my turkeybaster is not that good on plant matter. 

I have also gotten an ugly algae thing on my anubias... Need to buy a timer for my lights me thinks.



We had a rather sad incident at our house yesterday, I woke up to find a injured Slow worm in our back garden near the back door. It had several puncture wounds. One of the nabour cats where chasing bugs near by so I figure him or one of their two other cats as the attacker. Which I can't really blame the cats for, they are just expressing normal feline behaviour.

The thing is, the slow worm where not dead! After I held it abit to examine it and check it out (first time ive seen one) It womited up a bit of a earthworm , probably due to the stress and injuries, and it was moving. I saw that its eyes where open. So I put it in a kritter keeper on some damp paper towel and went online to seek help! I even joined a reptile forum with the hopes of finding some information as to how I could save this lovely creature. Sadly after my succeeded efforts to find out information as to emergency care and desired habitat (thank you google!) I went back to find that it had died from the injuries it sustained during the attack.

I feel really sad about it... But I learned some facts about the slow worm, like that they are not a worm at all, but a lizzard with no legs. That they like to come out during dusk and sometimes can be found basking. They like to hide out under rocks and logs and in holes. They are also completely harmless! 

So I guess I am sad but respectfully greatfull that the chain of events brought him to our doorstep. They truly are gorgeous creatures!

(borrowing Image from google)


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## artemis35 (Jul 11, 2014)

Awww, I am sorry to hear that story about the slow worm 

You are a very kind hearted person to have done as much as you did. Nature certainly can be cruel, but you are right that it all serves a purpose.

We manage a colony of feral cats (all spayed/neutered), and they sometimes catch birds and mice. It is very hard to watch. 

Luckily, most of our ferals are rather plump, happy and lazy and are content to only half-heartedly chase the wildlife :lol:


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## Tress (Jun 6, 2014)

Aww, I love reptiles. Poor baby, at least he had a safe and quiet place to pass.


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## bullseyejoey (Apr 8, 2015)

That's too bad, reptiles are really cool animals if you're able to get past their bad rep. My brother and i each have a snake at home.


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## Axeria (Feb 6, 2015)

Thank you for comenting guys! 

I too really love reptiles! They are ilegal to keep as pets in Norway tho... Its a shame!


Today I vacumed and replanted some during wc. And yesterday where our first reading of nitrate  

My hygro is growing like crazy! I snipped of a few cquse it where reaching the water surface


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## Julie7778 (Mar 20, 2015)

artemis35 said:


> Do your worms look like tiny white strings? Are they mostly on the glass (or floating free in the water)? If so, google "detritus worms" and look at the images.
> 
> If you do have detritus worms, _do not _freak out!
> 
> ...


Mine looked similar but shorter and not super thin and always wrapped in a leaf.


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## Axeria (Feb 6, 2015)

Julie7778 said:


> Mine looked similar but shorter and not super thin and always wrapped in a leaf.


Ugh! mine do not come wrapped, but they are there and thats enough for me  lol!

Probably just a matter of time before I start naming them tho  
Although I havent seen any in a few days, so might not be any for me to name xD


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## Julie7778 (Mar 20, 2015)

Axeria said:


> Ugh! mine do not come wrapped, but they are there and thats enough for me  lol!
> 
> Probably just a matter of time before I start naming them tho
> Although I havent seen any in a few days, so might not be any for me to name xD


That's so odd! Same exact thing happened to me, i saw like 3 and now never see anymore. I have a pic one day when I found one in a leaf, I'll post it soon maybe!


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## Axeria (Feb 6, 2015)

*Some updates and bad news...*

I am so sad! My darling hamster Fenris has gotten a hard lump! he is starting to get really old so we where expecting him to go downhill pretty soon but still it came as a complete shock to me! The vet said there is nothing we can do, he is to old to operate on and would likely not wake from the anestesia. He said he dont seem to be in pain and can still live some time with this lump, but it is a indication on that he is getting closer to the end. So it is a waiting game, watch him closely to see if the lump grows or becomes a hindrance for him, if it does we are going to have to euthanize. I hate waiting for him to die or get worse! :'(

After keeping hamsters and other rodents for 15 years in june I am getting sick of this emotional roller coaster I go through every 2-3 years. So Fenris wil be my last one for a while unless I see a syrian I just can not pass on from breeders I know. The hamster cage wil go back to being a display case and the Kallax shelfing under will become my fish area. We are going to move Trev's tank over there and buy a 10-20 gallon so I can get corys and my hubby a aquabid fish. 

Everything is doing great with Trevor, he had a day or two where he was looking abit bloated (nothing serious or heavy, just abit more rounded at the belly) so I just did not feed him a couple of days and it went down. I have since bought some new food for him, the Omega One micro pellets since they seem to contain less fillers than the NLS. I guess we wil alternate between them ^_^

I am also getting ready to add some more biofiltration to his HOB, the Eheim Pro Substrate. I have already packed it with sponges for the BB to live in, but I guess the more places for the BB to live the better  And alot of already seeded media wil make the staring of a new tank quicker.

The tank is almost done cycling too! I get a steady drop in ammonia and nitrite and are detecting nitrates , more each day! So I guess we are soon done with the adding of prime everyday and manic testing and changing of water xD

My hygro is continuing to grow like crazy! I cut of the longest stems and planted them just a week ago and now they are just as long again! Amazing! At this rate I wil have plenty of hygro for the new tank xD
One of my anubias had started rotting tho, even tho it where not burried, so I just cut of the rotting part of the rhizome and kept the healthy bit. The leaves that had starting to rot at the base of their stem I just cut the stem of and let float so Trev can play with them.

I am also getting alot of algae on the anubias especially, its browninsh in color and looks fuzzy... So I need to get myself a nerite or something other to eat this algae and a timer for my lights.


Sorry for the messy post, and I promise to get some new pics of Trev soon


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## Lumenite (Apr 13, 2015)

Your thread is so charming. You have inspired me to create one of my own! I only have had my little guy for a week now but documenting seems like fun


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## Axeria (Feb 6, 2015)

Aww thank you! That is so nice of you to say! 
I would absolutly recomend creating a journal, I started this for a way to keep track on our progress but since then several people have subscribed and that is really fun and makes me glad to write more 
Thank you for reading!


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## Axeria (Feb 6, 2015)

*Updated photos!*

So this is long overdue, but as promised I present the most recent pics of Trevor and his tank 


















































































Grumpy face xD









Enjoy!


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## EvaJupiterSkies (Oct 25, 2013)

He's such a pretty fish!  Beautiful!


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## Axeria (Feb 6, 2015)

Awww! Thank you! I think so too, I must have over a hundred pictures of him so far and I have only owned him for about a month xD


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## indjo (Jun 6, 2010)

His pictures still looks lavender. 

You are there with him, I can only see pictures which often don't show their actual colors. Recently I was shown picture of what seemed to be pale irids. But when they arrived, they turned out to be rather white dragons. . . not what I need at the moment.

If his scales seem thicker, then he is dragon. You have to trust your eyes. . . . btw, his brother does look dragon


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## Julie7778 (Mar 20, 2015)

He's gorgeous! I love his colors!


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## Axeria (Feb 6, 2015)

indjo said:


> His pictures still looks lavender.
> 
> You are there with him, I can only see pictures which often don't show their actual colors. Recently I was shown picture of what seemed to be pale irids. But when they arrived, they turned out to be rather white dragons. . . not what I need at the moment.
> 
> If his scales seem thicker, then he is dragon. You have to trust your eyes. . . . btw, his brother does look dragon



Hi thank you for checking him out. You are absolutely right in that it is hard to determen from a few pictures I appriciate you trying ^_^

I have some photos that gives of his natural color better:



























See that red line where his body ends and anal starts? isn't that quite typical in dragons? I feel I see it on almost every picture of dragons. You can clearly see how the scales are thicker on the rest of his body, but thinner in that line. His milky color is also showing, and not so much of his irids as on the other pictures 

I am sorry your purchase did not turn out to be what you needed, I am sure they are gorgeous tho 



Julie7778 said:


> He's gorgeous! I love his colors!


Thank you! I am quite smitten by him myself


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## Anne713 (Jul 18, 2014)

He is quite the looker!


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## Axeria (Feb 6, 2015)

Thank you


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## Elleth (Feb 23, 2015)

Trev is not a sunset betta? :O I had no idea, lol! He still looks gorgeous, though!


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## Axeria (Feb 6, 2015)

Lol no he is not a sunset betta xD I dunno what he might be, his scales look thicker than regulars but he has that naked head that puzzels me...

Thank you! No matter what he is, he is my gorgeous boy ^_^


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## juliesybil (Apr 5, 2015)

wow hes beautiful! very unusual. good luck with your new baby


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## Axeria (Feb 6, 2015)

Thank you!  I Love him alot! And he seems to appriciate me aswell, something I did not expect from a fish. I honestly think that now that I have discovered betta's I can not be without one ^_^


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## Lumenite (Apr 13, 2015)

Right? I have noticed my betta responds to me more than other fish I have owned. Almost like he understands I am a friend. It's fun to experience


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## Axeria (Feb 6, 2015)

yeah, he interacts more with me than my hamster does funny enough... My hubby calls him our puppy with fins xD

Btw! Today while carrying out the huge cage (royal suite 95 double) someone is buying off me (yaaay 3000 nok/380 usd richer!) I found a slow worm that was not injured! I carried him to the back of the house where the cats dont go as much and let him go in the loose leaves and fallen branches in the garden. It is a female and she seemed to have been in contact with cats before cause she had some scars on her body. Before I let her go I took a picture. Sorry about the messy hair, its hot but abit windy today xD










I hope to rescue more from the deadly felines that prowl outside


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## Anne713 (Jul 18, 2014)

Wow. That is smaller than I expected. You are much braver than I. You don't touch snakes where I live. We have copperheads and rattlesnakes. :/


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## Axeria (Feb 6, 2015)

Hehe the funny thing about the slow worm is that it is not a snake, but a legless lizard  I was abit unsure about picking one up the first time I saw one, I ran and got my hubby to come out cause I wanted to know if he knew what it was. And he told me that they are completely harmless creatures  We tried to save the last one we found, but the cat attack where too severe, I am glad I could get this one away before they noticed it 

We have the European Adder here, but its not so much out and about as the slow worm and keeps to the forests mainly. It is the only dangerous snake in Norway. We dont have dangerous spiders either, tho it does not keep me from being terrified of them xD


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## Anne713 (Jul 18, 2014)

I saw where you tried to save the last. I guess them being lizards make them a bit less scary$


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## Axeria (Feb 6, 2015)

Yeah they are really cute I think! I may make a box for them to hide in outside where they would be safe from the cats


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## Axeria (Feb 6, 2015)

Its been a while since I've updated last, and I have to appologize for not being as active this week. 

It all has to do with my hamster. We are putting him to sleep on monday and I have tried to spend as much time with him as I can before we say goodbye. I wont talk about it much as its just too painful..


Trevor is doing great! He is zooming around his tank, being the king of it all and showing himself off from time to time xD 

He got his OO micro pellets on friday and he seem to love them! He can eat them whole and gets about 4-6 pellets each OO-feeding. He loves them! And its fun for us also cause we can feed him more of the OO-pellets than the NLS ones cause they are like crushed NLS. LOL hubby loves feeding time and is so happy that he dont have to feel like he is starving our fish anymore xD he felt so bad when Trev only got two NLS pellets each feeding and felt that he would be starving. Now we have been alternating between OO and NLS and we all are much happier ^_^

My sunset hygro is still going nuts in there... Its growing so much that I had to pinch of four of the stems as they where so long they where starting to grow sideways () Now they are floating at the top, providing cover and waiting for roots to develop so they can be planted next to their motherplant 

I bought 6 new plants and 3 types of moss online thursday. The most of them are of an Asian origin, but some are not. I have drifted more and more away from my Asian biotope and just bought the plants that I liked and that where labeled easy with low light requirements at the online store 

This is what I got:
Moss: Peacock, xmas and Pellia
Plants: Vallisneria gigantea, Ceratophyllum demersum x 2, Hydrocotyle leucocephala, Hygrophila salicifolia, Cryptocoryne mix , Javafern.

I also bought a medium piece of mangrove driftwood  

Darn! Now that I am listing all the plants I bought I can see that I totally forgot a floater! AGAIN!! I always forget that floater when shopping! Might have to buy some on monday then. 

Oh and I also bought 10 MLS to keep my sand gassfree, just hope they get here alive and well 

Sorry bout the rather boring update with no pictures, but I just have to put all my energy and time into Fenris this weekend. I wil come back better and stronger with much more space (mentally and physically), news of exciting new aquatic critters and maybe with plans for a 10 gallon ^_^

Have a great day all! 

XXX


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## Dakky (Mar 6, 2015)

Hi, I've been following your journal in the shadows, but I'm just wondering what NLS stands for? And OO while we're at in =).

Edit: OO is Omega One?? =D


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## juliesybil (Apr 5, 2015)

So sorry for your loss. Prayers for your family.


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## Elleth (Feb 23, 2015)

I'm so sorry to here about your hamster.  *hugs*


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## Axeria (Feb 6, 2015)

Hey all! I am back now 

Thank you for the kind words, I feel slightly better even tho I miss him terribly. 
I realize that his life where filled with only good things. He always had food in his bowls, fresh water in his bottle and he got many yummy treats often. He lived in a big and clean habitat filled with enriching toys and activity options. He was sick in the end, but had lived a really long and good life with us. It was time to let him go. 


On a brighter note:
Trevor had a big day yesterday, he got moved into the hospital tank while his tank got a complete makeover and we also moved it. We took down the hamstercage and made the Kallax shelf it sat on a fish area.I am kinda pleased with the result although the hornwort made a mess and many of my plants had died or started to melt of my neglect as they lived in a bucket of water on the kitchen for several days. 
It was just as well as I dont think I can cram more plants in there at the moment. And if they grow as good as my hygro I wil need to eiter sell or throw away the trimings. Or I could just start a new tank... I am wanting a crustations only tank, I can get my hands on some really cute micro crabs that would be tons of fun!  

I have so many plans for future tanks, I want to go bigger and get more fish like corys but space is an issue. I might buy a 10-15g and make room or I might utilize the newly freed up space I got when we took the hamstercage down and buy a similar sized tank that Trev got and go crazy with shrimp, crab and other cute critters xD The Kallax wont hold much weight is the thing, so if I am to use the freed up space for a second tank it must be roughly the same size as Trevs to get even weight distribution. I would not trust a 15g on it with Trevs tank, but another 8 might work. 

I have been reading alot on using Ikea furniture as stands and my impression is that if you keep it dry (particle board and water do not mix!) or seal it and do not put crazy amount of weight on it it can hold up for years. I have read many acounts of people that have been successfull with smaller tanks on Ikea furniture and have not read any acounts of aquariums crasing down. It seem to work well if one is careful and smart  

To sum up : If I want to go bigger I need a proper AQ stand and some free space.

Here is a picture of my new AQ area of my living room I bet you see where I could fit a new little tank  hehe! 

Will take some pics of Trevs tank and post for you later 

Thanks for reading! 

XxXxX


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## Axeria (Feb 6, 2015)

Dakky said:


> Hi, I've been following your journal in the shadows, but I'm just wondering what NLS stands for? And OO while we're at in =).
> 
> Edit: OO is Omega One?? =D


Hello, I hope you liked reading about my Adventure  
NLS is New Life Spectrum and OO is just as you said; Omega one 
Thank you for reading my journal! ^_^



Bonus pic of Trev's tank:


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## Axeria (Feb 6, 2015)

So I wake up to find Trevor zooming around with a rift in his dorsal... The only new item in the tank is the driftwood. But I ran pantyhose over it before I soaked it and it passed. I feel rotten now for changing his tank... All I can do is pray it heals well. 

Other than that I made a small shrimp shelter using a flower pot I got one of my plants in and moss. And I am just about to get me some shrimp  I might get a new 8 gal just for them (I like the Aquel shrimp tank) incase Trev decides to eat them all x)


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## Lumenite (Apr 13, 2015)

Axeria,

What is that stringy tall plant in the background, not the larger leafy ones. I really like it as a background plant


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## Axeria (Feb 6, 2015)

Are you talking of my Hornwort? I would NOT buy a hornwort tbh, I am having majore issues with mine, it sheds like crazy and are giving me the dying xmas tree look on the bottom of my tank... I hate it!


We had a complete shock the other day, I suspect a cycle crash from moving the tank cause the Nitrite where at a dangerous level and so where the ammonia (.2 and .4 in just 24 hours after healthy readings) and a emergency wc-schedule have been put in place while we continue to dose prime every day. I have soon used all of my 100ml of prime, lol wil have to buy some more soon 

Trevor's rift have healed almost completely also, I am proud of him for not getting into more trubble and letting it heal ^_^


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## Lumenite (Apr 13, 2015)

Ahh yes I can see the shedding on the bottom of your tank. I may try it in the future because I keep packing my planted cycling tank with more and more plants so I should slow down lol. 

Miso also has a tear right now which is a bit larger than Trevors. You give me hope that his will heal also! 

You can never have enough Prime I am slowly learning hah.


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## Axeria (Feb 6, 2015)

Yeah I pulled the hornwort out and threw the darn thing away  made such a mess! In the process of doing so I found a little snail, I think it is a pond snail. His name is dynamo ^_^

I hope your guy heals well  

pic of Trev and his new friend:


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## rubbie5837 (Dec 22, 2014)

Yeap, that's a pond snail.  Unlike alot of people, I really like them. The only tank that I have a problem with is my guppies' tank because of the flakes. And 5 out of my 6 bettas eat them. As long as you don't leave alot of excess food they won't over populate. And Trevor is absolutely gorgeous.


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## Axeria (Feb 6, 2015)

Yeah I have no problems with snails, I think they are neat they are one of my favorite critters and I wil be buying several species of aquatic snails after my tank is cycled. After keeping Giant African Landsnails I have a big softspot for snails of all kinds  

Hehe I wil tell him you said so


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## Axeria (Feb 6, 2015)

My tank have been spiking nitrite, I have been changing about 80-90% of the water each day for about a week and finaly today I am seeing less nitrite and more nitrate. Lets hope the tank cycles soon ^_^


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## Axeria (Feb 6, 2015)

The spiking is done! Thank god!! Seeing low nitrite and a increase in Nitrate  

I think Trev have grown some also, he seems bulkier and more adult somehow... And he is getting some dark pigmentation on his bald head, tiny greyish dots... I dunno what it might be and if its only natural pigmentation of his skin or something else... It does not seem to be sprinkled on him, but rather incorporated in the light scales on his head... Its.. Wierd!


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## Axeria (Feb 6, 2015)

And then they where three snails two big ones and one teeny tiny  I enjoy watching them zoom around on the glass and on the plants, they have a suprisingly amount of speed to them xD 

The tank is soon cycled, I am detecting no ammonia , almost no nitrite and nitrates are increasing! It has taken some time but I think we may be getting there soon ^_^

After it has fully cycled I am going to start thinking of tank mates. And I am getting a new tank for my B-day in june, just dunno what size yet xD
I like the look of the Aquael shrimptank smart edition. Its only 8 gal, but could still make a great home for a Betta . Or maybe I should make a inverts and crustaceans only tank? Who knows


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## rubbie5837 (Dec 22, 2014)

Yay to end of cycling! It really does make life alot easier (once you both get through the drama) And an additional bonus is you get stronger upper body strength from all of those wc. ;-)


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## Axeria (Feb 6, 2015)

Yay! Today I got the lowest posible nitrite and ammonia reading, it even where lighter than the lowes reading so I am quietly hoping this is the end  

Cause you are absolutly right Rubbie in that it is dramatic to go through, especially when your tank spikes, seeing the drastic color change on the tests is a stressor for sure! And especially so for the fish I think! Thank god for wc and prime! Lol and yeah, yay to more upper body strength xD


My anubias have started to grow like a champ tho, two of the biggest rhizomes have two and three new tiny leaves sprouting up  
My hygro is going nuts as ever, I wil have enough to fill my next tank with for sure! My moss is also doing well, and the valisnera is sprouting too. I am seeing some new algae growth due to exposure to some daylight in the early morning hours from a window, I have now put up a thick curtain to keep the light of the AQ 

Edit: LoL! Trev is such a poser xD


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## Axeria (Feb 6, 2015)

My tank have been stable for some time now and I could not be happier! 
Trevor is zooming around sometimes picking on the snails so they fall down from the glass or plant they where on xD

He seems to be growing his fins at an alarming rate, and several of his brothers have become RTs. I keep my fingers crossed for Trevor NOT being one tho! ^_^


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## artemis35 (Jul 11, 2014)

Wow, Trevor is looking good! Those fins are huuuuge....


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## Axeria (Feb 6, 2015)

Thank you!  

I adore him, he really is a great fish  Fingers crossed for no more growing of fins tho! Dont want him to become sick of carrying the weight around. I try to exercise him a bit with jumping for food, flaring and following me from one side of the tank to the other. He also have plenty of places to rest should he feel the need, so I am hoping he wont start biting his fins even tho they are becoming quite large and heavy looking ^_^

I have also noticed one of his rays in the middle of his anal fin is shorter, curved at the end and sticks out breaking free from the rest of his anal fin. Its wierd. But no grey coloration or indication of rot or him having damaged his fin. Its puzzling!


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## Axeria (Feb 6, 2015)

I dont get it!  My tank is cycled and stable and have been so for a few weeks now, I have been away in this time and my hubby have done the tests. I told him to change the water when he saw a rise in Nitrates, but acording to the readings he got they have stayed the same and even decreased while I have been away. 

Today I did a test for ammonia, nitrite and Nitrate and they all where non existent! The nitrate had a slight yellowish tint, but not enough to reach 1ppm which are the lowest reading apart from <0,5ppm. 

What is going on?


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## Elleth (Feb 23, 2015)

Your tank is pretty heavily planted, right? The plants are eating it.


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## Axeria (Feb 6, 2015)

Yeah and they are growing very well, my Anubias have several new leafes shooting up and my hygro is just running amok in there xD luckily I will have alot to trade for some shrimp with my nabour 

Glad to hear its normal! Though I gave him a water change anyway tho, its been two weeks since last wc so I had really bad conciense about it


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## Axeria (Feb 6, 2015)

NOOO!!!! Trevor have done something during the night that have resulted in a tiny split in his tail! Gaaaaah!!!!! 
Seems we have to go over the driftwood yet again and sand down edges even more! It seems Trevor is determend to ruin his lovely tail 

But I can't stay mad at him for long, just look at that face ^_^


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## DangerousAngel (Mar 26, 2015)

At least it's not nipping. It'll heal pretty quickly if it's just a tear.


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## Axeria (Feb 6, 2015)

DangerousAngel said:


> At least it's not nipping. It'll heal pretty quickly if it's just a tear.


Yeah I am happy for that, and it seems to have healed some while I have been away 

What I am less happy for is that I came home yesterday to a fish that clearly have been given to little food, he looks seriously skinny now, I broke up about 5 days of food in front of my hubby so he could se how it where done, wel he have not even used it all up in the 17 (!!!!) days I have been gone :shock: 

He have not been given a waterchange eiter and the tank glass have not been scraped for algae! 

This despite the fact that we had several days with coursing in bettacare before I left.

I am NOT pleased! :evil:


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## rubbie5837 (Dec 22, 2014)

Oh my. Well, at least Trevor is happy your back. I can picture him telling you everything that he did wrong. I can imagine the whole time thinking: "I'm gonna tell my momma on you!"


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## Axeria (Feb 6, 2015)

Haha it where pretty plain that he was gona tell on his dad thr only way he could  I could emediately see that Trev had shrunk D: He wil be ok tho I hope, he gets OO Micro once a day as breakfast and NLS in the evening to help him fatten up and I have changed about 80% of his water and added prime and a few IAL. He sure seems happy to get alot of attention again xD


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## rubbie5837 (Dec 22, 2014)

Lol. He will be fine. I almost lost all of my guys, and did lose all but 2 due to major less than ideal conditions. They had to stay in my car for a couple of days and thanks to me not pushing the issue and bringing them in despite my sister, I lost all but fuhua and Brady. I kick myself every day for that. And Brady almost didn't make it, and wouldn't have if I didn't bring them in immediatly.


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## Axeria (Feb 6, 2015)

Oh no! That is just terrible!!  poor you loosing your wonderful fishies  Dont feel bad though, we all make mistakes, the important thing is that we learn from them  I am glad you got to two of them in time! <3


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## rubbie5837 (Dec 22, 2014)

Yeah, I still feel horrible because I knew better than that. And she felt bad too because I was so upset and let me bring the last guys in and I got a 5 gallon kritter keeper for them so they at least have more space than those damn food containers and can have their heater. Brady has made a full recovery and is mostly back to his normal self. He was my show off guy, but he doesn't greet me like he used to and it took him a while to calm down being next to fuhua instead of Pico. He mostly guards his bubble nest and flares at fuhua and flares at wisp and me if I get too close to it.


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## Axeria (Feb 6, 2015)

I can see how you are struggeling with your concience after that, but try to just focus on your two guys that survived 

I am sure Brady wil great you as before when he calms down and are fully recovered after the ordeal  Fuhua is quite the fighter! He where in pretty bad shape when you got him if I remember correctly and still survived your mistake, that shows an amazing strength 

Again, don't beat yourself up! <3


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## rubbie5837 (Dec 22, 2014)

Thanks. I try to focus on them and their well-being. I'm still kinda stuck right now, but at least they have their heater and more space. I just have to depend on prime right now.


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## Axeria (Feb 6, 2015)

I am sure you get on top of everything pretty soon


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## Axeria (Feb 6, 2015)

*Update!*

Woooh!! Today I get some assassin snails to help with the snail problem in my tank. I am also getting about 10 blue jelly shrimp to try out, some are berried so I am really excited about getting them home 

I have put a feeding dish in the tank with some kalsium supplement in, a tiny block carefully calculated to fit my tank  

so here is the new layout! Sorry for the slight cloudiness xD


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## rubbie5837 (Dec 22, 2014)

Yeah, with pond or bladder snails, you start off with one tiny cute little snail and then in 1-2 months an explosion happens and you have too many to count. I love the tank though.


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## Axeria (Feb 6, 2015)

Yup they are a pest! So I am hoping my assassins wil have a chompfest on em so they can become less of a problem  

Thank you! I tried my best to make it a good home for Trev *and* the shrimps  

When I released the shrimps Trevor had great fun in chasing them around, but luckily he is not able to eat them because of his tiny mouth  He seems to have calmed abit now tho, and the shrimp are having a blast eating all the biofilm in the tank while he stares xD I am glad I let the tank mature before adding shrimp for sure 

It seems a few of them have molted already, I dunno if thats good or bad ;p


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## rubbie5837 (Dec 22, 2014)

Yeah, with Rubbie, the shrimp looked like an all you can eat Buffett. Even the guppies ate them. :-/


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## Axeria (Feb 6, 2015)

*Update*

Soo we have lost a few shrimp, but that was expected after the long trip they had. I have several males and females left so fingers crossed for breeding frenzy  

Trevor is now completely used to the shrimp, he have not chased any of them since they where released yesterday, I am really pleased! 

I also got some duckweed with the shrimp and snails and are loving it! Though I am completely aware of the potential for it to multiply like crazy ;p lol!

I am really liking my tank with some real floaters and more life on the bottom. The shrimp are really fun to watch, they are really busy critters zooming around the tank munching on all the gunk xD I love them <3


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## Axeria (Feb 6, 2015)

*Update!*

So the shrimp are doing great, they got a barley pellet yesterday and they swarmed like crazy on it, they hoarded some for future meals in various places of the tank. I have spotted one big berried female that I have nicknamed Big moma xD I hope we will get many shrimplets soon! 

The assassins are LAZY they have not eaten one single snail so far, but I hope they pick up their appetite soon. And I hope they might start breeding, I have four so far so I am keeping my fingers crossed that there are atleast one female in the bunch  


Trevor have again gotten a split in his fins, and I have no idea what is causing it! I have several times gone over ALL the decor in the tank with panyhose making sure NOTHING is sharp or have rough edges! It is driving me crazy! Now he have one huge split in his caudal fin and a scary huge one on his dorsal  I am starting to think Trev is a special needs betta cause he seems to have a hard time getting food into his mouth, he even get some of the slightly bigger crums of pellet stuck and I start stressing about it cause I really dont want him to starve or waste away before my eyes. He have some trubble with his coordination still and one of his ventrals are still looking really raggedy, altought he have healed alot and grown alot of webbing on that vent since I got him. 

I am at my vits end with this fish, just trying my best to make his home safe and secure and making sure he eats well, have upped his feedings to three times a day giving smaller portions. He is missing so much food cause of his bad swimming and hyperactive behaviour while feeding. The shrimps and assassins are atleast helping me keeping the mess to a minimum even tho I use the turky baster frequently to pick up any uneaten food. 

Still I feel like a bad fishmom... just look at the state of him!

Some pics:

Trev and his lazy Assassin friends









ugh! look at that gash! Dx









Raggety vent for sure!









<3









Chillin' on the bottom abit.









Checking out the shrimpcave











Big moma!










On top of the world!









busy little shrimps


















peekaboo!









One lazy assassin xD


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## Axeria (Feb 6, 2015)

Whoo! I see some empty snailshells today  Maybe my Assassins are not that lazy after all


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## rubbie5837 (Dec 22, 2014)

Lol. Don't feel bad. Brady looks like hell but he refuses to munch his fins to lighten up the weight so they look horrible.


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## Axeria (Feb 6, 2015)

Lol, Brady does not look THAT bad. But if he refuses to munch, have you thought about reading up on fin triming? 
Its kinda hard being a betta owner I think, every little split in his fins I take as me not being able to give him a safe enough home. But what can you do? I have already checked every inch of everything in his tank... I wonder tho what more I could do... I just hope he is not munching his fins, but to me it does not look like that.


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## rubbie5837 (Dec 22, 2014)

It could be that he is blowing them? Maybe he flairs and is a show off like Brady. But I thought that because he was like that, I wouldn't have to worry about his fins collapsing, but I was wrong. And I've thought about trimming but due to the situation I'm in, I would be too afraid to do more harm than good.


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## Axeria (Feb 6, 2015)

Well it might be that, but are not blowing fins usually showing as holes rather than tears? I see him flaring a couple of times a day, usually because he sees himself in the side of the tank  

I feel ya, the thought of trimming is really scary and I dont think I would have the courage to do it myself


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## rubbie5837 (Dec 22, 2014)

Yeah, blowing could be small holes or rips. Picasso would split all the time trying to be a halfmoon when he was a delta. He rarely flared, but he would go all out when he did. He was my sweet quite guy for the most part.


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## Axeria (Feb 6, 2015)

Wow I just got a real scare! Trev was inside the shrimpcave! I just saw his tail sticking out one side and his grumpy mouth out the other side  I was sure he where stuck so I franticly got the lid of ready to save him, you know what happened? He just gracefully slid out of the cave looking at me like "hey! Its feeding time right?". Pheew! Panick over and I started laughing 

Lol Picasso sounds like he where awesome despite blowing his fins


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## Axeria (Feb 6, 2015)

*A pic taken just now:*

Some shrimp and a baby assassino!!! \0/


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## Axeria (Feb 6, 2015)

I am here with a really sad update  Trevor have passed on to the big ocean in the sky :'( he where perfectly fine yesterday when I went to bed after feeding him his nightly OO micro pellets and this morning I could not find him. 
Because I am pregnant I had my OH look for him as the natural smell of the aquarium is stronger for me now and makes me puke. When he found him he made me come over because he did not know if it where him, but it was, I have eaten enough fish to recognize fish bones. The Assassins and shrimp had eaten him all up in one night! Some where still picking the bones clean! I where horrified! But now I see that this is only natural, although really sad as I wanted to give him a funeral.

Goodbye lovely Trevor, you made my days ALOT brighter and where always such a happy fellow whenever I came to spend some time with you. I wil miss our morning and night interactions where I crushed you pellets so it where easy for you to eat. You where such a nice little fish, never bothered the shrimp and always had a flare so spare for your mirror. You will be sorely missed ❤


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## rubbie5837 (Dec 22, 2014)

Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry. I know how much you loved him and spoiled him rotten.


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## Axeria (Feb 6, 2015)

Thank you, it was so sudden I have no idea what happened to him poor guy


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## tiffanylucky (Nov 6, 2013)

Tiffy died yesterday too. I just put her in the ground this morning. I wanted to save another betta asap to get them out of the small cup. I ended up finding this adorable small boy that I named Hamlet.


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## tiffanylucky (Nov 6, 2013)

Tiffy was three when she died and Jaws and I were by her side when she died. Jaws has been really depressed about not being able to see his flare buddy anymore. He has not met Hamlet yet because I haven't cleaned out my other five gallon tank yet.


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## LadyNightraven (Jun 30, 2013)

I'm so sorry about Trevor's passing, Axeria. It's never easy losing a beloved animal friend. My Rakki passed away in July, and I still miss him even though I've welcomed a new little betta girl into my home. May Trevor swim in peace in the big rice paddy in the sky.


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## Axeria (Feb 6, 2015)

Hello all my fishy friends! 

Thank you for the lovely posts regarding Trevor's passing. It where really sad and I wish I got to keep him for alot longer, but being a little handicapped I believe he got the best life I could possibly have given him.

Things have happened since I where here last, firstly I am to become a mom, like for real, to a human baby. We are expecting a little boy in about 13 weeks. I can not tell you how wierd, amazing and exciting this journey have been. Being pregnant is just not like anything I have ever experianced :shock:

Because of space issues and time management conserns I really had no choice but to sell the beautiful rabbit I bought. Please understand that if I knew I where pregers at the time of purchase I would NEVER have bought Sølve and the sadness I felt having to let him go where all consuming for a time. I really loved that little rabbit!! But my son have to come first, and that ment making space for various baby stuff and to make sure I had time and energy to follow up on my pregnancy and soon my little boy.
Please no mean coments about this, I am and always will be a caring, experianced and comitted owner, but I also have to think about what is best for me, my son and my husband. 

Anyways, the reason I am back here is because I got a suprise yesterday! I have been feeling abit down this week due to a mysterious rash on my leg that itches like crazy! So to cheer me up my hubby brought home a lovely Red VT with Teal irids. He knew I had been wanting to get a new fish and that I felt ready for it having come to terms with the loss of Trevor and Sølve. I had been brooding over the empty tank for a while, only having a few shrimps left, so this was a really welcome suprise. 

So say hello to Templar! (The name is a reference to the Red Templars in Dragon age Inquisition)


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## rubbie5837 (Dec 22, 2014)

WOW! First off, super congratulations on the new baby on the way. Pregnancy is so tough the first and last 3 months. I totally don't miss the pregnancy skin. Or the lack of being comfortable no matter how many pillows or no matter what position I am in. It's entirely worth every sleepless night. I promise. There is nothing like learning to live with your heart outside of your body. And I'm completely with you on the fact that you have to do what's best for everyone. I always ask people which is better: neglect my responsabilities as a mother and responsable pet parent when I know someone will be neglected, or do the responsable thing and rehome where no one will suffer. Your husband will be neglected enough. Never let someone bash you for doing what you feel is right. Ok... 
Secondly, what a cutie templar is. I miss my boys so much. I at least still have Brady, but have no interest in getting any more fish until I have my own place. With 2 dogs and 3 ferrets, plus Brady to care for on top of my responsibilities to my son, it's alot to cope with. Luckily, my son is 9, so he is alot less work than a newborn. I truly wish you the very best and a happy and healthy baby boy.


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## BettaStarter24 (Mar 24, 2014)

Congrats on the baby!

Sorry about Trevor and Solve but Templar is gorgeous! My mom just unexpectedly lost her big giant Kevin overnight and is pretty upset about it, we're going tomorrow night after I'm done with classes see if we can find her something at petco that she likes. I'm pretty bummed about Kevin as well, I really liked him. 

Don't feel bad about having to rehome Solve. I think you did the right thing if you knew you wouldnt have the time for him. You're absolutely right, your baby and your husband and you come first. And You did the right thing by that bunny by rehoming him instead of not having the time for him. Though I'm sorry you had to rehome him, I know how that is to have to rehome/sell a beloved pet due to time issues. I had to sell my Sun Conure Cheeto before I went to college because he wasn't allowed in the dorms and it was hard.


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## Axeria (Feb 6, 2015)

rubbie5837 said:


> WOW! First off, super congratulations on the new baby on the way. Pregnancy is so tough the first and last 3 months. I totally don't miss the pregnancy skin. Or the lack of being comfortable no matter how many pillows or no matter what position I am in. It's entirely worth every sleepless night. I promise. There is nothing like learning to live with your heart outside of your body. And I'm completely with you on the fact that you have to do what's best for everyone. I always ask people which is better: neglect my responsabilities as a mother and responsable pet parent when I know someone will be neglected, or do the responsable thing and rehome where no one will suffer. Your husband will be neglected enough. Never let someone bash you for doing what you feel is right. Ok...
> Secondly, what a cutie templar is. I miss my boys so much. I at least still have Brady, but have no interest in getting any more fish until I have my own place. With 2 dogs and 3 ferrets, plus Brady to care for on top of my responsibilities to my son, it's alot to cope with. Luckily, my son is 9, so he is alot less work than a newborn. I truly wish you the very best and a happy and healthy baby boy.


Thank you! :-D And I totally agree, pregnancy can be frustrating at times. I was lucky and had no morning sicknes, not even the first 12 weeks,my boobs hurt like heck tho I still felt I could not complain xD Now I am starting to feel like crap! My skin is too oily and I got my first zits as an adult the other day, my belly is big and yep as you say I feel uncomfortable in every possible possition. My dad bought me an amazing pillow tho, so I am getting enough sleep for the moment, it is the BBhugme pregnancy pillow, I LOVE it! It has these tiny little granules inside that silently forms to my body so the pillow feels like its especially made for me. It is good to have some support for a growing belly and aching hips. I can use it under my head, belly and between my legs at the same time, its just awesome! I am feeling him kick every day now and that is wonderful, he is even kicking as I type this, so its not all bad. We are calling him Marco btw, we both love the name and had it picked before the 18 weeks scan, luckily we got a boy so no need to fight over a girlsname, we just could not agree at all on that  

I totally agree on the fact that rehoming Sølve was the best for all involved. The majority of people agree with me but people in the rabbit comunity have not been so kind, one lady even told me that I should just get an abortion because we are to many people anyways :shock: I tell you some people are just insane! And while I might agree on the overpopulation issue I certanly will not add to that by getting ONE child! I was to put it mildly shocked by her statement, and even more so when it started getting likes! I mean, come on! Loving animals is all good and I am all for being a responsible carer for them, but you can not let that come in the way of how you treat other human beigns.

Lol I totaly see how you might not want to buy any more, it seems you have plenty to look after just now xD I really hope you get your own place soon! Nothing beats the feeling that you can do what you want when you want and not being under someones mercy. I hope you are doing good  





BettaStarter24 said:


> Congrats on the baby!
> 
> Sorry about Trevor and Solve but Templar is gorgeous! My mom just unexpectedly lost her big giant Kevin overnight and is pretty upset about it, we're going tomorrow night after I'm done with classes see if we can find her something at petco that she likes. I'm pretty bummed about Kevin as well, I really liked him.
> 
> Don't feel bad about having to rehome Solve. I think you did the right thing if you knew you wouldnt have the time for him. You're absolutely right, your baby and your husband and you come first. And You did the right thing by that bunny by rehoming him instead of not having the time for him. Though I'm sorry you had to rehome him, I know how that is to have to rehome/sell a beloved pet due to time issues. I had to sell my Sun Conure Cheeto before I went to college because he wasn't allowed in the dorms and it was hard.


Thank you  Sorry for your mom loosing her giant, she must feel so sad. And sorry about you having to rehome your Sun Conure. It is never a good feeling to loose an animal, no matter the reason. Maybe you can get another one another time


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## rubbie5837 (Dec 22, 2014)

Lol. My son's dad didn't get a single pillow or really a spot on the bed for that matter. He even got me a giant stuffed dog which ended up being my tummy pillow. And OMG I love the name Marco. I recently went on a field trip to the Smithsonian institution with my son's class. I was in charge of 4 little boys and my son. One of the little boy's name is Marco. The only reason I remember is because EVERY SINGLE TIME I turned around, I was asking "where's Marco? " That was the longest 4 hours of my entire life.


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## Axeria (Feb 6, 2015)

rubbie5837 said:


> Lol. My son's dad didn't get a single pillow or really a spot on the bed for that matter. He even got me a giant stuffed dog which ended up being my tummy pillow. And OMG I love the name Marco. I recently went on a field trip to the Smithsonian institution with my son's class. I was in charge of 4 little boys and my son. One of the little boy's name is Marco. The only reason I remember is because EVERY SINGLE TIME I turned around, I was asking "where's Marco? " That was the longest 4 hours of my entire life.


Haha!! My hubby has not yet gone on the couch to sleep, but I still have 3 months to grow so he might end up there ;p
Lol that little boy sounds like he where a handfull xD That might be the case of mine too, he is super active already. I just wait for the day he gives my rib a real kick, luckily he does not reach that far yet. last week he had a blast kicking me in my bladder, this week he is sort of all over the place :lol: 
Just 13 more weeks to go, it is exciting! I do feel the strongest urge to nest, and have started doing so, but have not come very far yet  Got some clothes, a changing table with a mat and a diaper stacker/organizer from munchkin, a little baby tub with a stand so I dont ruin my back on baths, a daybed from Stokke and some random toys and stroller accesories. I feel I have some ways to go yet before I am done for sure xD


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## rubbie5837 (Dec 22, 2014)

Oh I remember the nesting. Even my dog was pissed at me. I have OCD so nesting went to the extreme with me. My son stayed in my ribs so every kick was straight to my lungs. XD I guess he wanted to stay close to my heart because that's exactly where his head stayed until I went into labor. My dr was getting concerned because she didn't want him staying breeched. I was 18 while I was pregnant and the last trimester was during one of our hottest summers on record. That was the absolute worst summer ever! Then add a ton of other problems to the mix... Well, my son was the only good thing that happened to me that year. Wait until the hot flashes start up. This last pregnacy, I was happy because it was going through the fall and winter so it wasn't going to be as rough. Oh... the heartburn was horrible since my son stayed so high. But aside from all of the complaints, I would do it all over again because I wouldn't want to imagine life without him. It's truly the hardest but most rewarding job you will ever do. It gives you proof that there is nothing stronger and more valuable than being a woman.


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## Axeria (Feb 6, 2015)

rubbie5837 said:


> Oh I remember the nesting. Even my dog was pissed at me. I have OCD so nesting went to the extreme with me. My son stayed in my ribs so every kick was straight to my lungs. XD I guess he wanted to stay close to my heart because that's exactly where his head stayed until I went into labor. My dr was getting concerned because she didn't want him staying breeched. I was 18 while I was pregnant and the last trimester was during one of our hottest summers on record. That was the absolute worst summer ever! Then add a ton of other problems to the mix... Well, my son was the only good thing that happened to me that year. Wait until the hot flashes start up. This last pregnacy, I was happy because it was going through the fall and winter so it wasn't going to be as rough. Oh... the heartburn was horrible since my son stayed so high. But aside from all of the complaints, I would do it all over again because I wouldn't want to imagine life without him. It's truly the hardest but most rewarding job you will ever do. It gives you proof that there is nothing stronger and more valuable than being a woman.


Lol my dog is also not very happy about his favorite corner of the living room being ocupied by a daybed for Marco  He get to keep his place in the bedroom tho  And hubby is getting frustrated about all the money he does not get to use on candy, fancy dinners and games for the xbox 
My uterus has not yet reached my ribs, so I keep hoping that when it does he wont be kicking me there  I am lucky to give birth in may, I wont be going around super pregers in the heat of summer. I am having insane heartburn! It gets so bad some nights i sit and sleep while chugging Gaviscon xD But I figure it all has to be worth it! It is funny but I am not scared of the birth, I am a woman. I am made for this, and I am secure in my ability to give birth  
Glad your boy decided to turn around during the labour, I hear breach birthing is even harder on the mom than normal deliveries, much easier to tear and such. 
I am glad to be a woman for sure! I have never felt anything so moving and amazing as when Marco is kicking. He now reacts to me aswel, I give my tummy a rub and he answers with some kicks, it is just wonderful <3


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## rubbie5837 (Dec 22, 2014)

Yeah, my dog that I had felt like he had to constantly keep me in his sight. So since I couldn't sit still, he never got to sit still. He normally was terrified of children, but he was extremely respectful of my son when he was born. He would just sniff in his direction and would just lay down close by so he could observe from a distance. I was slightly concerned about how it would have been when my son became mobile. And my cat was absolutely terrified of my son. Although, shippo was terrified of everything. He was a true fraidy cat. But I was crazy protective of my son so I definitely wouldn't leave a pet around my son unsupervised. I'm still that way with the ferrets. I know my son and I know animals will react to improper handling and that means bites.


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## Axeria (Feb 6, 2015)

Haha Heike is like that too! He follows me everywhere, I have not been alone on the toilet since I bought him four years ago xD
I am really wondering how Heike is going to react, he have met toddlers before and where so up in their face and excited that we had to yell at him to go to his bed several times  No agression, just overjoyed with the tiny human he could sniff and lick xD 
Oh yes, ferrets and biting, I could write a book! My hobs have been super respectful when trained not to bite, but the one doe I had did bite no matter how much we tried, all unprotected skin where fair game in her mind, she hang from my cheek and chin several times before I just could not cope with her anymore and sent her to this crazy ferret lady I know who keeps biters in groups with other biters as they seem to go on well with other ferrets but not humans. I need pets I can handle, and my hobs Dexter and Bonus where such joys to have around. The stresslevel on all of us went down after rehoming Yrja the biter  lol they did bite anyone else who where not familiar with handling ferrets tho xD


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## rubbie5837 (Dec 22, 2014)

Yeah, wisp is a dream ferret aside from the fact she isn't much of a snuggler. When she does feel like snuggling, she is very kissy. But she mostly has ferret things to do and doesn't have time to snuggle. She rules the boys with an iron jaw though. She is half the size of the smaller boy, Fergus, and Sampson is twice the size of Fergus. She whips those boys into shape. I've only had the boys for almost 2 weeks, and they have been a dream. I trust my son to be able to handle wisp, but the boys haven't gained my trust yet, so they aren't handled at all by my son. And Sampson has started showing signs of adrenal, so both boys are waiting on their DES implants to come in so they can start treatment. He isn't as bad as a rutty hob, but has definitely shown practicing signs although he is a mill ferret so was neutered at a very young age. I wish the us was like other countries, and not allow spay/neuter and removing scent glands so early. Fergus is estimated to be 9 months- 1 year old. He shouldn't be suffering from adrenal. Sampson is estimated to be roughly 3-4 years old, so adrenal isn't unusual. These guys were rescues from a horrific situation. Fergus weighed almost 12 ounces and Sampson weighed almost 26 ounces. Now Fergus weighs 40 oz and Sampson weighs 68.8 oz. That's with plenty of love and regular meals. Fergus had what appeared to be an electrical burn in his mouth and shifted teeth probably due to cage rages. It's amazing how disgusting people can be and wish they would have been dropped off sooner instead of waiting for them to get so horribly bad. So I'm always happy for someone being a responsible pet owner and know when it's best to rehome.


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## Axeria (Feb 6, 2015)

rubbie5837 said:


> Yeah, wisp is a dream ferret aside from the fact she isn't much of a snuggler. When she does feel like snuggling, she is very kissy. But she mostly has ferret things to do and doesn't have time to snuggle. She rules the boys with an iron jaw though. She is half the size of the smaller boy, Fergus, and Sampson is twice the size of Fergus. She whips those boys into shape. I've only had the boys for almost 2 weeks, and they have been a dream. I trust my son to be able to handle wisp, but the boys haven't gained my trust yet, so they aren't handled at all by my son. And Sampson has started showing signs of adrenal, so both boys are waiting on their DES implants to come in so they can start treatment. He isn't as bad as a rutty hob, but has definitely shown practicing signs although he is a mill ferret so was neutered at a very young age. I wish the us was like other countries, and not allow spay/neuter and removing scent glands so early. Fergus is estimated to be 9 months- 1 year old. He shouldn't be suffering from adrenal. Sampson is estimated to be roughly 3-4 years old, so adrenal isn't unusual. These guys were rescues from a horrific situation. Fergus weighed almost 12 ounces and Sampson weighed almost 26 ounces. Now Fergus weighs 40 oz and Sampson weighs 68.8 oz. That's with plenty of love and regular meals. Fergus had what appeared to be an electrical burn in his mouth and shifted teeth probably due to cage rages. It's amazing how disgusting people can be and wish they would have been dropped off sooner instead of waiting for them to get so horribly bad. So I'm always happy for someone being a responsible pet owner and know when it's best to rehome.


Aww they sound lovely! And good on whisp for keeping the boys well behaved 
I have always felt so sorry for millferrets, and so many ferrets dont get the proper care either, so I am happy to hear the boys are with you, it seems they wil have a much better life now  
In Norway it is Ilegal to remove the scentglands, and we dont spay or neuter until the ferret is old enough, cant remember at what age tho.

Templar is doing pretty well, he is very good at eating, which is a new experiance for me as Trevor where very hard to feed.
He has calmed down now too, he wont flare at everything in his tank as soon as the light comes on and he dont care about his own reflection in the glass anymore. Still surfs on the glass abit when he sees me, but I think that is just because of him getting exited :lol:


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## rubbie5837 (Dec 22, 2014)

Here's all 3 of them, and then the boys chilling in their hammock. Wisp is underneath the mound of boys.


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## Axeria (Feb 6, 2015)

Awww! They are gorgeous! I miss having ferrets!! They bring so much joy to a household  
We have decided tho that we wont get anymore animals while Marco is little , a dog and a fish wil be plenty while taking care of a baby


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