# Mister Rogers Neighborhood



## ShelbysFish (Sep 5, 2013)

... or fish tank... whichever you would like to call it. :lol:










Welcome to our journal! My name is Shelby. You've seen me around as a new Betta mother who is very new but trudging through. You've all been amazing, thank you for taking the time out of your day to answer questions!

Here is where I will post photos and updates on my new boy, Mister Rogers. 

He is a koi halfmoon betta and he is such a cute little guy, still very young. Our current set up is the Marineland Portrait 5 Gallon tank. 

Check below to see our newest journal updates, and we thank you for checking us out!

:thankyou:


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## ShelbysFish (Sep 5, 2013)

4/1/2016

Alright, well this is Mister Rogers' second day with us! He arrived via mail yesterday. He is from Thailand but was shipped from a breeder in Michigan so he had quite a trip to Florida, but he is loving his tank.

The amazing breeder I bought him from also sent me a little package at her own cost of food, worm culture, indian almond leaves, and tons of papers on bettas, breeding, cycling, ect. 










Gonna be scary to try to grow these worms for my boy, but we shall see. lol. I'll keep you guys updated on the status of that.

Also, the food she sent me is the food she had been feeding him. It's *Kens Growth Pellets*. _Has anyone used these? _I made about about it: Here. They are so tiny I'm having the hardest time. Always floats to the bottom or tries to go in filter.

Well, we are also beginning our cycle which means checked the water today and it was at .25ppm from Ammonia, so we did a 25% water change today. Will check again tomorrow, adding Stability tonight.


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## ShelbysFish (Sep 5, 2013)

4/2/16

Good afternoon everyone. Mister Rogers has been out and about more today, so that makes me happy.

We added Stability last night, and checked the water levels today.
Ammonia: .25ppm
Nitrite: 0ppm
pH: 7.2

So we will be doing a 25% water change again today and continuing with the Stability.

Also, got a start on culturing his worms! Takes about a month to harvest.

Still having a hard time with these Ken's Growth pellets. Never seen such tiny pellets in my life, so I am not sure how many to feed him or how to keep from making a mess in the substrate. Poo. Bought a turkey baster today, but I dont think even that's gonna be able to do the job.


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## Captain Balu (Aug 4, 2015)

Sweet mother of Holyness, is Mister Rogers a beauty! :shock:

I would appreciate some full tank pictures as well, since it looks like you have some live plants and soil? Always love natural planted tanks. 

And what a nice breeder you have. Sending such a care package is first very nice and secondly very thoughtful of him/her! The world needs more breeder like him/her!


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## ShelbysFish (Sep 5, 2013)

Captain Balu said:


> Sweet mother of Holyness, is Mister Rogers a beauty! :shock:
> 
> I would appreciate some full tank pictures as well, since it looks like you have some live plants and soil? Always love natural planted tanks.
> 
> And what a nice breeder you have. Sending such a care package is first very nice and secondly very thoughtful of him/her! The world needs more breeder like him/her!


Thank you so much!!

Sure, I will include a photo below. It's Aquavitro Substrate made for aquarium plants. My tank is just a 5 gallon though...










The plant in the back center is silk, the one in the back right is a Jungle Val, back left is Micro Sword, up front is my moss ball and sadly at the front right is an Amazon Sword that isn't doing too well.  Working on him. lol

And yes, the breeder is amazing. She has an ebay, I will link HERE. She has about 3 up right now.


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## ShelbysFish (Sep 5, 2013)

4/3

Made a post about this but not sure what is going on with my cycle at this point. lol

Ammonia: .25ppm
Nitrite: 0ppm
Just out of curiosity I checked my NitrATE: 15ppm

WHAT? lol

I honestly didn't expect to have anything. I guess this is a good thing?

Still reading those .25ppm ammonia though, so did a 25% water change again this afternoon, and added my Stability in again tonight.

Does this mean my cycle is doing good? I haven't heard of many people getting moderate Nitrates on day 3 of fish in cycling. 

Mister Rogers is doing well other than that.  He absolutely loves when you put your face up to the tank. He will swim up to the tank and stare at you. 

Right now he's resting, so I guess that's it for today!


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## ShelbysFish (Sep 5, 2013)

4/4

Good evening!

We are on Day 4 of fish in cycling, and he's doing great! My tank is very interesting.

Ammonia: 25ppm
Nitrite: 0ppm
Nitrate: 15ppm (again)

I decided out of curiosity to check the Nitrates in my spring water alone, and they were at a solid 10ppm. Hmm.

Anywho, did another 25% water change today with my new gravel vac. I was scared to use this for the first time, as Mister Rogers absolutely loves any "tube" like thing in his tank, as he thinks it brings him food. He will get as close as possible to said object, but I put panty hose over the end just in case. lol

Funny moment of the day: he flared at me! I walked into the room and I guess he wasn't expecting me, and I noticed he was spreading his tail out and puffing up at me, strutting around the tank.

I put my face up to the glass and once he got a look at me he stopped flaring, but my goodness! haha. Glad he is already possessive of his tank, and he looks *SO* handsome flaring! I will try to get a picture next time, as I hear I should be doing daily mirror exercises.


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## ashleynicol3 (Feb 23, 2016)

Panty hose over the end of the gravel vac is a good idea! Might have to try that.

Mister Rogers is a good looking fish! 

Hopefully you get your tank cycled soon. It's kinda weird that there's nitrate in your spring water. I used Deer Park spring water to start and it was all 0s for ammonia and nitrate/nitrate. Now I'm mixing spring and tap.

I'd love to see Mister Rogers flare if you can get a picture! I bet he looks great!


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## ShelbysFish (Sep 5, 2013)

ashleynicol3 said:


> Panty hose over the end of the gravel vac is a good idea! Might have to try that.
> 
> Mister Rogers is a good looking fish!
> 
> ...


Thanks so much! :-D

Honestly, it's been a life saver. haha. I swear if I didn't have the panyhose on there, he would find a way inside. 

Agreed. Fingers crossed things finally get to zero. I feel so abnormal having to do 25% water changes every single day thus far, but hopefully in the long run it will work out!

Yes, I just got some photos of him flaring at a mirror tonight! Will post below...


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## ShelbysFish (Sep 5, 2013)

4/5

Same water test results for day 5, so not gonna bother posting that info again. Did another 25% water change!

Now for the fun part... did Mister Rogers first flare exercise and I fell in love with him even more!! He looked absolutely gorgeous. Gonna make one of these my new avatar for sure. See below for photos! :-D


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## ashleynicol3 (Feb 23, 2016)

He is gorgeous! I tried to get Neptune to flare last night and he totally ignored the mirror, lol.


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## ShelbysFish (Sep 5, 2013)

ashleynicol3 said:


> He is gorgeous! I tried to get Neptune to flare last night and he totally ignored the mirror, lol.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Thanks so much!

Yeah, sometimes you have to move it to a different side to see if they will notice. But I have heard of some betta's not flaring, so maybe that's your case!


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## ShelbysFish (Sep 5, 2013)

4/6

Alright, so same old same old with my cycling thus far. Ammonia reads .25ppm, nitrite, 0ppm. Nitrate still 15ppm.

I think I am going to get my water tested tomorrow at my LFS, because I think I might have a faulty bottle of Ammonia Bottle #1. My bottle has a yellowish tint, and I heard it's supposed to be a clear liquid, so this doesnt sound right even though it says it doesn't expire until 2020. Sigh.

Will be curious if my LFS has a different reading, will let you know.

In good news, went the the store and bought Mister Rogers some frozen mysis shrimp today. Very cheap and lasts a LONG time with just one betta! He loved it!! 

Will have to add this to his diet regularly for some variety.

That's all for today!


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## ShelbysFish (Sep 5, 2013)

4/8

Haven't updated the journal in a few days. Still in the process of cycling and such! 

Sad I had to trim some of the dead leaves off my Amazon Sword today, but hoping for new growth. There was still some green roots, so I'm not giving up on it just yet.

It has a root tab underneath, but I have also added Flourish liquid fert to give it some extra love and it wouldn't hurt my other plants either.  

Went to Petsmart today to get a few things, and there was a BEAUTIFUL Halfmoon Dumbo I almost kidnapped, I had never seen such a pretty betta at petsmart. Hope it finds a home soon, as I'm full with Mister Rogers right now. haha

Anyway, that's about it for today! I will take a photo soon of my amazon sword's trimmings and hopefully it starts to grow. New to this plant stuff.

Mister Rogers flared at me today! I think I scared him when I walked in the room because he was flaring. lol. Then once I put my face near the tank and he saw it was me, he didn't care at all! Now I know not to scare him, even on accident.


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## ShelbysFish (Sep 5, 2013)

4/10

It looks like my cycling process is coming to a close soon! Definitely looks closer to 0ppm Ammonia today. So happy about that.

Also, got a custom painting done of my little guy from an artist on Etsy, this is the photo! Will be shipped soon, then I'll take a photo of that...


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## ShelbysFish (Sep 5, 2013)

4/11

Well my boy seems a little stressed today. Saw him flaring twice this evening. Not sure what he is stressed about? I dont know if all of a sudden he can see himself in his tank, but that doesn't seem likely. I can look through and see all the way to the other end.

Interesting.

Added another piece of an almond leaf to try and help him relax!


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## ShelbysFish (Sep 5, 2013)

SO so happy it looks like my tank is finally cycled. I can't speak too soon since it's only been a few days, and I know it has to be "stable", but so far no flair ups!

Also, I'm thinking of replacing the silk plant in the back of my tank. I'm having so many issues with my other plants, I'm worried its hogging all the light. But I love the look of it taking up space in the back... so did Mister Rogers! He loves to sleep behind it, but I'm thinking of taking it out and putting in real plants in the back, hopefully that wouldn't stress him out too much. 

Finnex Stingray arrives tomorrow, curious to see how that works! Will take a photo once it arrives.


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## ashleynicol3 (Feb 23, 2016)

Fingers crossed that your tank is cycled!


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## ShelbysFish (Sep 5, 2013)

ashleynicol3 said:


> Fingers crossed that your tank is cycled!
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Thank you so much!

So far again today, it looks like it is. Hallelujah!!


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## ShelbysFish (Sep 5, 2013)

4/13

The Finnex Stingray arrived today, and I think it looks pretty good. I forgot to take a photo, I'm sorry!! I will tomorrow, I promise. Hopefully it will help my plants. 

I had been leaving my light on until "bed time", but it gets dark here at 7pm and I believe that with my tank light still on that he can see his reflection somehow on the glass, because I find him flaring at night when it starts to get dark?

Poor guy probably thinks some intruder keeps showing up! Not gonna do that anymore. I even tried the "moonlight" setting and it didnt help so when the sun starts to go down, so will his tank light. lol


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## ashleynicol3 (Feb 23, 2016)

My betta does the same thing if I leave his tank light on after it gets dark! Can't wait to see pics of your tank with the light. I want one for my tank, but I don't think I can make it work with the hood. Bummer!


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## ShelbysFish (Sep 5, 2013)

ashleynicol3 said:


> My betta does the same thing if I leave his tank light on after it gets dark! Can't wait to see pics of your tank with the light. I want one for my tank, but I don't think I can make it work with the hood. Bummer!
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Good to hear I'm not the only one!! :roll:


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## ShelbysFish (Sep 5, 2013)

4/14

So as I said, the Finnex Stingray arrived yesterday. The one I have for my 5 gallon is the 10 inch...



















So far I have already seen some growth in my new leaf on my Amazon Sword!  So woo hoo for that. haha

Also, I can also tell the difference in brightness. 

In other good news, today I got my custom painting from an Etsy artist of Mister Rogers! I absolutely love it!! Sorry for crapping lighting in this one, but here is the full thing:


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## ashleynicol3 (Feb 23, 2016)

That is so cool!


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## ShelbysFish (Sep 5, 2013)

Thank you Ashley! 

4/16

Mister Rogers is officially in the April photo contest! You can vote for him HERE.

No new updates as of yet. Ordered a plant package from JDAquatics, so I will be very excited to aquascape some with those. That silk plants has got to go!!


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## ShelbysFish (Sep 5, 2013)

4/17

So it looks like I am at a battle with the sun these days. Just as the sun even starts to set, it makes my room a TAD darker, but for some reason this seems to effect the glass on the tank so that he can see his reflection, I guess! So I'm going to have to try to keep my room light on earlier than I thought. Who knows how long that guy was in there flaring cause I didn't realize it made a difference before it was even dark! lol


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## ShelbysFish (Sep 5, 2013)

4/18

Sun: 0
Me: 1!

Ha!! No flaring at his reflection today.  Made sure I had my room light on before the sun started to set, all good here. lol

Also, Mister Rogers has discovered how to follow my finger. I swear he acts like a puppy.


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## ShelbysFish (Sep 5, 2013)

My plant package arrived today!! It was like Santa came.

Mister Rogers seems to love it. :-D

Had a hard time getting some to stay down into the substrate... looks like I'm gonna have to tie my Java Fern to a rock as it doesn't want its roots to go down. 

I applaud the aquascapers of this hobby. It's a LOT harder than it looks!!

I will take a picture tomorrow once I get it all situation how I'd like and the dirt settles completely from messing in the substrate.


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## ThatFishThough (Jan 15, 2016)

Exactly. Lol people just are like "looks easy. Just stick Em in the substrate, and it's all good!" Then their OCD kicks in.


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## ashleynicol3 (Feb 23, 2016)

Agreed! After I switched from gravel to sand, I couldn't get anything to stay down, so I said forget it and let it all float. I actually like the way it turned out, so it was a happy accident! Much easier for me because like ThatFishThough said, my OCD was definitely kicking in when trying to arrange everything!


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## ShelbysFish (Sep 5, 2013)

Oh my gosh, you guys feel my pain. hahaha

A lot more work than people think for sure, and I definitely got my taste! Stubborn plants...


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## ShelbysFish (Sep 5, 2013)

4/21

Exciting news, and bad news.... BEWARE THE LONG POST (w/ lots of pictures). ;-)

Got my Betta house that I ordered from WhiteCitrus on Etsy (she made the openings wider for me as I was concerned since he's a HM). And I adore it!!










Look how gorgeous that is... and all her ceramics are tank safe, so I definitely recommend checking out her Etsy.

Also, I got my plant package from JDaquatics yesterday, and planted them last night. I love the jungle look. Mister Rogers does too, he's been exploring since yesterday. lol. The betta house was an extra treat.

Great quality plants for beginners! If anyone is interested I can give a list of what I've got.

Here is the finished product...










Mister Rogers already has claimed it all as his own. Our conversation went as follows...

_"My plants... don't touch..."_










_"Oh, you talkin' to me?"_










_"Okay... just don't touch..."_










:lol:

The bad news... is that sadly after doing all these changes in the tank my newly cycled tank is now... showing ammonia. Only .25ppm but still. D: Made a post about it here for more info: http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?p=7336977#post7336977


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## ashleynicol3 (Feb 23, 2016)

Looking good! Sorry to hear that you're showing ammonia now! Maybe it was a false positive and if you check it today, it will be 0? We can hope!


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## ShelbysFish (Sep 5, 2013)

ashleynicol3 said:


> Looking good! Sorry to hear that you're showing ammonia now! Maybe it was a false positive and if you check it today, it will be 0? We can hope!
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Thank you! Yes, we can hope... especially since I did a partial water change...
Testing this afternoon when I get home from work, will let you know!


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## AstrosMom (Apr 7, 2016)

That house is adorable!


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## ShelbysFish (Sep 5, 2013)

AstrosMom said:


> That house is adorable!


Thank you so much!!

Alright, update for you all... checked my water parameters the past couple days and ammonia has been at 0ppm. :/ So must have just been a fluke?


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## ShelbysFish (Sep 5, 2013)

Mister Rogers has been exploring his new house more, and is loving it!!  I'm so happy. It's been so fun to see him swimming behind the plants and in the house. He loves his little jungle, and I'm proud of it. Hoping to keep it as healthy as possible!

Root tabs, clay tabs for my root feeders, and Flourish Comp are my friends right now, hopefully it does the job. Not sure if I should be dosing Excel as well.

I am thinking of adding a snail in here as well to help with some algae I get on my plant in the back, so I couldn't use Excel once that happens.


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## ShelbysFish (Sep 5, 2013)

Ugh, I'm so frustrated. My hornworts now have BLACK parts on them?? Never heard of this... I will take a picture tomorrow to get some input and post in in the plant section of the forum. It's not from lack of light either, so I have no idea what's going on. So sad.


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## ShelbysFish (Sep 5, 2013)

Well Mister Rogers just got a new friend! 
Say hello to Jeffrey our new nerite snail. He was so excited for him to get out of the bag, but once I took him out he looked at him and has left him alone since. haha

Seems like there will be no troubles!


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## shellsie (Apr 6, 2016)

Jeffrey is an excellent name for a snail :3 hope everything is still going well!!


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## ShelbysFish (Sep 5, 2013)

I will be going to the IBC Florida show tomorrow! I'm not entering Mister Rogers this round, as I am so new to this but excited to see what it's all about and entails. I will take pictures and post this weekend!


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## ashleynicol3 (Feb 23, 2016)

How was the show? I wish there was one in my area!

And how are things going with the nerite snail? Thinking of getting one for my tank! Got some algae for him to munch on. 


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## ShelbysFish (Sep 5, 2013)

ashleynicol3 said:


> How was the show? I wish there was one in my area!
> 
> And how are things going with the nerite snail? Thinking of getting one for my tank! Got some algae for him to munch on.
> 
> ...


OMG I'm sorry I'm so late seeing this??

The show was pretty good! There were a lot of beautiful fishes, I wanted to steal them all. > But alas, I was good.

Okay, so weirdly enough my nerite is still alive??? It comes and goes. Sometimes I see him out and about, and sometimes I can't find him at all. Sometimes he's on his back and I have to flip him over, and then poof - he's gone and shows up later. lol

But he has been munching on any algae I have, so I would for sure recommend them for algae, and keep growing some on some rocks maybe, that's what I've been trying to do.


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## ShelbysFish (Sep 5, 2013)

I swear this snail and me are going to be the end of each other. hahaha. He's here one day, he's not the next. Still alive and kicking though, so that's good.

Mr. Rogers is doing good as well.

Did a water change a few days ago and now all my nitrates seem to be gone, so I made a thread about it, cause that's odd. But everyone seems healthy!


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## ashleynicol3 (Feb 23, 2016)

Glad to hear everyone is doing well!


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