# Heartbreaking Decision



## Fenghuang (Dec 28, 2012)

I had an amazing day today. I cannot say that often (severe depression kind of does that to you). But, of course, I ended up at Petco. How can I stay away? I mean, I knew I wanted to get a sickly betta...

I just didn't expect it to be this hard... This is a Petco I hadn't been to. I am used to fairly healthy and active bettas at the Petsmart and Petco in my town. The Petco by my aunt's place? It is an absolute hell hole. Finrot, SBD, emanication, death everywhere. It is also the most understaffed and disorganized store I've ever been to. 

I fell in love with a beautiful dragon HM. It was the most majestic blue I have ever seen. But the others begged me to give them a chance. _Begged._ 

I wanted them all. And I only had room for one. I spent two hours agonizing over which betta to get. Almost had a freaking breakdown because I walked away for a couple of minutes and came back to find one of the more sickly ones gone. Thought the fish guy had came back and thrown him out. But someone had just shoved to the back of the shelf.










































This guy was the one that stole my heart...

























I got him instead...


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## rmarkham (Oct 4, 2012)

Poor little guy.. You know what? When I went to get Bacon (my rescue) I also fell in love with a dragon scale blue betta that same shade of blue.. except he had red fins. 


Then I saw Bacon.. and knew I couldn't leave him to die  Now Bacon is thriving! 

I can't wait to see TONS of update photos from you! 

He looks so sad and skinny.. I'm glad you got him!


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## LittleBettaFish (Oct 2, 2010)

Is that pathetic little white/clear CT (looks like a CT) a baby betta? It is so small. 

I would have had to take that and the one above it if I had been there. 

This is why I don't look at splendens in 99% of the stores I go to. It's just too depressing. 

Hope your new purchase does well.


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## Fenghuang (Dec 28, 2012)

Thank you, guys. I feel so superficial though. I really wanted the betta with the pretty colours more than anything.

The little white CT was marked as a regular veiltail female. The one above the white female has just one shimmery pale of pale blue in front of its dorsal, so I think it was a marble. Their babies are even smaller. There was a blue one I forgot to snap a picture of, but he was about 2/3 the size of these two.


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## MadMay (Dec 18, 2010)

Hey I posted on here and contacted the number at the top and within two weeks my store was so much better with their fish. Contact corporate to get things done the store manager isnt going to do anything unless he fears for his job. Sad to say.


woops forgot the link http://ecorporateoffices.com/PetcoAnimalSuppliesInc-2162


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## Fenghuang (Dec 28, 2012)

Thanks, I'll try.

I can't go home for another two hours. I just want him home so he can be comfortable and warm.


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## Skyewillow (Dec 28, 2012)

welcome to the club, Feng!

I hope he makes a full recovery for you! That first cup was just like Don Quixote's!


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## Fenghuang (Dec 28, 2012)

Oh, the first guy... He is all grey now, but his fins had streaks of a shiny blue too. He is a doubletail. No fin damage, but obvious SBD and bloat. He is a lot like Phoenix was.


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## Fenghuang (Dec 28, 2012)

Hey, what do you know? The water parameters are almost not as bad as I expected. The ammonia is just 0.25 ppm. *sarcasm*


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## Fenghuang (Dec 28, 2012)

Finally home and floating in warm water.

























He's smaller than Phoenix!

















This is going to be his new home.









His tank water is treated with Stress Coat and 2 tsp of aquarium salt. I'm slowly acclimating him by drip method... Three drops via a drinking straw every ten minutes. I'm going to wait at least an hour. He's floating in the 5 gallon for now because his tank is a little too warm... In the nineties.


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## Fenghuang (Dec 28, 2012)

He isn't responding to food. Should I be worried?


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## LittleBettaFish (Oct 2, 2010)

Since you only just got him and he doesn't look particularly healthy, I would not be overly concerned. I've found a lot of fish in similar condition aren't very enthusiastic about food until they have settled in and recovered a bit more. 

Just give him time and if he still isn't eating in a few days you may need to get some live food to stimulate his appetite.


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## MattsBettas (Dec 18, 2012)

I shouldn't worry. I've had healthy fish not eat after I brought them home. Keep trying but if he doesn't eat in a couple days, try live or frozen food.


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## Skyewillow (Dec 28, 2012)

It took donqui a week to eat. I had to blow on his food to get his attention. He really improved when mike brought him live brine shrimp.

Good luck!


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## Fenghuang (Dec 28, 2012)

He finally did pecked at some crumbled pellets. Thanks for the reassurance though. I'm so afraid of screwing this up...

Settling in.


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## Fenghuang (Dec 28, 2012)

I feel awful about that veiltail in the second picture. He was in the same condition, but he had some more colour on him so I thought he would have a better chance. But his cup is filthy... Sigh.


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## Fenghuang (Dec 28, 2012)

He survived the night! 

I told Ci I have decided to name him Fang after White Fang from the Jack London novel. I doubt he'll turn out white (though technically, White Fang the wolf dog was named for his "white fangs"), so it's just Fang.


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## Skyewillow (Dec 28, 2012)

Yay! And I really like the name!


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## Lodie (Jan 29, 2013)

Good luck! I can't wait to see him get better! It's hard to sacrifice your wants for others needs and takes a strong, caring person to do so. This is a truly special thing that you are doing.


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## Fenghuang (Dec 28, 2012)

Skye, have you read White Fang? I'm just wondering, I don't know many people who have.

Lodie, your comment warms my heart. Thank you. <3

Would it be malicious of me to post before and after pictures on the Petco Facebook page?

This morning after a small breakfast of Omega One pellets.


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## KohakuRiver (Apr 21, 2013)

He's lovely. I can't wait to see how he turns out! The stress stripes I saw in earlier pics are almost gone in the last one.


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## Fenghuang (Dec 28, 2012)

Thanks, Kohaku.

I really do wonder what he will look like. He has pretty much no colour on him.


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## Skyewillow (Dec 28, 2012)

he will probably turn black with some iridescence


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## Fenghuang (Dec 28, 2012)

You think so? How can you tell?


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## Skyewillow (Dec 28, 2012)

USUALLY (not always), when they have that color gray, it turns black. He may rebel against my personal experience and go the total opposite way. lol


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## MoonShadow (Feb 29, 2012)

Fenghuang said:


> Would it be malicious of me to post before and after pictures on the Petco Facebook page?


Hehe nope!! I've done it many times, people actually didn't believe me that it was the same fish a few times, lol. Goes to show you how little people know about how bettas are supposed to look! 

Your new little guy is absolutely adorable! Hes in the same shape my Echo was in when I got him! 

As for he horrid conditions of at store, contact the company, send an email through their website, include pictures of the fish in the store, list all of the ailments you witnessed in the fish. Tell them you realize that the majority of their money comes from the sale of the equipment for the fish and that neither you nor anyone you know will be buying anything from them again until they clean up their act! I did this and recieved phones calls from both the store manager and the regional manager, and I have seen improvement in the store I complained about. But you have to keep up on them!


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## Fenghuang (Dec 28, 2012)

I will do my best to get conditions to improve. >

I almost missed him. He was in one of the plastic cubbies all the way at the top. Way above eye level. I had to stand up on my tippy toes to reach him. I thought his cup was empty at first, because he was so small, pale, and almost transculent. 

Do you think he will turn out like Echo? Echo's so lovely..


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## Skyewillow (Dec 28, 2012)

You never know, he very well could!


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## MoonShadow (Feb 29, 2012)

Fenghuang said:


> I will do my best to get conditions to improve. >
> 
> I almost missed him. He was in one of the plastic cubbies all the way at the top. Way above eye level. I had to stand up on my tippy toes to reach him. I thought his cup was empty at first, because he was so small, pale, and almost transculent.
> 
> Do you think he will turn out like Echo? Echo's so lovely..


He could! Though Echo is the first Melano DT I've ever seen at any petstore! I really do think your boy is going to turn out to be dark! Maybe black, or melano, or very dark blue!


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## Fenghuang (Dec 28, 2012)

He has some red coming into his fin though, so maybe not.

I have Nightwish blasting in the background. The little guy was trying so hard to flare at his reflection when 7 Days to the Wolves came on.


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## jadaBlu (Feb 14, 2013)

I think you should post the pictures on the Petco facebook page. Facebook really gets a company's attention. I wanted show you my Petco fish that wasn't in quite as bad shape but he didn't look good. If you go into my album you find his before picture. He looks similar. He has smoky black fins now. His name is Gossamer. This after some TLC. Perhaps your boy will color up in similar way. Also in my album I have youtube link where you can see more detail.


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## rmarkham (Oct 4, 2012)

I posted about my rescue on their page today.. no comments yet. I even provided before and after pictures.


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## Fenghuang (Dec 28, 2012)

Thank you for sharing, jadeBlu. Gossamer looks beautiful now.

Okay, I decided I will do just that once he heals up. Maybe even include a video slideshow of day to day changes because I will most likely be taking pictures obsessively.


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## Fenghuang (Dec 28, 2012)

Took more pictures. 


























































Barti and Phoenix were having a pissing contest contest.


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## cheylillymama (Apr 30, 2013)

He's so adorable. And his stress stripes ate fading fast! Your pics from the store broke my heart. They inspired me to perform a rescue myself, since I have a spare five gallon tank. So early yesterday we headed to our local petsmart, but all their fish seemed in good health and were even on this little heated shelf. Clean water. I wad pretty happy for them, a lady even did water changes while we were there.
I felt like those fish had a pretty good chance, so we picked up a heater and a small filter and some meds and headed to Betta Hell aka Walmart.

It was awful. They were in horrid condition and many were dead and dying. I wanted to save them all. Me and my daughter picked out a very sad little (possibly) yellow male. He was so pale and stressed and fins clamped up. He gave us THE LOOK and he had to come home with us. So far he's doing well. He's starting to unclamp and even ate a bit. Hope he makes it. I've got him in with a little epsom salt because he seemed to have possible sbd. 

I hope your little guy pulls through!


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## Fenghuang (Dec 28, 2012)

Thank you for sharing your story. I'm incredibly honoured to have inspired you. 

I hope your guy feels better real soon. Phoenix (he's the red one) had SBD and difficulties swimming too. The local Petsmart has a really nice lady in charge who seems like she cares (she talks to the bettas xD), so the conditions aren't too bad either most of the time, but he seemed like he needed a little help so I brought him home. His buoyancy issues went away within an hour of being in clean, warm water.


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## MoonShadow (Feb 29, 2012)

Those new pictures look like he might turn copper!!


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## cheylillymama (Apr 30, 2013)

Thanks! He doesn't seem to be having trouble swimming now. I just did a 100% change and he's really active today! Even checking out his log. 
My kiddo wants to call him Lemon Hero. Lol, LemonHero it is.


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## Fenghuang (Dec 28, 2012)

I'll love to see pictures of LemonHero. 

AP Physics Exam today... I'm brain dead and exhausted. 5 APs down, 2 more to go. >> But Fang is doing great. He has been actively chasing down food in the gentle filter current since yesterday and getting more and more red on him. Just did a 75 percent water change and added a handful of gravel from the 5 gal into the filter sponge to speed up the cycling process.


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## Skyewillow (Dec 28, 2012)

he looks like he's feeling a lot better! Huzzah!


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## Fenghuang (Dec 28, 2012)

How long should it take for his fins to start showing regrowth?


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## Skyewillow (Dec 28, 2012)

Some fish take longer than others, at the soonest, it may be a week or so


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## Fenghuang (Dec 28, 2012)

Okay, should I feed him anything special to help him along?


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## Skyewillow (Dec 28, 2012)

nope, clean water is the best cure


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## MattsBettas (Dec 18, 2012)

It's not necessary but I'm sure he would love some frozen food if you have any lol.


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## Fenghuang (Dec 28, 2012)

Any brands you recommend, Matt? All I remember seeing in the Petco freezer is the San Francisco Bay stuff and I heard that brand is sketchy.


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## MattsBettas (Dec 18, 2012)

Nah don't go buy some if you don't have it already... And don't buy from sfbb either.

Hikari is pretty good I think.


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## Fenghuang (Dec 28, 2012)

I'll check if Petsmart has any next time. 

Though... The weather is warming up. I could probably net mosquito larvae from my backyard soon.


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## Fenghuang (Dec 28, 2012)

I think I offended someone... o__O

Anyway.

Day three picture update! (You guys can ignore me, I know I'm going a little overboard with the updates. xD I just want to document his recovery every step of the way.)


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## MattsBettas (Dec 18, 2012)

Offended someone?

He looks great btw!


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## Fenghuang (Dec 28, 2012)

Someone rated this thread two stars (unless it was my dumb touchscreen and I did it myself?). I don't mind constructive criticism, guys. You can totally yell at me or send me hate mail if you think I'm doing something wrong too. 

Thanks, Matt. He handled the water change like a champ. 

He does not seem to have finrot, so I stopped the AQ salt treatment. Don't want to stress his system with unneccessary chemicals.


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## rmarkham (Oct 4, 2012)

He's looking good! 

And I love the updates  Keep 'em coming! 

You could try soaking his food in Vita-Chem, I've had success with that, and have been doing that with my rescue, and I've been seeing very rapid fin re-growth.


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## Fenghuang (Dec 28, 2012)

Thanks, I'll try to look for Vita-Chem then. May I ask where you get yours?

Some shots I stole off of a video I took of him. Photobucket won't let me upload the video by phone! D:<


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## Jexx (Feb 2, 2013)

He is beautiful. Thank you for saving him. He has such light in his eyes. I can't wait to see how his color turns!


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## rmarkham (Oct 4, 2012)

He's so pretty! You could try youtube, I've done that with my phone before..just be sure you have good service/wifi. 

I got mine online from here: http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=4998

They have it on amazon.com also, but it's cheaper here..even with shipping I think. I get the biggest since I use it so much. I also use Kent Garlic X-treme for food soakings, it makes it taste better. I also found that some of my guys prefer soggy food because it's easier for them to chomp on, so I'll take a table spoon and put some garlic and vitachem in there and let the pellets soak for a bit. I use an old pair of tweezers to drop individual pellets in front of the fish so he sees them.


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## Fenghuang (Dec 28, 2012)

Jexx: He does have bright eyes, doesn't he? I keep catching him flaring at his reflection. He is a little spitfire. 

rmarkham: I will look into it. Thank you. 

Fang is eating whole pellets now and keeping them down!


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## Skyewillow (Dec 28, 2012)

-hifive!- So far, so good! YAY!


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## Fenghuang (Dec 28, 2012)

*highfives* I wanted to jump up and down. I can't believe how resilient this little betta is.


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## konstargirl (Mar 9, 2010)

Aww! I hope he recovers sucessfully. So far, it look good.


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## Fenghuang (Dec 28, 2012)

Performed a 50 percent water change. Fang _really_ hates cups. You could practically hear his growl of displeasure. xD


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## Skyewillow (Dec 28, 2012)

he looks so _displeased_!!!


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## Fenghuang (Dec 28, 2012)

He definitely has the "I'm going to murder you in your sleep" expression down. xD

I see tons of red coming in on his body. It's very faint, but it definitely red. His fins are darkening too. I placing my bet on a copper red.


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## Fenghuang (Dec 28, 2012)

Fang's so fierce. Just like his namesake.


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## Fenghuang (Dec 28, 2012)

Fang made it through the first week! 

Still not much colour on him, although his fins are mostly black now. He never quite settles down and whenever I'm near his tank, he'll rush to the from and dance and beg for food. He does not look as emanciated anymore, but I am going to try to go the pet store to pick him up treats and give him some variety. I think he is a runt because he is only an inch long.


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## MattsBettas (Dec 18, 2012)

Yay!


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## Skyewillow (Dec 28, 2012)

Update?


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## Fenghuang (Dec 28, 2012)

I'll take some pictures tonight when I get home. Not much change though, aside from a bit of weight gain. He's kind of chunky now. xD 

He still doesn't have much colour on him. I am starting to think he's a tailbiter. Frustrating little guy, he is.


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## tilli94 (Nov 30, 2012)

K so I know it's cheesy and lame but there's this story It's on Wikipedia it's called the star thrower it's really long and my punctuation embarrasses me so I figure I'll just tell you about the story rather than recite it. It helps me a lot when I'm in the fish sections and can only take one or two home when there's fifteen on the verge of death.


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## Starfish1 (Dec 9, 2012)

I just looked it up... I loved it! I will think of that too next time, cause its really sad for me to go in some stores that have fish knowing I have no more room to take any home. Especially ones that I know don't take care of their bettas. I'll think of this next time.


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## Fenghuang (Dec 28, 2012)

Skyewillow actually told me that story when I got Fang. It did make me feel a lot better about only being able to rescue one. 

I lied about the pictures. I never got around to taking them last night because I came down with a sudden case of...something--no idea what really--and it wasn't pretty. Felt really ill after dinner and even worse when I finally got home from work. A few hours of sleep seemed to be the only thing that calmed my spinning head and trigger-happy stomach stomach. But now, I'm fully awake and _starving._ D:


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## Fenghuang (Dec 28, 2012)

There are many versions of the story, but here is the simplest one for those of you who never heard of it.

"An old man had a habit of early morning walks on the beach. One day, after a storm, he saw a human figure in the distance moving like a dancer. As he came closer he saw that it was a young woman and she was not dancing but was reaching down to the sand, picking up a starfish and very gently throwing them into the ocean.
"Young lady," he asked, "Why are you throwing starfish into the ocean?"
"The sun is up, and the tide is going out, and if I do not throw them in they will die."
"But young lady, do you not realize that there are miles and miles of beach and starfish all along it? You cannot possibly make a difference."
The young woman listened politely, paused and then bent down, picked up another starfish and threw it into the sea, past the breaking waves,
saying, "It made a difference for that one."
The old man looked at the young woman inquisitively and thought about what she had done. Inspired, he joined her in throwing starfish back into the sea. Soon others joined, and all the starfish were saved." 

Source: http://www.starfishcharity.org/about-starfish/inspiration.aspx 
Adapted from "The Star Thrower," by Loren Eiseley


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## madmonahan (Aug 26, 2012)

I have heard that story before, it's a great inspiring story. ^_^


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## jadaBlu (Feb 14, 2013)

My guy Gossamer that looks like your fish is not very big. What happened is he stayed narrow and got a little longer. He looks tiny. It's kind of funny he's all tail. I am glad he's doing well. Thanks for sharing the Starfish story it will be on my screen saver. It makes me feel better as well. I am reaching capacity by the amount of time I have to clean tanks. If I wasn't a student I could do more.


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## Fenghuang (Dec 28, 2012)

Don't thank me; tilli was the one that brought it up and Skye is the reason I know this story in the first place.

Pictures as of this morning. I've had Fang in my care for 16 days now. Not much change since the last update. I am a little worried about his fins. They do not seem to be growing at all. I started the aquarium salt treatment Thursday, in case it is the beginning of fin rot. Other than that, I'm noticing that he is not very responsive, not even to food or mirrors. I am disheartened, since he was so feisty and active before.


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## Fenghuang (Dec 28, 2012)

Another theory is that he is tailbiting. Because I saw a clean chunk missing from his tail and then it started to fray over the course of a few days. I don't get why his fins are not improving. Phoenix, his next-tank neighbor, tore his fin in three places the other day, and it was fully healed the next morning.


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## Skyewillow (Dec 28, 2012)

Have you tried covering a couple of the sides of his tank? It might help with the overstimulation leading to tail biting. And maybe a hammock or a coffee mug would give him a quiet place to hide if it gets to be too much for him.

Idk, just thinking out loud, I guess.


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## Fenghuang (Dec 28, 2012)

Alright, I added a coffee mug. Hopefully, he will take to it and use it.


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## eden000 (May 23, 2013)

Just wanted to drop in and say I'm really enjoying reading all the updates! Good luck!


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## cheylillymama (Apr 30, 2013)

I <3 fang. He's so cute. I hope his fins start to heal up soon. You're doing a great job!
Wish i could get pics to work from my phone, my rescued boy, the yellow one, looks to be a grizzle. He's colored up beautifully with pink and blue irid, and his central's are regrowing.
The littlegirl i got looks like she's gonna be pink! She looked cambo, but she's darkening up now. I planted the 5 gal tanks they are in! The girl, Bonnie, really digs her flame moss patch and the male sleeps on top of the coffeefolia in his tank.


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## Fenghuang (Dec 28, 2012)

Fang's dead. 

I came home from school and his lifeless body was just laying on the glass pebbles.


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## rmarkham (Oct 4, 2012)

Oh no!

I am so sorry!! You gave him a loving home, and a second chance. 

He passed knowing he was loved.

He was warm, he was safe and well fed. 

SIP Fang


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## Deanna01 (Apr 22, 2013)

I'm so sorry, Feng! I know you did what you could for him.


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## Fenghuang (Dec 28, 2012)

Thank you guys. You're all wonderful.

It came as a shock because even though he wasn't improving as fast as I would've liked, he seemed normal. He was eating and swimming around and, after the last update, he had perked up considerably and was starting to act like his old lively self again. Water parameters checked out fine, temp's was good. I actually spotted some fin regrowth this morning. This would have been day six of AQ salt treatment to catch fin rot early in case he had it.

I hope this isn't too morbid to put up, but I always loved his eyes. They had so much life in them. Even now, they still do.


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## Lights106 (May 16, 2013)

He was a beautiful fish! It rekindled my want to get a couple more tanks dedicated JUST for rescues. He was in a happy home when he passed. And you are right, his eyes are what I loved about him. :'(


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## smaughunter (Sep 15, 2011)

I am sorry to hear he didn't make it. I was rooting for him.


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## cheylillymama (Apr 30, 2013)

Oh no! Im so sorry.
((

At least he got to live out his last days in warm, clean water with a loving owner.


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## Starfish1 (Dec 9, 2012)

Sorry to hear about your little guy. He was a real cutie! Very lucky to have you to have taken such good care of him.


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## konstargirl (Mar 9, 2010)

I'm so sorry..  R.I.P Fang!


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