# Skyr's Journal



## Skyr (May 5, 2013)

As I'm new to fish keeping, I thought it might be best to have a log about everything.. Of what works, and what doesn't work. A place to gush about my betta and their personalities, so I don't annoy people who don't want to know.

Anyhow, I probably got started off on the entirely wrong foot and rushed into it. I got the tank and stuff for it first, however I had to change the gravel fairly near the beginning due to adding corydoras and needing smoother gravel for them because I didn't know where to look for sand..

Anyhow, I set up my 10gallon originally with drift wood and live plants. It seems I fail at keeping the easiest, becase the hornwort died and began to rot within a couple weeks of each other... Fairly annoying, however the java fern has been growing nicely.

Newly set up my tank had looked like this:










However, my HM betta Rory's tail began getting cut, and slowly I was removing everything trying to figure out what was cutting it. I replaced filter, with a prefilter sponge added over intake, I removed the lava rock, a piece of driftwood and the anubias, which I realized might have begun rotting.. I probably tied it to the driftwood too tight. I added the cyberman head cave in it's place.. then finally the tardis was removed and I realized it might have been the doors which are sharper than I thought they were.. but he so rarely went in the tardis that I was able to tell due to it being on the small side for him. Finally removed the last piece of driftwood as well this last tank change because new decoration left no room for it.. and he liked burrowing beneath to swim under it so I didn't think that'd be any good for his tail..

So it now looks like this:










In this 10gallon I have my HM betta named Rory, and three albino corydoras. They live in relative peace, except Rory can be a bit of a jerk. I have to feed them late at night when all the lights are out or Rory will guard their food so they won't approach. He doesn't even like their food, he'll take a bite and spit it out. Anyhow, they manage to eat it becase therels none left by morning.

Rory has also proved to be a tail biter, I've been stressing about how bad his tail had been beginning to look with all those cuts and overnight a quarter of his tail just disappears after the new set up. I was certain to make sure there was not one sharp edge, and his tail hasn't been getting worse since but is now finally showing regrowth signs.. Especially after I received my IAL shipment in the mail and I stuck one in each tank.

He doesn't like his photo taken, he zooms about too fast when he sees my camera in hand.. Otherwise he swims around rather leisurely.


















See the regrowth? 









My 5gallon houses my second betta, a CT I got two weeks ago. I saw him on a Friday, and had to return for him on Saturday because I couldn't stop thinking about him. His name is Jace, and he has become my favourite of the two. He hasn't stressed me by losing chunks of his tail, and he has quite the personality that is so different than Rory's. The other night, he was quick to tell me how displeased he was about the fact I'd forgotten to turn off his light by flaring at me the momen he saw me. He swims to the front of his tank the moment he sees movement and dances in front hoping for food. He ate from my hand from day one, where Rory has only started not running away from my finger being too close to the water.. I know I shouldn't play favorites but his personality is much more entertaining.

This is him and his tank, he's a lot more photogenic:














































I just tried feeding them frozen brine shrimp and they loved it. I felt a bit squeamish about it though upon looking at the tiny dead bodies in the cup I was using. I hope they don't become picky and only want frozen from now on. I'd thawed a bit too much, so I poured the excess in the 10gallon to let the cories to have a chance at having ome since I noteced they sank. I'd spent an hour watching the cories feed, and Rory following him like the glutton he is trying to steal the rest from them.

I've noticed though, that Rory won'lt flare at himself in a mirror.. He used to flare at himself a lot in the reflection of the tank glass.. but he won't at all react to himself in the mirror. I was hoping that'd help promote more fin regrowth.. It's confusing.. I wonder sometimes if I should float Jace in the tank for a short while to get him to respond to another male.. They're not in the same room at all so they have no chance of seeing each other otherwise.


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## Skyr (May 5, 2013)

I'm thinking once both tanks are cycled that I might add ghost shrimp.. I dunno, the sight of them also tend to creep me out as well.. Maybe after I try my and at live plants again.. I want a better light for Jace's tank as well. Hate that yellow glow of incandescent.

Maybe an african dwarf frog? Maybe to the five gallon rather than the 10g. Dunno, or just kept in the 2.5 gallon I would be getting to quarantine him..


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## Skyr (May 5, 2013)

Well I thought I might have messed up the cycle process on my 5 gallon, but double checking the results.. I might have mixed up the test tubes as to which was ammonia and which was nitrates... What I thought was .25ppm ammonia, and hence a green... now upon looking at looks orange and 5ppm nitrates... Need to check again tomorrow.. I don't believe I'm normally color blind...

And if that's the case.. I'm fully cycled, as everything else is 0ppm.


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## Skyr (May 5, 2013)

Well I didn't misread, any cycling I had at one point is gone somehow... No nitrates, .25ppm Ammonia, no nitrites... So water change day, forgot to check the params for 10g before doing the water change.

Filter scared me, the thing is maybe two weeks old and when I plugged it back in it didn't work. Figured out how to take it apart and gave it a thorough cleaning.. Therefore ruining any beginnings of any cycle there, but it was disgusting.. I'm not sure what was up, just a brown sludge...

Also, that bridge that I have in 10 gallon.... Rory seems to have found a hole he can fit in. I definitely don't have a claustrophobic fish.... He got himself in there, and came right out when I went to see what he was doing, because I saw his fins disappear and I had thought he was above not behind the bridge... thinking maybe he was laying down or something... NOPE... I have no idea what to do with him..

He loves to squeeze into small spaces!! And inside the hole on the way out is sharp.. would probably cut his fins... $29 decoration for aquarium... Gosh this bugger is stressing me out.

Startled him tonight, I thought he might have went back in there, and went to see.. Lifted off the hood, and found out he was sleeping on the new IAL leaf I put in there. Poor guy, but I needed to feed Corydoras anyway.


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

Your fish are gorgeous!


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## Skyr (May 5, 2013)

Thanks dramaqueen!

Wow I haven't been on this forum in a few days..

I did a 100% change on my 10gal yesterday, the quality of the water and gravel was deteriorating no matter how many changes I did.. So it's looking much better now, removed the bridge because Rory found a hole he liked to swim in and out of.. and I noticed raised scales so he was scraping against the sides of the hole..

One of my cory cats hadn't been looking the greatest, but when I returned home to him having SBD I isolated him. I was going to figure out what to do about him today because it was late last night, but he didn't last the night. He'd lost his whiskers one at a time in the last week, and I noticed as I was isolating him his tail was half gone.. 

So I woke up to him floating upside down in the isolation cube.. and a bubble nest courtesy of Rory built around the isolation cube. He wasn't so heartbroken about the loss, celebrating like that. First Bubblenest from either of my bettas.

In other news, my 5gal. is cycled. I'll be doing a partial water change today. I'll let it truly establish for a week and then bring some filter media to seed the 10gal. and see if that will help the tank get its cycle started.


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## Mar (Apr 9, 2013)

Yep your fish are definitely beauties 
And I really love your tank setups!
Too bad you couldn't keep the first one, maybe if you ever get a short-finned betta you can go use that driftwood!


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## Viva (Oct 18, 2012)

Tank looks great...don't worry about the hornwort I can't keep that stuff alive either. I think it does better in cooler water honestly.


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## Skyr (May 5, 2013)

Glad I'm not the only one then. I'm wanting to try at live plants again, but not sure where to start. Specifically for the 10gal. since I never get anywhere close to a cycle.

I've got the driftwood in there again, but with a betta log floating, he doesn't seem to bother with it anymore. The java fern is floating for now, but thinking I'll tie it to the driftwood again if he continues to leave it alone and not try to squeeze beneath any gaps he might find.


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## Viva (Oct 18, 2012)

I found any type of Cryptocoryne is easy to grow...any anubias, duckweed for a floating plant grows like crazy and very easily. Crypts can melt though if you disturb their roots which I made the mistake of doing. They are already growing back their leaves though, they had lost ALL of them!


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## Skyr (May 5, 2013)

I'll keep that in mind. Maybe I'll pick some up the next time I'm at LFS.. Thanks for the advice.


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## Skyr (May 5, 2013)

Well... I wound up getting two more betta, and a 10gal. kit for them, going to divide it of course.



















More Pictures

Saw them in the process of returning filter that stopped working.. and they were on sale.. I'lm now concerned about that bump the blue one has, I hadn't noticed it and only really noticed upon taking pictures..


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## Skyr (May 5, 2013)

Well as he's had healthy poops, not constipation or parasites.. So I'll just watch it, it's not noticeable outside of pictures.

Began to set up the 10g they'll share today only to notice a spot on the glass where it is compromised. Back to the store it goes.

I feel bad not having heaters small enough for their 1g containers. I was hoping to get it partly set up tomorrow so I could float them in the 10g. I'd had them in living room but that means having to keep our Air conditioner off. I'm moving them into my room as it is hotter in there, at least during the day.. And the AC air doesn't reach the bedrooms.


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