# Betta Fish Anonymous....



## BettaStarter24

I figured since I love showing off my boys I'd start a journal. They're not going to be too happy since it means more photo shoots but oh well. 

I have 5 betta fish, two veil tails, a Super Delta tail, a half-moon and a rose tail (half-moon spread). 

Jasper, my blue Veiltail is the one I've had the longest out of this group of boys. I got him after my late red VT Ignus passed away due to swim bladder problems. Jasper wasn't my first choice, as there was a marbled boy I was looking at but we had limited time and I couldn't go look at the marbled boy again. Even though he's not my first pick out of the guys they had at the petco I love him to bits. I've had him since March 22, 2014 and he will be (estimating) one year in January. From nose to base of tail he is about an inch and a half long, though his caudal fin is much longer now. He's recovered from a few bouts of fin rot and is super grumpy, he's probably my most grumpy fish. He doesn't like caves, he prefers his big purple plant. 

























Going in order of who I got, Castiel comes next. Got him the day after my birthday 7-5-14.He's my red/white bicolor dragon scale Super Delta. He was 100% impulse buy. Went to petco for cat litter and came back with a fish. Cas was a biter in the store but has not bit since that I've been able to tell although his tail has remained rather ragged as its grown back. Cas has a crooked spine (from what I can tell) and he also has a cyst/tumor on his left side behind his gills which is growing. It doesn't affect his behavior at all. 























I got Oliver two weeks after I got Cas on 7-20-14. He's my red/blue bicolor Rose tail Halfmoon. Another impulse buy, got him before the tank, kept him in a tupperware for a few days then divided Jasper's 2.5 gallon. Needless to say that didn't go well, Jasper shredded his tail causing bout one of fin rot, Oliver bit too but didn't get rot. Got Oliver his own 2.5 gallon and he's much happier. 























My crazy fish buying stopped for a bit here until this past Saturday (10-25-14) when a friend who just recently got into bettas went to petco for some more stuff for her boy and found Dean, didn't end up getting him till Sunday 10-26-14 though. Still not 100% sure what color he is but he's my half-moon. She knew I was looking for a half-moon similar to his coloring. (my dream betta is an opaque white half-moon) and he looks cellophane which is another one of the ones I have up there. He does have a band of white on his caudal and his fins aren't see through but you can see blood vessels and organs. He's one of my mystery fish. He hasn't eaten yet but I'm guessing he's just still settling in from the trip home. 























Last but certainly not least is my newest boy (well one of them...) Sammy. He's my mystery color VT. I brought him home on 10-28-14. He came from the psychology wing of my school where he was involved in an experiment where (from what I've been able to gather) he was conditioned to be abnormally aggressive towards other fish/reflections. Kept in a smaller container next to other boys with cardboard dividing them not heated or filtered. When I got him home he was so clamped and quite bloated. It's only been two days and he's come out of his shell much more. Currently housed in a 5.7 liter tupperware until I can get something better he's doing well. Has a nest built, flaring, colors have come out a little more, active. I'm excited to see how he grows. 























I will post more on the boys as they get bigger or progress and once the new boys have their tanks all up and running I'll post pictures then!.


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## kjg1029

your bettas are soo pretty! i like Oliver's colors!!!


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## Schmoo

Dean, Sam, and Castiel...


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## DaytonBetta

We have a Sammy betta, too! Your fish are all beautiful. 

That is interesting about the psychology experiment. I look forward to hearing about how he does now that he's a pet.


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## BettaStarter24

Schmoo said:


> Dean, Sam, and Castiel...


lol yep Dean and Sam are named that for a reason lol.


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## BettaStarter24

*Dean's Eating and has a bubble nest!*

Update 10-31-14

Sammy's now officially unclamped and I've decided when I get a bigger tank this weekend that Sammy's going in it as he deserves a bigger tank. Dean will upgrade as soon as I get the money I have my eye on the tetra 3 gallon cube off of amazon, as Dean is seeming pretty content in the kritter keeper for now. If I can convince my mom to go for it I might just order it today so it will be here by tuesday. I'm still thinking about it. I also like the Kollercraft Aquarius Aquaview 360 3 gallon that's on amazon too. 

So getting to the dorm from morning classes to feed the boys and eat my own lunch I offered Dean a pellet thinking he wouldn't take it. He ate it right up followed by three more. My baby is eating now! He's been refusing food for almost a week now. I sat down at my desk to watch them while I ate and noticed Dean also has a bubble nest! baby's first nest I'm having a proud betta mommy moment. (even though I know nests don't necessarily mean happy I'm still proud.)


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## LadyNightraven

Your fish are all gorgeous, but I especially love Oliver and Sammy's coloration!

Sammy is a lucky little guy to get to experience life as a loved pet. I think he'll be happy with you.


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## BettaStarter24

Update 11-03-14

Just got back to the dorm after a weekend home away from the boys. First weekend away from Dean and Sammy lol it was quite nerve wracking to not be able to check on little Sammy every now and then. I did return bearing a huge haul of decor for their new tanks and of course spent wayyyyyy too much money on stuff. Got plants for both tanks, a pot for Sammy's new tank as the terra cotta pot I'm using now is too small for the 3 gallon he's getting. Some gravel for Sammy's tank and two thermometers as Im short two. Can not wait till the tanks come in tomorrow. I'll post pictures when I get them all set up so you guys can see the boys new cribs. 

The boys are all doing good, Cas's cyst/tumor seems to have gotten a little bigger which is worrisome but there's nothing I can really do for him. 

I continue to be amazed at how small Sammy looks compared to Jasper. Jasper's Ventral fins themselves are about as long as Sammy's caudal fin and Sammy's entire self is about as long as Jasper's caudal fin. Hopefully Sammy catches up to Jasper lol. 

I also continue to be partially upset about Petco's apparent lack of care for fish as I found multiple boys that have been clearly overfed and even a dead and decaying crown tail surrounded by like 10-15 soggy pellets. I picked one of the boys up for a friend so he's in a nice new 2.5 gallon tank and is enjoying checking out his kingdom. Making me even more excited to watch Sammy and Dean checking out their brand new 3 gallon tanks. 

Pictures will come tomorrow of the boys, mostly Sammy and Dean in their new homes.


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## BettaStarter24

So the new tanks came in today. One was cracked and didn't hold water so I sent in for a replacement and sent in the cracked one. So Sammy's 3 gallon Tetra cube is now finally set up and Dean's new tank is on the way, hopefully in one piece and not cracked and it should be here Thursday so hopefully he can have his new tank then. Sammy's busy exploring his new tank and nipping at the heater silly boy. Forgive the bubbles, new tank still settling out. 

When Dean's tank is set up I'll post more pictures. 

The other boys are doing great, Oliver's full of himself as always and jasper's just being Jasper, we're having a bit of an algae bloom on the leaves of Jasper's plants so that's fun.


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## Schmoo

Love that tank! c:


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## LadyNightraven

Sammy's tank is gorgeous!


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## BettaStarter24

*Enraged *

So I got the replacement today for the tank I ordered Dean that came cracked...


...


...


...

THE THING WAS CRACKED! Worse than the last one, this time from the top of the tank all the way to the bottom was cracked. Sent it back. AGAIN. ordered a replacement. Trying this 1 more time if this replacement is cracked I'm getting my money back and just ordering another tetra 3 gallon cube or better yet, going to a store and getting a tank in person that I can make sure it isn't cracked. I am so livid right now it isn't even funny.


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## kjg1029

im sorry! thats a bummer! better luck next time!


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## Schmoo

That stinks! D: Third time's the charm though, right?


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## BettaStarter24

Hopefully. I feel kinda bad for Dean. He's in a little kritter keeper until I can get him something better. Of course Cas is in a little 1.5 gallon tetra cube but at least he has an actual tank. (I know i know bad me bad me but I keep up water changes religiously
)


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## BettaStarter24

Update 11-11-14

Happy Veteran's Day everyone! 

Update on Dean's tank:
So I never got a replacement for the tank. But I did get a refund so hoping to be able to go home this weekend to pick him up the same tank from a walmart nearby that sells them and I can look at the tank to be sure it isn't cracked. I looked it up on amazon and they've stopped selling from their inventory and are selling it still through other vendors but they're reviewing their stock as they got many complaints and returns of cracked tanks so good to know it wasn't just me. Hopefully they get the issue resolved soon. 


As I type this I'm being glared at by Jasper and Castiel who are currently waiting on their tanks to reach proper temperatures so they can be reacclimated to their tanks after a mass water change. 

Cas's Cyst/Tumor (which I've actually heard is Lymphoma) has gotten bigger, not much but it has definitely grown. He continues to be active and it doesn't interfere with his breathing or gill function or swimming yet so I remain optimistic. Looking closely at him in his cup I notice another one forming behind his dorsal fin. This one is still small but it looks exactly like how the other one did when it first appeared. 

Sammy's doing great! He's growing and is even giving Jasper a run for his money with building bubble nests. I'm having issues keeping the water up at 78 degrees in the tanks but the 3 gallon Sammy is in seems to be doing the best. The joys of winter and a roommate that likes to keep the window open all night. 

Not much else to report besides the boys are all doing great and Dean's getting impatient for his new home.


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## Tress

Subscribing


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## BettaStarter24

Update 11-16-14

So Dean got his new tank today. I couldn't find the tank I really wanted, the Aquarius 3 gallon 360 degree view with changing LED lights, at the petco across the river from my school (closest one to me) nor at the other pet store across the street from that petco and I wasn't about to make my mom drive all the way to Hastings where I knew it was cause roads are crappy so I picked out the Aqueon Evolve4 for Dean. After doing some research to find out the size I found out it is supposed to be 4 gallons. when I got it home and set it up turns out it's more like 2.5 to a little under 3 not counting the space for the insanely strong filter. I love the look of the tank and I'm happy with it since it is bigger than the kritter keeper he was in but I would be happier if it were actually 4 gallons instead of under 3 and if the filter was a little less strong. So filter is off until I can find a way to baffle it. I had a red and purple background plant I bought for his new tank along with a green and purple one you see in the pictures but the red/purple was wayyy too big and filled the tank and I wasn't sure he'd be able to actually swim so I stole a plant from Oliver and Oliver got the big one even though its slightly too big for his tank too. I have a friend who is going to look for a smaller plant that's similar to it when she's in town and if she can I'm letting her use it for her 3 gallon tetra cube to hopefully stop one of her boys from glass surfing. I hate parting with it but it won't fit in any of my tanks. except maybe Sammy's but then Sammy has a background plant that won't fit in the others so...*I love the plant so much though I bought it thinking I was getting the cylindrical tank that is taller than the evolve4 and it would have worked better. Anyway enough of me pining over this plant not working in the new tank.


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## Schmoo

I like your set-up. :3


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## BettaStarter24

11-20-14









Yo. This is Dean. 

So let me tell you a story. I was swimming around minding my own business, wishing I could have me some pie when the human puts this white stuff in my tank around my filter output thing. At first I was intrigued by it and wondered if it might be pie. So I took a nibble. Not pie. Taking the chance I had I immediately turned to my human and gave her a piece of my mind. Flaring at her didn't seem to work so I strutted my stuff along the wall of my tank, hoping to intimidate her. The only thing I accomplished was having the filter turn on, now she'd turned the filter on before so I was used to the noise it makes but something was different. The white stuff was slowing down the water. I could not have that it was fun swimming in the fast current. So I did what any sane fish would. I jumped. Sadly there's a clear thing above my water so I didn't go far. My plans of escape have been foiled yet again. I will get out one day and when I do...Oh crap human's coming I better swim....


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## BettaStarter24

Heya! Sammy here. 

Ignore Dean, he's an idjit. Well that's what the human calls him sometimes anyway. She calls us all idjits at times but I guess we deserve it, we do do some pretty stupid things. I mean just today Castiel decided to take a chunk out of his tail. Jasper is always flaring at his leaves now he's just staring at his heater like it's gonna move. Oliver can't decide if his new plant is okay or not so he is constantly mouthing it off. Personally, I hate the human's fingers. All they want to do is destroy my bubble nests and snag me from my nice warm tank and place me in a cup. Okay she never really picks me up by hand but those fingers hold the cup I get scooped into. I hate that cup. I'd much rather be in my tank guarding my plants and my vase and my nests. Though she does give me yummy food so that makes things better. Plus she saved me from a horrible experiment. I don't like having to constantly flare. I'd much rather save my energy to fight off those scary fingers. Ooh! Here they come...get away get away! My tank Mine!


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## Tress

Bahaha xD I almost choked on my food!


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## BettaStarter24

11-20-14









Do I have to? Ugh fine. 

the little one is making me do this journal thing...I don't have to be nice! I'm grumpy and I should be protecting my nest from my plant not jabbering to a bunch of humans. Fine fine fine just leave my nest alone. Oh shut up Sammy. Anyway. Not sure what I'm supposed to talk about here. Not much goes on, besides food and building my bubble nests only to have the human destroy all my hard work. I guess I like clean water but I work hard on my nests and she destroys them all. I don't like having to share my food with the others...it should be all mine. I was here first. I will get my revenge someday...some day...


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## BettaStarter24

Huh? What do you want me to do? ooh! Talk! I can do that! But first...I must flare at this plant...stupid big green thing...

Oh Hi! I'm Oliver! Mommy says I need to get over myself and not flare at everything but all I wanna do is show off my pretty colors...oh um...I mean handsome colors. Mommy took away my blue plant and gave me this weird green one instead. I'm not sure I like it. Though I'm not sure I like much of anything. Oh! Except my cave I love my cave. It's all purple and round and looks like a flower thing. I'm apparently really picky too. I only like to eat if i get my pellets one at a time otherwise they're more fun to play with. Well I'd talk more but I must defend my tank from this big green monster. Bye!


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## BettaStarter24

Hello, I don't understand why I have to talk to all these humans...

Um...please excuse this big white thing on my head, the human calls it Lymphoma I guess. I apparently have more on my body but I can't see them so they might not be there. Ooh reflection FLARE! sorry about that, I get easily distracted Ooh! big black thing FLARE! the human thinks its because of this Lymphoma stuff. I don't know FLARE! She calls me neurotic...whatever that FLARE! means. I took a hunk out of my tail today, just a little one FLARE! But I bit in the store too and I have FLARE! a lot of fin so I guess I'm just FLARE! trying to make FLARE! life easier on FLARE! myself FLARE! I like food...


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## LadyNightraven

I laughed out loud more than once. You captured each betta's personality marvelously!


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## AlwaysAnimals

So fun reading your "fishies'" journal entries! You are so good at capturing their "voices"!


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## BettaStarter24

Yo, Sup? 
Haven't escaped yet. Tried jumping out of my cup today during a water change. Human put a lid on. Doesn't she understand I need to get out!? I need to find the thing that killed my dream of pie. Grr... In the mean time I kinda like my filter, it moves my food around the top of my tank so I get to "hunt" it. Yummy... We're all dealing with this weird slimy green stuff on our leaves and caves, well except Sammy. The human washes them thoroughly during water changes but if you could give her some advice about it that'd be nice. My blue plant is turning green I don't like that. Well anyway...Dean out!

Sammy in. 

Just figured I'd try a new greeting. I'm not too happy with the human right now. She destroyed my bubble nest again. and she moved my vase just a little to the left if you're looking out the front of my tank. it's not right I like my vase in the right spot. But she fed us right after so that's nice. That's really all I have to say, but beware Jasper, he's kinda cranky today...

I am not cranky! It just hurts....
My human is making me write this. I was an idjit today and ripped a chunk of my anal fin off because I didn't want my water changed. So now I get to sit in aquarium salt until she comes home from break on Sunday (she's leaving tomorrow night). Stupid cup. Stupid water changes. Stupid fish shaming. I'm sure she'll attach a photo of my ruined fin down below. 









HI! HI! HI! HI! HI!

I hate water changes but I'm starting to LOVE food! YUMMY! Oh! I forgot to tell you who is speaking! It's Oliver silly! I still am not sure about this weird green plant but my light green plant and my flower ball are turning green. I'm not sure I like it. Like a dark grass green or green like my new plant. Mommy doesn't know what else to do. She washes our plants obsessively during changes and its not like we get much sun from the window that we are near, unfortunately we have nowhere else to go right now until mommy can find a place. So we're kinda clueless if you can help mommy out that'd be wonderful! 
BYE!

FLARE! Hello...
My tumor has grown, well the first one has, and now apparently it's moving closer to my eyes. I'm FLARE still active and FLARE I still love food FLARE but FLARE it's getting bigger. Mommy FLARE is getting slightly worried FLARE but she knows there FLARE is nothing FLARE much she FLARE can do FLARE for FLARE me right now. She is talking about FLARE maybe upgrading me to a 2.5 FLARE gallon if one of her friends gets FLARE her fish an upgrade. Sorry FLARE for not talking FLARE much but I'm kinda tired...night! FLARE


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## DaytonBetta

How many hours a day are your lights on? If you are having an algae problem, reducing the photoperiod to 8 hours a day and more frequent water changes should help.

If that doesn't help and you have live plants you might try a little Excel (Carbon supplement by SeaChem).


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## BettaStarter24

It depends on the day. Somedays it's from 11 in the morning to about 10-11 at night some days it's 8 am to 8 pm some days they're off all day if I'm gone home for the weekend.


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## Tress

I'd try and reduce that time. My planted tank is having a lot of algae so I'm reducing it to 6-7 hours a day. Maybe turn them off when ever you leave the house?


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## DaytonBetta

You can get a timer on amazon or at a home store like Lowes. Then you will have a consistent lighting period. I would think that would be more enjoyable for your fish also.


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## BettaStarter24

Update 12-01-14

So I have a predicament regarding euthanasia. Castiel isn't doing so good. He's had three seizures in the span of a couple minutes. One in his tank and two in a cup while trying to get pictures. So I'm considering putting him down because he's just not acting like he usually does. He ate today but not as much as he usually does, he's not swimming as much as he usually does, he had the seizures, he's lost weight even though he is eating, granted they all went 5 days without food while I was gone on break but I've had fish go two weeks without food (one when he was being fasted for SBD) and not get skinnier. his original tumor has grown to the point he can't close his gill flap on that side. Any advice would be appreciated.


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## BettaStarter24

Update on Cas. 

He has now had a total of four seizures, he's not moving around unless its to go up for air. His breathing has slowed a little and when he does swim it's really spastic and more of a jerky movement. More likely than not he's going to be put down tonight. What he has isn't treatable, he's only going to get worse, the tumor on his spine has grown and will continue to grow. I have no idea how big the tumors are on the inside but it's obvious he is extremely uncomfortable and the main tumor is starting to affect his brain.


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## LadyNightraven

I'm so sorry, BettaStarter24. It's never easy to have to make that kind of decision. I'll be keeping you and Castiel in my thoughts. May he have a peaceful transition to the Rainbow Bridge where he'll be healthy and tumor-free.


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## Tress

Poor Cas... I know how hard it is to watch an animal have seizures *hug*

I hope he'll pass quietly soon, and may he swim in peace..


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## BettaStarter24

Swim in peace little buddy, I'll miss you. 

Castiel drifted peacefully off at 6:30 this evening. It was quick and painless and he was surrounded by me and one of my friends who cared for him deeply. We played some calming songs that he liked (as much as a fish can like music) and he passed peacefully during the lullaby version of kansas' song "Carry on my Wayward Son". I used the Clove oil method to put him down. There's still a part of me that regrets it but I know that he was suffering and his quality of life plummeted. he ended up having a total of 5 seizures within about an hour and a half time span, three of which were within 3 minutes span. He refused food when he always gulped down pellets no matter if he had just eaten or not. And he had not had much food today I only gave him one pellet as I had to run to class and was running late. So he was due for a few more. He was extremely listless all day, even my friend looked at him and said "he doesn't look good". So we sent him off as peacefully as we could and sat with him until we were sure he had passed. It was dark and peaceful, and as stress free as we could make it for the little guy. 

SIP little buddy. I'll miss you.


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## Tress

SIP Castiel. 

I'm glad your friend was there to support you, and it's sweet that he enjoyed music


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## iSheree

I am very sorry about your betta. You did the right thing. You put his wellbeing above your own. What you did was selfless and kind. I am contemplating on wether or not I should euthanise Pluto using the clove oil method. I just read another thread of someone regretting their decision to use clove oil because it didn't work straight away. They felt like their fish suffered in their last moments. But even if thats the case, it's better than letting the fish suffer for days. Pluto has dropsy. He is hanging on to life by a thread. No quality of life left in him. His pinecone appearance is getting worse and worse. I still cannot believe he is alive. His organs seem to be shutting down and his gills don't even move anymore. He only moves when he needs air, thats it. I feel like it's the right thing to do but I cannot bring myself to do it and I am scared about feeling guilty afterwards even though he is basically terminal and waiting to die. Where he is now, there is no coming back from it. I know for sure he will not make it out alive and he is slowly dying. :'( I have honestly tried everything and right now he is in epsom salt again and being treated with a broad spectrum anti-biotic but no improvement. He has been sick for a month now, and has gone through a lot of different treatments. I feel like his time has come.


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## BettaStarter24

If you have a friend who has fish see if they'll help. I couldn't have gone through it if my friend wasn't there. Cas didn't suffer in his last moments. If you have any questions on what to expect let me know.


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## iSheree

BettaStarter24 said:


> If you have a friend who has fish see if they'll help. I couldn't have gone through it if my friend wasn't there. Cas didn't suffer in his last moments. If you have any questions on what to expect let me know.


My partner, who is house sitting with me at the moment, helped me. Pluto passed away peacefully last night. I couldn't let him suffer any longer. We did something similar to what you and your friend did. We turned off the lights, so there was just enough light to see what we were doing. I got some of his tank water and added like 10 drops (to make sure it was lethal so he didn't have to suffer anymore). My partner shook it and I got Pluto in the net and was about to put him in but I couldn't do it. I moved away and cried like a baby. He put Pluto in the mixture for me and gave me the container he was in. I cried so much it dehydrated me! I really thought I would regret it but I don't. The only thing I regret is not holding him as he went in the clove oil, I couldn't watch or put him in myself. My partner said he pretty much fell asleep straight away, he didn't move at all as he went in. It was peaceful and very upsetting at the same time but I would recommend the clove oil method to anyone.


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## LadyNightraven

Swim in Peace, Castiel

Swim in Peace, Pluto


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## BettaStarter24

yeah, we added 3 drops to a jug and shook it and added that slowly to the container Cas was in which put him to sleep after some thrashing as he realized something was in the water, I couldn't watch that part, and once we were sure he was asleep we put 20 drops in the jug, shook it and added that slowly then added a little more and waited about a half hour past the point where his gills stopped moving.


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## iSheree

BettaStarter24 said:


> yeah, we added 3 drops to a jug and shook it and added that slowly to the container Cas was in which put him to sleep after some thrashing as he realized something was in the water, I couldn't watch that part, and once we were sure he was asleep we put 20 drops in the jug, shook it and added that slowly then added a little more and waited about a half hour past the point where his gills stopped moving.


The thrashing is normal, he was not in pain. Clove oil numbs them and puts them to sleep. It does not cause any pain or suffering. Some of my bettas react that way when I pour new water in during a water change. You did the right thing waiting a while after his gills stopped moving. I would be horrified if my betta woke up, so I put Pluto in the freezer in a zip-lock bag after a while in the clove oil. I just didn't want him to wake up and be buried alive. We were both lucky to have someone with us to do the parts that we could not do/watch.


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## Magickarp05

I'm so sorry to hear that you both lost your betta friends. 

R.I.P. Castiel <3 

R.I.P. Pluto <3


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## iSheree

Magickarp05 said:


> I'm so sorry to hear that you both lost your betta friends.
> 
> R.I.P. Castiel <3
> 
> R.I.P. Pluto <3


Thank you Magickarp05.


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## BettaStarter24

Meet Crowley! 

He's my new CT just got him today after Cas died on Monday so he moved into Cas's old 1.5g tank. I'll do one of the journals from his POV as soon as I figure out his personality. So here he is!


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## iSheree

BettaStarter24 said:


> Meet Crowley!
> 
> He's my new CT just got him today after Cas died on Monday so he moved into Cas's old 1.5g tank. I'll do one of the journals from his POV as soon as I figure out his personality. So here he is!



Oooohhhhh hes cute and looks like a marble. He may change colours! Good luck.


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## BettaStarter24

More pictures of Crowley, all settled into his tank. Can't wait to see him color up. Any ideas if he's dumbo eared? Looks like he might have bitten his pectorals a little in the store so they're a little smaller than I'd think for an elephant ear but they are large and rather opaque.


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## BettaStarter24

12-16-14

So the human wants me to start out again. :roll: My horrible injury - Oh it's not Horrible Jasper stop being melodramatic!- Oh shut it Sammy it's horrible. Anyway the horrible injury to my anal fin is healing I guess. Doesn't mean I've stopped trying to escape the cup. that damn thing keeps invading my home twice a week. now I hear I'm going to be subjected to hours in a baggie whilst the human transports us home and sets our tanks back up? I'm calling fish protective services I swear she's trying to torture us! Maybe if I flare at her at all hours of the day she'll show mercy and leave me alone. 


Ignore the melodramatic grump up there. I think it's highly entertaining to be going on a road trip. I've never been in a car before. Nor have I been in a baggie, only in my cup. I'm pretty chill though which drives Jasper insane. Well until the fingers point at me. I don't like that. Or when that big reflective thing sits by my tank and I can see that other fish. Then I have a problem. The human says I'm growing which is great I guess. maybe soon I'll have caught up to the beast we call Jasper. I'm not as small as I was when mom rescued me from the psychology wing but I'm not big yet. 


Someday little brother. Some day. Dean here. The filter continues to hum and escape continues to be futile. And no sight of pie yet. The human put this sign in my tank the other day. I think it says no fishing. I'm not too sure about it yet. She seems fairly pleased though as I've decided to grace her with a bubble nest. I'm pretty proud of it if I do say so myself. Took me hours of hard work. -Now whose being melodramatic!- Shut up Jasper. Anyway I continue to work on my jumping skills. Failing every time. the human encourages me to stay by feeding me delicious little spaghetti noodles she calls bloodworms. Whatever they are they're yummy. 

Hi Hi Hi HI HI! I'm a little more calm now but I can still pack a punch! Forgive Dean's melodramaticness, he's been feeling a little down since Castiel died. I think he had a thing for him. Of course they never met fish to fish but spending a while in tanks next to one another has to count for something. I mean, I'd go nuts if I wasn't put next to Jasper. I've been next to him since mommy got me. Anyway now Dean has a new neighbor but I'm not sure if he's warmed up to him or not yet. New guy's kinda cranky. 

Yeah yeah I'm cranky what's it to you? You'd be cranky too if someone stuffed you into a cup, carried you around then plopped you into a tank, constantly changing around decorations. Okay maybe I'm exaggerating but still. All I want is to be loved! 

Sammy again, I'll cut in here because Crowley's being a grump. Almost as much as Jasper can be. I'm surprised there. So Grumpy number two is Crowley. Mom must have put pictures on here somewhere. I'm sure she'll post more of all of us eventually. :roll: her and that damn phone.


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## BettaStarter24

1/2/15

Happy new Year from me and my boys! 

I finally decided to go ahead and get Crowley an upgrade. I ordered the Aquarius 2.5 gallon glofish corner tank. It came cracked so I am returning it for a refund. I then ordered the Aquarius 2.5 gallon corner tank (not glofish, same thing but different light from a different seller) and that came today and the side of it was completely shattered. so I will be returning that for a refund. So instead of fighting with ordering another online I picked up the Topfin 2.6 gallon glass aquarium with LED light and internal filter. I'm not using the filter at the moment though, I will probably set it up later. But for now Crowley's got an extra 1.1 gallons to swim around in and he is excited. I will post pictures when I get some good ones. 

Jasper's fin is still healing nice, it's about halfway healed now. I made each boy a tube with craft mesh and they will not stop swimming through it. They're settled in nice at home after the move from school. Though that was definitely a fun time. And I will not get anymore than 5 at a time. Transporting five bettas is definitely interesting.


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## BettaStarter24

1-25-15

Wow it's been a while. Not much has been going on. Tried Zebra nerite snails in Dean and crowley's tanks but both snails died. Decided not to get anymore for now. I did get Moss balls, one for Crowley and a small one for Sammy. We made the trip back to school yesterday so the boys aren't very happy with me but most of them have a small bubble nest going. They're tanks are holding a better temperature at my dorm then they did at home. Which is good, I can actually get Jasper and Oliver's tanks up to 78 degrees. I had had issues with them heating at home as they wouldn't get above 75 degrees. Last night Crowley's tank had a major cool down, it was at 65 degrees when I woke up but it is heating back up now. my guess is the room got a little chilly in the night. Everyone is doing great, Jasper's anal fin is healing nicely and no one has done any or more damage to their fins. Still have the algae problem in most of the tanks, excluding Sammy's. Working on that, it's only on the plants and the caves in those tanks. Stained my pretty blue plants green though which disappoints me. 

I had upgraded Crowley's tank recently from the Tetra 1.5 gallon cube to a Topfin 2.6 gallon glass aquarium (square shaped). He loves it and I'm in love with it too. It's so much bigger than the 1.5 gallon and he can actually turn around properly. It came with a filter but the filter was wayyyy too strong, I'm going to hold off on using it for now. I don't like how much room it takes up and After being in the 1.5 gallon I think he likes all the room he can get. So now I have all my tanks on the same WC schedule, 1 50% a week and 1 100% a week Seeing as they are all 2.5 gallons or up (my largest being Sammy's 3 gallon). I am a little worried about the moss balls though, as my source water at school has 0.25 ppm ammonia content. Will that hurt the moss balls at all? I do use SeaChem Prime and when I'm at school I use a little more than the minimum dose, since it is safe to use 5x the recommended dose I use closer to the higher number. 1 ml per tank. which if I do the math right is about 4-5x the recommended dose for 2.5 gallons, a little less than that for the 3 gallon.

On another note now that I actually remember lol Happy birthday Jasper!!! My boy is 1 year old today. I estimated the month and then picked a day lol. In 3 months I'll have had him a year.


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## DaytonBetta

The moss balls will be fine. 

Best fishes for a happy birthday!


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## BettaStarter24

*Sad Endings bring New Beginnings*

Well, as most of you have seen in other posts, I lost my Jasper last week. It happened so fast. I was devastated by his loss but have accepted there was probably nothing I could have done for him, since it hit him hard and fast. I can only be grateful that I was able to give him a happy home for the majority of his life. 

With his loss brings the chance for one more boy to have a happy home with me. I was going for another petco/petsmart boy because they're generally less expensive then the fancy boys we find on Aquabid that everyone wants but not everyone can afford. But, since it's been so cold where i am recently shipments have been put on backorder and the shops are pretty much empty. 

Since I am from Minnesota and am only 15 minutes away from the cities I talked my mom into stopping at the Betta Shop while we were in St Paul at the whole foods store. I wasn't planning on buying a fish from there as they're pretty spendy but I saw this guy and I just couldn't leave without him. You know the saying "he spoke to me" ? Well this guy screamed at me and would not shut up until I brought him home. He doesn't have a name yet but I do have a few ideas, Misha, Gadreel, Gabriel. I'm leaning towards Misha but I'm waiting to see his personality. 

I can't help but think that this guy was meant for me. The owner of the Betta Shop was telling me that he was already reserved before I got there but due to unforseen emergencies the person had to cancel the reservation so he was (thankfully) still available. He had caught my eye on the videos the Betta Shop has on their website for halfmoon plakats. (if you want to see him in motion go to www.mnbettashop.com click on shipment updates, then halfmoon plakats, he's under the "Blue Water HMPK" and his jar is CP4) 

Even though I'm still heartbroken over losing Jasper I'm glad I can give this guy a happy home. He'll be transferred into the 2.5g Jasper lived in tomorrow when I return to school but for now he's in my spare 1.5 tetra cube. I spent pretty much all weekend obsessively disinfecting the tank and the heater. (two rounds of Vinegar/water soak (20 min each) and two rounds of 70% ethyl alcohol soak (15 min each)) 

More pictures will surely come as he gets acclimated to his new home and as his colors and personality develop. 

















In other news, everyone else is doing great, no signs of sickness so hopefully *knocks on wood furiously* Jasper's case was an isolated incident.


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## Tress

So sorry for your loss, I know exactly how you feel. I lost 3 boys in a month from something I still haven't pinned down so I'm hyper paranoid atm. I'm glad you we able to get your new boy, he's lovely! I wish there were more locally owned stores around here!


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## BettaStarter24

**Warning!* Long post!*

So i think my mom thinks I'm officially insane. I now have six fish which I said I'd never ever get a sixth fish...well yeah about that...I saw him and I just had to have him. Betta shop got their new shipment in Tuesday night, and I checked what they got at midnight on Tuesday when the videos are posted. They had an opaque flat white HM male that was to die for. I really wanted him, almost impulse reserved then and there, but I figured I'd watch other videos and think on it for a few hours. I checked the HMPK's and they had like five white HMPK males and to say a knife stabbed through my heart would be an understatement. I fell asleep dreaming about little white fish (which as some know is my dream fish, pure opaque white, don't care about tail type, just white HM was preferred though). I discussed it with my mom briefly who said it was up to me but did I really need another fish? I decided to go for it and put in a reserve email for the HM male with one of the HMPK males as a backup. Sadly the longfinned HM male was already reserved but Tony (the owner of the Betta Shop) had said that he would reserve one of the HMPK's for me, (I had specified both PM 18 and PM 20 as possibilities) and he said when he went in he'd see which looked better and reserve that one for me. 

Went to pick him up and lo and behold I actually really like him much better than the long tailed HM male that i originally wanted. He's a Platinum white HMPK and the HM was flat white and had a sort of off white coloring to him. He was still gorgeous in person and to die for but I'm happy with how things turned out, I got my white boy and another cute little guy to watch dart around his tank. 

I didn't have anything really for him tank-wise, though I did have a Medium Kritter Keeper and a 1.5g tetra cube I could have easily set up as a temporary tank until this weekend when I'd be going home and could get him a real set up, but we had to stop by Petsmart to get a heater anyway so I just got him a set up then, it was easier and better for him then having him in a tiny tank for the time being. So he's currently in a nice roomy 2.5 gallon Aqueon LED Minibow tank, with three silk petsmart National Geographic plants, black gravel and a Marineland Visi-Therm 50W heater which keeps his tank at a steady 80 degrees. 

This puts a damper on my plans to rescue another psychology experiment betta next year, and rehabilitate him and then rehome him, but oh well. Tony was telling me as he was getting him ready to go that Platinum white bettas aren't really seen too often. and I'd have spent soooo much more than I did on him if I had ordered one off of Aquabid without the stress of waiting for him to arrive and hoping he didn't die on the way. 

This little guy is only 3.5 months old and is about the size of half of my pinkie (from second knuckle to end of finger). And is half the size that Misha is. He flares at almost everything, pens, Misha of course, the paper dividing the tanks occasionally, he was flaring at his reflection and biting it last night. he's currently flaring at the stem of his red plant. 

I did learn more about Misha while I was picking this guy up. When I got him about two weeks ago roughly, he was labeled as a "Blue Water HMPK" and I had no idea what that meant. I forgot to ask Tony when I was there before getting Misha, but I asked him when I picked this guy up. He said that Blue Water is a competition team, and the fish they get from them were on the team and were sold at an auction. They are chosen from the team because of their form or they have extraordinary colors. i found out Misha is 7 months old as well. So he was spawned in August/September I want to say (my math might be off). 

I fully recommend the Betta Shop! They will ship bettas if the weather is nice just order or reserve the fish you want, then click shipping required, then follow those instructions. Tony is really good about getting back to you within 3-4 hours unless he's asleep. Express shipping from them is $40, Priority I'm not too sure on as during the winter he only ships express and requires you purchase heatpacks for the trip. If anyone has the opportunity to stop in in person or even order from there I really fully recommend it. They really care about the fish they sell and they make it a point to really connect with their customers, I was surprised Tony even remembered me and Misha and he even questioned about Misha's well-being which is something I never really had any experience with as I've only gotten fish from Petco/Petsmart before this and we all know they *sometimes* don't care what happens to the fish or won't remember you from eve. I can not stop singing this place's praises. It's more expensive then Petco/Petsmart but the fish you get are totally worth the extra money. Very good quality fish. They also sell guppies, tetras of various types, and huge ass goldfish. They had two (an orange and a white) Orandas larger than my hand, four black orandas around the same size, some smaller orandas of varying colors, and two or three large ranchu goldfish. Plus wildtype bettas, Giant Bettas, etc. They have really nice set ups. (Giants in at least 2.5 gallon jars if not a 5 gallon tank, wildtype pairs in 2.5 gallon tanks, other bettas in at least 1 gallon glass containers, then the goldfish are split up, the two rather large Orandas (orange and then white) were paired in at least a 50 gallon, the black orandas were in a very large tub (like the ones you put out with horses) so were the smaller orandas, the Ranchus were in a 50 gallon roughly, so were tetras, guppies, pretty much any fish they have that arent bettas are in a 50 gallon filtered tank. 

Ok my rant about the Betta Shop is over lol. 

On to my boys lol. Oliver is finally starting to flare again! Yay! All the others are doing great, no illnesses *knock on wood* and it seems I got everything in Jasper's (now Misha's) tank killed *knock on wood*.


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## DaytonBetta

That sounds like a really neat store!


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## Axeria

Wow, wish we had such good stores around here... We have only red and blue VTs, which are cute and all but not my cup of tea if you get me?

I would love to live in the us, so many more opportunities!

Cant wait to see pics of your boy  I want a white one too, but I will start with my pink dragon and take it from there 

Subbing  <3


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## BettaStarter24

I really need to make up my mind with a name so I can stop calling him New Guy. Cain doesn't fit him so that name is out. I'm not 100% sure if Gabriel fits him at all either. It's a good name, but idk if it fits this particular fish. His personality isn't as mischevious as Gabriel's is in the show so far. So far he's been pretty mellow, flaring only at Misha or a black dot on his tank drawn with dry erase marker, or even a mirror held up. First night home he did nothing but explore his tank. So I'm back to the drawing board with names which is frustrating. 

Here's a list I have so far:

Gabriel
Leviathan (Levi for short)
Castiel (Even though I already had a Castiel)
Winchester
Bobby (though he doesn't strike me as a bobby)
Uriel
Impala

The other boys I have have been easy to name lol well not Oliver as I debated on his name for a bit same with Jasper's, but Dean, Sammy, Crowley, Misha, the old Castiel, their names came to me immediately but this guy is a stumper. I'm almost leaning towards just reusing the name Castiel due to his blue eyes and he kinda fits with the shyness Cas has yet the fierce protectiveness if you mess with his turf, but idk about reusing names. What do you guys think?


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## Tress

I'd give it a few more days to let his personality really shine through. Lol at the 3rd pic, looks like he is walking on little crabby claws


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## Axeria

Aah, that fish is absolutley stunning! What a great find! I like the name Levi


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## Aqua Aurora

Personally I would never re-use a name for a pet, you pre-set the expectation for them to be _exactly _like the last one, but each fish IS different (even if they have some similarities).
..How about the name Remminingtoon (Remi for short) for the new guy?


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## BettaStarter24

I like the name Aqua, but I'm trying to keep with my supernatural tv series theme. I've decided not to reuse Castiel as I just can't justify it and Cas was a one of a kind fish and it feels wrong reusing his name.


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## BettaStarter24

*Sammy's Story-Full*

So I decided since I spent the past few posts focusing only on my new guy, I'd do a post all about each of my other boys so they get their own special post. I decided to start with Sammy as he's the first I looked at before starting this lol. 

As many of you know Sammy was a part of my college's annual psychology experiments where they try to condition bettas to be more aggressive to things than they'd usually be. Due to this, if I were ever to consider doing a community tank, Sammy would not be the boy I'd place in the tank, he'll forever be in his own tank with no other tankmates. Which I'm ok with as well as I've tried Nerite snails before as tankmates and they died within two days. (and every other tankmate that is compatible with bettas would create too high a bioload for my tank sizes). 

I got Sammy on October 28th, 2014. I wasn't planning on getting another boy as I had just gotten Dean three days prior, I was only going to the psychology department to see what they had and to enquire about what they did with them if they couldn't find homes. (Me and a friend were planning on taking all of them and rehoming them ourselves if they flushed the ones they couldn't find homes for, but they keep them until they find homes.) My friend came with me as well, just to see what they had. All the bettas were male VT's, most were red, except for Sammy and a steel/royal blue boy. My friend took the blue boy, and I was going to walk away without any, but took another look at them all and decided to take in Sammy. Walking out of the building my friend asked if I wanted to trade, but at that point I had grown attached to the little guy and kept him. He went with me to my only class of the day as I didn't have time to drop him off at my dorm and quite honestly didn't want to leave him alone too long, though he did sit with my sweatshirt wrapped around him as the class was in a Ice Skating rink. 

He was boated and super clamped, and to be honest, if I had seen him in the store I wouldn't have picked him up as he was this weird shade of orange with some blue in him. 

I got him back to the dorm and set him up in a 6qt tupperware and put in a Hydor slim heater so he could have warmer water, leaving Dean without a heater as he was healthier and stronger. 

Now, five months later he's unclamped, and very happy, he's grown about a half a centimeter-a centimeter of fin of his caudal and anal fins


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## BettaStarter24

*Dean's Story*

I got Dean three days before I got Sammy on October 25th 2014. Again, wasn't planning on getting another fish, but my friend had gone home for the day and stopped by petco, and sent me a picture of him and I fell in love with him, thought it over all night (quite literally staying up most of the night thinking about it to be sure I really wanted another fish) then went to pick him up the following day. 

I bought a medium Kritter Keeper as a temp tank because I couldn't afford an actual tank at the moment. 

When I did end up ordering him a tank, I also ordered Sammy one, the one I got for Sammy (Tetra 3g cube) came perfect condition, but the one I got for Dean (Aquarious 3g 360 view) came cracked. Returned it and got a replacement which was also cracked, so returned that one, got my money back as their entire stock was cracked. Ended up getting Dean the Aqueon Evolve4 then finding the exact tank I wanted at Walmart for $30. -_- had ended up being ok with the different tank than I wanted as I had to question the stability of the cylindrical tank if that many cracked like that. I still have my issues on the evolve4 tank. I don't like how hard it is to empty it completely of water during 100% changes but it works as a tank. 

Dean has now proven to be a marble, though his changes are happening very gradually, almost hard to detect unless you've been watching him since I got him. 

He's shy, he doesn't really flare much, not with beard anyway. He more frantically flails around his tank in a state of wild frenzy. He does bite his tail, but he seems to be letting it grow back now I haven't noticed any change to the area he's nipped and have noticed some new growth. :-D


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## BettaStarter24

*Crowley's Story*

I got Crowley December 6th, 2014. About four or five days after I had to euthanize Castiel my red/white bicolor SDeT. 

I was looking for a crowntail as I had never had one before and I really liked the look. I was going to be picky and not just grab the first fish I saw as I wanted to be sure I liked the fish I chose and didn't end up resenting him. Crowley did end up being the first Crowntail I saw, but I had looked at the others at the petco, didnt really see much of anything I liked, hid Crowley on the top shelf, then went to the petsmart closeby to see what they had. They had a really pretty blue marble CT but he didn't look too healthy and as I had just had to put down a fish I didn't really want to take on another sick one, plus I didn't really know what he had and I didn't want him to end up suffering because I couldn't care for him properly. So we went back to Petco and I got Crowley. 

He actually had a tank ready for him unlike Dean and Sammy. I had cleaned out Cas's 1.5g tetra cube and that became Crowley's home. 

Over J-term I ended up upgrading Crowley from the 1.5g cube to a 2.6 gallon topfin glass aquarium which is where he calls home to this day. 

He's always had a big potbelly. It still scares me sometimes, thinking he's got some constipation issues or swim bladder issues, but it's just him. He's pooping and swimming just fine.


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## LarixLyallii

BettaStarter24 said:


> Ok my rant about the Betta Shop is over lol.



That wouldn't be the same www.mnbettashop.com would it? In Minnesota? ...I'm actually considering going to them for my next betta, (not until early/mid April - I'm waiting for my 10 gallon plants to grow out; I've got some shrimp in there now named Zippy and Skippy, and some more shrimp just arrived today) but I am super duper intimidated. Your fish look super nice though, and you just sang praises for them, so that's immediately a couple of points in their favor! 

Also, hello fellow Wisconsinite *waves*


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## LarixLyallii

Also, (ugh sorry for the double post!) I have to say how I love your naming scheme for your guys - I frickin' love Supernatural. Well, except season 6. Don't know why, but that season just doesn't jive with me.

Do you have a name for the new dashing young man yet? If not, I'd actually say...I agree with Axeria and go with Levi, or hmm...if he's calm unless something threatens his turf...I'd actually say Bobby.  I mean, he's not plaid-colored, but personality-wise, I'd say it's a fit. 

Also also - check out Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman's Good Omens sometime - pretty sure 50% of Crowley's characterization in SPN is from the Crowley from that book.


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## BettaStarter24

Yep I do mean the www.mnbettashop.com. They are amazing and all the fish there are definitely worth the extra bucks you'll spend. Show halfmoons are pretty spendy but they are absolutely gorgeous. Next wednesday is their next shipment date, then April 1st. Every two weeks is shipment day.


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## BettaStarter24

Both times I've been there out of all the fish I've only seen one dead. out of at least over 100 fish (counting from how many were there both times, 50 or so first time, and 50 or so second time)


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## LarixLyallii

All righty, I'll probably drag one of my friends there when I go to get my next betta.  I'm pretty darn close to the MN border, so it's not terribly far away.


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## BettaStarter24

I love that place.


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## LarixLyallii

How are all of your bettas doing? _she asks sheepishly, feeling like she's accidentally steamrolled the journal a little bit_


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## BettaStarter24

They're all doing great! New guy is starting to get some blue in his anal fin which I'm not too pleased with but what can you do. he's grown a bit since I got him. 

Sammy's decided he doesn't like company, he's fine with me and my roommate but as soon as someone else walks in he's flaring up a storm. 

Oliver's finally started to flare again, he had been my most aggressive boy but then sort of stopped caring, and now he's right back to being little mister I'm gonna flare at things again. 

Dean's biting, he's been biting for a while, haven't been able to figure out what's causing it. Nothing in his tank had changed before he started, now recently he got a new heater but he'd been biting before that and I'm sorry dean if you don't like the heater I'm not putting the unadjustable back in. He concentrates the biting to two spots. I'm convinced he wants to create a new tail type. the Triple tail. :roll: 

Crowley's being Crowley, generally moody and constantly acting like he's starving. He's got a bit of a potbelly going on, but he's always had that. It doesn't go down with fasting and he's pooping/swimming just fine. His poops are normal, albeit huge. 

Misha is doing really well, growing nicely, marbling slowly (just hoping he keeps his white face) 

Everyone is eating well, and loves the NLS pellets I've got them on now. a lot more than the Tetra pellets they were on. 

They're preparing for a week without food though as I'm leaving on spring break and don't see the point of hauling all 6 home for 9 days then hauling them right back to school. I'm planning on doing full changes tomorrow before I leave, and feeding before I leave, then doing changes when I get back and feeding when I get back. They're not gonna be too happy with me when I return. I'm thinking about coming back up during break to feed and just check up on them in general, do a half change as I should be able to get into the hall over break.


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## Tress

Actually, if you're going to be away for a while it's best not to feed them before you go so that they don't poop and have that creating ammonia in their tanks.


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## BettaStarter24

This spring break thing is getting old lol I miss my boys and wanna see them and make sure they're okay. Especially having two maybe three marbles Im nervous I'm coming back to whole new fish! 

New guy still doesn't have a name which is frustrating. Nothing seems to fit him.


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## LarixLyallii

Awe! 

How very Crowley to have a little bit of paunch.  ...for some reason I just imagine his face from Supernatural photoshopped over the fish, and I started laughing. >.<

I'm glad to hear the boys were doing well before you left for spring break!.


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## BettaLover1313

You've got some beautiful bettas! Your new guy is very beautiful (white opaque is also my dream betta). I'm sure his personality will shine through and a fitting name will be picked.


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## BettaStarter24

So went yesterday to campus to check on the boys. Everyone is doing great, if not extremely angry with me for leaving them alone without food. :roll: Did half changes on all of them and fed them. No one has changed dramatically in color. Phew! New guy actually lost the blue he had been getting on his caudal fin. he still has the line of blue around his anal fin but as long as the majority of his body remains white I'm okay with that. Still trying to come up with a name, but it's hard to find time to think too much when I have homework to finish before I get back to school lol. Of course teachers decide to schedule tests and speeches immediately as soon as we get back to school. :evil:


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## BettaStarter24

Funny how things can change in 5 hours lol. I finally came up with a name for the little white guy. His name is officially Blaine after one of my favorite characters from Glee which just had its series finale tonight. It fits him more than I thought it would.


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## Axeria

Glad your boys where doing good when you went to check on them  lol I bet they where not pleased with you , but they will definitely get over it  
I love your new boys name!


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## BettaStarter24

So I have pouting fish today. It was water change day and as Dean's tank is a PITA to refill from where it was before I moved tanks around (plus I was getting sick of the layout. So Dean got Sammy's spot, Sammy's in Dean's spot (Still in their original tanks, just moved the tanks around) Crowley didn't move, Oliver moved down to the shelf Sammy and Crowley are on, and Misha and Blaine take up the top shelf, with my little betta statue in between them. (it's not exactly a betta, but it looks so close to a betta that I'm gonna say it is one.) 

Dean and Oliver also both lost their flower caves I had in their tanks. Dean got a few tears in his dorsal fin that I'm pretty sure wasn't biting and feeling the decoration I noticed a sharp spot I had missed on initial inspection. So he lost that, (He has a tube he can hide in) and Oliver's was just removed in case his also had a missed sharp spot. So they're pouting because they slept in their caves. Not to mention, the algae I have in the tanks (that is not coming out no matter what I do, it's all in the plants I mean) just wouldn't come off of them and I got sick of dealing with it. They both have the craft mesh tubes they can hide in and that they do frequently sit in. Dean's just sitting in the spot his cave was in, pouting. I'm just like sorry dude, I'd really rather you not shred your fins.


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## BettaStarter24

Don't have good pictures atm but Misha's continuing to change, now almost daily. He's losing the white on his face and his blue is starting to bleed into his fins. It'll be interesting to see what he turns out to be, though I'm not too sure I'm too happy that he's losing so much of his original colorations. I had hoped he'd at least keep his red fins if he lost his white, or vise versa. I do have to say it is intriguing to watch him marble and change, same with Blaine though I'm exceptionally more saddened by Blaine's marbling than Misha's as I bought Blaine as a solid platinum white and now he has blue spots on his anal fin and one spot on his dorsal which has started to spread a little. I will post pictures as soon as I get decent ones of both. Little buggers don't like to stay still or sit in the glare on their tanks from the window. Blaine's becoming much more spastic with the camera too. So we'll see. 

Sammy managed to get stuck between his thermometer and the wall of the tank yesterday (he has a thermometer that suctions onto the wall of the tank with a suction cup) he had moved his tube into the corner there and swam through it, swimming down towards his gravel at the other side, wedging himself between the thermometer and the wall of the tank. He wiggled around a bit before figuring it out and freeing himself. I promptly moved the thermometer back a bit so he couldn't repeat the performance. (As I'm sure he thought it was)

Dean hasn't stopped sulking about his cave, but he was the first one to build a nest for me after the last water change when he's usually the last. 

It hit me the other day that out of my original 3 that i brought to school in the fall, I only have one of those three left, Oliver. Castiel was euthanized last semester, and then Jasper died this semester. Which means I've gotten 5 fish over the course of this school year. Kind of hard to believe this time last school year I only had one fish. And then last september (of 2013) I didn't have any fish. So when it hits september this year I'd have been in the hobby for two years. And boy do I feel bad for the guy that started it all, Ignus. He spent the majority of his life that i had him in a .5 gallon marina tank with once weekly water changes (after his 1 gallon glass bowl cracked, again that was only getting weekly changes as well). He only lived in a proper tank for a week, and even then did not have a heater. Now all my boys live in nothing less than 2.5 gallons, each tank properly heated with twice weekly changes. 1 50% and one 100% a week dosing with prime and being fed NLS pellets. 

I've gone a long way in a year and a half when it comes to betta care. My mom and family think Im insane, and though sometimes I have to agree with how many boys I have, I can't say I regret having any of them.


----------



## Tress

It definitely is interesting to watch bettas marble. Sometimes you think you know what you're going to get but they just do their own thing I swear lol. 

If you're insane, at least you know you're not alone


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## BettaStarter24

Picture time of the two marbles that are actively changing, Dean's been relatively stable for a bit. Pictures are from today.


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## Tress

Wow, I wonder how much dark Misha is gonna get. Blaine is very pretty :3


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## BettaStarter24

Thanks, my profile pic is Misha two weeks ago, right before Spring break.


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## BettaStarter24

I was looking at pictures of Sammy when I first got him and realized just how big a change he's made since I got him. I'm so proud of him!

When I first got him:















Now:


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## BettaStarter24

6/2/15 update

Sorry it's been a while since I've updated, life has been kind of hectic with the end of school and beginning of work and internship for the summer. I also just got a wisdom tooth surgically removed yesterday so I haven't been all that active on here besides commenting on a few posts here and there. 

As most of you guys know, I caved and got a seventh boy the day I came home from school. I swear I only went to Petco for cat food. I thought the selection of betta would be diminished as the last few times I've gone to this particular petco they haven't had many. Well I was wrong, and it was shipment day. They didn't have as many as they usually get when shipments come in but they had a few very very pretty guys, including some kings and a beautiful black orchid butterfly HM and black orchid Crowntail, a blue butterfly EEHMPK and some gorgeous VT's including one that was a lavender butterfly. Then I saw one I couldn't stop thinking about. He was labeled as a Delta Tail and at first looked like a very light copper, but when I picked his cup up to get a better look I realized he was a platinum white. I put him back down and looked around, finding another white delta that had some black spots on his chin indicating possible marbling. I left the store with the cat food and without the fish, even though it hurt. Needless to say, within 20 minutes I was back in Petco buying the fish. I set him up in my Tetra 1.5 gallon cube with the Hydor 7.5w unadjustable heater and stole a couple small plants from Blaine and Misha. It's only temporary until I get a bigger tank for him. I think I'm getting a 3 gallon as a birthday present from a friend so he's going to be going into that if I get that. and as soon as I can I'm getting him an adjustable heater. 

I got him home and set up and got the other boys in their tanks and sat and watched him. I realized he couldn't open the left side of his beard. Now, about three weeks later He can now open his entire beard as he flares and I've realized he's most likely a Super Delta rather than a regular delta. His spread reaches to about 177-179 degrees in a full flare. Unfortunately the little bugger moves too fast to catch a picture of him in full flare, but I have attached a picture of him at a half-a$$ed flare (sorry for the language), you can tell he's a delta at least, but this isn't has far as his caudal can spread. 






























His name is Angelus after "Angelus" from Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I just call him Angel for short. 

Blaine continues to marble on me little turd. 

Before: 








March:








April 19th:








May 15th:








June 2nd:








and some bonus pictures of Misha before and after

Before: 








June 2nd:








Updated pictures of Dean, Sammy, Crowley, and Oliver are coming up!


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## BettaStarter24

Holy cow it's been forever since I've updated. 

Since I've updated last a lot has happened in my little fishy world. 

1) Blaine is no longer white and blue. he is now just blue. -_- dang it fish! Marbles are fun when you know they're gonna marble. but when you buy them because they are white (or any other color) and they completely change on you...grrrr...

2)I have lost Dean, Oliver, and Crowley. Crowley was euthanized following 5 months of mystery illness. Dean was euthanized after 2 months of mystery illness and then finding him buried in his gravel and not eating. Oliver died on his own with sudden dropsy after two days of lethargy and buoyancy issues. SIP my little men. 

3) I have developed a love of females. I currently have 3. River, Chihiro, and Zeniba. Chihiro is my Mustard Gas HMPK from the Betta Shop. River is a Mustard Gas VT from petsmart, and Zeniba is my tiny little multicolored CT. I'm pretty sure she stunted herself in the cup she was in in the store. They had her in one of the betta elive centers and the air flow was so strong that poor girl was very reluctant to move for fear of being tossed against the cup side. So she got to come home with me. Chihiro was a "I have to have her" deal. Saw her on the video and fell in love. She is my first ever female and I do not regret getting her one bit. River, I saw at petsmart during a very brief stop after a doctor's appointment. Left her there as I had to get to work, then my roomie went and picked her up for me that night. Picture's don't do River Justice. She's so much prettier in person. 

4) Finally, I am up to nine bettas now. I rescued a EEHMPK from the same Petsmart I got River from. He'd been there for at least a month and a half, hadn't had a water change in weeks from how his cup looked when I got River. The day I picked him up it had seemed like he had gotten a water change but he was still pretty lethargic. Since he has colored up a bit and has become more active. His heater comes on Monday. I named him Braveheart, which was my roomie's idea. 

Oh I don't think I mentioned this here yet but I'm sure you guys know about Haku from my other posts. He's my MG CT I got again from the petsmart River and Braveheart came from. (I've noticed a pattern that they get really pretty fish I can't resist. I need to stay away from there.)

Angel throws a fit whenever I change his tank...he's in my cycled 5g tank and refuses to be taken out. If he is he will take it out on his tail...Why must you ruin your fins Angel! He's sadly got a tumor or a cyst on his left side. Not sure what it is yet but it looks like what Castiel had.  why do my white fish have to either marble or get sick? (*knock on wood* that Braveheart lives long time) He's still active and eating very well so I'm just keeping an eye on it. 

Sammy is just as grumpy as he's always been. Next to Misha he's taken up spot of oldest fish. Both agewise and period of time under my care. He still flares whenever you look at him wrong. And he's recently discovered females. No I'm not breeding and no I won't for a very long time. His tank is next to Chihiro's and I let them see each other for a bit each day for "Flare-y Fun Time" cause Chihiro is a boy in a girl's body. 

Misha has stabled out in his marbling. We're dealing with a seemingly never ending bout of fin rot. Or at least it's not growing back. It's not getting any worse, it's just not growing back. He's recently discovered that females exist too with his flare-y fun time with River's tank next to his. 

Here are updated pictures of everyone from previous posts on here and the newbies. 

Blaine:








Sammy:








Angel: This is before the cyst/tumor appeared and before I put the filter in. This is right after I got the 5g tank. I don't have any good updated pictures of Angel.








Misha:








Haku:








Zeniba:








River: This is when she was in the store. She hates having her picture taken








Chihiro:She gets two pictures because it shows both sides. 















Braveheart: First picture is him in store the first time I saw him, second is him at home.


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## themamaj

Your fish are so beautiful! I have loved seeing your before and after pictures. Marbles are so fascinating! I look forward to reading more


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## BettaStarter24

Thank you! Yeah, marbles are fun. I really didn't expect Blaine to change and tbh it kind of ticked me off a bit. I've accepted it and have kind of accepted that I just won't have a white fish stay white. (Angel has developed a dark patch on his caudal that hasn't spread and Braveheart has a red splotch on his head and a blue speck on his anal fin)


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## LadyNightraven

I'm so sorry about your boys who have passed on to the big rice paddy in the sky. May they swim in peace.

Your fish are lovely! I think I need to visit your Petsmart! :lol: I really love Blaine, Zeniba, and Chihiro in particular.

Your description of Braveheart reminds me of Yurei when I brought him home. He had a small blue patch on his caudal and a spot of red on his dorsal, but otherwise he was white. Now he's mostly blue with spots of red on his dorsal and ventrals and a fairly narrow vertical stripe of pearl white that runs down his body behind his gills. I don't mind because I expected him to change color when I picked him out, but I still wish sometimes that he had kept his white fins at least.


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## BettaStarter24

Well now my numbers are up to 10. I picked up a very overpriced (IMO) Red Koi Plakat from the local petstore a town over. I don't regret getting him at all, I just cringe at the price. We also went over to the Petco across the river for gravel and plants and I ended up coming home with a 10 gallon tank (Petco is having their $1 per gallon sale), 10 pounds of gravel and two silk plants. Along with a few sheets of craft mesh. I divided the 10 gallon and set the new Koi up in my 5 gallon. Angel and Haku are in the 10 gallon, and River was upgraded from her KK to Haku's old 2.5 gallon. 

So far the divided is going ok. *knocks furiously on wood* it's unheated/unfiltered right now but I have two 50W heaters coming in tomorrow and my roommate has an extra filter she's not using that I'm gonna set up tomorrow as well, get started on cycling the tank. 

Calcifer, my newest boy, is already giving me heart attacks. He likes to sleep on his side either at the top of his tank or at the bottom. 

I ended up getting a MTS free from the petstore where I got Calcifer. My roommate brouht them up to a worker who pretty much said "Take them all". We only each got one but I go back for a job interview on Wednesday and I'm tempted to just pick up one or two more. They seem relatively hardy and I really dont' mind if they breed. I'm pretty sure Calcifer could do any culling of baby snails. The snail really doesn't like light at all. I knew they were nocturnal but my roommate's MTS has been zooming around the tank with the light on all night whereas mine refused to move until the light was off. :roll: finnicky little suckers. 

Braveheart got red gravel as a change to the black I have dominating my tanks. River has natural chunky gravel which brings her colors out more. 

In other news, Chihiro has parasites so I'm treating her with API General Cure and a small dose of Epsom salt. Hopefully it clears it up soon.


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## BettaSplendid

Whew! I read all 3 pages.

...whattabettafantasticjourney...!

Gorgeous babies!


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## BettaBoy11

Subscribing! I love the name of this journal!


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## BettaStarter24

LadyNightraven said:


> I'm so sorry about your boys who have passed on to the big rice paddy in the sky. May they swim in peace.
> 
> Your fish are lovely! I think I need to visit your Petsmart! :lol: I really love Blaine, Zeniba, and Chihiro in particular.
> 
> Your description of Braveheart reminds me of Yurei when I brought him home. He had a small blue patch on his caudal and a spot of red on his dorsal, but otherwise he was white. Now he's mostly blue with spots of red on his dorsal and ventrals and a fairly narrow vertical stripe of pearl white that runs down his body behind his gills. I don't mind because I expected him to change color when I picked him out, but I still wish sometimes that he had kept his white fins at least.


Thank you! Zeniba came from the store I got Calcifer at, Blaine and Chihiro were from the Betta Shop in MN.


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## themamaj

Oh that koi is so beautiful! Congratulations!! I have never seen a koi locally.


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## BettaStarter24

Ok so since I vowed to actually keep up with this I'm gonna post an update. 

I got in the heaters and the 10g got one as well as River (whose unadjustable was crapping out on me.) I do have to order two more eventually as Braveheart's 50W marineland crapped out on me again and River has an unadjustable. But for now they all have heaters. Braveheart's is holding at 70 degrees right now. 

My roommate is letting me use her Tetra 10i Whisper filter she has extra for my 10g to cycle it. So I got that set up as well. Haku doesn't know what to do with the water flow. It's not a strong flow, he's just not used to water current like Angel is. Eventually I think that tank will turn into a NLT for a giant but that's way out in the future. 

Calcifer is very happy in his cycled 5 gallon. He's colored up nicely and even has some blue in his fins!


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## themamaj

Even more beautiful in those pictures. I have a whisper on 2 tanks. You can turn flow down on low and has worked well for bettas.


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## BettaStarter24

The one I'm using in the 10 gallon can't be adjusted, though the one in the 5 gallon can. It's not too strong for them though which is nice. Haku is already adjusted to the flow.


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## themamaj

That's good. Actually mine is on 5.5. Didn't realize difference.


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## BettaStarter24

Yeah, the one in the 10 gallon is the same brand as mine in the 5 gallon only the one in the 10g is a newer model.


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## BettaStarter24

So today was a long day in the realm of bettas. Went to the petstore in the next town to get 1 or 2 more MTS and they gave me 21. So I got in contact with other fishy friends who are taking the majority of them off my hands tomorrow. Then I stopped by Petsmart (Same one I got Braveheart, Haku, and River) and got Angel a new hide to use instead of the terra cotta pot, which he loves much better than the pot. And I impulse bought a single Otocinclus. Got him home before realizing that I didn't really have a proper set up for him, not to mention he'd prefer to be in a school. I have a friend who wants Otos for her really nice cycled tanks and she's gonna take him and get a few more to be his buds. So he goes to his new home tomorrow. But right now he is in a cup floating in the tank to keep warm. The snails I'm giving to my friend are floating in a separate cup to keep warm. and all will be gone tomorrow.


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## BettaStarter24

The Oto is happy in his new home and the snails are in their new home. 

I'm getting a little iffy about Braveheart's heater though. It keeps going back and forth between working and not. It'll hold at 70 degrees for a few days and then hold at 79-82 degrees for a while, stop and hold at 70, work and hold at 82. The only issue is I can't afford another heater right now, at least until after my car payment is made next week. I'm planning on keeping a very close eye on that particular tank's temperature and if it ends up getting too hot, taking it out and putting in the unadjustable I have that only holds at 70 degrees. Braveheart is loving the 82 degree water, he's zooming around more than he ever did when it was held at 70. He still hasn't eaten and I've had him a week and a half now. 

I have to pick up a thing of Omega One Pellets so River will continue to eat pellets. She can't seem to eat the NLS pellets. I tried frozen bloodworms yesterday to see if I could convince her to eat, she ate them but wouldn't eat my NLS. This morning I tried Omega One and she ate two. 

So far the divided 10 is going pretty good, only some flaring by Angel, Haku doesn't really care. Might end up switching sides they're on though cause Angel is more used to water flow than Haku and I'm not sure Haku likes the filter much. I can't wait until it's fully cycled. 

Calcifer has been busy in his cycled 5g. He has a MASSIVE bubblenest built. It's huge, multistory, taking over a corner of his tank. He's colored up nicely too, starting to get some more black on him, and has started to show some blue as well. 

Chihiro's parasites seem to have gone away, her poop is no longer stringy and is a nice orange tan color like her food. She's still a little "bloated" but I'm thinking that might be her being eggy. 

Sammy's just as aggressive and ornery as ever, and has started to flare at his food. Little jerk. 

Zeniba has colored up really nice, she's got blue in her tail and body and then her red has brightened up. She hasn't grown but she can eat NLS now. 

Blaine and Misha are both doing well, Blaine is going blind and has a little bump on his left eye. It hasn't seemed to bother him.


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## hannat

Those filters are great. The only reason I wasn't using that one is because it was too big for my 5.5  Glad it's getting use!


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## BettaStarter24

I swear all Calcifer does all day is build bubble nests. He now has two nests in that corner, very multistory and all in one corner.


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## themamaj

WOW look at that bubble nest!!! He wins the award for biggest I've ever seen. What an amazing fish. 

What type of heater do you have that you are having trouble with?


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## BettaStarter24

It's a Marineland Visitherm 50W.


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## BettaStarter24

Hey guys! Few fishy updates. 

I am 99.99% sure Braveheart is blind and Blaine is going blind. Braveheart struggles to eat, he keeps missing the pellets when he tries and doesn't respond to any stimuli such as a mirror or Blaine flaring at him from next door. I'm pretty sure Blaine is going blind as he is starting to miss pellets when he tries to eat, he can still get them and eat well but he's starting to miss more and more. 

River's got breeding stripes up the wazoo. I don't think they'll ever go away. I've blocked her view of Braveheart completely but still striped like a zebra. 

Chihiro's parasites came back with a vengeance so she's going through another treatment that ends today. Hopefully two treatments did the trick. She still has really long stringy poop but it's not white anymore. I'm treating with API General Cure and Epsom salt. 

Misha has gotten huge. I think he's getting close to the size of my roommate's King. I'm not 100% sure though. He's a big boy. 

The 10g is running smoothly so far. Both occupants have taken to flaring at each other occasionally through the divider but for the most part they don't pay any mind. I'm thinking about switching Haku and Calcifer when Calcifer's quarantine is up but idk yet. Haku seems to like the divided. 

Calcifer has stayed relatively stable *knock on wood* since I got him, he's colored up very nicely, has some blue scattered as iridescence on his caudal, Dorsal, and anal fins, but still has his white and black very prominently in those areas. he's getting some more black in his body which is ok with me, it helps break the red up. I'm really liking him. 

Zeniba is still a little nugget, but she can eat two NLS pellets at a time now instead of just one. I'm ok with her being a little smaller than other females. River is about the same size. They're cuties anyway. 

Sammy is just as grumpy as he always is and I am constantly asking myself how he hasn't ripped his face off with the force of his flaring. 

In heater news, Braveheart's heater is still holding relatively stable at 77-78 degrees. I'm still keeping a very close eye on it and once I have the money i am going to be replacing his heater as well as Chihiro's unadjustable.


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## Sadist

Calcifer and his nest!


----------



## BettaStarter24

Well it's been kind of active in my little fish alcove. Blaine's either marbling really weird or is sick. He's got black on his head that started as a patch that looked like he had ash on his head, now the black has spread and he has a white patch on the spot the ashy stuff was on, he's extremely lethargic and to be honest, since I'm not there to treat if needed, I'm not expecting him to be alive when I return from break. He's spent an awful long time laying on the ground on his side unmoving. I'm sadly not expecting him to be around when I return. I don't want him to die but I honestly wouldn't be surprised. He wasn't looking good when I left for break. 

Smaug is doing great! He's letting his fins grow and has toned down how aggressive he was. He flares at the finger and at Misha when I take the divider away so they can see each other from their tanks but he's not constantly flaring. and he's discovered pellets are food so he's eating again. 

Chihiro's parasites are finally gone from what I can tell *knocks on wood* She's no longer bloated and she's no longer constantly pooping. (She used to always have a string of poop sticking out be it orange or white). 

Zeniba hasn't grown much but I'm not expecting her to get much bigger. She continues to get more blue/purple, which is actually very pretty. I wouldn't be surprised if I came back to a purple/red female lol. 

River's breeding stripes continue to drive me nuts lol. But she's eating happily and hasn't grown (she's just barely bigger than Zeniba) but that's ok. 

Braveheart continues to improve. he still can't see at all/well (not sure which) but he's able to eat when he can find the pellets. I'm thinking he has pop-eye. It went away but it's back now. 

The divided is doing really well, Angel still flares at Haku occasionally but for the most part they ignore each other. 

Calcifer has colored up nice and continues to beat the others for world's largest bubble nests. He flares like nuts at fingers or pens. I love his clear beard to bits. 

Misha's gotten a little more lethargic but nothing too worrying. 

Sammy's fine he's kind of a butt to cup when it comes to 100% water changes though. 

Almost brought home a petco "baby girl" betta today. Gorgeous little white crowntail that had a hint of red at the tips of his/her fins. Labeled as a female but I'm pretty sure it was actually male.


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## BettaStarter24

Finally back from break. Everyone's alive. Though Angel and Blaine aren't looking too good. Both are lethargic. Blaine was expected to be lethargic but Angel was active and happy when I left. Now he lays on the floor of the tank almost gasping. Gills aren't brown, water parameters are fine. Haku, who is on the other side of the divider, is fine with no signs of any illness whatsoever. So who knows. 

Got a 5.5 gallon kit for $20 on Black Friday and set it up today. Finally finished actually. Here's pictures!


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## Sadist

Aww, maybe he got stressed from the schedule change or something. I hope he gets better!


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## BettaStarter24

SO many things happening around here. Blaine's now almost completely white again. He's "Enialbing" (What me and my friend call it as we call the process of going white to dark Blaineing, Enialbing is going dark to white). But he's pretty lethargic. He had bounced back but isn't really wanting to move around. I'm thinking he's actually going blind which is causing this. He has some scaling over his right eye and a bump over his left that I think has been messing with his vision for a bit. 

Angel passed away a week or two after Thanksgiving break. His tumor grew and he knocked it on something and was bleeding from the spot and was laying on the floor of the tank not eating so I had to euthanize him as there was no curing him and getting the lively little boy I bought back. 

Everyone is home now for christmas break. I'm watching over four of my roommate's fish while she's out of country so we have some cousins staying with us so to speak. 

I'm extremely excited though. Tomorrow my mom is picking up our two big additions to the betta hoard. The Betta Shop in MN, where i got Blaine, Misha and Chihiro is closing down in January and I've always wanted a giant from them as they're the cheapest place to get a full giant that i can find (cheapest meaning no shipping or transshippers as I live close to the shop). I told my mom that they were shutting down and I was really bumming about it as I wanted to eventually get a giant from them and she told me to call them and see if they had any left. So I called them and gave them numbers that I could remember that I had really liked and they had two of the list left so mom said to reserve both of them. The original plan was to give one to my friend who has mentioned many times that she wanted a giant and they had one I thought she'd love but she decided now wasn't the time for her to get a giant and that she'd just rescue kings from petco instead so the guy slated for her was left without a home. My mom decided she liked him and wanted him so we're gonna keep him and he'll be with mom. I'm gonna get her what she needs to take care of him properly as a christmas present. Petco is having their $1/gallon sale coming up in a few days and I get paid next on the 1st so I'm going to get her boy a 10g with decor and filter then. I ordered a heater for him and a heater for the 3g I'm getting from a friend on Monday (Haku is going in there as he is currently occupying the 10g). 

Here's pictures of the new guys coming. The Red dragon is my mom's and is unnamed. The other is mine and is named Zuri. (Swahili for beautiful). They are screenshots taken off of a phone from the videos on the site. Better pictures will come when they're home. I sadly can't join mom in going to pick them up as I work tomorrow over the hours the shop is open. But they'll be waiting for me when I get home. If you want to see these guys in motion go to the website www.mnbettashop.com and click down Shipment updates, click on Giant Bettas. Their numbers are G4 and G10. 

So far out of the three tanks I'm cycling, one is fully cycled, one is almost cycled and the other just started a couple weeks ago so it still has a bit left. I'm really hoping the change in bioload of the giant doesn't completely crash the cycle going on in the 10g. The other 10g once I get that will be cycled as well. 

The boys and girls would love to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays and a very Happy New Year!


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## BettaStarter24

The big guys are here and boy are they huge! They're only 3 months old and already about 4 inches long. And they're predicted to double in size. They're just as pretty in person as they were on the video. Zuri has much more color variation than it shows in his video. 

I still haven't gotten a good pic of Zuri in his tank so here's a pic of him in the jar mom put him in when she got them home (to get them out of the white cups Tony gave us) And Kevin (Mom's dragon) doesn't have a tank until tomorrow so he's currently in a 5g bucket until we get him a tank tomorrow. So his pic is also of him in a jar mom transferred him into (using the water they already had from the shop vs water from home as I instructed her to just leave them in the water Tony gave us until I could get home from work to acclimate them into their permanent/temporary home and move Haku out of the 10g.


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## Sadist

Wow, they're gorgeous! I've never seen such colorful giants! I'm glad you were able to get them.


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## BettaStarter24

Sadist said:


> Wow, they're gorgeous! I've never seen such colorful giants! I'm glad you were able to get them.


I will be posting updated pictures of them when I'm back on my computer but Zuri has colored up immensely. Kevin's pretty stressed ATM so I'm keeping my eye on him.


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## BettaStarter24

Some updated pictures of Zuri. Kevin isn't doing too hot right now, he's really stressed so no pictures of him until he perks up and feels better.


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## Sadist

Oh wow, Zuri is super gorgeous! I hope Kevin gets to feeling better soon.


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## BettaStarter24

Well finally I can post this as finally Kevin is feeling up to having his close up. He started eating today and has explored past the one half of his tank. I set a mirror up outside his tank briefly to see if he'd flare out for me and oh boy did he. Here are some long awaited updated pictures of Kevin. 

















I really can't do live plants lol. I took the anubias out of Zuri's 10g as they had finally died. I think I'll just stick to silk plants. 

Couple of the fishies aren't feeling good. Blaine and "It" (A little female rescue that I took in about a month ago that belongs to my roommate right now). They're lethargic (Blaine is extremely so). Braveheart has popeye. I'm working on trying to figure out how to help that. It's so huge right now but it doesn't seem to be bothering him. 

Other than those three, everyone is doing well. Though, I'm not looking forward to the trip back to school lol. I have 15 to pack up and move to school come end of January. And hopefully not kill my cycles. I was lucky enough to keep my one cycle that I had established and keep the progress I had made in the other two cycles I had started. 

Now I just have to drill it into my mom's head that Kevin only needs 7-8 pellets in a feeding. She's fed him a couple times and dropped too many pellets in. And this was when he wasn't eating. I scooped them out but if I'm at school and she does that...yikes. Especially now that he is eating he'll overeat and poof. explode. 

I got Zuri's tank a hood. I was getting sick of all the evaporation and I'm just paranoid he'd jump if I left him without a hood. So I picked up an Aqueon hood with fluorescent full spectrum lighting as I really like his colors under the daylight full spectrum light I had had him under. I can actually have the water level higher than before now with the hood.


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## BettaStarter24

So looking closely at Kevin vs the rest of the fish I have, I think he's missing something. He's missing his top lip. Every other fish I have has what looks to be a top lip. You can see Zuri's here:









Kevin doesn't have that top little bump. You can see what I'm talking about here:
















It's actually kinda cool


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## BettaStarter24

I lost my Blaine today. I couldn't bear to watch him suffer anymore. He hadn't eaten in almost three weeks and he spent his days on the bottom of his tank barely breathing. I finally decided that enough was enough and I euthanized him. Unfortunately I didn't have access to pure clove oil and none of the other ways sat well with me. My mom is into essential oils and one of them is called Thieves. It's a blend of Clove, Eucalyptus, Lemon, Rosemary, and cinnamon oils. I was unsure about it, but I did some research and from what I read as long as it has clove oil in it it will do the same thing. I used way more than I would if I used pure clove oil, purely because of it being a blend. He passed peacefully and quickly. 

Me and my friend went to Betta World today. It's a few blocks down from the Betta Shop in MN. I'm not impressed to be honest. We weren't acknowledged at all until we left. NO prices were displayed whatsoever on the bettas. And none of the employees were around where we could find them in order to ask. They even had half of the shipment they recieved YESTERDAY still in the tiny bags in a styrofoam thing hidden away in a corner. I didn't dare pick the bags up to look at the fish as I wasn't sure if that was allowed. Though I was sorely tempted to. 

We decided to make the trip over to the Betta Shop just to see what they had left of their last shipment and to stop by one more time before they closed. They didn't have much left, three giants, a handful of fancy plakats, a handful of show halfmoons, some veiltails and crowntails and then some 5* plakats. My friend fell in love with a little female eehmpk and I grabbed a red dragon hmpk. They were 33% off due to the store closing down so we got them at a deal. There was a halfmoon boy I was sorely tempted by and if he hadn't been bought by someone while we were there I would have picked him up too. He was an orange dalmation with beautiful blue irids and blue eyes. So gorgeous. 

I named my new boy Tadashi after Hiro's big brother in Big Hero 6. He's adorable and tiny. Here's some pictures.


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## themamaj

Absolutely unbelievable beautiful giants. Almost 4 inches whew a whopper for sure. I thought mine were big at 3-3.5. I thought Kevin had unusual lips in first picture. Very interesting. I really like unusual characteristics like that. 

So sorry about your boy, Blaine. It sounds like he had a long happy life and now peaceful. 

Your boy with popeye...epson salt 1tsp/gallon will help take down the swelling. A round of med like Tetracycline will help as well. 

Good luck with new school semester. What is your major? I can't imagine moving all stuff I had in college and fish too, but I guess I did on a small scale with goldfish. It was about the only thing we were allowed to have in the dorm, however, my roommate had a "illegal" hamster named Bear. He was the cutest thing. When our dorm manager would come check our room (yes the old days), we put Bear in the closet hidden with clothes. Enviably, he would get on that wheel and squeak squeak squeak! We would always have to have background noise to be stealth like. Haha. We were such rebels- illegal hamsters and toaster ovens


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## BettaStarter24

I mismeasured lol. They're more like almost 3 inches now. But they'll probably end up 6 or 7 inches by the time they're fully grown. I'm not good at estimating I guess. I measured Zuri today with a ruler. 

Thanks for the tip on how to help Braveheart's Popeye. I couldn't find a thread that specifically said what to do really. So it's good to have a plan of attack in any case. 

I'm a Pre-Vet Animal Science major with a Equine emphasis. I'm rebeling in my number of tanks lol. We're only allowed 20g per person in my suite and I think I'm up to like 25 gallons...I think...


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## BettaStarter24

Went to pick up tetracycline or some medicine to treat Braveheart and of course no one by me sells the stuff. -_- so I picked some unscented epsom salt up and I'm just treating him with that. 2.5 tsp of epsom salt in his tank(2.5g) using the 1 tsp/gallon recommendation. Here are some pictures of it. He had mild pop eye when I got him (he had spent over a month and a half in a petsmart cup with hardly any water changes) and it went away on its own after a couple days, then stayed away for a while but came back recently.


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## themamaj

Poor little guy. Hopefully you will see some reduction in swelling by tomorrow with the salt.


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## BettaStarter24

Yeah, really hoping it gets better. 

On other note, I noticed that Zeniba has definitely marbled more. Another slightly unexpected but expected marble. Here are some before/after pictures. 

The day I got her:








Today when I cupped her to float her with Zuri (She's been really eggy lately and that's the best way I have to relieve that, she doesn't reabsorb if fasted):


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## Olivia27

I'm SO stealing Zeniba! Too cute! 

But then again all your fishes are lovely  hope Braveheart recovers quick x love your name selections by the way x


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## BettaStarter24

lol Seren you're not the only one who wants to steal Zeni. I have a friend at school whose said multiple times she's gonna snatch her. She was an unwanted female at a local pet store a city away from my school. Everyone passed her by and she was there for over a month waiting for someone to choose her. I had just lost my RT Oliver that morning and needed a distraction from that and studying so we went by to see what fish they had, she was sitting there being thrown around the tiny cup (they have them in the Betta Elive center thing) and I had to grab her. I was a little wary of grabbing her because the first time we saw her we thought she had a bent spine and were worried about TB and living in a dorm with over 20 bettas...you can see why we were wary. But luckily the crooked spine was just how she was sitting in the cup that day. I brought her home and instead of putting her in a medium KK like I was planning I moved some fish around and she got a 2.5g immediately lol. I love my little stunted girl. She hasn't really gotten any bigger than when I got her. She's barely big enough to eat NLS pellets. She is just over a centimeter long maybe 2.5 if that.


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## Olivia27

Sometimes I truly wonder what exactly do pet store visitors look for if the "unwanted" ones are always so gorgeous =\ perhaps it's only because she's a girl. Girls always get passed over.

Except if I'm the one walking over LOL girls are a little more awesome in my eyes


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## BettaStarter24

Yeah I hear ya there. I have three that were "unwanted" my Koi Calcifer, my blind white EEHMPK Braveheart (only blind because of how long he spent in the store) and Zeniba. Haku was in the store for a few days but he was hidden in the back so he wasn't seen. Technically my walmart rescue "cousin it" (what I've been calling her until my roommate, her new owner names her) was an "unwanted" fish. She was in the cup long enough without a water change that you couldn't see the floor of the cup. Poor girl hasn't colored up yet.


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## themamaj

Amazing how your little girl marbled already. Beautiful.


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## BettaStarter24

Thank you! She's definitely been fun to watch her change. She's my tiny little girl that's for sure.


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## Sadist

I love her, too! What a little cutie. I'm glad you brought her home.


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## themamaj

How is Braveheart today?


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## BettaStarter24

Not much change, the swelling has gone down slightly, but not much.


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## BettaStarter24

Update time!

One of the fish I'm babysitting while his owner is away on research is a butt head. I was looking over to watch the fish (As some are out in the living area) and I saw him swimming in very tight circles, I realized as he spun he was opening and closing his mouth, sure enough he swam away and had a good chunk out of his tail. The little bugger was biting. -_-

Zuri is developing more blue iridescence as time goes on, and he's developing quite the personality. He's a giant puppy dog. Though stick your finger in the tank near him and he will bite. When he flares he doesn't use his gill flaps at all, his beard just moves down like a females does usually (unless you're Chihiro). He's a silly boy. 

Kevin has made a complete 180. He now very actively and happily zooms around his tank and has a really big appetite. His lip continues to not bother him, and I'm not anticipating that it ever will. 

Tadashi is showing some copper iridescence near his tail, I'm curious to see if it is indeed just iridescence or if he's marbling. He's still one of the cutest fish I've ever seen. He has the appetite of a giant, although if he were fed like a giant he'd explode. 

Braveheart's popeye has gotten a lot better, the swelling is down and his eye actually looks like an eye not a balloon. Epsom salt helped a lot. I don't have access to Tetracycline though. My roommate has Kanaplex that I was wondering if that would work if it comes back. We also have API general cure at school. 

Calcifer has started to change a bit. His anal fin has more red on it and he's gotten more blue iridescence in his caudal and dorsal fins. 

Everyone else is doing really well so far. Everyone is a couple days overdue of a water change but I'll be doing changes tomorrow. I did some top offs today in Calcifer's, Zuri's, Kevin's and Chihiro's tanks as evaporation had done a number on water levels. The only one that probably wont get a change tomorrow is one of my roommate's fish, Quasi. He got a change a few days ago so he doesn't really need one right now. So 15 water changes for me tomorrow, yay...gulp. :shock: There are reasons I like just having 11 lol. I can shove a few water changes on each day and do it that way when I'm at school. At home, especially with 16 fish to do water changes on, and work, doing it all in one day works best. Though it's a pain in the butt lol. I definitely really really really love my 5g tanks and my 10g. 50% changes weekly is so much easier than 100% changes. I can generally get the 10 fish in the living room done in about an hour and a half if I do it how I want to do it and then the 6 fish in my room take about an hour. So I spend about two and a half hours doing water changes with the 16. When I'm back to school that number drops to 12. (i'm in charge of Kevin's water changes)

The only thing I'm a little worried about is that Kevin is staying at home when I go back to school and idk if I can afford the gas to drive home every weekend for a water change. The plan is to do 50% changes every two weeks when I come home to work for the weekends. Ideally I'd be able to go down every week to do it but gas costs too much right now (plus paying tuition and car payments). I'm hoping I can get his tank at least most of the way cycled before I leave and I'm probably going to end up putting food portions in separate bags as my mom tends to overfeed. I keep telling her he only needs a certain amount but she won't count out the pellets, she just puts a pinch in there and I end up having to fish most of them out. -_- so before I leave we're gonna get her some food but I'm tempted to just portion it out into bags for two weeks at a time and tell her to only give him whats in the bag each feeding. There's still things to work on there. 

I adore my little girls. Sure I've played with the idea of a sorority but I won't do it, mainly because my girls have such different personalities they wouldn't work well together, also I only have 3 girls. And I love each of them too much to risk them killing each other in a sorority. Chihiro is a male in a female body, she's a little firecracker and she started my female addiction. (Technically it was started by my roommates CT female, Irene, but...) Zeniba is active and inquisitive, she doesn't flare much unless she's being floated, but she flared at me last night, just the gill flaps, no beard, it was adorable. River is the shy one. She swims around her tank and is active, just doesn't flare, even at a mirror from what I've been able to see. Though when its feeding time holy crap stand back cause she will chew your finger off ;p. 

I'm really tempted to put the Aqueon 50W preset in Smaug's tank but I'm not 100% sure if its functioning properly. It was in Kevin's and didn't get the tank up past 74 degrees, which thinking back was probably because the tank was by the window and it is in the middle of winter right now. It was hot enough to almost burn my hand when I touched it after unplugging it, but so is the Hydors when I unplug them and take them out to clean tanks so I'm not sure if that's actually a sign of malfunctioning heaters. Smaug's heater is a Hydor 7.5 watt flat heater and it is no longer functioning it doesnt hold the tank any higher than 72-74 degrees and I think that might be playing a part in his obsessive tail biting (He looks like a plakat with abmornally long dorsal and anal fins and he's a VT).


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## Olivia27

I wouldn't trust anything preset made by Aqueon =\ their adjustables are great. Their presets are a whole 'nother story. I'm not sure about the heater being blazing hot question, but my Cobalt's user manual did mention that it shouldn't be handled right away after unplugging. "Wait some half an hour", it says.

Anyway. I realize you said you don't have access to Tetracycline, but have you used it in the past? Any usage/dosage tips? I realize it's probably on the back of the box anyway but just in case there's a pro tip out there I'd love to know. I don't think you can use it in conjunction with ES... right?


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## BettaStarter24

I haven't used tetracycline. It was just recommended to me by Themamaj to treat Braveheart's popeye. 

I'm wary of their adjustables lol. My roommate got one and it killed two of her fish, one she literally got two days prior and her favorite black dragon HMPK from the betta shop. That's why I'm a little wary of aqueons but it'd be better than not having a heater at all. Especially with how cold it is here right now. That's why I'm thinking about using it but I'm not 100% sure.


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## Olivia27

Oh no  funny how these machines are. I suppose Aqueon is just not one of those brands with good consistency, huh? On one side of the story there's your roommate's. But on the other hand there's mine that's been running for a year now. 

You got any Cobalt Mini Therm around? $17 on my LFS. Great price for a Cobalt.


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## BettaStarter24

No stores by me sell Cobalt. I swear by Hydors lol. My one roommate swears by Marineland but I have also had issues with marineland heaters, but never Hydors. Hydors take over my tanks lol, I only have two Marineland 50W visitherms but only one consistently works, the other has been working ok for a while now but a while ago it wouldn't heat to over 74, now it's holding at 80.


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## BettaStarter24

So Braveheart is frustrating me to no end. His eye is swelling up again. -_-


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## BettaStarter24

Update time! Now that I actually have time to sit and type stuff. 

Ok now to remember who all I currently have lol. One problem about having so many fish is you have to constantly double check to make sure you're not forgetting anyone. 

Sammy:

Ok so mom finally realized a few months ago that a fish as fabulous as I am needed a nice tank so I am now king of a 5.5 gallon tank. (Though between you and me I think I should have the 10 gallon instead of the big guy over there.) Even though I would like the 10g, this is my 5.5g and if anyone touches it I will end you. *flare* I'm apparently still a grump butt and I am not afraid of flaring at anyone and everyone. In fact I am currently busy trying to defend my territory from that other fish in my tank (which mom swears is just my reflection...I don't believe it for a second). So I must go now. 

Misha: 

Hey guys. Not much is happening in my side of the pond. Mom's taken to begging my tail to heal up. It decided to rot a bit and hasn't grown back. The rot is gone, but the tail is still raggedy so now I'm her raggedy "old" man. I'm not too pleased that i was moved from my 3g to a 2.5g but I'll deal with it. Water's warm and clean and I get fed every day so I have nothing to complain about. I'm getting some golden iridescence now too which goes oddly well with the blue. No it's not velvet. It's just irids. 

Braveheart:

So Mom's kinda been really frustrated with me lately. Well...not me, but my eye. I've had chronic pop eye since she brought me home. She suspects it was caused by how long I was in that cup. I can't see very well either. But in better news the swelling in my eye has gone down completely and now I look like a normal fish! Mom's really hoping it stays how it is cause neither of us like the look or feel of an eye that is about to explode or at least looks like it is about to explode. I don't really move around my home much, but can you blame me? If you couldn't see where you were going you wouldn't want to move much either. 

Calcifer: 

If anyone even dares try to take me from my 5g home I will end them. Hello! You may have heard of me from mom's posts on here but she hasn't let us actually come on and "write" anything in a while so you haven't met me yet. I refuse to let her in on if I'm shy or aggressive and social. I flare at my food. I flare at pens, I'll even flare at her finger. But I'm not too sure about flaring at a mirror yet. My anal fin is slowly going red. Mom's hoping I at least keep some of my black and my blue iridescence. Also that I live forever cause I was so expensive. 

River: 

Um...do I have to...talk to these strangers? Ok. Sorry I'm a little shy. I only just started to flare at a mirror. Apparently I have the cutest flare in the world. I'm keeping an eye on that handsome guy next to me though. Mom apparently really likes how my tank is laid out. I'm just happy it's warm and clean. And that mom likes females like me. I don't know how long I would have sat in that cup. No one seems to want females let alone veil tail females like me. Mom says I'd probably make pretty babies if she were more experienced and had the proper set up to breed. If I were bred to Haku, the handsome guy next to me, Mom thinks we could make some MG's with darker blue bodies and more yellow fins. But Again, mom doesn't have the proper set up so that's out of the question. Oh well...

Haku: 

Hey. I'm not very happy with mom right now but I'll still do this because I'll feel left out if I don't. I had a very nice 10 gallon tank all to myself and it was amazing. I could stretch my fins and flit around to my heart's content. Now, I'm stuck in a 3 gallon tank because some big guy came in and stole my home. I mean I'm still making bubble nests in the corner, the tank is warm and clean and it's not too small I guess. It's alright. I still miss my big tank. 

Zeniba: 

Hi! My tank feels like a 5g to me. I'm still really little but my personality and attitude definitely are bigger than I am! My blue continues to spread though. Mom doesn't mind, she thinks its kinda fun watching my colors change, though I know she wasn't too happy about Blaine's marbling. My new light bulb is really dim though. I think mom is gonna change that when we get back to the dorm. 

Chihiro:

Heya. Can't talk long, I have to go scare off that male next to me. I can see him past the divider you know I have xray vision. Well at least I think so. Mom says I'm actually a male stuck in a female body. I'm just fierce...there's nothing wrong with that is there? I like to keep mom guessing on if my parasites are gone or not. I'll switch my poop up every once in a while. Sometimes it will be tan and clumpy like normal, others it will be white and stringy sometimes I have lots of fun and go light tank/white and stringy and clumpy. It's fun. Mom hates it. 

Smaug: 

I am fire! I am death! and I like to eat my fins. If everything isn't exactly how I like it I will chew all of my fins off. Though mom is knocking on wood that I let my fins grow out as I have been lately. Things are ok in my tank for now but as soon as we move back to the dorm I'm gonna go back to being a plakat. Ha ha ha...

Tadashi:

Apparently I'm the cutest fish ever. I'm a little piggy too. I'm mom's last fish from the Betta Shop. She was pretty sad it was closing down and I was 33% off so she grabbed me. Sadly I never got to see Blaine, as he was put down the night I arrived. He wasn't doing so good I hear, laying on the floor of his tank and not eating. So it was his time. 

Zuri: 

Hi HI HI! Ooh I'm so excited! Mom's finally letting me "write" stuff! Yay! Mom says I am a puppy dog. I just like to follow her around as best I can in the tank. I would follow her to bed if I could but I can't live out of water and I think she'd squish me if the dog didn't eat me. The dog and Cat like to drink out of my filter. It's weird. Mom sometimes puts her finger in the tank. I like to nibble on it, see if its tasty. But it's too big to actually fit in my mouth so I let her go. I like to occasionally jerk around too. I am trying to give mom a heart attack I think. I act like Im being electrocuted or something so she sticks a finger in to see if there are any currents of electricity or anything from the filter/heater and I get a few nibbles in. It's a fun game. I'm trying to get back at mom for measuring me. I'm not too happy with her about that I did not enjoy it. But I was only out of the tank for 2 seconds so I guess it was ok...don't let her know I said that. I hear there's gonna be another fish joining us for a brief period of time soon. Mom's roommate that I haven't met yet but is apparently my "aunt" is getting a big guy like me and Kevin and he is being shipped to mom so he doesn't sit in a bag for a couple more days since "Aunt" is in a place called Taiwan. I feel bad for the new guy, he's gonna be in for a difference in ambient temperature. It's pretty cold where mom lives. But he'll probably float in my tank while mom gets the bucket ready for him. Just to warm him up a bit. 

Kevin:

Hello, My name is Kevin and I am a drama queen. I loathe change. I gave mom and mom a heart attack when I first got home. I decided that I didn't like changes and laid on the floor of my tank gasping for a few days. Now? They don't change my tank at all, just take out half the water and replace it every week or so. I'm ok with that. I'd just prefer no full changes or being removed from my tank.


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## BettaStarter24

It's move in day for the last of the fish. Moved my 8 small tanks yesterday. Now it is Zuri, Sammy, and Calcifer's turns. Along with my roommates 5 fish that I have with me. Everyone is bagged or cupped and I'm draining tanks. Hopefully I'm as lucky as before and my cycles don't die


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## BettaStarter24

Well it's kind of a bad week for fish here. Mom's boy Kevin apparently stopped eating and has become lethargic. We're fasting him for a few days with his tank light off. I'm unable to go back home right now to look at him unfortunately with work and classes. 

My roommate lost a fish in transit to school after an accident with something in the tank that trapped the fish. 

And now Smaug isn't expected to make it through the week if not the next couple days after ANOTHER malfunctioning Aqueon heater. The 50W preset that came with Kevin's tank was in Smaug's when I moved them to school as the unadjustable that I had in his tank that only heated to 72 finally just stopped working all together. He was fine on Sunday and then I checked in on him Monday (after heater had been in the tank for almost 24 hours) and he was lethargic, clamped and gasping for air. My roommate had a 50W aqueon adjustable heater that killed two of her fish. Those two showed the same symptoms 24-48 hours before death. The ONLY difference between the tanks was the heater. The water all comes from the same source, they all had a water change at the same time, he'd been in the tank with the same decorations and plants and gravel for months and was just fine. No one else is sick from the ones that are at school with me. The ONLY thing that has changed in the tank within the past day or so is the addition of the heater. So I know 100% it was the heater, so please don't reply with "I'm not sure it was the heaters cause I use that heater and it's just fine". There's literally nothing else it could be. I did a 90-95% water change and dosed with AQ salt as that's all I could think to do. He's sitting with his light off currently and we're just waiting to see what happens. Honestly though I'm pretty sure I'm gonna lose him. 

Everyone else made it to school and got in their tanks ok, if not very angry, they're all recovered from the move well and warm.


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## BettaStarter24

Hey guys! Update time, just acting as a bump at this point so I can find this later on. 

Everyone is settled in nicely. Smaug is doing a lot better after his sudden illness due to malfunctioning heater. He's been moved into Chihiro's 2.5g and Chihiro has taken over the 3g. Of course Smaug has decided he's gonna take his anger out on his fins -_-. He's taken off all of the new growth that he actually allowed for in the week before moving back to school. (About a cm). 

It's become general consensus in the dorm that Zuri is a dog trapped in a fish body. He's our giant puppyfish. Such a piggy when it comes to food. 

Sammy has this weird thing going on with his beard. I have a post on it in the illness and emergency thread. When he flares he only lets out half of his beard. It doesn't bother him at all for what I can tell. He eats fine, breathes fine, just doesn't release his whole beard when he flares. He's loving his 5.5g still. 

Braveheart's popeye has officially been gone for a week and a half now. *knock on wood* that's the longest its been gone since I've had him. He still can't see very well but that's ok. Though it does make it hard to feed him. I put the pellets in the exact same spot every time. He knows they're there but he still can't aim very well to get them into his mouth, and when he does he chews and spits some of it back out.


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## BettaStarter24

Ok Proud betta mommy moment. My teensy little CT female Zeniba is officially not the smallest fish anymore! She's grown!!!! My roommate got a new CT female who is the size Zeni was when I got her. My baby can grow!!!!! Sorry...I'm irrationally proud of my girl and how far she's come. She wasn't unhealthy when I got her per se but I wasn't expecting her to grow at all as I'm speculating she was still a baby baby when she arrived at the store, and spending 1 1/2 months or so in the cup with questionable water changes...I was pretty sure she had stunted her growth. But seeing her grow and color up is amazing and I'm so glad I got her. (Even though she was technically a pity buy). 

In other news it's officially been 2 weeks now that Braveheart's popeye has been gone. *knock on wood* Yes I am counting the weeks as this is the longest he's ever gone without it. 

Smaug has some regrowth in his tail but I'm not holding my breath that he'll let it grow out fully.

I realized that I forgot to post a picture of Sammy's weird quirk on here. I meant to when I mentioned about his beard here but I totally spaced. 









Mom's boy David is doing great, he's healthy and active and is eating like a pig. He had a gigantic bubblenest when I got home on Friday (which has shrunk due to water change) but he's looking really good. He can't handle a whole lot of water movement though so his filter is on the lowest setting. I tried moving it up a tiny bit to allow more water to flow through the media but he refused to move from behind the filter and it stressed him out a bit so I turned it back down. Within 2 seconds he was back to patrolling around his tank.


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## Sadist

I've seen several bettas who don't use their whole beards and several who don't stick them out at all. I've never been able to figure out if there was something wrong with them (genetic problems from pet store breeders, laziness, etc). I wouldn't worry too much about it. For the longest time, I thought my Mr. Fish had no beard at all. He finally put his beard out, and it was cellophane! He mostly flared with just his gills, though.


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## BettaStarter24

Yeah I'm not too worried about it. His behavior hasn't changed at all. Still loves giving me heart attacks by playing dead. :roll:


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## BettaStarter24

Well my 10g is officially cycled! I have to test Sammy's tank as I haven't in a while but tested Zuri's yesterday and came up no ammonia or nitrites and nitrates were 5ppm


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## BettaStarter24

So I stopped by my petco today on my way back to campus and figured I'd post some pictures of some of the pretties. 

This little VT female would have come home with me if I wasn't broke and had the space, equipment, time, etc. I want to eventually get down to my big tanks only and not the small tanks, I'm starting to get to caretaker burnout (not there yet thank god but if I take in anymore I'll get there...)









There were two blue BF boys there. One with very very mild fin rot, the other didn't have very even bands. 

The one with very mild fin rot:








The other guy:








And some of the others. 






















Nothing much has changed much with my guys. Tomorrow is "gotcha" day anniversary for Misha. I just realized that him and Sammy are almost 2 years old now. Sammy is about 1 year and 7 months give or take, and Misha is 1 year and 6.5 months exactly. (I know Misha for sure as I got him from the Betta Shop and Tony knows his breeder.) 

I keep going back and forth on getting tankmates for my 10g tank, but I'm not 100% sure anymore about options I keep getting too many mixed reviews on the options I want so I might just go without as it's getting too confusing.


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## Sadist

It's so difficult with tankmates! If you can control yourself and not get any, it's probably for the best. My attempt at tankmates made me need an extra 5.5 tank for the betta and a 10 gallon full of drab fish.


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## BettaStarter24

My biggest thing is I don't have space for any extra tanks should it not work out, and the betta I have in the 10g is a giant and NEEDS ten gallons so I can't put him in a smaller tank and leave the other fish in the 10g which is what is leaning me towards no tankmates whatsoever.


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## Sadist

I had otos with a betta, and otos are about as peaceful as it gets. After 6 months, the betta went on a killing spree! It's probably safer to steer away from tank mates unless you don't mind if they get eaten. Maybe some live food as tank mates if you can keep the live food alive. I've read that daphnia are fun to watch swim around, but they need special food.


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## Olivia27

Heh. Good thing you don't have a full body shot of the turq BF or I'll be digging through my wallet gathering change LOL isn't it frustrating how blue BFs are everywhere but I can't find one that is just right? What I wouldn't give to bring Sith back to life =\


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## BettaStarter24

So this guy may or may not be joining my little menagerie. I was trying to downsize but my roommate saw him took a picture and sent it to me and I dreamt about him all night...so...yeah...I'm planning on dividing a tank with two of my current boys to free up a tank for him. The tank im dividing his cycled already. I just need to come up with a name of he's still there when my roommate goes down today.


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## BettaStarter24

Meet my new guy. He doesn't have a name yet so suggestions are welcome. I've been thinking something like a constellation or Japanese or related to studio ghibli or Hayao miyasaki's movies.


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## Sadist

What a gorgeous guy! I've never seen that coloring on that kind before!


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## themamaj

So pretty!


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## Olivia27

Aaawww he's gorgeous! I'm not at all creative so... Kiiro (yellow)? XD other Japanese names:
- Taiyou (sun)
- Takara (treasure)
- Asahi (dawn)
- ... What else is yellowish or golden? ><


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## BettaStarter24

Sadist said:


> What a gorgeous guy! I've never seen that coloring on that kind before!


Thanks for the replies!

Yeah he's a pretty boy and he's so tiny! He's flaring up a storm. I'm actually thinking of naming him Vincent after Vincent Van Gogh cause his coloring reminds me so much of starry night. Did I mention how tiny he is? He's only about just under an inch body length.


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## BettaStarter24

In other news, Sammy amazes me every day. I was pegging him as never being able to be in a divided tank due to the circumstances in which I got him but so far he's doing great in a divided tank with Tadashi. Of course Tadashi's side of the tank is heavily planted and so is Sammy's but still. So far so good. 

I was going to move Sammy into Calcifer's tank and divide Sammy's tank with Tadashi and Calcifer but when I put Tadashi into the divided tank to see how he'd do he saw Calcifer in his tank and they both started going at it trying to kill each other from different tanks so...they're not compatible as dividing partners. However, so far Sammy and Tadashi seem to be ignoring each other for the most part. 

Chihiro's parasites are back. -_- but she's halfway through another treatment so hopefully this one kicks them to the curb. 

Zeniba is really eggy but floating her with a male isn't seeming to work and I've tried fasting her but it doesn't work. She acts normal and active. I floated her in with Misha the other day and she definitely showed signs of being ready to spawn, lowering her head to him, etc. I won't be breeding anyone of mine anytime soon if at all so no worries there but I just thought it was funny. I have a theory that she's purposely not dropping her eggs and wanting me to actually put her in a tank with a male to spawn. lol little vixen.


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## BettaStarter24

Well Vincent (Name still on trial run but it's probably gonna stick) has been kind of lethargic today after being pretty active yesterday. I noticed him jerking a bit and breathing funny so I checked his levels and Ammonia was 0.50 ppm, Nitrates were 0 and Nitrites were 0. That's odd, I just did a 100% change on that tank yesterday prior to putting him in. Oh...I added a little of his petco water to the tank while acclimating. So I did a water change and retested and everything's at 0. I'm hoping that's all it was was that ammonia was present and he was reacting to it. I moved the gravel a bit with the gravel vac and a bunch of bubbles rose to the top so maybe I had some gas bubbles built up. He gets to hang out with his light off for a day or so.


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## BettaStarter24

I'm getting worried about Vincent. He's really clamped and lethargic and he occasionally sort of gasps under water and bubbles are released from his gills. I have a post on the emergencies thread but I figured I would post about it here too. I'm treating with Aquarium salt and Methylene blue but am not sure how else to help him.


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## Sadist

:-( I hope someone can help you to help him soon.


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## hannat

Roommate here! I just checked on Vincent and he's looking better with the methylene blue treatment. Still breathing a bit heavily but was actively swimming around and was very curious when presented with my finger. BettaStarter24 asked me to check in on him while she's home for work.


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## Sadist

Awesome! I hope he continues to improve.


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## BettaStarter24

Good to hear my new baby is improving. Thanks Hanna!


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## BettaStarter24

So I wasn't going to try live plants again as I have no luck with them but I found a gorgeous Anubias at my local petco soooo I picked it up. Along with a bag of white petco sand (as budget didn't allow for Caribsea sand) that I think I'm going to put in Vincent's tank instead of the black gravel I have in there now. I have wanted to try sand for a while so we'll see. I'll probably post pictures when things are done.


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## Sadist

Good luck! It's easier to see poo on sand for me, so I can more easily baste it up and put it in my house plants.


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## BettaStarter24

I just pre-rinsed the sand before I head back to campus so I can get started on rescaping when I get back and all I need to do is empty the tank of gravel, wipe everything down and then reset it up with the sand. I chose white sand to try to compliment Vincent's coloring better. I'm actually really excited to delve into sand for the first time. I'm actually debating putting the anubias in that tank instead of Calcifer's 5g like I had planned. I might take the purple out of Vincent's and replace it with the live plant, putting the purple in Calcifer's. Make the tank look more natural.


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## BettaStarter24

Here it is! And a picture of the Anubias, which ended up being two plants packaged as one as usual but oh well, $10 isn't bad for some good looking Anubias. Now let's just hope I can manage to keep them alive. (I have bad luck with plants). 

The water is still a little cloudy but not as much as i was expecting, but I did add the sand following a few tutorials I found on youtube and some I read on here. I also rinsed it at home a few times. 

Vincent does look a lot better and is a lot more curious than he was so I'm cautiously optimistic.


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## Sadist

Awesome! That's a nice anubias, too. I like how the leaves go all the way up to give him something to swim around at the surface.


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## BettaStarter24

So far he's loving it. He's back to flaring and his breathing is much better. He's getting more active and isn't clamped anymore which I like. He pulled up one of the anubias overnight and took the roots out of the sand (That or it just floated up itself) but he seems to enjoy them. 

Another interesting note is when I took the gravel out it had this awful smell to it, not paint thinner or anything like that, it just smelled dank and almost rotten. I'm going to have to rinse the crap out of it if I want to use it in another tank. I was thinking of putting it in Chihiro's tank and getting rid of the lightblue/darkblue/white mixture gravel I have in it now. 

The divided is still going smoothly, both occupants I think have established territory but still are caught flaring occasionally but it's not constant at all. More checking to be sure the other fish is still the same fish. 

Not much is happening around my little fishy world lol. It's getting warmer and nicer around now so that's a relief for me. I might be able to open my window during the night again soon as I love listening to the sounds outside at night. 

I'm currently sitting listening to a chickadee singing while Zuri is flaring at me.


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## Sadist

Maybe something yucky was in that gravel to make it stinky.


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## BettaStarter24

Maybe, I was thinking of anaerobic stuff like what can happen to sand but from what I've read that's not quite possible but idk if that's true either. I know last water change I did with the gravel in that tank, a bunch of bubbles rose to the surface so maybe something bad was in the gravel. He seems much better with the sand though which makes me happy. Of course with my next bout of water changes I'm gonna be moving gravel around quite a bit to stir up and get rid of any ickies before I leave for spring break on Friday. They'll be at the dorm and without food or water changes for 9 days at least. But I'm planning on doing big change before I leave and when I return.


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## BettaStarter24

So I just had a pretty freaky accident with the gravel vac. My little crowntail Zeniba swam under the intake of the vacuum as I was working on her tank and got sucked up before I could react. Unfortunately she was too big to fit through the other end and got sucked up side first so her spine snapped on the way inside and the flap cut her belly open. We had to cut the end of the tube off the plastic part and use a q-tip to try to gently get her out. We got her out but she was long gone. Her ovaries came out and her spine is bent. I'm a little wary of using the gravel vac now but I have to for the rest of my tanks (Not done with changes yet). 

Swim in Peace my little girl. I know it was no one's fault but it scared me more than anything.


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## Olivia27

Omg I'm sorry to hear that :'( it's a freak accident xxx SIP Zeni xxx


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## NickAu

Sorry to hear that.


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## BettaStarter24

Thanks guys. It happened so fast I couldn't react in time. But, I took down the divided tank and put Tadashi in the empty tank so Sammy has his own 5.5 again, so Sammy is happy again. Just finished with water changes. Misha was terrified of the gravel vac, he hid immediately upon seeing it. I am wary about using the vac but I know it was just a freak accident that doesn't happen very often *knock on wood* but it definitely taught me to be 100,000% sure where the fish is at all times.


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## NickAu

I nearly cut my Betta in half once pruning my tank, Luckily I was looking at what I was going to cut and the betta swam between the open scissor blades as I was about to go snip.


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## BettaStarter24

ouch. Glad to hear your guy didn't get hurt and that you caught yourself.


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## aussieJJDude

Oh hugs> I know how you feel. Happened to me twice. Once with a guppy that just happened to swim into the tube - which my guppies never did - and another time before I switched to sand and a broke the spine of one kuhli who was sleeping in the gravel.


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## Sadist

What a horrible accident! It's been really difficult keeping the guppies away from mine, and I never thought they could get injured so badly if they did get sucked in. I think we'll all be extra careful after reading your experience.


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## SydneyA

What a terrible accident  I had an African dwarf frog for years. I had big slate rocks in my tank and while cleaning I dropped one on him. It also broke his spine and he slowly died that day. I still feel badly after 8 years. I'm very sorry.


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## SydneyA

Sadist said:


> What a horrible accident! It's been really difficult keeping the guppies away from mine, and I never thought they could get injured so badly if they did get sucked in. I think we'll all be extra careful after reading your experience.


You may well have prevented some tragedies. I hope that helps a little.


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## DangerousAngel

Oh how horrible! I'm so sorry that happened! :-( If anything I'd suggest cupping your bettas and floating them in the tank before using the vac.
May your sweet girl SIP <3


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## BettaBoy11

Oh my goodness, that's terrible BettaStarter. Sorry for your loss :-(
+1 DangerousAngel. I actually cup Pi out for ALMOST every water change. I actually take all the silk plants and fake ornaments out and give them a good rinse too (mainly because algae grows like crazy in his tank)! I know some people think cupping a fish out for a water change is not not ideal, but Pi handles stress extremely well, and I feed him a bloodworm of pellet in his cup, so there is very little, if any, stress for him... As I said, am well aware that some people think this adds unneeded stress, but I've been doing this to my fish for almost 10 months, with no ill results. It depends on the fish. Just be extra careful to match the temperature. Of course, this wouldn't work if you have tank mates, and it depends on how easily your fish gets stressed.
Sorry about your girl again. That's tragic. :-(


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## BettaNard

That's awful news... I think we can all learn here to be super careful around our fishies with the gravel vac. I get super paranoid too so I'm looking everywhere while I'm vacuuming the tank. Sorry for your loss


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## BettaStarter24

I'm planning on cupping my other girls while vacuuming their tank as they're little enough to get hurt. My boys all know to stay away from the vacuum. I'm extremely paranoid around vacuums now. 

In other news I really really want to upgrade Zuri to a 20 gallon. Mom had mentioned one down by the dumpsters that looked pretty good yet but when I got home it was gone. But it made me want one to put my big boy in. I'd then divide the 10g and get rid of a couple of my smaller tanks. But I plan on doing sand if I get a 20g tank. I just wish a $/gallon sale was coming up I'm not sure how much they are originally either. I'm hoping I can talk mom into helping me with it lol, she's all on board for me to get rid of smaller tanks so maybe.


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## BettaStarter24

So the tank by the dumpster was gone  but I did find one on craigslist that comes with filter, gravel and some decorations (All of which will be tested prior to use) for $30. We're most likely going tonight to pick it up. I'm leaning towards setting it up at home then when the fish are moved back for summer moving Zuri and dividing the 10, but I'm really excited to get it set up for my big guy and divide the 10 and get rid of a couple smaller tanks (most likely a 3g and a 2.5g if I keep with my division plan. I'm thinking Haku and Tadashi for the divided as they both seemed to do ok with being divided in the past. But we'll see. It's a 20g high. I'd do a 20L but the long doesn't fit anywhere in my place so it wouldn't be practical. 

http://minneapolis.craigslist.org/hnp/pet/5448849684.html

Here's a link. I'm not sure if I'm going to use the plants (They're plastic from the looks of it) or the filter (confused on the "canister filter (No filter)" thing.) But I have an extra HOB filter anyway. Not sure how big the bag of gravel is, but I'm guessing around 40 pounds. Which is gonna be heavy as crap to move. (Another reason I'm thinking set it up at home and move fish around when I get them home.


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## Sadist

Maybe they have the outside of the canister filter but not the rocks and such that go inside? It would be nice if it's that way, or you can use your own hob. I can't wait to see it set up!


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## BettaStarter24

I just picked it up and dang I got a good deal. The filter was a tetra whisper power filter 40 just missing the biobag. Tank just needs a good cleaning and definitely water test though everything looks fine


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## BettaStarter24

Water holding test in effect now. So far so good. I'm also soaking one of the decorations it came with but I do have a question about that which I'm going to post in the accessories thread. There was one spot I was a little wary of but after closer inspection it was sealed really well and seems to be holding well. Looks like a minor superficial thing I'll post a picture later.


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## BettaStarter24

Here's the best picture I have of the 20g. It's set up but is still a work in progress. I want to get more plants in there and maybe a couple more hides. The filter is built for a 40g and it shows so I might have to baffle it. it is adjustable but even at its lowest setting it seems strong. I still need a hood as well. 

The gravel that came with the tank was supposedly rinsed but after putting it in the tank and adding water it was clear that it wasn't. So out goes the gravel and I rinsed it for over an hour and it still didn't run completely clear. At that point I just put it back in the tank and filled it, knowing the filter would probably grab most of the stuff or it would settle. 

Now to get it cycled and then Zuri can move in. Once Zuri is moved in, Haku and Tadashi (most likely) are getting the 10g (divided of course) Chihiro is moving into Haku's 3g and the 3g cube and minibow 2.5g that Chihiro and tadashi are in, respectively, now are being sold or given away.


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## Sadist

Awesome! I'm glad you found it. I would be a little hesitant not to disinfect everything. I do worry about things needlessly, but I had a bad experience with not disinfecting a tank.


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## BettaStarter24

Oh I disinfected everything with bleach and vinegar, rinsing like no tomorrow after


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## Sadist

Whew. 

And after your story, I still almost vacuumed a guppy since they're so curious and in the way.


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## BettaStarter24

Yikes. 

The snails I got for my 10g died today. Returned them and took a water sample in. the tank is cycled (0 ammonia 0 nitrite 5 nitrate), water is hard which wouldn't have done anything, but the pH is high and its alkalinity is high which is what did it. Good to know about the pH/alkalinity. That's from the tap water. They said something about food not being broken down and needing bacteria supplements? I wasn't too sure on how accurate that was.


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## Sadist

The bacteria will grow on the filter no matter what. I think they were expecting higher nitrates.


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## BettaStarter24

I just found it weird they said to use bacteria supplements. They also mentioned pH down if I wanted to get more snails in the future. 

I'm gonna stay back from snails though. I was looking for something to eat the algae in the tank but I can't seem to keep snails alive so I'm not gonna get more probably. 

My main goal now is to cycle my 20g. I just have to figure out the best way to do that


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## BettaStarter24

Gonna try the fish food method with an extra tub of flakes I found. Not sure exactly how much to put in, I put a few pinches in.


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## BettaStarter24

Ok this is probably gonna turn into a dumping ground of how much I miss my fish this week lol. And a running progress report of the 20g even though nothing is really going to be happening with it for a bit. I'm thinking of beginning the change with plants as the green background plants in Zuri's 10 gallon are going in the 20g and my blue background plant and a purple background are going in the 10g for when I divide the tank. But that has to wait until I'm back at school probably...ugh I miss my fish. It feels really weird to have a full and set up tank next to me but no fish inside it. 

So Day 1 with the 20g. Not much new, just added 4 pinches of tropical flakes to start supplying ammonia to the tank. I don't have a master test kit but I can borrow one in a month or so to test levels or take a sample to petco down the street for testing. I just now need to figure out heater. Once the 10g is divided I'll have an extra 50W hydor and possibly an extra 25W. But I've been reading specs and its saying that 50W might not be enough. So I'm gonna have to try to figure something out. Would it be ok to maybe put 2 50W heaters in the tank (one on each end) and have it heat ok? I can't really afford a 100W heater right now, that has to wait a few months and even then it's not positive, and since I'm actually trying to downsize on equipment and bettas it seems counter productive. but if I absolutely need a 100W I'll get one, but again, that has to wait for a bit.


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## Sadist

I recall reading a big argument on the forums about using two smaller heaters instead of one big one. I don't remember the outcome. Some people thought the heaters would do fine, and others thought they would get overworked and break sooner.


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## themamaj

BettaStarter24 said:


> Here's the best picture I have of the 20g. It's set up but is still a work in progress. I want to get more plants in there and maybe a couple more hides. The filter is built for a 40g and it shows so I might have to baffle it. it is adjustable but even at its lowest setting it seems strong. I still need a hood as well.
> 
> The gravel that came with the tank was supposedly rinsed but after putting it in the tank and adding water it was clear that it wasn't. So out goes the gravel and I rinsed it for over an hour and it still didn't run completely clear. At that point I just put it back in the tank and filled it, knowing the filter would probably grab most of the stuff or it would settle.
> 
> Now to get it cycled and then Zuri can move in. Once Zuri is moved in, Haku and Tadashi (most likely) are getting the 10g (divided of course) Chihiro is moving into Haku's 3g and the 3g cube and minibow 2.5g that Chihiro and tadashi are in, respectively, now are being sold or given away.



Nice tank and lucky find!


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## BettaStarter24

So I went to campus today to do a fish check. And I decided to do a fish in cycle on the 20g instead of the food method as I'm still unsure on dosage for food. So I picked Misha up while I was there. 

Unfortunately Braveheart has died while I was away. I honestly was kind of expecting this as he's been blind since I got him and hasn't been eating much at all. He starved to death sadly because of how little he was able to get into his system and then not eating at all for a few days.


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## BettaStarter24

Here's the 20g now. I still want to add more plants and I'm going to move Zuri's caves into it when I bring the other fish home but for now this is it. I'm looking for taller silk plants as well.


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## BettaStarter24

Ok so 20g is on hold until I can find something else to put it on. Went searching for something and was kneeling by the table and realized that one of the legs was missing and it was held up by a metal trash can which was starting to buckle. So I took Misha out and emptied it so now Misha is in his cup until I can get one of the 2.5g tanks I have in my car up and set up until I can get the 20g back up.


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## Sadist

Oh wow, glad you caught it before something bad happened!


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## BettaStarter24

Ok so $130, Four days, and Four set up attempts later, the 20g is finally up. Spent 3.5 hours just today setting it back up. We got a stand for it and after getting it put together and filling the 20g realized it was tilting very extremely...so took the tank back down and futzed with the stand, moving it to a different spot and putzing with a level and making sure it was as level as I could get it. Refilled the tank and it is leaning slightly but not enough for me to worry. (before it was leaning to the left and forward, and there was like an inch difference in water level, now it's leaning slightly just to the left but the difference is only about 2 mm.) So I primed it, plugged everything in, and put Misha in. (I didn't float in a cup and drip acclimate, because he was going from clean tank to clean tank same temperature, etc.) He's so done with me right now. Just "First you take me from my home, stuff me in a cup make me travel back home and sit in my cup while you do a water change on that thing, then you put me in that thing...take me out...put me back in the cup, then back in the 2.5g and now I'm back in the 20g again? Dang it woman make up your mind!"

So here it is! I might switch plants up a bit and add some as time goes on but for now it's done.


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## Sadist

Haha, Misha! I love the new set up!


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## BettaStarter24

Thanks. I got paid enough today that I might go get some floating plants, maybe ancharis but I'm not sure.


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## BettaStarter24

Misha absolutely loves the tank. He's 100x more active in the 20g than he has been in the 2.5g for the last month. He actually loves playing in the filter current (I have it down all the way and baffled with a water bottle and its still a little strong) he loves to swim where its at its strongest and swim against it. I'm still thinking it needs some floating plants on the right side as that side up top is mighty bare. Might run to petco today to get some ancharis, but I'm not sure.


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## BettaStarter24

It's finally done! I'm finally fully satisfied with how it looks. I know it could be planted more but I think once Zuri is in it, he'll really stand out as the centerpiece of the tank. Misha is having a blast with the ancharis. I think he likes the shade it provides. and the resting places at the top.


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## Olivia27

Nice setup! The anacharis look like a snake lol how'd you get a piece that huge? 

... Or is it multiple plants crumpled up together? I legit have poor vision


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## BettaStarter24

They bunch multiple plants into one and sell it at my petco. So it's a bunch of smaller plants clumped together. Misha is busy weaving in and out of them now. 

The cashier who rang me up asked a few questions about my set up, I told her I had a 20g high that the plant was going in and she asked what fish I had in it and I told her I have a betta. She responds with "He must be loving life" and then I explained he's only in the 20g temporarily until my giant gets home and then he's going into a divided 10g and she goes "That's a great size tank either way." Kind of made me happy that someone at my petco acknowledges that they need something bigger than the cubes.


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## Olivia27

That's awesome! I do have social anxiety and prefer if cashiers not talk to me, but I also wish they'd quiz me a little bit just to show they care. Nice Petco you got


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## BettaStarter24

They had this gorgeous teal king (His body was teal, with blood red ventrals and a tan face) labeled as a veiltail there. He's been there a while I was sorely tempted to snatch him but I'm actually attempting to downsize the number of bettas I have lol. 

They're ok. I've had mixed experiences there but it kind of warmed my heart that she acknowledged the need for good sized tanks for bettas.


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## Olivia27

You can always put up a pic and see if someone here wants him  figure someone would switch off their impulse control for that kind of mislabeling lol


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## BettaStarter24

lol I can't afford to ship and weather here is really unpredictable right now.


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## BettaStarter24

But here's pictures. The full body is when I first saw him. He wouldn't let me get a good full body tonight. There's also a really cute little white marble giant there too with gorgeous keyhole eyes (Blue eyes but the pupil is shaped like a keyhole)


----------



## BettaStarter24

So back on campus with the majority of my fish children. I honestly can say I missed them to no end. Everyone is fine, albeit mad. Braveheart was the only casualty of break. Vincent already got a water change as all the ancharis in his tank died (most likely due to spending a week without lights). Everyone but Vincent ate. The others are getting a change tomorrow, Wednesday at the latest. (Wednesdays are my usual water change day and I don't really want to stray from their schedule much more than I have already so I might just leave it to Wednesday but top off who needs to be topped off. I primed every tank today to help with whatever ammonia built up over break. 

In life news, I think I messed up my back trying to set the 20g up. It's been giving me issues for the past couple days. And my PC's harddrive died so I'm using my old Mac. Love this computer to bits. Over 2 years old and the only problem I have had with it is that it crashed once. *knocks on wood* my PC was 4 months old. Sent it off to HP to hopefully get it fixed as it was under warranty still but not holding out much hope.


----------



## cakes488

Your tank looks great!


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## Sadist

What a cute little giant! Does his lid also say veil tail? Sometimes, they have the correct label where the price scans.


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## BettaStarter24

Yes, the lid also said veiltail.


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## Sadist

Wow, Petco, not even close!


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## BettaStarter24

So I randomly lost my giant today. No idea what happened, I'm thinking possibly digestive issues but I'm not sure. So there goes my original plan for the 20g. I might get another giant in the future but I don't have a reputable source for giants anymore since the Betta Shop is closed and unknown date for reopen. So we'll have to see. For now Misha gets to keep his kingdom, Calcifer is probably moving into the 10g Zuri occupied after a water change, Haku is going into Calcifer's 5g, Chihiro is moving over to Haku's 3g and Tadashi is taking over the cube.


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## BettaStarter24

Well got a free tank (not complaining) but thought it was a 5.5g when in reality it is a 10g. Lol. So I'm gonna divide my females and move Vincent into a 3G.


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## BettaStarter24

It's almost time to start moving tanks back home. Not quite sure how I'm going to pull it off but I'll figure it out. I managed to get 14 tanks home for J-term and I only have 6 tanks here right now, but four of those tanks are 5 or 10 gallon tanks. I have 1 5.5, 1 5, 2 10, and 2 3 gallon tanks at school with me right now. 

All of my aggressive fish are surprising me...Sammy does just fine in a divided although he was conditioned to be more aggressive than normal and Chihiro has always been an aggressive little girl but she doesn't seem to care about being in a divided tank. 

Vincent had shown improvement but has relapsed again. I'm not sure what else to do. I've tried just epsom salt, I've tried General cure and epsom salt (That got some improvement) and I've even tried just warm clean water. He won't eat still and it's been over a month since I've got him. He's definitely getting really skinny but I just can't get him to eat. I've tried NLS and frozen bloodworms even and Omega One pellets and he refuses all of them. It's getting quite frustrating.


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## BettaStarter24

AH! I need to start bringing stuff home next weekend...or the monday before finals start...Holy crap...which means I get to find a place for 2 10 gallons, 2 5 gallons and 2 3 gallon tanks in my apartment where there's another 10 gallon and a 20 gallon already. Unless Vincent doesn't make it home in which case only 1 3 gallon will be set up. 

So in other news, The fish got a shuffle recently after I lost my girl Chihiro. Lucifer and Haku share the 10g that was divided between the girls, River moved to the Marineland 5g crescent where Lucifer was, Sammy and Tadashi share the Topfin 5 gallon where Sammy and Haku shared, Elrond my newest little guy is in the 3g cube and Vincent is in the other 3g.


----------



## BettaStarter24

Well. All fish are moved home from school. Some old some new. I lost my Vincent and River a little bit ago, and added Lucifer, Elrond a few weeks ago. And just today I added Loki, a cellophane samurai pk and "no name", a white red and cellophane samurai pm. Though there was a female I really liked too but my roomie snatched her. 

I also took in my other roomie's two Bettas. She's moving out of state and can't take them. 

Had some snags getting home today. Went to disinfect a tank and that fracked then found my spare heater shattered in my room, then the other spare I had may or may not be working. And then Tadashi decided to try living out of water. On to of that its finals week and I failed one today. Hence the two new fish...I buy fish when I'm stressed. 

But I did find really nice sand for really cheap at Petco. $8 for a 10 lb bag. And I get to cuddle with my dog tonight which I like


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## Sadist

I'm sorry for all the bad news. Do you get a chance to retake the failed final, or do you have to do the whole class again? 

Well, buying new fish may be an expensive stress thing, but at least it's not food.

I'm glad you got everyone moved over!


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## BettaStarter24

I have to retake the class if I didn't pass it


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## BettaStarter24

Picture time...at least of the two newest additions as Elrond is being shy and the others dont cooperate. Pandora and Gatsby pictures will come soon, probably tomorrow because I'm tired and don't feel like taking their pictures atm. 

So here's Loki, named after Loki...both Norse god and after the avengers. 
















And Aithusa, named after the white dragon in BBC Merlin, and meaning light.
















When I came up with Aithusa I briefly thought of switching the names as Loki was already named, but I decided against it as Loki fits his name. 

Life stuff now that isn't related to fish. I already really miss the baby filly I've been working with for the past month and a half roughly. I was in an Equine Reproductive Techniques class this semester and got to learn how to collect a stallion as well as work with broodmares up to and after foaling, and work with the foals to get them used to being handled by humans. I was present for the births of 3 foals, but I really bonded with one of them. I named her Galaxy (with the help of my roommate and teacher that is) and she was the first foal born this semester out of the mare I was assigned to. She is by Tinkers with Guns and out of Watch lil Star. She recently got a new half sister by Tinkers with Guns I named Gracie. I went out to the farm on my way home today to say goodbye to Gal since I wasn't sure the next time I'd be out there and if I'd be able to go out into the pasture to pet her and love on her when I'm in town for work. She is such a smart little girl...

She kisses on command (bending down and making kissing noises), she already picks all four feet up and holds them up. She comes when called and she follows you around like a puppy if you walk away from her. She loves hugs (Though in the picture her face says otherwise). And she is huge now. She comes up to my chest (I'm 5'4") now. People may say yes you'll want all the babies but it's not really true. I was able to see three births, Galaxy's, Joey's, and Gracie's but I only really bonded with Galaxy. The school has 7 foals on the ground so far, with one more on the way and out of the 7 I only really feel a strong connection to Galaxy. I plan on and hope to buy her in 2 years after she's gone through the Colts in Training class my school has. 

I want her so much. She's very natural in her gaits and is a beautiful mover. At two weeks she was fencing and doing rollbacks on her own. She's independent and sassy but a complete sweetheart as well. She definitely was not a normal foal lol, the first time we turned her and her mom out into a small arena for exercise we didn't put a halter or lead on her because we thought she would follow her mom, well...she ran off...she's been independent since she was born, which I think will be her biggest flaw when it comes time to break her to ride. I love it about her but she's gonna pose a challenge to her trainer. 

Here is "my" little girl at one week:









And at two weeks:
















And at one month:









The other foals are Joey who is out of Skeets Peppy and by Glo Reminic Otie Jo, Boomer who is by Boom Shernic and by Chocolate (Not her registered name, I don't know the registered names of all of the mares), Theo (unsure of sire) who is out of Wimpy, Lucky who is by Custom Cash Advance and out of Einstein (who is an own daughter of Einstein's Revolution), Sully who is by Skeets Peppy and out of Sweet Lil Sammy, and Gracie who is by Tinkers with Guns and out of Tatonka. Again, not all the mares names were their registered names, I only know Watch Lil Star "Phoebe", Glo Reminic Otie Jo "Otie", and Smart lil Sammy "Sammy". They are waiting on Blaze (not registered name) to foal out. I don't have good pics of these foals on my computer right now but will get them on and will post later if you guys want.


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## Sadist

I don't see any pictures! Galaxy sounds like a real sweetheart. Reminds me of a betta.


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## BettaStarter24

That's strange. They're showing up for me


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## BettaStarter24

On my phone so can't really post pictures with this update but will post some later. 

It's been a while since I've posted on this. I've gotten up to 15 Bettas counting my mom's boy. I officially have no more room physically for anymore tanks lol. So going to see about downsizing again as the boys/girls pass on. *knocks on wood* hopefully not too soon though. 

Well Sammy is 3 years old now. He's definitely looking his age and age has taken its toll on his healing ability. He hasn't healed very much from his fight with Tadashi yet Dashi is fully recovered. Granted Dashi is only a year old. 

Sammy has some sort of neurological problem that causes his head to shake back and forth rapidly. He's still active and eating so I'm happy about that. I just got his side of the divided tank planted with all live plants (Anubis). 

Other changes to the fish hoard....I'm slowly letting sand take over my tanks. Switched one of my ten gallons from gravel to sand. Its inhabitants love it. That tank houses Lucifer, Elrond, and Haku (divided of course). Ideally I'd have it planted heavier but for now I can't afford it. 

The 20 gallon has an infestation of pond snails. Trying to battle them unsuccessfully. Going to pick up an assassin snail or two to try to get rid of the pond snails. Misha is attempting to play snail killer but he can't get all of them. Plus he's developed diamond eye so he can't see very well. 

I rebuilt my female population back to 3. Took in my roommate's two Bettas, one male who passed on the other day, and one female. Then picked up CT sisters from my petco. As well as a beautiful black orchid ct male. 

My Walmart "females" are doing well as well. Loki has marbled and is now technically considered a koi. He's got red, blue and black showing up along his fins and sides. Aithusa hasn't changed at all lol and has developed a puppy dog personality. 

I officially have 5 cycled tanks, and 2 that I have started filtering to get a cycle going. That leaves 5 tanks that aren't filtered


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## themamaj

Glad to hear everyone doing well. Look fwd to pictures
Your horse is beautiful.


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## Sadist

I see the pictures, now! Awesome! I love the progress on your tanks.


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## BettaStarter24

Well I'm kinda bummed. Haku may have developed dropsy. He's not bloated but he's clamped and is exhibiting slight pineconing. The difference in his scales is significant from the other inhabitants of the divided tank he's in. He sits at the top mainly and is extremely lethargic. Unfortunately my hospital tank is occupied by my petco rescue Merlin who has relapsed with his SBD issues. I've been thinking about switching Haku and Asgard but Asgard isn't out of quarantine until next week. The other two boys I have to switch with don't do well in divided tanks. 

Tried dividing Aithusa and Loki and found out that Aithusa is really high on the totem pole and Loki is very submissive so when feeding time came Aithusa scared Loki away from the food. So undivided them and don't want to risk putting either in a divided situation again. 

Idk if anyone mainly has seen my other post on Merlin. He's a little red veiltail that I got for free from my petco due to severe SBD/constipation. Within 45 minutes of being in the tank he was swimming like normal. He's been doing great and eating well for me but woke up today and he is having a hard time swimming and floating on his side. Back to the drawing board. Will begin Epsom salt treatment when I find my Epsom salt from move out. 

Tadashi is continuing to recover and is actually fully recovered from the fight. Sammy however has started to lose weight even though he's eating well. He has a neurological issue and his fins aren't healing well which I'm attributing to the fact that he is 3 years old (guessing). 

Loki is marbling. His tail end looks black orchid, his head is still white and he has some red splotches on his dorsal fin.


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## Sadist

Poor Haku. I'd love to see pictures of Loki when you can!


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## BettaStarter24

He's darkened up since this was taken but I can't seem to get a good picture of him right now. Will try later today.


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## themamaj

How cute!!!!!


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## BettaStarter24

Loki is so submissive but he's a cutie. When I got him he was cello with white Samurai markings. 

Haku is going downhill from before. Found him lying on his side on the bottom of his section. I switched him and Asgard so I can see about treating him. Didn't really want to introduce a new fish into a divided who had a sick fish but I don't have the spare set up available right now. My hospital tank is occupied by Merlin.


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## themamaj

Oh no. Hope Haku will perk up for you. Keep us posted.

Loki sounds like a cutie.


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## Sadist

We all understand about the occupied hospital tanks. I hope you're able to save him!


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## BettaStarter24

Haku had improved greatly after being moved to his own tank. I think he might have just been throwing a hissy fit about sharing a tank. 

Merlin isn't doing too good anymore. He's been laying on the bottom of his tank barely breathing. Although he alternates between that and floating on his side with bouts of activity thrown in randomly. 

Sammy is my little fighter. Every time I think that this is it and Its time to let him go he bounces back. And does just fine. My other old man Misha is loving life in his 20 gallon. 

So I caved and got my first baby betta today. Really shouldn't have but he is just too cute and his puppy eyes just wouldn't let me walk away. He was bigger than the rest so I'm guessing he's a little older and there was a younger boy there I loved but this guy looked healthier and he caught my eye first so I chose him.


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## themamaj

Awww how cute! Yes they use those cute eyes to draw us in and then we are "hooked"  You will love having a baby. It is great fun watching them grow into adults. I have always been tickled to make predictions on coloration and see what traits come out. Do you have a name picked out?


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## BettaStarter24

I don't have a name picked out quite yet. I'm pretty sure he's a veiltail and that he is considered multicolored. He may have a butterfly band as well but too soon to know for sure. He looks big enough to be able to eat a small NLS pellet or an Omega One pellet. Here's a better picture of his colors. The other baby had the same blue coloring all over his body with lighter fins. This guy was more active though


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## themamaj

His colors are beautiful! A very lucky find as most are traditional colors.He looks big enough for small pellets but if he has any issues you can crush them first. Had to do that with one of mine for a little while. Babies also do really well on frozen daphnia or brine shrimp. Look forward to watching him grow! Keep pictures coming. Sooo cute.


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## BettaStarter24

The others were different too. The one light turquoise blue, there was one that looked like he'd be a red blue bicolor butterfly, three like your first baby, one white/cello girl, and a Cambodian.

Here's a picture from this morning. He flares and it's the cutest little thing. But of course as soon as the camera comes out he stops


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## themamaj

Wow he has colored up even more! So cute!


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## BettaStarter24

I am in love with this tiny little fish. I'm really excited to see how he matures. Still doesn't have a name though. I haven't found any that fit him.


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## BettaStarter24

Little baby is doing great. He is eating now. And he does need crushed pellets as he's still a little too small for whole ones. I'm still trying to come up with a name for him. I hope to get him into a bigger tank eventually. He is in a medium KK right now with water changes every other day to manage water parameters and the hormone babies secrete. He's so tiny it looks like he's Calcifer in a 10g (Calcifer is tiny compared to the 10g he's in)


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## BettaStarter24

Ok these babies need to stop. Stopped back by petco and they had new babies. A baby EE salamander maybe and then a little red,white and blue grizzle crowntail baby boy. So now I have two babies. Divided Calcifer's 10 for him and Aithusa, moved my little VT boy into Aithusa's old tank and put the CT baby in the VT baby's KK. I feel bad that the KK the ct baby is in is the only one without a heater but my room stays so hot right now the tank holds constant at 79 degrees. It doesn't cool down much at night. Name ideas for either baby are welcome! 

Merlin just keeps going downhill and I'm thinking it might be time soon to let him go. I have tried Epsom salt and general cure both together and separate. And was giving him a few days with no treatment as to not make his system go nuts. Water level has been lowered for a while as he can't seem to swim up now. He went from floating to sinking. 

Haku is slowing down again. I'm thinking it might just be age related. He's not showing any other signs of anything just slowing down. Same with Sammy. 

All my little girls are doing very well. I love females so much. They won't replace Zeniba, Chihiro or River but my girls are definitely three of my favorite fish. 

My friend actually had a very accurate saying about Sammy. "He's like Mrs.Hudson. If he goes London will fall" referencing BBC Sherlock. It's pretty accurate. Sammy is the oldest of all of our fish at 3 years old. He is our grumpy old man. His fins are still not healing very much but they're not infected or anything so he seems fine. 

My friend needs to pick her girl up soon before I get too attached. I found a gold dragon VT female at my petco (not convinced she is VT) and picked her up for a friend. I've been fostering her until my friend has a tank set up for her. 

So with that I will leave you with picture of the new baby and will post more pictures in consecutive posts as I'm on my phone


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## BettaStarter24

VT baby in his new tank


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## BettaStarter24

Friend's girl, Freya


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## Sadist

How exciting with the new babies! I feel for big ol' Sammy and his grouch. My females seem to have the most personality, too. I love the baby's spikey little tail!


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## BettaStarter24

So I've decided on a name for the ct baby but not the VT. Lol. The CT is named Skye. Still looking for a name for the other lil man.


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## BettaStarter24

Finally drug VT's name out of the deep dark recesses of my mind. My first baby, the Multi VT is now Draco, and the little Grizzle CT is Skye officially. Was going between Harley, Draco, and Casper for Draco. Skye was the only name that came to mind for the CT and it stuck. 

Merlin is on a steady downhill curve. Barely moves and barely breathes anymore. I'm at the point where I'm questioning if it is right to let him keep on like this. He has bouts of energy where he will swim like normal and flare and act fine but they last for a couple seconds each and they are becoming fewer and farther between. I think he's starting to tell me it's time for him to cross over rainbow bridge. Part of me agrees, and part of me wants to see if I can bring him back again but I'm just not sure if it is right at this point to make him sit through more treatments. He just looks so sad laying on the bottom of the tank. 

Haku's being a drama queen. He's back to his lethargic ways but has no signs of pineconing or anything. He just hangs in one or two spots around the tank, moving around occasionally, same with Sammy. 

I love my little grumpy old man Sammy lol. He's such a grump. Has the face for it too, perma grumpy face. Though these days it looks more like a pout with how skinny he's gotten. I promise I feed them all every day twice a day, 4-5 pellets each feeding so I promise he's eating. He's just not putting weight on anymore.


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## BettaStarter24

Skye and Draco are growing!!! They've both gotten a little bigger since I've gotten them! And their personalities are emerging slowly. Draco is more curious and explorative and interactive and wants interaction. Skye is more grumpy and is kind of that little old man who wants to be left alone. He will begrudgingly come say hi and eat but other than that he keeps to himself. 

Since I'm on my phone I can only upload one pic at a time so sorry. Forgive the big bellies these were taken just after feeding time

Draco now:


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## BettaStarter24

And here's Skye:


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## BettaStarter24

Having no space kinda sucks sometimes lol. Aqua Aurora posted a picture or two of this GORGEOUS HMPK king from her petco that is sorely tempting me. Give me a week and I can probably afford him but 1) my 20g is occupied 2) I don't have a extra heater to put in a spare tank for Misha 3) don't really have big enough spare for Misha to live in full term until another guy passes on in another tank which no one is going to soon I hope *knock on wood* even though Merlin really isn't looking good and I really am not sure I want to make him suffer longer, but he's in a 1.7g and I don't feel right putting Misha in that from a 20g. and 4) I have a class I need to pay for first. UGH! I really miss having a giant/king. Yes, technically I have Prince but he's my mom's. I miss having one of my own. I miss Zuri and this definitely reminds me of that more and more. I love my guys don't get me wrong but Zuri was one of my favorites both for color and personality. UGH!

In other news, I'm still very much in love with my little babies and my females. And the others as well lol. Love their different personalities so much. Though I'd like to get out of my divided tanks eventually. They're driving me nuts. After Tadashi and Sammy's fight, divided tanks have made me even more nervous. As soon as I can I'm going to start undividing tanks. Starting probably with Sammy and Tadashi's tank. As that is a divided 5.5g. I then have a 3-way divided 10, and a 2-way divided 10. This has to be done slowly as I don't have room for more smaller tanks so the divided tanks are going to be undivided as fish die off. Be it fish from divided tanks or fish from other tanks that I can move divided fish into. 

As I mentioned above, Merlin isn't doing so good. He sort of lays on the ground with his head sticking straight up. If you put a mirror by his tank he'll swim normally to flare but then sink right back down. and Merlin's beard is his beard big ;P (Ps. I always wanted to say that). But he's still keeping me guessing on if it is time to let him go. Whenever I decide "ok he's just getting worse today is the day I'm going to put him out of his misery" he bounces back and seems fine. Then after a little while he goes right back to being sick. I'm not quite sure what to do. The only thing I haven't done is dose with AQ salt but that makes SBD worse so I can't dose with that. He's definitely a confusing case.


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## themamaj

I know that is so hard when they are sick like that. I have had a couple with similar scenario in past and it is gut wrenching to watch. Never an easy decision. 

Babies are so cute and look like doing well. Enjoy pictures!

Can't remember how much kings are at our store but thought more like $15-19? Maybe more than think now. Funny in that most of time fish are the cheaper aspect. The tanks and equipment to go with them is what gets really expensive. I sure can relate to the struggle when you see one you love.


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## BettaStarter24

at Petco, halfmoon kings are $19, $22 with tax. But since he's in a different state I'm sure, shipping is $15 for priority usually. My biggest heartbreak is not having the space or money honestly. If my 20g was vacant or able to be vacated and I had money i could actually spare without mom killing me he'd be mine. I really miss my big puppy fish. But it's not fair to Misha to shove him in a 1.7g to put another fish in the 20g and Misha adores his 20g. 

Skye built me a bubble nest! Of course right before I moved him. I moved him to a 1.5g cube until Friday when I'm getting a 2.5g from a friend to put him in. The reason behind moving him is his KK was so low to the ground and the lid wasn't all the way on as I had the heater in the tank and I have a cat who is getting too curious with the fish. So he's in a slightly smaller tank, only .2 gallons smaller. But just until Friday. Hoping to get him an adjustable heater soon. He has an unadjustable currently which is holding temp at 80-82 degrees. Which I've heard babies like the tank warmer than adults.


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## themamaj

He will be fine in 1.5. I usually start babies in that and let grow out a bit. 

Dont know if have room for another tank but king would be ok in 5.5 or 10.


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## BettaStarter24

Don't have a spare currently but with that said could I put him in my divided 10? I have that divided 2 ways, could easily divide my other 5g for one of its inhabitants.


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## themamaj

Could work


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## BettaStarter24

I think I have it figured out. I'm actually getting a 2.5g from a friend originally for Skye, but I could put Loki in that instead and put the king in Loki's 5g. But I'm also still not 100% sure I want to take on another fish atm, and i need to see how much my paycheck is as I still have to pay school a big sum and other bills need to be taken care of and i don't have a spare heater. Merlin started pineconing this morning so I'm treating again with ES but I don't expect him to make it through the night. It's not too progressed, only slight but last time I had a fish get dropsy it was only slightly pineconed and that guy died shortly after. 

Sammy's "birthday" is coming up on Friday. 4 years old on Friday. Totally guesstimating age here lol. With how he's acting/looking he looks to be at least 3 years old now. I've had him for 2.5 years and he was at least a year, year and a half when I got him I'm guessing since idk how long he was a part of the study and how long he was at the store prior to that. So I'm taking a guess at he's turning 4 this year. Though he still is looking pretty rough. Still has his neurological issue and still isn't putting on weight very well even though he's eating. He's slowed down a bit. 

Another thing stopping me from saying yes to the king right away is I do want to downsize a little and get rid of my divided tanks as they make me nervous. I really want that king but idk if it is the right time right now. I have to think hard about it. I don't like impulse buys, and even though both babies were impulse buys, as were Aithusa, Loki, Sammy, Lucifer, Millie, Amara, Elrond, Merlin (technically impulse rescue)...I don't like impulse buying because I seem to have more incidence of buyers remorse occasionally. Not with Skye or Draco, but I've had it with a couple others. Anyway...I'd rather not just impulse get a giant if I'm not 100% sure I have the ability to properly care for him, no matter how drop dead gorgeous he is. 

Not having a spare heater is also stopping me from grabbing him immediately. Even though my room is the hottest in the apartment and my 1 tank without a heater is held constantly at 80 degrees even throughout the night so I'm not too worried right now about temp fluctuations but with that said I can't say the same about during winter or if we do get a spell of cooler temperatures. This is becoming my place to talk myself through this lol. Or talk myself out of it. Can I afford it? Probably. Do I want him? Oh god yes he's drop dead gorgeous and I miss having my own king/giant. Should I do it? No I should not as I have way more financial responsibilities I need to take care of. Can I justify getting yet another fish when I already have so many in my care already, including two babies who already need slightly different care than my adults? Not really. 

I have to think on it more. Maybe if my paycheck from the restaurant is bigger than I expect or I get a bunch in tips the nights I work there. idk. I don't really have room to set up another tank either. The tank I'm getting from my friend is going where Skye's 1.5g is now and is planned to have him be upgraded. I hate having fish in smaller than 2.5g. It doesn't feel right, even if Skye is tiny. I prefer the larger tanks for my guys. Which is one of my biggest points against getting the King. I dont have adequate housing imo for Loki or Misha were I to give the king Loki's 5g or Misha's 20g. Plus Misha's huge compared to my regular sized plakats granted he is 2 years old. 

I'm just going back and forth weighing pros and cons. And now I'm rambling and am about to start making up reasons why I should get him that really aren't good reasons so I'm gonna move on to talk about the babies and everyone else. 

Skye's fins are getting longer and he's getting more red in his caudal fin. He can eat whole pellets, though I have to pick out the small pellets. He's not quite at the point where he can eat the 1 mm pellets, I have to find smaller stuff. I know females can build bubble nests, and I have managed to find one who does in my friend's girl Freya who I was fostering for a bit, but with that said I haven't seen a bubble nest like Skye's in any other tank but my males' tanks. He had built me one in the KK that was huge for his body size. Hasn't built me one that I know of in the 1.5g but he's pretty angry with me about the move. 

Draco is growing as well, fins are growing and it looks like he's getting some black coloring as a band around his caudal but I could be wrong, as they're still short enough where I'm not 100% sure what the final color will be once he's full grown. Still no bubble nest but he is slightly smaller than Skye so I'm guessing he's younger by at least a week or so. No idea how old these guys are. How old are petco babies usually? 

Lucifer may have either fin rot or may be finding something to rip some rays off of his tail. His rays don't have any like black or burnt paper look to them but he does have some shorter rays than others. He may be biting but I'm not sure. It's water change day tomorrow. Is it ok to dose the tank with AQ salt if only one of the fish potentially has rot? I know AQ salt won't cure it but it will help prevent further infection. 

Haku is back to being his lethargic self but he still eats and isn't clamped. Again, I'm thinking it is age related with him as well. I'm not too worried anymore as he isn't laying on the ground anymore. Nor is he just up at the surface at all times either. 

Aithusa is so much bigger than I thought. Not king size but bigger than Calcifer who is a full grown HMPK as well. Calcifer is just tiny I guess lol. He's maybe an inch body only (Calcifer) and both Misha and Aithusa are 1.5-2 inches BO. 

Ok so I'm gonna go before I manage to talk myself into the king with pros that aren't good pros. lol.


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## BettaStarter24

Merlin got worse overnight. I euthanized him this morning. Swim in peace lil man.


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## themamaj

That is so awesome on Sammy's bday! I hope I have the privilege to have some of my guys that long. Speaking of today is Bryant's 1 year home! 

Sorry about Merlin. Wish I could be more encouging on dropsy but even though tried multiple times to treat I have not been able to turn it around. I know a "symptom" of disease but sure wish that was one that had more success in fish world.

Each of your other fish sound like doing well. It is so hard struggling with that tug of war in mind when see a special one like king. If now isnt right time, Im sure something special will open up down road or maybe something will make a possibility for it to work now. Either way I'm sure you will make a good decision. The fact that your are thinking theough it carefully shows me how much you care for your fish. Lucky boys


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## BettaStarter24

Still thinking it through but I've talked with mom now and we're just waiting to see. I want to get her "ok" if I do this as we both have financial stuff ahead and even though its separate and I'd be paying for the King myself some of the bills have both our names on them so I want to be sure that we'll be ok if I spend the money on him. 

I have tanks figured out pretty much, now if only I knew exactly how big he was. Aqua says about 2.6-2.75" but I can't remember if she said that was including fins or Body only. If that's including fins he'd be ok in my 5 gallon, if that's body only I'd move Misha into the 5 gallon and put the King in the 20. I can divide a 10g a third way, which I have today just to see if the 3 would work out as dividing fish together. Already found out that Aithusa and Loki can't be in the same divided tank as Aithusa will bully Loki through the divider and scare him off food. Though Loki and Sammy do fine as both are lower on the totem pole regarding dividing partners. Aithusa, Calcifer, and Tadashi seem to be doing fine in the configuration I have set up for them. Aithusa does flare a bit but calms down shortly after and goes about his business but he's not chasing Dashi away from the food like he did Loki. 

Had another divider scare with my crowntail tank though during a water change. Which is another reason why I maybe should not get the King and just stick with my current number and downsize until I can undivide tanks. The divider moved and Asgard was able to get through to Elrond's side. No fighting though, similar to when Haku got over to Elrond's side when he was in that tank. And very much unlike when Tadashi slipped the divider. I don't really want to wake up or come home to bloodshed because someone slipped through when I was asleep or working. 

Though, another way I could work it is take one of the crowntails, put him in the 5 gallon, put the other two in my spare Medium KK's without heaters and put the King in the 10g but that would entail eventually buying 2 more heaters which I'd rather not do if I can help it so currently the best plan is moving Misha to the 5 and putting the King in the 20 or putting the king in the 5g. But that's not certain yet if I'm even going to get him as We do have to pay $1200 to school for a class. I may or may not get a better paying job in a vet clinic but idk about that for at least another week, maybe a little less depending how long they tank to deliberate. So that's another factor as well. 

I do really want him and I would really like to just say screw it send him my way, but I do care a lot about my current fish and want to make sure they're going to be taken care of as well and I do have financial stuff I need to take care of as well. I'm also slightly scared I might not pass this class again which I'm praying upon everything that I pass it because I really need to pass it this time around. 

and now I'm rambling again so I'm gonna go to bed before I go nuts.


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## BettaStarter24

It worked out so I can grab the king from Aqua! I got tanks figured out and dividers are stable again after some repairs so I'm comfortable leaving the tanks divided for now. Misha is going in the 5g. Measured both Misha and Prince to compare sizes and Misha is just under 2" body only, Prince is 2" body only, 2.3 with tail and apparently the king is 2.6-2.75'' (not sure if body only or with tail) so either way the king is larger than both Misha and Prince so he's gonna get the 20g. Gonna feel bad downgrading Misha but I'd feel worse having the king in a 5g. and even more so downgrading two of my crowntails to 1.77 gallons unheated from 3.33 gallons heated.


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## BettaStarter24

Now for the wait to hear back from her about payment stuff and then the fun wait to get him here. I already have a list of names for him that I'm trying to decide between. 

Atlas
King
Baymax
Zuri (Even though my last giant was Zuri, Zuri is beautiful in Swahili from what I've heard and he is beautiful)
Titan
or Sherlock (Yes hannat I'll steal names lol my roommate had a boy named Sherlock)


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## BettaStarter24

Just paid for the king and way more excited than I should be for him to arrive. Can't wait to meet this beautiful big boy in person. I've really missed having a giant/king of my own. I've narrowed it down to Atlas or Baymax for names. Thinking Atlas though since that's the first one to come to mind for him. 

Sammy is 4 years old today!!! Happy birthday to my grumpy old man!


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## themamaj

Happy Birthday Sammy! 🎂🎈 So excited you are getting your king. Cant wait to see pix!


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## BettaStarter24

Really hoping he is still there tomorrow when she goes to pick him up. Will be anxiously waiting for an update, was tempted to give her my phone number so she could text me from the petco when she had him lol. Last time I had a betta shipped I said I wasn't going to do this because of the ulcers I was sure I was getting :roll: from it. That was for my friend's giant Severus last January. He ended up getting to me just fine, but the heat pack failed somewhere from CA to MN and his water was so cold I thought he had just gotten taken out of the fridge. Now that it's summer, I'm hoping that I won't open the box to find a boiled boy. I'm hoping that I'll be able to be home when he comes. Wednesday is looking like the best day or Possibly Thursday if he doesn't get to me until after 2. When Severus came he arrived at 11 am so Seeing as Wednesday I don't work until 4:30 if he comes at 11 am I have time to acclimate him to his tank at least. Oh boy Misha is going to be so mad. I do still feel kind of bad for downgrading him but he's losing eyesight and as a result isn't as active and not to mention, if this king is 2.6-2.75 inches, he's almost an inch bigger than Misha and is slightly bigger than Prince who is at 2.2-2.3 inches long BO and doesn't even reach 2.5 inches with his tail. So he'll be the biggest boy in the house and won't fit in a 5g. I wouldn't feel right putting him in a 5 gallon anyway. 

I almost forgot today was Sammy's birthday (of course its just an estimate as no one knows exactly when he was spawned). Never thought I'd have a fish live so long, all my other bettas before i actually learned how to care for them lived maybe 6 months past when I got them. Sammy is the last of my original 5 bettas and is my special boy. I actually got him free from my university after he was used in a psychology experiment where they conditioned the bettas to be even more aggressive. I wasn't expecting to take in one of the bettas I just wanted to see what they had and what was going to happen to them. TBH me and my friend had already said that if the professor was just going to flush them or something that we'd take them all and rehome them before we let them be flushed. When we arrived though and asked about it the professor assured us that he would take care of them until they had homes. We were just going to walk without any of them but then two little guys caught our eye. My friend took a Steel Blue VT that she named Pavlov, and I fell for this multicolored clamped guy who was, along with Pavlov, one of the only 3 remaining that were healthy. There were about 9 when we got there, mostly reds. Most of them were severely lethargic and clamped and one had fungus it looked like, there was one red, Pavlov, and Sammy left healthy and active. The professor said that Sammy was his favorite out of all of them because of his interesting colors and that he really hoped he got a good home. I took one more look at those little blue eyes peeking back at me and caved. We left with our rescues in hand on our way to class as we had no time to stop by our dorms to get them set up in temporary homes. Pavlov went with my friend to her class in a neighboring building whereas Sammy trekked with me to the ice arena to my Ice Skating class where he spent the hour and 15 minutes wrapped safely in my sweatshirt. yes...I froze on my walk to and from the arena and in the arena just so he could be as warm as possible. He was so small and clamped when I got him but he soon fleshed out and started flaring up a storm and building me HUGE bubble nests. I still can't believe I've had him for 2.5 years already! He's my raggedy old man and I love him. As my roomie says England will fall when he dies.


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## BettaStarter24

So far no news. I'm trying to not think about it too much lol. I have work in two hours and it's going to be a long shift until I know if he was still there. 

Nothing else new in my little world of Bettas. Girls are still fiesty boys are still flashy and Babies are still adorable.


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## BettaStarter24

Unfortunately King was gone.  kinda bummed but I'm going to look around see if I can find a giant. I have two betta stores near me that get Giants in. Trying to figure out when they get their next shipment. I can't go today or tomorrow if they have some.


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## BettaStarter24

Got a giant! Found a beautiful big copper devil boy at one of the shops. Tried to find the other shop but couldn't find it so idk. I have him acclimating to the 20g right now. More pictures will come as he settles in but he is HUGE. Bigger than mom's king easily when we thought Prince was big lol. He makes the 20g look small. There was him and a turquoise boy I was looking at and the copper devil was busy flaring and building a nest whereas the other guy was laying there not doing much. Feel kind of bad though because there were these other guys looking for a male for their female to breed and we're looking at the devil and I grabbed him. Oh well. He's mine now. Got him for a good deal too. $25. I caught the end of a sale I think as I asked how long they'd be that price and he said it ended today.


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## BettaStarter24

Let him flare with Misha for a little bit before moving Misha to the 5g. Misha is only about a cm shorter than Prince. Prince is about 2.2-2.3" body only and Misha is about 1.8-1.95"long body only.


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## BettaStarter24

Here's a picture of my new guy. Right before this was taken he had tried to eat one of the snails. It proved to be too big for him right now but I'm pretty sure he's gonna help me take care of some of the smaller ones lol which I'm ok with. He's been happily exploring the tank since he was released. The other fish in the pic with flash was the other guy I was looking at. These two were the healthiest of the two and the turq boy was lethargic. They also had a red guy and a blue/red bicolor, a blue and white and green marble who really didn't look good, and a couple really tiny "giants". Bought this guy out from under a breeder's nose but oh well. They were looking for a male to breed to their female who was too big for their other males. They walked off to look at the Grade B 5* kings (wild type colorations the lot of them) and I snatched him. Only part of me feels bad. He is HUGE, easily 3 inches long body only and young, he's only 3.5-4 months old so I'm thinking he will continue growing. He's bigger than Zuri was even. Will always love and miss my Zuri boy but I'm happy with my new guy. 

I'm still bummed the King was gone but I was able to open my home and heart to another beautiful boy in return. I just need to decide on a name. I'm going between Atlas and Titan.


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## themamaj

Wow he is huge. So pretty! Tickled you got him and sounds like doing great. Hard to decide on names. I like both Atlas and Titan. Maybe Titan for great warrior  Beautiful colors! What did Misha think of him?


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## BettaStarter24

Misha immediately went full on "Imma keel you" mode but big guy went right back at him through the bag. Misha definitely was convinced he could take this guy on.


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## themamaj

Haha. I love the fact no matter the size they alway think they are the bigger fish


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## BettaStarter24

Though this guy is definitely big enough to tear Any of my others apart. He found the cave I have in that tank. He looks so completely confused why it's there but he likes it. 

Still attempting to find the right name. That will come with time. It always does


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## BettaStarter24

And as soon as I post that. The perfect name comes to me. His name is now Leviathan, Levi for short.


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## themamaj

That's a good one


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## BettaStarter24

...I had just spent the last hour writing up a journal entry in the POV of all 16 of my fish...and then the site crashed and I lost the whole thing...I had some journal gold right there...No I am not rewriting it because it is almost midnight here and my brain is fried from trying to come up with that. Grrr....


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## themamaj

I hate technology at times! So sorry. Have had that happen and soooo frustrating.


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## Sadist

Levi is gorgeous! I'm so jealous. What a lucky find, too. I'm glad you grabbed him so he could have a nice home.


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## BettaStarter24

Thanks. I'm really liking him. His form is gorgeous.


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## themamaj

What great picture. Beautiful!


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## BettaStarter24

I'm happy with him. He is so big! He's eating well already as well. Loves to "hunt" the food as the filter pushes the pellets around. The. He'd try to get into the filter baffle to catch pellets but would back out last second when he realized they were spit out the other side. 

Prince is busy guarding his nest from everything and nothing. I guess his flare session with Levi prompted it. I will occasionally float a fish in a cup in another tank for a couple minutes to let both flare out a bit. I don't do it often but just occasionally. 

The babies are doing good. Growing nicely. Draco's fins have definitely grown. He is still on crushed NLS pellets. Skye is on small NLS pellets. Colors have developed more. Draco has gotten more blue in his body and looks like he may have a black band around his fins. Skye has developed some blue iridescence in his body and more red in his caudal. Both look more innocent then grumpy like my other males. 

I've finally lost the urge to randomly stop by petco/pet smart/etc to "just look". I did stop by a Walmart that still sells Bettas after work tonight to check on a white/gold crowntail for a friend and saw a beautiful copper CT but felt no desire to bring either home. I think I've finally reached the point where I'm content with my "betta collection" and can finally just be ok with what I have. Feels kind of nice. Sure if I go to petco or pets mart for something else I may look but I think at least right now I can walk away much easier. I can start slowly undividing tanks and downsizing again as I lose fish. Hopefully not too soon though *knocks on wood* but now my goal is to get my divided tanks taken apart so each fish has their own tank again.


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## themamaj

That is great to hear on all the fish. It is wonderful your are enjoying each one!


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## BettaStarter24

They're my happy place when I can't get out to ride. I love feeding times because I can have a little one on one time with each one as I feed them, making sure they're eating well and healthy. I'm constantly making what I call "Fish Rounds" checking on each individually and making sure they're ok. Some people think I'm nuts for checking in on them so much but I don't care. How else am I supposed to know when I have a sick fish on my hands? If you never look at your pet how are you to know that fluffy puking all over the carpet isn't normal? I just explain to them that by watching these guys so much I can tell what is normal behavior for them and I'm able to tell when behavior changes and if that indicates illness, using the fluffy example above. And for the fish, if they get sick, by continuing to observe them through treatment I can tell if they get worse or better. 

It just bugs me when people get a pet and just pay no attention to it and then bam something happens and they don't know enough that their pet is sick or bored and something bad happens and then the pet is blamed. Granted sometimes illnesses happen so suddenly or are hidden but still. Birds for example actually hide their illnesses and if they're showing sickness its usually really far spread.


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## themamaj

I agree. I do the same routine with my crew. Turning lights off and on, feeding time, etc I check and observe.. Important to know your fish and what is normal for them. Sudden hiding or shyness in one previous outgoing could indicate a stresser or illness. Changes in fins, changes in eating and so many little things if caught early can make big difference. I also like watee changes for that aspect and love 1 on 1 time. You are great fish keeper and lucky babies


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## BettaStarter24

Thanks that means a lot. 

So I finally got to ride again today! My favorite horse at the barn I ride at is finally able to be ridden again after colic surgery so I took him out today. For not being ridden in months he did AMAZING. I love that little black horse!


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## BettaStarter24

Kinda having a mild panic attack here. I am doing water changes and just finished Haku's and he's suddenly almost dead on the bottom of his tank. I dechlorinated the water the temp matched perfectly. The new water was added slowly to avoid shock of any kind. He's just gone flat on the floor of his tank barely breathing.


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## BettaStarter24

My heart is breaking as I type this...but I lost my Haku tonight. Happy birthday to me I guess. It's my birthday tomorrow. I'll miss you so much my little dragon boy...Haku was one of my favorites out of all of my fish. I have a soft spot for mustard gas Bettas and crowntail Bettas. He was both. He's been on a roller coaster these last few weeks of health. Going from fine to lethargic to fine to lethargic, etc. tonight it did him in. Goodbye my friend...


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## BettaStarter24

Hey all. 

Everything is going as good as it can in my world of fish. Moved Asgard into the tank Haku was in, and gave Lucifer and Elrond more room in the tank by moving the divider. Draco's tank got a new light that enhances natural colors? Idk it definitely looks good at night and Draco stands out a little more. 

Both babies have grown since they've been with me which is fun to watch. Draco is developing a blue band around his fins and Skye is showing more blue iridescence in his body. Skye is eating small NLS still and Draco is still on crushed NLS pellets but can handle slightly bigger chunks. Both had their first meal of frozen bloodworms the other night as a change in diet. Updated pictures will come as soon as I can get good ones. The little turds don't like standing still. 

Levi is doing great! He loves his 20g and has yet to stop exploring. 

The jury is still out on the lily pad loungers. Prince doesn't use his and I'm pretty sure Levi doesn't either. I like the look and I like that Levi's breaks up the open area on the top corner of the tank that I have it in, but still not too sure on the fishing line. So far neither boy seems to be affected by it. I can't seem to get Prince's to stick down though anymore. Will have to keep playing with that.


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## BettaStarter24

Draco updated picture


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## BettaStarter24

Skye updated picture


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## BettaStarter24

Updated "crowntail tank ". Elrond and Lucifer's tank divided between just them.


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## themamaj

I am so sorry about Haku! SIP buddy. 

Horse is gorgeous! Glad you got to get back riding. Each of new fish pictures are great. They are growing and changing. Tanks very nice too.


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## Sadist

I hope you're feeling better. It's always hard to lose a pet. I'm glad the babies are growing up and keeping you amused.


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## BettaStarter24

Feeling better now. The babies and my other guys are helping with that. Hard to be sad about losing one for too long when you have so many other little puppy faces peering out at you. Don't get me wrong there, I still miss Haku just as I miss Zuri but I feel better about it and I'm not going to let his death keep me from caring for my other fish.


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## BettaStarter24

So I know I said I was done buying fish. But as always one caught my heart. Though I left him at the store as I wasn't sure about it. A friend is going to be in that area on Friday and I said if he was still there I want him. So who knows if he will still be there. He is a VT and idk how to classify his color. His body is a dark blue with red, and his fins are dark yellow/orange with armegeddon spots. He's not a mustard gas. Looks almost chocolate but I don't know. I didn't get a picture sadly.


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## Sadist

What an interesting color!


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## BettaStarter24

I got him today. I couldn't wait until Friday when he might have either already been sold or died in the cup. He is very stressed and very scared so I have him slowly acclimating with the light off to calm him down. He's going to be living in a medium KK for now. In the future I hope to upgrade him definitely. I don't have a name set for him yet, although I do have three I like. I'm thinking about either Armeggedon, Renegade, or Castiel (he's special enough to reuse a name from one of my previous fish). As I say that I'm having second thoughts about reusing the name Castiel. It just doesn't fit him right. 

I'm really excited to see him all colored up and comfortable. The Petsmart I got him from puts vacation feeders in the betta cups which really kind of hurts me to see. Those plus not enough water changes are sure to equal death. Saw a beautiful grey EE that we saw last time we were there on Saturday that was lively and active on Saturday, he was clamped and faded out today and just looked too far gone. He was a true steel grey. As soon as I got the VT boy home I removed the vacation feeder and dropped prime in. Watching him in his cup right now he seems to be becoming more active and less stressed so hopefully he bounces back nicely. 

In other news I came home from getting the boy today and found Skye in a flaring competition with his older, much bigger neighbor Lucifer. MY BABY IS FLARING!!!!! Like full on full beard flaring. Draco hasn't quite reached full beard yet but he'll try to flare. I put a divider up between the tanks as to not stress either boy out too much more as I'm not sure when this flaring started. 

It's been decided that I am living on campus again this fall for my last semester at school. Move in is September 4-6th so just over a month and a half until its time to pack tanks up and bring them to school. I'm debating leaving more home this time around though. Bringing my small tanks and my babies for sure as the babies still need special feeding and the small tanks can not handle going potentially 2 weeks without a change if I can't get home until I work. My 5 and 5.5 would be coming, my 3 gallon, my 2.5's and my 1.5 gallons would be coming for sure. The 20g is staying home, as is mom's 10g. I'm debating leaving one or both of my 10g's home, but those are both divided which means more bioload which is why I'm thinking just bring them. If I lose anymore before school starts *Knocks ferociously on wood* I can potentially lower number of tanks but again, with 3 divided tanks I'd go towards un dividing tanks first. I could divide my 5g crescent if needed, but that's a last resort as the occupant is relatively big unless i moved Misha into one half of the 2 way divided 10 and divided the 5 between 2 smaller boys or 2 of the females. So many logistics of moving fish and making room. Worst case scenario both 10g are left home and are overfed or underfed. 

Which leads me into story time. I say over/under fed if left home because the tanks would be in my room which means my mom may or may not remember to feed them. On top of that she's been known to over feed a little bit (not much but a little). She's used to feeding the kings and giants and larger fish who can handle more pellets. The guys who would be in these tanks are small guys that only get 4 or 5 a feeding in comparison to the giants who get maybe 7 or 8 a feeding. Mom has mastered feeding Prince and Levi the right amounts so I'm pretty sure she'd be ok with the small guys. She's had a regular sized betta as well but David didn't really eat much at all so most of the food ended up at the bottom of the tank and she doesn't do water changes so they'd be there until I got home to do the change. I've tried to get her to learn how to do them but she's afraid that she'll do it wrong and hurt the fish. All tanks that would be home are fully cycled and can handle a little bit of leeway when it comes to changes, although I would prefer to stick with the usual routine of weekly changes on them. If I needed to I could make a trip home every week to do changes. That's not too bad of an issue depending on work schedule. This is my next big decision to make. My numbers have skyrocketed since I left school so I just want to be sure I have room to put the tanks where its not a danger to the fish. 

People think I'm so weird for caring so much for these fish because "they're just fish". But what they don't seem to realize many times is that, sure they are just fish but they are also living creatures who deserve the best habitats they can get so they don't suffer. I strive to provide that. Granted, I currently now have 2 unheated small tanks BUT with that said my 1.5g is currently being held at 87 degrees with the heater UNPLUGGED. So my room is too hot and heaters are currently not turning on at all either. I'm hoping to be able to get Skye into a 2.5 soon so he can maybe get a little better heat distribution in his tank but he's used to this temp at this point and it doesn't seem to be bothering him. I'm keeping a very close eye on the temps throughout the day and into the night to be sure they aren't fluctuating too bad. But despite those two unheated tanks I'm constantly making sure they're all ok and that their homes are doing fine. I know I'm preaching to the choir and back on this soapbox when I was on it not too long ago but I've gotten started I may as well continue and I'm bored with much too little sleep. It just bugs me when people tease me for liking fish. My uncle asked me what I would do if I went fishing. I told him it's slightly different. Fishing for walleye or bass is different than caring for Betta fish or domesticated fish like that. And when it comes time to say goodbye to a finned friend yes it is different than when you catch a wild fish. You're fishing for food in the wild. You're not fishing for your pet. 

Ok off my soapbox now. 

Here's pictures of the new guy, who I've decided to name Renegade. and then a couple pictures of baby flare. 

Renegade:























Baby Flare!


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## Sadist

Poor Renegade, so stressed! I hope he settles in nicely, and I'm glad you got him away from that nasty cup. I wonder how bad the ammonia gets in those cups with the vacation feeder added to the rest!

Baby flare is so cute! Fear my tiny beard!


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## BettaStarter24

I tested with some strips I have and it said "stress" but they're off brand strips and I don't trust them. I don't have a liquid test.


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## BettaStarter24

Before of Renegade, this is while acclimating. You can see the fear in his eyes almost. He was so stressed at this point and didn't know what was going on.


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## BettaStarter24

And tonight. He has eaten and has built a nest as well. He's so much more relaxed and comfortable.


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## BettaStarter24

Another from tonight that showcases his colors better


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## BettaStarter24

With his fins spread out


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## themamaj

He is beautiful! Looks like doing great! Such a lucky boy!


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## Sadist

Aww, I'm glad he's settling in quickly, and I'm glad you got him away from his previous environment.


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## BettaStarter24

Thanks guys. He's doing great. Flirting big time with Pandora who is his neighbor. I swear he's trying so hard to get her to notice him and she's just having none of it it's adorable and kind of sad


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## BettaStarter24

Bit the bullet and ordered Renegade a heater. His tank is only being held at 70 whereas everyone else is at 78. I don't feel comfortable with that so I went ahead and ordered a hydor theo 25w adjustable heater. Was going to her him a tetra ht10 preset today but decided against it. If I'm going to spend the money I'd rather have something I trust to do the job properly.

EDIT: I was always going to get him a heater I was just hoping to wait until next paycheck or until I got a little more in tips. Plus some unexpected financial trouble hit tonight so spent more than I wanted to.


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## BettaStarter24

Renegade's heater came in and now his tank is at a nice 78 degrees. He is loving it! He's built a penthouse suite onto his bubble nest. Still trying to impress Pandora. Here he is tonight after a day of heat. 









On to the others. Levi is still doing great! He is slowly developing "puppy fish syndrome" and turning into a puppy fish. 

Skye's tail has grown considerably and Draco is eating whole small NLS pellets. Unfortunately it looks as though Draco is getting a white growth on his spine. I'm hoping I'm just seeing things or it's a grain of sand sitting there. Im keeping an eye on it as tonight is the first I've noticed anything. I'm hoping it's nothing though. Draco is so young yet. 

That's pretty much all the new stuff that's been around.


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## Sadist

I'm glad the heater came in okay! I've had a few that were broken coming through the mail, and of course the ones inside the stores are more expensive than online. Just a few days of ramen.


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## BettaStarter24

Well this heat wave is taking its toll on everyone. Human and animal. All the tanks are overheated. Will try a ziploc bag of treated ice but will have to wait until tomorrow. 

I wish I could figure out a long term fix. Like a in tank cooler instead of a heater lol. 

For those who don't read through memorials much, Sammy succumbed to the heat. Being 4 years old + not fully recovered from his fight + heat just became too much for the poor boy and he passed on today. I was kind of preparing to lose at least one to the heat as its not cooling down whatsoever and my room is a sauna right now it just sort of feels like a slap in the face that it was _him_. He was the last of my original 5 boys (Jasper, Castiel, Dean, Oliver, and Sammy were the five that started it all). 

But with a loss of a longtime friend brings an opportunity to help another. I'd had my eye on a multicolor VT at a petsmart nearby for a while who kept going downhill and a friend picked him up today. He's currently at the house I am watching for the week in a 2.5g tank. I'm heading over soon for the night. I feel torn about it though. There is a part that feels like I am just replacing Sammy and betraying his memory by getting another boy so soon but another part is just saying that it gives that other guy a chance at reaching 4 years like Sammy. 

I do want to downsize but that's not working so well...


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## Sadist

Hard to downsize when there's a spot right there. I'm sorry for the loss of Sammy, but it's okay to help another fish, especially if the tank is cycled and needs an ammonia source to stay that way.

There are in-tank cooling systems, but they're super expensive. The cheap thing is a small, clip-on fan that blows on the water and makes it evaporate more quickly. https://www.amazon.com/iPettie-Aqua...69540388&sr=8-1&keywords=aquarium+cooling+fan for a picture, though I've never used one and won't recommend one over another. That's something made for aquariums, if you happen to have something similar for people, it might do in a pinch. From what I've read, there's enough evaporation to make daily top-offs a thing.


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## BettaStarter24

Moved things around and redid the 5.5 divided Sammy was in. Switched from black gravel to natural gravel to lighten the tank up a bit. Loki is still in one section but Renegade has taken up the open section. 

The new guy is all set up and acclimated and is busy exploring. He is in a great choice 2.5g tank where Renegade's 1.7g KK was. I'm thinking about naming him Prism due to the rainbow effect his scales have under different lighting.


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## Sadist

I hope he settles in nicely. He reads lovely.


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## BettaStarter24

Here he is. His main color that is prevalent most often is teal or turquoise but in other lights he's purple or pink


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## Sadist

What a lovely little guy! I think the picture probably doesn't do his colors justice.


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## BettaStarter24

No it really doesn't. The bubbles don't help either. 

Skye got an upgrade today. Moved from the 1.5g cube to a 3G KK.


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## BettaStarter24

Here is a close up of the lil guy now. He's grown a lot from the tiny baby he was.


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## BettaStarter24

Tanks are back to a decent temperature although I'm not sure if Asgard is going to make it. He is extremely lethargic and pale. Went from black orchid to dull grey. Idk if it's the heat that finally caught up to him or if I didn't clean out the tank well enough after Haku died. 

I really need to be kept out of pet stores. Went to petco today to cool off after work and came home with a tank, gravel, plant and a fish. This boy has been at that petco for 4 months now. He's done a number on his tail either rot or biting. I just couldn't leave him again. So now I'm up to 18 Bettas. I need to start downsizing as they pass. I can't keep up with this pity buying, impulse buying, or getting more as they pass. I want to get down to maybe 4 or 5 with no divided tanks. 

So here is new boy and new set up...


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## BettaStarter24

And here is his tank


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## BettaStarter24

New boy has a name now. Named him Casper. He's doing well, has claimed the vase as his own though I still reflexively call it "Sammy's vase" as it had been with Sammy since I got it and Sammy was always so possessive of it. Casper seems to be enjoying it very much though. His fins need a lot of healing but that will take time. 

I realized how similar Prism and Draco look. I now refer to Prism as Draco's evolved form (Pokemon nerds will understand the reference) as Draco is still a tiny baby.


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## Sadist

Aww, Casper's a cutie. It's hard to leave them when they've been sitting in that filth for so long. I almost brought home a boy from Walmart yesterday. I have absolutely no surface in the house left that's safe for a tank, though.


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## BettaStarter24

I ended up under estimating the size of the tank that I bought for him and it wouldn't fit where I had room so I found an empty metal trashcan that's circumference was the same size as the tanks circumference flipped it upside down and put the tank on that. Not ideal but surprisingly efficient


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## BettaStarter24

...I seriously need help...

This downsizing thing isn't happening. I promise I try but then another pretty guy or girl comes along. 

So...my friend gave me a 5g tank as she had gotten a different one from a friend and didn't have a use for one and at the time I did. Originally planned in dividing Millie and Amara and getting rid of one of their tanks and separating Loki and Thor as Thor has started tail biting. Well. We went to petco by her place and all plans went out the window. They had just gotten a shipment in from what I gathered and had some stunning fish. Including two DTPK's, a couple hmpk's a gorgeous marbled delta and a Dalmation VT. And then this guy...he was labeled as a king but easily is full giant. In the store I thought about putting him in the 5g but after getting him to her place and floating him with a couple of her fish realized how big he was. So. 5g was divided between the girls Millie and Amara, Lucifer and Elrond got their old tanks and their old 10g was undivided and big guy got that. 

Would not have gotten another giant had he not been this color and at petco. You don't see "kings" like this very often. 

Thinking about naming him either Apollo, Uther, or Kilgarrah.


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## BettaStarter24

In his tank


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## BettaStarter24

Bad close up lol. But it shows the small patch of blue he has on his tail base.


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## themamaj

Beautiful boy! Nice find. Yes that downsizing thought doesnt work so well for me either


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## fernielou

He's pretty. Looking is dangerous!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## BettaStarter24

Yeah both me and my friend went gaga over him when we saw him. She found a red dragon HMPK male that she liked too. So I snatched the giant and she took the little guy, later found out it was for the best as with her extra 5g I could free up a 10g for him. 

He's so happy in the 10g. Still looking for the right name for him.


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## BettaStarter24

Well Loki has quit eating. He just spits the food back out and then loses interest entirely. He's losing weight and just looks sickly. I'm thinking about moving him into a little KK I have spare as a hospital tank and giving Thor full run of the 5.5g. Opinions? Besides being skinny he's relatively active, hes just not eating. Also dealing with Tadashi who is eating but doesn't seem to be gaining weight and is pretty skinny too. Idk what's going on with these fish. Both are relatively active but Loki refuses to eat and Dashi is just skinny. 

Millie and Amara are enjoying their tank immensely, though there is the occasional flare-off. Millie's got the tiniest little ventrals, only maybe a mm or 2 long, they're barely there. vs Amara who has "normal" ventrals. Both are same size bodywise. I'm 99.9% sure they are full sisters from the same spawn. They look pretty much exactly alike, came in in the same shipment and from the same source. 

Draco and Skye both are doing really well. Floated Draco in Skye's 3g briefly (two minutes tops) and got baby flares on both ends. I originally floated Draco to get a size comparison as I was worried Draco wasn't growing. Turns out he is, his fins just aren't as widespread as Skye's get so they make him look smaller. Him and Skye are now about the same size. Still tiny though. How fast are babies supposed to grow? Both tanks get frequent water changes to keep parameters under control as well as the GSH they put off. 

Thor is hopefully letting his tail grow back out a little. He had shredded the end of it doing something. I'm thinking it may have been the filter intake though. I put a pre-filter sponge over it and it seems to have helped. 

Casper is doing ok. He seems quite lethargic which worries me a bit but that could just be him, because he'll be laying near the bottom then he will zoom around and explore before hiding in his vase again. 

Lucifer and Elrond are happier in their own tanks then they were in the divided. I thought I saw regrowth on their fins today (we've been battling fin rot for a week or so now). Elrond is much more active in his own 3g than he had been in the divided 10. Which is nice to see. 

Pandora and Prism have a little flirt fest going on. Both have decided that they are the only ones for each other and are very frustrated they can't get to each other to actually do anything about it. Prism is building nests to impress her and she's on full display. I try to keep a divider between them to try to avoid stress but that seems to stress them out more. 

Calcifer has this area on his head that I'm a little iffy on. It's pale and it suddenly appeared over his right gill flap. It's not fuzzy or raised and hasn't changed in that regard since it appeared. He's a koi and a marble so I was thinking it could just be another color change. If the bugger will let me get a good picture I'll upload it. 

Aithusa is his fiesty self. He's LOVING being in the divided 10 with Tadashi and Calcifer. I think he also likes the fact his section is so crowded with a plant and his cave. He likes weaving through the leaves of the plant. 

Misha has adjusted to the decrease in tank size since his downgrade when I got Levi. He's more active, he's flaring more and he's got bubble nests nearly every week. Still mostly blind from diamond eye. He has issues seeing food if it is dropped right on top of him, he needs it dropped a few inches in front of him so he can see it. 

Asgard is going back and forth. He's doing what Haku did. Though his good times are a little longer than his bad times. I'm keeping an eye on him but he's declined a bit. He goes from his vibrant black orchid color to grey and just sits there, not really interested in anything. 

New guy is still looking for a name. He's adjusted well to his tank and is very much a "this is my tank...mine!" type of boy. Though he does have the shy quality to him that is really adorable. I'll go up to the tank to watch him and he'll slowly peek out like "May I help you?" and look at me with the puppy eyes that just melt my heart. 

Do they sometimes look like they're pouting and giving puppy eyes to anyone else? lol. It's what hits me in the stores a lot.


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## themamaj

Good to read updates. Sometimes my babies will grow then plateau a bit then take off again on growth. Just make sure to do more frequent water changes on them because of the growth hormone. 

I wouldnt worry too much on Calcifier. Just keep eye on spot. Kois can change a lot as grow.

So cute Millie and Amara having girly flare shows. I love girls trying to show off beards!

Does Loki spit all food or just pellets? Might try to entice him with a frozen food. 

Good move putting Misha in smaller tank. Reminds me of my Neil I had. Keeping decor in same place and as you said putting food right in front of them really helps them feel more secure and confident. Sometimes it would help Neil too if I just offered a little at a time to make sure he saw it and ate before adding more. Helped keep tank cleaner too that way. 

Sounds like you have your hands full but lots of fun with many fishy faces


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## BettaStarter24

Loki will spit out everything I offer him. He'll try it once, then spit it out and ignore the rest. A big reasoning behind putting him in a different tank is it may just be that Thor is a more aggressive, more dominant male and Loki seems to be more submissive so he may be reacting to that. Tomorrow maybe I'll make the change. See if that will help. 

I would think Amara would be more showy and more aggressive, she's always been the bigger, more outgoing of the two sisters. But Millie is pulling her weight big time. Tiny vents and all. Amara at the moment doesn't really care anymore, she's too happy swimming around her side. She's even got a tiny little female bubble nest. YEah....my girl builds nests...and she is most definitely female. Ovaries and all.


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## Sadist

Is there a chance those two skinny ones have parasites? That's what I usually think of when I see a skinny betta that's eating well. Soaking pellets in garlic juice (or using a food that has garlic in the ingredients) is supposed to help them get rid of internal parasites without medicines. Gotta vacuum a lot, too, to physically remove any that come out of the fish so it doesn't go back in. It's worth trying if you think it could be parasites. I want to note that they could have come from the store/seller with parasites that waited this long to present, too.


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## BettaStarter24

Nope. I do not suspect parasites. Poop is normal and both fish are in divided tanks and have been for a while and the other fish are fine.


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## BettaStarter24

Well Loki continues to be a mystery. Still won't eat even after separation. And he lets me pick him up. He won't fight it or try to swim away. He's perma-clamped and pale and just looks sad.


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## BettaStarter24

Big Guy finally has a real name! Named him Emrys after the wizard Merlin. Emrys is his other known name and it means immortal one.


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## BettaStarter24

Loki passed away last night. Still have no idea what was wrong. But he's not suffering anymore so I'm glad about that. 

Other updates: 
I'm thinking about rehoming Asgard. I don't have the connection with him that i did when he was in the store. I would prefer local pick up only as I'm not 100% comfortable with shipping if I were to rehome him. No fault of his own. For those who don't know him, he is a black orchid crowntail male from Petco. He's kind of paled out now though. I will be upfront about him, he's been giving me mixed signals for the past month, he'll color up be fine and then suddenly he's pale and lethargic, then he'll be fine, then lethargic again. He's been going back and forth for a while. So if anyone has any ideas whatsoever. He's doing what Haku did before he died. So idk what's up. 

Casper's fins have started growing back, although he's constantly clamped and lethargic and he has the weird head shake that Sammy had. I just have weird fish I guess. 

Rescaped Thor's tank yesterday, took the silk plants out and rearranged the anubias in the tank so it's all live plants. It was too dark in the tank and some of the leaves of the plants were dying so I moved them so they'd get more light. 

And for the main reason I removed the silk plants...I got two new fish...a male dragonscale plakat and a female pineapple (?) crowntail female. I'll post pictures in future posts from my phone as I don't have them on my computer atm. 

But the male almost looks like a MG only very light blue and a piebald face and a very very very thin black band. I saw him and just fell in love immediately. He's a stunner that's for sure. His name is Remi. 

The female has bright yellow fins and body with a black band, some blue iridescent scales scattered over her body and what looks to be black lining around the scales. Her body is darker yellow than her fins. Her name is Evey after Evey from V for Vendetta. Her rays are messy and her finnage isn't great, nor is her form but she's cute. 

Emrys hasn't changed color much yet, his blue has darkened up but that's about it. He's developing the attitude of a puppy. Is always up front the second I step up, begging for attention. 

I really need to downsize...but it's not working! I'm up to 20...I need help...


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## BettaStarter24

Here they are. Remi is the HMPK male, Evey is the CT female.


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## BettaStarter24

Well I've realized I've hit burnout. I dread moving to school because of the tank set ups. Problem is no one on here is local really and I don't feel comfortable shipping. So my choices are keep them until they die or rehome them to people who may not take care of them. I don't know. I have a list of a few I want to keep no matter what and a list of some who I don't really care if I rehome and then a list of ones I'd miss but would rehome to give them a better life. I just don't know many fish people.


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## fernielou

Where do you live? Maybe ppl on here would like them. 

People may not take care of an animal exactly like you but that doesn't mean the animal won't be happy. I would never feed my dogs puppy chow of those nasty foods but maybe those people are better about playing with the dogs - so maybe the fish would gain something even if they didn't have the premium pellets or 5 gallon tanks or whatever it is you feel strongly about 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## BettaStarter24

I'd just rather them not sit in half gallon tanks with no heaters and no water changes. 

I'm in the Twin Cities area but in a week I'll be closer to Hudson Wisconsin.


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## fernielou

I don't blame you. Plus you have to worry about fighters


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## BettaStarter24

Yeah. I have something out to a Pre-Vet club at my school to see if I can find someone to take one or two there. Part of me still says just keep all of them and as they pass on sell the tanks off but the other part is just like eh...do you really want to care for 20 for who knows how long? It's a rock and a hard place. I'll see if I can find locals who will take care of them and not fight them. Even if it means they're in unheated 1 gallons but getting frequent water changes. I'd prefer 2.5g heated with adequate changes of water but I understand not everyone can do all of that.


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## fernielou

sometimes more just steals all your enjoyment. we went from 2 dogs to three and NONE of the dogs got love and attention because it was all feed/potty/breakup fights and I was so stressed. we found a great home for the newest and I could actually enjoy having a dog instead of feeling like a dog sitter. 

what if you rehome the betta with their tank for a fee? that way people are getting the equipment , you won't be tempted to buy a replacement, and they will have the equipment to care for the betta like you want.

another thing I have seen is petco adopts out unwanted pets. I have seen birds, lizards, and small furry things. They charge a very nominal fee (the bird was like $10) but you get the pets equipment...it's a great deal for the rescuer and the animal has the familiarity of their old stuff.


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## BettaStarter24

For some of them they will come with some equipment but some are in a divided tank. And I would need to keep back two heaters for ones that I'm keeping.


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## BettaStarter24

So found a new home with a forum member for Casper, he went to his new home tonight. Lucifer found a home with someone at my school, that one is a little more melancholy as Lucifer is one I like because of his spunk and coloring but I know he'll benefit from being an only fish. 

Asgard has potentially found a new home with someone at school as well. He's a little less melancholy as I don't really have much of a connection to him. 

So with two rehomed, possibly 3 I'm feeling a lot better about my fish load. Tadashi was on my list as well (as well as more) but with the two, possibly three rehomed I already feel much better and am ok if I keep the rest. That puts me at 13-14 at school (granted I leave my 3-way divided 10g at home) or 16 at school if I leave Emrys home. Which is back down to a level I felt ok with. 

So kind of bittersweet feelings around here with Lucifer getting ready to move to his new home in a week and Casper already gone to his new home, but both are going to good homes and Lucifer is going with his tank so he'll have familiar surroundings and both will have more attention than I can give them. Also starting to enjoy having them a little more now that the number is going down.


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## Sadist

I'm glad you're able to rehome some so quickly and enjoy the ones you still have.


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## BettaStarter24

Well I'm pretty sure Draco is shaping up to be a nice little butterfly boy. He's getting a band around his fins


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## themamaj

Glad you have been able to find homes for some of your fish. They are all really lovely fish! I understand feeling overwhelmed though. I cant imagine caring for multiple fish with school as well.


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## BettaStarter24

I'm sad to see them go but they're going to good homes. Casper has a 20g waiting for him (he's in a 5g quarantine tank currently I believe). Lucifer and Asgard are both going to be only fish as far as I know (Which wouldn't be a bad thing if they weren't) but they are going to love the extra attention. They're going to fellow students at school. I'm not too worried. One has been asking a lot of care questions like filter heater necessity and other things like that which I like. And both are going with their 2.5g tanks so they'll have adequate space. 

On sadder note I watched two beautiful boys leave a pet store doomed to live in a divided half gallon...even after politely doing our best to try to sway them into at least a divided 5 gallon at the least. Can't save them all and I can't force people to get adequate housing for a fish but it still kind of hurt to see. Gorgeous blue CT with slight red wash and a multicolor VT. The mom seemed really receptive to what we suggested but her little kid insisted on getting two. (Mom said they only had room for one 2.5g ) so out they walked with the divided half gallon...It kind of hurt my heart. We tried. That's all we could do. 

I realized today how much the babies have grown. Mainly their fins lol. Skye's caudal has definitely grown, waiting on his rays to extend more but that will come with time. Draco as shown above has his new butterfly band so I'm excited to see what he matures to. he got a full tear down of his tank today as the algae growth had gotten so bad and the sand started to smell weird, my guess is it had gone anaerobic. So out came Draco and the tank was taken apart completely, scrubbed within an inch of its life, half the sand was removed the other half was rinsed thoroughly and everything was put back together. Looks much better now. I'll be doing that with quite a few of the tanks Sunday morning before moving them to school. 150% water changes are always fun on the uncycled tanks. My cycleds are getting higher changes than I'd like but they've been ok moving back and forth so far *knocking on wood*. Only Misha's really needs a big scrub down to eradicate some of the algae. Hopefully the algae slows its growth at school. A lot of the tanks are by my window which gets good amount of sun during the day so its been algae heaven and almost impossible to limit light times. 

Remi and Evey are doing good. Remi is now in Casper's old 2g tank and is not sure what to make of the cylindrical shape.


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## BettaStarter24

Oh my god this tank looks 110% better. And Draco is much happier


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## BettaStarter24

Ugh algae is slowly becoming my worst enemy. Just spent half an hour scrubbing down Lucifer's plants and tank. All but three water changes done for the week. Taking a break and then I get to move the divided 10 into the living room so mom can care for the inhabitants while I'm at school. She was a little wary of the divided staying home because if one slipped the divider while she was gone it wouldn't end well and she doesn't want to be blamed for it. I told her I wouldn't blame her for that. If they get through the dividers it's my fault for not noticing the divider moved during transport or a water change. 

Just a few more days before I start my last semester of college. Yikes


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## themamaj

Tank looks good. Sounds like you have done lots of work! What is your major in college?


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## BettaStarter24

Lots more to do lol. I want to get the tanks scrubbed down before I leave for school. Sunday morning will be doing that with the tanks that still need it. 

Got the 10 moved. Those guys aren't too happy with me. 

I'm majoring in Animal Science with an equine emphasis


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## themamaj

That is awesome! Hope you have great last semester


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## BettaStarter24

Thanks!

So Skye has started building bubble nests so I went to take a picture and noticed how much he has changed and grown since I got him so I decided to post before/after pics of both babies. I wish phones would let me upload more than one pic at a time. 

Before Skye:


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## BettaStarter24

Skye today.


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## BettaStarter24

Draco before


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## BettaStarter24

Draco now


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## BettaStarter24

Just heard from Casper's new owner and I'm glad to report he is doing great!


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## BettaStarter24

Well...it's not good in fish town today. I came home tonight to work for the weekend at home (i've been gone two weeks) and found Calcifer dead in his section of the divided 10. Did a big water change on that tank as i can't separate the other inhabitants into other tanks. And then went on rounds to check on the others and found Levi has a tumor on his head just behind his right eye. So my beautiful Giant boy (avatar) may not be around much longer either. I've accepted Calcifer's loss. I'm just kind of bumming about Levi.


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## BettaStarter24

Here's a picture of Levi's tumor


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## Sadist

I'm so sorry! When it rains, it pours.


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## BettaStarter24

Yeah it sucks...Not to mention me and my roommate and friend kept joking about how Calcifer had to live forever since he was so expensive (Spent $60 on him between me and my roommate). Feel kinda bad about joking around about that, especially since he died not even a year after i got him. (I got him sometime before Zuri passed last spring. but after December, I forget exactly). Still no idea what happened. I found him in his plant so I'm thinking he got caught and wasn't discovered in time. Not sure. Where his body was was right under the filter output so who knows. His eyes were all cloudy too but again, that could have been caused by being gone for a while cause idk how long he was dead in the tank. (hence why that tank got a BIG change...). Tadashi and Aithusa are both looking ok so far. Calcifer did have that lighter patch show up just over his right gill flap in August but again, I'm not sure if that was anything to worry about or if it was just color change as he was a koi and a very unstable one at that. He had paled out remarkably from when i last saw him to when I found him but I know they can pale once they've passed on if they sit a while. No fuzzy or much sign of decay so I don't think he'd been dead longer than a day or two. Maybe a couple more idk how fast fish decay in water. 

In other news I recently did a "bad" and let a fish boy woo me...I know I probably shouldn't have as I just rehomed 3 due to burnout but with only 12 with me at school I felt like I could handle it. Now with Calcifer gone I technically have the same amount I was comfortable with keeping until they pass. I feel bad as I rehomed Lucifer (one of the ones I really liked) and then both Casper and Asgard (who I didn't have as strong a connection to or no connection at all in Asgard's case) because I couldn't handle the amount of fish/tanks I had. I'm judging myself big time right now about this whole thing but I can't bring myself to like full on regret it...

Merlot is the name of my new addition. He's a stunning red dragon HMPK from petco with pretty decent form which is why I was so shocked to see him in a petco. I'd expect to see him at the Betta Shop/BettaWorld, or Aquabid/eBay before I saw him at Petco. I'm still judging myself big time though. In one aspect of it, I know that Lucifer, Asgard and Casper are all in VERY good homes and are VERY happy where they are being only fish. Much happier than they were when they were with me. I know I may get judged poorly for it. I wish I weren't because I hate judgment like that and I've been known to question when someone rehomes an animal just to get a new one. But (this is what I wish people would pay attention to before judging me for my decision) I did not rehome the 3 boys in order to get Merlot. I rehomed them because I knew I could not provide them with proper care as I had gotten too many. I downsized to a number I felt I could handle. Now with that said. I know my limits. I have seen other guys since I got Merlot that eat at my heartstrings and that I would love to grab and see them in their full glory but I respect that I can not handle more than my current 17. I know that above 17/18 I get overwhelmed and this becomes more of a chore than a fun hobby. Another thing before I force myself to stop seeming defensive before I have reason to...I got Merlot before I knew about Calcifer's death. I got him without knowing Cal was sick as Calcifer was at home. (I've had Merlot for about a week now.) So no. He is not Calcifer's "replacement". No fish could replace my little fire demon (my bloody expensive fire demon...  love ya Cal!). And he is not replacing Lucifer, Casper or Asgard either. He's just a little guy who caught my eye and my heart and I knew I could handle one more. 

Ok done with defensive. (mainly that was all me yelling at myself). 

Merlot is actually in a heated 3 gallon bowl. (Trust me I am still getting used to it as prior to this I have had a firm belief that bowls were not for fish and I still don't fully like them UNLESS they are at least 3 gallons AND maintained properly. And this is my personal opinion here.) His plants are silk plants from Michael's that were soaked overnight in primed water with no signs of any leeching. He's been under very close observation as well due to the fact these plants were not made for aquarium use. So far *knocking on wood* everything seems fine and he's very active and healthy and eating well already. I was also a little wary as my roommate got a Gold dragon from the same store a couple weeks prior and he died mysteriously 4 days after she got him with a red patch on one side. So I have been watching Merlot closely so i can be sure to catch ANYTHING weird. 

Here's my little impulse guy.


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## themamaj

I am really sorry he passed while you were away. Don't feel guilty about it. Sometimes even the very best efforts we put forth, things still happen when it is their time. I know no fish ever replaces another. Ones that are special never leave our hearts. I still have Kirov's tank up and running. Just his little snail in there. I keep looking at the tank expecting him to swim by with those big eyes. As for rehoming the others, you were looking out for what is best for those particular fish. I think we all go through periods where things can get overwhelming. It sounds like you have realized your balance. Your new boy is precious! I would have been drawn to him too with those colors! I think the larger bowls are really pretty and would be fun to design. My boy Flare has a 3 gallon cylinder tank. It gives the plants a really cool look with the curvature of the tank. Hope you enjoy Merlot. He is a beauty.


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## BettaStarter24

Thanks! I do enjoy him. These guys I have left have kind of become my sanity lately since I am unable to be near my dog right now. I'm not sure if I posted on here about my dog, in fact I'm pretty sure I haven't...but a month ago tomorrow actually my dog Koko was diagnosed with Congestive Heart Failure. The last week and a half I was home for summer, most of it was spent just being with him and cuddling him and loving on him as much as I could so it's been quite the change to not be able to be there with him as much. I miss him more when I'm gone now that I know he's sick and has an undeterminable amount of time left with us. The vet was cautiously optimistic when we went in initially. He said it wasn't as bad as it could be, but seeing as the heart is failing it still is bad. He couldn't give us a good estimate of how long we had left with Koko because it varies so much from dog to dog. He said he's seen dogs come in like Koko with same progression on initial visit and make it years on medicine, and he's also seen similar cases come back in two weeks for euthanasia. So far Koko's doing fine *knocking on wood*. He's on Lasix and Vetmedin but the Lasix is given on an as needed basis. If he weighs over 6.5-7.0 pounds he gets a lasix. Vetmedin he gets twice a day no matter what. I'm just hoping I have a while left with him. He's been with me through high school and now college and I'm hoping he at least makes it past my graduation. We're taking it one day at a time. He's acting fine and is running around like a puppy when he feels like it and he stops and slows down when he gets tired. He knows his limitations. The vet said we will know when it is time and when the medicines stop working and that there will come a time when the medication doesn't help anymore. I've included some pictures of him as well (from about a year ago or so I think now. Well before the diagnosis) as you can see he LOVES snuggles. 

I already had a cylinder tank before I got the bowl so I have become accustomed to the distortion issue. Remi is in a 2 gallon cylinder tank. Which still makes me kind of nervous after my last experience with a cylinder tank. Tried shipping a 3 gallon cylinder tank from Amazon and they sent me 3 tanks all were cracked. (after processing returns twice) then they finally checked stock and stopped selling them from their warehouse and refunded me the money. I won't order tanks online anymore due to too many issues with them arriving cracked. Tried to get a corner tank later on and first came cracked, second came shattered....kicker is the tank is advertised as shatter-proof. 

I forced myself to do water changes tonight lol. I had put them back a bit due to school and work and going home this weekend so I had to get them done today. So all the fishes at school are happy in clean water. Figured out due to tank layout, Prism and Pandora's tanks are going to be pains to change. *see included picture* Prism and Pandora are in the 2.5g on the top shelf. You can see how that would make water changes difficult. I have to take the water out, put the tanks where my computer is and then re-fill them. Then lift them back up there. The only other place I could put them is the windowsill...which, seeing as I'm in Wisconsin and it's fall....not a good idea as temps are starting to fluctuate day to day. For the first time in a long time I actually had fun doing water changes. Played music and danced around while emptying water and refilling the tanks. All my fish stared at me like "wtf mom?! What...What are you doing? Mom!?" but it was fun. Granted they still haven't quite forgiven me...especially poor Draco...he had just built his second ever bubble nest. Both nests have been built right before a water change is due and both have been destroyed right away. My little baby boy is very discouraged. I'm not sure how long it will take before he decides he's confident enough to build another nest. My roommate fell into the baby bug about a month ago (give or take a few days) and she lucked out with a GORGEOUS blue with red wash delta tail male. Though I think I lucked out with my boys too. a multicolor butterfly VT and a blue CT with red wash. (pretty much all of the babies from my petco are veiltail with the occasional ct female baby.)

Random thought...but I looked up from my screen and noticed the fish statue I have (Got it because it looks alittle like a betta if you ignore tail shape and extra fins where they shouldn't be) is staring at me and it's kinda creepy... *see second picture*


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## Sadist

I'm glad you got to spend some time wit Koko while he's still having good days.


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## themamaj

Tanks look great! A desk surrounded by fish...my kind of room!  Glad you had a fun water change day. I usually listen to music too. Really funny to watch fishes response depending on my music selection. Sometimes they just give me a look like seriously? Flashback Friday?! Other times I think they enjoy it plus if I put on something fun and upbeat I work faster. 

Aww Koko snuggles look like the best. So precious. I pray he still has many more good years ahead. Dogs are such a comfort and help us through many milestones of life. 

Enjoying all the pictures!


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## BettaStarter24

lol they are the best. My favorite thing during the day is snuggles with my puppy. 

Oh I love studying with my fish. They have become my dump for my feelings about certain homework problems. They get to listen to me cuss problems out many times. 

So I figured I'd post progress pictures of my babies again and Misha my oldest boy. (granted Skye will cooperate)

Here are the pics! Draco is of course the butterfly VT baby, Misha is the red/blue HMPK and Skye is the CT. (for anyone new). 

I've included before pics of Misha and one of Skye from about a month ago (the flaring one is older)

Draco pics are all from tonight. At the top of the last page of the journal you can find a before pic.


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## BettaStarter24

So a few things have changed since I last updated. I lost Pandora this morning sadly which a big part of me is really sad about her loss as she was one of my best friends' girl and my friend moved away at the start of last summer and Pandora was my big connection to her that I had left. But at the same time I know the little girl isn't suffering anymore which makes me feel better. Pandora has been looking off for a couple weeks now, just more and more lethargic, etc. Sunday night I came back to campus from being home for work and I found her gasping (literally) for air at the bottom of her tank and she had gotten 10,000x worse since I had left on Friday evening. At that time I knew it was time for her to pass. Unfortunately we did not have clove oil on hand and I wasn't personally comfortable using other methods as I had never done those and was afraid of doing something wrong and causing her more pain than she deserved/was already in. So she unfortunately had to sit for two days struggling to survive before I was able to get a hold of clove oil. I humanely euthanized her this morning. She's not in pain anymore which is pretty much the only thing keeping me feeling ok about her loss. Plus it was expected and i had a couple days to come to terms with it. 

We also lost Prince last week. Prince was my mom's petco King male. He bloated (no pineconing) and got lethargic and died. I was at school when it happened so idk what exactly was wrong with him. So sadly we lost him as well. None of the other fish show any similar signs and at this point they would if it were anything contagious. (No, Pandora and Prince did not show similar symptoms either). I'm not too worried about that. 

Mom ended up getting a new fish Saturday. I switched substrate out and cleaned the tank pretty well to be on the safe side. She picked out a beautiful red butterfly double tail. Nice long body. His name is Brad (after Brad Pitt). I don't have good pictures of him right now. 

While picking out mom's new fish I may or may not have fell in love with a koi male. Unfortunately I had to walk away from him though. He looks like confetti. He has a white body but individual scales are colored either red or black and are scattered over his body like someone sprinkled confetti over him. Or glitter. He looks really cool and he's been there for a while which breaks my heart to see him peer out of his cup waiting for someone to pick him up. But no one will probably because he is $20. I tried to talk mom into going for him but she wanted Brad and Brad had been there for a while too so I was pretty torn. Trying to get the little koi boy out of my head. 

I just realized today how much Emrys has changed since I got him. Holy crap! I forgot how sudden and drastic marbles can change. Granted Skye is technically also a marble as he went from grizzle to almost solid blue with red wash since I got him. Skye's change has been more gradual and not as drastic. Emrys went from mostly white to mostly blue (maybe even black orchid as he has almost a black base with blue irids). Ive attached pictures below. First is before, second is today. 

Levi's tumor hasn't grown much so far. But he's starting to slow down a little bit. I'm hoping I have some more time with him. I just hate that most of the giants I have had died soon after. I'm really hoping that trend does not continue. Levi isn't dead yet and nor is he going to be euthanized any time soon as far as I can tell. He's still relatively active and eating and his quality of life is still there so its not his time yet. He'll let me know when that is. 

Amara has become a little dare devil recently. She's recently decided she wanted to try jumping and boy can she jump! Every time I feed them it seems she jumps like an inch out of the water. No I have not been teaching her to do this. She just does it. It gives me a heart attack every time. Her and Millie have a piece of craft mesh blocking the food hole so Amara can't either jump out of the tank or jump into Millie's side of the tank. She's definitely the trouble maker out of the two sisters. 

Speaking of sisters lol. We went to visit Galaxy and her half sister Gracie today. Oh my gosh they've gotten so big! I'll post before and afters of them too. Galaxy has the bigger blaze, Gracie has the skinnier blaze. You can also tell them apart because Gracie looks more refined and Galaxy is built like a tank.


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## Sadist

I'm sorry you lost Pandora. I wish you could get a discount on the fish you have your eye on, too. 

The horses are really coming along! Your female fish are really silly, too. I have one that really leaps up to get her food, too.


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## themamaj

I am so sorry for your losses! Never easy and so heartwrenching when you realize they are going down. 

Love Emry's before and after. Marbles are fascinating!

Horses are beautiful. So interesting the difference between siblings. One of my hubby's coworkers has the sister to our dog. She sent me picture the other day. They look so different and hers is 10 lbs bigger.


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## BettaStarter24

So went back to my petco today. Sadly that koi was gone I'm bumming about it and really hoping he got a good home. I did get a discount on a double tail "paradise" betta. Not sure on his coloration though. He has buoyancy issues so I got a 50% discount. He's gorgeous IMO. Feel slight regret but only because of money stuff. He's a partial pity buy. But here he is.


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## Sadist

Wow, what unusual coloring! I'm not sure what to call it, either. Blue metallic with devil (black and red) fins? I hope being home in clean water with good food will help out with his buoyancy issues.


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## BettaStarter24

Is there anything besides warm clean water I can do to help him? He's not bloated at all he just can't swim down.


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## Sadist

Those are the best thing. You could try epsom salt treatments and a strict diet.


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## BettaStarter24

Zephyr is doing better. Still not 100% issue free but he's doing better. He can swim down and stay down for a bit but floats slowly back up still. He's built a bubble nest. He improves a little bit every day. Just letting him clear his system out for a while before I offer him food. I'll probably start offering food on Friday before I leave for the weekend. 

Everyone else is doing great. Thor keeps finding things to rip his fin on. I've checked EVERYTHING in his tank and can't find what is causing it. His plants are all live anubias. He's just my little special child. 

Prism enjoys playing dead. I think he finds it fun. 

Misha remains my grumpy old man and I love him for it. He's looking really good for a 3 year old (guesstimating, he was 6.5 months when I got him almost 3 years ago)


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## Sadist

Improvements are good! Love the grumpy ol' man Misha.


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## BettaStarter24

Zephyr is officially swimming like a "big fish" now! Of course he's using his break from floating to hang around the bottom but he's active and just rests under his leaves now instead of on top of them. He's a little tired now from a flare session with Remi but I'm happy to report he no longer floats. I may brave food tomorrow, give him another day to be sure his system is cleaned out. 

Speaking of my grumpy ol' man Misha, he is currently trying to show his plants who is boss. And obviously he's winning ;P. 

Draco is slightly concerned about me. I've been spending the last few hours doing homework and getting caught up on stuff for classes...which equals me cussing Excel out among other assignments. He continuously makes loops and whenever he's next to me he looks at me as if to say "Are you better now? Have you finished with your breakdown over that glowing block?". And then Zephyr swims up to challenge my calculator. 

Emrys is up to something...he was in his cave and i asked him "Emrys? What are you doing?" and he swam out with the most innocent face. Uh huh...yeah...you weren't doing anything...*watches sneaky giant suspiciously*


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## Sadist

Hehe, I've seen them make bubble nests in caves if an air bubble is in there. Silly boys.


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## themamaj

Too cute their reaction to studying!


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## BettaStarter24

Well we have conquered food. Fed Zephyr last night and he ate two pellets before deciding he was uninterested. Today he's still swimming very well. Looks like all he needed was a system clean out. 

Re scaped Emrys' tank. Took EVERYTHING out plant wise and scrubbed all of his plants free of algae before putting them plus some more plants back in. He has a little jungle now and he's not quite sure what to make of it lol. He was back in his cave when I got out of the shower and I couldn't find him so I tapped gently on his tank and called his name and he popped up, peeking sleepily from the hole in his cave and looked at me like "what the f*** do you want?" it was hilarious and adorable. 

My puppy had a bad day yesterday. Went with mom down to her car to get something and as usual he started running a little bit but then collapsed in the hallway with difficulty breathing. Mom gave him a lasix (which he hadn't had in a couple days but the Vet said we could give it as needed up to 3 times a day, and that we could weigh him daily and if he needs it give it and if he hasn't gained weight we didn't have to give it) and 20 minutes later took him out. He urinated a lot and today he had seemed to be feeling better so fingers crossed we have a while left with him. But it definitely freaked me out. I'm not home right now due to school and I'm terrified it will happen when I can't get home to be with him. I'm not going to ask him to suffer longer than he needs to if it happens when I'm gone but I really want to be there when he does pass. Closure you know? As of right now he's doing better but I'm not sure when it will change for the worse.


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## DangerousAngel

Your Bettas are too funny!

I'm so sorry to hear about your puppy though, I hope he continues to stay feeling good.


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## BettaStarter24

Thanks Dangerous. I'm home now for the weekend and he seems to be back in high spirits. Though we're not sure how much longer we have with him. I'm cuddling him closer whenever I can and am cherishing every second I get with him.

Though in other news Levi isn't doing good at all. He's lethargic and he now has another tumor on the other side of his head. Before I went to bed he was laying on the bottom of his tank barely moving. I'm not sure if he will be around much longer.


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## BettaStarter24

Levi died overnight. SIP my big beautiful boy


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## Sadist

Poor Levi. I'm sorry things are going so poorly. Hopefully, they go up from here.


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## BettaStarter24

WE HAVE POOP! ...oh my god I can not believe it has gotten to the point where I am excited to see poop... Zephyr is doing so well and is healthy and happy but I haven't seen poop in his tank really. Until today! WE HAVE POOP! 

I'm still working out how fish are going to move around now that the 20g is technically open. Currently i have Aithusa in the 20g at home to keep the cycle going but Emrys is ultimately going in the 20g as he's a bit big for the 10g. I was thinking of putting Merlot in the 10 but I may put Zephyr in the 10 instead. The original plan was put Merlot in the 10, put Elrond in Merlot's bowl, Remi goes in Elrond's 3g, Evey goes into Remi's 2 gallon, and Zephyr gets Evey's 3g KK. Leaving the 2.5g Zephyr is currently in empty and leaving only one fish without a heater instead of two. Currently Elrond and Evey don't have a heater. If I divide the 10g between someone I could get everyone in a tank with a heater. If I do that I could use Misha and maybe either Merlot or Remi. Then someone would get Misha's 5g, Evey would move to Remi's tank, Elrond would move to Merlot's if I used Merlot, or he'd go into probably Misha's 5g. And then Zephyr would get the 3g KK. That would result in everyone having heat which would be nice seeing as I'll be moving back home in the middle of winter and from where I am winter sucks. I don't necessarily want another divided tank, seeing as I have a 5g divided already and the 10g at home is being re-divided when Emrys moves into the 20g. But if that is what works best I'll do it. I'll have to see. NO one is moving anywhere until I move home. We'll see. 

I am SO excited for my weekend off this weekend. Going to ValleyScare on Friday, Potterfest on Saturday and then going riding on Sunday. Gonna be a fun, relaxing weekend. I'm planning on stopping home too Saturday to feed the cat and fish as mom is going to be out of town. So I can check on the others. 

So I picked up this new like decoration thing from Marina. It's this silicone/rubber/plastic betta fish tied to a rock by fishing string and it is positioned like it is flaring. It's adorable. I've been putting it in my tanks for a few minutes to let them flare at it since they've become accustomed to their neighbors and don't flare at them much anymore. Draco went nuts, Zephyr flared at it a little, Amara bit it, no one else really cared. They seemed to look it over and realize it was fake and at that point they didn't care and looked at me like "um...what am I supposed to do with this? I know it's not real". The sass was real. I believe they are smarter than people give them credit for.


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## BettaStarter24

Here are updated pictures of Mr. Zephyr. He decided to be nice and pose for exactly 4 pictures before zooming off and refusing to sit still any longer.


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## BettaStarter24

Sorry for the multiple replies, by the time that I realize I have something to add its too late to edit. 

I just snapped this picture of Draco flaring at the fake fish I was talking about. I am very happy with how he's maturing.


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## Sadist

Mr. Zephyr is gorgeous! I love Draco's coloring, too.


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## themamaj

Zephyr and Draco are gorgeous! Wasnt Draco a petco baby? Amazing! So sorry about Levi.


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## BettaStarter24

Yep, Draco was a petco baby. Tiny little thing when I got him. He's still small but he's at least doubled if not a little more in size. And his coloration to me is amazing. Loving the little guy. 

Thanks, still pretty sad about Levi, even though I saw it coming with those tumors. It just sucks that I only had him a couple months and he was a giant. Emrys is doing great though and is continuing to marble. He's almost all blue now. Except for a white patch on his mouth and a couple small white patches under his belly and on his dorsal fin. He's looking to be turning into a black orchid-ish with more blue irids. Hard to explain. But I'm entertained by his changes. I love marbles its just the unexpected changes that bug me. 

I'm 96% sure Elrond at the very least has the EE geno. His pectorals are HUGE! If you measure from his gill flap where they connect to his body back they're about 1/2 his body length and opaque. They aren't as big as EE pecs that you see in Petstores that are labeled as EE but they are pretty big compared to the rest of my guys. I know bettas can have larger than normal Pectorals but not classify as a EE but I'm pretty sure Elrond at least has the geno.


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## Sadist

Most of the pet store labeled as EE look as big as him to me. They all have the geno and colors but don't seem quite as big as a real one. How awesome that you found a white one! Does he have crowntail genes, too? And marble?


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## BettaStarter24

He's a crowntail for sure. Bought him as one. He's recovering from fin rot over the summer. Ive seen EEs at my petcos and petsmarts with bigger pecs for sure but they're usually HMPK or hm. His are definitely not as big but they are huge compared to all my other guys. 

He was about 3 months when I got him. He's about 9-11 months now and his pecs keep growing.


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## BettaStarter24

Water changes done for the week. Everyone is happy with clean water but very angry with the disruption. I found out Merlot has been taking small bits of algae and placing them in his bubble nest like eggs. He is currently searching the rocks for more as I type. Evey almost pulled a "Zeniba". She got a little too close to the gravel vac intake tube and got sucked halfway up before I saw and was able to react in time. Though the vac I am using is safe guarded against that and she would not have been as injured as Zeni was. And then didn't realize that the tube had fallen out of the bucket and managed to empty a 2.5g onto my dorm floor. -_- . Hopefully it doesn't cause any major damage. 

Zephyr seems to be very happy that he's graduated from having his tank be 2/3 full to all the way full. He's happily exploring. He's still doing really well and hasn't relapsed which makes me really happy as the last fish I've had that had buoyancy issues kept relapsing before succumbing to it or getting so bad I had to euthanize. *knocking on wood*

I'm really excited for Friday though. I have been applying for jobs in my field for after graduation and got a call today from one of them wanting to set up an interview for this afternoon. So I went back home to have the interview and it went really well. Initially was told I would hear back within the next couple weeks either way and then a half hour after I left the place I got a call back that they want to go ahead and move me on to the next phase of interviews and have me shadow a VTA for 2 hours to see what the position would entail. I'm taking it as a good sign! I'm really hoping I get the job as it will also allow me to get my foot in the door and work up to being a Vet Tech. Or at least allow me to be able to get certified later on after i get some money saved up. Hopefully I know Friday if I got the job or not. *fingers crossed* 

Well I'm off to bed for the night! I have tests coming up tomorrow and Wednesday too so gotta get enough sleep so I can be well rested and prepared!


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## BettaStarter24

Rambling time! lol no I'm just bored. I've been watching Zephyr and Remi flare it out for a couple minutes now. Loving how Zephyr opened up to be. He is just stunning. So far no more issues with his buoyancy. 

I realized the other day I'm now down to 15 of my own fish, 16 counting my mom's boy. It feels good to be downsizing slowly. Though 17 wasn't bad. I think I found my concrete limit is 17. At least with school and work and stuff right now. Though I'm not planning on getting more right now or after graduation. I know I say that a bunch but I'm going to try to actually follow through this time! Let's see how well that works out. 

I had a paragraph above that about Misha and my computer ate it...i'm too tired to remember all I put but the gist of it was Misha has started to slow down a bit in his old age of 3 years old. Was contemplating moving him to a smaller tank but Then realized the stress may be too much for him. Going from a cycled established 5g to an uncycled 2.5g. When I had him in a 2.5g before he was pretty lethargic and he really perked up when I put him in the 5g, and then even more so when he was in my 20g. He's still perky and moving around but he spent a bit tonight laying on the ground in the corner of his tank which he NEVER does. He usually sleeps in his leaves. 

Came home from work and fed and found a surprise in Thor's tank. He built me a bubble nest! His first nest in a while so I'm pretty happy. I've been dealing with some stress striping from him and biting and I've been trying to work out what's wrong as he is in a cycled, live planted, 5.5g tank. He bit when it was divided (after a little bit I'm sure he got sick of the divider) then when I undivided it he got better but he's taken a couple chunks out of the end of his caudal fin. They originally looked like rips but there is literally nothing in his tank that he could have ripped the fin on. All the plants are live anubias and the filter is a HOB but the intake tube is covered with a pre-filter sponge (to avoid fins being sucked into it) and then he has his heater. Though I just saw him like itch against the gravel so maybe he did it that way. Checked immediately for velvet or any signs of any of the diseases that cause them to itch like that but found nothing. I have never seen him do that before either so I'm not 100% convinced he has done it often if at all before that.


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## Sadist

Poor old man Misha. I'm sure staying where he is would be less stressful than moving him.

Ahh, fin-biters. I could only recommend to continue watching him and trying new things. I hope you can figure it out!


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## BettaStarter24

Well got home from work to find Amara has suddenly become extremely lethargic and clamped. She is in a 5 gallon divided and cycled tank with her sister Millie. Tank is at 86 degrees and Millie is acting just fine. Amara was fine earlier and then suddenly bam not fine. Moved her into a 1 gallon pitcher with a heater in order to quarantine her. Not sure what's wrong. 

And then did a 100% on Merlot's bowl because I was going to put black petco gravel under his river rocks from michael's only to find that the rocks were peeling pretty bad, they are black and one went from black to white and a bunch of gunk came off. So needless to say I am not using those anymore. Just the petco gravel for him. He's been with those rocks for about a month now (give or take a few days) and he's been just fine but I don't want to take any chances, especially if I'm going to lose my favorite female. Don't really want to lose 2 fish right now. (don't want to lose Amara either...)

So right now isn't the best for fishy stuff. My others are all seemingly doing fine, Prism is mad at me because i pulled his heater to heat Amara's quarantine tank. That will be sanitized before going back into Prism's tank since idk what is causing Amara to be sick.


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## Sadist

When it rains, it pours. I hope they all pull through!


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## themamaj

So sorry to hear of Amara! She was such a special little one! I know she will be greatly missed. SIP


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## BettaStarter24

Thanks Sadist and mamaj. She passed in the night hopefully peacefully and without pain. Merlot is doing fine this morning despite the painted rocks. Millie is still doing just fine and was begging for food this morning. She looks a little confused as to why she has the whole tank to herself and why her sister is gone but she's otherwise fine.


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## BettaStarter24

Well when it rains it pours is right. Lost Elrond last Sunday night and now Misha is really lethargic. Draco is clamped up and not as active either. Really hoping everyone pulls through. 

Going to 'rescue' a little girl tomorrow. Platinum female I've been watching for a while now, was healthy last time I saw her but today she was having slight buoyancy issues. Walked away when I was there earlier, just got back from a dash to grab her but they had closed early tonight so I wasn't able to grab her today. We are going tomorrow after classes though. Her name is Sen, from Spirited Away. Pics to come if I can get good ones.


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## BettaStarter24

Not the best pictures but here she is! Slight buoyancy issues most likely from poor quality food


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## BettaStarter24

Sen is doing great! Her buoyancy issues have cleared up and she is busy exploring her new tank. I divided Millie's 5g between her and Evey so Sen could get into a heated 3G right away.


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## BettaStarter24

Here are better pictures


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## Sadist

She's a cutey!


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## BettaStarter24

Thanks Sadist! She is really cute and I couldn't resist her sad puppy eyes anymore. 

Its been a while since I've done an update or even posted here. I was on thanksgiving break at home so I wasn't with most of my guys for 5 days. Everyone lived through break, though tbh i had my doubts about Thor and Misha. Thor is bloated in the belly but skinny like a toothpick. He eats and his poop is normal so I'm just at a loss. 

So I spent a while after getting back watching Draco very boldly protecting his bubble nest that is three times the size of his entire body from his next door neighbor Prism who is also fiercely building a nest and flirting with Sen. Zephyr is minding his own business watching the little twerp above him go nuts. Emrys was very angry that I disturbed his sleep by turning the light on. Walked into my room to Merlot glaring at me and Skye hiding. Evey decided behind the filter is a good place to sleep and Millie was searching for food as usual. Remi was asleep by his heater and Misha was curled up in his plants, happily snoozing. Sen was hiding behind her heater but has since come out to show off. 

Saved an American Toad from being hit by my car. It's storming pretty bad here so I brought him in and he is sitting in my empty 2.5g tank with paper towels on the bottom and a shallow dish of dechlorinated water and a silk plant I had dried and unused. Plus the ground is getting close to frozen and its getting to be too cold for the lil guy. He's definitely not fully grown yet. I've named him Froggy. (original and generic I know but it was the first thing that came to mind and kind of punny as he is a toad not a frog.


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## ThatFishThough

Love toads. Haven't seen one around here in years. ;-; I used to keep them until two weeks before winter, then I'd feed them like 8 powdered crickets & let them go. Then the next year they'd come back (or, more like get stuck in the window-well) and I'd take them and keep them for the summer. No clue where they went. Probably got eaten. ;-; Too many feral cats around here.


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## BettaStarter24

I released the little guy. But he was funny have around for a couple days


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## BettaStarter24

Well move out time is fastly approaching. Will be moving fish home in a week. Emrys however is coming home sooner than I would have expected. Aithusa developed dropsy and passed so the 20g is empty. Thinking about waiting to put another fish in until I can take the gravel out and switch to sand, try and get rid of these pond snails and sanitize it before putting another fish in as idk what caused the dropsy. Emrys is going in the 20g, and now I get to try to figure out who goes into Emrys' 10g. I'm torn between Merlot, my red dragon HMPK and Zephyr my HMDT. Zephyr is getting big but idk if he'll be ok with the filter as he has so much fin. Merlot is active and could do good with more space. We'll see.


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## BettaStarter24

Well I made a bad...I don't regret it whatsoever though. Went to a LPS just to look around and pass the time before meeting a group for a final project and they were like overstocked with bettas, including some kois for $9.99. This is the place I got Calcifer and when I got him he was priced at $60. We asked why they had so many fish as they usually don't and turns out its for this new promotion where if you buy a betta cube (the little .5 gallon torture chambers) you get a free betta. Broke my heart actually as there were so many fish I would hate to see go in those tiny little things. There was this one koi who was giving me the little butt wiggle and I put my finger up to the 1/4 gallon bowl they are in (smaller than petco cups) and he immediately started trying to bite my finger through the glass and followed my finger around. My friend put her finger up to the cup and he swam away, returning immediately upon me returning my finger to the cup. I'm broke right now so my friend bought him for me. His name is Mochi. The pictures aren't the best but here are some pics. There was also another tiny koi i was looking at that had unique coloration. His body was red and black (like a more advanced marbled red koi) but only his caudal fin was white along with a white face. He was cool. 

In other news Misha is slowing down more and more. I ended up moving him into the 3G KK as he was really struggling to get to the top of his 5g for air and the filter flow was really making it harder on him (even though it is very low flow). So Mochi is now in Misha's 5g and Misha is in the half-filled 3G so he can get up to the top easier and has plenty of plants to rest on. Poor old man. It felt weird moving him as he is blind but it wasn't a good fit for him anymore. Poor guy was really having a hard time reaching the surface. We'll see how he is doing in the morning but I'm not sure he'll be with us much longer unfortunately.


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## BettaStarter24

Well might as well do a full on fish update. Feeling like it and why not. 

I'll start with the fish at home:

Tadashi: Tadashi is doing well, his fins are a little raggedy but that's ok. I hear from mom he eats great and is always very active. Though I'll bet he's looking forward to more frequent water changes. Since he among a couple others were left home for the semester due to lack of space for that many 10 gallons (and a 20g) they've been getting water changes every two weeks which drives me nuts as I would like to do weekly changes on all my tanks. Plus he doesn't have an actual tank hood, his lid is a mesh reptile lid. So evaporation rates are pretty high. Probably not going to switch out lids anytime soon, the one he has works and I don't have the money to buy an aquarium lid just on the basis of evaporation rates lowering. 

Emrys: Emrys moved home on Monday after Aithusa passed away. He's now in the 20g. I was wary of putting him in there since idk what killed Aithusa but I don't have the money to rescape the tank and I don't have the space to have it sit empty. I know that Aithusa contracted Dropsy before he passed (within like a day) but before that he wasn't showing any other signs of illness. Besides the fact that he had been fat. He was about the width of my thumb when viewing the thumb from the side. and about as tall as my thumb viewing the thumb from the top. He was big. Anyway, Emrys is doing well so far in the 20g, no signs of illness or anything and he is loving the space. He uses every inch of that tank. 

Merlot: Merlot also moved home on Monday with Emrys. He took over Emrys' 10g tank. At first he wasnt too sure about the space as he was used to a 3 gallon bubble bowl. So he spent a bit of time adjusting to the space. But now he's using every inch and is loving his new tank. 

Brad: Brad is my mom's double tail. He was purchased as a red butterfly but has marbled quite a bit and has lost most of the butterfly band. Other than that he's doing pretty good. We have been having issues with her tank and she has lost 3 bettas after only a few months of owning them, with Prince lasting the longest. We switched from gravel to sand which has seemed to help. I guessed with it being something in the gravel as the gravel was pretty icky looking. And after removing it from the tank to switch to sand it became apparent that there was something off with it as the stench it emated was horrible. Smelled like dead snails (no snails in the tank). So it switched over to sand. Brad is doing just fine after a couple months in the tank. He's active and he's only had one case of constipation from slight over feeding. Mom is getting better at the feeding thing though. 

Now for fish that are with me at school for a couple more days:

Draco: Draco is great, he's growing well and is definitely maturing into a beautiful VT boy. He is a multicolored butterfly VT. Which totally surprised me. I was sure he would just be a multicolored VT but then the butterfly band started to appear. He eats 4 full sized pellets twice a day and does just fine with that. He's active and building nests and definitely having a competition with his neighbor Prism. 

Prism: Speaking of Prism. He's really good. He's another one whose coloration has come to surprise me. He was a much lighter teal based multicolor when I got him but now so much purple-pink is showing through its stunning. He really is a prism of colors. He's had the short end of the stick all semester with not having a heater (due to low heater numbers) which I feel awful about but that has been changed Monday and now everyone has a heater. He's definitely happier with the heater which I knew was going to happen. He's built more nests and is definitely more active. He seems to have recovered from the heart break of losing his girlfriend Pandora (never actually bred but I'm pretty sure they had a thing for each other). 

Zephyr: Mr. Zephyr. My little DT. He's doing so good. he's had no relapses of his buoyancy issues that he came to me with. After the initial few days of fasting he recovered greatly and still does amazing. He's very active and very bright. 

Thor: Oh Thor...like any good god he is throwing the worst temper tantrum to ever temper tantrum. He eats just fine and his poop looks just fine but he is a toothpick. He's not bloated at all, he's just skinny. So idk what the heck is going on with him. His tank is cycled and fully live planted and water parameters are great. 

Skye: I still don't know what Skye is tail type wise. His anal and dorsal say Crowntail but his Caudal is wtf. He's also growing really well.

Sen: Sen still isn't eating but she is active and doing well. Still trying to convince her to eat. Any ideas? It's been about a week and a half or so since I got her. I know they'd be ok if she doesn't eat soon but I'd like to get her eating. 

Mochi: Mochi has adjusted well and has built a nest already and is eating great. Surprised how fast he got adjusted. 

Now for the sad news. Misha passed away. He wasn't able to get to the top of the tank for air any more so I moved him Wednesday into the 3g KK that was only about 1/4 of the way full of water so he'd hopefully be able to get to the top. It helped for a couple days but today he would only swim spastic circles trying to get to the top and then lay back on the bottom of the tank barely moving. He became unresponsive so I decided to euthanize him as it had become unethical to keep him alive. SIP little guy.


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## BettaStarter24

Well I am never ever having another divided tank. Millie and Evey were divided in a 5g with no problems for the longest time until I moved them home. Evey slipped the divider while I was asleep and attacked Millie. Millie did not make it. She was alive after the fight and hiding in her skull hide. I moved her to a Tupperware for temporary housing until I could figure out something more permanent or to see how she fared. She passed today. SIP little girl. Have fun wrecking havoc with your sister Amara.


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## fernielou

I think divided tanks are a lot of stress unless you get lucky with 2 chill betta. I'm sorry you lost your girl- not judging you because I kept a divided tank and it was stressful for me with flaring all the time and slips 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## BettaStarter24

Well Tadashi passed away a few days ago. He was looking kind of bumpy lumpy for a while, like a swelling by his belly and swim bladder that wasn't normal so I'm suspecting potential internal tumor. 

And Petco now has another try to resist category...Koi females. Aaaannnddd....yeah...I fail at that...The bumble bee bettas (Petco's new name for Paradise bettas) are easier to resist due to the $20 price tag. But the Koi females are cheaper than the Koi males at $11.99 and I LOVE females! I got one for $7.49 due to petco pals rewards dollars. 

Though I'm stuck on a name. I'm going between Sophie (from howl's moving castle) or Leia (After Princess Leia...not a Star Wars fan but I like the name.) Any chime ins on possible name? 

Here are the best pictures I have of the little girl. And I officially have a fantasy breeding pair if I ever had the time, space, guts to try breeding. Mochi and the new Koi.


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## ThatFishThough

Hehe. My Biclor boy has a namesake! 

Beautiful Kois, I just barely resisted the last Koi female at PetCo the other day. She was orange/black with beautiful borders between colors. No bleeding at all.


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## BettaStarter24

Lol I took it from Big Hero 6, the cat. Your koi is gorgeous as well. I was going to try to resist but then I remembered I had $5 off my next purchase due to the rewards thing and I had a spare set up once I cleaned out the 10g so...yeah...she came home. They only had two. My girl and then another that was a very paled out shade of brown with some red irid specks and was extremely clamped. I felt kind of bad for her as I could visualize her as sadly the "Oh that's just a dull fish lets pass her up for this bright blue". Personally she didn't call out to me like the girl I grabbed did and I kind of made a rule with myself that I wouldn't buy a fish I didn't have a connection with. (trying to avoid pity impulse buys). Anyways...


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## ThatFishThough

AKuma & Mochi were color buys, Sam & Kumo were connections. I though Mochi was a Super Black, snatched him, bought him home, put him under a light & he turned out to be blue & yellow, LOL.


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## BettaStarter24

lol all of mine are connections, though some have the added perk of being a color buy


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## BettaStarter24

So my Walmart started selling fish again...

I may or may not have taken it upon myself to do some much needed water changes...I did 5 water changes and changed out 3 lids (the lids had no air holes whatsoever. 

Here is an example of why I did the changes

Many others barely had water at all


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## themamaj

Oh gee Walmart ! Why do they treat fish that way...kills me. 

Love koi girl! Cant wait to get to Petco here to look.


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## BettaStarter24

That particular fish was a bad mustard gas crowntail. 

I think Leia is sticking for Koi girl.


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## BettaStarter24

Trying to talk myself out of breeding. I have a pair that would be beautiful paired up and the urge is soooo strong.


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## BettaStarter24

Male:








Female:








I don't have flaring pictures right now but I can get some when I get home.


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## themamaj

They would make a great breeding pair! I would love to try a round of breeding myself. Hopefully one of these days I will get an opportunity to try. Koi fry would be so fun to see how the marbling pattern would develop!


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## BettaStarter24

Finally just said screw it and got one of my dream tanks. A 5g Fluval Chi. I LOVE IT! I especially like that the filter isnt too strong for Sen. Decided to replace Sens bowl with the 5g as I'm getting annoyed with the evaporation rate of the bowl. Also figured out why she wasn't eating. She didn't like the bowl. She ate immediately upon arrival into the Chi. Silly girl.


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## themamaj

Awesome. That is a great tank.


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## BettaStarter24

I'm surprised by how small the footprint is for a 5 gallon tank. It doesn't take up as much space as my Marinelands or Topfin 5 gallons. Took a while to figure out the filter lol. I had it upside down and the water level wasnt low enough.


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## BettaStarter24

...I made another uh oh. Meet Kenai. I love mustard gas Bettas and though he's not full mustard gas he's close. And his pecs are HUGE. 

He's currently floating in a friend's 20g until I can get him home.


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## BettaStarter24

Home now. Will take pics when he's settled in. He's going in the bowl. I have a back up in case he 1) is a jumper or 2) I really get annoyed with evaporation rates. Loving his pectoral fins. Saw one just like him yesterday at Betta World (Koo Yang's shop) only plakat vs long DeT but I couldn't spend $25. Got him for $8 (may or may not have switched the cup lids...only feel slightly guilty). He'll look amazing once he colors up. 

Went on a really good ride today too. I love riding and I always forget how much until I'm back in the saddle. We went on a ride out to a german restaurant had lunch and rode back which is always fun. I've missed doing that. Here are a couple pictures I took of the ponies. We tied a ribbon gently around Donny's ear into a bow and he wasn't amused. Donny is the black, Tornado is the bay. 

Donny is an amazing little horse. So level-headed. He's a Hanoverian, Tornado is...well we don't know what he is. We're thinking Peruvian Paso/Paso Fino cross of some sort.


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## BettaStarter24

An updated pic of Kenai now that he is settled in. They aren't the best as he doesn't like to pose


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## BettaStarter24

So I'm not sure what to do atm. I noticed that Kenai is really big. Finwise and body, nowhere near giant big but just big. It could be because he is in a bubble bowl which can distort images slightly. I'm not sure. I may see about floating him in a different tank to see how he looks sizewise but I'm not sure if he's ok in the 3 gallon bowl. What do you guys think? If I did move him to a different tank it would most likely be to Merlot's 10g or Draco's 5.5g. Though Merlot is an active HMPK whereas Kenai is a EEDeT with decent sized fins. He's also more lethargic than most of my guys have been upon arrival at home. I'm really hoping its just adjustment period vs illness or something in the tank. 

What are some opinions on large finned boys in smaller tanks vs active PKs in bigger tanks? Merlot definitely uses every inch of his tank whereas Kenai so far doesn't. I'm also worried about the filter flow pushing Kenai around too much and that moving him to a different tank after getting him home and in a whole new environment might stress him out more than waiting until a larger tank opens up and then moving him.


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## BettaStarter24

Ok I take that back...woke up this morning and turned on lights and Kenai was zooming around his tank. Love the "jazz hands".


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## BettaStarter24

Ok so I floated Kenai in Draco's 5.5 gallon to see about size comparisons of tanks and yeah he was definitely too big for the 3 gallon. The 5.5g looks like a 2.5g compared to him and his fins. So Kenai is now in the 5.5g, Draco is in Evey's 2g and Evey is in the bowl. I feel bad for bumping Draco down to a 2 gallon from a 5.5g but I don't think its fair for Kenai to have to sit in a tank he can barely turn around in.


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## BettaStarter24

Well Kenai has decided to make it his life's mission to drive me absolutely insane. He goes from acting fine, exploring his tank to pale and hiding. I think I found the cause though. His tank is my 5.5 gallon which was solely live planted with Anubias. But that left a lot of bare space where the filter current (which is baffled already) kind of took control. I found a spare silk background plant and put it under the filter so I'm hoping that helped the current. He's been out and about a little more. I may see about adding like a terra cotta pot or something so he can have a place to go into if he chooses. Currently he's out and exploring but I'm sure once he realizes I know he's out and exploring he will go back to looking pitiful. :roll: 

Skye has also decided to join the "drive mom nuts" game. Past few mornings I've woken him up too early for him so he has decided to play half dead whenever I turn the light on. He will be active and fine by the time I'm home from work but he's definitely started throwing a temper tantrum. 

Sen looks so tiny in the Chi. She really is a small fry. (not literally). Though she loves the tank. I didn't have the heart to put her back in the bowl and put Kenai in the chi which was one of my ideas for Kenai. Plus she hated the bowl, wouldn't eat at all in that thing. She's eating well now and thriving very well. 

I finally broke down and bought a water test kit the other day. API's master freshwater test kit. I've started a notebook of my cycled tanks so I can keep a weekly log on water parameters. My thought is if anyone starts acting off in those tanks I can look at their past readings and compare to new readings and see if anything has changed to pinpoint something off. Help narrow things down anyway.


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## BettaStarter24

Water change day! YAY! *falls on bed exhausted* Got home from work and got right to it, 3.45 hours later...ignoring the brief 40 minute break...lol. Then went and hung out with a friend for a few hours. We were going to go to see the movie "A Dog's Purpose" but it was sold out by the time we got there. 

Leia and Mochi are marbling. Slowly but still. Getting more red, and both are getting some blue iridescent scaling showing up on their bodies. Very pretty. Floated Leia in with Kenai's tank for a while to see if I could wake him up a little and get him a little more active. Boy did he darken and show off to her! And she definitely flared her little girly heart out for him. I think she's gotten bored of Mochi. They don't really flare at each other anymore through the tank sides. 

My fish have lost their minds. They love to check out the vacuum intake which gives me mini heart attacks as I have lost a girl due to her curiosity with the gravel vac. Water changes usually consist of me cussing the fish out for getting close to it. "Get away from their you little shhh..." etc. 

Still trying to find the perfect combo for Thor. He's nesting and his fin is growing back but he's still kind of out of it. He seems to be gaining weight and he's definitely eating. He's just hiding a little more. Not clamped though and his stress stripes are gone. We'll see. 

Kenai is building nests too. Before water change day my room was full of bubble nests. Thor had one, Kenai did, Draco, Zephyr, and Mochi all had one. 

Working on switching over media for a few tanks. My mom's 10 gallon with her red butterfly HMDT male Brad, Mochi and Leia's tanks are all getting new media. Though the filters won't fit both the new media and the old media in so I have the new media floating in the tanks for a few weeks to try to seed them so it doesn't mess with my cycles too badly. Hopefully.


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## themamaj

Love reading the updates. EE boy is gorgeous! Most beautiful horse pictures!!!! And great one of you!


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## BettaStarter24

Thank you! Love those ponies. I'm in love with Kenai's coloring, still not 100% sure the exact term for it. I'm thinking blue/yellow bicolor butterfly as he doesn't have the black band around his fins to classify him as a MG (even though MG doesn't technically exist anymore). He's still doing his fun little "I'm ok...no I'm not...I'm ok...no I'm not..." but he's nesting and active whenever I catch him unawares so I'm pretty sure he's just screwing with me. He hasn't eaten yet but I'm not too worried about that yet.


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## BettaStarter24

I really need to stop looking at Pet stores...meet the little girl who threw all self control out the window...this is Chihiro.


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## BettaStarter24

So Chihiro is all settled in, and Kenai and Zephyr are settling into their new living arrangements. My paranoia is not settling down yet. So far so good and the divider is holding up *knocks on wood* and the boys don't really know that there is someone else on the other side of the mesh. Kenai is eating now that the tank is divided. Of course. These fish confuse the heck out of me sometimes. 

I will add pictures of Chihiro colored up as I get a good one. So far I haven't been able to get a decent one of her from the side.


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## BettaStarter24

As promised here are some updated pictures of Chihiro. Don't mind the algae I'm working on getting it gone. It's in all my tanks


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## BettaStarter24

Fish children are doing well. Not much new there. The divided tank is working well so far. Zephyr and Kenai don't care much about each other. Kenai is biting but he was before I divided. And I don't blame him his fins are huge. 

Chihiro has colored up beautifully. Very vibrant. Everyone else is same old same old pretty much. 

Went to petco today and walked out without any fish. But I did not leave empty handed. Meet Moana. She was surrendered to petco and was up for adoption. I don't know how old she is but she's very cute. She's got three legs but that doesn't slow her down.


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## ThatFishThough

Awwwww! <3


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## BettaStarter24

XD She's a sweetheart. Originally I got her a 10g tank for a home but upon watching her in it, its too tiny. She's now living it up in a 20 long. I'll have to return the 10g and mesh lid (or sell it to a friend). I don't have room to set it up for any other fish right now. Plus everyone is doing fine in their tanks. 

Toby, my cat, is afraid of her and my dog Koko wants to play with her. They are supervised closely whenever Moana is out of her cage. I bought her an exercise ball today and she got to spend about an hour exploring the living room today. She will let me pick her up and pet her as well as hold her briefly on her back to look at her leg stump. Excited to see her personality shine even more.


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## BettaStarter24

Here is her current set up. Gave her toilet paper as a nesting material and she went to town on it lol it was adorable.


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## ThatFishThough

Cuuutttteeee! <3 I have two Gerbils, and they love TP rolls.  Glad to see you didn't stick her in a wire cage with tubes.


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## BettaStarter24

That actually was what I was going to get for her lol. But the employee wouldn't let me get her if I did because of the size mainly. She suggested a rat cage but tbh I'd be too worried that she'd get her stump stuck in the bars and hurt herself so tank it is. Plus I love tanks. Almost went with a large storage bin cage that a friend's friend has but decided against it as i like to watch her before bed and with the bin cage I'd have to watch from the top (which would be ok if she wasn't 3 legged and didn't need close monitoring). She does fine with her stump but I want to be sure she's not hurting it on anything. She gets to be out and about in her ball or on my arms whenever I'm home. 

Trying to get my dog to realize he doesn't have to watch her at all times, he just wants to play and is very curious about what that little thing in the big ball is but he's a little too enthusiastic and paws at her ball, sending it spinning around in jerky motions which drives her nuts.


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## ThatFishThough

How is everyone doing?


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## BettaStarter24

Everyone is doing great! Chihiro is settling in wonderfully and the divided is still holding strong. Thor is healing from his foray into "I'm gonna remove one of my fins because I don't like my live planted cycled 5.5g tank I'd rather be in a 3 gallon". 

Leia is marbling, she's getting more red and blues, and so is Mochi. He's getting more black and some more red. It's been interesting watching them marble out. 

Kenai is biting his caudal fin but again, not too worried as he has a LOT of finnage and I expected him to trim anyway. No infections so far *knocks on wood*. Keeping an eye on him for signs that the reason he's biting isn't because of the size of his fins. 

Which brings me to another piece of news...I may or may not have brought someone home...*hangs head in shame* Petco is a dangerous place for me on payday. I went for more bedding for Moana so I could clean out her enclosure and still have an extra bag of bedding. Had to take a look through the fish and I saw this little face that has been peeking out from the cup that was just too familiar. For reference, back in mid January (January 19th looking back at messages with a friend that I shared his pic with) I went in to look around and saw this double tail plakat male that had kind of interesting coloration IMO. Blue body with a couple white splotches and bright yellow ventral fins. he disappeared for a while after that (Or i just didn't look closely enough) and then Wednesday of this week I went in to get Moana some stuff to chew on so she could wear down her teeth and of course had to look at the fish. And there he was. I couldn't bring him home at that point because of money issues. Well I went back today for the bedding and he was still there. Looking out of the cup like "help me please" his cup was full of poop and debris from lack of proper frequent water changes but he still seemed lively enough. Brought him home and set him up. He currently doesn't have a heater but I am getting one from a friend in the next few days. I do have a spare Hydor flat 7W heater but it doesn't work all that well and my ambient temp in my room is warmer than it would hold the tank at. I'll probably put it in tomorrow morning after checking the temperature. (Would do it tonight but I have a cold and just put some essential oil on my chest and residue is on my hand and Idk what exactly the blend is so I don't want to risk it.) Anyway before I continue rambling here are some pictures. name ideas would be great! He's a little pisspot that's for sure. 

Back in January:







Now:






















I love that he crosses his ventrals like that, its adorable.


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## ThatFishThough

I've become fond of DTs, my next boy is going to be a DTPK. Saw a cute little red guy at PetCo yesterday.


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## BettaStarter24

Well it's been a while. 

It hasn't been a good fish week. Lost Emrys sometime between last Sunday and Tuesday due to poor water parameters causing bacteria to overwhelm him which triggered dropsy. Then unexpectedly lost Zephyr last night. And now I wouldn't be surprised if I lost Kenai overnight. Found him curled under his plants pale and not breathing right. Hes in a cycled divided 5.5 gallon. Just did a 50% water change and I know I primed the water. Prism, the other boy in the tank is pale as well and has seemed a little more lethargic than usual but seems ok right now. Will see what morning brings I guess. I don't think it's anything contagious (i hope not anyway) most of the others *knocks on wood* are just fine and are normal but lost the two and then I'm honestly not holding much hope for Kenai with how he looks tonight. And this is sudden. He was fine 12 hours ago. No other signs of anything besides pale and extremely lethargic. He's kind of sitting stretched out at the bottom of his tank breathing slowly.


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## themamaj

Oh no. So sorry to hear of all difficulty.


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## BettaStarter24

Thanks...

Kenai made it through the night but he doesn't look good. He's not showing signs of anything definitive such as fuzz for fungus or anything bacterial so treating is kind of hard. I could put AQ salt in but idk what that will do to my plants. I have Anubias in there along with some Salvinia Minima


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## BettaStarter24

Figured out my issue I think. I'm dealing with Nitrate spikes left and right. Just finished large water changes on my tanks. Kenai and Prism's tank had parameters of:

Ammonia: 0.25 ppm
Nitrite: 0 ppm
Nitrate: 40 ppm

So I did 3 water changes on that tank ranging from 50-75% water changed and got parameters down to:

Ammonia: 0 ppm
Nitrite: 0 ppm
Nitrate: between 0 and 5 ppm. 

So we'll see how they do, I don't know what else I can do for them. I have the light of the tank off to see if I can reduce some stress on them. They aren't looking good though, Prism looks worse than Kenai though. Kenai started perking up a little after the second water change, Prism is still clamped, pale and laying at the bottom of the tank pretty lifeless except for gill movement. I'm hoping it wasn't too late to help them. 

What caused the spike? The anubias in the tank was dying and I didn't notice it. That caused an ammonia spike which in turn caused Nitrates to rise. At least that's my theory, on top of the tank being a divided tank supporting the bioload of two bettas. 

Now as for the 20g. Still no idea what happened to cause Nitrates to spike like that. It doesn't have any live plants in it that were there when the spike occured. (now it has some Salvinia Minima) But it does have a pond snail infestation. So maybe that did it. 

Zephyr's old 2.5g got bleached and is now re-set up and Maui is living in it now. Tested water there and low and behold, another Nitrate spike. I did big water changes on all my tanks over the past couple days so hopefully I got the parameters under control. 

That's the last time I let life get ahead of me. Definitely going to be absolutely sure that I get the tanks cleaned on time. The 20g still has one or two more changes before its inhabitable. We're thinking about doing a non-betta community tank with it once its safe. Thinking kissing gouramis and neon tetras maybe.


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## BettaStarter24

Lost Kenai. Prism is still touch and go but he's fighting. He'll be floating in a cup in the tank overnight. He was having issues getting to the top of the tank for air earlier. 

When I said I wanted to downsize I didn't mean all in one week...


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## ryry2012

I'm so sorry for your loss. We say Nitrate should be kept under 20 ppm, but 40 ppm is actually still OK. Something else in the water might be the cause... The owner of my LFS told me that the water there is bad, especially after rain.


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## BettaStarter24

The others are still ok so far though. And all use the same source water that's what confuses me


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## BettaStarter24

Well lost Prism as well. But it seems that he was the last of the ones that got hit *knock on wood*. Everyone else is doing ok, Maui is loving his new 5.5g kingdom. 

I'm hoping to get Neon Tetras for the 20g tomorrow. I want to do another good water change before they're in the tank as the nitrates are sitting right between 20 and 40 ppm and I want to get those down a little more but it shouldn't take too much more. My mom really wants kissing gouramis but I'm really wary as upon researching them they get really big and have a decent lifespan and 20g is too small for a pair. I'm trying to talk her out of it. She's agreed to hold off on those after finding out they will eat the tetras. She wants to switch to just the community tank eventually with fish that can be kept together in one tank. She's thinking about amount of maintenance I have to do a week on the tanks and just having the one tank would help that sure but I'm not so sure on different species. Though I really want Neons. I love the look of them. I'm planning on getting at least 10 of them for the 20 gallon. That way its a decent sized shoal. I may see if I can convince one of my bettas to live with them peacefully but idk yet. Maybe Remi would do good. I dont know. They're all pretty aggressive and I don't really have many long finned fish anymore besides Thor, Draco, and Brad (mom's doubletail) but I don't want the tetras to get nippy with a long finned betta, and again most if not all of them are pretty aggressive towards reflections so idk how they'd do in a community. 

In other news I came across my dream betta at my local Petco this week, right before I lost Prism. White EEHMPK. I originally was going to pass on him as at that time I didn't know what was going on and I didn't have a set up for him. But then Prism was so bad and as horrible as it sounds I didn't hold much hope that he'd make it through and he had a tank opening up from him passing so I grabbed the EEHMPK. Turns out Prism had gotten so bad if he had survived he may not have ever been able to get out of the cup or out of a small tank due to potential for being paralyzed. I'm not exaggerating with that, he literally could not move anything behind his dorsal fin. He was getting so tired trying to get up to the surface for air in an inch-inch and a half of water. After watching him like that for a couple days it got to the point where I felt it cruel to keep him alive like that and put him down. So with that said I need name ideas. I like Japanese, chinese sounding names as well as names from different fandoms I'm in (Supernatural, Harry Potter, Merlin, Sherlock, etc). Out of all my fish he seems most likely to do ok in a community but I haven't seen his true personality yet. He's still getting adjusted. Someone had shoved his cup behind a bunch of decor on the shelves. I almost didn't find him again. Walked away from him once already then went back to see if he was still there. Couldn't find him with the rest of the bettas so looked at the decor just to look around and saw a cup behind some of it, pulled it out and there he was. Grabbed him up and couldn't leave him again. So here he is!


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## Fishingforcats

Very pretty male. When I first saw the pictures, I thought of the name Casper. That's probably not what you're looking for though. Maybe someone hid him because they wanted to buy him but they couldn't for some reason and they didn't want anyone else buying him while they were gone. I've done that before (not with fish). It looks like to me that he might marble since he has a little black behind his gills. That's not a tell tale sign though.


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## BettaStarter24

Yeah I'm watching for him to change, I've learned to expect it with white fish lol. Most of the white fish I've had have marbled on me. Except for Elrond my white CT. I like the name Casper but I already had a fish named Casper. I rehomed him to someone on the forum and he's doing very well in a 20g community. I have a thing against reusing names unless its a special fish, for example Chihiro. I had a MG HMPK female (second girl, but the one that really made me love females) that was named Chihiro and she died suddenly and unexpectedly. Now I have a darker MG HMPK female I named Chihiro. She reminded me so much of the first Chihiro that I couldn't not name her that.


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## BettaStarter24

So the 20g is back up and running! Got parameters under control so i decided to go ahead and stock it. I have 11 Neon tetras and 2 Kissing Gouramis in the tank. The PKG's weren't my idea. My mom insisted on getting them. They're pretty small yet but I know they're going to grow. No idea what I'm gonna do when they do. But hopefully it will show mom that no they do not grow to the size of their tank and then stop. I'm also hoping they don't turn on the tetras. So far they're ignoring the tetras and the tetras are ignoring them. I have already lost one of my tetras. i originally had 12. But I had two that seemed a little more stressed than the others during transport and the others are nice and brightly colored and are all eating well, shoaling well, etc. They aren't clumped into a group at the bottom like they were at first, they are moving around all over the tank and going out on their own a couple times, returning back to their group occasionally. They're really fun to watch, especially feeding time. 

It's kind of hard counting the neons though lol. I like to count them to make sure they're all there to see if I need to look for a dead body so there's not a rotting fish causing spikes in anything. 

The Gouramis did chase each other around and fought a little bit at first but so far they seem to have figured everything out and are pretty peaceful. I think they've been eating my bladder snails. I noticed a significant decrease in the number of adult snails on the plants and glass since the gouramis have been in the tank. I read somewhere they will eat snails? Is this true? If it is I may have a new liking for them lol. I hate the bladder snails and desperately want them gone. I'm just really worried that they'll start going after my tetras. I read they'll eat anything they can fit into their mouths. They're too small to fit the tetras in now but when they get bigger. I'm also hoping that since they're in the tank with the tetras as babies they'll think they're friends not food once they get big enough for that. 

I'll post pictures later but I also rescaped the 20g before putting the fish in. (and a little bit after) I added a couple more background silk plants to the front of the tank to fill the space there and then yesterday added a couple pieces of Mopani wood after following the directions on the packaging. I'm loving the look of the natural wood in the tank vs the old fake log decoration. 

I'm feeding Omega One Tropical fish flakes and then frozen foods. The bettas all still get Omega One pellets or NLS pellets. 

Moving onto the betta update:

Everything has settled down from my die off. Official loss count is only 4. Unfortunately including 3 of my favorites in Emrys, Kenai and Zephyr. I liked them a lot for their personalities and coloration. I did like Prism, don't get me wrong, he was stunning but he wasn't one of my favorites. It makes more sense in my head than it does here. 

Brad continues to bite his tails. Though it's looking like the rot has gone away so hopefully he'll let the fins grow a little more. 

Merlot has taken a couple nips out of his tail but seems to be leaving it alone. He's a little chunkamunk. Loves to eat and absolutely loves being in a 10 gallon. He's loving the space. 

Remi loves his space too. He has a 10g all to himself and has had that since Tadashi died. I'm frustrated with his tank as I don't have a hood for it so I'm using a mesh reptile lid which lets the water evaporate faster than it would if I had a hood. 

Skye has stopped growing, but he's smaller than normal adults so I'm guessing he got stunted despite decent water changes during the time he was secreting the GSH. I got him and Draco June/July of last year so they're almost a year old so should have stopped producing that hormone in December/January if I'm correct in remembering that they only secrete that for the first 6 months. Despite being smaller than normal adult bettas he's doing very well. He's active and bright in his color, he LOVES flaring at Evey who is next to his tank in her bowl. 

Draco has reached adult size! He's bigger than Prism was when he was still alive. And hoo boy is he gorgeous. I am so beyond happy I let him steal my heart in the store with those big baby eyes. He is so active and so happy. Eats very nice and loves little flare sessions with his neighbor Chihiro. Never would have guessed that he'd turn into what he did. Not sure exactly what coloration he'd be, my best guess is multicolor butterfly. Any help on that would be amazing (He's in my profile pic)

Chihiro is healing up well from her fin rot in the store. She's colored up nicely and uses every inch of her 3 gallon. 

Thor continues to throw small hissy fits every once in a while. But he's gaining weight and eating well in the 3 gallon. I guess he just decided 5.5g was too much space. 

Leia continues to marble but that's to be expected. She's getting much more black to her body now with some royal blue iridescence to it along her spine. The temptation to breed her and Mochi is still so great. But don't have space or time right now. 

Mochi also marbled a little more. His black and red are spreading a little. He hasn't changed too drastically since I got him but its taken over his tail a little more. 

Sen hasn't grown much but she's eating nice and loves her 5 gallon Chi all to herself. 

And finally my newest guy. I decided to name the white EEHMPK I picked up last week Rohan. After the Riders of Rohan in LOTR. The name just seems to fit. He's doing really well, he's been building nests, flaring, active,etc. So far no changes in his coloring so I'm hoping he stays stable, though as I mentioned before wouldn't be surprised if he marbled.


----------



## dennythebetta

:nicefish:


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## BettaStarter24

Lost one of the gouramis today and another neon yesterday. The neon I'm guessing had gotten something with its swim bladder. he was swimming upside down in circles, and then upside down backwards in circles. I looked up the symptoms and found a thread on our sister site Tropical Fish Keeping (I think that's what its called) that someone posted with a neon that had the exact same symptoms and the consensus was swim bladder issues due to stress which is common in tetras just moved to a new tank as mine were. 

As for the gourami...he/she decided to be a little more curious than was good for him/her. I put a water bottle snail trap with some carrot in the 20g to try to catch some snails as I'm getting so sick of the bladder snails. The PKG decided he wanted to try to see what it was and got inside. He couldn't get back out and suffocated. As horrible as I feel saying this I'm not too broken up about it tbh. 20g is too small for 1 PKG let alone 2 but I couldn't talk mom out of it. So at least now its a little better. Plus I wanted to do a betta community tank with a betta and the tetras. But can't with the PKG. I'll take care of the remaining one of course but I'm still not a huge fan of it.


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## BettaStarter24

And Thor had to go prove me wrong. He passed away sometime between Tuesday night and tonight. Leaning towards closer to Tuesday given how I found him. He's always been a hider so I just assumed he was fine in the tank hiding when I turned lights on and off. He had turned completely white when he passed and blended in with the substrate.


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## BettaStarter24

I told myself I was gonna be good and get rid of tanks as they emptied up instead of filling them. And then I had a stressful day at work and when I'm stressed I want to go see pretty fish. So I went to BettaWorld owned by Koo Yang in St. Paul. And may or may not have snatched up someone...

So here she is! 








No name yet. Thinking Kiara, Sierra, Belle, or something Japanese. Not sure yet. Any ideas?


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## Sadist

I like those names!


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## BettaStarter24

I still haven't decided on a name for her. I was playing around with Kaida but I don't think it fits her all that well. So still searching for the perfect name. 

I got a Fluval Spec V yesterday. I LOVE IT. This tank has been my dream tank for a long time now. It was on sale so I snatched it up. Gave me an excuse to get rid of a tank I didn't like.


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## BettaStarter24

Lost my beautiful red Koi female Leia today. Pretty suddenly. Last night was lethargic and pale so moved her to a hospital tank. By this afternoon she was pineconed and dead. No idea what happened. She'd been healthy and eating and water parameters were stable. No ammonia or nitrites and nitrates were 5 ppm. 

Still don't have a name for my dragon girl. 

And need another name for a different fish. I had $5 rewards from petco and I went tonight before they closed and found a yellow Koi female. I had to grab her at a steal for under $8 in total. So now I get to try to name two girls. 

Here's the Koi. Better pictures will come when I can get some.


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## BettaStarter24

Names have been chosen! 

Black dragon whose name has been avoiding me as of late is now Echo. 

And new yellow Koi is named Kaya after the character in Princess Mononoke by Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli.


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## BettaStarter24

Update time! Not too long as I'm on my phone and about to go to bed. 

Kaya is getting some more black spots which I'm ok with. We'll see what she turns out to be. 

Moved Echo to the Spec V and divided one of my 10 gallons between Merlot and Gaston. Echo looks amazing in the Spec! She's doing really well too. Eating well as is Kaya. 







Now for the reason I moved fish around. Meet Tamatoa. He is also the reason I need to be banned from all petstores. Went for a filter left with filter and fish. Named him after the crab monster in Moana purely based off his color. He reminds me of both color schemes the character has in his scenes. The shiny metallic blue and the bright yellow with black underneath. 








Everyone else is doing good. My pleco, "Phil", is growing and the 10 neons are still going strong. The PKG is doing fine as well. Still wish mom didn't insist on PKG's. I'd prefer dwarf or honey gouramis if we had to do gouramis in the community. 

Moana, my three legged Syrian hamster, apparently doesn't know when to stop running on her wheel and occasionally rubs her stump raw. Which results in her wheel being confiscated until her leg heals. She hates when that happens but I'm not gonna just let her continue to rub that area raw without giving it a chance to heal. I'd rather her not get an infection.


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## BettaStarter24

Tank maintenance day once again. Just finished water changes on all of my tanks. Feeling tired but accomplished and I have a bunch of fish very angry with me. They hate water change day. The disturbance of the vacuum in their territory bugs them. Even had Maui flaring at me before I even started like "Don't you dare!". Echo is pouting because i ruined her bubble nests...yes. I said it. Echo built a couple nests. I keep having to remind myself that females can build them too. Though makes me question if she is really a she. Her fins say girl, she has the egg spot and I'm 98% sure I see ovaries but they also had some females there that looked like males (to the point where I'm questioning if they actually were female). 

Here's a couple pictures of her nests:















And here is miss Echo:








So what do you guys think? Am I right in saying that she is a she? 

Kaya has marbled out in an unexpected way. I thought Yellow kois were stable? lol. She definitely is less stable than my red koi Mochi who has marbled, yet hasn't changed as much as Kaya has. 

Kaya last week:








Kaya now:








Mochi:








Mochi has only gotten a little more black since I got him. I find it interesting how much Calcifer (my other late red koi male) changed vs how much Mochi has changed, and at the same time how much Leia didn't change as much as Calcifer and Kaya did. 

The community tank is doing well. Tannins are still being released by the wood quite a bit but water changes are taking care of keeping those in check. 

Bonus shot of miss Moana cleaning herself on my lap.


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## ThatFishThough

She is a she; her fins say it all. I've never seen a male (except stunted/runty ones) with that short of ventrals or fins in general.


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## BettaStarter24

That's what I thought! Thank you for the confirmation! She looks nothing like my male HMPK's in the fin department.


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## Sadist

I have read about really territorial girls making nests before.


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## BettaStarter24

I have too, and I've had other females that built nests, but their nests weren't so organized lol. they were more sporadic little things spread out across the tank, Echo's were very well organized. Not as good as the boys' but still pretty good. 

Tamatoa is making me look at the song "Shiny" in a totally different light lol. I listen to it and think about the Betta's life cycle. They start out kind of drab as fry (not their fault) but then grow and turn into these shiny beautiful creatures. Not to mention a lot of the time the males sort of strut around their tanks with that same sort of mindset that the character has in the movie. Tamatoa fits that in a nutshell. 

I still can't believe that my little Draco is almost a year old now and has reached adult size now! He's grown so much since he was the tiny little inch long thing to now his body size is about an inch and a half, and his fins are so long! He's grown so much more than Skye has. I think Skye may have been stunted despite my best efforts. He's grown definitely but his body size is only just under an inch to maybe an inch long and his rays never really developed all that much. I still think he's CT, his anal and dorsal fins as well as ventral fins say CT, but his caudal says...??? If i can get a good picture of him I will post it. he doesn't like his picture taken all that much so bear with me lol. 

Kaya continues to go black. I have to laugh because I could have sworn the yellow Kois were supposed to be more stable. And of course mine is not stable whatsoever. I've learned not to get too attached to color of my fish they always seem to change on me. Maui had been going white, black, blue, and yellow when I got him and now he's almost all royal blue except for bright yellow ventral fins. Eventually I will sit down and have a full photoshoot with all of my fish and post a big photo dump lol. I really should do that. Might not be each individual fish in the community tank lol but I'll add one of that. See how long it takes for my fish to be cooperative. I have some pictures here and there of my guys and gals but I'd like to get a compilation of all recent, one day pictures up when I do a big dump of pictures. I'll see if I can get some within the week. Maybe do another journal entry in their personas like I used to do back when i started this. I kind of miss doing that.


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## BettaStarter24

*Photobomb! Beware!*









Um...hello...you guys haven't really seen many pictures of me...I don't belong to the human who uses this...thing. She just cleans my tank. I like to hide a little bit cause I'm kind of shy. And some big furry thing likes to sit on my tank. It drinks my water out of my filter. That's really all I have for you I guess...I'd rather go hide again now. 









Hi! Don't mind me, I dont like to sit still. So if you'll excuse me I'm gonna swim around as fast as I can. Oh! Mom's trying to take my picture! Better speed up! My fins are feeling much better! I had some owies on them in the store. I like to intimidate my neighbor! I think I scared her off though. 









Mother insists on putting lady friends next to me (in different tanks). I like to flare at them. Though I'm competing with the big guy as well. Yes, there is a small chunk out of my tail but its healing. Mom doesn't know what I did. I don't even know what I did. Or maybe I do, but I'm not going to tell mom. He he. 









Don't listen to the twerp. She doesn't intimidate me. And she hasn't scared me off either. I like my newest tank. I liked my bowl too cause I liked to play in the bubbles from the sponge filter but I think I like the space of the new tank. The human put a cave in the other day when I moved out of my bowl and I think I really like it. I like to sleep in it. I don't really flare all that much but I do build nests! I like keeping the human on her toes. 









Hello, it's been a while since I got moved from the divided 5g with that little thing. Since then I've been upgraded from the 2g cylinder to a 3g bowl to a 3g cube that I'm in now. I've officially been grounded from any thoughts of a divided girl tank or a sorority. I'm not sure what I did...I just wanted to hug the other fish...with my mouth...









*Vocal warm ups* NO ONE SWIMS LIKE GASTON! FLARES HIS FINS LIKE GASTON! NO ONE SHAKES THESE JAZZ HANDS LIKE GASTON! *stops* Oh! Are you looking at me? Ok...just make sure to get my good side. No...just a little further to my right....there! No not there! Stop! There! Got it! Now go away. 









I like messing with mom. She thought I was gonna be stable...I showed her! Muahahaha!!!!!!! I just got here just over a week ago so I don't have much to say really. My name is Kaya. None of the others so far have actually introduced themselves.....Brad started, then Chihiro, Draco, Echo, Evey, and then Gaston if you didn't get that from his song. I'll probably have more to say as I spend more time here but so far I like it!









Hey Let me say You're welcome! For my color change today! Hey can we say You're welcome! Oh...Hey! Maui here, breathe it in. I know it's a lot to take. And I know I'm quoting the song, I don't own it, Disney does but Yes I like to sing it. I'm also known as "Big Guy" by the baby over there. And yes Draco you are still a baby. I tricked the human into thinking I was turning into a snowball but instead turned into a sapphire. I guess my marbling techniques are off...can't seem to find my fishhook...









I don't wanna talk...I'm mad at you! I didn't want my tank divided! It was mine! I know I didn't use the space but still...I liked having that option. Go away! 









Where's Leia? She disappeared one day and this other girl took her tank. I miss her...I was just starting to get somewhere with her. Now I have to start over with flirting with this new girl. I like adding some more red and black here and there. My light died on my tank. I hate having my light off. I would rather have it on, of course at night its off but during the day I better have a light on!









D-Do you need a picture? Really? You can take one if you want but I'm gonna hide behind this algae...or play dead whenever your camera focuses on me. Ha ha. Got it? Good. I'm gonna swim away now. Just be sure to keep my water levels up, I would appreciate an actual hood but what I have will work. 









I know I'm skinny. I eat I promise. and my poop is normal too! I also don't like sitting still so good luck with that one. I'm over here! Now I'm over here! Ooh! You can't get me!!!!!









See what mom means about my fins? What am I? Who am I? Well my name's Skye but I don't really know what tail type I technically fall under...









"Tamatoa wasn't always quite this glam...I was a drab little fish once! And now I know I can be happy as a clam...because I'm beautiful baby!" Again, Disney owns the song but I just like it! I'm Tamatoa if you haven't noticed. I don't like my picture taken so without flash I turn into a black and yellow blur. At least with flash you can see what I am. Which is SHINY! 









Hewwo....I is wittwe and I has hard time swimming. So I is being floated in a tank instead of given free range. I has a hard time getting to the surface and my butt drags on the ground. I would like to has full reign of the tank but alas momma says no. Momma is gonna fast me for a couple days and see if I just need to clean my siystem out. Momma had a bad couple days at work and went to just look and I gave her the big puppy eyes and she brought me home! Plus I think I remind her of Draco only CT not VT. 

And that's all of them! In order, Brad, Chihiro, Draco, Echo, Evey, Gaston, Kaya, Maui, Merlot, Mochi, Remi, Sen, Skye (Seriously, wth is he!?), Tamatoa, and......new baby who needs a name, I'm pretty sure its a male CT but could be female too, S/he is really teensy tiny.


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## BettaStarter24

Update time:

Lost Maui yesterday to what looks to be Graphite disease. So his 5.5g is being trashed unfortunately. I don't want to try to sanitize it and have the sanitation fail. 

Liam, the little baby who was butt dragging, still drags his butt a little but he's growing and is swimming better than he was. He's eating whole OO pellets now. 

Not much else for fish updates, everyone seems to be doing ok and no one else is showing any signs of potential illness *knocks on wood*. 

I got hermit crabs. 2 of them, Sebastian and Paul McCartney (Paul came with the name). They're in a 10g tank with a piece of grapewood and a few shells. I bought Sebastian today to keep Paul company, was getting Paul from a friend. Seb came in a painted shell, black with a painted hermie on it lol. Immediately upon putting him in with Paul he switched shells into Paul's favorite shell that he likes to switch into and out of. So Paul stole Seb's painted shell. I'm going to have to get some more natural shells. Will post pictures of them once I get some good ones, Paul is a little shy.


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## BettaStarter24

Ok...update time. 

I lost Mochi and Sen this week which was unexpected. After investigating their deaths found some salvinia minima that was decaying that the filters were pushing out of eyesight. So that was causing Nitrates to spike in the tanks faster than what I could change out. So Sadly my little white girl and my little koi boy are gone.  

It was water change day today so I got all of my tanks done and got some major algae out of Remi's tank. Ended up having to toss two plants due to the overwhelming amount of algae that was on them. Though that was the only really bad tank when it comes to algae, the others were easily wiped out with a paper towel, and then my 20g has a bristlenose pleco in it that has been doing great at algae control in the community tank. 

I started a sponge filter in Chihiro's 3 gallon crescent tank so I'm going to attempt to cycle that. I'm cycling my Spec III and my Spec V. Haven't tested water in either tank recently. So once I get those three cycled that will be 10 out of my 13 tanks cycled. 

I did pick up a new boy today *hangs head*. I went in to see if a koi that was there the other day was still there. The koi was a lot bigger than my current HMPK's and definitely bigger than Mochi was, he was there still along with one of his spawn mates (No one will ever be able to convince me that they weren't spawn mates) Here are the two kois:









The one on the left is the one I had my eye on. But then this happened...:









Meet Zazu. This copper boy screamed at me as soon as he saw me. He sat in his cup and screamed and screamed and screamed. (not literally but you know what I mean, how you find that one fish that just calls to you) I just felt that connection to him that wasn't there with the koi. So he is now residing in Mochi's old 5 gallon Crescent tank. and he is HUGE. Not giant sized but he's double what my regular sized HMPKs are. I'm not sure on length and I'm not good at guesstimating. 

Finally got pictures of the crabs! and upgraded their stuff. I had them in a 10g with just eco earth as substrate, but now I have them still in the 10g but now with a mixture of 5 parts play sand to 1 part eco earth filling the tank halfway with substrate to allow them to dig down to molt. They also got a proper salt pool with Instant Ocean instead of the saltwater conditioner they sell for Hermies at the stores. Granted their pools are pretty shallow but I can't fit deeper pools in the tank right now. One step at a time. 

Here's Paul:









and here's Sebastian (I call him Seb):


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## BettaStarter24

So look what i found at my petco. Got him/her for free with petco pals rewards. Elephant ear double tail baby. Unsure if its a dtpk or long finned dt but guessing dtpk. No name yet


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## ThatFishThough

Omg I'm jealous! If I happens to be female I might steal her and do a spawn, lol.

Saw a Copper boy just like that at PetCo yesterday! Cute!


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## BettaStarter24

Lol yeah i had to snatch him/her up. Heres a pic that shows the pectorals better and little white lipstick.


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## themamaj

Oh my goodness killing me with baby cuteness. Our stores never have EE babies. Or cuties with white lipstick! What wonderful new additions. Congrats! 

What type of tank and substrate do you have for your crabs? My grandson has one at his other nana's house. They just have it in a wire cage which I didn't think was good. I wondered if I needed to get him something more appropriate.


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## BettaStarter24

Sorry for back to back posts but decided to do an update since i was here. Im up to 17 bettas again. NO MORE! Im gonna try to mean it this time. I have a friend taking my 3g bowl so that will be gone and once thats gone i dont have an empty tank. 

So. A lot of these pictures are old and i need updated pictures which will get once the fosh cooperate. I need updated pictures of Evey, Liam, Skye, Merlin, Zazu, Brad, Merlot, Chihiro, Echo, Tamatoa, and Draco. 

I just wanted to have pictures of all my guys in one place for any new readers/followers/lurkers. 

Newest baby EEDT(PK?)








Kiara koi female hmpk








Patriot red white blue marble HMPK (bottom pic is when i got him, top is now)















Gaston white EEHMPK








Midas Gold dragon marble HMPK 















Evey yellow pineapple ct female








Liam blue/red bicolor petco baby boy CT. (May be female)








Skye blue with red wash DeT with web reduction (petco baby now adult)








Morgana MG marble HmPk female








Merlin MG VT








Zazu copper monster HmPk








Brad Pitt, red HMdT








Merlot red dragon HMPK








Chihiro MG hmpk female








Echo black dragon hmpk female








Tamatoa MG hm 








Draco multicolor butterfly VT petco baby (now an adult)








Patriot, Merlot and Gaston share a divided 10 gallon now. Draco is living it up in a 10g all to himself. 

As i mentioned Liam may be a girl. S/he isnt growing as fast as my male babies did and i keep thinking i see ovaries. His/her fins are also pointing to female and has eggspot which i havent been using as a way to tell which sex s/he is. Still watching. Wont let me get a good picture as s/he is so super wiggly. 

Seb and Paul are down for molts currently. Seb has been down about a month now and Paul went down a week or two ago. So i have pet sand. Should name it. 

Work and school have been keeping me uber crazy busy so im a little behind on cage cleaning and tank cleanings. I did half of my tanks yesterday and plan on doing the rest tomorrow as im at school or work all day today. My gosl is to make Tuesdays my cleaning day for everyone. At least throughout July as long as my schedule doesnt change. Im interviewing for a veterinary assistant position at a different clinic tomorrow so wish me luck! If i get it ill have to see what my schedule will be. This semester ends in early August so by the time im hired and give my notice at my current clinic if the pay is better (and if i get the position) im thinking classes may be done. Im taking a semester off because i cant afford tuition straight through the program. I just have to figure out logistics of taking the semester off. 

Thats about all thats new thats going on.


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## BettaStarter24

themamaj said:


> Oh my goodness killing me with baby cuteness. Our stores never have EE babies. Or cuties with white lipstick! What wonderful new additions. Congrats!
> 
> What type of tank and substrate do you have for your crabs? My grandson has one at his other nana's house. They just have it in a wire cage which I didn't think was good. I wondered if I needed to get him something more appropriate.


They need to be in an enclosed tank. Its recommended to have 5-10 gallons per crab. Mine are in a 10g tank but its recommended to start at 29 gallons. I dont have room for a bigger tank so i just have my 2 in a 10g. I use play sand from home depot mixed with eco earth in a 5:1 ratio. 5 parts sand to 1 part eco earth. With UTHs along the back of the tank above substrate to provide heat. Fresh water and salt water pools deep enough for the largest crab to fully submerge. You want to keep it humid and warm. 85 degrees F and 85-99% humidity. They are hands off pets as they need the humidity to breathe and when theyre out of their cage there isnt enough humidity for them. And they are wild animals and easily stressed and handling them will stress them too much.

Substrate needs to be at least 6-8 inches deep. Should fill tank halfway. This gives them enough room to dig down to molt. 

They are social so i would recommend if you get a big enough tank to get buddies. Try to keep them species specific though. Purple pinchers are most common in pet stores but you can also find Ecuadorians, and Strawberries. Straws absolutely MUST have a same species buddy. You can mix species but you should have at least one other crab of each species so they have a species buddy


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## BettaStarter24

Well...unfortunately I lost the baby EEDTPK. S/he just never started eating. Offered frozen foods as well as two different kinds of pellets. Just as I had picked out a name. Decided on Kokoro, which means "Heart" in Japanese. I'm guessing it was something genetic that got him/her. Showed no signs of anything that could have been wrong. Just wouldn't eat. 

I'm trying to decide if I want to move Patriot back into the 2g from the 3 way divided 10g, move Chihiro into the 2g from her current 2g, move Liam into the 2g from his lidless 2.5g (lid won't fit on the tank where the tank is, and if it did the light doesn't work anyway), move Skye from his lidless 2.5g to the 2g (again, lid won't fit on the tank from where the tank is). Or just dismantle the 2g and move one of the 2.5g over to that spot. So for now I have an empty tank...which is dangerous...but empty tank + no money helps. 

The kissing gourami passed on as well this week. The assassin snails got to him before I noticed and ate his eyes...which was disturbing to say the least. But they are doing their jobs with the bladder snails, I guess they deserve a treat...of fish eyes...Unless Pyro (Fire dwarf Gourami) ate his eyes but I doubt that. I find myself enjoying the community a little better now that it is stocked better. I don't mind PKG's but not in a 20g tall. So now I'm at 1 Fire Dwarf Gourami, around 10 Neon Tetras (granted all of them are still living, all 10 aren't in the same place at the same time and if they are they move so much I can't count them, but I haven't seen any dead tetra bodies.), 1 Albino Bristlenose Pleco, and anywhere between 4 and 9 Assassin snails. Plus some Bladder snails which are slowly being eaten. 

I guess at some point I would like to try a betta centric community tank with neon tetras but I like the community where it is. I really like the coloration of the Fire/Flame Dwarf Gourami. With the deep red/orange body with the striking blue streak on the dorsal fin. 

Seb came up from his molt, unsure if I mentioned that prior. Paul is down for a molt. Seb has taken it upon himself to bury all of the extra shells and dig holes upon holes in the substrate. I'm hoping he doesn't disturb Paul too much. 

Moana has figured out that if she runs too much she will rub her stump raw and then she loses her wheel. So she is very conscious about how much she runs lol. Love that little fluff ball. 

I work at an animal hospital and we had two cats abandoned at our doorstep last friday night. A male and a female, adult cats. Thankfully I was able to find them both a place, the male is in his furrever home and the female is at a foster home. 

Now to find a place for our "permanent boarder". We have a pitbull mix named Gypsy who has been boarding with us for the last 4 (almost 5) months and has basically been abandoned. Her owner has to the end of July to come back for her or we are sending out an abandonment letter and taking custody. After that she'll be up for adoption...if we can keep her out of the humane society. She's dog aggressive and fear aggressive, I also would not trust her around cats. Its going to be a challenge to find her a home. We all know that if she goes to the humane society they'll take one look at her and euthanize her. I can't just sit around and let that happen without doing my best to find her somewhere safe. She's 3 years old and is such a sweet girl. She just needs an active person/family and she needs to be the only pet. She is so eager to please and with some more training she'd be great. She goes great on a gentle leader and would be fine with a basket muzzle while out on walks/runs if there's a chance of coming across another dog. She just needs someone to love her.


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## BettaStarter24

So my fish children have switched around some again. Lost Kiara after she jumped from her tank without me noticing. 

And this is what happens when you dont check on ypur bettas for a few days and they end up spending the weekend together...


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## BettaStarter24

Didn't bother to turn on lights Saturday morning as I was going up north for a girls weekend and wouldn't be back until Sunday afternoon/evening and didn't want to leave lights on for 2 days straight so kept them off and didn't check on the fish like i usually do because got too busy and didn't think of it. So I have no idea when Gaston got under the divider. Went on a fish round when I got home, turned lights on and went to check on everyone and "hello Gaston that's not your....section...****! Where are you Merlot..." Enter panic mode, cup Gaston, search for Merlot, find Merlot and cup him and asses damage. Gaston has no new damage to him and poor Merlot is torn to shreds. He was hiding in his plant, trying to stay as still as possible. I feel horrible about not noticing sooner. 

Moved Merlot into a 1g temporary tupperware until I could get ahold of a spare tank (Just gave away my spare 3g bowl). A friend had a spare 3g and a spare 5g and she gave me the 5g for him. I felt he'd appreciate having the space. So now he's in a 5g Aqueon Minibow where he will stay and heal. He's active and acting normally so I'm hoping that all he needs is space and time to heal. I have the tank treated with AQ salt to try to prevent infection. Warm clean water and lots of TLC. 

As soon as I can I'm moving one of the other two in the divided to their own tank but I'm not gonna set up yet another tank to do so. I have a buffer zone in the 10 now so hopefully if another slip happens it will buy me time to catch it before it turns into a fight. 

I will have to post pictures of my newest guys when I get good ones, but I've gotten a couple new ones. Lanayru and Kovu are both my newest Bettas. Both yellow kois, a male and a female. I got Kovu to "pair" with Kiara (wasn't gonna breed but named him Kovu because I had a Kiara) but then Kiara jumped. Lanayru aka Nayru was at my Petco in the same shipment as Kovu and I went back to see if she was there and snatched her up. Kovu is mostly yellow, with black spots and a red spot on his dorsal fin. Nayru when I got her was mostly a pale flesh color with some yellow and black specks with some light blue/white irids over her back, now her black has spread slightly. I'll post pictures when they'll allow me to get good ones. They're both still slightly skittish around the camera.


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## ThatFishThough

So jealous that your PetCo has such interesting colors! Mine has mostly red and blue with the occasional color that I have to snatch up.


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## BettaStarter24

Mine gets a lot of salamander Dumbos, and mostly red kois if they get kois. Blue butterflies, red and blue VTs. Wild type Kings, rarely do we get in fancy kings, crowntails vary in color but usually blue red and orange are the popular ones. My avatar VT was a petco baby from there.


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## BettaStarter24

So long since last update. 

Brad Pitt (mom's DT) passed away so I was able to take down the divided tank and officially have no more divided tanks. Moved Zazu into the 10g as he is pretty big for a HMPK. Not a giant but he's bigger than my other HMPK's. Gaston moved to Zazu's 5g and Patriot has the 10g all to himself. Patriot has marbled quite a bit and may I say that he is GORGEOUS. The blue has spread but he has red spots throughtout his fins and he's got a reddish brown color forming on his head with some white irids on his caudal fin. He's also a lot more standoffish when it comes to the camera and doesn't like to stay still in the light to show off his gorgeous colors lol. I'll have to see what pictures I have and do another pic dump on here. 

Zazu is marbling as well. He's going straight copper instead of the copper monster he was/is. But that's ok. I like his copper and his personality is great. He's really curious about his pleco. I have a small albino bristlenose pleco in the 10g for grow out. I have a larger Pleco in my 20g and I'm not sure on the size difference in putting them together. The larger one is at least 3 inches long at this point, this little one is just over 1 inch, maybe 1.5 inches. He's tiny. 

Tamatoa moved to a 10g and Draco to a Fluval Spec III. Draco wasn't doing good in the 10g and there was a moment I thought I'd lose him. He's pulled through and is doing amazing in the Fluval. Hes active and bright again and has decided the filter output is his arch nemesis and that he is going to take it down whether it likes it or not. He's such a dork. 

Tamatoa is doing great in the larger tank. He uses the space nice even with his fins. He's one of my 4 long finned guys, the rest are female or HMPK. 

Merlot is...okay. His fins aren't really healing all that much but he's active and the wound on his head has healed. He's doing good. 

Lanayru continues to change (I swear yellows were supposed to be stable lol ;P ) she's rocking the different colored eyes. She's got one black, one light blue eye. 

Kovu has been kind to me and has stayed stable...so far. lol. He's still so feisty. 

Liam continues to confuse me as far as gender goes. Doesn't sit still long enough for me to try to detect ovaries, fins say female, has egg spot, but I can't definitively find ovaries so very hard to tell. 

The crabs are good, Seb is back down for another molt after switching shells and Paul is up and about. He's definitely more jumpy than Seb is. Seb will come out of his shell and run around even if I'm in the tank refilling food or changing out the pools, Paul darts into his shell. But that's how Purple Pinchers react to things that scare them. 

I lost Moana last Monday. She was fine in the morning, just bedding down for the day and by the time I went to bed that night she was gone. I'm not quite sure what I'm gonna do with her tank/cage. She lived in a 20g long. I don't really want to set it up for fish. I don't have a stand for it and I don't have the money for everything I would want for another 20g tank. I may get another hamster on payday. There's a really cute tri-colored syrian at a Petco near me that I have my eye on. If she's still there when I get paid I might pick her up. I already have a name in mind...Matilda. Or Anastasia. One of those. Not sure though. 

The community is doing good. Lost a good number of my neons. Only had 2 that I could find (I think the Assassin snails ate the rest). Was going to just maintain it how it was until the rest passed and then either take down the 20 or put one of my bettas in it once the FDG passed. But Petco was having a 5 for $5 sale and I got 10 more to add to the school. They're all doing good as far as I can count them that is. There looks to be about 12 in there whenever I feed. 

Not much else to report on my end.


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## BettaStarter24

Chihiro and Merlot passed away. Chihiro tried to eat too many pellets at once and got a clump stuck in her mouth. I didnt realize until it was too late. Merlot just never really fully healed from the fight. His fins werent growing back at all and hes been kind of dopey since. SIP guys...

Moana passed away at the beginning of this month. I got another syrian a couple weeks ago. Her name is Matilda. Shes a tri color. We are still working on taming. She will take treats from my hand but still isnt at the point of allowing me to pet her or pick her up and hold her. 









The crabs are doing good as well. Sebastian has now molted twice with me. He came up from his second molt today. Paul has molted once. 

The community tank is great. Pyro and the Avengers are getting along and Phil the pleco is growing well. He/She is 3" long now. 

Most everyone else is still doing good. Tamatoa is slowing down quite a bit. Not showing any outward signs of illness besides extreme lethargy. Im making sure water parameters are in check. Just did a big water change today. 

I did pick up a new guy. Before i knew Merlot had passed. I was going to resurrect the 5.5 that i have empty after Maui passed. Was wary as i was thinking Maui died of Graphite Disease. He turned grey and died rapidly. However, his fins did not disintegrate nor did anyone else get sick. I do share gravel vacuum between tanks as i dont have another yet. That particular tank hadnt had a change that week yet so the vacuum was not used on that tank at all around the course of the disease. But since graphite is so contagious it should have spread by now. Its been over a month since Maui died. 

But i got home and found Merlot gone. So i did a change on Merlot's 5g and put the new guy in there instead of setting the sketchy 5.5 up again. 

New guy is a petco king hmpk. Cant tell if he is a blue yellow bicolor or a wildtype coloring. His body is blue and his fins have yellow/orange in them. I have pictures below. I liked his spunk when he started flaring at my phone when i went to take pictures of him. 























Finally i have a question for people. Does anyone know anyone who is looking for a dog that does not have any other dogs/cats? My vet clinic and job is looking for a home for a 3 year old pit bull mix named Gypsy. She is a great dog but she is extremely dog and cat aggressive. Because of this she has to be the only pet. And can not go to dog parks. She is also fear aggressive and is wary of strangers. She needs a house with a large fenced in yard. She loves playing with Tennis balls and absolutely Loves sprinklers and baths. She jumps right into the tub. She is very smart and eager to please. She knows "sit" "lay down" "leave it" "give" "drop it" and "stay". Very food motivated. She does need slow introductions to any new people and is wary of men. But once she knows you you are golden. She does wonderful on a gentle leader and if you wanted to take her out on a hike or run or something we recommend a basket muzzle in combination with gentle leader. Just as a caution if you came across another dog. 

She is such a sweetheart when she knows you and trusts you. She will let me give her hugs and play with her feet, face, tail, ears, etc. She has had a bad experience with nail trims while staying with us unfortunately which has caused her to not like her nails done but we are working on that. She has come a long way since she came to us in March. We can take toys away from her right out of her mouth. When she first arrived we couldnt get near toys and had to make her drop it and back up or have multiple toys to throw for her. 

If anyone knows anyone or wants to see about meeting her let me know. Located in St. Paul MN. Us at the clinic who love her would love if she found a person close by who would bring her to us for medical stuff and to visit us. But if her person is further away we arent going to let that stop her from finding her true home. Shes been in the kennel for too long already (will be 7 months 10/02)


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## BettaStarter24

Just euthanized Tamatoa. After a couple of weeks of strange lethargy he finally stopped eating. He spent his days at the bottom of his tank curled into a very sharp C shape, bent pretty much in half. I think he could have broke his back. He didnt really straighten out and he had a hard time swimming. I decided it was better for him to humanely euthanize. SIP little guy. 

New king has a name. I decided on Kenai. It seemed to fit his personality perfectly. Hes a giant puppyfish. I do have the 10 open now but he seems to be happy in the 5 so im gonna move one of my guys from his unlidded 2.5 into the 10 probably. Im getting sick of the unlidded tanks. (I have 2, they dont have lids as the lids wont fit where they are in my room and i cant move them elsewhere to put lids on them).


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## BettaStarter24

Pretty much talking to myself here now but its a good timeline of my fish adventures. Officially been in this hobby for 4 years this September. 

Went from a little red veiltail in a bare unheated 1 gallon bowl my roommate got and lost interest in before i got custody to having 13 of these little guys and gals each in heated tanks of 2 gallons up to 10 gallons. Most of which are filtered (all but two). 

This adventure has been full of ups and downs for sure. Ive euthanized more fish than anyone of my family thinks i should have (they don't understand the connection one can have with these guys) and have gotten to the point i can flip a switch mentally to be able to do that for them when they are suffering too badly. Ive had a few mass die offs due to water parameters. But ive also had the privilege of owning some very beautiful high quality (in my eyes even if their form and color werent great. I have 3 from a betta shop near me that imports directly from Thailand and even some of my petco guys and gals are pretty good) fish. Ive been able to own some of my dream bettas. I currently own two of my biggest dreams since beginning the hobby. Pure white hm or hmpk bonus points for EE. Gaston and Zero both fit that bill. 

Ive even found fish i didnt know i wanted until they were staring me in the face. Echo and Morgana are examples. 

Ive successfully raised two babies to adulthood though sadly only one of the four petco babies i have had still live. I still want to try out a spawn but want to wait until i can commit more time to that. 

Ive ventured beyond Bettas and have kept a community tank successfully so far for the first time in 18 years. 

Ive reached my limit and learned from that to not go over that limit. Ive had to rehome some beloved fish friends to afford them more attention and better care. 

Ive learned a lot in the last 4 years. 

Ok nostalgia and remembering over lol. 

Update time:
So ive lost some and gained some. 

Liam, Nayru, Skye, and Chihiro have all passed on recently (forgot if i already updaed about Chihiro or the others). Liam was the most recent. Finally figured out gender too. Of course it was after she (yes...She) died and sat still long enough for me to see properly. 

Y'all know about my king, Kenai who is turning into a orange and blue bicolor. 

I added two new fish this past weekend. A salamander EEHM Female named Pandora and a Platinum wite EEHM male named Zero after Jack's dog in Nightmare Before Christmas. 

All three are doing very well. Kenai is a giant puppy fish, Pandora is a feisty bugger and Zero's personality hasnt arised yet as hes been battling some buoyancy stuff due to bad food in store and ammonia levels in the cup. 

Matilda isnt tame yet and is determined to keep it that way. Shed rather i just toss her food and water everyday and then leave her alone. She will scream if i linger too long. 

The crabbies are doing good. Seb is getting bigger. Paul int much. But hes only molted once vs seb who molted twice.


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## themamaj

I could relate so much to your journey! I have gone through ups and downs as well through the years but it has been a journey of love. I think you have to keep bettas to really understand the passion behind them and to see how incredibly personable they are. I really enjoy reading all of your updates. I look forward to hearing more about your newbies as well as continuing to follow your others.

Tell me about your pleco. I have pondered on those.


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## BettaStarter24

Thank you!

I have two plecos now. One in my 20g community and one in one of my 10g betta tanks. Phil (who is actually female i believe) is in the community and then i have a small male (i think). Both are albino bristlenoses. I love having them in the tanks. They take care of the algae really nicely. They do need the driftwood/mopani wood to graze on. Zazu who is in with the small male pleco has decided he is vegan and tries eating the algae wafers i give to the pleco. He wont eat pellets anymore. 

Zero has improved tremendously! He swims normally now and his personality is starting to shine. Really happy i went back for him. 

Pandora has shown herself to be a feisty little bit too. She loves challenging her neighbor Kovu. 

I have added two more to my family and lost two from my family since last update. 

I lost my baby Draco unexpectedly and then euthanized Morgana after a bad case of body rot that wasnt healing with treatment. 

I added a red Veiltail i named Kibo (Japanese for "hope"). And rescued a copper marble crowntail from Walmart where he was in a cup with barely enough water to sit up straight. His name is Ayden and he is my avatar. 

Kibo was the one betta in a sea of bettas at Petco that had any spunk left and ive been having really down days lately now that Im leaving the animal hospital i work at. So i went to petco while i was sad and Kibo gave me the eyes and he made me happy again to watch him have so much hope in a crappy situation. So i brought him home. 

Ayden was a complete impulse buy. But he was also sad and needed help i think. Hes flourished so much since i got him yesterday already.

I have the habit of just suddenly wanting to save one betta from a bad situation in the stores. Ends up in a lot of pity impulse buys. But the little guys relax me to watch. Youre right about having to own them to fully appreciate how much joy they can give a person. My animals are my life. I love imagining that they can understand what im saying to them ad i have little conversations with them. Especially when im doing water changes.


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## themamaj

I may have to get me a pleco. They are super cute. Good to know about the wood. 

My fish always cheer me up too. I usually make a v-line for the fish room as soon as I get home. When I get grumpy family knows I need fish time lol. It is very relaxing to watch them. I get so intrigued watching them it is my cable tv haha. 

You sure have some lovely fish. Glad to hear how well Zero is progressing. I think that is very satisfying to be able to see one turn around from rough start. Keep up good work! Sorry for the losses. I understand how hard that can be.


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## BettaStarter24

Zero's buoyancy issues are better but now the bugger is fin biting. I just cant win sometimes lol. Oh well. I dont expect long finned guys to not bite. That way im surprised when they dont. 

Plecos are cute. Fun to watch too.


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## ThatFishThough

I always read but don't always respond. You have a great journal and I wouldn't want to break the flow with my irrelevant comments.


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## themamaj

Fin nippers drive me to insanity sometimes. It always surprises me who bites and who doesn't. Of course the prettier the fins the more likely to bite lol.


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## BettaStarter24

Ive had to tell myself to stop caring so much lol. 

Evey is starting to slow down. I think it's something in the tank. Shes number four to start getting lethargic. I havent been sanitizing much between residents because no one showed any other signs of illness. Just lethargy. And Tamatoa i think broke his back somehow so i didnt think anything of it when i put Evey in after a water change. Im going to retire the tank after she passes. Unfortunately i dont have anything i can put her in otherwise and i dont have the space for a new set up. Im gonna try and troubleshoot but she isnt doing good at this point so she may pass soon or i may end up having to euthanize sadly. Literally the only thing she is showing is increasing lethargy. Currently not eating well either but that's relatively normal for her to have bouts of no appetite. Im not suspicious of parasites as she isnt bloated her poop is normal, shes not losing weight. 

Zazu continues to be on his algae wafer only diet. Literally wont entertain the idea of eating any other food thats more suited to his dietary needs. You do you i guess buddy. Just please let this phase pass. 

Kenai continues to be a giant puppy fish. He loves to tend to his nest and doesnt like to flare at the mirror. 

Not much else has changed in the fish room. Zero evened out the segment he nipped but so far *knocks on wood* hasnt taken anything else. Ayden is doing good since his time in Walmart. 

Idk if i introduced Ayden yet. Hes the crowntail in my avatar. He is a walmart betta whose cup barely had any water in it. So i took him home. 

Hes relaxed and settled in nicely. I catch him flaring at Gaston occasionally but other than that hes building his nest or patrolling his tank. 

Matilda, aka hamster from heck, continues to refuse to be tamed. She will go in her ball and allow me t feed her and give her water and clean her cage but if i try anything (and i mean anything) else she will start screaming. As i type she is trying to escape her glass tank. *eye roll* 

And i added to my furry pack too. Meet the newest addition. A marbled roborovsky dwarf hamster. Not 100% sure on sex yet so name is waiting until im sure. If anyone is good at sexing wiggly dwarf hammys let me know ill try to get good pictures. 









In petco they said he was a male but im not too certain. I havent been able to see any little....friends back there. Nor can i see the scent gland which is usually visible on males. He is a surrender/adoption friend instead of the normal buy from the store hammy. Hes so tiny though! He cant even move the wheel that came with the cage i got him. Im gonna get stuff for him tomorrow to add to his cage and possibly a new wheel. Granted my budget will allow for it with me being between jobs. 

I start my new job next Wednesday so hopefully within 3-4 weeks paychecks will be back to being regular.


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## ThatFishThough

Love hammys but went with Gerbils instead. Our neighbor always had a Syrian. The one time they got a Dwarf, it bit everyone. They think he was a rescue from a Kindergarden class, because he hated children with a passion. To clean his cage you had to wear inch thick leather gloves. I think that's what made me decide to get gerbils instead.

My gerbils are both male, and their friends didn't show up/weren't noticeable until they were older. Now it's the first thing you notice, and a lot of my friends won't hold them because if it lol. They will let you pick them up & have never bitten anyone, but you have to catch them first. Once you catch them they treadmill in your hands until you put them down again lol. They're almost 5 now. <3

Oh, fin biters. They drive me to drink sometimes. (Not literally, not old enough lol.) Both of my HMs bite, and it is one of the reasons why I have 3 PKs and 3 Females. My DTs always left their fins alone, but I still liked my DTPK better.

Also, I love Robos but heard you really shouldn't handle them because they are so fast. If they escape, there's slim chance of finding them (especially with two cats in the house)

ETA: Here's an example. This made me lol. Lots of hilarious videos on YT.


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## BettaStarter24

You can handle Robos but you should do so somewhere they cant escape from. Im working with this guy in a giant plastic bin. Hes super speedy. They ddnt know how old he was so not sure if his friends should be seen with him or if hes still young enough where thyre not invited to parties yet. 

Got him a new wheel this morning and a hideout thing to attach to his cage. Hoping he uses the hideout and can use his wheel. Its way too sad to watch him try to run on his wheel and not be able to move it. 

Matilda is in the process of burying her wheel to use it as an escape route if she ever manages to chew through glass.


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## ThatFishThough

If you think oiling the wheel would help, you can use vegetable/canola oil. The gerbils love to lick it off the back of the wheel lol.


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## BettaStarter24

Unsure how it would work on plastic? I got her a silent spinner today. Ill see how it works when she wakes up. 

Posted on a Facebook group and overwhelming consensus is that he is actually a she.


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## themamaj

Had to lol at thoughts of Matilda. We had one hamster that was sweetest thing ever. Our last hamster took forever to tame. He would throw a hissy fit if you stuck hand in tank. Finally figured out he was a seed fanatic. Once we started offering those as treats, he tamed down quick.

Saw some robos at expo. They are hysterical with energy. Think I got a video clip of them bouncing off sides of tank. They are such cuties!

You will love the silent spinners. They work great.


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## BettaStarter24

Well the silent spinner was a bust. She cant use it. Too small to make it move. So wheel #3 is a saucer. Ill probably donate the silent spinner and the original wheel to my school for the mice they have. Hopefully the smol bean (Her name is Belle) can use the saucer. 

Matilda's attempts at escape continue to be futile. But are evermore hilarious. She has now put her house on top of her wheel so she can stand on that and try to chew through the wire mesh lid. She also continues to be the spawn of satan when it comes to doing anything but feeding amd watering. 

She loves strawberry yogurt drops but not enough to realize that I give them to her and that i want to be her friend. Not her dinner. 

Went back to the Walmart i got Ayden from today and the little mustard gas VT i was contemplating getting instead of Ayden was still there. Almost grabbed him today except he now has ich. I am not equipped to deal with ich in one fish, let alone an outbreak if it were to spread to my other tanks. Nor do I have space to set up another tank. So I sadly said my apologies and goodbyes and bee-lined it out of the store with the chili packets i went for. Sorry I couldn't help you buddy.


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## BettaStarter24

And now contemplating going back for him. All of those "you can find space for one more" plans coming through. I just hate the thought of him dying there from something that is curable. I do have an extra vacuum i can dedicate to his tank.


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## ThatFishThough

If you have an extra heater, turn it up to 86 and he should be cured (along with daily 100% wcs) within a couple of days.  no meds needed, but I remember someone mentioning Aq. Salt can help.

Just remember: the longer he's there the more Ich he will have and the more chance of dying he has. Grab him while you can!


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## BettaStarter24

Im back in the area today. Im gonna snatch him when im done with animal care


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## ThatFishThough

I think sometimes that people forget that they're on a forum of enablers, lol. We're not going to say "No! Don't go back and get that adorable/beautiful/quirky/sick fish!"


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## BettaStarter24

Here is the little bugger. Hes in a tank now. Im at a friend's apartment and hes with me but hes in a heated tank. Pretty stressed but otherwise ok. His ich isnt as bad as it could be. Just a few spots. But hes been at 86 degrees since i got him set up. Unsure if i need to add salt when i get him home home tomorrow. It looks like the spots fell off already. (Good or bad?) 

Ich is a totally new thing for me so dont mind my obsessive questions as i go through this journey


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## BettaStarter24

Spoke too soon. This morning he looks like hes been sprinkled with salt. He will be getting a full change today and i might just dose with aquarium salt when i get home.


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## themamaj

Jungle cure has worked well for me.


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## BettaStarter24

Walmart also had Jungle Ich guard but i wasnt sure if it was ok to use so i passed on it. I was going to try the warm water, salt method i read about first. But tbh i have no idea what im doing.

Is this stuff ok?


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## ThatFishThough

Warm water and salt should work; the parasite can't survive in that warm of water. Give it a couple of days and if it gets worse you can spend money on meds.


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## themamaj

I may have that or the yellow bottle. Can't find it in the mess in fish room at moment but look for something that has formalin and malachite green in it. Certainly I would try what you are doing with the salt and increasing your temp. Remember to keep up good aeration at higher temps as warm water will not be as saturated with O2. Some strands of ich are resistant to the salt so if you don't see improvement in a couple of days I would try the ich med. As I recall it was pretty cheap. I had an outbreak of ich in a past sorority. The meds had things back to healthy pretty quickly. Glad you got the veil tail. They are certainly a favorite of mine and I have a pretty soft spot for rescuing Walmart fish. Not that we want to encourage them in bad care but I sure have had some special ones from there. Actually picked up a new rescue this past week. Cup levels were out the chart for nitrites and nitrates. Fish was listless and had fin rot. He is made a huge turn around and fins are looking better. Amazing what a little tlc will do. Appreciate your heart for the fish to give him a chance. Love to see more pictures of him.


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## BettaStarter24

Thanks for the advice. 

A name actually just came to me. (Possibly stupid question alert) But i do want to clear it with you @themamaj . Your last sentences there made this come up but would it be ok if i "stole"/reused Chance for his name? I wanted to ask if that was ok as I have been following your Chance for such a long time and I may be overthinking it but since he means so much to you I wasnt sure if using his name would be "wrong". I know many of us have fish named the same thing but i figure its polite to ask if its such a special fish as Chance is to you.


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## themamaj

That is the sweetest thought. Brings tears to my eyes that you would consider it. Thank you. Chance would be proud to give another Wal-Mart fish his name.


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## BettaStarter24

No, thank you. Both me and lil Chance are honored. I thought it was a good way to honor the memory of your Chance too. 

Chance is doing ok. Not much has changed but its only been a day so one day at a time. 

I had the most gorgeous koi slip through my fingers today. I fell in love with this red white and blue koi male at my petco. Left without him to think on it and get a tank set up somewhere if i were to get him (wanting to be sure i could set up something properly before bringing him home). Went back for him two hours later once i had a proper home for him set up, and he had just been sold. My heart broke.

Here he is, 








He was so much prettier in person. 

So to spite the world for taking this boy from me I picked up a HMPK that had been there for a while that Ive seen (and because 95% of the cups were covered in gunk and had brown clouy water) for a while and brought him home. 

So im back up to 14 bettas but i cant bring myself to regret it. People can judge me all they want for how many fish I have and especially getting three new guys (including one with a contagious parasite) in such short time but i dont get them if I dont know that I can give them a good life. 

I just fully agree with the "Every fish deserves a chance" that is your signature themamaj. And I do know that i cant save all of them or cant make a difference for all of them. But if i am able to and equipped to I can make a difference
for some. I like to think Im making a difference for Chance and for the new plakat who was there a while. 

Now I do feel bad i left another hmpk there thats been there for months now but i also dont like to just get a fish that you dont have a connection to. Im personally big on connecting to the fish. For me if I dont have a connection to the fish it becomes a chore. Ive done the pity buy of fish i have no connection to but just felt bad for and it makes it difficult to...not think of it as a chore. And my relationship with those fish wasnt where i wanted it to be. The few that that happened with were rehomed to people who went on to care for them very well ad they thrived in their care moreso then they did with me. Which is fine. 

The one I passed up is a really unique hard to explain color so i will include a pic as well. 

The guy i picked up is mostly white with a few spots of black, red and blue so he will marble but i dont mind. I like watching marbles change. 

Ill post better pictures once he is settled in and i will get more pictures of Chance once he is feeling a little better.


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## BettaStarter24

Update on Chance. 

No improvement seems its gotten worse and now he has buoyancy issues. I cant afford meds right now as started new job and have to get gas more often. Wont get paid again until December 1st. Will General Cure do anything? Thats what I have on hand. 

My heater isnt heating past 78 degrees which is frustrating.


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## ThatFishThough

Check for ingredients that @themamaj mentioned. Sorry to hear that he's not doing better; are you sure it's Ich?


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## BettaStarter24

I am 150% sure it is Ich. Have never seen it before but it is the only thing that fits. He literally looks like he was sprinkled with salt. With some larger bits here and there. And he is itching like mad. 

Will look once i have had some sleep. On my third all nighter in a row.


----------



## BettaStarter24

Happy Update time! 

Really hope I'm not jinxing anything but when I did Chance's daily change today and checked on the little guy he looks so much better! No signs of ich on him at the moment and he is becoming so active, no more itching. He was busy flaring at his plants when I approached. I noticed some new growth on his fins too. I gave him a 95% water change and added more aquarium salt to replace what I took out. I'm gonna do one more round of AQ salt before starting to wean him off of it. 

I was actually going to give General Cure a try today and start treatment with that. I'm gonna hold off a little and see how he continues to do with just heat and salt. The heater still isn't heating as high as I would like it to be but I'm hoping with the water change today I got most if not all of the free swimmers. 

It feels good to see the little guy feeling better. I will try to get pictures but where I have his tank is kind of hard to get good ones and he's a little shy yet. 


As for the others:
Zazu is still attempting to be vegan. *eye roll* I've given up trying to convert him back lol. You do you little guy. 

Kenai continues to make my heart melt with his puppy-like personality. He loves following me around when I'm working in front of his tank. Always curious as to what I'm doing. 

Patriot has stabled out when it comes to his marbling as of now. He's having fun flaring at his new neighbor (the white marble HMPK I got after the koi was sold). 

New marble boy still doesn't have a name. I'm still waiting to see his personality come through. He's doing well though. 

Kovu also hasn't marbled yet which I'm happy about. Not much has changed with him and he's still doing really good, he likes to sleep curled up in his plants which is adorable. 

Pandora's fins have grown a little since I've gotten her, I am in love with her little jazz hands. She's such a feisty little girl. 

Zero is 100% healthy again and has proven himself to be quite the mouthy bugger. He's constantly mouthing me off whenever I'm working around his tank. 

Midas is also surprisingly stable for a marble. All of these guys I expected to change are staying stable lol. Figures. They never like to do as I expect them to. I ended up switching out the filter/light on Midas' Chi. I am using a sponge filter instead with a clip on light clipped to a shelf nearby. I didn't feel the filter on the Chi was really doing much since it pulls from the top of the water column, not lower down. Midas seems to like the sponge filter better and the entire tank is lit up with the light vs just the middle. Still love the tank, I just don't really think the filter/light is very practical. The specs are much better in that department. 

Gaston's tank had a scare over the last week. I thought it was leaking as a small pool of water kept showing up in front of his tank. I cupped him, completely emptied the tank, and checked it over for cracks. Turns out during one of the water changes water spilled from the pitcher and got caught under the tank and was slowly leaking out from there. After making sure there were no cracks I refilled the tank and put Gaston back in. So far no issues. Thought I would have to dig the 5.5g back up and bleach the crap out of it. 

Ayden is doing really well too, he's perked up nicely and is usually found either flaring at a leaf or exploring. His fins are starting to look better too. He didn't have rot, I think he tore at the webbing at some point. 

Merlin is still as finnicky as always. He didn't like the 2 gallon he was in so moved him to a 3 gallon a while ago, back when Chihiro was still around. 

Echo, much like the others, is doing good. She's still loving the Fluval Spec V. 

Kibo is my other puppy fish. He always comes up to see me when I approach, no matter what. He comes when called too. If he's hiding and doesn't realize I'm there he will come up if I call his name.


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## BettaStarter24

Names! So hmpk marble boy is now Lucius after Lucius Malfoy in Harry Potter. 


And...
I did a bad again...
And i have a little surprise...

Meet Bellatrix aka Trixie
















Blue/red metallic bicolor hm female. She is the first HM girl i have ever seen in a petco. A few nearby petcos are doing sorority tanks now. This one had the best of all of them. 5 females vs the standard 3 ive seen in others. Some chasing and nipping (mainly from Bellatrix) but overall not much fin damage and one red vt girl had new growth. 

Im thinking i am going to completely bleach out the 5.5 for her and steal plants from other tanks and worry about filter later. 

Though i am not 100% sure if what Maui died from is still even viable. The tank has been dry for months in direct sunlight. I want to toss plants and substrate anyway but still.


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## BettaStarter24

Totally confused now lol. No more signs of Ich on Chance now. But now he has severe SBD. Bloated and floating on his side at the top of the tank and is unable to swim down. He hasn't eaten anything since I got him yet. Has refused everything offered. I'm gonna see if we have Epsom salt but I don't want to use both Epsom and Aq salt at the same time and he currently has a dose of Aq salt in his tank.


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## themamaj

Sorry I wasn't able to chime in earlier. It has been a crazy couple of weeks traveling back and forth to help son. I love how you have a true heart for the fish. I had someone post something on my channel recently at why did I have some lower quality bettas or something to that effect and or why do I take in sick fish. I don't remember the exact wording. Anyway, I thought that was a great teaching opportunity and shared a lot of the same things you mentioned. It is not that I don't appreciate a high quality, beautifully bred betta by any means, but to me it is all about connecting with the fish. I am like you in that if I get a fish that I don't fully connect with, it is not the same. I connect much more so through seeing and observing. Certainly I don't want to encourage poor care from lps stores, but I have and will continue to get fish there. Why? Because the fish have already made it there. They can't help the situations they are in and as you said, deserve a Chance  You are making a difference. Good job!

I hate to hear Chance has had a tough go at it. It sounds like his ich is responding to the treatment but the sbd certainly throws a kink in it. I think I would probably do a water change to get the aquarium salt out. Just leave him in clean water. You could then do some epson salt baths. Put him in a different container and soak him about 15-20 min with the 1tsp/gallon ratio. Try that for a couple of days and see if you notice a difference. It is a bit concerning that he is bloated as well. Have you seen any poop? One tactic that has worked well if it is from constipation is put him next to a cute girl like Pandora. Many times when they flare they will poop. Pandora and her jazzy hands might do the trick! If epson salt baths don't work, I might consider General Cure since it is a good med for a range of parasitic diseases. Tapeworms can cause swollen abdomens but haven't treated one for that first hand. Gill or skin flukes can also be a common parasite though hard to see. I have used General Cure and it has been very effective. If you do decide to try the med, it cannot be combined with salt so just use the med and clean water. Keep me posted. 

Your other tank, clean it out good and then soak it with some bleach and water. Rinse really well until no smell and then it will be good to go.


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## BettaStarter24

Hey! Sorry its been a crazy week. 60 hour work weeks for me until after christmas. 

As far as Chance goes, he was on the bottom the other day but yesterday morning was floatng again. Ism slightly suspicious of internal parasites as i think i saw some white stringy stuff. Im gonna do a good water change today. I cant get epsom salt until Friday (all we have in the house is scented so a no go) but I do have General cure. His color is really good and bright and he is still showng fin growth. I just wish i could snap my fingers and have him cured. I feel so bad for him.

Lol 😂 though at Pandora. Her jazzy hands are very alluring. Chance's tank is next to Echo's. I may float someone with him but at the same time i dont want to cross contaminate. 

Bellatrix is doing really well too. The nips she received in the sorority are healed up now and she is quite spunky. 

The assassin snails are breeding. I have a few babies. I have to start feeding them bloodworms or something as im out of bladder snails lol. 

Life update:

Started a new job last week. Normal hours are Thursday through Saturday nights from 5:30pm-6am. But this week marks start of peak. Which means mandatory overtime. Which equals new schedule of Thursday through Monday nights 5:30pm-6am. 60 hour work weeks. My feet are NOT happy with me. Whatsoever.


----------



## themamaj

If you are waiting on epson salrs you could go ahead with General Cure. 

Bless your heart on hours. I worked retail a number of years where on feet and remember how they felt at end of the day!


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## themamaj

How is Chance doing?


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## BettaStarter24

Things have been hectic this month. Been woking overtime all month so unfortunately the animals have drawn a very short straw. Behind on water changes. Hoping to get caught up Tuesday. 

I lost both hamsters, and Ayden over the past week. Im halfway expecting more losses as im sure water parameters suck right now and i am unable to do water changes until Tuesday. 

No change with Chance. I have made time to keep up to date on his water changes and treatments. Still floating. Less bloated but still bloated. Active and trying but still not much improvement besides no more ich. Ive done two treatments with general cure. Havent had the chance to get epsom salt yet so thats my next step. 

Overall having a very disheartening and discouraging week. Feeling like a pretty crappy pet mom.


----------



## ThatFishThough

Aww, I understand. Every fishkeepers have blowouts; We decide to downgrade, take down tanks, etc...


Then that one fish finds us... And then another... And then another... Until we're right back where we started.

Sorry to hear about the hammys; I dread the day my gerbils pass, and I'm sure it'll be soon as they're slowing down and getting older by the day. 4 1/2 - 5 years and counting!


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## BettaStarter24

Update on Chance. After water change found out his heater wasnt working. Since i moved Merlin to Ayden's 5g i gave Chance the heater from Merlin's 3g. His tank is actually heated now again. And he is no longer floating! He can swim again. Still looks like he may be pooping worms but he also hasnt eaten yet so idk. When i get up this afternoon may try to feed him. 

Ayden was the only one I lost over the course of overtime hell. All water changes are up to date now which feels really good. 

I got a new job too! Back to day shifts and closer to home. I start beginning of January. So excited. No more overnights and more time with my pets. 

In sad news though the girlie I have been trying to find a home for, Gypsy, is set to be euthanized January 30th. It is breaking me apart.


----------



## ThatFishThough

Aww, sorry to hear about Gypsy. She needs to be in a 'her-only' household, correct? I'm fairly close but have two cats and live in a dog-centered neighborhood; I wouldn't be able to take her on walks around here (there's a lot of dogs that hang out loose-leash in the driveways while people are talking, and they like to rush up and greet you). Plus, my parents would kill me if I got a dog. You've got another month to look for a home for her; sending good vibes your way. Maybe you could get someone to foster her?


----------



## BettaStarter24

We can't find anyone without any other animals that is willing to foster her. Everyone who falls in love with her already has animals. 

Not much to update in the fish world I live in. Everyone is still doing good. Lucius is beginning to marble a little, he's getting more red in his fins. Chance is still swimming normally, although occasionally I will find him floating. I have started offering food but he isn't taking it yet. I'm a little concerned about him not eating for over a month but I'm happy he's finally starting to act like a normal betta and feel a little better. 

Happy Holidays to all of you!


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## BettaStarter24

I'm a bleeding heart like all of us. Went to Petco today...on payday....like a bad girl. and came home with a sad boy. You know that guy I passed on when I got Lucius. And I think I posted him a while back yet too. Well...he was STILL there. He was one of 2 healthy-ish bettas in their stock of 10. All of the big tanks were completely covered wall to wall with dark green algae with at least one dead fish in every tank. Worst conditions I've ever seen at that Petco. I had to pick him up. When I got to the register the cashier told me that he had been brought up many times but always put back for a "prettier" betta. So meet the new guy. No name as of yet. 

And just found out Gypsy will be euthanized tomorrow...


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## BettaStarter24

Some more shots of the newest addition. Cup picture is on the way home. Tank is after a few hours in an actual tank in a home. So much more active and no longer clamped. 

Trying to find a strong name for him. Something to symbolize his journey


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## LeviTheFish

Oh my! He's so cute. I hate when bettas get passed up like that. ;(


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## BettaStarter24

Thanks LeviTheFish. He really is a character. 

Saying goodbye to Gypsy was one of the hardest things I have ever had to do. We had a celebration of her at the animal hospital and spent a few hours just playing with her roaming free in the clinic. She got to play with all of her favorite toys and she got to eat all of the foods dogs can't have and generally got spoiled beyond belief. Then she quietly slipped away in her bed surrounded by all of her favorite people, wrapped in her favorite blanket. It still hasn't sunk in that she's gone. I'm going to miss her so much. 

Rest in Peace my beautiful Gypsy woman. Run free up there with no fear, and no fences to hold you back.

"Do not stand at my grave and weep 
I am not there. I do not sleep. 
I am a thousand winds that blow. 
I am the diamond glints on snow. 
I am the sunlight on ripened grain. 
I am the gentle autumn rain. 
When you awaken in the morning's hush 
I am the swift uplifting rush 
Of quiet birds in circled flight. 
I am the soft stars that shine at night. 
Do not stand at my grave and cry; 
I am not there. I did not die." - Mary Elizabeth Frye


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## ThatFishThough

Oh, that's so sad. Sorry you couldn't find anyone to take her. RIP Gypsy.


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## BettaStarter24

Thanks. Its been hard. A week has almost passed and it hasnt quite hit yet. 

Another sad update. Chance didnt make it. He passed away yesterday. I dont know what happened. He was improving slowly. Still refusing food but i figured hes been sick recently he didnt feel like eating yet and ive had new fish go a month or so before eating. 

Started new job this week. So far I like it. Though i havent done much with the animals yet as its been all safety training.


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## BettaStarter24

Big update day i guess lol its been a while. 

Still missing Gypsy so much. Got her ashes on Friday so she finally got to come home. Im not sure if im going to keep them or spread them somewhere at some point. Right now it doesnt feel right to part with them. Im not ready yet i guess. 

Lost Zazu. He succumbed to his self imposed vegetarian lifestyle. Could not get him to eat his betta pellets or flakes or bloodworms, mysis shrimp, brine shrimp, daphnia, etc. he just wanted the algae wafers for the pleco. 

So Bellatrix moved into the 10g he was in. So far doing good with the pleco which surprises me. I wasnt sure how it would go as she was the queen bee in the sorority at petco. 

The little stormy hmpk that i got after 6 months of watching him finally has a name. His name is Kai. No idea what it means or why i picked it. It just came to me and stuck. 

Lucius (white marble hmpk) has started to slowly marble. Excited to see how he turns out. 

Zero (white hm) basically chewed his whole tail off. -_- only left about a centimeter or so. But i have come to expect it from long finned fish. 

Merlin (mg vt)is adapting well to the 5 gallon. Hes my new what the crap do you want to be happy fish. Does not like low filter currents. Does not like high currents. Does not like sponge filters. Doesnt like no filter. Doesnt like 2 gallon tanks. Doesnt like 3 gallon tanks. Tolerates 5 gallons. Hates when the light is on too long. Or not on long enough. Silly fish. 

In other news. Meet Jasper! I cant let a tank sit empty and i had petco rewards cash that was expiring. So meet my little blue butterfly.


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## ThatFishThough

If I remember correctly, Kai means “Wild” but I’ve also seen something like ‘Kai Kai’ meaning “Ocean”.  I demand pics of this boy-with-the-same-name-as-my-fish immediately!


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## BettaStarter24

lol he's the fourth picture on my last post. Jasper is the butterfly, Kai is the greyish? (if anyone has any idea on his actual color please enlighten me lol) and Lucius is the marble white boy.


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## ThatFishThough

Oooh, derp! They weren't showing up on my phone but now that I'm on a computer they are. He's adorable <3 Not sure on color though. Possibly something like Steel Blue (heavy irid?). Lucius looks like a Cello version of Levi before he marbled... To almost solid blue.... /sigh/ Loving the butterfly pattern on Jasper.


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## BettaStarter24

Thanks, poor guy was passed up so much at the store, me included in that unfortunately. He's perked up so much and is really coming out of his shell. 

I'm expecting Jasper to go completely blue. I've learned not to get too attached to colorations. I love his butterfly banding but the royal blue is my favorite color so at least it's a good color he'll turn. 

Lucius is exciting. I love watching them marble. When I expect them to. Unlike Blaine who was never supposed to marble -_-. For those new people to this journal who hasn't seen it all yet, Blaine was my platinum HMPK male who marbled to royal blue and then back to white before he died. Also for those of you who do not know me, Platinum white is one of my dream colors on a betta. (hence my platinum white EEHM, Zero). I was not expecting him to change and then bam he's blue. Ask my roommates at the time, I was a very unhappy person. We started referring to marbling drastically as Blaine-ing. And if they marble back to their original color we called it Enialb-ing. 

Lucius looks like he's going to go through a koi phase. He's got red, black, and even some blues showing up. Wonder if he'll pull a Calcifer and turn brown.


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## ThatFishThough

You know you’ve been in the hobby a long time when you can say things like “pull a Calcifer” and “Enialb-ing”, lol.

/autocorrect is being a pain tonight, apparently “Blaine” backwards isn’t a word! Who wodda thunk?!/


----------



## BettaStarter24

So you know how I''ve said I was going to stop buying fish? And you know how that is failing me lately? Well....it failed me again....

Backstory. I work with fish people (like good fish people-I know I'm geeking out too). Well one of those is a betta hobbyist and has a sorority tank as well as a few males. We were talking yesterday while taking cardboard out and we started talking about BettaWorld in St.Paul and I mentioned how much I missed The Betta Shop...

...
...
...
...

THE BETTA SHOP IS BACK! Under new ownership and a new name but IT's BACK! Now called Tamed Waters. The new owner and Tony are friends. I was reminded just how much I LOVED it. Rearranged a bit but it is beautiful inside. They had so many beautiful fish! Not just bettas either, Discus, some crayfish, and some other fish as well. THey had wild betta smaragdina male and females. 

Ok back to the point of the story lol. Sorry I could go into a 20 page thing of this shop. Missed it so much! BettaWorld is good but they don't have a lot of variety that I've seen personally and you could easily be there for a long time before anyone acknowledges your presence. Tamed Waters/The Betta Shop the owner (I didn't get his name unfortunately) was immediately engaging with customers and even pointed out some of his own favorites from the lot. 

Ok now really, back to the point. You all know Platinum whites are one of my favorite betta colors. They had two. A male and a female. Both gorgeous fish, great form. Watching them flare out noticed the male's beard was blood red. I figured it would be safe to assume he'd marble out to red. I walked around a bit and kept looking through the bettas, but kept going back to the female. Just so adorably grumpy. 

So...everyone I would like you to meet Kayley.


----------



## BettaStarter24

I've reached "throw my hands up" stage with fish. Kai unexpectedly passed today. Was fine and eating this morning, active, happy. Dead tonight. No outward signs of anything. No idea what happened. 

The only thing that has changed in the tank over the past week is I added a heater in Thursday night. A new brand I've never used before. Aquatop 50W adjustable. I have a seriously hard time believing that only Hydors won't malfunction on me. I've had Marinelands croak, Aqueons have killed (or nearly killed) 3 fish. If it was the Aquatop....idk. I'm losing faith in anything besides Hydor. Knocking on wood those don't start failing on me. 

All of the deaths over the past few months have kind of desensitized me to them. I've reached the point where I just sit and "okay...I guess". I mean, I hate losing these little fish, especially if it ends up being something easily prevented, but the most recent ones have been unexpected with no symptoms.


----------



## ThatFishThough

My mom thinks I'm crazy because I no longer cry when one of my fish passes.. But it's like.. If I did, I would get dehydrated so dang fast. And, after having 30+ of these little guys (not counting community fish), you get used to it. I mean, yeah; it's disappointing, and sad, and disheartening, but in reality they're so small there's not too much you can do.

Sorry to hear about Kai. I know how you feel.


----------



## BettaStarter24

Well in more exciting news, lil snek snek friend ate today. He had had live before I got him and I was trying to switch to f/t. Was not expecting him to take the frozen fuzzy, but after some poking he snapped it up! Now he's a chubbeh noodle friend.


----------



## themamaj

BettaStarter24 said:


> Big update day i guess lol its been a while.
> 
> Was Lucius #5 picture? Wow I am behind on updates. Gypsy...oh my heart is sad reading that and little Chance :crying: Bless your heart. I* greatly *feel all of your losses and have so been at those throw your hands up in the air moments!!! In fact I had a number of those days not long ago when I had a illness go through the room.
> 
> As for heaters, I have to jump on board with you and the Hydors. So far, knock on wood, I have only had one of them in about 3 years of more wear out. It didn't go out completely but was waning so I went ahead and replaced it. I run them in all of my tanks and they have been by far the most reliable as well as economical of any heater I have ever had.
> 
> Kayley...white fish (subbing) love white fish! Love new butterfly boy too. Both so gorgeous. I tell myself all the time, I am not buying any new fish for awhile. About as soon as I finish my sentence I am carrying out another cup. Lol. So much for will power. haha
> 
> Congrats on the f/t! Will you come work your magic on Bear? I tried again the other day and no joke the snake is terrified of a dead mouse. He runs every time. Oh make me crazy!!!!! Would love to see a new picture of your chubby noodle!


----------



## BettaStarter24

themamaj said:


> BettaStarter24 said:
> 
> 
> 
> Big update day i guess lol its been a while.
> 
> Was Lucius #5 picture? Wow I am behind on updates. Gypsy...oh my heart is sad reading that and little Chance :crying: Bless your heart. I* greatly *feel all of your losses and have so been at those throw your hands up in the air moments!!! In fact I had a number of those days not long ago when I had a illness go through the room.
> 
> As for heaters, I have to jump on board with you and the Hydors. So far, knock on wood, I have only had one of them in about 3 years of more wear out. It didn't go out completely but was waning so I went ahead and replaced it. I run them in all of my tanks and they have been by far the most reliable as well as economical of any heater I have ever had.
> 
> Kayley...white fish (subbing) love white fish! Love new butterfly boy too. Both so gorgeous. I tell myself all the time, I am not buying any new fish for awhile. About as soon as I finish my sentence I am carrying out another cup. Lol. So much for will power. haha
> 
> Congrats on the f/t! Will you come work your magic on Bear? I tried again the other day and no joke the snake is terrified of a dead mouse. He runs every time. Oh make me crazy!!!!! Would love to see a new picture of your chubby noodle!
> 
> 
> 
> Thank you. Having to put Gypsy down was hard. All of the losses were. I think as far as fish losses go, yes I kind of don't feel much past a little sadness anymore, but it may be easier if I knew what had happened. Chance had been fluctuating with health for a few days. He'd be fine and swimming around happily and then lethargic and floating or lethargic at the bottom of the tank. I think the time at the store wreaked havoc on his immune system and then having Ich plus whatever caused his buoyancy issues was too much for him. No clue on Kai. Absolutely no clue. But its definitely making me think Hydor is the only way to go for heaters.
> 
> Kayley is even more stunning in the tank. She's also extremely camera shy lol. Love her to pieces. Love all my girls to bits. I think I may like girls the best (don't tell my boys that).
> 
> I put lil guy in a shallow tupperware container for feeding. Warmed/thawed the fuzzy in my armpit, that got it nice and warm. Then I just annoyed him enough for him to strike lol. He kind of flew back a few times, but I just wiggled the mouse around his body and tapped him on the nose a few times, trying to mimic a live mouse. He grabbed it sideways at first and then spat it out so I rearranged it and tried again. He was able to figure it out from there. Included some pictures of him after finishing his meal. Including one just before he slurped the tail up. He got really active after eating and he's settled down now.
> 
> Yes, Lucius is the fifth picture there. Kai is 4, Jasper is the butterfly.
Click to expand...


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## themamaj

How cool. I have tried every trick in the book with Bear and no go. I haven't tried thawing with my armpit! Rofl maybe I could scent it good that way 🤣 

Yes I agree, the stress a fish endures at a store or through other circumstances can certainly impact their longevity.


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## BettaStarter24

Have you tried braining the mouse?


----------



## themamaj

Yep. Have tried braining. In fact have about done crainiotomy lol. Tried feed in cage and out. Tried feeding on a dish. Left in container with mouse overnight. Scented with chicken broth. Have tried assisted feeds. Have even rinsed and dried mouse with hairdryer. Dont tell daughter used her hairdryer lolol. He went 6 or 7 weeks with nothing. Even took to vet. He is perfect but just stubborn. Found a local guy that breeds mice on side. Now if I put live in cage, he eats right away. Goofball likes to lay head on mouse first. Then he goes in substrate and then pops up for grab. I am still working with him to transition but he is my strong willed child.


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## BettaStarter24

He may just be a live feed only. Maybe try stunned. Theyre still aive just cant move


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## BettaStarter24

Zephyr is out and about tonight after spending a day resting and digesting. Should be all set for more hang out time tomorrow. He seems to like chilling with me. As much as a snek can anyway. He is also in sore need of more decor and climbing stuff. Paycheck comes friday little dude


----------



## themamaj

Pretty cool to see your guy out and about. Bear now 3 weeks of fasting. I tried a f/t again last night. I am going to say progress as he actually did a strike at it. He didn't bite it unfortunately but I worked and worked with him oh so patiently and he sat and smelled it and showed interest. I ended up leaving pinkie in tank over night but unfortunately wouldn't take it. I don't know whether to bug my mouse guy for more live or try again in a few more days. Uggg I hate this.


----------



## BettaStarter24

Zephyr regurgitated his meal yesterday halfway into eating. Thinking it was because hes going into shed. 

Maybe next week will be Bears week. Seems like hes thinking about it


----------



## BettaStarter24

lol Zephyr is either on a hunger strike or he's not eating due to shedding. He's in blue now. His eyes just cleared back up after being cloudy the last couple days. Seems proud of himself for wasting two mice lol. Lil bugger. 

Gaston and Merlin passed this past week. I'm labelling Merlin as a failure to thrive. He's been my problem child since day one as far as getting him to actually like a tank. He couldn't do a 2g with filter, then he decided he didn't like it without the filter. Moved to a 3g with sponge filter on low, he didn't like that. Took filter out and he still wasn't happy. Moved him to a 5g and he seemed ok but then got unhappy again. No outward signs of any illness. Looked healthy, just never really colored up. Not sure what happened. 

Gaston was a little older I think. I don't know how old he was but I had him the longest out of the current school of bettas. about a year or so. He just slowed down and passed of natural stuff. 

Saw a dream betta at a petco nearby. Metallic gas. or Metallic silver yellow bicolor HMPK male. Gorgeous boy. Passed him up sadly as I didn't have the space. Went back today to see if he was still there and of course he was gone. There were a couple cute ones there but none that caught my eye. So I went to the one closer to my house and of course they had a bunch of nice ones. Two double tail babies, a really cute white baby girl with some blue and red in her fins. They had a "metallic gas" (idk if that's what they really are called, it just seems right to me so I'm calling it that lol. Best I can think of) but he was lighter silver than what I thought of, and was butt dragging and lethargic. Didn't really show any interest in flaring at anything. He did give a haphazard flare once but other than that just listless. Pretty boy though. 

They also had a white HMDTPK, a few kois, a MG HMEE (very bad MG, pastel maybe), a few other HMPK's, some nice crowntails including a white boy. 

And then...this boy...

Meet Oliver. I saw him and kind of squeaked a bit. Kind of excited to see how he marbles out. He has a blue spot right in the middle of his forehead, it's really cute. 

THough legit almost walked out with three fish lol. Was a good girl and kept it to only one. 

Kibo got upgraded into a 5g and Oliver got Kibo's 2.5 Fluval Spec.


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## WillL

BettaStarter24 said:


> lol Zephyr is either on a hunger strike or he's not eating due to shedding. He's in blue now. His eyes just cleared back up after being cloudy the last couple days. Seems proud of himself for wasting two mice lol. Lil bugger.
> 
> Gaston and Merlin passed this past week. I'm labelling Merlin as a failure to thrive. He's been my problem child since day one as far as getting him to actually like a tank. He couldn't do a 2g with filter, then he decided he didn't like it without the filter. Moved to a 3g with sponge filter on low, he didn't like that. Took filter out and he still wasn't happy. Moved him to a 5g and he seemed ok but then got unhappy again. No outward signs of any illness. Looked healthy, just never really colored up. Not sure what happened.
> 
> Gaston was a little older I think. I don't know how old he was but I had him the longest out of the current school of bettas. about a year or so. He just slowed down and passed of natural stuff.
> 
> Saw a dream betta at a petco nearby. Metallic gas. or Metallic silver yellow bicolor HMPK male. Gorgeous boy. Passed him up sadly as I didn't have the space. Went back today to see if he was still there and of course he was gone. There were a couple cute ones there but none that caught my eye. So I went to the one closer to my house and of course they had a bunch of nice ones. Two double tail babies, a really cute white baby girl with some blue and red in her fins. They had a "metallic gas" (idk if that's what they really are called, it just seems right to me so I'm calling it that lol. Best I can think of) but he was lighter silver than what I thought of, and was butt dragging and lethargic. Didn't really show any interest in flaring at anything. He did give a haphazard flare once but other than that just listless. Pretty boy though.
> 
> They also had a white HMDTPK, a few kois, a MG HMEE (very bad MG, pastel maybe), a few other HMPK's, some nice crowntails including a white boy.
> 
> And then...this boy...
> 
> Meet Oliver. I saw him and kind of squeaked a bit. Kind of excited to see how he marbles out. He has a blue spot right in the middle of his forehead, it's really cute.
> 
> THough legit almost walked out with three fish lol. Was a good girl and kept it to only one.
> 
> Kibo got upgraded into a 5g and Oliver got Kibo's 2.5 Fluval Spec.


Oliver your new HMPK needs at least 5 gal and IMO same goes for females. They don't have long flowing fins so they can zoom around the tank a lot more


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## aussieJJDude

WillL said:


> Oliver your new HMPK needs at least 5 gal and IMO same goes for females. They don't have long flowing fins so they can zoom around the tank a lot more


They do fine in a 2.5g...

Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk


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## ThatFishThough

^ +1 Aussie

WillL, HMPKS and Females do not need 5 gallons. I respect your opinion, but it's not a fact. I have 4 females in 2 divided 5.5Gs (~2.75G each) and they do fine.

The only Betta that really *needs* something over a 2.5G is certain species of wilds and Giant Betta. IMO/IME Giants should have at least 10G of space.


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## BettaStarter24

If i had the space all my bettas would be in 10g tanks. But alas. Space is limiting factor. I do appreciate your input and opinion but i have kept hmpks and females in tanks ranging from 2.5-10g tanks. I have also had long finned fish be happier in larger tanks and plakats be happier in smaller tanks. 

Kibo, my red veiltail male used every inch of his 2.5, so he got upgraded. 

So far Oliver, albeit is exploring his tank, isnt zooming around like some others. So at this point hes fine in the 2.5. Now thats not saying he wont be upgraded in the future but for now he will be fine in the 2.5. Its filtered and cycled as well.


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## WillL

ThatFishThough said:


> ^ +1 Aussie
> 
> WillL, HMPKS and Females do not need 5 gallons. I respect your opinion, but it's not a fact. I have 4 females in 2 divided 5.5Gs (~2.75G each) and they do fine.
> 
> The only Betta that really *needs* something over a 2.5G is certain species of wilds and Giant Betta. IMO/IME Giants should have at least 10G of space.


Sorry I just read somewhere on this forum I believe. After what you said I think I should just buy ten gal tanks and divide them into 3 separate sections. The only thing is convincing my parents to buy more aquarium stuff


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## BettaStarter24

Its fine. Bigger is usually alwys better. But circumstantial


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## ThatFishThough

WillL, some people believe that they do need 5G. Some people won't put them in anything other than a 10G. It's situational/circumstantial like BettaStarter24 said. Personally, I would love to give all of my fish 20G of space (100G would be better ) but I just don't have the space. My fish aren't suffering where they are, though.


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## KendraPM

I have read every single post in this thread and have enjoyed every minute.  I'm a newer fishy parent, but you've got me so tempted to get a baby betta. I don't currently have the right kind of heater, the only thing holding me back, and my entire fish budget is going towards a pea puffer, a fish I've had my eye on for over a year before deciding I wanted it bad enough to cough up the dough for a matching tank to my current one. 


Reading about your fishy (and various other animals) adventures has been so much fun. Looking at the photos and watching the little ones grow up, the pleasant life you were able to provide for those who's previous environments were too much to give them long lives, all of it has been a wonderful journey.


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## BettaStarter24

Thank you KendraPM! Yeah, I would definitely get the right kind of heater and get everything prepared before attempting a baby. Theyre tons of fun to watch grow! I miss mine terribly. But they also need slightly more care than the adults. 

Fish are doing good at the moment. Oliver has settled in nicely, he was busy flaring at himself last night. Silly boy. Everytime I look at him my mind is blown that he came from a petco. 

Zephyr broke his 3 week hunger strike on Saturday. For a live peach fuzzy. Of course he would decide he wants only live. Oh well. If that's what he will consistently eat thats what I will give him. Prefer f/t but I want him eating and growing. Maybe later on I can switch him over but for now live it is. He is up to 17g now. but that could just be poo. lol. I love living within 20 min of a reptile specialty store AND two Betta specialty shops lol. feed both addictions. Went to the reptile store for the mouse for Zephyr, came home and Mom goes "did you get him a girlfriend?" I really wanted to ask if that was permission to get a female lol. Cause if it was, I'm going to a reptile show in October, I will find one lol. Don't think I won't lol. Trust me mother, if you give me one ounce of permission to get more snakes I will. lol I will take all I can get.


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## themamaj

Oh Zephyr...you have joined the dark side. Lol welcome to Kenyan Sand Boas! Bear never would cave. I have never seen such a stubborn breed of snakes. He is up to 20 grams so it seems our babies are close in age and size. I was at the vet today for my beardie and told vet about how Bear likes to lay his head on the live pinkie and snuggle it before the strike. I can only do so much to simulate nature. Funny boys! Maybe one day

New plakat is amazing! You are going to get me wanting another fish now.


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## BettaStarter24

themamaj said:


> Oh Zephyr...you have joined the dark side. Lol welcome to Kenyan Sand Boas! Bear never would cave. I have never seen such a stubborn breed of snakes. He is up to 20 grams so it seems our babies are close in age and size. I was at the vet today for my beardie and told vet about how Bear likes to lay his head on the live pinkie and snuggle it before the strike. I can only do so much to simulate nature. Funny boys! Maybe one day
> 
> New plakat is amazing! You are going to get me wanting another fish now.


Lol I've just decided not to fight him on it. I'll get him live if that's all he'll consistently eat. I'd rather have him eat something rather than nothing and he's decided he'd rather starve than eat frozen/thawed lol. He's about 9 months old right now. He was born in June. I have him on a every 5 day feeding schedule now to get him to grow more lol. HOpefully. And now that I've hopefully figured him out with feedings he'll consistently eat. 

We all need all the bettas lol. I saw him and grabbed him up and refused to let him go. No one else was getting him from me without me being dead first. 

*whispers* Go get another betta baby! *is enabler*


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## themamaj

So how is the new plakat doing?


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## firewood04

Well, I did it! I had lost two of my girls in my sorority and wasn't gonna replace them but....you know how it goes! One of the girls was so stressed striped out and had been in the LPS for 6 months at least so I just had to bring her home! She colored up right away, explored the tank and was trying to knock the queen bee out of the top spot! They have come to a truce but I can't tell you who one as they just decided to pick out different areas of the tank to oversee. The other one was healthy looking and is just speeding away and exploring the tank right now. She just ignores the others. I haven't any pictures yet.


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## themamaj

Cant wait to see


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## BettaStarter24

@themamaj Oliver is doing great! He's starting to marble a bit, the blue on his sides has spread a bit. He's coming out of his shell and is extremely active. He thanks you for asking as do I!
@firewood04 I can't wait to see pictures! 

Zephyr is back in shed lil stinker. He's up to 21g now that I think I've figured out what he wants lol. I think he's around 8.5-9 inches long now. Though tbh idk how long he was when I got him. He doesn't like to cooperate for measuring. I did end up changing his bedding. I had paper towels with a little Aspen in there (so I could find him.) but changed to 50/50 fine Eco Earth and Crushed Walnut. Love the look of it and Zephyr loves being able to burrow more. I did have a "sand box" for him before, just a shallow tupperware with sand in it. But I wasn't sure if it was safe sand (looks like regular sand you'd pick up at the beach or maybe play sand but idk for sure), it was just the sand he came with in his small KK. New substrate holds humidity better and looks more natural. He's loving it so far too. He hides easily and it takes a bit to find him but once he's grown up it shouldn't be as hard to find him. Finally have my temps sorted out too. Had been having issues with that. The cool side was around 70-75 hot side at 80-85. Finally got it to stabilize at hot side 90-95 and cool side 80-85. Humidity is sitting at around 40% right now. 

Got a bunny too recently. Friday before last. Adopted him from school. His name is Piper, he's around 5 years old-ish. Unknown specifically as they don't know his age at the time they got him. He's a Dutch rabbit. I'll have to post pictures from my phone, I don't have any on my computer.


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## firewood04

I am going to wait on the pictures as Hope decided to take over the whole tank and started nipping everyone. She is in a time out in the breeder's nest for right now to see if I can ease her out of the nipping thing. I am hoping this will cure her problem if not I am going to have to find another option for her. I had another one that nipped too much and I tried different solutions only to find out that she is better off not with the others. I am crossing my fingers that Hope will change her tune!


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## BettaStarter24

I'm now down to 9 bettas. Lost Kibo, Zero, and Patriot recently. Zero got stuck in a cave decor in his tank, and both Patriot and Kibo were mysteries. 

Moved Bellatrix into the community tank as the Gourami passed. He had stopped eating. So far so good, she's in a 20g with 8 neon tetras and an albino bristlenose pleco, along with a handful of assassin snails. So far everyone is getting along well. 

Zephyr continues to eat only live :eyeroll: he is now 10.5 inches and 23g.


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## BettaStarter24

So...Im supposed to be downsizing. But we all know how that turns out. Ive been doing really good! Im down to single digits still. 

Look who jumped into my hand at Petco. I love his eyes! Looks like a marble so should be fun to see how he changes.


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## themamaj

Sounds about same size as Bear. Sorry for losses. Very frustrating when dont know why or weird thing like cave.


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## BettaStarter24

May be radio silent for a bit. Found out ky heart horse died today. 2.5 weeks after her second birthday. 

RIP Galaxy baby.


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## themamaj

Oh no! So very sorry


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## BettaStarter24

Wow... A lot has changed in 4 months since I went silent on here. Coming back I realized all of the bettas I had when I left with the exception of Hiro (marble VT I got just before Galaxy died) has passed on. I do still have 6 bettas at the moment, just different ones. I don't really have pictures right now. 

Hiro, the marble VT 
Kai, a chocolate CT male
Atlas, a MG giant from Petco
Malachai, a Red Dragon HM 
Gypsy, a pastel salamander EEHM female
Kamaji, a blue and red bicolor HMDTPK

Work is going great, they're moving me to a different schedule in the next couple weeks, I will be working four ten hour shifts a week with a three day weekend. 

In other animal news, I'm getting another Kenyan Sand Boa! She will be shipped the first week of September. She was just born a couple days ago and is from Warren Treacher, who wrote the book on Kenyan Sand Boas. I'm SO EXCITED! She is a Snow Paradox. 









I think I'm way more excited than is healthy but I don't care. Since I got into Kenyans, snow paradoxes have been my dream morph to have. She is a high expression as well. Plus, I'm really excited for the size of a female. I love my boy, Zephyr (update to come shortly), but I'm so drawn to the size of a female. More pictures will definitely come when she's here. Anxiously awaiting September. And August has only just begun...I think this wait will do me in. 

Ok, Zephyr update time. He's doing well! I think I've worked out his eating quirks. He's now 49g as of last Friday. He's over a foot long now. I've figured out he does not like being moved to a separate container to feed, he doesn't like frozen/thawed (still working on that), he won't eat during sheds at all (in blue, or just before a shed, or right after clearing up from blue but before actually shedding). So, basically I now just put the live mouse in and let him hunt it. Now if only I could get him to switch over to f/t. 

Piper, my bunny, got neutered May 4th. He's no longer trying to hump everything in sight. (thank god). He still likes to try with the dog but not as often. Though with the neuter comes a little weight gain. So we are watching our figure now. 

Well I think that's all of the updates for now. I will try to be on a little more often now that things have calmed down and settled in. Most definitely will be posting when Zeniba gets here. SO DANG EXCITED I CAN HARDLY STAND IT!


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## BettaStarter24

Realized I forgot to include a update picture of Zephyr! So here is my lil man! First picture is when I got him, second is where he is now.


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## BettaStarter24

Zeniba is here! She came a week early and she's so tinsy! Weighed in at 12g which is so small compared to Zephyr's 57g. She got here Tuesday. She ate today for me, frozen thawed pinky which I'm happy for. She was apparently on live with the breeder. 

Zephyr is also eating frozen now. That was sudden and unexpected. lol he's been so "No Only live!" Silly noodles. 

Only three bettas remain now, Atlas, Gypsy and Malachai.


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## BettaStarter24

Hey guys long time no post. I kind of took a break from keeping Bettas, over did myself for a bit and life has been busy. Unfortunately no one you guys would probably know or remember of mine are still alive. Things kind of went south for me and I had a streak of deaths and accidents, a few of them jumped from their tanks and I didn't find them until they were quite crispy. Mistakes were made and unfortunately they paid for it. After that I decided to take a break, step away from the hobby, and re-evaluate everything. Got more into reptiles and then got a couple of horses. Then 2020 happened.....

Well went to my local petco last week sometime for bugs for my bearded dragon and a new hide for my baby kenyan sand boa, and you know what is right next to the reptile section....the fish....and while I haven't been keeping Bettas for a bit I do still enjoy taking a look at what they have, a couple have tempted me but I've been more leaning towards not keeping fish at all. Well I saw this guy. Labeled as a Halfmoon King I didnt see the fish yet and I love me a good giant so was drawn to his cup....saw a koi and initially didn't pay attention to the size and immediately thought "aint no way this is a giant." (since their halfmoon kings are generally much larger than their kings) Well to me at that time he looked more like the size of a king vs a giant. Beautiful fish, but I walked out without him that day. 

Went back today and he was still there, and it was shipment day. (Used to be a very dangerous day for me to be there lol). Well he kind of jumped into my hand today and didn't leave. I did find another "Halfmoon King" there (gorgeous blue body with orange fins with dalmation spots, very big boy) that is slightly larger than him but he's pretty comparable to him. And a "regular" koi male. Next to that guy he's HUGE. His body is easily 2-2.5" and he's beefy too. 

Yeah I couldn't resist him. So meet Sirius. He's my one and only and I plan on it staying that way and just having one very spoiled boy. He resides in my 6.8 gallon tank as that's the biggest tank I still have (my 10g is being used by my baby snake and my 20g longs are also being used by snakes lol one of which was built for reptiles and can't hold water, and the other used to house a hamster and later on a pair of mice and the sealant had been chewed up so shouldn't hold water). Of course filtered, heated, etc, have an air stone in there as well, some live plants and silk plants.


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