# We're all mad here... (Fish and Craft Journal)



## Skyewillow (Dec 28, 2012)

I've been prompted to start a journal. I think this will serve 2 purposes for me:
Having somewhere to post all of the things that I decide I can do myself.
AND
Sharing our day to day stuff without having to make a new thread for every little thing that happens.


Recently, we lost our sorority of girls, and my fiance's fish have Camallanus worms, which has me pretty stressed on top of the general awkwardness of being me.

I've also noticed something wrong with some of the tadpoles' eyes, so I set up the 10 gallon to keep a better eye on those 5. It's nothing fabulous, but it works.


Deanna01 asked us the other day if we'd be willing to take in a baby with SBD. Of course, Mike and I said yes. So I've been keeping myself busy with designing a tank that would be SBD friendly.

I decided that a few different levels would make it easier for the baby to get up and down to air, and the first thing that came to Mind was Super Mario brothers, and the different levels of blocks and bricks that the player uses to navigate through the game.

So, I made blocks.


Then, I remembered that there needed to be some kind of hiding place, so the baby will feel more secure.
I started to build a pipe.

Syriiven reminded me that there were castles in the game....

So then this happened.


I really should be sleeping, since it's 4:20 am, and I'm supposed to watch my sister's munchkins tomorrow, but I really HAD to make the castle first.

Here's the whole set for now (I'm hoping there's still room for a piranha plant), and the cute little baby who will hopefully inhabit the coolest setup I've ever done.


And the baby! <3


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## redthebetta (Aug 11, 2013)

That looks AMAZING! I love themed tanks!


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## Skyewillow (Dec 28, 2012)

Once I get home, I'll have to post more pictures of stuff I've made.


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## Syriiven (Aug 15, 2012)

-stalks- 

<3 the name


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## Fenghuang (Dec 28, 2012)

Look who finally joined us. ;D (Not that I update my journal much.)

I can't wait to see the finished tank.


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## Skyewillow (Dec 28, 2012)

Feng, Syriiven made me do it with her Jedi Mind tricks. lol I plan on sterilizing the little punkin's tank tonight when I get home, and once I feel energetic, I think I'm going to start putting all of the decor in there to make sure it all fits. If not, maybe Pancake will get some of the stuff.

Syriiven, It's my favorite quote, and it's pretty accurate. We're all some kind of crazy.

I'm babysitting over at my sister's today, and I think I'm going to take a few moments to clean Diablo and Tiamat's tank. There's only a little over 2 hours left till I can go home. ugh.


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## Syriiven (Aug 15, 2012)

-waves hand- These are not the doids you're looking for...


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## Skyewillow (Dec 28, 2012)

Just got home from babysitting, and when my sister brought us home, her 9 yr old chihuahua/pomeranian rode along. While I was taking Z's carseat out of her car, he slipped out. She didn't even realize it till she got home.

I grabbed a flashlight and walked around the condos looking for him. Thankfully, he didn't go far! I did manage to find him, and another big thank you to the powers that be that he didn't decide to be puckish and take off in the other direction as he's been known to do.

What a relief!! I was worried that owls or coyotes would find him first. :-(


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## Skyewillow (Dec 28, 2012)

Super Mario tank so far. Too many blocks, so the brick didn't get used, and something seems like it's missing...


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## Skyewillow (Dec 28, 2012)

Anu got the extra block.


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## Skyewillow (Dec 28, 2012)

Stalked my Mahachais.


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## Skyewillow (Dec 28, 2012)

I decided to paint the back of Anu's tank black to help her stand out, and the back of the Super Mario Bros tank needed a quick paint over as well. It seems to be part of what that tank was missing!

Also, an updated photo of Anu. Just because she's cute.


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## Fenghuang (Dec 28, 2012)

The backgrounds look fantastic. Great job, Skye.


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## Skyewillow (Dec 28, 2012)

I just kind of "meh'd" it. lol I need to hit it with another coat later.


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## Skyewillow (Dec 28, 2012)

the tadpole I had decided to hold back has some serious legs now!
We've decided to name it Wonky.


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## Skyewillow (Dec 28, 2012)

I made a castle!


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## Canis (Apr 15, 2013)

What do you make those little decorations out of? I know I've seen them before, but not for a long time XD


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## Skyewillow (Dec 28, 2012)

perler beads


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## Skyewillow (Dec 28, 2012)

Palm tree

in tank


Horse pen.

in tank, but I want to change a few things yet.


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## HeadlessLegoMom (Jun 30, 2013)

I LOVE IT!!! My phone ringtone has been the Mario Theme for as long as I can remember...


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## HeadlessLegoMom (Jun 30, 2013)

LMAO remember waaaaaaaaaaay back when last month or so when you didn't think you'd have the patience for the couple of tunnels you started off with?!


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## Skyewillow (Dec 28, 2012)

hahahahahahahahahahahahah
I still don't have the patience! XD

it just keeps me busy.


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## HeadlessLegoMom (Jun 30, 2013)

You should try making a spiral staircase!


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## Fenghuang (Dec 28, 2012)

HeadlessLegoMom said:


> You should try making a spiral staircase!


This!

That would be really really cool.

Although, very difficult. .___.


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## Skyewillow (Dec 28, 2012)

HeadlessLegoMom said:


> You should try making a spiral staircase!


you can, I'm set. XD


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## Skyewillow (Dec 28, 2012)

caught someone being ferocious without his mirror. lol


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## BettaLover1313 (Apr 15, 2013)

Love the Mario themed tank for the new baby betta! The tadpole looks cool! Love the name Wonky!


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## HeadlessLegoMom (Jun 30, 2013)

That's a cool pic. Looks like he has glowing ears!


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## Skyewillow (Dec 28, 2012)

Bettalover, No one is spoiled in this house! ;-)

Headlesslegomom, He's ferocious. lol

I went to see my mushmelon Boe today! Then I broke him and he forgot how to cat, he was a puddle of chainsaw purrs. <3


As soon as I set him down, because I had to leave, he flopped over and wanted to play... Oooooof Course, you antisocial little booger! lol

So I scratched his belly, and he pretended to gnaw me to death. <3


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## Skyewillow (Dec 28, 2012)

I almost forgot. Baby stinkbeasts:


I have 8 left in need of homes.


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## Skyewillow (Dec 28, 2012)

Just posted this on my FB wall:


> Anyone who reads most of what I post about, will know that I have 2 wild animals in my care at this time. While I'm normally not a fan of wild collected specimens and would've preferred captive bred, Betta mahachaiensis doesn't have a ton of time left to quibble over the fine details.
> 
> Many avid fans of the Splendens complex of bettas were deeply concerned that this beautiful species of fish would be extinct before it could even be officially described as a species. They're found in only one small province in Thailand, and nowhere else. (this would be the zone in yellow on the map below). It is being dried up and turned into salt fields, or factories, and the little space the Mahachais have left is being taken over by invasive species of plants and fish.
> 
> ...


(thank you to Setsuna for the map and the photo of Kheiyw)


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## MattsBettas (Dec 18, 2012)

Awesome post.


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## Skyewillow (Dec 28, 2012)

thank you, Matt. While I love all of my fish, these two are the most precious to me, I'm not sure why. As soon as Setsuna had shown me that map, and told me that these guys were in trouble, I knew that I wanted to help them. And I'm so glad that I have these two. :-D


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## Skyewillow (Dec 28, 2012)

I've decided to make some cat toys!


mostly because the kitten Mike wants to adopt is a runt who just isn't thriving like she should be, and I didn't receive my money this month, so I'm hoping to somehow make enough to take her to the vet. Wish me luck.


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## Skyewillow (Dec 28, 2012)

Wonky's tail is almost gone!


the most developed of the group in the 10 gal. I'm sure some of Aemaki's are getting arms now too.


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## Skyewillow (Dec 28, 2012)

got them moved!
front view of their 10 gal


Kafae


she's following him all over.


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## Skyewillow (Dec 28, 2012)




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## Skyewillow (Dec 28, 2012)

My mahachai fry are 8 days old now, I have zero tadpoles left, they're all froglets now. We've decided to keep 4 of them. 3 have eye deformities, one of those also has a deformed jaw, and one is totally normal.

Our male frog Freddie passed away a couple of days ago due to an accident with the filter, and a friend gave us her adult female to keep our girl, Frankie company. 

I had to put the Gruffalo to sleep a little over a week ago, he had an infection that was only getting worse with medication, and his scales were falling off.

I received a donation from a friend towards froggy accommodations, so today I purchased a 16 gal tote and a 7 gal tote for $19, and moved Pancake and the babies; Shimo, Wonky, Brownie, and the jaw baby with no name.

we finally have enough for a downpayment on a house, we went a little overboard with spending and didn't even realize how much we were spending till about 3 weeks ago, and we had $900 in the bank. THAT was depressing.


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## Skyewillow (Dec 28, 2012)

Almost month old baby mahachais! There's only 5 of this group, the 2nd spawn has more left.


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## Syriiven (Aug 15, 2012)

Fishmum.


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## Skyewillow (Dec 28, 2012)

lol no kidding!


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## LittleBettaFish (Oct 2, 2010)

I meant to say last night that they are looking good but I went out for dinner and forgot haha. 

They look almost the same as my biggest stiktos fry do, so for someone who told me that don't really know what they are doing, I would say you are doing a great job. 

Also, how is Wonky and the rest of your frogs going?


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## Skyewillow (Dec 28, 2012)

Well, we've had a bit of a time with frogbeasties lately.

You know that we lost Freddie. Well, my friend gave us Johnnie (you knew that too), and one day she stopped eating. She wasn't showing signs of illness, so I chalked it up to a possible upset tummy from the shift in food. About 4-5 days later, she was dead. Poor Frankie is on her own again.

My froglets are getting huge, Brownie is a voracious little monster and tries to attack my feeding tongs because OMG they might have FOOD in them!!!!!!!!!! Sparkles doesn't seem to have ANY trouble eating with "her" deformed jaw, I usually hand feed them about 2-3 times a week now that they're harder to get to. Frankie's bin and the mahachai fry are in front of them.

I'm considering splitting the 2 groups of fry up, and giving the 5 big babies a tote to themselves, and letting the tiny ones grow a bit more. There's a ton of interest in them already, and I'm hoping that I can sell enough of them to drop on 2 more pairs. I may need to do some rearranging to make that happen, but it's well worth it. Kheiyw refuses to forgive me for moving them back to the 2.5s so I could keep up with them though, at least Kafae is still his neighbor. lol

I really don't know what I'm doing. Thankfully these guys are so forgiving, because I'm sure if it were domestics in the bin I wouldn't have any left at all.

the ones in the photos will be a month old in 2 days.

We've given up on buying a house outright, just because Mike doesn't have any credit, and while I do have credit, they don't give loans to fulltime parents. So we're at a bit of an impasse, but we're trying to figure it out. I'm just anxious to dedicate more space to my aquatics.


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## Skyewillow (Dec 28, 2012)

Last night, I got mad, I got upset and hurt, and I honestly cried. Sometimes reality slaps you in the face with something you never considered.

I could've thrown my hands up and just given up. Instead, I made a crazy plan.

"I have decided that breeding mahachais isn't enough for me. I can sit here all day, and build the biggest population outside of Thailand (which is actually a goal), but it won't stop the habitat destruction that they're facing. Once the brackish nipa swamps are gone, that's doom for Kheiyw and Kafae's kind.

So, I'm upping the ante. My goal, as crazy as it sounds, is to save half of what I make from this breeding program. And one day, when I have enough, I will be attempting to buy about 5-10 acres in the mahachai province. It won't be much, but it would help, and I'd rather try and face the possibility of failure, than to do nothing more than stave off the inevitable extinction of this species if there is no refuge left for them."

This is what I want to do. It may be impossible, but at least I'll try.


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## Canis (Apr 15, 2013)

Start a donation, I'm sure a lot of people would be willing to chip in a few dollars!


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## Skyewillow (Dec 28, 2012)

I really considered it. I've also decided that I'm not going to limit it to the sales from the Mahachais, it'll be my plush sales and everything fish related. I really want to get there that much sooner.


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## Stone (Jan 6, 2013)

The exchange rate will help a lot, it was at about 10-1 last time I looked.I am inspired by people who undertake such things, I will be doing the same thing once we actually get a house with licorice gourami they are on the verge of not having any natural habitat and are basically clinging on in the wild in drainage ditches. They are a close cousin to bettas and are harder to keep but very very beautiful


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## Canis (Apr 15, 2013)

Stone said:


> The exchange rate will help a lot, it was at about 10-1 last time I looked.I am inspired by people who undertake such things, I will be doing the same thing once we actually get a house with licorice gourami they are on the verge of not having any natural habitat and are basically clinging on in the wild in drainage ditches. They are a close cousin to bettas and are harder to keep but very very beautiful


I had to look up a pic of those gouramis, and oh man o.o Gorgeous fish!


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## Stone (Jan 6, 2013)

Canis said:


> I had to look up a pic of those gouramis, and oh man o.o Gorgeous fish!


yeah I fell in love with them the first time I saw them, simular to bettas, they breathe air the same way, they are bubble nesters, but you can keep the male and female together a pair can be kept in a 10 gallon easily


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## Canis (Apr 15, 2013)

Stone said:


> yeah I fell in love with them the first time I saw them, simular to bettas, they breathe air the same way, they are bubble nesters, but you can keep the male and female together a pair can be kept in a 10 gallon easily


If my mom wasn't so against more fish, I'd definitely get a pair Dx


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## Skyewillow (Dec 28, 2012)

1 USD is equal to 37.01 THB. Which I think will really help. My longterm goal is to raise about $32000USD (1,000,000 THB). The wild and unblemished land may be gone, but I might be able to buy a few acres back with that kind of money.

Stone, I wish you luck with your gouramis! I wish people would stop and think about the habitats they're destroying well before the animals are endangered... yeesh.


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## Skyewillow (Dec 28, 2012)

Today is the first spawn's 1 month birthday, and I decided to go through my facebook photos and figure out how old the 2nd spawn is.

Spawn one hatched 9/20/13







Spawn 2 hatched 10/03/13


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## Skyewillow (Dec 28, 2012)

2.5 gallon jar mostly biotope for my deformed PetCo baby, Tsunami.
Plant list:
Eleocharis - There's 2 species, not sure on names
Cryptocoryne wendtii
Java moss
Marimo ball

there's a small tree like piece of driftwood I've had for a while now, and a miniature crocodile skull ornament that I found today. I soaked it prior to adding to the tank (never too careful!)


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## MattsBettas (Dec 18, 2012)

Haha I have a small planted jar for a deformed baby (actually almost a year old, just so stunted she looks like a baby) too! Jars are awesome. 

How are the mahachai and their spawns doing?


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## Skyewillow (Dec 28, 2012)

Kheiyw and Kafae are doing great. I had Kafae in with the rest of the girls, but she started to get stressed when one of the domestics stole her spawning mop hideout. So she's been moved to a 1.5 kritter keeper with wendtii, java fern, and java moss. She's a lot happier in there.

My 2 spawns are doing well. We had a little bit of a rough start while I tried to figure it all out, but we're catching back up. They grow a lot slower than I had realized. From what I'm reading, they'll be close to maturity at 6-7 months.


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## Syriiven (Aug 15, 2012)

<3


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## Skyewillow (Dec 28, 2012)

I'm still really worried about that package of babies coming from Aluka. I had a few postal workers looking for it and still no sign of it anywhere. She said one package she sent on the 30th arrived on the 7th, all dead. :-(


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## Skyewillow (Dec 28, 2012)

Still no package, and the heating pack is officially spent.


ugh... :-(


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## logisticsguy (Sep 7, 2012)

Oh crap Skye Im so sorry to hear that. Postal nightmares know no boundaries. I really like what your doing with the wilds. I would love some of your fry but shipping here is slow and expensive. Wishing you the best! 

PS Ive been looking for almond leaf seed instructions but cant find. Im so disorganized.


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## Skyewillow (Dec 28, 2012)

I woke up to a voicemail from the Jackson, MI post office AND the Tecumseh, MI (where I live) Post Office. My package had gone through Jackson early this morning, and they rushed it down to Tec for me. I rolled out of bed and ran down in my jammies (I at least used mouthwash so I wouldn't kill the nice ladies down there with my morning breath) to get the box. I opened it there and everyone was OK!!! And still warm to boot!

Photos later when the camera charges.


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## Skyewillow (Dec 28, 2012)

Pictuurreeesss!!!

Koi without a name
Hurricane
Patty
Tallulah
Tilly


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## Skyewillow (Dec 28, 2012)

The blue girl is only missing her ventrals, and a friend fell for her after I talked to Aluka about her, so I'll be sending her along to my friend when a mutual friend stops on the 18th to pick up her rescue boy! ^_^

the other one is Elvira.


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## Skyewillow (Dec 28, 2012)

Tsunami's new 2.5 gal on my desk.


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## Skyewillow (Dec 28, 2012)

my wild female, Kafae passed away this morning.


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## MattsBettas (Dec 18, 2012)

Aww I'm so sorry, Skye. Are her fry at least doing well?


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## Skyewillow (Dec 28, 2012)

I had a bit of trouble with them for a while, and I'm down to like 10-15... I don't think I was quite as prepared as I thought I was


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## LittleBettaFish (Oct 2, 2010)

Sorry to hear about Kafae's loss. Hopefully you have a female amongst your surviving fry. 

Don't feel too bad that your first effort at raising wild bettas didn't go as well as you were expecting. Every spawn is a different learning experience in itself, and I'm sure every breeder on this board has lost fry at some point.


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## Skyewillow (Dec 28, 2012)

they're not as big as they should be for 3 months (not in my opinion, I suppose, and not as big as their older siblings, who are still small). I'm really hoping I didn't totally botch it and stunt them.


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## LittleBettaFish (Oct 2, 2010)

Remember wilds don't grow as fast as splendens so if you are comparing growth rates with splendens you are going to be disappointed. 

I hate this push for really fast growth. If you are doing adequate water changes and proving them with adequate nutrition don't focus on the rate of growth. If the fry are healthy this is the most important thing. 

After all I grew a lot more slowly than many of my classmates, but eventually I caught up and surpassed several of those early sprouters.


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## Skyewillow (Dec 28, 2012)

I know they grow a lot slower, and are overall smaller in general, but I think they're behind even to their normal standard. They totally stopped growing for a short while. I'm not sure what I did.


Apparently our tap was high in Nitrates when I pulled a change the other day, one of my girls is severely swollen (not pineconed), and I lost one last night. All of the tanks I've changed that day have had high nitrates, including the axolotls... ._.

I needed to work off some stress... so I made an office for the fish who lives on my desk.


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## Skyewillow (Dec 28, 2012)

Craft update:
My fiance and I bought a leopard gecko on Valentine's day.

Yesterday, I decided to try my hand at making my own hides for her. It's not finished yet, I'll add photos as I go along.

I wanted to use polymer clay, but didn't feel like driving to the next town over for it, so I made my own dough clay to use.

There IS a tutorial I found online for this, which is what I'm following for the most part.

2 cups flour
1 cup salt
slowly add water until it's the right consistency.

when your hide is formed, bake at 250 degrees for 45 mins to an hour


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## Skyewillow (Dec 28, 2012)

and painted.


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## MattsBettas (Dec 18, 2012)

Hey Skye, any updates?


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