# The Poet and the Fish



## Aus

I like journalling. I especially like it when it helps me to remember important things, or follows the progress of something I'm working on.

Plus, I'm a poet. We never can shut up, anyway. 

I bought my deep red VT betta (Sid Fishus) from the typical can't-be-arsed pet shop, with no real clue of how to keep him. The ensuing panic, once I discovered everything I thought I knew was a load of old cobblers, has amounted to a crash course in betta-keeping. 

Sid went from a gallon barrel-vase to a 2-and-a-bit gallon IQ3 cube, to a 3-and-half-ish gallon IQ3 cube (which is where he'll stay put for a while!) in a week and a half, poor little guy. I'm happy with his present tank, which has several species of low to mid-light plants and a nice mangrove root sculpture that doubles as hidey-place for Mr. Fishus.

During this week I discovered Sid has a parasite problem, which I'm working on fixing (though his poo seems to have normalised somewhat; still, I am keeping a eye on that and will buy the cure anyhow just in case). And then his fin tips grew fuzzy white balls, so he resembled some sort of miniature aquatic Santa's helper for a day or so - I still don't know exactly what that was, but it seems to be clearing up of its own accord. Again, keeping a close eye on it.

He has curling and sticking at the tips of his dorsal fin and tail, too -- it looks like somebody's tried to wring his fin out and quit halfway through. I'm assuming these are old problems as the rest of his fins seem healthy. I read that this is caused by bad water conditions, and sometimes by not having any room to swim properly. Maybe those problem bits will grow out, eventually.

He's also really small. I noticed this only by actually seeing some other bettas in person at the pet store (Sid was the only one in the store I bought him from). The others were much larger than him in length and body mass. So he's a squirt. That's okay.

Sid is really a happy guy now. He's a tuffypants, and has weathered all these massive lifestyle and environmental changes really well. We just did a 50% water change and now he's patrolling about, perhaps just to see whether I snuck any rival fish in while he wasn't looking.

Anyway, here's some pics of Sid looking a bit thin and pathetic, taken quite recently. I'm hoping over time that his general condition will pick up and he'll come to look as magnificent as some of the Veiltails in the picture thread here. And - if not? I'll just have to love him to bits anyway. 





















I haven't found a poem about bettas yet, but I'd like to share this fish poem by Elizabeth Bishop, which I've always loved:



The Fish
by Elizabeth Bishop


I caught a tremendous fish
and held him beside the boat
half out of water, with my hook
fast in a corner of his mouth.
He didn't fight.
He hadn't fought at all.
He hung a grunting weight,
battered and venerable
and homely. Here and there
his brown skin hung in strips
like ancient wallpaper,
and its pattern of darker brown
was like wallpaper:
shapes like full-blown roses
stained and lost through age.
He was speckled with barnacles,
fine rosettes of lime,
and infested
with tiny white sea-lice,
and underneath two or three
rags of green weed hung down.
While his gills were breathing in
the terrible oxygen
--the frightening gills,
fresh and crisp with blood,
that can cut so badly--
I thought of the coarse white flesh
packed in like feathers,
the big bones and the little bones,
the dramatic reds and blacks
of his shiny entrails,
and the pink swim-bladder
like a big peony.
I looked into his eyes
which were far larger than mine
but shallower, and yellowed,
the irises backed and packed
with tarnished tinfoil
seen through the lenses
of old scratched isinglass.
They shifted a little, but not
to return my stare.
--It was more like the tipping
of an object toward the light.
I admired his sullen face,
the mechanism of his jaw,
and then I saw
that from his lower lip
--if you could call it a lip
grim, wet, and weaponlike,
hung five old pieces of fish-line,
or four and a wire leader
with the swivel still attached,
with all their five big hooks
grown firmly in his mouth.
A green line, frayed at the end
where he broke it, two heavier lines,
and a fine black thread
still crimped from the strain and snap
when it broke and he got away.
Like medals with their ribbons
frayed and wavering,
a five-haired beard of wisdom
trailing from his aching jaw.
I stared and stared
and victory filled up
the little rented boat,
from the pool of bilge
where oil had spread a rainbow
around the rusted engine
to the bailer rusted orange,
the sun-cracked thwarts,
the oarlocks on their strings,
the gunnels--until everything
was rainbow, rainbow, rainbow!
And I let the fish go.


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## Aus

Poor Sid. He hasn't flared properly or blown a bubble nest since I brought him home.

That's been perfectly okay by me. He's thin and kind of sickly, and lots has changed in a week for him. He'll get around to these things when he's feeling better, I thought.

So, I'm walking out of the kitchen just now, after making a very late-night snack of various yummy sliced things. I pass Sid's tank and as usual give him a little wave and hello, and was expecting his usual friendly feed-me-please finwiggle. 

But -- nope. No finwiggle. Sid Fishus was fully flared and out for a fight. Clearly something had him worked up, but I couldn't figure out what. It took me a full minute of looking around for the cause, before I realised that he was malevolently eyeballing the slice of cheddar cheese I was holding in my hand as I waved to him.

So apparently my fish is aggravated by -- cheese. :shock:


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## 1fishBlueFish

LOL! Oh that tickled me!! Sid does not like cheese. Poor fishy. This gave me a nice laugh this morning.

I hope Sid comes around and feels much better soon


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## Olympia

Maybe Sid is lactose intolerant


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## Aus

Ahaha! No cheesecake for Sid. :|

So, this morning my darling Daughter (who is 13 and currently seems to enjoy a solitary, cavelike habitat) comes bolting in to wake me up, super-early. 

"Mum! The fish! Hurry!"

I can't move all that quickly at the best of times. But move, I did. I was expecting some massive aquarium disaster or perhaps a dead betta, and steeled myself for the worst.

What I found was Sid swanning around his tank like a Spanish galleon in full sail. Daughter was beaming. 

"I think he's feeling better, Mum." 

I had to agree. Daughter also pointed out that his fins had no sign of white fuzzies at all, and while they looked a little ragged (which I'll watch) they had also lost many of the knot-like lumps on their tips that had previously prevented him from flaring properly, I think. 

Now, to sort out his parasite issue. If anyone had told me a fortnight ago that I was soon to become an obsessive observer of fish poo, I'd have said they were mad.

His poo seems to curl into a tight spiral at the end, and I am thinking this is the 'white blob' I had been observing (and stressing out about) a few days ago. Today it was a more normal colour, but I am still not happy with how white it has been since he got here. 

He seems to be filling out, very slowly. I upped his food intake to two pellets per feed (twice a day) and two small or one large brine shrimp. He's still skinny, but not so bony as he was a few days ago, when he appeared to be declining in weight. 

So perhaps I can at last relax a little bit and simply enjoy my on-the-mend and very happy fish. 

Here's another fish-related poem, this time by Marianne Moore. I'm not a huge fan of hers, really, but I do enjoy some of her work. 

Still no betta poems to be found! Perhaps I'll write some.  Or maybe somebody else would like to write one? Or has already? I'd love to read it, if so!


The Fish
by Marianne Moore

wade
through black jade.
Of the crow-blue mussel-shells, one keeps
adjusting the ash-heaps;
opening and shutting itself like

an
injured fan.
The barnacles which encrust the side
of the wave, cannot hide
there for the submerged shafts of the

sun,
split like spun
glass, move themselves with spotlight swiftness
into the crevices—
in and out, illuminating

the
turquoise sea
of bodies. The water drives a wedge
of iron through the iron edge
of the cliff; whereupon the stars,

pink
rice-grains, ink-
bespattered jelly fish, crabs like green
lilies, and submarine
toadstools, slide each on the other.

All
external
marks of abuse are present on this
defiant edifice—
all the physical features of

ac-
cident—lack
of cornice, dynamite grooves, burns, and
hatchet strokes, these things stand
out on it; the chasm-side is

dead.
Repeated
evidence has proved that it can live
on what can not revive
its youth. The sea grows old in it.


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## Aus

Here's some pics of Sid feeling good this morning. The quality is awful, I know, but rapidly moving fish and iPods just don't mix!


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## Aus

I think Sid has ich! In fact, I'm sure of it. Just three spots, right now, small ones. Off to the shops for aquarium salt tomorrow, and ich cure in case the salt isn't effective.

Oh, well. I hope being treated for ich doesn't stress him out too badly. I'll have to pick up a heater for the little 2g tank, as I can't put salt in with his plants, apparently. 25w ought to be not too much? 

Poor wee fishy. He deserves a break! And just when he's really beginning to enjoy life, too. He's been flaring at me all day - I think it's the fuschia pink t-shirt I wore. And scooting about his tank like a little shark, on the prowl for 'elusive' brine shrimp and those sneaky, invisible bettas that he just _knows_ are lurking, somewhere.... 

Here's a poem by Nancy Willard, who I haven't read very much of, but probably ought to:


A Wreath to the Fish
by Nancy Willard


Who is this fish, still wearing its wealth,
flat on my drainboard, dead asleep,
its suit of mail proof only against the stream?
What is it to live in a stream,
to dwell forever in a tunnel of cold,
never to leave your shining birthsuit,
never to spend your inheritance of thin coins?
And who is the stream, who lolls all day
in an unmade bed, living on nothing but weather,
singing, a little mad in the head,
opening her apron to shells, carcasses, crabs,
eyeglasses, the lines of fisherman begging for
news from the interior-oh, who are these lines
that link a big sky to a small stream
that go down for great things:
the cold muscle of the trout,
the shinning scrawl of the eel in a difficult passage,
hooked-but who is this hook, this cunning
and faithful fanatic who will not let go
but holds the false bait and the true worm alike
and tears the fish, yet gives it up to the basket
in which it will ride to the kitchen
of someone important, perhaps the Pope
who rejoices that his cook has found such a fish
and blesses it and eats it and rises, saying,
"Children, what is it to live in the stream,
day after day, and come at last to the table,
transfigured with spices and herbs,
a little martyr, a little miracle;
children, children, who is this fish?"


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## Aus

So, another trip to the LFS, to get ich cure and salt and stuff. It left me cranky. They've replaced the really ill and dead bettas with an array of fresh ones. Poor little sods. And the bimbo working the counter was so proud of her five bettas at home all kept in 500ml betta boxes, because they're all so healthy, and I was actually wrongheaded in thinking that my betta needed as much as 3.5 gallons because SEE? Right here, it says they live in mud puddles and IT'S IN A BOOK LADY so SHUT the hell UP OKAY -- was the general vibe.

Right. 

I grit my teeth, paid for my salt. I hope get I better REAL soon so I can find another place to buy my fish related things. 

Aaaanyway. Sid's on the ich cure - the one guy in that shop who knew his arse from his elbow was actually pretty helpful and talked to me about the parasite's life cycle, etc, and seemed to give a damn about the well-being of my wee fishy. And since the ich is in its very early stages, it ought to clear up just fine. 

Sid seems happy enough, burbling around as he has been these past few days, flaring at the flies (Aussie summer = tiny black flies EVERYWHERE) which land on his tank. He gets cross because he can't catch them and goes to sulk in his hammock. Cute factor 9.5. 

To cheer myself from the trauma of dealing with the fish bimbo and her cupped array of doomed bettas, I went looking for today's fish-related poem. 

Another poet I haven't read before, but really must: Rupert Brooke, 1887-1915. He was a terribly handsome, terribly emotional young Englishman who was buddies for a time with Virginia Woolf. He died at age 27, of a mosquito bite.

There's a lot to like about this poem. The phrasing is really very beautiful in places - "the exquisite knocking of the blood".. _sigh_. <3

The Fish
by Rupert Brooke

In a cool curving world he lies
And ripples with dark ecstasies.
The kind luxurious lapse and steal
Shapes all his universe to feel
And know and be; the clinging stream
Closes his memory, glooms his dream,
Who lips the roots o' the shore, and glides
Superb on unreturning tides.
Those silent waters weave for him
A fluctuant mutable world and dim,
Where wavering masses bulge and gape
Mysterious, and shape to shape
Dies momently through whorl and hollow,
And form and line and solid follow
Solid and line and form to dream
Fantastic down the eternal stream;
An obscure world, a shifting world,
Bulbous, or pulled to thin, or curled,
Or serpentine, or driving arrows,
Or serene slidings, or March narrows.
There slipping wave and shore are one,
And weed and mud. No ray of sun,
But glow to glow fades down the deep
(As dream to unknown dream in sleep);
Shaken translucency illumes
The hyaline of drifting glooms;
The strange soft-handed depth subdues
Drowned colour there, but black to hues,
As death to living, decomposes--
Red darkness of the heart of roses,
Blue brilliant from dead starless skies,
And gold that lies behind the eyes,
The unknown unnameable sightless white
That is the essential flame of night,
Lustreless purple, hooded green,
The myriad hues that lie between
Darkness and darkness!... And all's one.
Gentle, embracing, quiet, dun,
The world he rests in, world he knows,
Perpetual curving. Only grows
An eddy in that ordered falling,
A knowledge from the gloom, a calling
Weed in the wave, gleam in the mud--
The dark fire leaps along his blood;
Dateless and deathless, blind and still,
The intricate impulse works its will;
His woven world drops back; and he,
Sans providence, sans memory,
Unconscious and directly driven,
Fades to some dank sufficient heaven.​ O world of lips, O world of laughter,
Where hope is fleet and thought flies after,
Of lights in the clear night, of cries
That drift along the wave and rise
Thin to the glittering stars above,
You know the hands, the eyes of love!
The strife of limbs, the sightless clinging,
The infinite distance, and the singing
Blown by the wind, a flame of sound,
The gleam, the flowers, and vast around
The horizon, and the heights above 
You know the sigh, the song of love!​ But there the night is close, and there
Darkness is cold and strange and bare,
And the secret deeps are whisperless;
And rhythm is all deliciousness;
And joy is in the throbbing tide,
Whose intricate fingers beat and glide
In felt bewildering harmonies
Of trembling touch; and music is
The exquisite knocking of the blood.
Space is no more, under the mud;
His bliss is older than the sun.
Silent and straight the waters run.
The lights, the cries, the willows dim,
And the dark tide are one with him.​


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## Aus

Oh oops, I also bought a bottle of Prime and some Stress Guard, to add to my fishy first aid kit. The ich cure is Protozin, which Mr. Elbow said was less stressful for a betta. 

I wanted to try salt, but one of the ich spots looks like it could become quite huge and nasty very soon, and I'm not very confident yet about my ability to get the salt thing right. 

Sid's eating well. He had one last mystery-fuzzball appear on another fin-tip and then vanish a few hours later. His fins could be in better shape, but that was the case when I got him and they don't seem to be infected or falling apart. I'm wondering whether this might actually be him shedding the gnarled-up knot bits that were compressing the ends of his fins. 

Time will tell, I guess. I am remaining fin-vigilant. 

My housemate came with me to the shop today and we went to visit the lovely macrostoma and his fry there. The display tanks (unlike macro's poor cousins in their godawful, dirty cups) there are kept quite well, and this macrostoma is the first one I have ever seen. Impressed? Why, yes I am. 

He looks a lot like this one:










and is kept in a dark water tank, very natural looking. 

I want. This fish. Want it. Yes, I do.

They're much bigger than betta splendens - a good 3-4 inches long and bulky with it. I was surprised at how robust it was, compared to the fancy bettas. The fry are stripey and .. well, cute. Bigger than they were a few days ago. 

Something to aspire to, in years to come.


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## Aus

Being a parent isn't easy. <--- call me Cap'n Obvious :roll:

More specifically, it isn't easy to recognise that your child isn't an extension of yourself, and therefore may hold some radically different ideas, ideals and values. 

Even more specifically, Daughter has no issue buying a betta from the LFS, whereas I have made a bit of a stand on that front and sworn never to buy a betta from a pet outlet again. Nevertheless, she wanted to give one of these pathetically neglected bettas a home. 

How can I fault her for intending a kindness, when at her age altruism so often is not a priority?

I did warn her that the fish were in bad shape. I agreed to go with her, and she agreed to choose one of the healthier fish. 

So - it was awful. Daughter held herself together pretty well at the betta display, where fish were in two inches of water, some with a thick green algae grown over it, others lying listlessly in a bed of their own waste. So many beautiful bettas - and some that had lost all their colour. But then she saw the littlest fellow of them all, dead in his cup - and she burst out crying.

Nobody cries like Daughter. It's enough to break your heart. We chose a blue/turquoise half moon betta boy, though she considered some of the weaker ones. I told her no - this is her first betta, as Sid is my first one, and I want her to have as healthy a fish as we were likely to find there. So, the HM it was. 

We both said some strong words to several staff members about the state of the bettas. I was so, so proud of Daughter for being mature about it, even though she was visibly upset. "The way you keep those fish back there in dirty water is just wrong," she said, through tears. "And some of them are dead." 

I quietly mentioned that I had come there to purchase a pet, not adopt a neglected, sick animal and the betta's conditions were shameful. And if the fish were so badly off that it made my daughter cry, it ought to damn well tell them something.

Perhaps the fact that LFS was full of customers who were all witness to our dismay prompted a promise from the staff members that they "would see to it". 

We left on a polite note. I will not tell Daughter what to believe in or what to stand up for, it's not my place to do that. But I hope she saw my point of view at least, as I can see hers. 

She said she's going back in a week, to check on the bettas. And has sworn she'll call the RSPCA if thier condition has not improved.

That's my girl. 

The HM boy is a little shell shocked (being literally DUMPED out of his dirty little cup into the take-home bag by the idiot tending the tropical tanks did not help :|..) 

He's quite pale, and I'm worried the transition from neglect to a clean, warm tank was a bit much for him, though we did bob him for an hour and added a little Stress Guard to the tank water.

So now we have two bettas, and several important lessons learned, and a lovely new hobby to share. 

But that tiny little colourless fellow who'd passed on well before we got there will stick in my mind for a long while, I think.


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## MandiceP

I would just like to say OMG! I love his name, Sid Fishus! That's genius and hysterical! I have a betta at my mom's house named Bruce Fishinson... lmao! welcome! I like to write poems too, though I've been more into stories lately.


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## Aus

Daughter's decided to join the forum, also! So if Newfish (whose name might change several times over the coming days) settles in well, I dare say there'll be pics of him. 

He's currently huddled against the heater, I think he likes being warm) and isn't quite so pale as when I last checked. 

Sid's last ich spot is being stubborn. But aside from that, he's doing swimmingly (yes, that was a fishpun). Putting on weight consistently, and challenging anyone who dares to wear pink in his presence. 

That fish really has a problem with pink.. as well as cheese. :lol:

PS: Nice to meet you Mandice, and haha, yes, Daughter picked that name, she's a huge Pistols fan. I've been too busy and prose-minded to feel much like writing poetry lately, but I'm hoping to get in the flow soon. I'm attempting a bunch of very short sci-fi stories for a web zine, which is fun.


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## SeaHorse

Dear Aus and Daughter! I love reading this thread. Please keep writing, I'm following along. My Betta in my pictures was Fishbert. (rip) I think the current in his 10 Gallon to himself from the HOB filter was just too much for him. He always seemed to be clinging to something rather than resting on something. 
I love the poems too. (thank goodness for copy and paste huh?)
I'm sure you will sit down and write us a Betta poem one day!

I'm very proud of your daughter for taking a stand. Amazing the lessons we can learn from a tiny little life on a shelf in a cup! Bravo.


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## Aus

Thank you, Jakiebabie. I'm proud of her, too. 

So sorry about Fishbert's passing. Do you think you'll get another betta? As to what we can learn from them - it really is amazing what positive change our Sid has created, just by being his fishy self. 

I'm glad you're enjoying my rambling, lol. And the poems, too. I almost forgot today's poem! A prose-poem, since prose is the flavour of today, it seems. And yes, c&p is mighty handy, it spares my fingers a lot of grief. 


FISH TANK
by Rochelle Ratner

It just seems perverse to her, to have this fish tank dead center in the ophthalmologist’s waiting room. To have people sit trapped and facing those small moving forms, their reflections captured in the glass at different angles. Black and white against green foliage and rich brown coral, small stripes, wide stripes, hints of red, not to mention pebbles. Deep unmoving and unflinching eyes. Relentless sound of gurgling. New shapes appearing out of nowhere. One with long, thin whiskers that she didn’t see before.


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## SeaHorse

Well Fishbert's 10 Gallon is now home to about 60 itty itty bitty 5 day old Swordtail babies, Mom & Dad are in my 75 Gallon. Moved Mom over last week and next morning TaDa!! There is a local fish club who holds an annual auction April 15th so they will be 2 months old then and taken there. Or the LFS will take them. (and pays $). I know I will get another Betta some day. If you look at my Aquarium pics I once had a single Betta and a single goldfish together in the old tank... the pic with the dog. 45 Gal tall. Betta LOVED it!!

You know that this is an addiction right? :rofl:


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## Aus

JB, I like swordtails, and awh babies! As for fishy addictions - I'm beginning to understand how it happens. Especially with bettas, they have huge personalities for such tiny critters.

I think Sid's stubborn ich spot may have finally fallen off. It's hard to tell, because he won't stay still long enough for me to get a good look. :| Silly fish. Either way, I'm still not happy with the lump he's got there, though it doesn't seem to be bothering him at all. 

In newer news, it appears that Mr. Fishus is bored with being a red fish, and has decided to turn blue. 










He's definitely a different shade than he was last week. That black spot on his fin has been there since we got him, and is just a part of his colouring. He's still a bit too skinnybums for my liking, but isn't quite as pathetic now he's gained a tiny bit of weight.

Here he is, about to sit on his 'sofa' of whatever moss that is. He really likes that plant, and often takes a little rest on it.












And with Daughter's permission, here's some shots of her first tank and the new betta, "Demyx". I love the decor she chose and Gary the Snail' is a nice touch. 












Here's the new boy on the way home from the LFS:










And in his new environment, looking a bit stressed out:










Finally, here's Daughter helping Tomtom feel less put out by all these new (and edible!) rivals for her affection - by dressing him up as a betta. :lol:


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## Aus

Little Demyx is settling in, slowly. He's a bit of a scaredy-fish compared to Sid, who'll just about headbutt the wall of his tank trying to 'talk' to people walking by. 

I think Demyx is only young, though there's no way to be sure, but he's so little and immature-looking and shy that I think of him that way. 

Daughter's spending a lot of time just sitting quietly by the tank doing her art (she did a betta picture!), getting him used to human contact. I'm less worried now, but really looking forward to putting him in a larger tank. I have the feeling a bigger one right now would just freak him out even more. He's barely coping with the 1.5g and spends most of time squashed between the heater and a plant, out of view. 

Daughter is learning patience. 

I was thinking, oh he's such a good example of the whole 'bettas like small spaces' thing. But if I'd been raised in a cupboard since birth, I'd probably be freaked by sudden larger spaces too. Let's just see how he adapts to a gradual increase in tank size, and whether he's a super happy fishy by the time he gets his 5g Kritter Keeper. 

Sid's ich is clearing up nicely. Another big water change and thorough gravel-vac today. No medication for two days, then the last dose on day 6, and we'll see how he goes. Stupid ich. On the bright side, Sid is a much healthier, happier fish. Though I've had to warn Daughter not to get sucked in by his 'poor starving fishy' routine, or we'll have to rename him Hoggy McNomnom and prepare for a bad case of bloat.


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## Aus

In my various internet wanderings, in search of information on bettas, I've stumbled on some sites devoted to fish fighting, as well as its history and significance.

Before I start rambling on about that, I'd just like to make clear that I do not personally support the practice of fish fighting. I guess this rant is more about hypocrisy and taking a step back to consider context.

Of course, my kneejerk reaction is - "fish fighting?! how cruel and barbaric!" But standing back a bit from it, I could equally say that the poor pig I partially ate with apple sauce last week probably did not enjoy being raised in a pen hardly bigger than its own body. And the chickens who provide me with my yummy breaded nuggets really are not meant to live in massive sheds with no natural light, debeaked and stuffed with growth hormones. The bed I bought a couple of years ago, made from Malaysian timber, probably cost the lives of more than a few native animals in its growth and harvesting.,

I can't be such a freakin' hypocrite as to not consider that the evils of the culture that I live in just MIGHT be as bad - if not vastly worse - than the practises of the 'players' and breeders of the betta fighting rings. I can moan on about the terrible nasty gamblers and their poor mauled fish. But is that a blood diamond on my finger? How can I be sure? Is that plantation pine holding up my fish tank? Are those sweat-shop manufactured shoes I'm wearing - do I even bother to ask whether any imported product I buy involved child exploitation? Motes and beams, et cetera.

I also think there is a vast difference between the traditional betta fighters and the sheer neglect and cruelty exhibited by western retail outlets. 

The betta breeder's entire reputation and that of his family name (and even his province) comes from providing the betting ring's 'players' with strong, healthy, aggressive fish carefully bred from bloodlines built up over years, even generations. He might also make a nice profit selling his many culls and 'fancy fish' to the affluent western pet market. This is where the money comes from to feed, clothe and educate his kids. This is how his family survives in a country with many fewer opportunities for earning than my own.

His business is also a tradition, a part of the Thai culture going back at least several hundreds of years, an intrinsic part of his nation's identity. Again, I'm not saying I approve or advocate the fighting of fish. But I'm less inclined, after doing this research, to be hating on the Thai fish farmer and his kids, or the gamblers who keep him in business.

We in the west do not hold these traditions. The keeping of bettas is not a part of our cultural history and holds no historical significance for us at all. The deaths of thousands of fish in Western homes and pet stores due to neglect bred by sheer and pervasive ignorance of the species' basic needs is not the same thing as the tradition of fighting bettas in Thailand. 

Just like an animal hoarder and his filthy, cruel backyard puppy mill is not the same as the third generation breeder of champion poodles. Never mind the fate of the poodle culls, right? The odd pup with seven toes? It's not the same.

Or is it?

And here's today's fish-related poem:


Fish
by D. H. Lawrence

Fish, oh Fish,
So little matters!

Whether the waters rise and cover the earth
Or whether the waters wilt in the hollow places,
All one to you.

Aqueous, subaqueous,
Submerged
And wave-thrilled.

As the waters roll
Roll you.
The waters wash,
You wash in oneness
And never emerge.

Never know,
Never grasp.

Your life a sluice of sensation along your sides,
A flush at the flails of your fins, down the whorl of your
tail.
And water wetly on fire in the grates of your gills;
Fixed water-eyes.

Even snakes lie together.

But oh, fish, that rock in water.
You lie only with the waters;
One touch.

No fingers, no hands and feet, no lips;
No tender muzzles,
No wistful bellies,
No loins of desire,
None.

You and the naked element.
Sway-wave.
Curvetting bits of tin in the evening light.

Who is it ejects his sperm to the naked flood?
In the wave-mother?
Who swims enwombed ?
Who lies with the waters of his silent passion, womb-
element?
—Fish in the waters under the earth.

What price _his_ bread upon the waters?

Himself all silvery himself
In the element
No more.

Nothing more.

Himself,
And the element.
Food, of course!
Water-eager eyes,
Mouth-gate open
And strong spine urging, driving;
And desirous belly gulping.

Fear also!
He knows fear!
Water-eyes craning,
A rush that almost screams,
Almost fish-voice
As the pike comes…
Then gay fear, that turns the tail sprightly, from a shadow.

Food, and fear, and joie de vivre.
Without love.

The other way about:
Joie de vivre, and fear, and food,
All without love.

Quelle joie de vivre
Dans I’eau!
Slowly to gape through the waters,
Alone with the element;
To sink, and rise, and go to sleep with the waters;
To speak endless inaudible wavelets into the wave;
To breathe from the flood at the gills,
Fish-blood slowly running next to the flood, extracting fish-
fire;
To have the element under one, like a lover;
And to spring away with a curvetting click in the air,
Provocative.
Dropping back with a slap on the face of the flood.
And merging oneself!

To be a fish !

So utterly without misgiving
To be a fish
In the waters.

Loveless, and so lively!
Born before God was love,
Or life knew loving.
Beautifully beforehand with it all.

Admitted, they swarm in companies,
Fishes.
They drive in shoals.
But soundless, and out of contact.
They exchange no word, no spasm, not even anger.
Not one touch.
Many suspended together, forever apart.
Each one alone with the waters, upon one wave with the rest.

A magnetism in the water between them only.

I saw a water-serpent swim across the Anapo,
And I said to my heart, _look, look at him!
With his head up, steering like a bird!
He’s a rare one, but he belongs…_

But sitting in a boat on the Zeller lake
And watching the fishes in the breathing waters
Lift and swim and go their way— I said to my heart, _who are these?_
And my heart couldn’t own them…
A slim young pike, with smart fins
And grey-striped suit, a young cub of a pike
Slouching along away below, half out of sight,
Like a lout on an obscure pavement…

Aha, there’s somebody in the know!

But watching closer
That motionless deadly motion,
That unnatural barrel body, that long ghoul nose,…
I left off hailing him.

I had made a mistake, I didn’t know him,
This grey, monotonous soul in the water,
This intense individual in shadow,
Fish-alive.

I didn’t know his God,
I didn’t know his God.

Which is perhaps the last admission that life has to wring
out of us.

I saw, dimly,
Once a big pike rush.
And small fish fly like splinters.
And I said to my heart, _there are limits
To you, my heart;
And to the one God.
Fish are beyond me._

Other Gods
Beyond my range… gods beyond my God. .
They are beyond me, are fishes.
I stand at the pale of my being
And look beyond, and see
Fish, in the outerwards,
As one stands on a bank and looks in.
I have waited with a long rod
And suddenly pulled a gold-and-greenish, lucent fish from
below,
And had him fly like a halo round my head,
Lunging in the air on the line.

Unhooked his gorping, water-horny mouth.
And seen his horror-tilted eye,
His red-gold, water-precious, mirror-flat bright eye;
And felt him beat in my hand, with his mucous, leaping
life-throb.

And my heart accused itself
Thinking: _I am not the measure of creation.
This is beyond me, this fish.
His God stands outside my God._

And the goId-and-green pure lacquer-mucus comes off in my
hand.
And the red-gold mirror-eye stares and dies,
And the water-suave contour dims.

But not before I have had to know
He was born in front of my sunrise.
Before my day.

He outstarts me.
And I, a many-fingered horror of daylight to him,
Have made him die.

Fishes,
With their gold, red eyes, and green-pure gleam, and
under-gold.
And their pre-world loneliness,
And more-than-lovelessness.
And white meat;
They move in other circles.

Outsiders.
Water-wayfarers.
Things of one element.
Aqueous,
Each by itself.

Cats, and the Neapolitans,
Sulphur sun-beasts.
Thirst for fish as for more-than-water;
Water-alive
To quench their over-sulphureous lusts.

But I, I only wonder
And don’t know.
I don’t know fishes.

In the beginning
Jesus was called The Fish.
And in the end.


----------



## Aus

Betta update:

Sid's clear of all visible ich and is in the last stages of treatment. I am fervently hoping that this is the end of the blasted thing. He's getting more blue by the day, with his fins having thin strips of electric blue in them now, and lots of bright blue scales on his body. He likes to watch my housemate do his Hapkido exercises, and also likes nipping Daughter, who finds this both hilarious and a little disturbing.

She wonders what sort of toothy monster a betta might seem to a gnat, or a gnat-sized girl. 

Demyx is enjoying not having the filter running - it freaks him out even on the very lowest setting. So he's in for frequent water changes until the larger tank happens. He seems happy enough, though, his colour's returned and he floofs merrily around the tank a bit more often. Daughter's thrilled - he even greets her now, like Sid does.


----------



## Aus

Sid's dorsal fin is about 1/4 electric blue today. There's also new blue 'threads' in his tail that I swear weren't there two days ago.

The rest of his fins are the same deep red, but his body scales all have a blue sheen now and even his face is taking a blue cast. I wonder if it's something I'm feeding him, or the change in water quality. In any case, it's amazing to watch him slowly change colour.


----------



## Aus

Things that are horrible:

1. Insomnia
2. Marzipan

Things that are not horrible:

1. My fishy
2. George Clooney


----------



## Aus

Today's poem isn't really a 'fish poem', but it uses fish as a metaphor so precisely and beautifully that I count it as one. 

I used to tell myself that I didn't like Sylvia Plath's poems. She's too self-involved, I said, too emotional, histrionic, cryptic. And that I disliked her work because a million overly emotional and self-obsessed wanna-be poetesses worship it, and - ick. I'm nobody's art-sheep. I disliked her, I said, on principle.

Years later, and in hindsight, I can admit that I couldn't stand to read Plath because she was a genius - an educated and hard-working poet, a genius with sonics and syllabics, structure and pacing, and especially imagery. Every one of her poems is the result of careful deliberation, demonstrating the perfection of her art.

And I will never, in a million years, ever write as well as Sylvia Plath. :|

(I still can't stand mopey lit majors who worship Plath's tragedy as much as, if not more than, her poetry. Perhaps it's more appropriate to dislike _them_ on principle). :-?

Here's the poem:



Mirror 
by Sylvia Plath

I am silver and exact. I have no preconceptions.
Whatever I see I swallow immediately
Just as it is, unmisted by love or dislike.
I am not cruel, only truthful ‚
The eye of a little god, four-cornered.
Most of the time I meditate on the opposite wall.
It is pink, with speckles. I have looked at it so long
I think it is part of my heart. But it flickers.
Faces and darkness separate us over and over.

Now I am a lake. A woman bends over me,
Searching my reaches for what she really is.
Then she turns to those liars, the candles or the moon.
I see her back, and reflect it faithfully.
She rewards me with tears and an agitation of hands.
I am important to her. She comes and goes.
Each morning it is her face that replaces the darkness.
In me she has drowned a young girl, and in me an old woman
Rises toward her day after day, like a terrible fish.


----------



## SeaHorse

Wow. Having never heard of Sylvia Plath, that was my very first experience of/with her work.... I am very intrigued to read more. Thank you for that experience. I'm enjoying all of the poems by the way! 

How are the boys?


----------



## Aus

Hiya JB, here's a link to a pile of Plath poems: http://www.angelfire.com/tn/plath/

My absolute favourites are the one I posted above, Tulips, The Moon and the Yew Tree and Blackberrying. 

And Sid is awesome! He's a ninja fish.  So funny, the way he slinks around his tank, springing out at imaginary enemies. His tank isn't large but I've made a real effort to make it interesting for him - he has a little 'jungle' of moss to wriggle in, and his awesome cave which he likes as well. I'm finding he's very fond of floating wisteria and weaves in and out of it - like a ninja!

Demyx is less stressy now, getting used to human contact and water changes. He has a lot of those, as he's in the unfiltered 1.5 g still, but 2x partial and 1x full water change a week is keeping him clean. His fins are just a tiny bit raggedy - they were that way when we bought him - and I figure a little AQ salt in his water might fix that. It's not fin rot thank goodness, just some minor tearing. He also like the floating wisteria and seems a bit more relaxed now it's been added.

How's your swordtail babies? 

I'll probably never breed fish, as I don't think I'm up to all the extra care they'd need and larger tanks, etc., so I'll just enjoy everyone's pics and stories. Baby fish are so darned cute!

Oh - just wanted to add, I really enjoyed the pics of your 75g tank, it's quite beautiful, and that pirate wreck ornament totally impressed Daughter, lol. Nicely done!


----------



## Aus

I have been trying all day to catch a picture of Sid lurking in the mouth of his cave like a little red conga eel, but as soon as I approach with a camera he slithers out and dashes all over in excitement. 

Stay still, Sid! Dammit! *shakefist*


----------



## Aus

So. I went to check on Daughter's fish. There's no fish.

He's vanished. I am freaking out. I check on, around and behind the table he's on. No fish.

The mothership did not take this fish home. He has to be somewhere. I am eyeing the sofa. Could he jump that far? Through a closed lid, fer chrissake? 

One of the features of the IQ3 cube is that the filter pump is housed in a compartment at the back. Having no filter on this tank presently, that space is just filled with water.There's a tiny hole right on the water line, where the pump hose used to feed through to the tank.

Yep. We are on the same page, here. 

Demyx wiggled through this gap (thank begorrah he's tiny) and is now merrily floofing around the pump compartment, wondering what all the fuss is and where his nice new water lettuce went.

Which means I need to find a way to get him out without hurting him, which will likely mean dismantling the tank, then find a way to block the hole and put the tank back together.

Wait. 

"I" need to do these things? This isn't MY fish! *eyeballs the teenager..*


----------



## Aus

So. While we're wondering how to go about getting Demyx P. Houdini out of this very narrow space he put himself in, he managed to wiggle back through the hole into his tank.

And was staring at us as if to say, "What?"

I plugged the hole with the pump output nozzle, until I find an adequate bit of sponge. 

Daughter thinks he's even cooler now. :roll:

Here's another Rupert Brooke poem about fish and fishy heaven. I think he quite liked them:

Heaven
by Rupert Brooke

FISH (fly-replete, in depth of June,
Dawdling away their wat'ry noon)
Ponder deep wisdom, dark or clear,
Each secret fishy hope or fear.
Fish say, they have their Stream and Pond;
But is there anything Beyond?
This life cannot be All, they swear,
For how unpleasant, if it were!
One may not doubt that, somehow, Good
Shall come of Water and of Mud;
And, sure, the reverent eye must see
A Purpose in Liquidity.
We darkly know, by Faith we cry,
The future is not Wholly Dry.
Mud unto mud! -- Death eddies near --
Not here the appointed End, not here!
But somewhere, beyond Space and Time.
Is wetter water, slimier slime!
And there (they trust) there swimmeth One
Who swam ere rivers were begun,
Immense, of fishy form and mind,
Squamous, omnipotent, and kind;
And under that Almighty Fin,
The littlest fish may enter in.
Oh! never fly conceals a hook,
Fish say, in the Eternal Brook,
But more than mundane weeds are there,
And mud, celestially fair;
Fat caterpillars drift around,
And Paradisal grubs are found;
Unfading moths, immortal flies,
And the worm that never dies.
And in that Heaven of all their wish,
There shall be no more land, say fish.


----------



## Aus

Today was a day of firsts!

Sid's first full-on flare! He's puffed up somewhat before, but this time he did an awesome flare, he looked like a little red lion. :-D He apparently feels my multi-nib pen is a major threat to bettas everywhere. Silly fish. Now he's loafing on his leaf hammock, content at having vanquished the pen of doom. 

And Demyx blew his first bubblenest! :-D It's not terribly awesome, but hey, he's only little. He was flaring, too. Must be some vagrant fish testosterone in the air today? And I have pics on the phone, which I'll post as soon as i figure out how to upload from it. 

Daughter is very proud of her betta. Sid still hasn't blown a proper one, but he is a ninja and is therefore forgiven.

Both of our fish are kind of runty, compared to the other bettas I've seen. Demyx seems like a younger fish, and has even grown a bit just in the short time we've had him. Sid is just a runt, I fear. But he makes up for it by having a massive personality. 


Here's a poem that is over 3,000 years old. It's a fragment from an ancient Egyptian love poem. And yes, the author is being quite crude. "Look at my fish", indeed... Men. They never change..:lol:


And I'd say, standing there tall in the shallows: 
Look at my fish, love, how it lies in my hand, 
How my fingers caress it, slip down its sides . . . 
But then I'd say softer, eyes bright with your seeing: 
A gift, love. No words. Come closer and look, 
it's all me.


----------



## Aus

iPod pics, can't wait to get a camera...

Sid flaring:









Sid being oddly co-operative (aka in focus for once):









and Demyx' bubblenest:


----------



## Aus

It'll be a couple weeks before I can afford to go aquarium shopping again (and I have to travel across the damn city now, because I am NOT giving the local betta death camp another cent until they learn what clean water is). 

But I really want to upgrade to a 5g, natural planted tank sooner or later. 

OldFishLady's NPT's are amazing, and have inspired me to try it out. I'd love a heavily planted, natural-looking tank. Less and smaller water changes would work pretty well for me, though I worry about having to clean out the entire tank (the prospect of lugging all that glass about makes me really nervous, being so klutzy these days). Also, with the occasional but usually brief stay in hospital, I'd feel better with a bit of leeway in unavoidably missing a water change. Plus - NPT's are just so lovely to look at, fish or no fish. I am actually excited at the prospect of learning about proper care of water plants. Wonder if there's any which flower (and aren't massive, hugely invasive or toxic to fish). 

I have this vision where there's a semi-submerged driftwood feature, with tiny epiphytic orchids growing on it in the humidity provided by the tank...










Another thing I want and must be very, very patient for - my betta macrostoma. One guy wanted $400 a pair... thing is, I'd not like to keep them just for pets, since they're pretty rare in the wild now. And I am fairly sure that breeding just isn't an option for me at all, unless my health improves a great deal. Which it might. But also, it might not. :| Sigh.

I just love the macrostomas, though. What brutally elegant fish.


----------



## Aus

*Plantlets!*

My java fern had babies? :shock:

Checking on Sid this morning, and there's two tiny little plantlets floating near the filter outlet. They have two leaves and little roots. Awh. :-D

Not sure whether they're java fern or cryptocorene. And don't know what to do with them, as they're way too tiny to tie to anything and I don't want to move them out of water they are thriving in. 

My water lettuce is doing very well. It's not planted, just floating on top to give Sid a bit of extra surface support, and is sending down a lot of roots. 

The little cryptocorene pots are doing okay. I worried they'd not get enough light, but they seem happy enough. Looking at the baby plants again, I do think they're probably cryptos. 

Turns out that I have some java moss, too, growing among the broader-leaved mossy stuff (the name of which I have forgotten.. ) - just a few strands, but next time I hoover the tank I'll take it out and tether it to something. 

There's weird hairlike algae growing on my java fern, also. It looks like a bad hair transplant. Not sure the fern is all that happy. It didn't like being moved, I know that much.


----------



## Aus

OMGOMGOMG :shock: OMG

I just got asked to work for Chaosium. The people who produce Call of Cthulu. My illustrations will be in a book. By Chaosium!

OMFG!!!


----------



## Aus

And Sid's fins are showing healthy regrowth, from where the cotton fin ate away the gluey bits. :-D

My fishy will have pretty fins. Yay!

Yes, I'm still all hyper about the Chaosium offer, woohoo.. but the fins are great news, too! 

Here's an example of my art. I draw Lovecraftian monsters. :shock: Which I adore, totally. :-D


----------



## SeaHorse

Yeah for Sid's fins!
Thank you for the link to the poems by Sylvia Plath...I don't think I thanked you!

Fabulous art work! I admit I had to Google to see who/what you were referring to.... yes this art commission is well deserved! You go girl!!


----------



## Aus

Thanks, JB - and you're welcome, too!

I had a weird and wonderful dream about Sid last night. I can't recall what came before, except that it was a nice dream - but at some point Daughter and I were wading through a flooded field in which the water grew deeper as we walked out into it.

I was looking for Sid - he'd somehow been washed into this grassy water, and I was really sad. Then Daughter said 'Why don't you just call him? I hear they come when you call their names." 

So I bent down toward the water and called him, and .. nothing. I was so sad, and about to give up when I saw a saw a little red 'wiggle' in the water near my feet. It was Sid!

I scooped him up in something (I have no idea what) and he was wiggling his fins at me like, 'What took you so long?"

Lol. Spending to much time thinking about my betta, maybe? :lol:



Here is a poem that is around 800 years old. The author is a famous Persian poet and mystic, who was born around 1320. 

The Fish and I Will Chat
by Khwāja Shamsu d-Dīn Muhammad Hāfez-e Shīrāzī (Hafez or Hafiz)​ 

Once
In a while
The fish and I will chat
In the silent
Language:

We look
into each other's eyes and smiile,
And they often
Say,

"Hey, Hafiz
We see you know the joy of
Our existence.

We see you have discovered how meditation
Can free you from land,
Mind, debts, alimony, the
Whole works.

And like
Us

Let you carouse all day
In
God."​


----------



## Aus

The temperature hit 37C (98.6F) today, so I turned the heaters off in both tanks - room temp being higher than heater temp = redundant heater, I would suppose, or maybe cooked fishies...?:-? 

It's past midnight now and just on 28C (82F) which is just over regular tank temp, so the tanks should be normal. I'm staying up so I turn them back on for the late night temp drop that'll be here in an hour or two. Up early to turn 'em back off - another hot day tomorrow (33C) but cooling down for the rest of the week tomorrow night. Thank goodness.


----------



## SeaHorse

Hi Aus... I am jealous and not jealous at the same time... LOL. I hate the heat, I just wilt into a puddle each summer. But I just came in from romping with my 2 dogs in the SNOW. -2C or 29-30F today but sunny. Lets just blend the two and have a drink at about 65-70 degrees and share fish stories. Italy... Cappuccino.... that works for me. !!? 
Would I be safe to say you are in Australia?


----------



## Aus

Yep, Australia! And cappuccino in Italy sounds great. 

I have never seen real snow, only mushy stuff that wasn't very fun to slosh through. I hate being cold, so I'm content with pictures of snow. :lol:

The boys have just loved our 35+ C, thunderstormy weather. Sid was zipping around his tank like a maniac during the major thunder and lightning, to the point where I was concerned about him - but he was just being hyper silly. Even the much calmer Demyx was a little excitable and floofed around like mad. 

My housemate - the one who commented that he hadn't thought of fish having personalities - got a lovely greeting after his weekend away. Sid had finally calmed down a bit and was loafing on his hammock as Daughter and I went about our doings - but when the housemate came in, Sid went silly again, zooming about, wiggling, flapping his fins madly at the front of the tank. I think he earned himself a few more endearment points, lol. 

The rain has been really lovely, after days of muggy heat. The bromeliads are enjoying it too, all lined up in the garden outside to get a drink and a refreshing 'shower'. 

I mentioned in the gardening thread that I was considering a return to carnivorous plants. They're pretty amazing, and quite addictive once you get the growing them successfully thing down pat. They're not as fussy as they seem at first - a bit like bettas, it gets simpler with time - and there's a terrarium idea I'd really love to try out.

I wish I'd taken pictures of my old 'mother sundew' - a drosera capensis which lived years past her prime, and grew so big that she needed several bamboo-stick supports for what became a very long 'trunk'. Her leaf span was probably a foot and a half wide, and the same high, and her flower stalks were spectacular. She finally passed away of old age, after providing everyone I knew and several plant stores with her many children. I've had many other 'pet plants' but she was my all time favourite.


----------



## Aus

And here's a poem, something fun today:

We Fish
by Herman Melville

We fish, we fish, we merrily swim,
We care not for friend nor for foe.
Our fins are stout,
Our tails are out,
As through the seas we go.

Fish, Fish, we are fish with red gills;
Naught disturbs us, our blood is at zero:
We are buoyant because of our bags,
Being many, each fish is a hero.
We care not what is it, this life
That we follow, this phantom unknown;
To swim, it’s exceedingly pleasant,—
So swim away, making a foam.
This strange looking thing by our side,
Not for safety, around it we flee:—
Its shadow’s so shady, that’s all,—
We only swim under its lee.
And as for the eels there above,
And as for the fowls of the air,
We care not for them nor their ways,
As we cheerily glide afar!

We fish, we fish, we merrily swim,
We care not for friend nor for foe:
Our fins are stout,
Our tails are out,
As through the seas we go.


----------



## Aus

Sid's not happy with me. Not one bit.

He's in the 1.5 g hospital tank, on AQ salt for suspiciously raggedy fin-ends. Not a major issue yet, but enough to warrant a week in special care.

He hates it. :-(

Demyx, on the other hand, is still a happy little fish. He's going into his new and larger tank - I'm not sure how many gallons it is (it's a Kritter Keeper type of thing) but it's at least double what he has, so probably 3 g. I'll measure it accurately when I pour the water.


----------



## Aus

Demyx's tank is 12 liters, so .. about 3.25 gallons. He's been acclimated and released, and is once more a happy little fish, floofing around his new digs. 

Sid is not a happy camper. Swimming okay, eating okay, active as ever. But if a fish can manage to give somebody the stink-eye, Sid has well and truly achieved it. I feel terrible, but it's for his own good. Hopefully his fins repair soon, and we can be friends again. :|

While he's indisposed, I'm going to make a few changes to his tank, maybe employ the driftwood I bought, once most of the tannins are gone (I wouldn't mind a bit, but they're really dark!).


----------



## Aus

Splendens
by Salli Shepherd

My fish is red. A ribbon in the water. Like blood, ribboning. 
A bullet-bodied predator, sub-aqueous assassin of gnats.
Hunts my finger along the tank; he thinks he's big enough.
Gluttonous fish, scarlet as evening, a pirate's bold flag.
A strange, autonomous orchid flower, fallen in the water.
Dragon-embryo, water-child, fluttering in his womb of glass.


----------



## Aus

I'm even more worried about Sid, day 2 in the salt and his fins look awful. 

I can't even think of things to type. So many bettas die, years before their time. Is it something I'm doing? Is that he was sickly when I got him? Both? Will he be okay?

I haven't known him long, but he's the fish I want to have around. He's really MY fish. :-(

It looks like fin melt. I'm trying trisulfa whatever it is tomorrow. Knock the damn disease on the head real hard if I can.


----------



## Aus

Okay - in less of a panic today. I calmed myself by reading threads here and on other sites re rapid finrot - and am holding off on the heavy meds as there's been no progression of the rot today. Yesterday was awful - in just a few hours, in the middle of the night (I'm a chronic insomniac so I was up and checking on him, and ofc no stores open at that hour..) Sid lost a lot of fin. But by store-opening time he hadn't lost any more and none at all today. Maybe the salt is working. I hope the salt is working.

Sid, meanwhile, is taking the opportunity of having a non-filtered tank to bubblenest like crazy. 

I've said it before, but I really must say it again: Sid is a trooper. Aside from some justifiable sulking (and yes, fish CAN sulk - whodathunk?) over being moved out of his cosy, leafy home tank and into the bare-floor, minimalist salt shack, he's shown very little sign of stress about anything, including a dose of ich and resulting meds, being cupped for water changes, etc. He's still extremely curious about anything and everything, and actively seeks interaction with the various people who pass his tank frequently. The tank is beside the door to the kitchen, and with not one but TWO teenage girls - gods help me - in the house this week, the traffic is never-ending. They change clothes every fifteen point three seconds, too - I've clocked them - so I have to wonder of he thinks they're all different creatures passing by rather than just two extremely fickle ones. 

I have begun to wonder whether Sid can recognise my voice. Am I nuts? I know I can hear when I'm underwater, and that in water sound is amplified, and that fish hate their glass being tapped on a lot, or loudly. When I say 'hello', which I do quite a lot as I pass by, he gets really excited and never fails to rush over all flappy and wiggly, no doubt hoping for an extra meal. 

Demyx loves his new tank, and looks happier by the day. He's a lot less stressy, too, so his lovely blues are really shining. He still hates water changes with a passion, and is a bugger to catch. He sees the catching-cup lowering and squishes himself so tight to the heater I can't possibly even try. But curiosity and that wonderful air-breathing organ always bring him up again, and after ten minutes of exasperation I can usually get him in without too much of a chase. 

I've been writing a lot lately, which is a massive relief. A writer who can't write isn't much chop, and the illness I had all through February capped off a really crappy few months, health- and stress-wise. All my inspiration and drive to write, which has sustained me through some very hard times in the past four years, vanished under the weight of it all. I feared my muse had gone for good, I really did. Not a pleasant thought. But here she is, just back from her holiday, sporting a tan and better than ever. Meaning, I'm writing of a sudden, and better than I expected after such a long break. About time a tide turned in my favour, and I'm really grateful that it has. 

My very lovely housemate also gave me monies for new art materials for a tardy birthday gift, so I'm starting a drawing to give to him for his birthday later this month. Another thing i haven't done in a while. I hope this means normalcy (such as it can possibly be within a 50-mile radius of me and my odd little family) is returning at last. 

A thought which has inspired me to write a betta-story, which I've made notes for and will post here sooner or later, when it's done and polished up. 

Ah, water change time. It's actually quite relaxing, like dishes or cleaning the bathroom, which I also enjoy (see what I mean about 'normal' being relative around here?).


----------



## Aus

YAY! 

Well, I am now a firm believer in trying salt before medicating. Day 4 and I can see a tiny bit of clear, healthy regrowth on the tip of Sid's tail and a little whitish tissue at the edges of the other affected fins.

Awesome. I reduced the level of salt on day 1 from 1 teaspoon per gallon to 1/2 teaspoon per 1.5 gallons, as Sid was looking quite distressed, and this appears to be both effective and less stressful for him. 

Couple things I've noted since he's been in the salt:

1. His poo is completely normal. No more long, hangy white sections. I am even more convinced that his white poo (completely white when I got him, half and half after a few weeks of good food and care) was the result of a gut infection and not worms. 

2. His ventral fins are both relaxed. I had assumed, because all his other fins were relaxed, that Sid just had dodgy ventral fins that were unable to fully relax, as in all this time I have never seen them drop from 'half mast', half tucked-up. Well, now, they are relaxed. I wonder if this had to do with the above gut issue, or something else. 

While he's in the hospy tank, I took the opportunity to redecorate his regular home. I removed his fake mangrove root cave and used a couple of pieces of driftwood I got from the aquarium when we bought Demyx. It's not as jungly-looking but there's a bit more swim-room for him and I've read the little bit of tannins leaching out of the wood (I soaked it for a while in a bucket to get most of it out - there was a LOT) will be beneficial to him. 

I'll put some pics up soon.


----------



## Aus

I love this poem - it describes exactly the process of inspiration for me (well, not exactly the same as such, but the feel of it is precise). I love that a fish is the turning point - I used to love watching the little puffer fish rise up under the jetties when we lived near Mordialloc Creek, a brine estuary creek here in Melbourne. Definitely something magical about experiences with wild fish.


*The Painter and the Fish*
by Raymond Carver




All day he’d been working like a locomotive.
I mean he was _painting_, the brush strokes
coming like clockwork. Then he called
home. And that was that. That was all she
wrote. He shook like a leaf. He started
smoking again. He lay down and got back
up. Who could sleep if your woman sneered
and said time was running out? He drove
into town. But he didn’t go drinking.
No, he went walking. He walked past a mill
called “the mill”. Smell of fresh-cut
lumber, lights everywhere, men driving
jitneys and forklifts, driving themselves.
Lumber piled to the top of the warehouse,
the whine and groan of machinery. Easy
enough to recollect, he thought. He went
on, rain falling now, a soft rain that wants
to do its level best not to interfere
with anything and in return asks only
that it not be forgotten. The painter
turned up his collar and said to himself
he wouldn’t forget. He came to a lighted
building where, inside a room, men played
cards at a big table. A man wearing
a cap stood at the window and looked
out through the rain as he smoked
a pipe. That was an image he didn’t
want to forget either, but then
with his next thought he
shrugged. What was the point?


He walked on until he reached the jetty
with its rotten pilings. Rain fell
harder now. It hissed as it struck
the water. Lightning came and went.
Lightning broke across the sky
like memory, like revelation. Just
when he was at the point of despair,
a fish came up out of the dark
water under the jetty and then fell back
and then rose again in a flash
to stand on its tail and shake itself!
The painter could hardly credit
his eyes, or his ears! He’d just
had a sign – faith didn’t enter
into it. The painter’s mouth flew
open. By the time he’d reached home
he’d quit smoking and vowed never
to talk on the telephone again.
He put on his smock and picked up
his brush. He was ready to begin
again, but he didn’t know if one
canvas could hold it all. Never
mind. He’d carry it over
onto another canvas if he had to.
It was all or nothing. Lightning, water,
fish, cigarettes, cards, machinery,
the human heart, that old port.
Even the woman’s lips against
the receiver, even that.
The curl of her lip.


----------



## Aus

I posted in this on the dragon thread in The Lounge, but I'd like it here, too, since it's one of the few of my own drawings that I actually like, and maybe it'll inspire me to use these lovely new pens more frequently:


----------



## Aus

While Sid was cupped for today's water change I noticed my cat looking at the main tank with a seriously intent and somewhat disturbed look on his face.

Tomtom is a marvellous hunter of all terrestrial things rat sized and under, but he is terrified of fish. He won't come within three feet of Daughter's tank, even though it's on the low coffee table beside our sofa. 

Anyway, Tomtom is glaring at my main tank, which is on a wheeled television stand. I was quite puzzled, as there's no fish in there to scare him. So now I'm staring at the tank, too - nope, nothing out of the ordinary. How peculiar, I think, and there's Tomtom, stiff and glaring away at - nothing?

Then I noticed the floating wisteria drifting slightly in the very slow filter flow. It does a graceful loop around the top of the tank that I hadn't actually seen before, but yup - it was moving. 

So now I can also say that my cat is afraid of water lettuce.


----------



## Aus

Day 7 - a week in the salt bath at 1/2 a tsp gallon and Sid is not only still bubble nesting like a loon but also showing a lot of clear, healthy webbing between the rays where the rot was. I'm not happy with his ventral fins. They've never looked great, but were always half tucked so I couldn't see what was what with them. Now they're down, I can see they've been quite badly damaged, probably since I got him. No sign of the really shreddy one healing yet, either, but no sign of ongoing rot - they look exactly the same as a few days ago. 

His main tank is reading 0.25 ppm ammonia - I've been 'feeding' it with a little bit of fish food every few days to give whatever healthy bacteria are in there something to do while Sid's not in there, and maybe put a little too much in yesterday. It's been reading at 0 for a week prior, so I'm guessing I OD'd it on fish food. 

I'll give Sid a few more days in the hosp tank minus salt, and keep monitoring the home tank until it's back to 0. 

I --neeeeeed--- that full test kit for nitrates/nitrates but omg, the bills are in and it may have to wait a while.. and I am not paying the $80.00 my LFS store wants for it. Hopefully I can go shopping about for a cheaper kit next week. Until then, I can only monitor ammonia and grit my teeth. 

My wisteria's new roots are hanging about 2" down now and are branching. I still don't know what this 'freshwater seaweed' stuff is called (I forgot ><) but it's doing okay, as are the anubias and cryptos, though the cryptos are maybe looking a little leggy? I'm not sure if they're meant to, though, so must look that up. 

The java fern is enjoying the cold water, I think, as it's looking perkier and has some new leaf buds coming on. I hope it likes being tied to the driftwood, and keeps being happy once the heater goes back in.

I really want a couple of shrimp... 

In fact, now we have the small Kritter Keeper as a hospital tank, the IQ3 is a spare. I think that'd be fine for a few crystal shrimp or RCS. I think they're adorable. Would need another small heater, though.


----------



## SeaHorse

(In fact, now we have the small Kritter Keeper as a hospital tank, the IQ3 is a spare. I think that'd be fine for a few crystal shrimp or RCS. I think they're adorable. Would need another small heater, though.)

Ahhhh!.... and so the addiction continues!! You have it bad my dear. LOL. 
Glad to hear that Sid is doing so mush better!!
$80 bucks....?? are they nuts? Should be somewhere between $30-$50. 
Even buying online with shipping might be cheaper than $80. Wow. Good luck.


----------



## Aus

> Ahhhh!.... and so the addiction continues!! You have it bad my dear. LOL.


Guilty as charged... 

And thanks - Sid is looking great, compared to a week ago. Still kind of grumpy about being in the little tank (which is next to his main tank, so he glares at it.. had to card it so he wouldn't obsess, oy, all my animals are so neurotic..) but at least he's making some lovely bubblenests, which he can't seem to do in the IQ5, probably due to the filter flow. 

Speaking of the IQ5, I've been worried about how to get plant-friendly lighting for it, but it seems the LED display for it is 6500K - perfect! No wonder the plants are happy. 

The new set up is relaxing just to look at on its own, I really like the natural look. Though those shrimpies would make it pertier.. and of course, Sid. 

Patience! It's a virtue, I hear. :lol:

I am one bag of clean substrate and a little more research re water chemistry, and an expensive test kit away from creating a NPT, OldFishlady style. Well, I'll be hassling her for advice, at least, while I try not to fail.

My driftwood's so nice.. I think a few squiggly sticks poking up against the black background of the tank would complete it. But for now, it's nice enough. 

Must. Get. Pics!


----------



## Aus

Last day of salt today. Sid's fin problem has halted for sure, and reversed in some places - but not others. His anal fin is showing less sign of repair than his tail, which had the rapid rot and now is showing plenty of healthy new fin growing. The anal fin has a bite-sized chunk out of it, which bothers me. I assumed it was the rot, as I watch him quite closely and have never once witnessed fin-biting. But at least there's no more loss. 

I'm keeping him (against his will) in the hospital tank until his main tank settles with the new wood. It's still at 0.25 ammonia or thereabouts today, though the test was more yellow than pale lime, so perhaps it's dropped a little. I'm leaving Sid be, in case the changes threw the other tank into a mini-cycle or something (rather than it just being that I overfed the tank..).

My wisteria has lots of lovely new leaves coming on. The crypt in the ceramic pot is looking a tad pale, and its leaves are long.. it's a longer-stemmed variety than some crypts and it's producing pups okay. But I wonder if it's getting enough light to be happy. 

And I think I found out what the "freshwater seaweed" is! It looks like this:










Which is often sold as 'Pellia', 'Pelia', or 'Subwassertang':

"*Süsswassertang* (German spelling: *Süßwassertang*) is a type of aquarium plant formerly known as "round Pellia" or "round-leaf Pellia". It was long considered to be a liverwort, which it strongly resembles, but in 2009, a molecular phylogenetic study determined that it is, in fact, an fern gametophyte. Further, it is a species of Lomariopsis.[1] It is closest to Lomariopsis lineata, but may be a new, unnamed species. Many reference sources on the web describe it as L. lineata, but its inclusion in that species has not been validly determined. Efforts to induce the plant to form a sporophyte have failed, which may indicate status as a new species. This plant was first mis- identified as Pellia endiviifolia, then as Monosolenium tenerum, before the analysis that determined its true status.


The name means "freshwater seaweed" in German.

Reproduction is by fragmentation. Pieces that break off develop into new plants."


As mentioned above, it used to be regarded as a variety of liverwort, Monosolenium tenerum, which is actually terrestrial, and has been likened to a 'living fossil' because it is extremely primitive as far as plants go. Monosolenium is native to South East Asia and apparently quite rare in the wild:

"In Japan the incidence of this species has declined in the countryside in recent decades—after adoption of modern plumbing. When the old-fashioned privy was current, Monosolenium was a common "weed," as, e.g., around the privies in the periphery of the Mossy Temple at Kyoto...and in settled areas. The plant apparently hardly occurs "wild" and always seems associated with man—much like that other east Asiatic monotype, Ginkgo biloba. It is of interest that this plant, "lost" for decades, appeared on fertilized soil in a greenhouse in Munich, giving Goebel the opportunity to carefully investigate the taxon."

Here's a pic of it:











Think about that, next time you find slime in your privy. You could have a rare plant on your hands! 

Thanks to Wikipedia for the information on both plants.


----------



## Aus

Here's another fish-related poem I really like :

*The Fish in the Stone*
by Rita Dove


The fish in the stone 
would like to fall 
back into the sea. 
He is weary 
of analysis, the small 
predictable truths. 
He is weary of waiting 
in the open, 
his profile stamped 
by a white light. 

In the ocean the silence 
moves and moves 
and so much is unnecessary! 

Patient, he drifts 
until the moment comes 
to cast his 
skeletal blossom. 

The fish in the stone 
knows to fail is 
to do the living 
a favor. 

He knows why the ant 
engineers a gangster's 
funeral, garish 
and perfectly amber. 
He knows why the scientist 
in secret delight 
strokes the fern's 
voluptuous braille.


----------



## Aus

This evening I moved one of the driftwood pieces (the one that makes a tunnel) into the little tank with Sid, as I figured it might be best to get him used to whatever changes the wood will have made to the water. 

He loves the tunnel and spent tonight doing laps around the tank just so he could swim through it. He seems to have found a favourite spot on top of the wood to sleep, and keeps returning to it after coming up for a breath now and then. Funny little fish.

The main tank doesn't look terribly tannin-y with the lights on, but I sure notice it when they're off - it's so much darker!

Little Demyx won't be 'little' for much longer, I think. He's in blooming health despite being a terrible little stress bunny and near impossible to catch, which means - stress! - at water change time. 

It amazes me daily how different in temperament our two fish are. It's still pretty amazing to me that such small fish have 'temperaments' at all. But then, I thought the same about rats when I got my very first one. 

And I must be off, to write TWO poems for my poetry forum's monthly challenge, since I am a day behind..


----------



## SeaHorse

*Demyx*

Hi Aus! May I make a suggestion? For water changes, are you catching and removing Demyx, then pouring out his water and putting in fresh? Does he have a filter and are you cleaning his tank each time? 
Another option is to use a piece of air tubing, begin a siphon into a container leaving him in the tank with 1-2 inches and then replace back the same amount of treated water/same temp. There are little squeeze type balls that can be used to start a siphon, rather than sucking on the end of the tube. Even a Turkey baster to remove in small batches, then put back the new stuff the same way or pour it directly from the jug/container into his filter slot/hole and then plug it up after. 
The stuff on the sides of the tank, feels like slime, but it's the good bacteria that gets all over and deals with the ammonia. Don't clean that stuff off. And I think you also have live plants too correct? 
Don't even catch him or remove him. Unless I'm missing something here....? :-D
JB


----------



## Aus

Hiya JB, hope all is well for you.

Demyx is in a heated tank, but he can't have a filter - even a tiny bit of flow upsets him, he gets very depressed and won't swim. He does have quite a lot of finnage for his tiny size, so maybe that's why. Anyway, this is why I do 1x 50% change, and 1x 100% change per week. I don't scrub the sides or ornaments, but I do rinse the gravel when I do the 100%. He has a large clump of java fern floating (it's very healthy and growing new leaves) and a little potted crypto (I swapped his anubias for one of Sid's cryptos).

I have a siphon, but I'm scared he'll get sucked up into the tube (he's small enough, ha). 

Also, our water, IMO, has to be aged for at least a couple of days, since we get terrible amounts of bubbles (and I'm concerned about bubble disease)-- and so the replacement water is cold, and then heated in the tank before we return him to it.

So catching and cupping's been the answer to water changes so far. He copes with being cupped, but haaaates being caught. I think I may just have to be more patient about coaxing him into the cup with food. 

I'm lucky, with Sid. I think he actually enjoys being cupped for wc's, the little weirdo. :lol:


----------



## Aus

Sid's back in the salt... 

After 24 hours out of it, his fins started peeling a few very thin strips away from the main part, no other signs of rot but I didn't like the look of it at all. And there's no ammonia in that tank whatsoever. The water's changed daily (which I honestly thought he'd be stressed about by now, but nope!).

So.. back in the salt. I'll give him three more days, see if he responds okay and then use triple sulfa, as I think whatever's going on will qualify as pretty persistent, after that.

He's otherwise as happy as can be in there; his appetite is great, he's flaring now and then. It's just the damn fins..


----------



## Aus

My wisteria is talking to me. 

"Aus," it is saying, "Listen up. Me and my friends in here, we need an NPT, like yesterday. No, really, look at all these thick roots I'm sending down, in the whim of a hope of a decent substrate. How about you get us some?"

To which I have replied, "Oh, um.. yeah. Okay?"

It's a real delight that the plants are doing well. If I get the NPT supplies today or tomorrow, the timing will be excellent for putting Sid back in the tank. 

I'm so excited! I'll need a few more plants, too... Mainly stem plants, which I've avoided because I vacuum the gravel pretty thoroughly at water changes. And I can let the wisteria put down those amazing long, thick roots it's sprouted in the past two days. 

Maybe it'll stop nagging me, then. :lol:

Speaking of Sid, I just watched him spend 5 minutes dismembering a mosquito that had snuck past the lid of his hospital tank. It was a huge one! I swear he was playing with it, must have grabbed it and spat it out half a dozen times before he finally gulped it down. Now he's sailing around the tank heroically, flaring at everything. 

Silly fish. :-D


----------



## Aus

Since Daughter's iPod is malfunctioning, my housemate (let's call him 'Irish') was kind enough to take a pic of my new tank set-up for Sid. :-D











The wisteria's roots show no sign of quitting their quest for substrate, and since I've been a little busy lately I haven't yet got round to potting-mix hunting for the planned NPT. Soon! Though the tank looks so nice at the moment it's a chance to enjoy the perty before it all gets dismantled..

I'm halfway through rearranging my living room, eyeballing several spaces and tables for a 15gallon NPT.. Everyone here loves the idea, after seeing the tannin-y natural look in Sid's tank. They all want to see some shrimp in there. And so do I! (Though honestly, I'd prefer a shrimp-only tank, or to wait for the 15gallon to give the poor lil guys a chance to hide from Sid). 

Sid's fins are improving, and so he's back in his home tank. Little Demyx has taken Sid's place in the hospy tank, due to a possible fin-chomping issue and a little raggedy edge on that. He is having a ball in the hospital tank. I put a broken-handled 'pumpkin cup' in there for him to hide in (part of a teaset that was designed to look like butternut pumpkins). He loves it to bits, and has taken to using the curve of the broken handle as a sofa, which is adorable. 

He's not stressing as much I thought he might, and seems to enjoy being in a high-traffic area. I moved his tank-table to the other side of the new sofa so he's not so hidden away when gets back into his home tank.

Demyx has developed a massive amount of fin (to the point where I am wondering whether he might be a rosetail rather than a plain HM, his tail has a very ruffled look to it, but perhaps it's just long, not sure yet and since he won't flare it's hard to get a good look at the rays)... it looks like it's really heavy for him, as his actual body is still quite small compared to Sid, who isn't large himself.


----------



## Aus

*little fish*
by Renee Liang


my astonished belly
has lately become 
a fishbowl
and you, little fish

winged mermaid
dancing citizen
of my inner seas
you sang to me

long before
your 17 weeks
long before I first saw 
your tiny arms

doing freestyle
on the screen
your feet waving
in gentle currents

little fish, as I feel you 
blowing bubbles
in my belly
I can’t help but smile.


----------



## Aus

More wisteria news...

So, it is true that wisteria will sprout a new plant from fallen-off leaves. I have two leaves with roots in my tank! 

The new growth on the main stem is less deeply pinnate than the rest, and more lobe-like, which might indicate that it's getting used to slightly lower lighting than the LFS's set up. It's still got jagged edges, so I know there's enough light to keep it healthy. 

I also put Demyx's plants in with Sid to help keep them healthy while I figure out a new light for Demyx's tank, which has less natural light now I've moved it away from the window. I'm thinking a small LED standing lamp will be good, so am looking for one that has the necessary 6500K

So, in Sid's tank there is now:

15 pieces of java fern (some floating, some tied to driftwood)
2 cryptocorenes (potted)
1 baby crypto (floating, I keep forgetting it's there..)
1 anubias (potted)
1 huge wisteria stem (with lots and lots of roots now)
2 baby wisterias (rooted leaves)
1 clump of susswasstertang (freshwater seaweed)

and now it looks a bit more jungly. :lol: Sid loves it. 

Demyx is much happier in the hospital tank than Sid was. I think he's enjoying all the action of people walking by. He loves his new teacup, but I think I'll look around for some interesting ornaments he can take back to his main tank later, I worry about boredom. He'll be in the salt another week until I'm happier with his fins. I really do think he's biting them, but I'd like to be sure his fins are not diseased. There's no new damage, though, so the salt and daily water changes must be doing their work.

I've FINALLY decided to sell off the 3.5 tons of items in my house that I no longer love so much that I simply have to keep them in boxes in the shed and my wardrobe.

This tonnage includes:

- A complete set of Crowley books.
- 300 x 1950's - 1970's books on UFO's 
- 150 beautifully illustrated children's books (I may keep a couple of those .. >> )
- 1500 x new age books on various topics, mostly healing and spirit guides
- Around 200 quartz crystals, some weighing more than 10kg, and lots of other minerals

.. and so on. I'm putting ads on ebay and several other sites, so hopefully somebody will want them. I need the room! No more clutter! :shock:

And I'll use the proceeds to make a very gnarly 10-15g NPT.. 

Since Irish and Daughter both like the idea of a larger NPT with lots of shrimp in it (and maybe a betta.. >> ), they can help with setup and water changes. :-D


----------



## Aus

Booyah! I just found an online sales site for Aussie native water plants!

http://www.aquagreen.com.au/catalog.html

Most of them require a lot more light than the ones I have, but I'm hoping they have a few low-light species. They also sell IAL - and their native equivalents, which is awesome.

I have started looking for a 44g plastic drum to keep outside for a steady supply of aged water (apparently shrimps really hate fresh tap water, even conditioned, so I want nicely aged water for when I eventually get some). It'd be nice to have a lot of water ready for changes, anyway, and a few mozzie larvae would only add to the benefits... 

I want some Pygmy Chain Sword for Sid's tank, once I get it up as an NPT. I think it's a really attractive plant, and will tolerate low light:


----------



## Aus

I want to make some of these!

Tillandsias (air plants) are such a great choice for this sort of display. It's from a wedding site, I guess they're little table favours or centerpieces.. much better than a betta in a vase!

I also found a 50L (13gallon) tank with heater for sale on Gumtree for $50 - hope it's still available! That would be perfect for my next tank.. 

I have been so timid about fishkeeping, worrying if I could keep up with it and what happens if I have to go back to hospital, etc.. But I think Daughter & Irish would cope with water changes for a few days. And water changes on two small tanks are no sweat, PLUS the bigger tank would be cycled so even less work! I have my fingers & toes crossed for a bargain tank & heater...

The guy from that native Aussie waterplant place emailed me back, nice feller, and offered to send me a quote for a pile of native lowlight plants. he;s all about preservation of species, etc, so I'd be glad to have natives in my tanks.  He also has native fish! I have to show these little guys, as they're so darn cute:











That's a threadfin rainbowfish, _Iriatherina werneri._ How cute is it?? They apparently are schooling fish, and grow up to 6cm long. 

I don't plan on getting any, but I'm so very pleased that native tropical fish like these are available. Maybe one day...


----------



## Aus

*Rip sid fishus*

.... he was swimming. Then he just - stopped. 

I'm not sure what happened.

I'm going to miss him. I really am.


----------



## SeaHorse

OH AUS....... I AM SO SORRY TO HEAR. :BIGweepy: 

No idea what happened? It's just so frustrating when we don't know why. Try not to let it eat at you, or fret that you did any thing wrong. You gave that sweet little boy a wonderful home, away from that nasty shelf at the store. You gave him a much better life. ((( HUGS ))) 
Jakie


----------



## Aus

Thank you, JB. An no, no idea what happened. It looked like a sudden, aggressive case of columnaris, so I treated with a half dose of Myxazin (never used it before, and the drops from the bottle are about 2x the size of drops from any other bottle.. and my net was out, so I dosed half until I could research how much was safe) - and in 5 mins he was dead. 

I made a thread about it, in case anyone has ideas about happened:

http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=96791

He was never 100% well, and illnesses tended to hit him really quick and hard - but this was TOO quick, it seems to me...

Sigh. We all miss him terribly.


----------



## Aus

So.... Sid's tank became a shrimp tank for a week, with three cherry reds happily zooming about to see how they did in there. I had every intention of leaving it to this fate, at least for a few months.. 

But... we went to buy a couple more shrimp (I bought four). And Daughter spotted, among all the sick-looking bettas I would not dream of buying (omg, there's a LFS rant coming up, but more on that later..) a single, happy, healthy female. One sleek, healthy little fish, out of dozens... 

And that is how we came to acquire Cleo. :roll:

I HATE giving those people money, and I had SWORN I would never do so again. But Daughter can be very persistent and persuasive, and I am a bit vulnerable to the idea of leaving a healthy fish to wind up diseased or dead like the rest .. (I am really annoyed at myself for caving in, though...) :|

So now we have Cleo and seven shrimp. And a lot of java moss.

She's a very young orangey-red VT girl. Mainly, I caved on buying her because I've never seen a betta so completely active and bright in a store cup. And -- well, all the pale, dying fish up the back rows of cups are female. They aren't as popular as the males, and I dare say they more often than not end up as 'losses'. I am seriously conflicted. I want to be happy that I have a new fish. But I'm mad as heck at myself, seriously, for going against my principles..

Anyway, right away I am noticing a few differences. Cleo did not take two weeks to perk up in her new environment. She is (as far as I can tell) 100% healthy from the get-go and didn't need a long time to start feeling good in a clean environment. In fact she adjusted to the tank in a few short minutes. She likes the filter, and doesn't mind the slightly higher setting it's on now. She never stops scooting around the tank, exploring everything -- and hunting the poor shrimp. :|

Kudos to the shrimp, though. They all manage to keep out of her way - my tank is quite heavily planted now and has wood as well, so there's no lack of places for them to hide. The two largest ones tend to ignore her completely until she tries to take a bite - they don't even go pale anymore when she snaps and they scoot away. The smaller ones are a worry, just because Cleo is so very aggressive. They keep to the back of the tank, behind the wood where Cleo can't go, and seem happy to stay back there, munching on the algae that grows on the wood. I have shrimp food, but there's enough algae back there that I think once a week feeding with a pellet is okay for now. They don't cluster around the pellet right away, as they would if they were hungry, so I'm taking it easy for now. At the rate they're going, though, I think the algae won't last long so I'll drop them more food as the growth declines.

She's nowhere near as 'personable' as Sid was, though. He was a very friendly fellow. Cleo doesn't seem so interested in interacting so much as wondering if we'll fit in her greedy little gob. She'll take some getting used to. I like her, of course, but she's just... not Sid. 

Now for the tank... I did a LOT of research about this, and decided not to take Sid's tank down for disinfecting. As the shrimp all survived quite well for a week in the tank by themselves, I could be sure the water wasn't toxic or spiking unpleasant levels of anything. Really, I was happy to leave it as a shrimp tank, so there was no reason to disassemble it. When we brought Cleo home, I thought I'd have her in the hospital tank temporarily until I'd scrubbed the old tank and got it cycled again. But in reading around various forums and sites many people advised against this, on the principle that most diseases are endemic to the water and won't attack a healthy fish. They said it was a waste of a cycle, and that they'd never take a tank apart unless toxins were present. 

After weighing up various opinions from very experienced fish-keepers, plus the risk of losing shrimp in the process of re-cycling, I decided to not scrub the tank. Now, I realise that this could be risky, but then again these people have kept fish a long, long time.. and I choose to trust them. 

So far, all is going exceedingly well. I've chosen to do 3 x 25-30% water changes per week, with a light gravel vac on the third change. This is keeping the water clean and not disturbing the plants that are taking root (more on that later..) nor disrupting the shrimp. There are areas I cannot vacuum without taking the tank apart, but these are the areas where the shrimp hang out and feed, as well as where the majority of the plant-roots are, so I figure that'll be okay. 

I'm testing ammonia levels daily - 0% so far. I think the plants are loving the extra waste the shrimp provide. They are literally sprouting overnight, new leaves everywhere! Not many dead leaves now, either, I'm removing less and less each water change. 

The java fern is finally looking truly happy. New leaves, baby plants, new rhizome. The wisteria has grown enough hanging roots that it will soon start to anchor in the gravel - next water change, I'll give it some help with that. The baby wisterias have both taken root, and the potted anubias and cryptos have extensive roots growing from the bottom of the pots, so I might not move them to vacuum anymore. They seem happier when left alone. 

I have a large clump of java moss in one front-of-tank corner, so the shrimp have a hidey spot up there too. Cleo loves to tangle herself in the middle of it, but can't get to the bottom where the shrimp hide. 

Cleo herself is amazingly active and ... as I mentioned.. aggressive. She -flares- at us (I didn't know girls did that), never stops moving except for brief 'naps', and patrols her tank thoroughly. Her environment is as enriched as I could make it, so she's always got something to poke into or re-explore. An unfortunate mosquito decided to land in the tank, and Cleo spent ten minutes playing with the poor thing before swallowing it. I definitely get the feeling that she would not play well with others...

So far there's no sign of disease, no drooping or clamped fins. She does go very pale when cupped for water changes, but regains her colour fully within a minute of being back in her tank. 

Cross fingers that I've made the right decisions. So far, so good...


----------



## Shirleythebetta

My ladies are more active than the boys. I have ten girls. I have 8 in a sorority and 1 in a one gallon and 1 a gallon and a half for quarentine. My 5 boys are lazy and don't like to move more than they have to. The girls are entertaining and mine seem to never rest, not one of them.


----------



## Aus

Hi Shirl! I think it's probably that the girls don't have as much fin weight to lump around - I wonder whether male plakats are as active, though, as their female counterparts?

Oh -- I forgot to mention, being all fish-obsessed today as I am... Daughter's best friend, who has lived with us briefly and still comes to stay quite often, went for an audition yesterday for The X-Factor. And got through to the final audition! We sat about waiting as she passed through the various processes, from 9am to 5.30 pm.. what a long day! But it was awesome hearing all the warm-ups in the waiting areas, there were so many talented kids. 

Daughter's friend - let's call her BFF - was with the executive producers longer than anyone else, so I am really hoping she gets a spot on the show. She's only 16 and has had a bit of a hard time, so this would really make a massive difference to her, I think. Just getting through the auditions was something to be very proud of! 

Omg, food at the venue was SO expensive, I was joking that the auditions were actually a front for the cafeteria's goal of making a cool million on the day, lol. And the trains weren't running, so we had to walk miles back to the tram stop. The upside of that (the down side being that I actually cannot move today, my legs have just ceased to function altogether..) was seeing a man-made pond and stream on the way back, in which ducks and yabbies were settling. Major 'boo' to the racetrack owners whose koi pond is a toxic dump in which a few stray koi are surviving against all odds. 

We went to La Porchetta after, for iced chocolates, hot chips and pizza. All in all, a very fun day out, and fingers and toes are now crossed for BFF... :-D


----------



## Shirleythebetta

I'll cross mine for her too thats exciting. 

I do believe it has something to do with the fins. I have never owned a plakat male, just my little copper lady... my lone plakat.


----------



## Aus

I actually wanted a plakat, and was planning on ordering one from a breeder LittleBettaFish recommended.. ah, well. We have Cleo, and I know better than to visit the LFS with an empty tank.

Well, empty... it had shrimp in it. 'Had' being past tense, since Cleo has decimated the shrimp population and currently has a dangerously round belly. There's only one left that I can see, and it's hiding in the back of the tank. Next water change I'll try to catch it. 

She's such a mean little fish! I actually caught her finishing off my largest shrimp - she was swimming around with it in her mouth, half-eaten already, wearing the tail end over her nose so it looked like she had a tiny pink elephant trunk...

So yup, Cleo does not play well with others and there'll be no more tank buddies unless I feel like giving her an expensive snack. She'll also not be getting fed for a few days. 

But she sure is showing me the predatory nature of her species.


----------



## Aus

Which all reminded me of this poem: 

Pike
by Ted Hughes

Pike, three inches long, perfect
Pike in all parts, green tigering the gold.
Killers from the egg: the malevolent aged grin.
They dance on the surface among the flies.

Or move, stunned by their own grandeur, 
Over a bed of emerald, silhouette
Of submarine delicacy and horror.
A hundred feet long in their world.

In ponds, under the heat-struck lily pads-
Gloom of their stillness: 
Logged on last year's black leaves, watching upwards.
Or hung in an amber cavern of weeds

The jaws' hooked clamp and fangs
Not to be changed at this date: 
A life subdued to its instrument; 
The gills kneading quietly, and the pectorals.

Three we kept behind glass, 
Jungled in weed: three inches, four, 
And four and a half: red fry to them-
Suddenly there were two. Finally one

With a sag belly and the grin it was born with.
And indeed they spare nobody.
Two, six pounds each, over two feet long
High and dry and dead in the willow-herb-

One jammed past its gills down the other's gullet: 
The outside eye stared: as a vice locks-
The same iron in this eye
Though its film shrank in death.

A pond I fished, fifty yards across, 
Whose lilies and muscular tench
Had outlasted every visible stone
Of the monastery that planted them-

Stilled legendary depth: 
It was as deep as England. It held
Pike too immense to stir, so immense and old
That past nightfall I dared not cast

But silently cast and fished
With the hair frozen on my head
For what might move, for what eye might move.
The still splashes on the dark pond, 

Owls hushing the floating woods
Frail on my ear against the dream
Darkness beneath night's darkness had freed, 
That rose slowly toward me, watching.


----------



## Aus

Daughter finally got around to uploading some more pictures so I thought I'd share a few. 

Here's a couple of Sid the week before he passed away. You can see that he's quite thin, despite having a really healthy appetite, and how ragged his fins got toward the end. Still, he was a lovely fish and I miss him a lot. 



















And here's one of little Cleo - I have a few more of her on her first day home, but Daughter hasn't uploaded them yet.. 










I really noticed the contrast between Sid and Cleo as far as healthy weight goes - Cleo has the fat, sleek look a young betta should have, and her skin is quite velvety-looking (in a good way!). She's really hard to photograph as she so rarely stops zooming around madly. 

Demyx is back in the hospital tank for biting a chunk out of his dorsal fin - I didn't even think this was possible, but he did it! That's how much fin he has, poor wee fish. It clearly bothers him when swimming, and when feeding his dorsal fin floats in front of him a bit so that's probably why he took a chunk from it. His anal fin and tail have similar but smaller bites, so it's the salt bath for him until I see them healing up somewhat. I'll have some pics of him too, soonish. 

I can't catch the shrimp in Cleo's tank... and there's at least two left! I really thought she might have eaten them all, but they're just really good at hiding. They tend to come out during water changes, but they're so wary now that I can't even get close without them going -ping- across the tank to where all the java fern rhizome is, and I really don't want to disturb it all while it's taking root on the wood pieces.. so the shrimpies remain Cleo's tankmates/possible snacks for now. I hope they stay away from her.. 

At least they're happy - one of them has a lot of eggs, so maybe there'll be baby shrimp soon. The fact that they're happy enough to breed is really encouraging.


----------



## Aus

Plant Rant

So, here's something I didn't know: all of those broken-off bits of leaf from the java fern will sprout baby plants if I don't throw them out.

I'd have about a dozen baby java ferns now, if I'd worked this out earlier. :-?

Oh, well. I have a couple going - and so now there's half a dozen baby plants of various species waiting to be either tethered or planted. Thing is, there's not a lot of room left in Cleo's tank... 

So I guess this means the NPT really, really needs to happen soon. I keep getting distracted/overtired/busy and such, or those pesky utility companies insist on sending me colourful letters, et cetera. But soon! I have my plant list all worked out!

There's one species I desperately want to have - thing is, it's not only a total challenge to grow but is also $100 per plant, give or take. Check this out, I'm sure you'll agree it's a beaut:










That's a Madagascar Lace Plant. 

I want one. Yes, I do.


----------



## Aus

*Okay, while I'm dreaming...*

I've been researching low-tech planted tanks and looking at a lot of different set-ups. Some are very feasible for me, others are not. 

This one isn't but I wish it was, and had to share it:











It was built as an almost self-sustaining tank, as the owner is absent for a month at a time. I thought I'd also share the thread it's on over at the Planted Tank forum.. the bit where he send his gf into the swamp gave me a chuckle. :lol:

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/low-tech-forum/150555-toms-bucket-o-mud-semi-self.html

It's just interesting to read about the process of the tank coming together, and how much time was put into its establishment. There's something very appealing about it all, and I'm looking forward to updates on this tank.


----------



## Aus

Here's a couple more Cleo/tank pictures:


----------



## Aus

Daughter and I had a lovely evening, eating leftover Easter chocolates and watching Charmed, series 3. Got up this morning to see Demyx looking a little better in the hospital tank - his fins are still a mess, but the rot has stopped spreading and he is looking happier. What worries me is that it's almost the exact pattern of illness Sid had... I really hope he doesn't go the same way. I'm so scrupulous with water quality & changes... I don't understand why they're getting such aggressive rot. 

Daughter stayed with her uncle & aunt for Easter - her uncle has kept fish all his life, both marine and tropical, and said he had the same trouble with bettas until a good store advised him to add something to the water.. but he can't recall what it was! Apparently, it's to do with some mineral issue or other specific to Melbourne water - he added this stuff and never had any problems after that. He said he'll check back with the store and find out what it was. I hope it helps!

Cleo seems to be doing well so far - she's such a lunatic, though. She rattled the lid of her tank by hitting it when she jumped to catch a fly crawling on top of it. Gave me a fright, lol, but she was fine. Just very annoyed at not being able to catch the fly. 

I saw THREE shrimp in the tank a few days ago, which was awesome.. I thought only two had survived the Wrath of Cleo but there's another, smaller shrimpy in there too (meaning she only managed to eat half the population..). I feed them by dropping shrimp pellets behind the driftwood at the back where Ms. Eatalot can't get to either food or shrimp. 

This surprise survivor would explain the relatively large amount of shrimp poo I remove at gravel vac time. 30% water changes every 3 days is keeping the water extremely clean (I'm paranoid about this nasty fin rot business..), with a light gravel vac once a week. 

Daughter has started restructuring her bedroom in anticipation of some new furniture, and a tank for the angelfish I agreed she could have for her birthday in October IF she kept her room spotless until then. It's amazing how much clutter we both accumulate, must be genetic, lol. 

My own room is in need of a facelift, too. I think I need some nice plants... there's a wonderful plant man at the Vic market, who sells his damaged nursery stock for very cheap. I think I'll buy the lot the next time I go, and nurse them back to health - my room is great for bromeliads, lots of indirect light. I hardly ever buy full-price house plants when the discounted sickly ones save me money for the sake of just a little time and care. 

It's almost time for our annual rubbish skip so I'm preparing to face the shed-of-massive-spiders and the boxes of old stuff in there... I'm not scared of spiders, as a rule, but these things are HUGE. :-? It's a couple of weeks away yet, and I'm honestly thinking of breaking my no-pesticides rule just to cut down the eek-factor. I probably won't, though. Eek!


----------



## Aus

And here's another fish-related poem:


*A Wild Fish Swims the Lap Pool'*
by Judith Sanders

Those flabby slowpokes, fattened on pellets --
how they flap, in their struggle not to sink.
Their flippers are spindly; their heads bulge.
How they must envy my streamlined physique,
my effortless parabolas. I'm powered by the living
flesh I've swallowed, as it fled my ruthless
teeth. A flick of a fin and I'm halfway
to the next continent. That is, when I'm
not here.

I've known things they can't imagine. I've dodged
the drifting tangles in underwater meadows.
I've grazed the crests of sunken mountains.
I've copulated in season and strewn my spawn
without a glance goodbye. I've pierced
the waves like a needle, my wake a dissolving
thread. I'm the color of water, invisible
to my enemies. When I choose, I arc and
vanish.

But here, with every take-off, I slam into a wall.
So it's back and forth, back and forth, chasing my own tail.
This water's empty: Nothing to see,
or surf, or eat. Someday I'll slash
this net of lane lines. I'll shatter these shallows
with a mighty whop and blind the bipeds
with the spray. They'll squawk till their flat faces
blaze, but with a flick of a fin, I'll arc and
vanish
into the open sea.


----------



## Aus

I've spent the last half an hour watching Cleo 'hunt' the shrimp food I dropped behind the driftwood where she can't get to it. Probably a bit mean to find it so funny... but it is! :-D

She gets so frustrated she sometimes snaps at the wisteria roots, as if it's their fault. Silly fish. 

I'm really tempted to re-do the tank today, plant the wisteria and tether the anubias to the wood, etc.


----------



## Aus

My tank looks a bit bereft now that the wisteria's planted - must get some more floating plants! A few garden leaves on top of the lid are helping to provide makeshift shade atm, lol. Hopefully I'll get some new floaties and also pics up over the weekend. 

I hope the wisteria does okay. I didn't move the anubias yet, but I will maybe after the next few water changes. 

I added the IQ5 to the 'My Aquariums' link and made an album for it, too. Its kind of fun to see how the tank has evolved over the past few months. Can't wait to add tanks.. Daughter's bedroom re-do is eating my spare monies right now, but I'm still planning that larger NPT.. as well as re-doing this small one as an NPT. I think I'll get a 10g for my bedroom, I have room and a desk to put it on.


----------



## Aus

*Shenangans!*

Oh bugger. I was trying to type 'shenanigans'!

I was just now excitedly finishing a post about my sighting of a berried shrimp in Cleo's tank - and she promptly murdered it. 

I think they get too large and slow when carrying eggs to escape from her. Ah, well. Another expensive snack. I feel a sorry for the shrimp, but catching them in this tank isn't really feasible, too many hiding places in the fern roots, with too many newly-settled ferns to warrant the disruption. 

So Irish and I watched her kill it and play with the poor thing's carcass like a cat with a mouse. Females bettas, if Cleo is anything to go by, really are incredibly swift and efficient hunters. She is currently 'killing' it over and over, pretending to lose it so she can pounce on it again. :roll:

And at least I know my water is good enough for the shrimp to breed in.


----------



## Aus

Well it has been quite a while since I posted anything on these forums, having been busy with Daughter and a massive 'spring' clean and some writing projects.. 

I guess it's time for an update! :lol:


Let's start with Cleo.. who is still in fine health and feisty as ever. She has grown a little, sideways as well as longways - she's quite plump! But that's probably due to her managing to kill and eat every single shrimp in her tank over several weeks, until there was not one shrimp left. No pellets for Cleo! 

A little about her tank: Cleo is still in the 3.5g Dymax cube, and she is very happy indeed in her little home. I still have a shallow black gravel substrate, which is pretty easy to surface vacuum but not small enough for Cleo to try to eat, which I do believe she would as she is the greediest fish in the known universe. Sharks, schmarks. This fish would eat those too, if she could.

The cube's got a lot of plants now, here's the list:

2 bunches of java moss (I had to divide the one I had..)
2 potted cryptos (which are thriving)
1 potted anubias (which needs to be moved to a better spot, methinks)
1 large stem of wisteria (rooted in substrate, happy as Larry)
4 baby wisterias from above plant (rooted in substrate, 6 baby leaves each)
15 stems of java fern (tied to wood, some producing babies on leaf-ends)
2 floating wisteria stems
susswassertang bits (freshwater seaweed, attaching itself to lots of stuff, including the red silk plant I got as a gift from Irish)

It sounds like a lot, for one little 3.5g tank, but it all looks healthy and happy, and so does Cleo, and really it's a joy to see it all flourish.

I've discovered a wonderful system for watching water quality, which is proving more accurate then chemical tests. I watch Cleo very closely for any sign of tail clamping, which the fussy little thing does at the slightest, tiniest bit of something not quite right in the tank. The moment she clamps her tail, I do a partial change. If she's still clamping an hour later, I do another (though I've only had to do a 2x change once). Then she unclamps, and all is well with Cleo's world again. 

This would be on top of a partial water change once a week, and a more thorough cleanup once a week, vacuuming out the excess poo and bits of muck. It's tricky work, though, because her tank is so heavily planted.. I vac around the plants, and Cleo has the decorum to mostly poo in the two corners I can reach, which means very little has to be disturbed.

I did have a problem with brown algae growth and a little more white mold than I like to tolerate, mainly after the first lot of shrimp were all eaten. I fixed the algae by adjusting my light-times, and the new shrimp are merrily snacking on the mold now.

Since I haven't done a full tank clean-out or thorough gravel vac in months, there's a lot of very fine detritus stirred up when I do water changes. This settles again very quickly, and the shrimp (when I have some!) absolutely love it. They zoom about sucking it all up, which is usually when Cleo manages to snag one... 

Overall, I feel the tank has reached a happy balance. I just bought 5 new shrimp, two very large ones and three smaller - they have already learned to keep well away from Ms. Munchymouth, though the biggest (a male) tend to court disaster and prod her with his feelers when she gets too close. 


Little Demyx, however, has not had such a happy time of it. His finrot progressed quite far, he is still fin-biting, and so the poor mite is looking mighty raggedy. Ten days in salt and a course of meds did nothing to mend it, so now he lives in the 1.5g hospital tank which he finds easier to get about in. He has some wisteria and a large ball of java moss, as well as his silk plant which he adores. He is a happy, friendly little fish who eats well and loves attention.. but he is still a bugger to catch at water change time! He gets a full water change every 2 days, and doesn't seem stressed about that all, past the actual chore of catching him. His tank isn't ideal, but if he's staying happy and as as healthy as I can make him in it, then I hope he has a good life. I do give him lots of extra attention, to make up for the lack of swim-space. 

I felt a bit sorry for Daughter, too - Demyx's chronic fin problems mean he is hard work to care for, and she was very nervous about doing things properly. I didn't feel she was getting to enjoy the experience of keeping a betta... so....

We have a new one! And quite a story it is. But that can wait for next time, as I think this post is long enough now! :lol:


----------



## SeaHorse

Aus..... we've missed you!! 
Thanks for the update! Need pics of the new guy definitely!!


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## ZubinBetta

"Sharks, schmarks" indeed!:
www.google.com/imgres?q=rosetail+be...1&tbnw=191&ndsp=31&ved=1t:429,r:4,s:356,i:145

(I'm sorry, I don't wield images and links very well yet.)


----------



## Aus

Thank you, JB! It's nice to have time to write here again, and catch up on the threads. And LOL, Zubin.. I'm keeping a copy of that pic, made me laugh, thanks.


So - our new fish... His name is Cole, and he's a black HM plakat. 

Which really, is the last fish I expected Daughter to point to, and say, "MUM! That one! We have to! I want him!" :shock:

Mainly because she's 13 and likes pretty things, and there were a few other prettier fish there. And I had said, "No fish!" - but well, we got a pleasant surprise when the terrible conditions of the bettas there had been improved a little, and we could actually see which fish were healthy and which were not. Sadly, about half had finrot, a few looked like they'd spent too long being cold, all droopy and pale.. and there was Cole.

Cole is HUGE. He's either a part giant or quite mature aged, but he seems very active and 'sharp' for an old fish, so I'm thinking he may be just bred big. In any case, he was really strutting his stuff in his little shop jar, and we were - impressed. So $40 ( :shock: I love my kid) later.. and a new heater.. and some plants...

Cole is, for the moment, living in Demyx's 3g pink Kritter Keeper. Daughter and I agree it's to small and .. too pink... for Cole, seeing as he's three times the size of little Demyx, who has hardly grown at all since we got him and still a tiddler (with enormous, enormous fins!). So, he's only to be in there for a week or two and then he'll get a bigger tank. 

Daughter's doing partial water changed daily, as Cole is -really- stressy about change. When he's cupped, he turns from black to white! And stress stripes, omg - I have seen nothing like it. So, to avoid him getting more run down that he probably got in the cold shop water, I suggested small daily changes, perhaps 1/4 of the water replaced slowly with mildly heated, conditioned tap water. 

I've added a little salt to his water, just for this first week, to help fend off any nasties he might suffer in transition, and Cole seems to slowly be relaxing into his new home. He busted a split in dorsal fin and then his tail, flaring, which I think is because his fins were weak from being in crap conditions, but these sealed up again over night in both cases. I think the salt was a good idea. 

Gosh, when he flares! His head looks enormous.. and he has bubble nested constantly, his nests getting up to 1/2 a centimeter over the water line. Daughter thinks he's grand, and I do too. 

I suggested he ought to have about twice the food Demyx gets, being twice the size. Where little Demyx has to chew the tiny pellets one at a time, Cole gulps them all at once, no chewing at all. 

I hope to have some pics of all the fish up some time this week. Demyx is going into another batch of meds for the finrot, it's progressing again.. though his water is kept 100% pristine at all times and he's been treated to the point where I had to stop for a while to give his system a break. 

For a male betta, Demyx is so gentle and sweet. He hardly flares, and when he does he runs away as if expecting to be eaten for it, lol. He wiggles up to us - he can barely swim for fin weight, even with less fin due to the rot - and seems genuinely pleased for the company, where our other two are 'where's the food!'. He's SO tiny! Even Cleo has grown bigger than him now - I think she was actually just past fry point when I got her, as she's half again as big and growing..

I have found suspiciously shrimp-coloured poo in Cleo's tank and think perhaps the smaller ones have been hunted down and eaten. The three larger shrimp are still happily munching algae and seem not too bothered by her attempts to swallow them whole. They flip away into the java weed or one of the many hidey-spots in the tank, and come back to resume eating when she gives up the chase.

Anyways. Pics next post, I promise!


----------



## Aus

As promised, some pictures!

Some closeups of Cleo:



















And this is Cole, he's very hard to get a good picture of.. and he looks a lot more blue here than he actually does! Really, he looks inky black!











Here you can see his bubblenest.. he makes HUGE ones and guards them ferociously! Pity about the flash flare on this one, but you can see his awesome tail.


----------



## Aus

Oh - and I found the rest of the shrimp - all alive! So all five have managed to survive so far, even the very tiny one. Cleo seems less obsessed with hunting them, too.. but I'm not counting my chickens. Or shrimp, as it were. :lol:


----------



## Aus

Also, as it's been ages since I posted a fish-related poem, I thought I'd add this by 16th Century Korean poet Kwon Homun (1532-1587), translated by Jaihiun Kim. It can be summed up in the words of another 16th C Korean poet whose name I don't know:

"The best way to understand how to live is to fish without catching any."



*Two Poems On Fishing*

Should I go drinking and wenching?
Oh, no. It isn’t proper for the poet that I am. 
Shall I go hunting wealth and honor?
I am not inclined that way either. 
Well, let me be a fisherman or shepherd
and enjoy myself on the reedy shore.


When it stops raining at the fishing site
I will use green-moss for bait.
With no idea of catching the fish
I will enjoy watching them at play.
A slice of moon passes as it casts a silver line
onto the green stream below.


----------



## birdielikestomatoes

Cleo sounds absolutely hilarious, and she's looking quite healthy most likely because of her shrimp diet. I just adore reading about her antics. 

And Cole is just WOW, his tail is just so bright compared to the rest of him. I love it when bettas have created a bubble nest, just makes it seem as if they are completely happy.

Also, I hate to ask this but are you positive that Demyx has fin rot? It seems as if it should have cleared up by now if it was just that. If he has gravel in his tank he could be ripping his fins on it, something I noticed my boy has done, and recently too. Plus, it sounds as if he could be biting off any regrowth.


----------



## Aus

Birdie, Cleo is the most hilarious fish, she keeps us all very entertained. And thank you, re Cole. I can't wait to get a picture of him that does him justice. Plus, he's so big! I have to wonder if he's not part giant, his mouth is -enormous- compared to the regular kind of bettas I've seen!

And poor little Demyx. Nope, no ripping, he's in a bare bottom tank, soft live plants.. Water change every second day right now, to give him a break from dailies, but he has a huge java moss ball and wisteria to help keep the water good. I do think he's still biting. But he's approaching fin melt by the look, and I'm too scared to medicate him any further... I think it may give him all kinds of internal damage, if he's constantly medicated. Through all of this, he's been a happy little 'wiggler' and never fails to wriggle about for attention. Just a sweetie-pie. It's terribly sad. 

I do notice one thing.. he appears to be rather stunted. In that he's not grown much since we got him, and he looked like a juvenile with adult fins back then. He still does, mainly, so it's not that his fins are outsized - they're normal adult fins, but his body is just really small! In contrast, Cleo was his size in body mass when we got her, and she's put on maybe a third again of that so far.. so she's bigger than him, now. 

Anyway, he's just going to enjoy clean water and good food for a few weeks, and I guess I'll see how he does.. Thanks for coming by, and kind words!


----------



## birdielikestomatoes

Perhaps she's grown so well because of the rich shrimp diet. Kidding. However I've never had experience with fin rot before but this is the first I've read of it being so bad. I do hope he recovers and he seems like he's getting best treatment possible. 

On a more positive note I look forward to reading about your fish in the future as their antics have brought a smile to my face.


----------



## Aus

Rich shrimp diet - at $2.90 per shrimp at my LFS? :shock: It certainly is. :lol:

And yeah, I hope so too. Demyx is a special little guy. BUT! Some good news! I was examining his horribly tattered fins this evening and saw a little bit of repair happening in one of the gaps.. If he is healing, he has a long way to go. But I'm taking that as a good sign and crossing my fingers.  

As per some advice OldFishLady gave elsewhere on the forum, regarding water being 'too clean' and thus having no good bacteria at all to compete with the bad, I'm not scrubbing his tank and silk plant each water change as I have been doing, so maybe that'll let some good stuff grow to help him along. 

This evening's late news:

The shrimp are really pushing it. Mr & Mrs Zoidberg (as Daughter dubbed the two largest shrimp, lol...) have taken to snacking on wood gunk in the open, flagrantly ignoring the Jaws of Death looming above. Though Mr. Zoidberg has the sense to partially hide under an anubias leaf, Mrs. Z seems to simply not care, so Irish & Daughter have both bet me that she'll be the first course.. they're so mean. :roll:

Okay, so - I want to move house mid-year. I really do. BUT I also want two things: a pair of betta macrostoma, and a long-armed shrimp. 

I have the opportunity to buy both right now.. the macrostoma are on 'special' at $200 for a trio. Though they're unsexed, so I could get three boys, who knows.. A breeding pair is $400 and up, however.. Aaah! I want them. But the cost! And then the tank! And all the other stuff! A bit rich for me, at this point, and I don't want to be moving with half a dozen tanks..

On the other hand! A long-armed shrimp doesn't take up much room..  Or cost a lot. And he'd probably do better in a move...

I hate having all these delays on my newfound hobby! Why can't the world revolve around ME and my gorram FISH (and inverts!), you know? Just for a little while? 

The macros.. sigh. The breeder has a new spawn coming in.. so maybe that can wait til summer. But! The NPT and long-armed will happen much sooner, I'm just having a spazz because I want it now and the funds are burning a hole in my pocket. 

On the other hand, I could stay in this crumbling old house, which has already suffered one ceiling collapse (almost crushing me!) due to landlord neglect, and get to save a bunch of $ in rent so I can spend it on nice things for me and my fish... oh yeah, and Daughter. 

It's a hard call. I keep saying, "Oh one more year here.. it's so cheap!" But then I wish I didn't have such a terrible landlord, and the heater and oven worked, or he'd fix stuff when asked to, and so on.

As the deadline draws near, I'm getting more uncertain about paying more rent.. potentially a LOT more rent.. and having not much left to enjoy life with. We live so frugally as it is, I can't bear to go back to extreme budgeting as we used to, just to get by. 

Forgive me for having a whinge. I just .. want my pinchy damn shrimp and big-gobbed bettas, because.. I deserve them. 

No more whining, I promise! Happy thoughts! It'll all be worked out, one way or another, in just a few weeks. Until then, I can research NPTs some more, and maybe add to my "tub-o-fish-stuff" for when that and the macro tank are actually happening.


----------



## Aus

So here's another version of my pictoral wishlist, just so I can keep dreaming: 

Breeding Pair of Macrostoma










And maybe the relatively peaceful and pretty Macrobrachium handschini. in the first pic below. 
OR the much more aggressive Macrobrachium bullatum, in the second pic.



Love those macros! <3


----------



## Aus

I'm a bit excited today.. last night I found a Dymax IQ5 for sale quite cheap - around the corner from my place! It comes with extras, plants, driftwood. No lid, but I can buy one of those pretty cheaply.. 

It's so early it's not even properly light out yet, lol, and I'm fidgeting to call the seller to ask if it's sold yet. If not, that baby's mine! Shrimp tank, here we come!

Daughter wanted it for Cole because they are nice-looking tanks, but Cole is in for 5+ gallons, once we figure out what we're doing, house-wise. He seems content enough in the 3 gallon keeper for now, and it's much better than a little cup! But yeah, he needs more room than that, for sure. He seems frustrated patrolling his tank, I can't really describe how.. he just does. I don't feel that from either of our other fish, but they are about half his body mass (or in Demyx's case, probably less than that). 

I joined an Australian fish forum to get some advice on the long-armed shrimp (also called 'river prawns', which I like so much better, so let's call them that now..lol) and one of the posters linked me to a video of her _M. handschini _river prawns - a really beautiful tank with some native/almost native (New Guinea) fish in it. And the prawns are fun to watch. 

**Pinchy River Prawn Video Link**

They grow to about 5cm (2 inches?), so will need to go into the NPT.. BUT_ if_ I get this IQ5, I'll probably get one _M. bullatum_, which is even more aggressive, and keep him in there as a kind of test run.. the _M. handschini_ are a lot more sensitive, too, so I'll try the easier species first. 

Like I said, excited..


----------



## JKfish

Wow Aus! This journal is amazing~ I love your drawings and the poems you post  it took a while to read all ten pages, but wow, you've definitely been bitten by the betta bug X)

Cleo sounds like a fierce huntress... All shrimps beware. Are you sure demyx isn't fin bitting? Some of mine are super sneaky about it, and they bit it in ways that makes it look more like if rot than anything else, except without the black or white tips. And cold sounds magnificent! My Panache is rather a small boy for a hmpk, and while he's a sweetie, he doesn't seem anywhere near as fierce or active as cole!


----------



## Aus

Thank you, JK. 

And yes, bitten hard, I'm afraid.. and in more than one way! My hand got a serious upbraiding when I tried to fish out a soggy leaf today. It was a full-out attack, rapid fire! She looked so cross afterwards, and patrolled her tank like mad. The epitome of a feisty little Thai lady...

Yes, Demyx is a fin-biter, I've caught him at it. He mainly bites his dorsal fin, which I thought was a bit strange..until I realised that it's so full and flappy, it gets in the way of his food when he 'circles' it. I'm careful to feed him right in front of his nose now, which seems t be helping. His dorsal fin is half gone, it looks awful. But I am seeing slight bits of new, pale webbing in some of the tatters on his tail and dorsal. The no-salt, clean-water-only 'treatment' appears to be working quite well. I can't see any rot, whereas before the salt I did see some nasty edges and deep 'melt' that wasn't a bite.. so I'm supposing the rot has been effectively dealt with. And the java moss and wisteria is a hit, perhaps he feels more secure. He is such a fraidy-fish! I have to wonder if insecurity was not helping with the biting, also.

And yes, Cole is very handsome! He's still looking rather put out about his tank size. I'm looking for a larger tank for him, and a new stand as the old one isn't sturdy enough for any more weight. There's often some really nice second hand ones for sale on the net, so the search is on. Daughter is doing well in caring for him, though I still help with the weekly tank rinse. 

Sadly, the cheap IQ5 was sold. :-( Ah, well. The 'river prawn project' will just have to wait.. I'm terribly inspired by aokashi's planted jars, though. I'm thinking a 3 or 4 gallon one of those would look _marvellous_ on my desk. A bit of fine mesh and a big rubber band would do for a lid, since they like to climb out and go on prawnish adventures, apparently. Small heater - they are tropically sourced, but the same species lives down here where the winters get mighty cold.. I'm thinking an undergravel pad heater would probably do for warmth, as they don't need the high temps bettas do. An airstone ought to take care of oxygenation, which they do need. Small bioload + heavy planting = small water changes. And my desk would be so much brighter for it! Just ideas. But this is quite appealing... 

I've started house-hunting. I hate moving, I really do. I have way too much stuff and no car.. Anyway, I did find a few suitable pet-friendly places not too far from here, for the same rent I pay now or not much more, plus an extra bedroom!, so perhaps we can have another friend move in to share the costs. I'll be calling them all tomorrow... It'd be nice to feel more settled, and thus confident to set up some more tanks. 

I was so worried at the beginning about being able to deal with water changes, etc, physically. But even when I'm ill and sore and limping around like a rheumatic granny, I can easily maintain the three tanks we have. Did I mention that I hate moving? I am filled with dread and trepidation, just thinking about it. But having the wherewithal to keep some larger tanks that I'll not fear having to tear down for a long time is a great motivating force. That, and the shaky-looking ceilings here... :lol:

Omgosh.. I sucked one of the 'Zoidbergs' (as the shrimp are now called, thanks to Daughter) up into the siphon while gravel-vac'ing. It was 'Mister' of course, who has no fear at all.. the others had the sense to hide up the back of the tank. Fortunately, I saw him in the tube and dumped him out before he made it to the hose. Haven't seen him since.. I hope he's okay!


----------



## Aus

Quick update on Mr. Zoidberg: he's just fine, and as usual half-hidden under his favourite anubias leaf, snacking on wood gunk. 

I got a rare of sighting of 'Baby Zoidberg' - a teeny little one about this long: '--' that I had expected to be a snack food by now. It seems to dwell inside one of the java moss balls, so I'll look there for it from now on. 

I found this apparently amazing recipe for a DIY 'miracle' NPT substrate. I can get all the ingredients at Bunnings Warehouse, too.. Thinking of popping down there after the long weekend to stock up on the ingredients to put in the 'handy fish stuff' tub, just so I have them handy to give it a try. The results really are amazing, so looking forward to giving it a shot in the NPT.


----------



## Aus

This poem by Richard Brautigan is adorable and a bit sad, all at once:

*Your Catfish Friend * 

If I were to live my life 
in catfish forms
in scaffolds of skin and whiskers 
at the bottom of a pond 
and you were to come by 
one evening
when the moon was shining 
down into my dark home 
and stand there at the edge 
of my affection
and think, "It's beautiful 
here by this pond. I wish 
somebody loved me,"
I'd love you and be your catfish 
friend and drive such lonely 
thoughts from your mind 
and suddenly you would be
at peace,
and ask yourself, "I wonder 
if there are any catfish 
in this pond? It seems like 
a perfect place for them."


----------



## Aus

OOh I found some pics I forgot I had..

And just to illustrate that when I say 'Demyx has abnormally large fins for his body mass' I am not exaggerating (and sorry for the pic quality, of all our fish he is the worst to photograph.. ):

This is when he first got home. He was so tiny.. those 'rocks' you see? Those are regular gravel pebbles, the size you usually get with fancy coloured gravel. His fins don't look so huge there.. they were pretty full, but he was just a baby, I think. 











Compared to this, taken a couple months later.. and now, this IS a dreadful quality pic. But you can see the little white tips of his ventral fins down the bottom, and the massively long anal fin compared to the dark blob that is his teeny little body:










And this is about when he started biting his fins. I honestly think he just struggles with hauling it all around.

Oh - lol, and to put his teeny-tininess in perspective - that's a regular sized leaf hammock he's gliding over..


----------



## Aus

I found a very decent betta-related poem! Yay! (though I want to strangle the boy in the poem, and I do hope he's fictional..). The poem's author is Stacie Cassarino.


*Goldfish Are Ordinary *

At the pet store on Court Street,
I search for the perfect fish.
The black moor, the blue damsel,
cichlids and neons. Something
to distract your sadness, something
you don't need to love you back.
Maybe a goldfish, the flaring tail,
orange, red-capped, pearled body,
the darting translucence? _Goldfish
are ordinary_, the boy selling fish
says to me. I turn back to the tank,
all of this grace and brilliance,
such simplicity the self could fail
to see. In three months I'll leave
this city. Today, a chill in the air,
you're reading Beckett fifty blocks
away, I'm looking at the orphaned 
bodies of fish, undulant and gold fervor. 
_Do you want to see aggression?_
the boy asks, holding a purple betta fish
to the light while dropping handfuls
of minnows into the bowl. He says,
_I know you're a girl and all
but sometimes it's good to see._
Outside, in the rain, we love
with our hands tied, 
while things tear away at us.


----------



## Aus

*SQUEE*

I just bought a 31.4 L (just over 8.25 G) tank from a seller on Gumtree.  With extras, but it's had goldfish in it so they'll probably be goldfishy things aside from the 2 pumps and filters, lid, substrate, light, etc. All up: $65.00

BUT how cool is that!?!!?! :-D

So tempting to start setting it up.. but I'd realllly better not, until I know what's happening house-wise. So that's one thing off the list for the first NPT, which I think will go to Daughter for Cole - he's so BIG for that small tank he's in now...

What list, you ask? I'd better make one, actually. So here goes:


_*Basic Hardware:*_

Tank - *DONE*
Light (need a 6500k light for this..)
Filter pump - *DONE*
Sponge filter

_*Substrate Ingredients:

*_Propagating Sand
Marble Chips/Oyster Shells
Blood & Bone
Laterite (optional)
Peat Moss (optional)

I found this recipe on another forum - apparently it generates its own CO2 and has a really long 'lifespan'. Lots of folks there have tried it, with astonishing results for plant growth and it doesn't bother the fish at all. Can't wait to try it!

_*Plants*_

Various low/medium light Aussie natives from Aquagreen.com.au
Amazon frogbit (maybe)
Maybe some tropical epiphytic orchids to grow on the wood, if they'll do okay above the surface.. something to research!

_*Stock*_

Cole! Black HM plakat manly man. 
_*
Hard Scaping Stuff:*_

Probably some Mopani.. I like it in Cleo's tank. 
Tall wood for possible orchids.

_*Stand*_

What it says. 


I'm so excitable.  I actually did a fish tank dance... :roll:


----------



## Aus

So even better - the tank is acrylic, which means it's very light and safer for Daughter to carry to about while she's scrubbing it down and setting up - time she learned that fish-keeping is not a service industry!! :lol:

I think Cole can have it as a barebottom tank until after the move. I can't let him stay in the 3g now! And I was right about the goldfish. Apparently, they don't do all that well on a diet of cheese. :shock: (toddlers..)

I also got a bonus 'betta tank', one of those 1/4 gallon jobs. So tempted to try a teeny little nano.. ahaha. Ooh - or a mini riparium! Bonsai water features! There's a new challenge... >>


----------



## megaredize

Aww poor sid. ( i love the name) he has been on quite the journey it seems. I hope he makes a full recovery from the ich. 

I hope your daughters betta will be okay too. They are hardy and hopefully with her good care he will turn around. I think it is awesome that both of you stood up for the poor bettas. I had to call the local SPCA on the fish store where I am because of a poor ferret they had. poor thing had gunk is one of his eyes and wet feces everywhere. Then I waited a week went back and that gunked up eye was then stuck closed! Unfortunately after I let the spca know about it I don't know what resulted in it. I never saw that poor ferret again. Doubt anyone bought him...

I would like to know what comes of your daughter's actions towards that fish store.


----------



## JKfish

That's great Aus!  it sounds wonderful, congrats on the great find!


----------



## Aus

megaredize - thanks so much for your kind thoughts.. but I think you missed a few pages. :-D Sid did recover from his ich but then got aggressive fin rot, was making a good recovery from that and columnaris came along.. I was so careful with his water, tried all the right treatments but he was already so weak from an underlying condition (parasites) that I mistook for something else when the symptoms cleared a little that he passed very suddenly a while ago. I have a new betta now who is booming health, and have inherited Daughter's betta as his fin issues never have cleared up - turns out he's biting.. little booger. But aside from raggedy fins, he's happy as a clam. 

Awh! Poor ferret! I used to patrol pet market stalls and stores with a friend. We'd take a tape measure and a notebook each.. were thrown out of Dandenong horse market on our ears LOL. Rotten place. A few pet places hated us, too, thinking we were from PETA or RSPCA.. good on you for trying to make his life better, anyhow. 

And probably not just because of Daughter or I, as many complaints have made, but the store keeps their bettas in larger jars now with a little bit anacharis and clean water.. still cold water.. but small improvements are better then none I guess. 

Nice to meet you.  And thanks again for your well-wishes. 

JK, thank you -- it was pretty awesome! And LOL... I've ordered mini aquatic plants for the awful betta box. Going to make it a little micro tank.. will posts progress pics. I'm going to Bunnings (a big hardware chain here) on Wednesday so I can pick up supplies for it then. :-D

And I am also excited to be the proud owner of some slightly used pink and yellow rubber jellyfish .. I stuck them to my bathroom mirror, LOL.


----------



## Aus

*Some new pics!*

Ninja fish is ninja



















New tank layout:










Mister Zoidberg & Baby Z:











USBcat stealin ur filez:











"First I eated teh sunshinez.."


----------



## JKfish

Wow, I love how lush your setup is,your wisteria looks fantastic! Cleo looks extremely happy in there with all the snacks-er... shrimps XD Your shrimps/zoidbergs look great too! Silly TomTom


----------



## Aus

Thanks JK. What's funny is I didn't even know Mr. Z was in that picture until I pulled it up on the computer... :lol: He's pretty well camouflaged against that wood!

Tom-tom (I'm hyphenating to avoid that annoying auto-ad linkage thing) is hilarious. He tries sooo hard to be dignified, whilst actually being anything but..

Here he is, saving us all from a dastardly invasion of suspicious, pink and yellow flying jellyfish:











(from the comfort of his cuddly rug..)


----------



## Aus

The visit to Bunnings (hardware/garden supplies) was very fruitful, and as Irish went along too it was also quite hilarious. 

I bought all the materials for my CO2-producing substrate, as well as some shallow ceramic dishes and bog plants for a some planters I'd like to make:











The bacopa will be going in one of the tanks, and with it I got a little freeby snip of something wispy and ferny, no idea what it is, but it's pretty so that can go in a dish planter.. 

We're off to the LFS tomorrow to look for driftwood/scaping rocks.. My house is covered in bog plants and bags of various rocks and empty tanks. Daughter thinks it's hilarious.

She's decided to try guppies, just a couple to start with. I said that was okay, but I would not help her at all past tank set-up (placing the heater and filter properly, etc..). She must care for them 100% alone, and if she does a good job she can earn herself a bigger tank by doing extra chores. 

She made dinner last night.. :shock: .. cleaned her room to perfection.. :shock: .. brought the bins in from the kerb .. :shock: .. it's a good start!


----------



## Aus

*The Tiny Dinky Death Trap Conversion Project*

Or TDDTCP for short... begins tomorrow! Basically, I plan to convert a nasty little one litre (quarter gallon) betta tank into something positive and lovely, rather than throwing it away so it's another bit of polluting plastic...

I'm using the Walstad method to grow a few small plants in it. I may or may not include a very small sponge filter to provide a little surface motion and oxygen.

It'll live on my desk as something nice to look at.. and will get plenty of filtered light there even in winter. 

Here's how it looks now:











I'll post updates as the project progresses. 

(Yes, that is a LED light bubble at the bottom.. and no, I will NOT be incorporating that "interesting" feature of the tank into my design.. :lol: )


----------



## MistersMom

> So apparently my fish is aggravated by -- cheese.


LOL. this honestly made me giggle.


> To cheer myself from the trauma of dealing with the fish bimbo and her cupped array of doomed bettas


im not being sarcastic when i say this, but i love your choice of words lol


> which Mr. Elbow said was less stressful for a betta.


'the only one who knew his arse from his elbow' lol.... Mr.Elbow... you crack me up!


> But then she saw the littlest fellow of them all, dead in his cup - and she burst out crying..The way you keep those fish back there in dirty water is just wrong,"...


Your Daughter is Precious!


> he's doing swimmingly (yes, that was a fishpun)


i don't think that there is a lack of humor in any of these posts lol...


> I'm very proud of your daughter for taking a stand. Amazing the lessons we can learn from a tiny little life on a shelf in a cup! Bravo.


++1!!


> Sid still hasn't blown a proper one, but he is a ninja and is therefore forgiven


LOL ... ninjas have no time for bubble nests these days, they are too busy fighting invisible dangers! 

YOU are a great artist, was that dragon done by stipling ?

and if you don't mind me asking..... what's the health issue your battleing?


----------



## Aus

Thanks so much, MistersMom, I'm pleased that you got a laugh or two. And cheers, glad you like the art. Yup, stippling, all in ink.. dotdotdot for six weeks at a time for the bigger pieces. The dragon is small and only took about half a week. 

My health issue is that I was born with a very weak lymphatic system that crashes regularly. This means life-threatening infections and horrible swelling, systemic lymph edema in all four limbs. On top of that I have had arthritis in my lower spine since my 20's so getting around or even typing on the puter some days is.. slow, lol. But I manage okay, if I don't push myself too hard and watch my general health. 

I didn't know I had any of it, until about four years ago when the first bad infection ripped through me and I spent a solid month in hospital on antibiotic and morphine drips, having lost all the skin off my left leg - I looked like a 3rd degree burns victim, no kidding. Changed my life forever.. I was always so fast-paced and busy, and suddenly I was on crutches for months, taking heavy pain meds and trying to cope with a child on my own.. my husband split around that time, too.. quite a challenge on all sides, for both myself and Daughter. But we got through it and things are slowly finding a balance again. I just regret that so much of her childhood was spent that way, so much sadness and money so tight.. I think she's done well to turn out as strong as she is (maybe a little TOO strong, but imo that is better than wimpy..).

I have changed my philosophies and opinions about a lot of things in those years. "Don't sweat the small stuff,' - lol. I used to! Not any more. 

Thanks for coming by and reading.


----------



## Aus

*Some of my own poetry..*

I've been posting a lot of fish-related poems in this journal, because .. well.. it's a fish forum! :lol:

Only one of them has been mine, and it was a raw draft I shouldn't have put up so early.. I'm a fussy poet! Anyway, I'm slowly getting together my last few years' worth of decent-ish poems for a little book. And thought I'd share some of the ones I'm done being critical about (for better or worse..) and may include in the book...maybe...

*The Art of Un-knowing*

Give your burden the mane of a lion. Of yourself,
make a kraal. Split your heart
and fashion its two halves into a pair of goats.

Tether one to a stake. Then pull all the shades
for darkness, barricade the door,
listen for a nervous bleat, a skitter of hooves

in the mind's dirt. Feel nothing when the animal
screams. Believe: it's only a goat.
And here, the art - a bloody thorn, a twist

of hair will show you how the lion gets in, where
to dig the trap. When it is dead
burn the carcass. When the winds have drunk

the last of its ash, you'll still have one good goat.



*Lacking photographs*

I make portraits, for which she never sits
while I dab with improbable brushes: headstones, 
evening gowns. Best viewed from a distance, 
the strokes are ambiguous: a dash of blue 
suggests the shadow of a breast, a waterlily, proof 

of some recent, terrible blow. Her eyes remain
constant in a face which shifts like sand 
peeling back to stone, a sheet 
of volcanic glass. Quite the host, these many 
disparate facets of her - all frozen, soundless, 

though some have open mouths as if caught 
mid-scream or on the high end of a joke. 
Best viewed singularly and out of sequence, 
I dread the thought of them aligned 
in chronological order from youth to its distant, 

mad conclusion, each animated by the one before, 
lending her a strange and second kind of life. 
They are all I have, these dreams 
I wake from, crying like a child for its mother.


_(and not fish, really.. but sealife-related!)_



*The Ammonite*

I follow the shell's inward curl - not with my eyes, for the vertigo, 
but half-imagining a path from here to... where? Its spiral 
reaches vanishing point in the bowels of a long-extinct squid, 
in sea-silt atoms which replaced its flesh, gaining perhaps one 
degree of hardness every hundred thousand years.

In my hand, I cradle its mineral echo.

This squid reached its vanishing point while the first fish gawped 
at the second fish and unhinged its bony jaw. Once these creatures 
numbered in their billions, the Devonian master species, kings 
of liquid displacement.

This stone is a testament to biological success.

I saw a man on the train this morning, one of a hundred thousand 
commuters. He stood out for his lack of standing out. I don't know 
why he drew my eye; he was everyone, and no-one, the way 
things tend to appear identical when reckoned as a unit, _en masse_.

The numbers, and the weight of us. 




*Curly Logic*

When did we want a world rightly
angled, squarely
partitioned & corridor-elbowed -
when did
all of our room
become roomed? Rectangle
rockets on long, black 
oblongs stop at brick-stacks - 
how did we learn 
to so love blockwork?
Nature circles dogwise, strips
for Mobius, snail-shells
& brambles, goes curly on lambs,
vascular in fractal
leaf & limb. Fibonacci's nautilus
squids around
in loops, star matter spraying
clockways, widdershins - 
why would anyone wish
to iron it out? 
Decree the dome a pleasure
& measure its inches
in worms. Thumb your nose
at rule. Lamb
yourself. Dis-angle. Tree your mind.


----------



## Aus

OMFG.

Just. Omfg. My feet hurt. :\ 

After spending two hours shopping at the LFS (picking out wood bits from a giant bin, and rock pieces.. there's 45 mins alone..then a convo about macrostomas and ooh'ing over the not-for-sale babies and their parents.. 20 mins.. etc, etc) I was SO tired, so we called a cab to carry home:

.5 kilo of rocks
2 kilos fine natural gravel
Twiggy wood
Sponge filter 
Pump & tubing
2 guppies
2 x new heaters (one for guppies, one for NPT)
A net
Tank decoration (for the guppies)
Scraper sponge (for Cleo's tank)
A free cupful of fine white sand (from a split bag out back, you can only get 20kg bags of it, lol and I just needed a handful for the micro tank.. nice of them to give it to me..)
1 small cryptocoryne
1 stem blixa

... the fricken taxi doesn't come. 30 mins pass. I call again. The guy picked up the wrong passenger.. they order me another cab... another 30 mins pass... I'm having a lovely conversation with one of the staff, nice guy from QLD, but my feet fricken hurt, my ankle is the size of a rock melon, Daughter's whiny and cold.. and worst of all the poor guppies are getting chilly.

So I flagged one down after about another 10 mins of standing in the freezing wind.. 

If these fish don't make it, that company IS bloody well buying Daughter some new guppies. :evil:

Anyway, we had everything but the heater set up so the poor little guys were acclimated once we topped up the tank with some warm water and switched the heater on. They seem fine, but we'll see how they do overnight. 

Then daughter breaks a glass. A big one, which shatters all over the kitchen dish rack and floor. So I clean that up (that takes aaagesss, glass _everywhere_.. ) put all my other purchases away, put the plants in quarantine, check the guppies again, get Daughter settled (she had a headache from being in the cold waiting for the taxi...) and then I decided it was time to play "Sit The Heck Down With A Nice Hot Coffee and Jolly Well Do Nothing For a While". 

My tanks all need water changes, then dinner needs to be cooked, then time for the laundry..

But just for now I'm sipping my coffee and typing, thinking of layouts for the micro tank. My rocks are realllly pretty, like little pointy monoliths. I chose fine white sand and am hoping to find some very small grass-like plants to make a tiny planted 'sand dunes by the cliffs scene' --- in the 1 liter tank! Lol. I need to research aquarium-safe glues so I can maybe make some styrofoam hills and glue sand all over them to give the dunes some height and shape...plant the grasses and little 'trees' between the slopes.. maybe. I can try, anyway. I think it's a neat design idea. Just need the right glue and plants now..

Daughter's making me another coffee, bless her. 

I priced a tank big enough for three macrostoma (apparently you need two males to the one female, or she wears him out.. naughty fish..) - with a cabinet & everything but the heater - $350. Then roughly $200 for the three fish as youngsters.. all up, looking at maybe.. $700 for the complete tank. 

A long-term plan, that one. But one day those macros will be mine...


----------



## MistersMom

where do you live? 2 hours at a LFS? wow. im sorry about your feet.


----------



## Aus

I'm in Melbourne, Australia.  And yes, it's a big store with lots to look at. Like macros! :B

And thanks re feet sympathy. Just standing for long periods isn't great for me atm. Sometimes it's alright, but not today. I'll be okay after a night's rest.

*Gupdate:* the guppies, named "Devon" and "Bostick" after Daughter's latest Hollywood heart-throb, are zooting around in their new and .. extremely colourful.. tank, looking.. colourful! :-D

One's yellow and leopardy-spotted, the other's orange with a hint of purple. They settled in fine and nommed a few of the way-too-small betta pellets which came with my dinky tank + 30L package deal. 

Daughter adores them. She bought them a large and very cheerful orangey-pink silk plant, and apparently they like playing hide and seek in it. She also saw them playing 'pop the bubble' - one noms a bubble from the spray bar and spits it out, and the other pops it. LOL. 

I'll put some pics up tomorrow.


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## MistersMom

i saw that you also got a 3rd betta... can you post a photo if it?


----------



## Aus

Do you mean Cole? He's Daughter's plakat.. I put some pics of him here:

http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=92906&page=9#post1107770

I need to take some of Demyx too, as I don't have any good ones. He's really hard to photograph!


----------



## Aus

Micro Tank Update:

I spent this evening watching _Avatar: The Last Airbender _(the anime series) and trying out ideas for rock placement in the micro tank.

After squinting at the tank between episodes for a couple of hours, I decided on two particular rocks to use as features for sure, with maybe one more to give the scape some height. I found good a spot to use the bacopa in, too.. 

Tomorrow I'll do some playing about with wet propagating sand to see how it holds up.. I have the feeling I'll have some trouble with stability, with my present layout but I hope not.


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## MistersMom

you have beautiful fish, and im sorry about Sid.


----------



## Aus

*Micro Tank Update*

So I put the substrate in:

- potting sand
- a little potting mix
- then washed sand on top. 

Then the rocks.

Then the plants - all but one of these are temporary until I get my plants from ebay in:

- 2 small crypts
- 2 stems blyxa
- a few bits of bacopa (the little plant in front and to the left..I'm keeping that)

The tank is really cloudy, so I'll do a little water change tonight and wait for it to settle. I'm happy with the substrate and the rocks, and the bacopa. Now -- for the ebay order!! It'll look so much nicer with the proper plants.. Here's some pics:










This is about 10 mins later:


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## MistersMom

its looks good!


----------



## Aus

Well.. thank you. But I am hoping it'll look better, by the time I'm finished.. :-D

I moved a couple of the plants around, replanted one of the blasted crypts that just doesn't want to stay planted. Tank's still a tad cloudy, so another water change.. and see how it is tomorrow. 

Today's fish-related poem is by Louise Gluck. She's one of those poets I wish I could be, just for ten minutes, so I could think what she's thinking as she writes, hear the words forming into patterns of sound.. Which really isn't as creepy as it sounds! Honest! >> 


*The Pond*

Night covers the pond with its wing.
Under the ringed moon I can make out
your face swimming among minnows and the small
echoing stars. In the night air
the surface of the pond is metal.

Within, your eyes are open. They contain
a memory I recognize, as though
we had been children together. Our ponies
grazed on the hill, they were gray
with white markings. Now they graze
with the dead who wait
like children under their granite breastplates,
lucid and helpless:

The hills are far away. They rise up
blacker than childhood.
What do you think of, lying so quietly
by the water? When you look that way I want
to touch you, but do not, seeing
as in another life we were of the same blood.


I love how she combines simple words with subtly profound images. And just because she's very worth reading, I've included a few more of her poems. I think Vespers is my all time favourite Gluck poem - I know those tomatoes of hers all too well!



*Vespers*
In your extended absence, you permit me
use of earth, anticipating
some return on investment. I must report
failure in my assignment, principally
regarding the tomato plants.
I think I should not be encouraged to grow
tomatoes. Or, if I am, you should withhold
the heavy rains, the cold nights that come
so often here, while other regions get
twelve weeks of summer. All this
belongs to you: on the other hand,
I planted the seeds, I watched the first shoots
like wings tearing the soil, and it was my heart
broken by the blight, the black spot so quickly
multiplying in the rows. I doubt
you have a heart, in our understanding of
that term. You who do not discriminate
between the dead and the living, who are, in consequence,
immune to foreshadowing, you may not know
how much terror we bear, the spotted leaf,
the red leaves of the maple falling
even in August, in early darkness: I am responsible
for these vines.


*The Wild Iris*

At the end of my suffering
there was a door.

Hear me out: that which you call death
I remember.

Overhead, noises, branches of the pine shifting.
Then nothing. The weak sun
flickered over the dry surface.

It is terrible to survive
as consciousness
buried in the dark earth.

Then it was over: that which you fear, being
a soul and unable
to speak, ending abruptly, the stiff earth
bending a little. And what I took to be
birds darting in low shrubs.

You who do not remember
passage from the other world
I tell you I could speak again: whatever
returns from oblivion returns
to find a voice:

from the center of my life came
a great fountain, deep blue
shadows on azure seawater.


*All Hallow's*


Even now this landscape is assembling.
The hills darken. The oxen
Sleep in their blue yoke,
The fields having been
Picked clean, the sheaves
Bound evenly and piled at the roadside
Among cinquefoil, as the toothed moon rises:

This is the barrenness
Of harvest or pestilence
And the wife leaning out the window
With her hand extended, as in payment,
And the seeds
Distinct, gold, calling
Come here
Come here, little one

And the soul creeps out of the tree.



.


----------



## Aus

Another water change for the micro tank, and it's looking a lot more clear now. I clipped a bit of Cleo's filter foam off and dropped it in.. using old tank water for the water changes to offer some nutrients to the BB. 

AND -- I have some very tiny anubias coming in the mail! 

I bought some larger plants to kick the 30L NPT off with, and the seller saw I was doing the micro and threw in the teeny anubias for free, which was very kind of him. I've got a nice little goldvine 'log' soaking for when they arrive so I can attach them to that. 

I found a suspiciously dark bit of edge on Cleo's anal fin.. and of course she is never still, so I can't get a good clear look at it. It seems to maybe be a bit of where her fin has a streak of blue.. but I'm eyeballing it, if it spreads, she's straight in the AQ salt. Blah, I'll be extremely disappointed if she's got fin rot or something. I've been so careful...

Good news on Demyx, though - I found a brand new regrown ray on his dorsal! Looks like there's a good deal of new webbing on his tail, too! 

Also good news on the Zoidbergs - they're all five alive and well. I feed them crushed shrimp pellets at water-change time, so Cleo doesn't gobble them up (both shrimp and pellets..:roll: ) and I saw Mr. & Mrs. Z sharing a bit of pellet on the back log today. Like Lady and the Tramp sharing spaghetti.. only with a lot more legs.. and underwater.. with algae. Anyway, it was really cute. 

Mrs. Z is a glorious, bold red and has a prominent saddle of eggs.. can't see if she's berried yet, but in past experience the berried females get slower as the eggs get bigger, so I'll keep an eye on her. Mrs. Z just may become the first occupant of the 30L if she's getting picked on. And awh, baby shrimp.. I think Cole would make short work of them both, tbh.. but he won't be going in it for a couple of weeks yet, until the tank is properly planted and settled. 

Cole is a cranky fish. The booger snapped my finger at water-change time, lol, and it hurt! He's got such a huge gob. Daughter fed him his regular 4 pellet breakfast the other day and apparently he just skimmed his big mouth along the surface and gulped the lot all at once, with barely a chew. Can't wait to put him in the bigger tank.


----------



## JKfish

Wow, it looks great!

Yay for demxy's fin growth and the possibility of baby Zoidbergs!


----------



## Aus

Cheers, JK! 

Usually when I sit down to make an entry in this journal it's because there's something going on with the fish, or I'm hyped about some aquarium-related plan I have. But right now, I just feel like typing. 

I need to write more. Write something. Maybe a poem.. I've neglected my poetry a bit since the fish came along. I think it's a lot to do with wanting to cram as much know-how in my head as possible so I can do a good job at keeping my bettas healthy and happy, and learning something new is always fun. I worked hard for more than five years to write poetry I was relatively proud of, studied and studied, and read thousands of poems, wrote over a thousand myself. About twenty of those are decent, imo, lol. But I loved every moment, and had a few real bright spots on being published in some snooty magazines and such, though publishing a lot has become less of a concern as time has passed. My fiction, too.. I enjoy writing stories, but that has also been neglected. 

I wish there was five of me. As frightening as that thought may be to Daughter, and probably a few others, it'd make getting things done that much easier. We could operate in shifts - no more downtime for sleep! Five heads are better than one!

Anyway, perhaps I'll start drafting some poems today and then inflict them in horrible drafty forms on unsuspecting fish forum readers. Bahaha!


----------



## Aus

*plantsplantsplantyplants*

I've been on a bit of a splurge with .. plants!

Here's a list of what I have bought for the 30L NPT so far:

1 x Anubias nana 20 leaves (perfect for the gold vine I bought..)

2 x 30cm Crypts large leaf 

2 x 20cm Crypts large leaf

3 x 10cm Crypts nevilli

plus a freebie small petite anubias for the micro in with those 

3 x narrow leaf java fern

And I'm buying some echinodorus and fissidens, too, if I can get a good price. 

The plants should all be here within the week, and I have everything else I need, so I can set the tank up soon! Woo!


----------



## Aus

Whee, I won three clumps of fissiden on ebay, for really cheap. 

That leaves the echinodorus, which I can't seem to find anywhere for a reasonable price... I'll just have to keep looking! The tank really needs those stem plants.

The gold vine is taking a long time to sink. I think I'll have to anchor it down with a few rocks at first.


----------



## Aus

A person on my Aussie fish forum has offered me a pile of tank trimmings and plants.. including amazons.. so woohoo, there's all I need, right there. 

So, Daughter and I were doing a bit of thinking about the tanks. If we don't end up moving, we'll put Cole in the 1st NPT. Give Cleo's tank to Demyx (who will go in my room, I have plenty of space on my desk for the IQ5) and put Cleo in a 2nd NPT, since I'll probably have enough plants now for two. 

So.. while we were looking for maybe-tanks for that on Gumtree, we happened across a ratty in need of a new home.. and after much discussion with Daughter (ie, a long list of reasons from her as to why we NEED a rat in our lives, and an equally long review of how many chores she's been doing and not-doing..) we called the ratty's owners and talked about maybe taking him. 

My one concern (Daughter was nicely keeping a pet rat at age 5, did a brilliant job of basic care, I have no worries with her in that regard) is that Tom-tom IS THE most efficient rat killer ever. And he'll no longer be able to sleep on Daughter's bed or hang out in her room.. poor Tom. 

She agreed that she would make special 'Tom-time' and hang out with him in the living room every day. I said he could sleep on my bed at night (our house is old and the floors are chilly, and he won't sleep in a 'bed'.. he'll sleep in a car wheel rim or on the cold floor, or in a shoebox 3 x too small for him - but in a cosy, fleecy cat bed? no way! So our beds it is..) and as long she doesn't neglect Tom or become careless about closing her door properly, and she assumes 100% responsibility including vet trips for checkups, mite baths if necessary, etc., then the rat was okay by me.

So I'm calling again tomorrow to speak to the owner of the rat about dropping him over, so she can see where he's going and meet Daughter, etc. Another addition to my sig, lol. His name is 'Monty'. 

One of the gups nipped the other quite hard today, but otherwise they're getting along better than I thought they might. Daughter insisted on two. I told her they can be aggressive and we may have to return one.. Something for her to learn from if it happens, since I am apparently from that dim, prehistoric age of ignorance into which all nagging mothers were clearly born and which they never quite left behind upon crawling out of the tar-pit swamps to walk about on two legs and pick up after teenagers.

So we'll see. So far, so good. Daughter loves her guppies, though. She's quite besotted with them. "They're like little bettas! And you can have more than one in the tank!"

I think we're in for more guppies, some day. But not for a good, long while yet. I only have so much room in that sig..


----------



## Aus

*Earthquake!!*

We had one! And not a teensy one, either - I think it was clocked at 5.2.. the whole house shook!

Which wouldn't really be so bad if Daughter had not somehow become convinced the ancient Mayans were onto something prophecy-wise, and therefore the world is slated to ended in December this year. 

We've many a long talk about the actual Mayans and their actual calendars, and what they were for and meant, as opposed to the beliefs regarding them held by gormless hippies intent on selling more gormless hippy magazines printed on unbleached bong-scrapings, advertising magical anti-apocalypse talismans manufactured with the hair of an elderly Tibetan yak, whichtheir psychic yak-whisperer says was once the Dalai Lama and thus they may incur no negative karma for using animal products, seeing as the yak is donating all its worldly possessions (ie, hair) to the making of said lucky charms in the name of world peace. 

All to no avail, apparently.. Daughter was bolting around the house waving her arms, shouting, "I TOLD YOU SO DIDN'T I? WE ARE ALL GOING TO DIE."

Until we didn't. :-D

ANYway. In more exciting news, I won some mini marchantia on ebay. This is a low-light plant which closely resembles a dwarf susswasstertang, and is actually a species of liverwort. Go me! The susswassertang is growing slowly but steadily all over the IQ5, so I'm supposing the marchantia will do equally well under similar light in the NPT. 

I've also been doing research on which plants absorb what nasties out of the water, and found this interesting article by Diana Walstad:

http://theaquariumwiki.com/Plants_and_Biological_Filtration

It seems that most aquarium plants suck up ammonia, but only a very few like to eat nitrates, including echinodorus (swords). 

So now I'm on a mission for information about what the best mix of plants might be for the NPT, to maximise clean water.. 

Unless, of course, the hippies are right, the Mayans were a bit off in their math, the yak hair fails and we're all doomed to Hollywood-style total oblivion before the end of the week. 

I'm kind of hoping not. I just bid on a really nice 45 litre tank...


----------



## Aus

The first of my plants ought to be arriving on Tuesday or Wednesday next week. So I'm madly washing sand! Found a ton of old organic potting mix out back, it's been there a good long while so it won't be as funky as brand new stuff in the tank, bonus! I'll add a handful or two of the Naked Farmer's soil activator, heard great things about it used half and half in planted tanks.. 

I ordered a new LED for this tank, since the Dymax LED's have worked pretty well for the other, but I'll see how it goes. The next tank will be somewhat bigger, so I'll have to start looking into tubes for that I think. 

The ratty didn't end up coming to us, sad to say someone got in before us, but he did go to a good home apparently so that's okay. So we're contacting a local breeder, she's got some beautiful babies and they're well bred rat club ratties, very pretty colours. We'll go cage shopping tomorrow, I think. My legs have been good these past few days, so I think I'm up for a decent shop around. And the store we'll go to is next to Bunnings, so I'll pop in there and look for a nice pot for my bog garden plants.

My living room looks like a potting shed. It's driving me mad, rocks and plants everywhere, ha. The darned gold vine's still floating.. if I'd known it was this buoyant I might've bought it a little sooner.. 


Today's poem is by Seamus Heaney, former British Poet Laureate. His poems are often set in or infused with nature. I imagine him strolling through moors and boglands, noticing every ripple in the duckweed for future reference. I really enjoy his poems. This one's from the collection, _Death of a Naturalist_. 

*Trout*

Hangs, a fat gun-barrel,
deep under arched bridges
or slips like butter down
the throat of the river.
From the depths smooth-skinned as plums
his muzzle gets bull's eye;
picks off grass-seed and moths
that vanish, torpedoed.
Where water unravels
over gravel-beds he
is fired from the shallows
white belly reporting
flat; darts like a tracer-
bullet back between stones
and is never burnt out.
A volley of cold blood
ramrodding the current.


----------



## Aus

*EBAY*. I loves it. 

I have bid on several tanks, a 5, 10 and 20 gallon. They all come with hood, lights, two come with heaters..

If the bids go well, I can afford all of them! Lots of room for fishes! No more dinky tanks! (I will keep the IQ5.. it's a neat little tank). 

Daughter has decided that perhaps she doesn't want a cute little loveable, fuzzy rat after all. Daughter has decided that perhaps what she_ really_ wants is a giant scorpion. :squint:










The matter is presently under discussion...


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## MistersMom

EWWWWW!!!!!!!!!! yuck.. get one with big pinchers okay? the smaller the pinchers the more poisonous they are, the larger, the less. if they have small pinchers they need SOMETHING to attack or defend with... so they have more venom then the ones with larger claws, because the larger clawed ones dont need more venom if they have big claws.... but yeah... gross...


----------



## Aus

Thanks for the tip, MM.

I am truly praying I don't need to use it.. I have owned scorpions in the past (they got eaten by blackbirds! so much for allowing them a little fun in the sun..), and really enjoyed them. But they were little! And I was in my 20's and didn't accidentally lose them in the house! Maybe I should give Daughter a little more credit.. but paying $75 for a giant scorpion that may end up mush under Irish's bootheel or scuttling about under the sofa is not something I wish to experience. :lol:

I moved Cole into the living room today to get him used to the change in environment. The NPT will be too big for daughter's room (especially if she's keeping the "whatever else" enclosure in there). Cole is a cranky fish. He is highly suspicious of this move, and has been eyeballing everything from the new crypt I gave him to the people walking by, flaring madly at everything. I hope he likes the NPT. It should be up by end of next week, if all goes well.

I have been inspired by Sena to share one of my short stories. It's not my best one, but I enjoyed writing it. It's entirely fictional (well, mostly..) 

_________________

*Thrift*
by Aus, 2010

My mother is one of those mothers. You know, the ones who have enough money to live a life of care-free consumer consumption but, to make up for the lack of any excuse to expend real adrenaline and being too scared of heights to take up free-fall skydiving, has become addicted to hunting bargains instead. 

So we eat $1.35-a-box cereal, which tastes like the company has simply filled the box with other, more shredded boxes. We dress in label clothing scoured from closing down sales. While other, normal families go to see movies or hike a mountain on a weekend, we traipse around unsuccessful malls and bulk-item megamarts, looking for run-out items and the best toilet paper for under six cents a roll. Our television is pre-set to record Antiques Homeshow on whatever station happens to be currently showing it, in every country in the Western World. 

I cannot even speak about e-bay.

Today she wants us to go 'thrift shopping'. I don't know what that is, until I ask, and she explains it. Oh, I say, we're purchasing other people's garbage now. _Fantastic._

She tells me it's very 'in' to go thrift shopping. Retro items are worth big bucks now, she knows this because of e-bay. People are making a fortune in 70's shoes and 80's fluorescent tulle nightclub wear. The past is a gold-mine of opportunity. Why couldn't I just be bit more supportive, when she's doing this to help our family?

I am sufficiently guilt-tripped, and decline to point out that Dad makes two hundred grand a year and we have no mortgage.

I've never seen the inside of a second-hand store before. It smells like old people. The garment racks are an insane jumble of colours, sizes, shapes and styles. I start imagining some of the folks who used to own those clothes are maybe still in them. 

There's also a bunch of junk in display cases, which my mother calls 'bric-a-brac'. She seems particularly delighted with this stuff.

The store manager is a plus-sized woman who looks like she has dressed herself with her eyes closed, walking through the store and pulling things off the racks at random. Unlike people who work in regular stores, she doesn't greet us or ask if we want any help. Instead, she sits behind a lime green laminate display counter, peering over a pair of tortoiseshell spectacles at a pile of what appear to be 1940's military issue brassieres. She does not move off her stool. She does not acknowledge us at all. I decide that making sure she notices us will be adequate revenge on my mother. 

I start by asking the woman where the shoes are. I have to say 'excuse me' twice before she looks up and points at a rack full of dinted, scuffed shoes three feet away. I ask her if any of those have support arches. I ask her if she has any of those disposable socks that help avoid fungal diseases from trying shoes on, and anyway, my socks are kind of sweaty and you know how that makes shoe-buying difficult. 

I ask her if anyone ever died in those shoes.

The woman replies, to all of the above, "No."

Okay, I say, then proceed to try them all on. I try on men's shoes and ladies' shoes. Too big, too small shoes. Platform shoes, ugg-boots, clogs, stilettos, lace-ups, slip-ons. I clomp around in these, sometimes wearing two completely different shoes at once, saying 'hmm' and 'dunno' a lot. 

I want that motley-garbed hippo to wedge the stool out of her ass, waddle over here and ask me if I need any help. This is now my life's purpose.

Meanwhile, my mother is breathing heavily. I can hear her, clear across the store. That can mean only one thing— she has found a bargain. And not just any bargain. No, this will be something Van Gogh painted on his deathbed but which somehow ended up here, in the thrift shop, mistaken for some art-school dropout's sloppily crafted rendition of a sunflower, thrown out by his parents when he finally knocked somebody up and was forced to move into his own trailer.

I sigh, and let go of my newfound ambition. In twenty seconds, Mother will walk by me and hiss, 'let's go!', with that look on her face that tells me I won't get to play WoW for many days while she hogs the computer, trying to resell this thing on the net for a huge profit.

_"Let's go!"_

I drop a pair of knee-high Roman sandals that actually are coming back into vogue, though probably without all those puppy-teeth bite marks, and follow her to the counter, where the woman in the unfortunate mix of homespun and Versace-does-Hawaii condescends to look at the price tag on a very small china figurine, about which Mother is pretending to be totally casual.

"Hmm," says the ungulate, peering closely at the figurine, which is either a deformed poodle or some kind of anaemic shrub.

Mother points to the stick-on tag, flipping correct change out of her purse. "Four dollars."

"It has a mark," moos the shop-keep.

"Yes, a chip on the left ear," says Mother, somewhat losing her edge of cool. "Can you knock a dollar off?"

The manager looks at Mother over her glasses. "I am fairly certain this is a collectible."

Oh no. She's said the 'C' word. I sense my Mother entering a state of internal apoplexy. There is going to be a battle. Mother takes a deep breath and girds her... whatever mothers gird, in these situations.

"The tag says four dollars," she says crisply. "And I'm in a hurry."

Motley the Gnu huffs gently, turning the ugly poodle this way and that. You can smell the tension in the air. The peril of losing money is stalking her across the plains. Her ears twitch nervously. Her nostrils distend. 

Mother slaps the money on the counter and drums her fingers, before snapping at me to make up my mind about the shoes, please, and why can't I just get into the spirit of thrift shopping, even if we're only here to find china dogs for my dying little sister's hospital beside, and was I _aware_ that the cancer ward's visiting hours finish at four, so if I make us late and she dies before we get there it'll be all my fault that we never got to say goodbye.

It's a brilliant ploy. The wildebeest scrunches her muzzle into a good simulation of remorse and pops the dog into a paper bag with string handles. "Four dollars."

Mother has lost all capacity for speech, so the entire car ride home is more eerie for the traffic sounds being uninterrupted by triumphant watering-hole screeches. I want to ask, but I don't want to, in case I set her off.

At home, in the kitchen, she sets the bag on the counter and opens it. "Look. Just look."

I look in the bag. It contains an ugly china poodle. 

"That's one ugly poodle," I say. "I'm sure the kiddies in the cancer ward'll love it, though."

Mother sniffs loudly, her way of implying that I am an incurable barbarian. She fishes the thing out of the bag. There's a mark on it alright, a crown and some faded letters. 

"This poodle," she intones, "Is worth seven hundred dollars."

Even I'm impressed. I tell her so, and watch her radiate. What can I do, but bask in that kind of glow? Well, there's one thing. I take a long step back.

"Six hundred and ninety-six dollars profit. Divided by half…."

That's a lot of beat-up '70's shoes, right there.

___________________


----------



## Aus

I bought a 3ft tank! :shock: Which can hold 50 gallons, but will have about 25.. or so.. gallons of water in it (I don't need 50! Plus I want to grow a few leafy bog plants in it..).

Since I have all these plants arriving, I figured.. why not???

Now I need lights.. ebay, awaaaay!


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## birdielikestomatoes

Another tank!? Haha, and I thought I was bad. How are the fishies and everyone else doing? Also, I enjoyed your short story, if only I had that kind of luck inside a thrift store.


----------



## Aus

Hiya BLT! (you sound like a sandwich, when I put it that way...)

Nice to hear from you. Hope everyone on your end is hale and hearty!

Haha, fish tanks - my whole household is - :roll: - but I'm really pleased with the 3ft (I didn't actually win the other tanks, except the 10 g all-in-one, which I got for a great price). I have a good, sturdy stand near a power outlet, big enough to hold a 3ft tank, and a sponge filter for the moment (I'm not stocking it immediately, just planting so that will do for a bit of water movement for now, I think). I just need some good plant-friendly lights..

Glad you enjoyed the story, it's a silly one but it was fun to write from the POV of somebody so different from myself. I've made a few thrift store buys over the years, they really are great fun to shop in. No, I am not like the mother in the story! Lol. Not _quite_.. >>

The fishies are all doing okay. Except.. for one of Daughter's guppies, which some time this morning took wild leap out of its tank and .. yeah. 

The other one's fine, but quite stressy without his friend. I'll give her the 8 gallon for him with the HOB filter, so that'll mean she can have maybe two or three more buddies in there to keep him company. She's really fond of those guppies and has taken very good care of them, it's sad she lost one like that. We buried him next to Sid in the purple daisy patch.

The two-leggeds among us-- have the flu! Oh, the joys of winter. Daughter's ill and in a horrible mood, not improved by finding the escapee. Irish and I are feeling slightly better, but it's been a nasty one. It'll pass -- but not quick enough, for my liking.

It's really, really hard to feel motivated to muck about with gallons of water and dirt when feeling unwell. The new tank arrives Friday, so I've got to make some decisions about who is going where and in what.

I've decided that Cleo will stay in her present tank for now as it's humming along quite nicely, she is a happy and healthy little betta, and I don't wish to disrupt her.

Cole has his own 10g arriving next week. I'm glad he'll have more room to prowl around in, like a scary thug. I'm almost nervous to feed him now - he jumps to bite my hand occasionally and gives me a pretty decent nip. I think the postman was a piranha... 

Demyx can have Cole's current 3.5g tank, and go in my room where I can keep an eye on him. He really cannot handle large volumes of water, he's barely coping in the little hospital tank. I hate to say it, but I honestly think he's on the way out. I cannot medicate him any more, he's clearly just had enough. Fin regrowth is happening, but is very slow and its seems he's wasting a bit more every week. But as ever, the most cheerful, friendly little fish and eating well, etc. I'm just keeping his water as clean as possible, and we'll see how he goes. 

The 3ft .. well, that's my wild betta tank. Just a pretty, planty tank for now...


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## shadowpony

Just read through this. I can tell you that earthquakes are scary. I was in one, 5.4, I was on a 3rd floor apartment and I thought that I was gonna die. I climbed up my mom, screaming, until it was over. Scary. Congrats on the 3fter. May I suggest a land/water tank? You could have a big section of water and an "island" with orchids on it (to satisfy your orchid dream). Your a great artist. I love your work. I do graphite stuff myself. Never could do pen. Your a great writer, too.


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## Aus

Awh, thank you so much, nice of you to say. 

And yes - I would really like an orchid island! I'll see what I can do about that.. going to Bunnings again today to look for rocks, sometimes they have nice orchids there too in the plant department.

Wow, I'd be scared on a 3rd floor in a quake, too, I think! Daughter was so terrified during this last one. We had to have a long talk after about them, and how we are not in any great danger here, before she calmed down, poor kid. 

............


OMG ------ I was sold plants on ebay ILLEGALLY! :shock:

Just went to the mail.. I'm so dumb, sometimes. I figured the seller MUST have some arrangement with customs, being that he advertises Australia in his shipping-to-places list.

My plants were --_seized and destroyed _-- by customs!!!

AND on the envelope? The seller has written "soft toy" as the item description so he is _SMUGGLING_ plants into this country and making _ME_ a part of that illegal activity.

Just - :shock:

Okay - I shouldn't have been such a dummy. But I'm new to this! Omg, I'm a plant smuggler! ><

I'm just. Too angry to even write about it. I'm off to ebay to kick some Taiwanese ass.... :evil:


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## LittleBettaFish

That sucks Aus. Yeah those sellers from overseas are such dodgy scam artists. To a newbie who isn't familiar with customs laws they make it seem like everything is on the up and up. I have read a few posts on AL where people have purchased from overseas and had stuff destroyed.

I sent some bettas to WA who don't let you send aquatic plants over and I was so terrified I'd left some duckweed or something in there and I was going to get fined by customs. Fortunately I didn't, but it's so nervewracking when something like that happens.


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## shadowpony

Don't we just LOVE scam artists? I'd be so mad. Just livid.


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## Aus

Well, live and learn -- one of the moss pieces actually --arrived -- and :shock:

Sorry piece of rotten goop stuck a razor sharp bit of wire mesh. It went in the bin. Clearly, this company ought to quit shipping stuff overseas.. or at all.. anyway. Like I said, live and learn.

So -- an update!

My 3ft never arrived! It was weird.. the people said they'd deliver, sent me a message saying they were on their way -- and never arrived! I sent them a message, as I was having a nap at the time, but Irish was here and took other deliveries.. he didn't hear them knock, or anything. 

I haven't heard a word back.. not a thing. Daughter thinks they were probably in a car accident. :| I hope not! (It was payment by COD, so no money was lost thank god).

So much for the 3ft! And I've ordered/been sent a 3ft planted tank's worth of plants! 

Thankfully Cole's 10 gallon curved front is here!

It's set up with some nice aged potting mix and capped with sand. It has a heater.. and a sponge filter, as soon as I find a smaller, adjustable pump.. the one I got for the 3ft is too strong for it. 

So far I've planted some maxilla and hairgrass I bought at the lovely LPS where I got daughter's ratty cage (no rat yet.. looking.. ) that I made a thread about because I was so impressed with their fish room in general. I also bought two healthy banana lilies. 

I'm waiting on a stack of stem plants coming in the mail Monday/Tuesday, as well as some red tiger and green lilies and assorted anubias, crypts.. I have a LOT of those to go in, now. Mosses, and some frogbit. Java fern, too, the lovely needle leaf kind.. and some azolla from the lovely Aokashi (thanks!!! :-D ) -- _so many plants_!

Cole will have a jungle! So that sponge filter will be good, methinks, for providing a little oxygen in there.. 

The water's been a tad cloudy, I don't think I washed the sand quite well enough. But water changes are helping there. Also, I'm not too worried as I'll be stirring things up when I plant as the parcels come in. Very eager for those stem plants..

Tomorrow I'm tying the anubias plants I got to the gold vine and planting the bigger crypts. And taking pictures! Though it looks a bit pathetic at the moment, ha. 

I simply cannot stuff another plant in Cleo's tank, and will probably have to prune a few in the next week or two. 

Demyx.. has a sudden, severe case of popeye. :shock: Despite his pristine -- _pristine_ I tell you! -- water. That poor little fish. So he's in epsom to get the sudden, massive swelling down (one eye is almost out of his head, overnight, the other doesn't look good) and then I'm giving him another dose of antibiotic. I honestly think it may be too much for him, but I can't let him slowly degrade as he is.. not any more. We're all cheering for him, though. He's a little trooper, and such a sweetie. Still eating well (he loves his food, lol) but I noticed today that even in the low level of water he's in, he's truly struggling to swim at all, his regrown fins (not wholly healed by a log shot, but enough to provide resistance in the water) tangle around him when he turns and tip him left or right when he is still. I think if he'd grown to a proper size, it might not be so bad - but he's still only a tiny bit bigger than when we got him and he was just a tiddler then.

Or if his fins weren't so huge, on top of him being a weak, sickly little fish. Sigh.  Fingers and toes crossed for Demyx.

Cleo is.. well, Cleo. She still hasn't managed to eat of any of the shrimp, which I can tell is annoying her no end. She'll sporadically go on a massive patrol of every nook and cranny she can reach, and ends up biting the plants in frustration. So funny.

Cole is.. I don't know. I don't know a lot about plakats, so I went looking around for information/pictures. What I discovered is that Cole doesn't look a lot like many of the plakats out there. For one, his dorsal fin is attached differently... where others have a fuller, fanlike dorsal fin, his is sort of.. U-shaped. 

And compared to many, many other plakats out there, Cole is also.. butt ugly. :-D

Well, -I- think he's very handsome, in a brutish kind of way. But he isn't true black, sort of a muddy mix of blue and brown, true brown when he stresses and stripes up. And his head - it's enormous! The booger jumped an inch out of the water to nip my finger today. He's massively aggressive, and in him I think I am seeing the true aggression which bettas are capable of for the first time. 

Of course, I _adore_ him. He's going to love having a bigger tank, I'm excited to get it all finished. Here's that pic of Cole again, just a tad bigger than life-size.. look at that dorsal fin. Have you seen one like it?


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## shadowpony

Haha. I'm a hothead, so yeah. Oh Cleo. Maybe you could get some freeze dried brine shrimp to satisfy her hunger for shrimpies  Orrr it could majorly backfire and make her even more detemernied to catch the Z family... Nevermind XD.


----------



## Aus

Just the small amount of shrimp meal in the Z family's food pellets sends her off hunting them for an hour.. :lol:

I can't wait for summer and the return of the mosquito larvae.


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## shadowpony

Lucky! I would love some for my boy.


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## Aus

It's not hard to 'culture' mosquitos. Stick a bucket out in the yard in some shade, half cover it with an old towel or bit of sacking and throw in a handful or three of dry leaves or even a chunk of old wood (make sure it's pretty old, like a year or two) as they like mucky black water with yummy gunk in it. 

Then wait! :lol: Scoop out with nylon stocking stretched over a bent wire hanger. Voila! Betta snacks!

I'm not concerned about the larvae being 'mucky'. Fish exist on these things, they evolved to hunt and eat them, and better they're freshly gutloaded with algae than pristine and lacking in nutrient, IMO.


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## Aus

*Poor Wee Demyx*

So I took some pics of the little feller.. 

He looks even worse, in this one, being cupped for a wc and not very happy about the camera flash, he's usually a lovely turquoise/blue. 

Now, when I call this fish 'stupidly overfinned' it's hard to see here just how true that is, since even the longest sections of fin in this photo are only about 60-70% of what what was there to begin with. Add to that, this fish is a skinny little thing, about the size of a betta recently out of fry stage, and you can imagine how he struggles. 

You can also see the pale new rays growing on his dorsal - he's bitten it clean off, but for that one long ray, which is also not a whole ray, his dorsal was super long.. and some new clean webbing around the rest of his fins.

This little betta is _so_ loved and cared for. I know he doesn't look it! But he is!

Breaks my heart. 

But he still floofs around happily, and never fails to wiggle up for a hello. 

I can't see him making rapid improvement, somehow. But I'm pretty determined to not let him down, and keep him as healthy as I can for as long as I can.


----------



## Aus

*Npt update*

Here's some progressive pics of the _*39L*_ (not _29L_! I don't know why I was calling it a 29.. anyway..) NPT:

*DAY 1*. Heater in, some milfoil, wisteria and hairgrass, and the goldvine attractively arranged in a random heap with a big rock on top of it, as the rotten stuff won't sink yet. Water's cloudy, but I'm not bothering about it too much until all the plants are in:












*DAY 2: *Tied anubias to goldvine (which still has a rock on it.. will it never sink?!) and planted various crypts and a little bit of blyxa in the corner. Water's -very- cloudy due to having just stirred up the substrate.











Got a pile of plants arriving later today, so big update tomorrow!


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## LittleBettaFish

Saw them over on Aquariumlife Aus. Looking good. You will have to be aggressive with your milfoil as it tends to cover the surface and then die off and go leggy at the bottom. 

I like your wood. It is an interesting shape. Are you going to be tying any moss to it?


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## Aus

Thanks for the tip on the milfoil, LBF. And yeah, I now have maybe 4 or 5 kinds of moss..

I'm in abject shock at what the postie brought today. Those folks on AL.. omg, _so kind_! Where I thought maybe I've bought enough to do the 10g and perhaps start a larger tank as well.. I have an 8 gallon tank _FULL_ (no kidding, it's stuffed with plants, there's barely room for the water) with those, plus a GAZILLION 'extra' plants thrown in (I have never _SEEN _this much java fern) and the NPT is .. well, you'll see tomorrow. Such an incredible list.. 

I'm so overwhelmed at how kind these people are.


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## Aus

DAY 3: Lol.. after freaking out at having a TON of plants to many for this one tank and not knowing what the heck to put where, I made a start on planting..

I almost didn't put this pic up, as the tank is such a mess right now. The [email protected]#% gold vine STILL floats so I've given up on making it look pretty or placing it properly until it'll stay down.. thus, it's pretty much just lumped in there for now. A few things have come loose (planting things in water isn't easy!)

The swords are being moved closer to the back, and there's some fairly large crypts back there that have done 'the crypt thing' and shed all thier leaves.. new growth is visible, though, so I dare say they'll all come back fine. 

Today I'll be moving things around, planting a few carpet type things, attaching mosses to rocks and so on... hopefully the next update is a bit more attractive!


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## LittleBettaFish

Looks good Aus. Grapevine takes forever and a day to fully sink. Many a scape of mine has been ruined by a floater haha. Now I just weigh them down for a couple of weeks with some rocks.

I hate attaching moss to anything. I always end up tangled in a spool of cotton with half my moss stuck down the wrong way. 

What stock are you putting in this? One of your bettas?

Told my strohi some of them shall be living in paradise one day in the near future. They are looking nice and healthy. I have two obvious dominant males who are always coloured up and sparring, and think one or two of the others may or may not be females. It's hard to tell when they are still only juvies.


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## Aus

Hi, LBF - Honestly, I loathe this wood. Except that it looks so pretty, lol. Next time I'll be a bit better prepared and soak it properly. 

This tank's for Cole, the 'black' (ie, murky brown/blue) plakat male. He's pretty big and aggressive compared to our others (even Cleo the Shrimp Assassin) so I think he'll love having a roomy jungle to lurk in. 

I'm so excited about the strohi.. I will be a coupe of weeks at least away from taking them, I want their tank - it'll be NPT and heavily planted (I am still recovering from how many plants these people sent me..) and filtered with old media, so I am hoping to cut down cycling time that way. Before they arrive I'll add some IAL and get the water softer for them.. and get the whole filtration rigmarole sorted out. I cannot stand the sound of sponge filters, it's like nails up a chalkboard (only bubblier .. and underwater...) but I do like the idea of them. There has to be a way to have the best of both worlds.. anyway.. I'll work something out. 

I showed Daughter some pictures of some strohi - for some reason, she really doesn't like macrostoma at all, so I was expecting a measure of teenaged angst about why I must prefer ugly big mouthed fishes over little, floofy, pretty ones.. and she _loved _them. :shock: Hoorah, one supposes. 

And I must admit, I am -hoping- for a female.. would love to have some fry one day. I couldn't come at breeding splendens, but the wilds are a different matter. No worries if they're all boys, though, I'll have a lot of machismo and pretty colours to look at.

Update: this evening a lovely lady named Chris is coming over with some wee baby ratties for us to look at. Daughter spent all afternoon sewing the cutest little 'rat bag' out of green polar fleece, with a pink terrycloth heart on top, for her new babies to snuggle in at night, and reorganising her room for maximum ratty play space. I'm really excited for her. 

In sadder news, we lost the other guppy today. Daughter is somewhat resigned to being a terrible guppy-keeper, but I thought she actually didn't do badly by them at all. All the same, she is sticking to bettas from now on, she says.


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## Aus

*Squee ratties*

Ratty update:

Chris arrived with a teacup chihuahua in her handbag (just... adorable) and a carry-case full of the most beautiful young ratties. Daughter was just thrilled to have them all running about on her - as well as highly amused that they _all _elected to poop on ME - at once!

I choose to think of this as their finding me relaxing to be around..

Anyway, we chose three of the five. Honestly, I could have taken all of them, they were all so lovely. I regret not being able to take a particularly nice little mink male, who was one of two 7-wk olds, but we ended up with three.

Archie is a hooded topaz berkshire, 7 weeks
Trevor is a hooded topaz berkshire, 12 weeks

These are daughter's ratties. 

And then we have Fergus, a 12-week old topaz berkshire who is mostly solid coloured but for a little white patch on his belly. He is MY ratty! (Though they all live in the same cage in Daughter's room).

They are obviously all healthy and well-socialised, though Fergus is notably a little more apprehensive of his new home than the other two. Ah well, he'll settle in soon enough. 

Our new boys enjoyed a dinner of seed/pellet mix, apple and corn. Then little Archie (who is omg_cute_) snuggled up inside the rat-sack Daughter made for them and went to sleep while Trevor and Fergus elected to stay up and explore the cage a while. 

Pics tomorrow!


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## shadowpony

*chants* Pics pics pics pics pics pics pics.

Congrats on the ratties


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## Aus

Here's some pics.  They are hard to photograph as they don't really sit still at all.. 

There's been a slight re-name, too, with 'Trevor' becoming more aptly named as 'Scuttlebutt' or 'Scuttle' for short.


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## LittleBettaFish

Haha look at them cute little rats. I've always wanted some rats but our cats are evil and would undoubtedly find a way to get in and eat them. 

Are they liking their little rat snuggly? Looks nice and soft.

Also Aus are you still chasing a filter for your 3fter? I have a never been used (didn't have room for it) Eheim 2213 that is just missing two suction caps for the spraybar and the actual hosing (easy to get at Bunnings I believe as I've seen tubing there before) for $50. 

Let me know if you do. I can catch the bus over to the train station or something as the 513 goes right near my house. Thought I'd ask as I saw on AL you needed a filter a while back.


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## Aus

Aaaand a couple more (Archie is so adorable..)


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## Aus

LBF - YES please. But do you mind if we wait a week or so? I'm kind of broke after this week's splurge on rats and aquarium stuff. ><


They love the snuggly, and all pile in there at once, which is a bit of a tight squeeze. Daughter's making another one tonight, more tentish and a bit bigger. And yes -- cats. We're making very sure Tom-tom is clueless about the rats in general..

The 513 goes right by my house, too. I think..? Or not far at all from it. Easy peasy!


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## LittleBettaFish

That's fine Aus. I will put it on hold for you over on AL (had it advertised over there). Comes with taps and everything so it shouldn't back-siphon onto your floor haha. Had that experience when I set-up another canister filter in the past oops!

Hehe can stop and snoop around the Coburg aquarium anyway. Last time I was there waiting for the bus some hobo man was making obscene gestures at me. Luckily there were tradies and a mattock in a nearby house!


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## Aus

Omg, creepy hobos.. I once smacked one down two flights of stairs with a shovel after he -_ walked into _- my flat and made himself at home. And then was disinclined to leave. Until I smacked him with the shovel. :twisted:

Was it you wanting java moss on AL, too? I have it out the ears, would be happy to give you some clumps. There's two lovely ones pearling merrily in Cleo's tank and she is a healthy little fishy so I'd be happy to give you those.

You're welcome to pop over for a cuppa when I'm cashed up again, we'll do business, lol.


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## birdielikestomatoes

Those ratties are...ADORABLE. You're seriously lucky I don't live in Australia or I might visit you and never leave as I'd be in pet heaven, though if that happened I'd prefer to not be smacked down a staircase. xD

It's been a battle just getting my two fish tanks set up, and I'm still working on the third! Not to mention I've been begging for dog number two for the past 5 years. (It took 11 years to get doggy number one.) All right enough ranting. I'm in a ranting mood.

HOBOS. I'm still scarred from the time I was just chilling in the car waiting for my family to get out from the gas station, when a hobo barged into the car and started rummaging through my backpack. In shock I wasn't able to bring myself to talk. Luckily though my parents decided to come out at the time and my mom went ballistic. She started shouting at him and he explained he was looking for a phone. Right...a phone. I was twelve at the time.


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## SeaHorse

Aus.... Ratties are adorable!! Lucky daughter! And I'm loving the 3footer. I once had a Betta in his very own 45 gallon. He LOVED it. Silly people and their silly little betta bowls. Put a Betta in a big tank and you will never use a bowl again. I admit I have a 2.5 gallon set up on a table but he is a friend's who is going to college in Sept and they are only allow 3 gal in Residence. Silly rule, should be at least 5-6 gal. 
Love the pics! Probably a good thing you don't have room for horses and cows... lol.


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## Aus

BLT --- lol! You'd be welcome to visit. I bet you wouldn't smell anywhere near as badly as that particular gentleman did... And what a terrifying experience that must have been for your younger self! :shock:

All mothers should be permitted to carry shovels in public.

JB, so nice to see you again, hope all's well!

I think it's a good idea to be cautious about number/species of pets and manageability.. Every pet I have has a backup plan for if I go to hospital/away/ have an unexpectedly empty wallet. If I had better health/more resources, I believe I very well could end up with a zoo (it's happened before! and YES - I had horses.. and a cow! :lol: ) but these days, small pets are about it. Like Daughter's flipping scorpion, which I truly hope she doesn't want now we have three rats to keep her busy. =P

As for tanks size - I am not against tanks of 1 gallon or up, IF they are well maintained according to the fish's needs. Ie, I'm happy to keep little Cleo in her 3.5 g, though it is a lot of work. But I could not keep Cole in one that small, he's a rocket with fins and quite large. I keep thinking he'll bust out of his temporary tank one night and try to eat me, out of sheer spite for making him live in a 4 gallon keeper until the 10 is ready.. :lol:


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## shadowpony

Awww.. Rats .
I agree on with you about tank size. I think every betta should have special consideration on their tank's size. My VT is pretty big and fairly active, so I like to keep him in 5+ gallons. My HM (RIP) was small and not as active, he did fine in 2.5 gallons.


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## Aus

NPT DAY 4:

I did some rearranging, replanted that sword, shuffled a few other things around, planted the HC... I'm really pleased with the green lily and how resilient it's been, it looks very happy and is to become my favourite plant, I think.. 

Me and that goldvine.. we're going to have words fairly shortly. It may even amount to fisticuffs. It just. Will not. Bloody. Sink. 

So that's why there's an even bigger rock sitting in it. :\

Ah, well. I'm sure there's still a few major errors which will become more noticeable as things settle and sprout, but I'm pretty much leaving this tank alone for now. It has a nice jungly feel to it, and the plants are all alive, some even madly sprouting already. 

I think I'm going to put a dozen shrimp in to help clean up the algae. There's not much as yet, but I can see where it'll soon be thriving between the plants.

The third pic down is a comparison to the first, which is the most recent. I do think it's an improvement.. 

The second pic is a closeup of the right hand side of the tank, which I'm pretty pleased with. The left side has a pile of very nice crypts which have all done the melty thing as expected, but are definitely looking good for new growth and will sooner or later nicely fill the background on that side with some long, narrow leaves.

Daughter got a lovely shot of Cole, and one of Cleo too. She's getting pretty good at photography.

And of course, there's the obligatory cute rattie pic. :-D


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## Aus

Lots of updates!

3ft tank - arrives tomorrow night, for sure. Yay! 

Bit of a check-in list:

I've found a hood/stand for it along with a heater and extra canister (have to pay this lot off..), and am buying another canister filter from LBF. Need more substrate stuff, but that's not expensive.. maybe $12-20 worth of sand and potting mix. Of course I have plants out the ears right now, so I'm okay there.. but I also need some driftwood for the java fern and mosses. 

Whew. Well, I'll be broke for ages, but it'll be worth it! 

NPT update: due to ratty issues (see ratty update below) I've had to put Cole in the NPT a bit sooner than I wanted to.. Since ammonia's been at zero since day 1, there's mega bulk plants in there and I'm testing every day, I figure he'll be alright. He loves the tank! I don't think he's ever seen a filter before, and he keeps playing in the bubbles when he's not exploring every inch and trying to eat the azolla and duckweed. So funny.. :lol:

Ratty update: Bit worried about the boys.. there's been a fair amount of aggression developing between them. We tried removing each rat in turn to figure out what/who was behind it, and it seems the two big boys will tussle but get over it and snuggle up together after, but poor little Archie is always on the defensive and will fly across the cage to wail on the others - and of course, gets the snot beaten out of him by the bigger rats. I think it's just that he's half the size of the others, and maybe feels very insecure. So that's why he's in Cole's old Kritter Keeper (minus the water! lol) with some cosy blankies and his own little bowls for the moment.. he's just too little to be dealing with the two big fellers who are having their own disagreements.

He also seems to have gotten a scratch to the eye in the fracas, not too horrible but he'll be off to the vet if there's any swelling or anything.


----------



## Aus

Just some random NPT/Cole pics..


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## Aus

Ratty update: they are all three sleeping peacefully in my peg-basket, which is now lined with snuggly polar fleece and hanging in the ratty cage.

Daughter update: will be going to the shops in morning, to buy me another peg-basket. :|


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## Aus

SQUEE.

My 3ft tank is here. That's roughly 153 L or just under 40.5 gallons. :-D

But make that 30 gallons.. as it won't be completely filled with water, I think. It's 50cm (1.75 feet??) in height, which is pretty tall.. I am pretty bent on the idea of a paludarium sort of thing, growing some mini papyrus (if it only grows to about 1.5 ft..) and other emmersed plants in there to give it a pond-like feel. 

For substrate height that doesn't encourage anaerobic pockets, someone on AL suggested hydroponic clay ball things.. regular substrate goes over these. I'll do some research on that, as it would solve the height issue without me attempting the inevitable doomed mess of DIY _anything_. 

I'll be posting some other people's tank pics here for inspiration. 

Like this one:










Epiphytes!!!!! :-D Love those air plants! And ooh, I swear there's _orchids_ on that wood... I -_really_- like this tank! Mine would have to be well-covered, for the strohi, but something like this doesn't need to be open-topped.




















These are more shallow, water-wise, than I would want. And I'd like the emmersed plants to actually be rooted in substrate, if possible, rather than in hanging pots (or both, really.. maybe..) and the tops are bushier than I'd like.. but yeah. I just like paludariums a lot. :-D

I need to do some research on semi-aquatic plants! Lord knows, I do not need any more aquatic ones.. Well. Maybe a couple. 

And definitely on the hunt for interesting bits of wood.











Not... so much the plant choices, here, but the rocks! I would hope they were held together with a dab of water-safe glue if there's fish in there.. what an interesting arrangement, however.

I just read that dwarf papyrus can be submerged to a depth of around 20cm.. or more, for the mature plants, which is a lot more than I thought.


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## Aus

*The Zoidberg Chronicles*

Just when I think Cleo has done a rampage through the shrimp population, as I haven't seen a single one of them for several days and have taken to frowning at her as I squint into the tanks hidey-places -- they all show up at once and quite well, thank you.

Baby Z appears to have molted recently, being a lot more pale than she usually is and perhaps a little bigger. But the really exciting news is that Mrs. Z is extremely heavy with eggs!! 

Now, the last time I got all excited about a berried shrimp and made a post about it, Cleo spitefully ate said shrimp even as I typed the post, making my happy news quite redundant. There's a lot more hidey space in there now, however, and seeing as all five have survived this long, I am truly hoping there'll be some little shrimplets that I can shift over to Cole's NPT. He's also a dedicated hunter - even though he so far has had nothing much to hunt, it doesn't stop him trying - but a few shrimp would go really well in that tank. 

I have learned the hard way, though (thank you, Cleo), not to count my shrimplets before they hatch...


----------



## Aus

Here's another short story of mine. It's also a bit silly... but I laughed my leg off writing it. Please the excuse the droppage of 'clangers' throughout. I've edited them for kiddly eyes.. I'm sure the rest of you can work out what was meant, in those places..


*Fair Practice*

by Aus 2010


Away in the distance, on the crest of a rolling green hill, a herd of unicorns were gambolling in a patch of wildflowers. 

Kim was observing this phenomenon in frank disbelief from where she stood on the bank of a brook. The brook burbled merrily and sparkled in the sunlight. Bluebirds tweeted sweetly in the trees, while cheeky squirrels dashed about looking for acorns.

_Must be dreaming_, she thought, though it didn't feel anything like a dream. But what else could it be? Kim hooked her thumbs in the belt-loops of her leather pants and frowned, trying to get her head together. 

The last thing she remembered which in any way resembled reality was standing in front of a mirror in the bathroom at the Trapdoor, trying to repair her wilting mohawk. No. That wasn't it. The last thing she remembered was staggering across Fulton Road to use the payphone… 

But that wasn't it, either. No, no—she had it now. The _last_ thing she remembered was squinting at the oncoming lights of a speeding semi-trailer in the middle of Fulton Road outside The Trapdoor, where she'd seen her third Griddle-Fried Babies concert, moshed a lot, and managed to get totally smashed before being tossed out on her backside after a random ID check. Kim vaguely recalled having a very good time, up until that point.

A pair of swans sailed down the brook toward her and paused for a moment in the shade of a willow to neck each other lovingly. Kim threw rock at them. 

_I think I'm dead,_ she thought. _That's it. I'm dead, and in Hell. And Hell is an effing Disney movie._

"Cheer up, dear," a cheerful voice piped, from behind a nearby gooseberry bush. 

"_What._" Kim glanced about in alarm.

"Don't be such a grumpy-trousers. Things could be worse," said the voice, and up from somewhere in the middle of the bush sprang a middle-aged woman in glittering pink tulle gown, wearing a jewelled tiara and holding a wand tipped with an equally shiny star. "Much, _much_ worse."

"Who the eff are you?" Kim stomped toward the bush. "And what's all this about?" 

The woman smiled beatifically. A cloud of tiny blue butterflies flittered down from the sky, forming a halo around her head. "Why, I'm your Fairy Godmother. And _you_, dear, are in Fairyland."

Kim blinked. "I'll be effed."

"None of that here, I'm afraid." In a faint mist of sparkles, the woman— Kim's mind refused to register the words '_Fairy Godmother_'— floated gently upward, then floated across the stream. "Come, now, follow me!"

The alternate to doing so, Kim supposed, was stay put and gawp at unicorns, so follow she did. They came to a halt in a pleasant clearing, in the middle of which was a white wrought-iron table, impeccably set for a high tea. The woman waved Kim toward a seat, and poured two cups of aromatic liquid from a floral china teapot. 

Kim pointed to a tray. "Are those…?"

"Fairy cakes!" The woman beamed, "Would you like one?" 

"No thanks. Just tell me how I ended up in…" She scowled. "This place."

"Oh, well," said her Fairy Godmother, "you were hit by a truck."

Kim blinked.

"You see," continued the Fairy Godmother, "You're not _quite_ good enough to go Upstairs, and not really bad enough for…" her forefinger pointed down as she made a sour face. "… and so you wound up here. It's not all that bad. The tea's nice."

"So I'm dead then. I'm really _dead_?" 

"Not yet. But close enough that we ought to have you sorted out. A stitch in time, as they say." 

Kim narrowed her eyes. "So what's the deal?"

The Fairy Godmother smiled again, and tiny hummingbirds fluttered from her ears. "If you do die, you're to become a Fairy."

Fairies were, in Kim's mind, closely associated with sickly-sweet and very spoiled little girls who were horribly mollycoddled by their parents, won spelling-bees, and hadn't any general clue what life was actually about. 

"I think I'd rather go to Hell." 

The Fairy Godmother's lips set tightly for a second, but just as quickly resumed smiling. "You don't want to go _there_, pet. It's nasty." She stepped several paces from the table and flourished her wand. The earth shook and groaned as if it was in pain and there was the sudden stink of burning and bad eggs, before a large black hole appeared. "You just take a look in there, if you don't believe me."

Moments later, Kim reeled back from the lip of the hole, her face ashen. "Okay. Forget Hell. But do I have to wear that sparkly crap?"

The Fairy Godmother's smile faded a bit. "That all depends, dear, on what sort of Fairy you choose to be. There's all sorts, you know. Tooth Fairies, Flower Fairies, Elementals. And of course on the _other_ end of things…" Her brows puckered in a delicate frown. "Oh, dear me, no. Let's never mind those. We'll find you something nice."

"No," said Kim, perking at the woman's obvious distaste. "Go on... what were you going to say?"

After a short silence, the Fairy Godmother lowered her voice. "Not all Fairies sparkle, m'dear. By nature, some of us are closer to the Other Place than to the Pearly Gates. Like the Banshee and the Pooka, and of course…" her tone dropped a near-whisper. "…the _Bogeyman_."

"Bogeyman? That's not a Fairy."

"Oh, yes they are, dear. Terrible creatures. I'm sure you remember yours, from when you were little."

Kim was sixteen, and hadn't thought about the Bogeyman in a long time. "In the closet. He used to hide in it, or under the bed."

"That's the one."

"Alright." It was Kim's turn to smile. "I want to be one of those."

The Fairy Godmother gasped and shook her head, sending minute flecks of glitter flying. "No. Nonono, nooo, oh dearie me, no, you don't want that." She took a moment to regain her composure, before adding, "And anyway, you _can't_."

"Why not?"

"Because it's the Bogey_man_, isn't it? Not the Bogey_woman_."

Kim scowled again and folded her arms over her chest. "That's sexual discrimination, that is. That's unfair practice. You show me, in black and white, where it says in the blinking rules that I can't be a Bogeywoman if I want."

The Fairy Godmother went pale, as though she might faint. "Show you..? I... well, you see… it isn't actually written down anywhere, as such, we just…."

Kim clapped her hands sharply in glee. "Right, then…" 

But before she could finish the sentence, Fairyland shivered and started flickering like an old TV on the fritz. The Fairy Godmother's lips drooped, in a sympathetic pout.

"Oh, goodness me. I'm afraid you've just passed away, dear. From your injuries. You did go peacefully, so that's a blessing." 

A long moment of quiet followed that news in which Kim pondered the things in life she'd miss. There wasn't much, she realised, after giving it some thought. But then, hers hadn't been much of a life. 

"I want to be a Bogeywoman." She said at last, with quieter sort of determination. "I want to keep my hair as it is. I want black clothes, no effing sparkles. And some waterproof eyeliner."

The Fairy Godmother looked as though she might cry. "Very well, then. But don't expect you'll be getting any cake." She waved her wand in a dismissive manner, and vanished.

Fairyland shivered again, and the sky grew dim as if the sun had winked. A second later, all was pitch blackness. Groping about for some point of reference, Kim's hands met with a smooth, wooden surface which shifted a little when she pushed.

She found herself peering through a crack, into the kind of bedroom she'd never had but always secretly yearned for: pink ruffled pillows, pretty white furniture, dolls and cute stuffed animals. The inevitable Fairy paraphernalia too, books and posters, a pair of glittery wings, a pink gauze dress hung on a peg above the toy-box. And by a night-light's soft glow, Kim spied a little girl snuggled under the covers, almost asleep. She used her forefinger to push the door open another inch. 

A hinge squeaked. The little girl sat bolt upright, her eyes wide with fear. In the dark gap of the open closet door Kim was a pair of glowing red eyes, a spike of orange hair and a wide grin full of long, white fangs. 

"Wh.. who's there?" squeaked the girl.

"Here's a clue," hissed Kim, slithering out of the closet to fill the empty shadows in the space under the bed. "It's _not_ your Fairy effing Godmother."


----------



## Aus

Guh.. I have SO much to do.. and so little energy. 

Insomnia's creeping up on me again.

I need to have that 3ft up this weekend. And my fish tanks are cleaner than my kitchen floor... which is kind of disturbing, as they are dirt tanks.. and I can't even think about how untidy the lounge is after our crisp-eating-whilst-playing-Devil May Cry fest last night. 

I don't want to do any of it. I really do not. I'd rather lie in bed, in absolute solitude and silence, and read a book. And/or sleep!

/crankypants


----------



## IluvFish31

Anyone know the best food for Betta Fish? Hikari?


----------



## LebronTheBetta

New Life Spectrum IMO. Avoid foods with wheat gluten, it's a cheap filler. Hikari changed Bio-Gold's ingredients and now it's bad.


----------



## dramaqueen

Aus said:


> Guh.. I have SO much to do.. and so little energy.
> 
> Insomnia's creeping up on me again.
> 
> I need to have that 3ft up this weekend. And my fish tanks are cleaner than my kitchen floor... which is kind of disturbing, as they are dirt tanks.. and I can't even think about how untidy the lounge is after our crisp-eating-whilst-playing-Devil May Cry fest last night.
> 
> I don't want to do any of it. I really do not. I'd rather lieu in bed, in absolute solitude and silence, and read a book. And/or sleep!
> 
> /crankypants


I hate insomnia.


----------



## Aus

Well, I do feel better after a decent sleep, plan to get another one tonight, if I can. 

Here's some new pics of Cole & the NPT. He's such a bugger to get pictures of, he just never stops moving! (and no, he doesn't have ich! there's spots on the tank wall..)

I've cleaned up the tank a bit, removed the milfoil (LBF was so right about it making a mess..) and moved a few things around.


----------



## LittleBettaFish

Cole is one lucky fish. My bettas love poking around in their plants though none of my tanks are that elaborate haha. 

Going to say if you break your hairgrass up into smaller sections and plant these, it tends to spread a lot quicker than if it is in one bunch like that. 

Let me know when you are ready for your strohi. I have been feeding them up and the two dominant ones are getting big (well for juveniles anyway). The others are starting to catch up now although sexing them at this point is still all guesswork. Think I may have a male and a couple of females in there. Will be glad to see the back of them though. They've been taking up space for around 5-6 months now.


----------



## Aus

Cheers, LBF! I have the tank.. waiting on a guy from AL for a hood. He's stripping his other tank down atm, said it wouldn't be long. If it's longer than another week, however, I'll PM you -- will sort something else out for the lights. So maybe a week at most? Sorry for the delay, just don't want to set up and not have everything for them. ><

I'll also need some live food cultures, yes? I am a bit wary of buying anything from Coburg - what's your experience with them for that, if any? Getting about the city's a bit hard atm or I'd go to Richmond or St. K.. Could probably get some online?

Also am ordering IAL online, hope its here in time...

</panicsqueepanic> I'm pretty excited to have them. 

And thanks for the hairgrass tip. There's a bunch in there I'm using in the strohi tank, just didn't want it in the holding tank, it probably wouldn't have done well in there. Cole's tank will get a pretty huge overhaul once I have places for all the plants in the 3ft and am a bit more organised.


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## LittleBettaFish

You don't need live food for them. They readily take pellets. I've been alternating between NLS community and small fish formula. Even the smaller ones can take the 1mm pellets. They also like frozen foods and will hand-feed off tweezers. 

I usually purchase my blackworms from Coburg Aquarium. I keep mine in a little tub on my shelf with an air stone in it and change the water every day using aged water from my goldfish tank. I will occasionally chuck in the odd old IAL and they seem to like chewing them up. 

Just make sure you rinse your blackworms really well once you bring them home as I think the water they are kept in is generally pretty funky and that is what introduces disease into your fish. 

No worries on the strohi front haha. I was watching them sparring and displaying just this afternoon while I cleaned the rumpus and I can't believe how big they are getting *sniff* I remember when I found them in the tank the day after I sold their parents. The biggest is definitely male. Will have to see now if I can correctly pick a female for him.


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## Aus

Awesome, will add those foods to the shopping list. 

They'll be going on my old desk in my bedroom, so there's plenty of room for the 3ft and a worm tank (and the cat, who loves sleeping on that desk and will probably freak out, as he is scared of the fish.. ). It's right by a window, so I can water the garden while siphoning for water changes. :-D

And awh, if you miss them you can always pop in and visit! I'm home a lot, kettle's always on. 

I just hope I do okay by them. Daughter's very excited about them, too, though she is not a fan of wilds she thinks the strohi are lovely (and we all know how important it is to get your teenager's approval on everything, pet-wise, right?) :roll: :lol:

I have decided against an NPT for this size tank.. going with coarse sand substrate with occasional doses of Flourish instead. Mainly as I don't think I am experienced enough with dirt to avoid making mistakes...


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## LittleBettaFish

I have a feeling they are going to be very spoiled with you. My wilds just have java moss, sand, some wood and some IAL. My killies and splendens are more pampered with planted little barebottom set-ups. 

Strohi are really nice fish. It's amazing watching how dark the bigger ones go now when they are fighting over something. 

Also don't be alarmed if there are some nipped fins from time to time. My wild pairs will still whoop each other's butts every now and then. I've found mine tend to be most aggressive before they spawn. Other than that they tend to live together pretty peacefully.


----------



## Aus

Please be aware that I'll be bothering you with questions every 5 mins.. :lol:

And yeah.. my bettas are pretty spoiled. I could always do better (heh) but I think I do okay. I could give them more live foods, for sure, in winter. Atm, they get turns at whatever craneflies happen along. In summer I have the mozzie bucket. No worms, as I've been a bit dubious about my ability not to stuff that up.. but hey, trying new things is good too (if a bit gross sometimes).

I was kind of expecting a few tussles, from what you've said about them wrassling a bit, and the research I did. Do they generally heal up okay in-tank, or do you pull them for treatment?


----------



## Aus

*Aus' Betta Discoveries #1: Betta uberis*

So. I was googling about for more information on the b. strohi (really, not a lot out there.. ) and found this cute little guy:










That's Betta uberis, AKA 'Pangkalanbun'. He's a native of the Indonesian portion of Borneo and is found in several different locations there. 

Who said wild betta were boring?! Check out the spade tail on him! :lol:

B. uberis is bubble nester which lives in the mankiest parts of forest creeks and waterholes, in really black water - tannins created by rotty leaves and fallen wood, with a ph as low as 3 or 4! - and when the creek dries up for a couple of weeks a year, these amazing little fish survive in the mucky wet leaf litter left behind. For up to 4 weeks! :shock:

Not only are they tough, but they come in a lovely array of colours which differ from region to region. Here's another little B. uberis, from a different part of Borneo:











What a cutie. :B


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## LittleBettaFish

I'm getting a pair of those (mine are uberis kubu I believe) in hopefully in a week's time. Haven't heard whether they died or not on the way over so fingers crossed they are in quarantine with Jodi-Lea/still with Preecha and doing well. Also getting some burdigala which are similar to the top uberis. 

I have nearly that entire complex of bettas just need coccina and one that I have never seen for sale anywhere. 

If your wilds are captive bred they tend to be pretty hardy, more so than most splendens I've found. My wilds heal damage almost overnight as I keep them on a high-protein diet and their water is always kept very clean. 

My persephone male (now if you want to see stunning google those!) had a very bad infection under his gill and I thought he would die. Three days in a hospital tank and he was good as new and ready to go back in with his fry and wife. 

Don't stress too much about the strohi haha. As long as you have relatively soft water and a tight-fitting lid they will do fine.


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## Aus

I'm off to Bunnings tomorrow for a perspex lid and some other stuff.. and then to Coburg for wood, aq peat and sand. My legs have not been good this past two weeks, and with all the dicking around with the tank delivery.. 

I'm a bit worried (I'm a worry wart..) about putting them in the big tank before it's cycled. Is it possible to have a tank that size and NOT cycle it? 

I should've worked all this out a bit earlier, methinks. 

I did read that you have trouble cycling tanks due to the soft/dark water so I'm wondering - if I treated the tank as uncycled, and it's to contain a stack of plants and about.. 3/4 of a 3ft worth of water.. say.. 90-100 L.. how often/how much would I change that, for optimal clean water? 

Also, PM'ing you shortly re payment.

PS: Soooo jealous re the uberis!  And yes, I did look up persephones, after you said you had some, simply stunning little fish. I insist on pics, once they're settled in, and am watching your journal for progress on the spawn.


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## LittleBettaFish

Forgot to mention in my PM, I have some really nice peat moss from Jodi-Lea if you want me to bring over a couple of cupfuls (really potent stuff) when I drop off the stinkers. I can also dig out a few big IALs from Dave I think I still have. 

I don't cycle any of my wild betta tanks and if you have enough healthy plant mass they are honestly so small at the moment that any ammonia they produce should be taken up by the plants. 

My persephone fry are doing really well. I just let nature do its thing so I have whittled down the numbers and have started to supplement with MW and VE. I also dropped some brownorum fry in there so hopefully they survive as well. Going to have to drag out my BBS hatchery ugh. Mum persephone is the piggiest fish I own. Poor dad does not stand a chance haha. 

If you ever want to get more into wilds, Adrian over at Exotic Aquatic stocks a few species and can get more in from Aquarium Industries. I just got a pair of blue gularis killifish from him and his store and service is impeccable. Plus he has Wolfgang from AL working there now who really knows his plant stuff.


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## Aus

LBF, cheers, the peat & IAL would be great. 

I've plenty of plants, and am pretty fussy with water changes, so I'm sure they'll be alright. 

Awh, baby persephones. You know, when my splendens pass away (though knock on wood they don't for a few years yet..) I wouldn't mind trying a few other wilds. Some are just lovely, and it's nice to think of helping some of the critically endangered ones to at least carry on -somewhere- in the world. 

Thanks for the tip re EA too, I really must get over there one day soon. 

Anyhow, I'm off shopping for the new babies.  

Then cleaning my place, so you don't die of the untidiness when you bring the fish over. ><


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## Aus

*AAAAAGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHH i hate the LFS hate hate grrrrrrrr*

WHEW! Well, that was fun.

I had such a great shopping trip. 

Bought all the stuff I need for the strohi AND.... decided to get Cole a couple of tankmates to help with algae. 

ANYways, the _really_ nice guy at this _REALLY FANTASTIC _LFS was sooo very nice that I BELIEVED HIM WHEN HE SAID THE LITTLE CATFISHES WOULD BE OKAY.

"They're from Borneo and thus will thrive in the same conditions bettas do," he said to the oblivious-to-catfish-species person. Which was really nice of him, making an appropriate suggestion like that. Except.... those fish he spent 45 mins chasing around the tank with a net?

They're EFFING HILLSTREAM LOACHES. 

And as it happens, there is nothing on this planet that is LESS likely to thrive in betta-preferred tank conditions.

Except maybe an effing MOOSE.

I shall recount the shopping-trip joy which was shattered by this thanks-to-Google-once-I-got-home-and-the-IMPOSSIBLE-TO-CATCH-FISH-OF-INAPPROPRIATENESS-were-already-in-my-tank revelation a little later....

Just need to take a few nice... deep.. breaths..


----------



## magnum

Ahh the pet store muppets strike again... What are you going to do with the loaches now that you have them? As for the moose, I'm sure your betta's will love the thing trampling there tanks! xD


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## Aus

I feel like such an idiot for even walking into the livestock section there again.. sighhhh.

Can't take them back - I would have to taxi to the LFS due to my health issues, and can't afford another round trip after today's slight overspending on tank hardware. Their return policy is effective for 24 hrs only..

So I'm advertising them free to good home on an Aussie fish forum, hopefully someone will want them. 

I'm more upset to have two unhappy little fish than anything.. but the fact I'll probably have to tear my tank down to get them out isn't bringing me any cheer...

They'll go into a higher-flow tank if and when I can catch them, until I can rehome them.

I swear, I'm getting some kind of electronic collar that will give me a nasty shock next time I even THINK of walking into that place...


----------



## LittleBettaFish

Sucks to hear about that Aus. It's why I always take the advice of pet and fish store employees with a grain of salt no matter how knowledgeable they seem. 

You think he would have at least offered an otocinclus or some corydoras as suitable tankmates. I couldn't imagine anyone thinking a hillstream loach would be ideal. 

I have recharged the camera and I'm going to take some photos of the strohi so you can see them. They have nice big fat tummies after breakfast this morning. 

Also, here's a picture of my persephone pair since you were interested in them:


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## Aus

Thanks, LBF. I'm chalking it up to 'live and learn'...

And ooh, they're so pretty! Cheers for the pic, can't wait to see the strohi.

Since I'm in a better mood after some sleep, here's what I scored on my shopping trip:

Large sponge filter & pump + tubing
Dymax T8 lights
Glass for tank lid
NLS betta pellets
Bottle of blackwater extract (they only had HUGE boxes of aq peat..)
New bottle of Prime
1 x large piece of mopani for the big anubias/some java fern
2 x smaller pieces of wood for java fern
20 kilos of substrate sand (I'll have fun washing that today..)
2 x freebie trumpet snails for the NPT (because the guy didn't know what they were)
10 x red cherry shrimp (happily munching gunk off the strohi's plants in the holding tank - later they'll join the Zoidbergs as I think Cole would simply nom them all..)

I forgot the frozen bloodworms, which I can pick up another time.. (they didn't have any live worms)

And of course, the poor bloody loaches, which I -still- cannot catch, and have uprooted several plants trying. I'll give them a rest (poor things must be SO stressed..) and try again later. They can go in the empty IQ3 until I find a home. :\

But aside from that, a very decent haul and so the tank goes up tonight (unless I am all in from washing 20 kilos of sand..in which case, it'll be in the morning) with substrate, plants and wood (it can just float a few days, if buoyant..).

I just need to go to Bunnings for some tubing for the eheim filter, a few terracotta pots for hidey spots/moss growing and some dwarf papyrus.. 

I really want to get some of that native hairgrass you've got, LBF, from Dave - just deciding what else I want, to make the postage worthwhile. So tempting to get the longarm shrimp right now.. but I think one new species at a time is enough, lol.


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## LittleBettaFish

Here are the strohi having a nice snack of frozen brine shrimp. You can see how dark the dominant male gets haha. The biggest is around the size of a small female fighter. The others are a little smaller but wilds usually grow slower than splendens so it's to be expected. 




























Sounds like you had a pretty good shopping trip. I killed my hairgrass from Dave *oops* due to neglect. That tank got torn down as I just chucked all my blue-eyes in together since my killifish needed something to live in.


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## Aus

^ squeeee :-D

Wow, the big boy's colouring up nicely. So cute! And haha, look at the little fatty eyeing the next bit of food in the 2nd pic, "I am _pretty_ sure I could fit that in!"

Daughter's commandeered ownership of a pair already. "And if they have babies - they are mine, too. But you can take care of them, Mum.." 

Awh gee, thanks for that. :lol:

So, looks like it's morning for set up, I'm so beat. Did a pile of cleaning and gardening (ie, ripping weeds out of the weed patch..), washed sand, did water changes, did groceries. Tried to catch the Those Bloody Loaches (as they have come to be collectively known) and failed ... now it's time to cook dinner. Easy meal tonight, chicken skewers on veggie rice. Then I might kick back and watch a bit of Game of Thrones (I've seen all the current episodes, but I'm in the mood for perving on Jon Snow) and up early tomorrow to get this tank in order, FINALLY. 

I think Bunnings can wait for Saturday, or I won't be walking anywhere next week. ><


----------



## LittleBettaFish

Aw found some photos I took of my strohi fry growing up. They still look fat even in these pictures haha




























When they were wee little things. Just so glad I do not have to hatch BBS for them anymore. According to my posts they are just over 5 months old. My rutilan juvenile took around 8-12 months before he was fully mature.


----------



## Aus

Ahhh, so adorable! They looked like tadpoles, lol. 

I'll be taking pics of the new set up tonight. 95% of the plants have survived the extra week or so in the holding tank. I have a ton of moss (well, a big takeaway container full of it..)! And some really huge anubias. Not sure the lily is all that happy right now, but everything else seems fine to go in today.  It'll probably look a bit sparse until I get some more hairgrass and the bog plants for the other end.. 

I'm probably going to order some live cultures from Jodi-Lea all at once - it's actually cheaper than cabbing it to the lfs when my legs aren't good. Would grindal worms be a good idea? I'm looking for high nutrition food to tide over until I can get the mozzie bucket happening again.


----------



## LittleBettaFish

Jodi-Lea sells VE, MWs and soil-less grindals I believe. I have gotten some cultures from her before and got a free VE culture after the one I had originally was dead (she wasn't sure if they were still alright but I said send anyway). 

Jodi-Lea is really nice to deal with and I'm always getting stuff delivered from her to my house. I just hide now when the postie drops my parcels off so I don't look like a 20 something-year-old hermit. 

Grindals are fairly small. If you are feeding them to the strohi and your splendens it would take a fair amount to fill them up. I personally prefer live blackworms and white worms for feeding larger juveniles and splendens. 

Also she has been busy with a new AB shipment I believe so I would probably email her after the weekend so you get a reply back. I've also found using a very specific title such as 'WTB: Live cultures', rather than something like 'Question' tends to get a reply quicker.


----------



## Aus

Thanks for the tip, LBF. I'm looking forward to doing business with her - hers is one company I would love to support. 


Finally -- the tanks is up! Well. It's got water in it.. cloudy water.. after I rinsed the heck out of that sand for a hour or so. I'll do a full water change (out the window! no way am I lugging 15 buckets back and forth to the garden -twice-!!) tomorrow and refill, that ought to take care of the remaining debris. 

Daughter and I spent another hour or two sitting on the porch freezing our butts off with buckets of plants and wood and some cotton, tying plants to the mopani and the other bits.. the effects are quite good, if I do say so myself! 

I ended up stealing Cole's gold vine, which has FINALLY decided to be waterlogged, as I think it was just too awkward in the 10 gallon. So he's now swimming around like a maniac, wondering where the scenery went. I replaced it with a lovely thick bunch of java fern so he still has lots to explore.

I seriously fail at tying moss to rocks, however, and will be purchasing hair nets to make this job a little easier.. for the rocks, I mean.. not the hair.. :lol:

My room looks like a bomb hit it, lol. Oh, well, that can be tidied. But not tonight! I'm quite pooped. No pics yet, the iPhone is taking its time charging, so I'll get those tomorrow before and after the water change. 

I still have an 8-gallon full of java fern, most of which will be clumped and tied to rocks, and dropped in the 3ft. I also have a large takeaway container full of java and peacock moss, which I think will be very glad to be under lights soon. And another container full of HM - which is definitely unhappy and will perish pretty soon if I don't get it under proper light.. 

Several neat things I found while messing about with the plants:

- a full grown ramshorn snail in Cole's tank. It must've hitched in on the java fern. I really don't mind, but there's a few snails in there now including four baby ramshorns, the MTS's and a big fat pond snail, so I might have to keep my eye on numbers... and ammonia...

- a -tiny- baby red lotus. I mean, this is just a seedling with the pod still attached, awh! That went in Cole's tank, too, and can go in the 3ft when it gets larger. 

- a single java fern leaf almost a foot long, with large babies growing off it.

- the tiniest little anubias, just two baby leaves. 

I'm sure I'll discover more tomorrow. Bucket-o-plant surprises are fun. 


*The Zoidberg Chronicles #2: *

One of the male Zoidbergs (not Mister, thank goodness) became Cleo's lunch today. She is looking -mighty- pleased with herself, but has a pudding belly now and won't be getting pellets for a day or two. 

And the most puzzling thing! I was looking for Mrs. Zoidberg to see how the eggs are doing.. and saw that there was not one but TWO Juniors. :shock:

Now, these are not newborn shrimplets, so it's nothing to do with Mrs. Z's clutch. So how did I end up with two identically sized small red females? 

Irish suggested that when the first berried female was eaten and dropped her eggs everywhere, there could have been a couple hatch. Good call, Irish! Because there's no other way that extra little shrimpy got in there.

Which then leads to the question of how many shrimp, exactly, are lurking in the java fern clumps in the back of the 3.5 gallon.. :shock: 

No sign at all of Mrs. Z - Cleo never eats them 'quietly' and parades around for a couple hours with various shrimp-bits in her mouth after she's dismembered one, and I haven't seen her do that for a while, except with the male today...

I hope Mrs. Z is hiding out with Jr 1 & 2.. after the 3ft is done, I may dismantle the tank and remove her. 

*Demyx update:*

Awh, poor little booger. He's still floofing around merrily, with his tattery fins. The popeye is subsiding, finally, and there's no new fin damage. The regrowth is still terribly slow, however, and I'm not seeing a lot of new growth now. 

Daughter's been feeding him craneflies pretty regularly of late, as I said he needed more live food/protein. It's tragically comical watching him trying to eat these, as even his mostly-missing dorsal is still too large for him to manoeuvre at the surface easily. He ends up circling the bugs for ages with his dorsal fin over his face like a waterlogged cloak. But he gets them in the end!
*
Bloody Loaches Update:*

Still can't catch them. :|


----------



## Aus

*Mean fish, wimpy fish, underwater kitchen*

So last night I find Cole attacking one of the loaches and while I was looking around for the net, he killed it. Poor loach. The other one's still okay, but impossible to catch, and I really have tried, uprooting everything in the process. It's better at hiding than the other one, too (which is why it's still alive, obviously), which isn't helping me to get the slippery little sucker out of there.

In stark contrast, we tried feeding Demyx a cranefly (our place is full of them at the moment.. I don't think I've ever seen so many) and .. well. Demyx isn't very good at the whole live food thing, so the cranefly drowned while he was staring at it suspiciously as though it may just decide to eat him instead. 

Had such a busy day today, as the sun was out and I was in the mood for cleaning and weeding the weedpatch. The washing machine has taken to flooding as the overfill valve is broken - I discover this thanks to catching sight of water trickling halfway up the carpeted hallway on its way to Irish's room. So now I not only have a week's worth of laundry x 2 left unwashed, but every absorbent piece of fabric in the house is now sodden and in need of laundering as well. The house was pretty much underwater from the loo at the back to the living room at the front.. Much excitement. 

And having had quite enough dampness for one day, I'm leaving the 3ft alone until tomorrow. 

In all the various excitements of late I'd quite forgotten about my little micro tank, which is quietly doing alright but probably needs some clean water in it tomorrow. Everything's still alive and the water's crystal clear, but it could do with a few more little plants and maybe some moss. 

And now I'm off to cook some barramundi for dinner and then chill out with the PS2, maybe play some Resident Evil..


----------



## Aus

*Loach update:*

The surviving loach has been caught and is in a temporary tank. He doesn't look good, however - Cole was picking on him quite badly and it was only sheer luck I managed to scoop the poor thing up with the net. If he survives, I'll rehome him. If not, well I will feel horrible and stupid all round, for listening to LFS muppets - again.

*Demyx update:*

I think his fins are showing signs of recovery, at last. Picture below, though it was taken a few weeks ago. The fins are still quite short there, but you can see the new rays and his proper colour, at least. If he heals, I'll be ecstatic. If he doesn't start fin biting again, he can probably return to a larger tank. Fingers crossed!

*Strohi tank update:*

Pic below taken a couple of days ago. It's really cloudy there, but has since been emptied and refilled and is looking better (more pics tomorrow) - you can just see the plants in the murk. They do look nicer without the suspended debris.. More pics tomorrow!

*Ratty update:*

We bought a second story for their cage, which the boys are loving to bits. Basically, a new cage with the bottom removed and fitted on top of the old cage - and the good thing there is that because there's a little door on top of the old cage, we can close the two halves off when they're in argumentative moods! (boys will be boys.. )

Pic below is Fergus, who has grown a LOT. He'll be a proper squishy, soon. :-D


----------



## Aus

*RIP Loaches
*
^ and this, my dears, is why we never, _ever_ listen to LFS people. Or purchase loaches for betta tanks. 

I think the last one had just had too much stress to survive a second new tank after being mauled by Cole a few times. I feel pretty bad about the whole thing. But lesson learned, I guess. :|

*Strohi tank update:*

Water's pretty much clear. I could probably do a half change tomorrow to get rid of the last tiny bit of sand dust, unless the sponge filter clears it up by morning. 

Added more plants, a few ramshorn babies and a couple of shrimp. One of the shrimp is a funny little thing, where the others are content to wander the plants munching algae, he has spent hours zooming back and forth across the tank, "Wheeeee!"

I am betting he is the first betta snack. 

It's a little untidy yet, will spend some time tomorrow prettifying the whole arrangement. The T8's are really quite bright, so I'm planning on lots of tannins and floating plants or the strohi might feel like they're in a permanent spotlight. 

Water level's quite low - I calculated about 100L (26 gallons) presently. I'll probably only fill it a bit more once planting's finished so I can grow the dwarf papyrus and other bog plants emerged, at least until these wee fishes are on their way to full grown. 

Added a couple of swords, a lily, a little bit of hairgrass.. The majority of plants in this tank are various species of java fern and anubias, seeing as I had a couple of bucketfuls of those - if the baby red lilies in Coles' tank take off, they'll join mama in in there too as they'll eventually get too big for the 10g. 

Can't wait to get this all finished up and looking pretty.


----------



## Aus

*More pics!*

Some shots of the strohi tank so far. Plus one of Cole's NPT as it is currently, and one of Cleo's tank (which is due for an overhaul..).


----------



## LittleBettaFish

The strohi will love that. So many hidey holes to investigate and places to brawl haha. 

Your betta tanks look good as well. Everyone looks happy and healthy. I think journals like this are an excellent idea as ones like yours in particular (lots of pictures) show how far someone has come in the hobby. 

Are you still alright if I bring them and the filter over this Friday? I'm assessing whether the filter can fit into my big Country Road bag so I don't look like I am just carrying this big external filter around everywhere haha


----------



## Aus

> The strohi will love that. So many hidey holes to investigate and places to brawl haha.


Lol, that was the aim! :-D I hope they're happy in there. They have some shrimp to chase about, also. I'm hoping to get a shrimp tank going so I can plop a few in to clean up the wood/provide entertainment now and then.


> Your betta tanks look good as well. Everyone looks happy and healthy. I think journals like this are an excellent idea as ones like yours in particular (lots of pictures) show how far someone has come in the hobby.


Cheers! And yeah - I was just sitting there this morning, watching that one crazy shrimp zoot up and down the 3ft, lol, and it struck me how much my whole awareness of the hobby had changed since that first week I brought poor Sid home and stuck him in a gallon of cold water... It's been an amazing learning experience, and if someone can gain a bit of confidence or information from this journal, it's been well worth keeping. 



> Are you still alright if I bring them and the filter over this Friday? I'm assessing whether the filter can fit into my big Country Road bag so I don't look like I am just carrying this big external filter around everywhere haha


I was going to PM you this evening, actually, and ask how far you have to come, as I'm happy to pay for a taxi here if it's not like 50 km :lol: - I wouldn't fancy lumping five fish and a canister on the bus... so yeah, will Pm you when I have another moment spare.

Also, I have a big jar of java moss and a bucketful of java fern and anubias roots (some have leaves, some are growing new ones). If you want some, I'd be happy to pick out a few nice bits and clean the snails off for you.


----------



## LittleBettaFish

Nah it's fine. I was going to see if Coburg had some blackworms and java moss for my wilds anyway. Plus maybe see if there are any killies there heh heh. Mum hates that store and refuses to drive me there so the only time I get to go is if I catch the bus. 

I really should get my driver's licence but I just have this fear I'm going to be driving along the merge lane of the freeway screaming "I'M RUNNING OUT OF ROAD! I'M RUNNING OUT OF ROAD!" 

It's like a 45 minute trip on zee bus and only one bus there. If I can't fit the box in with the filter is it alright if I just cut the picture of it all assembled out and bring just the filter?

Edit just saw your java moss bit. I may swipe some of that from you as I am getting hopefully my burdigala/uberis soon and I want them to have some cover.


----------



## Aus

No worries, am pm'ing you my address in a moment. And I don't blame your mum for hating that store one bit.. >< They're okay for hardware, though, if a tad expensive. 

And sure, that's all good re the canister. Just whatever makes it easy for you. 

Get your license! I _hate_ not having mine. I'd bloody have it too - but I fell off a hotel balcony age 8, landed on my head and literally cannot tell left from right ever since unless I think about it a while - so in traffic I'd be public enemy number 1. (driving lesson #1 - drove into a tree instead of braking. lesson #2 - reversed into a river. etc...) :-(

Cool, re the moss. I'll make sure it's snail free etc. There were a LOT of snails in with these plants I bought. Wish Cole ate snails.. instead of shrimp and loaches. ><


----------



## LittleBettaFish

Haha I have like full-blown anxiety about a lot of things and always am anticipating the absolute worst to happen (ie. my bus is a few minutes late so I start panicking that the whole route has somehow been cancelled) so I have serious reservations about going to get my licence. 

However, sounds like even with your problem you are ahead of some of the people out there on our roads! I swear some people do get their licenses out of wheaties boxes as my mum always says. 

Don't worry about the snails. Only the hardiest snails survive in my wild betta tanks as the water is so soft all their shells erode and they die. I have two malformed looking creatures going around my brownorum tank so I'm seeing how long it takes them to finally keel over.


----------



## Aus

Aha! Now here's a challenge - there must be snails/shrimp of some sort that can tolerate soft water. Maybe something to bug Dave about, I reckon there'd be some natives which can cope since there's a lot of boggy rainforest up there..


----------



## LittleBettaFish

Yeah blond snails can apparently but they also eat plants. I was thinking of getting some for my spawning tank so they could keep the bottom clean but also survive in the softer water.


----------



## Aus

'Blond' snails.. makes me laugh. 

Also, insomnia sucks. So does the ton of washing I have to do by hand, as the machine's malfunctioning againnnn. 

My tanks are all pristine, however. 

Picking up heater & a dozen or so RCS for the strohi tank later today, maybe the papyrus if I can find it.. 

Must grab a couple of hours sleep if I can, though. ><


----------



## Aus

_They're heeeeerrrrrrrrre!_

The strohi juvies are in their new tank and settling in very nicely. 

They had a couple of blackworms each for dinner, and all seem very comfy in their new tank. 

I was a bit embarrassed that my place was a mid-reorganisation shambles.. and Cole's tank was a mess of algae (I let it grow to feed the snails, I really like snails...) but otherwise it was really nice meeting Littlebettafish. We all went off to the LFS afterward, where I just the other day ----swore--- never to buy livestock again...

And Daughter spotted a really pretty marble cellophane doubletail .. veiltail... whatever he is... and so we now have Aang the Very Pretty as well as 5 new wild fish AND a bristlenose catfish named Nomnom which I got from the other LFS (where the tanks are always really spotless..) who is happy as a clam in the strohi tank, no drama there at all. 

Whew!

And THAT is ALL the fish we are owning.

No, really. I now have no room at all for ANY more fish! 

I'm so happy with the ones we have, though. Here's some pics of Aang and the strohi (hey LBF, lookit how coloured up the big guy is! awesome!)


----------



## Aus

I've never been one of those terribly organised people with a place for everything, etc. If I had to use a term to describe my lifestyle, it'd be 'thriving in a state of happy chaos'. 

That said, there's a limit to how much chaos I can subscribe to and still be happy. Which is to say, I need to throw a lot of things away and find neat storage solutions for the rest. Right now there's a plethora of junk in carboard boxes _staring_ at me from every non-fish-filled surface, as though junk has suddenly developed the ability to predict its own imminent doom.

*Various fish updates:*
,
Aang - Daughter's new marble DTVT - has settled in quite well and is rapidly changing colour, with shades of lilac and baby blue, even a hint of pink. He greeted her this morning with a face-to-face wiggly hello, which delighted her, and while there's a few raggedy bits on the ends of his fins there's no sign of rot, which is fantastic - after Demyx and the suicidal guppies, I'd hate for her to have to deal with another sickly fish. She's treating his fins with clean water and good food, and is prepared to use salt if any rot appears. 

Cleo is positively glowing red. We bought some brine shrimp and black worms, and while I'm a bit cautious about blackworms for splendens, the brine shrimp's been a real treat for our whole fish mob. I really notice the difference in colour and temperament when the bettas get even a little live food for a few days in a row and I'm increasingly convinced that live foods ought to be a far larger part of the betta diet in general, rather then an occasional treat. 

I also think Cleo's in breeding condition, as is Cole, who is headbutting the plants if they appear to look at him funny. Of course, I have no intention of breeding them but it's good to see them in tip-top shape. 

Even Demyx is wigglier than usual, though his fins still are not improving much. The popeye's receded a tiny bit more, however, and he has a lot more energy - he manages to swim to the top of the tank without 'flailing' too badly now, and I'm thinking if this slow but sure improvement continues, I may see how he does in a larger tank again. Not too large, maybe 3 or 4 gallons to start with, and we'll go from there.. 

All the little strohi are asleep after a very busy day of arguing and exploring all the tank's hidey places over and over. They are a real challenge to feed! Little Peeka, the smallest one, is smart enough that she (I think..) hovers around the feeding-corner of the tank every time I come close, as I tend to drop her a pellet if no-one else is around - she gets pushed out of the way a lot when I'm doing the group feed and so that extra pellet or blackworm is just to make sure she gets enough. 

Here's some more pics!




















The tank will have a major tidy-up on Monday, I think. For now, it's a bit wild and woolly but the fish seem to like it well enough. 


















Here's one of Om-Nomnom, who's had a productive day sucking all the crud off my narrow leaf java fern clump:


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## SeaHorse

Fabulous!! Yes I'm sure the little one knows full well already where to find extra food and who her Momma is! I think fish are alot smarter than people realize. 
Amazing tank. Was reading back in your posts to see what has been going on in your family's exploits and discovered, wow, you can put them together as a group!! Keep us posted, we are loving your excerpts. 
Love hearing that you met up with a TFK member. I donated my leaky 45 Gallon tall to a member too. Met up in a parking lot! haha. He took the time to fix it and it is now his biggest tank! Beats putting it out for garbage for someone to scoop in the night!


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## LittleBettaFish

Haha even in your photos they look like the little turds that they are. I used to just shove them away with my hand if they were being pushy at feed time. The bigger ones are such food vacuums otherwise. 

Your new bit of wood looks nice, and I am glad to hear your daughter's new guy seems to be settling in well.


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## Aus

Hi JB! Great to hear from you - hope you and yours are well - and thanks, glad you like the tank! It's pretty wonderful that these bettas can be housed together like this. They do spar a bit, but the aggression is clearly not to the same degree as splendens bred for fighting. It was great meeting up with Littlebettafish. I don't know that many fishkeepers IRL so it was kind of cool to talk about fish to someone who's even more dedicated to them. 


LBF! ^ I was just now talking about you.. :lol: Ahahaha 'turds'. They are a bit naughty at feeding time. I've been teasing the bullies off with a chopstick so the little ones can get a decent feed, then they all stare at me with that :shock: face, as if to say, "We know what you did there.."

I actually wanted to ask whether it's possible that the two dominant fish might be a pair? They sure are acting cosy in the narrow-leaf fern clump, which Mister Blue has clearly staked as his territory. He herds the other one around a lot, too, when they're not fighting... perhaps he's a bit confused? 

I'd really like to find some more info on this species and keeping them.. seems not a lot is out there on the net, that I've seen so far.


----------



## Aus

Oh, and here's some things I ordered for the various tanks..

A couple of blonde snails for the wilds & Daughter's 8 gallon betta tank. I love their spots. Daughter doesn't care so much if they eat the plants, she just wants a pretty snail, so: 










And for the strohi tank, some Darwin Algae shrimp. I have hair algae that Om-Nomnom doesn't seem to want to eat, so even if they end up being betta snacks I'm hoping they at least have time to munch some of that back for me:










And for Cole's tank, the native Aussie version of the Mystery Snail:










The Waterhouse snail, which might be big enough that he doesn't harass it to death while it's munching the detritus at the bottom of the NPT. 

I had to order some root tabs and stuff anyway, so I figured I'd give these guys a try.


----------



## Aus

It's been a long time since I posted a fish poem. I found this one by Miles Garret Watson today and thought I'd share it. Some poems float like clouds. Some are cool and clear as water, and some have fire in their bellies..

I had to edit one word for the sake of a terrible swear. :-D


*Sermon of an Elder Catfish *

Watch where you're going, boys- 
Light doesn't dance down here. 
Our eyes grow big as half-dollars, 
But we still cant see a f***ing thing. 
Whiskers, lead the way, pull our bellies 
Across the muck we make our beds in, 
Steer us clear of the troubles 
That shake through the world, 
Especially those fast-talking gar, 
Their loose lips and flash of gold teeth. 
We don't want any trouble here- 
Your skins are slick for a reason. 
Depth is the key, gentlemen-if 
They can't find us, they can't catch us. 
I don't care what those heathen trout say: 
The surface is not our home. Heaven 
Isn't above us, the sun on our backs, 
Rainbows bursting from our sides. 
Heaven is deep, it's black and cold, 
It's still. Heaven is everywhere 
Everyone else is afraid to go.


----------



## Aus

*Drawing on my own fears...*

Blackworms are really gross and make my skin crawl.

I just had to say that. :-D

I'm not squicked out by many things, really, having a pretty staunch constitution where it comes to creepy crawlies and mucky things. But these worms are just visually tripping some primal urge to shiver and make a face. 

This said, I am inspired toward some new pieces of Lovecraftian art, based on the horrid things. There was a series I planned to do a few years ago and never got around to, regarding just that - making drawings based on my most primal fears. But this entails figuring out what those are, exactly .. and I guess I wasn't in the right frame of anything to be examining my fears, as I was pretty ill for a few years there.

Having bounced back a little (as far as I _can_ bounce these days..) I think I'm more capable of taking a lighthearted, creative approach to something like this. 

Here's one of the Lovecraftian pieces I did some time ago, illustrating Frank Belknap-Long's "The Chaugnar Faughn" - can you tell I am entirely horrified by the very thought of hagfish?


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## LittleBettaFish

Blackworms feel like they are crawling into your skin when you pick them up. Don't know why, but they just do. 

How have you been keeping yours? I leave mine in a round plastic container with some decaying IAL and an air stone for aeration. Only problem is then I end up with a leaf and about a million worms stuck to it haha. 

Hope the strohi are still doing well. My brother moved all his fish (got kicked out of my dad's house) into their tank. I now have this 20 odd cm whiptail catfish and this giant bristlenose in a 40L tank until he brings theirs over. Awesome. I wanted to use that tank for my bettas which was the whole point in selling you my strohi!

Have you managed to get your Eheim canister working yet?


----------



## Aus

Hi LBF!

I've got the worms in a large Moccona jar, with an airstone and daily water changes. 

And yes! The strohi are doing well, and are due for their first water change today. I thought it best to give them a few days to settle in before I started fiddling with the tank etc, as I also need to plant a few things and clean out a pile of mopani-goop (can't wait for those Darwin Algae Shrimp..) and so on. I'm a bit worried they'll get sucked up the tubing, they're such a pack of Curious Georges. :lol:

The canister's getting set up today, also, and with a bit of luck I won't manage to assemble it upside-down or anything...

Sucks about the tank! But ahaha, I'm imagining these two catfish squished in together, "Get your tail out of my mouth, dude!" Hopefully it's not too long before the tank's free.


----------



## LittleBettaFish

I just saw your post about the strohi pairing. I did wonder if the dominant two were a male/female pair as one has lighter colouring than the other and if I remember correctly aren't its gill plates brown rather than red like the big male? Once they get near adult size it will be easier to sex them. It's hard to tell, especially when some of the fry always show submissive colouring. 

Good luck with the canister. Just remember to use your taps when filling and priming haha. I think that's where I went wrong. 

My brother bought the bigger tank over today so now I have this 75cm tank sitting on our rumpus floor. Of course I don't know when he is actually coming to pick it back up. I am assuming in ten years lol


----------



## Aus

Yup, that one has paler gill plating.. and Blue, the imaginatively named dominant male, was herding her/him/it up and down the tank all day - they staked out a new territory once I moved a few plants around and the two have been in there quite a bit, at the opposite end of the tank from the other three..

I hope I don't have baby fish any time soon.. :shock:

BBS hatchery? I can't hatch a plot to make coffee in the morning.. At least they're still juveniles, so there's plenty of time to prepare for that eventuality. 

The strohi coped very well with the water change, in fact some were dancing about in the refill flow, "whee, it's raining!" now and then. Then a dinner of worms - they love those things, don't they? and early lights out, as they seemed a bit stressed after I moved the plants around, hiding a lot. 

Haven't got the canister working yet, got distracted with planting, then the plumber, then Daughter, then...etc. I'll need at least a couple of hours to get my head around it, so that's a job for after sleep. But I did get the new heater in. It looks like a giant alien probe in their tiny bit of fake jungle... surely there's got to be some aesthetically less eyesore-ish heaters out there. I love my Dymax ones for the smaller tanks, they're really inconspicuous. 

Oh hey, I planted that clump of .. plants you gave me, LBF.. but what was it called again? I think I'm rather fond of it, wouldn't mind getting some more.

And I want a rumpus room! /sulk 

We're actually hoping to move one of these days and have all agreed there must be a rumpussy-type space for storing sewing gear, medieval armours, fish barracks and video game/bean bag combos.


----------



## Aus

Another poem, this one by Max Eastman (about whom I shamefully know absolutely nothing). 
*

At the Aquarium*

Serene the silver fishes glide, 
Stern-lipped, and pale, and wonder-eyed! 
As through the aged deeps of ocean, 
They glide with wan and wavy motion. 
They have no pathway where they go,
They flow like water to and fro, 
They watch with never-winking eyes, 
They watch with staring, cold surprise,
The level people in the air, 
The people peering, peering there:
Who wander also to and fro, 
And know not why or where they go, 
Yet have a wonder in their eyes, 
Sometimes a pale and cold surprise.


----------



## LittleBettaFish

Haha my strohi are used to me just pouring whole bucket loads of water in. All I did was go hmm this feels about the same temperature and then dump it in. 

The plant is hydrilla. Liverpoolcreekaquarium sells it as does Dave. I just asked him one time if he had some and he sold me three generous bunches of it.


----------



## Silverfang

Those pictures are awesome, I was thinking how much the pair looked like they were flirting, or she was saying "Hello there big boy!".

Love what you've done with plants, love.


----------



## Aus

Thanks, Silverfang! And yeah, they did the most amazing 'dance' today, both head-shaking and flaring like mad, circling each other. And all the other little strohi were hanging out, watching (and getting nipped for trying to join in, haha) - a couple were vertical striping, as well, so I'm wondering if the majority are females.. the one in question was fully barred and coloured up, just beautiful, and the male was incredibly dark with this brilliant, iridescent green outline on his tail. They're really something, I am so loving having them to observe from day to day. 

I'm actually going to start making little observational posts on them each day here, as a kind of record and to help me keep track of what they do and when. 

Little Peeka lived up to her name today - she found a secret hollow in the bottom of the new driftwood that I didn't know was there, swam up into it and vanished for ages, leaving me wondering if she was stuck, haha. Then I saw this tiny face peeking out of the dark.. like 'hello? is there a problem?' - so darned cute. 

The other two are extremely curious.. one that Daughter has called 'Queenie' (I hope it's a girl, haha) loves to hang at the front of the tank and stare at us: :shock: The other is a bit more secretive when not being nosy, and has taken up residence in the reeds like a little lion in a den. We must find names for the secretive one and Blue's girlfriend.. 

LBF, still no canister! Between chores and drop-in visitors and old online pals catching up (including a very cute African-American guy I sorely wish to import for a couple of weeks..  we've been flirting for six years now! Sigh...), I just have had no time at all.. I really must do this tomorrow. The water's testing at 0 ammonia, however, following the water change, they must not be putting out a lot of waste, or the plants (which are all booming with new growth now) are eating it up. I haven't tested ph yet, don't know how this slipped my mind.. another chore for tomorrow. 

Aquagreen Dave rocks. I love his conservational outlook, and my snails are arriving (by SNAIL-MAIL :B ) in the next day or two. I have a small tank set up for the Darwin shrimps, dropping a few in at a time to see how they do.. sadly, they are very unlikely to breed in this set up. If they all get eaten I may use the tank for cherry shrimp. While they tend to be short-lived with the betta, nothing likes to munch through mopani-gunk like shrimp.. I could kick myself for not remembering to order that native hairgrass with this lot, I really want some! Oh well, next order.


----------



## Aus

Well, it was high drama (of the comedy kind, mostly) in the betta tanks today with the arrival of the expected snails and shrimp - but more on that tomorrow. For now, just a few pics:


----------



## Aus

Well. I had JUST finished typing out this rather long and amusing post regarding bettas and unexpectedly large amounts of snails-by-mail, and the damnable net cut out, and I lost it. 

I can't be arsed to type the whole thing aqgain right now, but shall tomorrow (because parts of it are really funny) - suffice to say for now:

AUSSIE MEMBERS! Look! FREE TO GOOD HOME (plus postage):

- 3 unexpected, _lotus-munching_, very pretty gold and dapply, faster than a speeding tortoise, highly effective moss-cleaning blond snails 

- 2 unexpected, very large and bumbly, oddly sweet, hoover-like, blue-skinned Waterhouse snails


I just do not have room for all these guys, and I really don't want to set up yet another tank right now.

I'll detail all the snaily/betta exploits tomorrow, when not so tired/irritated at my net connection...


----------



## Aus

*Surprise! And ... holy carp, surprise!*

Well, it's all been happening in the strohi tank this past few days. 

Dave from Aquagreen, being the generous soul he is, sent me a few extra Darwin Algae Shrimp -- and not three but SIX blond snails and two large Waterhouse snails extra, making FOUR. I would say blond snails = adult nerites, and Waterhouse = half grown apple snail.

That's a LOT of snail right there, and way more than I wanted in the 3ft. So where was I going to put the excess snails? The NPT! I could store a few in there temporarily - right?

Except - it turns out that Cole has a pathological hatred for snails. Okay, he hates -everyone- pretty much equally but it seems snails are his current arch nemesis. Unaware of this, I stuck a Waterhouse and a blond snail in the NPT. Cole attacked the poor WH snail so viciously it wouldn't come out of its shell. He also attacked the blond snail, which promptly ignored him, causing hours of flaring and sulking. Upshot? 1 WH snail for the strohi tank, 1 blond snail for Cole to glare at all day.

That left two extra blond snails, and two extra Waterhouse snails. 

Into Daughter's tank with Aang the Very Pretty went another WH - only to find it in great distress half an hour later, requiring his prompt removal (and after the death of a shrimp and a small ramshorn, we've established that there's something really not good for inverts going on in that tank, while the betta is thriving... we think it's the substrate). Into the strohi tank went the poor snail, who recovered a couple of hours later and is currently just fine.

I still have two extra WH snails and three extra blond snails ---- who like to EAT MY LOTUSES. Yes, the blond snails apparently love nothing more than a gourmet snack of lovely red lotus.. which are now all eaten down to rather less attractive stubs. 

I _really _want to rehome these blond snails. Not all of them, though - they also have a great talent for stripping algae off java and other mosses, and are also very pretty. But five of them equal a lotus demolition squad, and I'm not playing lunch lady.

But Aus, you may ask, Why oh why did you not simply pop these surprise snails in a spare tank? Well...

After a feed the other night, during which one of the smaller females attacked the bamboo skewer (blunt end..) I was using to drop blackworms in, I noticed she later had a sore on her lower lip. Duly freaking out, I prepared the hospital tank in case she needed it. The lip looks to be healing okay - but the tank was in use.. and of course, next morning all these ferbuggity snails arrived. 

Meanwhile, all the little strohi are staring at the snails, five times this: :shock:

And then were off, hunting the shrimp all around the tank. Those Darwin shrimp are pretty tough though, and all have survived the onslaught. The strohi are pretty bored with them now, and a little wary too - I think there were a few pinched noses in the process of the DAS encouraging the juvie horde to play nice.

So I have an abundance of snails. Until I can rehome a few, of course I shall have to increase water changes to account for all the extras. 

And I would do just that. Except...._ the strohi are breeding!_

Yep - the two biggest fish are not friends of Dorothy at all, but a mated pair for sure. They have spent pretty much the entire day wrapping and being smoochy in the java moss. And I don't want to disturb them. ><

And here was I in a panic that the male wasn't eating last night. Oh no, I thought, it's because of the snails, I am a BAD PERSON. But it was clearly part of what was going on today.

I know nothing about strohi mating habits, but from what I can see the courtship is very long and complicated. I'll detail what I've observed more thoroughly after dinner this evening. 

But it seems I had better get a BBS hatchery in short order... and find a solution to the overpopulation issue.. and keep an eye on that one female and her lip...

Oh, and during all this, there was a kitten stuck in our ceiling.

Whew, so much excitement! :lol:


----------



## Aus

Apparently I can't count. There are EIGHT blond snails.

Anyway, I found a temporary solution to the dilemma, scrounged up an extra heater and now have a very attractive and stylish snail bucket. 

I really like these little guys. When they're not pooing up my tank and easting my lotuses. :|

In strohi news -- apparently the dominant male and female are just practising, as the male hasn't any eggs in his mouth at all. He just did a huge yawn, so maybe he swallowed them or they aren't really breeding yet.. 

All the same, I'm not wasting time in learning how make a BBS hatchery.

More pics tomorrow. I am loving the ketapang leaves so much. And so is Om-Nomnom, who is just in heaven, apparently sucking gunk off these leaves is the best thing ever. His little tail hasn't stopped wagging all day.


----------



## LittleBettaFish

Strohi are mouthbrooders. If you notice him hiding a lot more and looking like he has a big mouthful of something then he is holding eggs. He will usually hold for 10-14 days after which he will release his fry.

Usually the first few times they swallow them especially if they are startled, but some dads are really good and will hold through anything (my channoides male held through two tank transfers even after being netted and moved about). 

The only thing you have to watch is that the female doesn't breed him to the point of starvation since the whole time he is holding he generally does not eat anything. This leaves the female ready to go as soon as the fry are released and so you have to sometimes remove him or her until he has fattened up again.

Also I think strohi eat their fry although I found that lot in a 12 inch cube with their parents. 

Bad luck about the snails haha. It's why I was always wary of getting them even though they do well in soft water. I just keep my three tough-as-nails pond snails.


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## Aus

OMGOMG. OMG. :-D He has a mouthful of eggs. Squee! :-D



:shock:

I have no idea what to do now, lol. Should I start looking for grindal or VE cultures? BBS? 

How exciting is this?! Do you think a tank divider might help the littlies' chances of not getting eaten by their aunties? 

I wish the tank was a little older, so there'd be plenty of microlife. I'm an utter idiot for throwing out my holding tank water for the plants.. it was crawling in micro-critters.

Thanks for the tip about the male - again, might a divider be okay for helping him rest up? I am not sure I could manage yet another tank.. since it looks like I'll need one for the snails until I can rehome a few. 

Really, the Waterhouses are brilliant - they don't eat living plants and suck up gunk really quickly. They'll be on algae pellets and zucchini before long, at the rate they're cleaning this tank. I'm a bit worried about keeping four of them fed! So maybe I can ask around for Melb. folk with algae problems..

And it seems the blonds only really go after certain species of plant. Like my poor bloody lotus! - I found the root stub _floating_ this morning as they'd eaten off all the roots and there were five snails trying to eat it all at once. They'd make terrific pets in themselves, though - quite entertaining, really.


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## LittleBettaFish

Congrats on the eggs. I told you they are easy as to spawn. 

If you can manage to come over to my house (I am so broke at the moment lol) I can give you some of my thriving VE culture, some of my equally thriving MW culture as well as some grindals and white worms if you would like. 

If not, Jodi-Lea sells all of these I believe except for white worms though it will take a little while for cultures to mature enough to harvest from. 

Let me know if you are interested and I will get some sorted for you. 

I just pulled five juvenile fry out of my tussyae tank. I thought there were only two but since I had turned the heater right down accidentally and nearly killed everyone in that tank, I found I actually had five. 

Wild bettas spawn like crazy if you give them the right conditions. It's why I got over mouthbrooders as they are the worst and OMG the number of fry they can give you in one go haha


----------



## Aus

Yes! Please. I'd love some cultures. I can come to you, no worries, and thanks heaps for that. Sure you don't want a Waterhouse snail? 

Maybe a half dozen blonds? :-D

Agh, you're scaring me now - what kind of numbers are we talking? 

Congrats on the tussyae spawn, too.


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## LittleBettaFish

Well in a 12 inch cube full of moss my male spawned as soon as he was fattened up again and I would say he spawned about 4-5 times while I had him. However, I would say a large number of fry were eaten or swallowed (the female and him would scrap while he was holding because it was a smaller tank) so in the end I had around 13 or so.

I did have a few deaths due to jumping, a couple of random ones when they were younger and one that seemed to get attacked by its siblings after I put it back in after jumping out. 

However, you see people with species like macrostoma, patoti and channoides/albimarginata, and if you are conscientious with removing the fry you can end up with fairly large numbers of them. 

I hate raising fry hence why I just leave mine in to fend for themselves haha. Otherwise I end up with them everywhere.


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## SeaHorse

Ok.... I'm officially jealous... I wish I lived closer to you girls!  

oh ya and I like snails. lol. haha

Good Luck... hope the new fish babies hatch. Can't wait to hear all about it. :-D


----------



## Aus

Thanks, JB! You really ought to come visit Australia some time. It's a pretty great place. I love living here. 

Maybe you could smuggle home a few watersnails, since you like them and all.. :lol:

LBF, I wouldn't be too disappointed if he ate the eggs this time out. I just don't feel prepared well enough for baby fish, and nor is the tank! It's nice and dark at the moment, really beer-coloured (REAL beer, not that watery stuff Americans drink, ha ) with lots of ketapang. I probably won't keep it this dark, but while there's eggs or very young fry I figure it can't hurt.


I am actually quite surprised at the role the female has taken - she guards the male from the Looky-Lous (my collective name for her sisters, haha) quite aggressively and patrols their chosen corner of the tank. 

Really, the whole process has been fascinating. I've just had a truly rotten week of insomnia and haven't had the wherewithal for posting my thoughts on it, but I really must keep a written account I think.

First the pair seemed to be 'sparring' as I would imagine males to - both were flaring (in their funny, beardy strohi way) and doing a highly ritualised set of motions involving head shaking, circling each other and short, jerky motions as well as the inevitable chase-and-nip.

During this, the male was fully coloured, a dark blue-black with iridescent green outline on his fins through to royal blue. 

The female was tiger-striped in olive green and deep yellow to pale brown, occasionally darkening. 

One thing I notice about these fish is that they change colour/pattern with the light, a bit chameleon-like, clearly as a means of protection from threats above and/or below. 

The Lookies all coloured up as well with the same tiger-pattern, while the pair progressed after a day or so to more 'affectionate' (ie, less violent) behaviour, flirting and herding each other around and deciding on territory. So - I think they're all girls. Poor Blue..

Then they started wrapping, which went on for most of a day and night, with the eggs being noted in the male's mouth during the early hours of the morning. The male is very subdued, and 'fans' the eggs in his mouth with gill motions while he lurks in the jungly plants, and the female makes sure nothing bothers him. 

I don't expect this cosy scene to last beyond the release of the fry.. but it's very cute while it lasts. 

More pics tomorrow, I hope!


----------



## Aus

Well.. the male isn't holding eggs any more. He must've swallowed them. I don't know whether to be glad or disappointed, ha. 

The other four juvies are most probably female - at least two stripe up heavily whenever Mister Blue deigns to pay them a little attention. 

Anyhow, I got busy and took a few update pics of Cleo and Cole's tanks, and some of the strohi girlies arguing and being cutie-pies, etc. 

I've thinned Cole's tank out quite a bit, moving a few swords to the strohi tank and generally getting it a bit neater now it's settled. The center (where the pale stone is currently a marker..) needs some sort of feature.. I am thinking a Thai style buddha head. Irish is insisting on a skull because Cole is the MAN and must have something less peaceful since he's such an aggressive sod, in his opinion. Daughter rolled her eyes and asked why I don't just hang a Jesus on the cross figurine in the tank, if I want to be all religious about it.. 

I am opting to ask YOUR opinions, dear readers. :lol: What would be a nice (and for Daughter's sake not religious and/or cheesy, and for Irish's sake, a bit on the macho side, and for my sake NOT a skull..) decoration feature for the NPT?

Cleo is even more plump, as you can see. I saw a few of the Zoidbergs still managing not to be eaten this week, and since Mrs Z isn't berried any more I think Cleo's fat from picking off shrimplets.. 

I've included a few pics of Daughter's new betta Aang, who is adorable and very pretty. She is taking great care of him, and he loves his new tank. She wants a new 10 gallon planted set up (he's currently in 8 G), for Christmas, which I have agreed to. 

The strohi are just cute as can be. I adore them.


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## birdielikestomatoes

Okay, I might have gone a little overboard in my link posting. Forgive me? 

http://www.petco.com/product/114632...m-Ornament.aspx?CoreCat=MM_FishSupplies_Decor

http://www.petco.com/product/114637...m-Ornament.aspx?CoreCat=MM_FishSupplies_Decor

http://www.petco.com/product/118905...m-Ornament.aspx?CoreCat=MM_FishSupplies_Decor

http://www.petco.com/product/118880...House-Aquarium-Ornament-Ruins-Collection.aspx

http://www.petco.com/product/110482/Petco-Fish-Farm-Aquatic-Decor.aspx

http://www.petco.com/product/109449/Petco-Large-Tree-Log-Aquatic-Decor.aspx

http://www.petco.com/product/117347/Petco-Tiki-Figure-Aquatic-Decor.aspx

Okay, very overboard.

I still adore Cleo, I'm just so fascinated by her and the Zoidbergs. The strohi are amazing!


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## Pilot00

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Broken-Airc...024?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item41662c1c00

You can go a little hardcore all the while being subtle :lol::lol:


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## Aus

Haha, thanks Pilot and BLT (Cleo's still the megastar diva of our fish population, if she was human she'd be Tyra Banks I think) I quite liked the idea of the Cambodian ruins... and with a bit of a look-about found this, which I think may make all concerned persons and fish quite happy - depending on the size..


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## LittleBettaFish

This aquarium has been the only one I have ever seen that has used an aquarium decoration without it looking tacky:

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/showthread.php?t=115633


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## Aus

D'oh. I am now having visions of a certain group of strohi swimming about in a scaled replica of Angkor Wat...

Also, it seems we're moving house. After another emo fit from our _other _housemate (the one I don't like and thus never talk about, let's call him 'Slammy') I finally lost my temper and gave him what-for, and started looking for another house for me, Daughter and Irish (who is more than happy to move with us).

We found a nice place to go look at this Saturday, and the landlord sounds great, so cross fingers for us!

Of course this happens -after- I set up a three foot tank. Thank all the gods I did not make it a dirt tank!!


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## Hallyx

Well, it's taken more than a month (I didn't want to eat it all in one sitting) and I've finally caught up with this blog/journal. What an uncanny journey, however brief, and how steep the learning curve. Just blow-minding.

Thanks for the poetry, Aus, and for sharing your wonderful short stories---not to mention your photographs, which are high-quality, indeed. 

I've mentioned to you before how much I enjoy your narrative style. It had me in stitches on occasion and, by turns, in tears and on the edge of my seat.

Now I can just visit here weekly or so and enjoy the latest adventures of the most rapidly growing and learning Betta keeper I've ever met.


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## LittleBettaFish

I like that Aus keeps her journal constantly updated as I get to see how my little strohi turds are doing. It will make me feel like a grandparent if they manage to get any fry hatched haha.

Where's your new house going to be at? Same suburb/area or elsewhere? I would never be able to share a house with anyone that wasn't immediate family. Even with immediate family, I can see now why some baby birds push their siblings from the nest! 

Hope things work out for you and good luck with moving your fish tank.


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## Aus

Hallyx - way to make me blush, mang. :lol: But awh, thank you. There's no greater compliment a writer can get than being read. And yeah, I have fast tracked things a bit from outset to present, but keeping fish was always a secret yearning for me, and I'm loving it s much now I finally got around to it. 

And since you like my stories so much - I included another one just for you today. =P (did I mention that writers also have giant egos, albeit made of silly putty and eggshells?)

LBF: I was so going to call you 'Grandma' if this spawn happened.  

Thanks for the well-wishes.  We're hoping to move locally, maybe no further than a suburb or two away. I like this general area, and Daughter's school is here and all.. the house we are going to look at was postponed til this week some time as apparently the prior tenants made a bit of a mess of it, so it's still being cleaned up -- I love the sound of this place, and reallllly hope we get it. 

Irish is a great housemate, more like family than not (we've been friends for many years now, and our various neuroticisms tend to align quite nicely for the most part which is awesome) so I don't mind sharing a place with people like him. Passive aggressive door slammers suck, however. So do terminally unwilling to fix anything landlords. Can't wait for a nice new house. 

Anyhow, here's the story. I'm too weary to scan it for terrible swears, so if there's one or two I apologise in advance:

*Dooley's Treasure*

by Aus 2010



Simple Gint tore up the last of the floorboards, his short forehead buckling into a frown so deep that his hairline almost met his eyebrows. 

He raised his voice, in order to be heard over the storm and the din of what must be a couple of thousand wind-chimes hanging outside on the decrepit shack's porch, some made of old brass forks and bits of tin, others of bone or seashells, and most painted with the symbol of the Eye, a supposed ward against black magic.

"Ain't no treasure here, Padrick. An' this place is givin' me th' willies. Feels witched, it does." 

O'Malley was the second man hired to help find the rumoured loot. "I say we wait this squall out an' then get oursel's back te th' pub and a pint fer our trouble. Waste o' feckin time..." He was almost spherical and had the face of an over-fed cherub, but O'Malley was also no easy prey; not a few men had fought with him and died for their trouble. 

A third man sat amid the rubble on an upturned crate. Known to the others only as Padrick, he spoke in a low rumble of a voice which somehow sounded clearly over the racket outside, and the wind's eerie whistle through the salt-buckled walls. "Aye. Witched." 

Simple Gint lifted his chin toward Padrick. "Know a tale, do ye?" 

"Aye." Padrick nodded, tugging thoughtfully at his beard.

O'Malley's corpulent body wobbled with a shiver that had nothing to do with the chill, dank air. "Awa' wi' ye daft shite."

"Abou' seventy year ago, in this very shack," said Padrick, ignoring O'Malley, "A man by name o' Dooley got rich, after killin' off his rivals, smugglers all."

"Th' murderin' bastard," gasped Gint, being himself no stranger to treachery nor profiteering.

"Aye," Padrick drew a pipe from a pocket inside his oil-skin coat. "An' not only tha'…" He struck a match against his boot. A cloud of blue-grey smoke billowed, sweet and spicy, as he puffed the pipe alight. "Dooley sold his god-given soul awa' to a devil's hag, a real sea-witch from th' deep, in exchange fer seventy extra years o' life'. An' seventy he lived, to th' very day, afore she came to get her due."

There was a sharp grunt from O'Malley. "Wha's with all them feckin' chimes, then? Did he aim te go mad wi' th' bloody racket, as well be damned?"

Padrick's lips drew into a smirk. "Tha's how he kept th' witch at bay, long after she came to collect." 

Simple Gint's stubbly jaw went slack. "She come fer 'im, then?"

"Aye," said Padrick. "On a night when no wind blew, an' Dooley was too weary and crazed te keep th' chimes soundin'."

"Why didn't he jes' move away?" O'Malley sounded bored. His stomach let out a loud rumble. 

"Because a witch scorned will follow ye like th' hounds o'hell itself. Besides, Dooley was safe here, where he could keep his chimes playin', a sound she could no' bear."

"So wha' happened to 'im then?" Simple Gint's cordy arms were wrapped about himself, his protuberant eyes fixed widely on Padrick.

"The wind stopped an' did not start up again. Dooley lasted fer days withou' food nor sleep, sittin' out on his porch, bangin' on them chimes wi' a broom for all he was worth. Bu' there's a limit te a man - in the end he could do no more bu' lie down an' wait fer his fate" 

Padrick's voice grew deeper still as he lowered it, and as if the wind was in concurrence with his mood, it too quieted. "She came slitherin' outta th' waves, wi' her lower limbs them of an octopus. Bu' her upper half were a woman, an' there she was comely as any milkmaid, wi' these great big titties like tha', and eyes green as the deep itself. Feckin' lovely -- e'en wi' her sweet mouth openin' up te a mawful o' shark's teeth." 

"I must ask ye." Gint blinked, and swallowed. "Ye say it was nigh seventy year ago, bu' yet ye speak as if…?"

A crooked smirk spread over Padrick's lips. "As if I saw it, fer meself? Aye, that I did."

"It's jes' shite ye be speakin' now!" O'Malley's patience only went so far. "Yer no' a day older'n forty. How could ye have witnessed anythin' at all seventy years ago?"

Gint frowned at Padrick. O'Malley had a point.

"Seventy years, my arse." O'Malley drew to his feet, resembling an indignant puffer fish. "Yer full o' shite, you are."

Padrick stood up, too, towering over the fat man. "I ne'er spoke a truer thing in me life." 

It was then Simple Gint noticed that the wind had died down utterly. The chimes went quiet. "But h..how's it true?" His fishy eyes blinked again. "Unless…" 

Padrick laughed. "Ye've guessed me secret an' all, lad."

"What secret?" O'Malley demanded. 

"He's sold his soul, Darbin." Gint said, quietly. "Te tha' witch."

Before O'Malley could protest, Padrick cut in, "I did, indeed."

"Shite," said O'Malley.

"What was that?" Gint shot to his feet, whey-faced. "Did ye hear it? Somethin' outside th' door, just now… slitherin'?"

O'Malley rolled his eyes. "Storm or no, I'm gettin' th' feck out. Mad bastards."

Padrick watched the tubby thief waddle toward the door. "As I was sayin'… she warmed te me, after I asked her to be me missus." 

O'Malley snorted his derision, and opened the door.

A soft gurgle, like water draining down a hole, was drowned out by the fat man's high-pitched screams, and Simple Gint hit the floor in a dead faint half a second after. 

Padrick's wife gurgled again, in approval of the lovely gifts he'd brought her.

Padrick grinned happily, "There y'are, Mrs. Dooley. A fine supper for ye, from th' pub. Happy anniversary, m' darlin'."


----------



## Aus

*Very Handy Links #1*

I'm putting this here so I don't lose it: a very handy disease link, with pics:

http://badmanstropicalfish.com/fish_palace/tropicalfish_disease_identification.html#Cloudyeye


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## Aus

The strohi are so hilarious.

I was cleaning the tank today, and a few grains of sand were dancing up and down the vac chamber. So of course, this looks a lot like FOOD and all five were circling it like a sharks, while I was desperately nudging them all away for fear they'd get sucked up into the tube. Were they obliging? Heck no. :lol:

It became a bit of a game - I'd nudge, they'd scatter, then return and get even closer to the end of the vac. Now and then Cotton (daughter named her this after I spent a few days in utter panick that the fish had caught cottonmouth, because my child is a darling that way...) would simply stare at me :shock: which is her favourite fishy pastime, it seems. I think she's my favourite, just because she's fat and sassy and likes to people-watch as much as I like to watch fish.

No news on new houses yet... I am thrilled about and dreading the idea of moving all at once. 

I found a really enormous ramshorn in Cole's tank today that I had never seen before. And there's a tiny one, really tiny, in the micro tank - how it got there, I do not know. 

I am beginning to suspect that snails can teleport.

Now all five strohi are holding some sort of fishy union meeting near the filter. Probably plotting to steal teleportation from the snails so they can zap themselves right into the food jar.


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## LittleBettaFish

Probably trying to find a gap to jump out of so you can experience the true joy of owning wild bettas haha. Lost two tussyae fry last night as I had knocked their lid off and they must have gotten spooked and jumped. Still kicking myself about it. 

Glad to hear they are doing alright. Those strohi have been up my siphon more times than I can count (that sounds surprisingly dirty now I have written it out). That's how one of them got injured. I half siphoned him up and he had this big black mark all on one side of his body and a bleeding gill. I am bad for sucking fish up!


----------



## Aus

HAHAHA. There's some late night coffee dripping out of my nose, thanks to you and your siphon, LBF. They really push it, don't they? I could swear they were deliberately giving me conniptions - 

"Oh hey, watch her face when I do this, guys!!!" 

*other strohi stare at Aus like this :shock: as culprit pretends to head straight for siphon, veering off at last moment* 

"HAHAHA. Now float upiide down for a while - that really gets her going!"

Talking of Cotton, which I was last post, heh - here's a picture of her :shock: face. And the white spot that had me all freaked out.. it's almost gone now, just a speck of it left. I think she injured it on my plant-moving skewer the greedy tyke (she bit it), and for a while there I was "OH NOES COLUMNARIS". But it shrank daily, and has healed up okay... I feel awful, too, when they get injured. Even if the fault is shared. :lol:


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## birdielikestomatoes

It's been awhile since I replied. Or so it seems as least. How's little Aang doing? I was at Petco the other day and I saw a betta that looked exactly like him. You didn't take a trip to the states and lose him did you? xD


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## Aus

Hiya BLT! I see you made a journal too.  

I'll be back later to reply properly and go see your page.. omg, I am so tired, we just got back from viewing a potential new house & shopping for storage stuff for the move when it happens.

Haven't been sleeping well, anxiety stuff and whatever else is going on with me.. so I'm a bit sore and weary atm.

The house was --perfect-- for us, the next few days of waiting to see if we got it will be hell. Cross your fingers for us, dear readers. We really deserve to catch a break.


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## Aus

*Demyx Update & etc*

Getting back to your post, BLT - HA - maybe Aang has learned teleportation skills from the snails? Oddly enough, I'd never seen a betta like him but once we got him I'm seeing them everywhere now on the net. 

He is doing just fine. He's a wonderful cellophane-y marble and so is slowly changing colour all the time. His dark spots are turning a very bright green, with pale blue as well. There's not a spot of red on him, and he's a DT - so I'd say whoever bred him was at least aiming for something good and not just throwing random fish together. He's in good health and the little bit of raggedy fin he had when we got him is slowly filling in. Daughter's taking excellent care of him and he loves his 8 gallon home. 

I hope you & yours are all doing well - good to hear from you! I'll be popping into your journal thread shortly.

Time for an update on little Demyx, though. 

After more than six months in a 1.5 'hospital' tank in pristine water and with good food, and after being treated for everything from severe fin melt to popeye and being underweight, Demyx is FINALLY looking a little better.

Which is to say his fins are still very raggedy but also lengthening. And so NOW I can see why it is, exactly, that he has been eating his fins off, and perhaps too why he's so weedy.

It appears that the baby fish (he could not have been more than 3 months at time of purchase..) that we purchased as a "HM" is actually an extreme rosetail.

As his fins fill out again, the ruffly rose tail is becoming quite obvious to us. Daughter's all smug and "told you so" - she's been saying he was a rosetail for months but I really couldn't see the ruffles for the terrible state of his fins, and they were only half this length..

He's still gnawing his dorsal off a bit - I cannot say I blame him, as if the new rays he's growing are any indication, that fin is as high as the poor fish is long. His anal fin is growing out to a massive heavy sheet that's impeding his swimming quite a lot, but the dorsal actually tips him over, it's so heavy - he has trouble negotiating even the most basic natural behaviours, feeding and swimming around his plants. 

Keep in mind here: his dorsal fin is still only 1/3 actually there. And it's tipping him over with its weight.

It's terribly sad to watch. I keep saying what a little sweetie pie he is, and that's because he really is one, and a trooper with it. Whoever bred this poor fish either didn't give a crap about the impracticality of trying to swim with a massive rosetail, or didn't have a clue what they were doing and ought to be kicked in the pants for such utter thoughtlessness, and then kicked again for sending their culls to my pathetic LFS.

Now I'm even more inclined to despise those breeding fish for their own satisfaction and wanting something "different" without a thought as to how the resulting fish may have to live - and suffer - for their selfish sense of 'achievement'.. 

SIGH. :-?

Anyway, if Demyx keeps improving and doesn't get ill again, I'll probably give him a slightly bigger tank after we move. I'm looking at the same 8-gallon setup that Aang has, only with a lower water level so he can swim more easily with his regrown, stupidly floofy fins. 

Mind you - as I said, his fins are only half regrown. They're still majorly raggedy and in places still quite torn up - and even half healed, he can barely keep upright for the sheer weight. I HATE to think what kind of weight he'll be trying to drag around if they heal completely and all the ruffles fill in. 

For goodness' sake, breeders of "exotic" extreme fin types --- pull your heads out of your collective rectums and think about quality of life for those creatures you're bringing into the world.

I just had to say that. :| I feel a little better now.


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## birdielikestomatoes

I completely agree with your sentiment about exotic breeders. Even though Steve is only a VT I feel like he gets really weighed down by his fins, if he even stops for a second his bottom starts sinking. Plus he swims so awkwardly. Whereas my girls or Mr G don't have to worry about sinking if they stop and they just zip around. I really feel bad for these long finned bettas.

I also laughed at your signature xD "...and 10,000 snails, all called 'Neil.'" I can't even imagine having a snail takeover. 

Also, this comment is all over the place, xD I'm pretty sure Aang has learned teleportation. I went back in your thread to find the picture of him and the betta I saw in the store looked identical to him. DT and all. I wished I got a picture of the mysterious betta. Seriously, Aang? Seriously? There are better places to teleport to than a Petco in Utah.


----------



## Aus

birdielikestomatoes said:


> Seriously, Aang? Seriously? There are better places to teleport to than a Petco in Utah.


:lol::lol::lol: rofl. covert mission?


*
and now for some GOOD NEWS!*

WE GOT THE HOUSE we wanted! SQUEE!:-D:-D:-D:-D:-D:-D:-D:-D:-D

It's only a suburb away, and is ENORMOUS (I mean, potential for a fish room enormous..) -- and while it's somewhat more rent than we currently pay, it's absolutely perfect for all of us. Plus it's right across the street from an enormous Buddhist temple, which is a view I don't mind a bit.

No more ceilings falling in. No more Slammy the Angst-merchant. No more drafty old rooms. 

I am just entirely stoked by this news. :-D

Now to scrape up sufficient funds for the move... ><


----------



## SeaHorse

Yeah Congratulations on the new house. When you find the right house... that brings you joy, all the worry about how to move the tanks just doesn't seem so big. Your whole perspective changes. Maybe you can overlap the 2 locations a few days and move tanks one day, furniture the next, and cleaning the last... Sometimes costs a little extra money to overlap the two but it's sure worth it to ease the move. 
When do you get the place???


----------



## magnum

Congratulations on the house! I've been following this journal for ages now, I just havn't had the time to reply. I love your strohi! They are adorable little creatures. 

And I've been meaning to say that your planted tanks look amazing! I would die for tanks like yours. It's good to hear Demyx is getting better as well.


----------



## Aus

Hi JB! Thanks.  We can move in after this weekend, but the big move will be the weekend after as it's all happened rather quickly and I still have tons of stuff to pack... 

I'm really hoping my brother-in-law can come down for a day weekend after next and help us move the tanks - he has a station wagon and experience moving with large tanks, so I'm really crossing my fingers he can do that. And yeah, lol, Irish gave me the "don't stress, it'll seem like nothing in a week" speech tonight, which also made me feel a bit better. I'm terrible with worrying and stressing when there's so much to do, and so little time. Hope you and yours are all well!

Cheers also, Magnum - and ha, the strohi. I'm so glad I have them, they're a lot of fun. Thanks heaps, re the tanks. They're way easier than I thought they'd be, and buying plants from the Aussie folks on Aquariumlife made it much cheaper, too! 

And I can't wait to put Demyx in a larger tank, hopefully he doesn't start ripping his fins off again..


----------



## Aus

To celebrate our emancipation from this horrid old house, I have found a poem that is sort of relevant. And it's by an Aussie poet!



*Moving House*
by Jan Owen 

_for Eve-Marie_

And here are the family albums;
their red leather covers open thud
or shut with a sharper clap
like hands on a speck in the heat.
I'm drawn in again, hypnotically
reading the compound noun:
always-never-us.
Our amateur museum —
here under the cellophane flaps
over dark stippled cardboard
sticky as flypaper strips
or flood-plains of black honey,
the smiles and arms,
sun-covered or bruised with shade,
line up like a churchyard polonaise.
They are standing stones of captured time
or the few clear notes of a song
heard far over water.
Old voices saved on tape will also hint
that death is not what they thought.
Ah, there's Jasper.
Remember that dress?
We never did mend the swing.
Left to right the family set out
beyond the photons long since
dancing to other tunes.
Their little labels of light
process like a ritual over the dark.



.


----------



## Aus

Right. 

- I have insomnia. 
- I'm incredibly happy and incredibly stressed about moving house, all at the same time.
- I have neglected poetry in general for far too long.
- I have neglected MY poetry for a similar, criminally negligent amount of time. 
- Poetry is a dying art. Well, good poetry is. At least, it seems to be. Nobody reads good poetry anymore. Its all _Billy Collins_ this, _Maya Angelou_ that - refrigerator poetry. Days of Our Lives poetry. Poetry that _reaches out_ to the public and really _says something_. Hallmark is having an unprecedented run of competition, via 'popular verse'. The internet, I think, will have a hell of a lot to answer for come the end of days and everything being called to account for itself. 

"Yes," the internet will say, in one of those eerie automated voices made up of individually recorded consonants and vowels that still somehow manages to sound faintly smug and superior, "I _did_ host Poetry.com... and deviantART's literature section... and maybe I did allow dissemination of one too many Billy Collins poems to a captive global audience via Youtube. But an electronic entity on my scale has to cater to the eclectic cultural tastes of the masses_ somehow_, innit?"

With a bit of luck the internet will then be swiftly struck by lightning and/or thrown into a fiery pit amid carefully modulated wails and gnashings of teeth made up of individually recorded vowels and consonants, and there will be the end to it. 


Anyway. 

- This is why I will be bombarding this thread with some very decent poetry for the next few days. Some of it will feature fish, as has been my habit here so far. Some of it won't.

Enjoy.

=)


*Learning to Breathe* 
by Ingrid Wendt

1 

Head in a space helmet 
fishbowl, this 
has been in her head for weeks 

her baby's cells dividing 
faster than her thoughts 
of them, this lack 

of control no one sees 
no one knows how full 
her head is becoming 

a yawn interrupted 
forever until every- 
thing above her 

hips collapses 
into this space 
in herself she'd taken 

for granted so long it 
filled in 
like a fist 

so long solid 
as death, something else 
she can not name 

outward from bone 
each finger 
learning to breathe. 

2 

And the little fish 
little unlit lantern 
fish, gills 

into ribs, fins into 
nubbins like fingers 
thumbs, three 

months neither son 
nor daughter 
heartbeat suspended in 

silence so 
much deeper than 
the pull of tides 

of seaweed 
rocking, rocking 
spreading, placenta 

pulsing 
soft as a sun 
so many light years 

months away only the mind 
sees it, having 
been told it's there. 

3 

So many births each second 
each day, numbers she used to be 
no closer to than stars 

all of us as children 
long ago stopped 
trying to count 

each one once 
from deep inside that 
many women 

whose hands like their sweaters 
stretched beyond recall 
surround not air 

but space dense as black holes 
scientists say are suns 
collapsed inside themselves 

spaces we grew in 
pulsing somewhere around us 
in this air 

we take for granted 
pulling us closer 
together.


----------



## Aus

Here's another Australian poem, by Chris Mansell. I love this poem for its sharp consonance and also the gerunds (-ing words), which I usually dislike but are masterfully employed here, offering the poem a sense of urgency.

If you don't know what a warrigal is, it's another Aboriginal term for 'dingo'. 


*Where edges are*

She is effulgent in the dark halls of town.
She is listening but they are hearing.
Her skin is blistering and sharp with sparks.

She is listening for the crick of grass underfoot.
They are hearing her heavy paces.
She is straining to feel the hum of the air.

They are hearing her voice wailing
like a warrigal. She is being
quiet to count the breathing.

They are hearing the stertorous cracks
of her fine pure voice. She sings knife prising
the clenched hills shrieked and sharp with danger.

They are being calm and combing their hair.
She is brittling the unseen strings connecting.
They are wishing softly in the afternoons.

She is testing with her naked feet
where the oyster edges are.


----------



## SDragon

Hi just wanted to say I love this journal! I read the whole thing in around four hours and man do you have an exciting life. Way more exciting than mine anyway. Your planted tanks are all beautiful and I am insanely jealous!  All of your fish are beautiful and you take the best care of them. I love your wild ones. They are just so adorable I want to get some. . You are an amazing artist and writer and I love your short stories. You have also posted some very good poems. Your rats look so adorbale, sadly my patents would never agree.  Congrats on the new house. You should post a pic of it. I will def be stalking you now. . Wow looking back I just realized how big of a post this is. Well I better head to bed before I find another journal to read (it is 3 am for me).


----------



## magnum

Ahhhh poor Demyx. I do hope he cut's his naughty habit. I know Stu tailbites as well, but he always seems to do it in periodical spans. 

I did look at buying a Macramosta pair once, then I looked at the price tag. $360 wasn't going to fair to nicely on my wallet. My parents wallets to be exact. Your so lucky LBF gave you hers. Ah, I if only you could move to Brisbane, I would love to see your tanks IRL.


----------



## Aus

SDragon - thank you for all your kind words, and I'm glad you've found this journal entertaining. =) Sad to say, my life these days is pretty dull compared to the unbelievable and constant circus that it used to be -- I think that much excitement was surely enough for a single lifetime, however, lol, and I am (in my 'golden' years, ha) glad to finally put my feet up a little bit and take time to smell the roses. Or admire the fishes, as it were. Thanks again for coming by!

Magnum, I was looking at $400 for a trio of juvies, no guarantee on the sexes.. or about the same for a pair of macros. I think if I was to invest in these fish, I'd have to make very sure I had everything at hand they'd possibly need first, and as things look my bank balance is going to be groaning for the rest of this year. So I'll just have to be happy with my fat little strohi family for now. And yes, I feel very fortunate for having met LBF with all her knowledge about wilds, and to have bought these fish from her (plus, she's a very nice person!). 

Just to derail myself a moment - I have always believed that if something is meant to happen, the opportunites WILL arise either directly or by a circuitous path that perhaps isn't obvious right away. But that's why I try to take good opportunities as they come, if I humanly can - who knows what step it might be towards an "impossible" wish I made a decade ago? Lol.. 

Anyway, another thing I believe is that what we want and what's right for us isn't always the same thing, so I'm always happy to be open to something "like" or "just as good as or better" than the thing I'm working towards.. 

Funnily enough, things tend to come together quite well when I keep my eyes open for chances like that. =) 

Well - it seems the Zoidbergs may need repopulating once we've settled in the new house. Cleo finally caught and ate Mrs. Z, who was as long as her head. I am pretty sure the rest have gone the same way, though I have been wrong about that before. Daughter took some pics of the "shrimp tail parade" Cleo does every time she catches one, which I'll post up tomorrow if I get some time. 

I swear the strohi have grown half again in size since they arrived! I was just watching them zoot around the tank now, and had to blink at how large the two biggest females, Dolly and Cotton, are. Peeka and Blue don't seem to have grown much at all, and Queenie has but only a little bit. I think it's that Dolly and Cotton are the most aggressive feeders - I have to feed at two ends of the tank to avoid a general riot now, as the nips are getting sharper, the older these fish get. Less frequent, I think, but ouchier! I saw Dolly bite a scale off Queenie a couple of days ago.. she's fine, but I decided maybe to split the feeding pack up a bit, which seems to be working so far.

Completely off-topic: I have decided that next year is the year in which I will FINALLY write my novel. 

I hope I get around to it. It's a pretty good story, I think.

Oh, PS: Magnum, you're very welcome to visit if you're ever in Melbourne! Then you can see the tanks!


----------



## SDragon

No problem. Haha well good thing now, that you have time to enjoy your fishes. Oh poor Queenie, that must have hurt a little.


----------



## Aus

*Now, Completely Back On Topic: Some Shrimp Poems!*

*The Shrimp*
_by Ogden Nash_

A shrimp who sought his lady shrimp
Could catch no glimpse
Not even a glimp.
At times, translucence
Is rather a nuisance.

--


*Ghost Shrimp*
_by 'bitbot'_ 
 ( read the original here ) 


Oh ghost shrimp! Oh ghost shrimp!
Too-small-to-eat-on-toast shrimp!

Two weeks ago I went online;
I sought new shrimp. 'That would be fine,'
I thought, 'You shrimp would be so nice.'
I bought you, shrimp. I paid the price
To get you in the post, shrimp.

Each day I keenly check the mail,
My breathing shallow, visage pale,
In hope today you will arrive,
And that I'll find you all alive.
(I'd settle just for most, shrimp.)

If you don't make it through the post,
You will be truly like a ghost.

*

Perhaps I could pretend you're here,
Just more than usually clear,
But I would rather it were true,
And I could see, and see through, you.
Till then, my shrimp tank's barren - See!
A model of transparency.

Oh ghost shrimp! Oh ghost shrimp!
Too-small-to-eat-on-toast shrimp! 


--

(Another Aussie poem, this one



*The Brineshrimp*
_by Rhyll McMaster _


They have minute faces like walrussed grandpas
and they many-feelered paddle on their backs
with their black dorsal lines and bits of gravel eyes showing up
like bulge-eyed, curled up crowbars.

Nothing like crowbars
but have the strength of obstinacy
to live through a change to fresh water;
to whirr themselves from one cramped fish mouth
to another nearby, inevitable, drawn-in, spat-out death.
All the while on their backs and looking pleasantly ludicrous.

And at the same time to make love to each other—
to cruise around their rectangular chamber of horror
one brineshrimp starting where the other leaves off—
both on their backs.

They flesh-colouredly exist—uncomfortable for the most part—
and desperately love and are lump-throated funny
because they're only very small, water-galumphing brineshrimp
and rather untidy—
and they mate and are fruitless.



--


*Tiny Little Shrimp*
_by Lisa Jarnot_

Up out out of the despair of night 
the blue shrimp swaying to the 
sound of drums, the blue night 
swaying to the shrimp light guns, 
the gun shrimp hunting in the 
village fens, the village fens of 
floating shrimp, the foliage of 
smoking tides, the shrimp boats 
amber in the glow, the work boots 
suited with the boats, the shrimp 
boats hollow filled with fish, 
elastic glowing in the mist and 
dressed in bins of shrimp. 


--


----------



## Aus

Cole is such a lunkhead. :|

I was watching him barge around his tank just now in a fine old huff, all puffed up like a prize (underwater) turkey and flaring at ... nothing? 

I was peering into the tank, squinting at bits of duckweed and leaves flapping around by the filter, trying to figure out what had him so very upset. I thought it might have been his own reflection - but he's never spazzed in that corner of the tank like that before.

Well, after straining my eyes a bit, I discovered a very small ramshorn snail on the filter's airhose. Really, it wasn't a big snail. Not tiny, but nothing to get one's fins in a bunch about, I think.

Cole does not agree. Obviously, snails of any dimension are a lurking menace that are out to steal his bubblenest/territory/food/nonexistent girlfriend/whatever. Cole is thus an avowed snail-hater. 

My fish is specist. Gastropods, go home.

Cole is, I am ashamed to say, firmly anti-mollusc.


----------



## Aus

*I am so adding these guys to my fishwishlist:*

Armoured plecos. Oh my. Do want. :-D


----------



## Numithebetta

aww i am soo sorry! sending my prayers!


----------



## Aus

Thank you. But - for what? :dunno:


The armoured plecos aren't _that_ ugly. Are they...?


----------



## LittleBettaFish

Methinks someone posted in the wrong thread.

Plecos always remind me of giant turds hanging either on your glass or around on the substrate. All but the tiniest fry are ugly. 

My brother has this whiptail catfish I am babysitting and it freaks me out. When he brought it over in a bucket I put my hand in to pull out some wood and I ended up with this big (it's like 30cm long) catfish thing in my hand. I don't even like holding fish at the best of times!

I am always worried I'm like going to get impaled by one of their spikes.

Oh and don't get me started on the poo factor. 

I like corydoras and otocinclus. They are much cuter and less freaky haha


----------



## Aus

Oh my gosh - yes, my BN poos a LOT. I have to vac the tank every wc because of it, not that I mind. But there's a lot of poo, especially around his favourite bit of nomming wood. 

Om-nom will likely end up with his own tank when he's grown to larger proportions, and I have the strohi tank re-built as I'd like it (and one day have some spare cash again..) after the move. He's done a great job of clearing out the wood mold, though, and is a little fatty-tum at the moment, but I think a trio of otos or something would be better in that tank than a giant fat adult pleco..

I like the look of whiptails - not sure I'll ever own one (or .. pick one up..), but they look pretty awesome in a big planted tank. If I was going to get a fish that grew to 30cms, I'd probably go all out and get me one of those armoured jobbies in the picture, which are incredibly beautiful really. No, really! When in a biotope, anyway, which is where I saw them first. Kind of eerie, but it really appealed to me. 

I'm determined to own corys and otos at some point. I really like the little panda corys a lot.


----------



## Hallyx

Errr, Aus...about those armored plecos. The ones I saw were over 18inches and still growing. 

My HM had a snail-hate going for all the pond snails I couldn't catch. Then I put a Nerite in there. Took him a day or two, but now the'yre friends.


----------



## Aus

Ha, Hallyx - really, the plateds are a bit of a pipe dream. The ones I saw were in a massive species tank, nothing I could ever manage or afford. But geez. I really liked them. Also on the fishwishlist are some red bellied piranhas, a moray eel and a couple of sea dragons. 

It's a bit like wishing for a pet giraffe, at this point. :lol:

Oh, and the macrostomas (which are a little more realistic, just to be different there..)

I had to take the half-inch long Blond snail I added to Cole's tank out a while ago. He was so worked up I thought he might do himself an injury or spontaneously explode or something. He was okay with snails before I added that one - now they're all sinister things which must be dealt with violently, unless under three or four millimeters across and hiding in a plant. 

Maybe that Blond snail was really rude to him. 

"Hey, Bigmouth! Try and eat me, yeah? Go on, I dare you. You've got the gob for it.. rather like having a chum bucket set in the middle of your face, I'd imagine. What's that? Can't get me into that gigantic cakehole? HAHA. Wussfish." 

etc.


----------



## Hallyx

Oh dear...now you've made me spray coffee all over my keyboard.

I know about wish-fish. If I had a heated pond, I'd keep a Golden Arowana like this one (which I think used to belong to Junglist). Or, if I owned a small lake I'd stock it with Northern Pike...how's that for a giraffe. More like pet tigers.


----------



## Hallyx

I adore Ogden Nash.

The Guppy

Whales have calves.
Cats have kittens.
Bears have cubs.
Bats have bittens.
Swans have cygnets.
Seals have puppies.
But Guppies just have little Guppies.


And here's the Fish stanza from _The Scroobious Pip_, a collaboration with Edward Lear

The Scroobious Pip went into the sea
By the beautiful shore of Jellybolee-
All the fish in the world swam round
With a splashing squashy spluttering sound.
The sprat, the herring, the turbot too
The shark, the sole and the mackerel blue,
The flounder spluttered, the purpoise puffed
...............................................................
And when the whale began to spout
...............................................................
And every fish he shook the tip
Of his tail as he gazed on the Scroobious Pip
At last they said to the whale- "By far
You're the biggest Fish - you know you are!
Swim close to the Scroobious Pip and say-
Tell us all about yourself we pray!-
For to know you yourself is our only wish;
Are you beast or insect, bird or fish?"
The Scroobious Pip looked softly round
And sung these words with a liquid sound-
Pliffity Flip; Pliffety Flip;-
My only name is the Scroobious Pip.


----------



## Aus

Oh gosh - Arowana. Now there's an ambition. I really need to marry a millionaire or finally write that best-selling novel with film and game rights, etc., one of these days. A heated pond! Imagine what one could do with that.. (*eyes piranha picture... then photos of ex-husband...*) 

Moving right along.

I really love Edward Lear, too. =) Thanks for the poems! I'd forgotten about The Scroobius Pip. 

Here's a haiku poem by Kobayashi Issa (translated by Robert Hass) which a recent thread of yours reminded me about:

*These sea slugs*

These sea slugs,
they just don't seem
Japanese.


--



And pikes! Now, there's a lot of lovely poems about pikes. I think I already posted Ted Hughs' effort, which is a pretty awesome poem. Here's some others by a couple of great poets:

*The Pike *
_By Amy Lowell_

In the brown water,
Thick and silver-sheened in the sunshine,
Liquid and cool in the shade of the reeds,
A pike dozed.
Lost among the shadows of stems
He lay unnoticed.
Suddenly he flicked his tail,
And a green-and-copper brightness
Ran under the water.

Out from under the reeds
Came the olive-green light,
And orange flashed up
Through the sun-thickened water.
So the fish passed across the pool,
Green and copper,
A darkness and a gleam,
And the blurred reflections of the willows on the opposite bank
Received it.



--


*The Pike*
_by Theodore Roethke _


The river turns,
Leaving a place for the eye to rest,
A furred, a rocky pool,
A bottom of water.

The crabs tilt and eat, leisurely,
And the small fish lie, without shadow, motionless,
Or drift lazily in and out of the weeds.
The bottom-stones shimmer back their irregular striations,
And the half-sunken branch bends away from the gazer's eye.

A scene for the self to abjure!-
And I lean, almost into the water,
My eye always beyond the surface reflection;
I lean, and love these manifold shapes,
Until, out from a dark cove,
From beyond the end of a mossy log,
With one sinuous ripple, then a rush,
A thrashing-up of the whole pool
The pike strikes.

--

And speaking of Roethke, whom I adore, here's some more of him:


*Journey into the Interior*

In the long journey out of the self,
There are many detours, washed-out interrupted raw places
Where the shale slides dangerously
And the back wheels hang almost over the edge
At the sudden veering, the moment of turning.
Better to hug close, wary of rubble and falling stones.
The arroyo cracking the road, the wind-bitten buttes, the canyons,
Creeks swollen in midsummer from the flash-flood roaring into the narrow valley.
Reeds beaten flat by wind and rain,
Grey from the long winter, burnt at the base in late summer.
-- Or the path narrowing,
Winding upward toward the stream with its sharp stones,
The upland of alder and birchtrees,
Through the swamp alive with quicksand,
The way blocked at last by a fallen fir-tree,
The thickets darkening,
The ravines ugly.




--


*SALE.

*For sale: by order of the remaining heirs
Who ran up and down the big center stairs
The what-not, the settee, the Chippendale chairs
—And an attic of horrors, a closet of fears.


The furniture polished and polished so grand,
A stable and paddock, some fox-hunting land,
The summer house shaped like a village band stand
—And grandfather's sinister hovering hand.


The antimacassar for the sofa in red,
The Bechstein piano, the four-poster bed,
The library used as a card room instead
—And some watery eyes in a Copley head.


The dining room carpet dyed brighter than blood,
The table where everyone ate as he should,
The sideboard beside which a tall footman stood
—And a fume of decay that clings fast to the wood.


The hand-painted wall-paper, finer than skin,
The room that the children had never been in,
All the rings and the relics encrusted with sin
—And the taint in a blood that was running too thin.


--


And because Roethke's name reminds me of Rilke's name, and this is such a wonderful poem (one of my all time favourites):


*Again and Again*
_by Rainer Maria Rilke_

Again and again, however we know the landscape of love
and the little churchyard there, with its sorrowing names,
and the frighteningly silent abyss into which the others
fall: again and again the two of us walk out together
under the ancient trees, lie down again and again
among the flowers, face to face with the sky. 

--


----------



## SeaHorse

(*eyes piranha picture... then photos of ex-husband...*) :rofl: Ditto!!


----------



## Aus

Bahaha, JB. :-D

I need BOXES! I mean. I really am glad that supermarkets recycle their paper waste these days, I really am. But for goodness' sake! - it's really inconvenient when you're looking for a stack of smallish boxes to put things in and they've ruthlessly crushed all their boxes right before you go there to ask about them, _five times in a row_. 

I'm having minor anxiety attacks, as things seem to be going quite slowly with the packing for various reasons and time is ticking away... money's pretty tight as well... I can feel the effects of the worry and stress on my health. The last thing I need is to get sick right now.

I just pray we can get this to all go smoothly. 

I have the feeling that getting over my severe reluctance to ask people for help might be a good idea, at this point.


----------



## SeaHorse

You may already be a pro at moving, obviously the thought of it is stressful and since I don't know... I'm going to pass on some moving tips just in case! Might help some one else who reads it too. 
I number my boxes, and list on paper everything that goes into a box..... 353 boxes later (no joke) .... Mom...where's the swim fins?....... box 28. Thanks mom. Darn if we didn't hire a company who had his teen boys help at the end of the day.... What box got lost? The "last minute" box. Coffee maker, Coffee filters, coffee, mugs for coffee-morning #1, spoons, paper towels. Lost 3 days until we moved the entire wall of boxes the boys had built as they came into the basement. Yes the furthest bottom box. Even tho it said CLEAR LABELED ON THE SIDE -- KITCHEN on it!! Apparently teens can't read. Label every box big in black marker with the destination room on all 4 sides and top. No guessing where it needs to go, no turning to figure out what box it is in the unpacked stack after the move. You may not have the strength to move a stack that day. 
Unpacking...As I unpack boxes I "X" them out of the book and eventually pull fully X's pages out as the boxes disappear. I am then left with the usual last 10-15 boxes that we all never unpack and you will know exactly what is in them. Maybe you will toss a few. lol

Do you have any pet supply stores near by. Here in Canada we have one called Pet Valu. No actual pets, just food and supplies. They are great cause they get all shipments on a specific day and you can get all their boxes that night once they open them. So you know EVERY Mon or Tues you just have to get your butt over there. The big grocery stores are useless cause there are too many hands involved and no way to get your message from the customer service desk to the stock boy who is unpacking their shipment. Someone like a manager comes along and helps and woosh your pile is gone to the dumpster. They don't care. Go somewhere where the volume is reasonable with small boxes and the clerk at the desk is also the Unpacker! lol. Your odds are better. Once you find a load try to set a goal of 5 boxes packed a day. 
As for clothes in closets on hangers... if you don't have access to those tall clothes boxes, here is another tip. Your beds should be dismantled by the last couple of days before the actual day, just mattresses on the floor by then, and keep a few flat bed sheets aside for this. Lay out a sheet, lay your clothes out on the sheet in stack 2 people can carry. fold the sheet over shut and carry out to a car (like a dead body lol ) by 2 people on the ends. you can stack them in the truck too. no folding no taking hangers off. Daughter can even put her own clothes back into her closet on her own. Or the 2 people carrying the clothes can actually hang that stack up and walk away... done! You can even identify who clothes are who's by the sheet you use. Susie has the Barbie sheet, Johnny has the Trucks, Mommy has the flowers. Making everything identifiable so nothing has to get opened up to figure out what's in it. If you don't feel well and have lots of help, you can sit on a chair in the door way and direct boxes and helpers to the appropriate rooms and not over stress. You are the only one who knows which room is Susie's, Johnny's and yours. 
Hope this will help you lower the stress of that day. After all you have made laugh so many times! I wish I was closer I would be there to help you move!! JB


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## Aus

JB ----- Thank you so much for those handy tips!!! I wish you were around too - if only to share the celebratory moving-in drinks on unpacking day. That'd be a cack. (laugh, in Aussie lingo :-D )

I really like the sheets/clothes idea! I'm afraid I'm not organised enough to also steal your extensive listing concept, but I am now motivated to at least tag the boxes with some sort of contents reference... :-D

At least 1/4 of my personal belongings (I actually suspect the percentage might be higher) are books, so there's already quite a few massive boxes marked.. funnily enough .. "books". 

We went over to sign the lease today and checked out the available spaces for Things which Must Fit. I have a few very large bookcases that are always difficult to place and with (well over) 3,000 books, these shelves are a main priority (the TV just gets slotted somewhere in between them, if we happen to have room)... 

We also did the "who gets what room" thing today. My room is green. Very, very... green. And on one wall there's a mural of --- _fish_ --- made out of many gaily coloured stickers. Daughter thinks this both fortuitous and hilarious. I, however, think I will be investing in a bottle of solvent and some paint swatches, pronto.

This house is (to say the least) not fancy at all, and in (many) places in need of a fresh paint (we do have permission to paint whatever colours we'd like) -- and the former tenants clearly did not take very good care of it at all. 

Poor old house. It has a nice feel to it, though, and I am sure that between Daughter, Irish and I we'll make it a lovely home in no time.

Daughter's room is TINY (and currently an eyeball-searing shade of aqua) - but then - she also has the Shed. 

Now, this Shed isn't just any old backyard storage facility. It's an Awesome Shed, which has been converted to a teenage lair, probably by a pile of teenaged boys. It's very large and cosy, with a whole wall of lovely big windows and not-too-horrid carpet on the floor. Brilliant for Daughter & pals to hang out in after school, for sleepovers, general noisy activity, etc. 

I really wanted the Shed for myself (FISHROOM KTHX), but it seems probable that we'll have to find a third paying housemate to enable us all to have a bit of extra cash, and so Daughter gets the tiny room-plus-Shed package and that means.....  no fish room for Aus. 

I DO have a wonderful inbuilt space for the strohi tank in my room, though, and the rest of the smaller tanks can be strewn here and there, living room, maybe one in the kitchen.... AND I have a lovely sun room by the back door! There's a power outlet there, and room for.... maybe.... some plant stands for sundews and other carnivores... a couple of little NPT's ... mayyyybe ... a pleco tank....

We popped past the pet supplies store to ogle the bettas and goldfish (Daughter is quite serious about owning two fancy goldfish soonish, and plans on saving her pennies and birthday monies for a 35 gallon tank and pair of Eheim canisters for them, in preparation) --- and there was this HUGE and rather depressed-looking common pleco in a long tank with some cichlids who'd mistaken him for a log. 

He looked so terribly _resigned_ to a fate filled with a severe lack of things which might bring a pleco contentment: yummy driftwood to gnaw, space to really _swim_, the absence of annoying little fish who like to use him as a sofa, etc. I felt awfully sorry for him.

So, of course, I found myself thinking: pleco tank. 

We'll see. I may have not have the means of keeping any more tanks at all for quite some time, what with rent being what it is these days (a pox on you, former Prime Minister John Howard, and your stupidly-unfriendly-to-those-not-rolling-in-kickbacks 'economic growth'!) and this house in more than a little need of some TLC in the decorating department.

We've set aside time tomorrow for that that iconic Aussie occasion which most of us Antipodeans must deal with, at some point in our lives. 

Yes, dear readers, on the morrow it is '*Facing Hordes of Large &/or Potentially Deadly Spiders Out In The Shed Day*', wherein Irish and I must don layers of protective clothing, arm ourselves with several cans of highly efficient bug spray, and get to sorting out all the stuff I have in storage out there before then imbibing a soothing gallon or two of Irish Cream in order to banish crawlies, heebie-jeebies and creeps alike from out our shattered psyches.

Oh, the joys of relocating. :|

JB, I am pretty sure that if the coffee gets left behind, you'll hear my reaction from across the Pacific. 

I apologise in advance for any overy colourful words.


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## Aus

Irish and I managed to survive the Shed of Doom and actually found very few spiders and only a couple of quite small deadly ones. I can still smell the flyspray.. ugh, I hate it. I'm one of those people who can't breathe around sprays, and anyway they're horrible for the environment so I far prefer a stout boot-sole as the solution to fast-moving, poisonous critters with many legs.

I'm so darned weary right now. But the small shed is cleared out, and 90% of the kitchen is packed. Tomorrow Daughter and I will finish up our bedrooms and start in with the serious cleaning. Irish is off work on Wed, Thur and Fri, which is beyond awesome for shuffling boxes around to make things easier on the removalists (and thus cheaper for us), and a few friends and rellies are coming to lend us a hand late in the week and then help us deplete a couple of cocktail mixes with our nothing's-upacked-yet fish and chip dinner on Friday night.

Cupboards, I must say, are really annoying.

Every time I think, "Oh, lookie, almost done here!" I open another cupboard full of stuff I've haven't actually had use for since grunge was the latest In Thing. 

AND yet MORE blasted UFO books.. I have absolutely NO idea where they all came from originally. I've been carting them around for maybe 15 years thinking that one day I'll be bored enough to sit down read a few.

Somehow, mysteriously, I have acquired not _three_ but FOUR large-ish boxes full of unread UFO and more-than-slightly-speculative paranormal books dating from the 1950's to present. I swear there was only three last time we moved, and suspect they may be multiplying.

We're going to have one heck of a garage sale in a few weeks: _

"400+ UFO books, 600 self-help and children's books, several tons of quartz crystals and sundry minerals for sale -- plus one slightly worn, not-quite-middle-aged fishkeeper for free lease with temporary agistment. Handsome unmarried owners of tropical resorts and/or Hugh Jackman are welcome make an offer."_


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## birdielikestomatoes

Haha, I love your garage sale 'ad'. 

I also think books do reproduce. I swear my bookshelf had room to spare but apparently not as books just keep piling around it. Ah well. 

I think items also reproduce as every few months I have to clear out my room of all sorts of things that have just 'appeared.' How strange, yes?

Anyway good luck on the move! If I lived closer to you I'd help you out. Just remember that all the hard work you have to put into moving will end up with all of you in a nice new home. 

The...ah...sticker mural sounds interesting. o-o Although a fish mural could look really amazing. Maybe you should put your wonderful art skills to work?


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## Aus

Haha, BLT. "Interesting" is a good word for it. 

I'll probably end up ripping the lot off and repainting the room at some point. All of the rooms need painting, but as I actually enjoy doing so I'm sort of looking forward to it.. and having permission to paint as we like is really cool. 

Daughter wants her room to be lilac. :-D

The movers are booked for Saturday lunchtime, as they were all booked up for Friday.. I'd have preferred Friday. But oh, well. An extra day for packing/cleaning is okay too.

Thing is, my cousin is coming _Thursday_ night to help move the fish. So I am thinking that we should:

- Move all the smaller betta tanks over on Thursday and set them up temporarily in the kitchen (where they won't be in the way of the movers).

- Take most of the strohi's driftwood/plants over in a big bucket, also temp housed in the kitchen. 

- Pray very hard that nothing goes wrong with the small tanks between Thursday night and Saturday afternoon. 

- Empty the strohi tank Saturday morning, put substrate in a sealed bucket for the removalists to take in the truck.

- Take the strohi + inverts over in bags inside two buckets on Saturday, when we go to the new place. 

If I get buckets with lids, I can stick the buckets in a big tub of water with a heater to keep the buckets warm for the fishies and shrimps, etc, for Saturday night - and deal with setting up the 3 ft on Sunday (as I think we'll all be quite pooped by Saturday night). 

Or I may just interrogate the snails, in order to discover their secret method of teleportation.


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## magnum

Ah, good to see your move is going smoothly! My families renovating our house right now, in preparation to move to another house soon, so I'll definitley look to these last few posts as words of encouragement. 

As for your snails, I do feel your pain. At one stage I had six Ramshorn snails wondering around my tank when the day before I had had one. Snails seem to be masters of disguise, or so it seems!



> Oh, PS: Magnum, you're very welcome to visit if you're ever in Melbourne! Then you can see the tanks!


Yay! Hopefully my mum and I are going away soon for some daughter/mother time. Maybe I'll convince her to go to Melbourne, although I have an extreme fear of planes. If you don't mind me asking, how old is Daughter? Just out of curiousness, as I'm sixteen and I'm yet to find anyone my age that is into fishkeeping. No need to answer if you feel uncomfy, there are some strange people on the internet!


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## Aus

Daughter is almost 14 (in about six weeks). I can't believe it, really.. how time flies!

Melbourne's a lovely city. :-D And with a lot of nice cafes and places to see. I'm really hoping to scrape up the cash a few weeks after this move for a trip to the aquarium and the art gallery, as Daughter hasn't been to either of them yet. The zoo is also very good, but the walking around necessary might be a bit much for me, after all this strenuous stuff moving house (it can take a month for my legs to stop hurting after I overdo it.. oy).

It'd be very worth going to visit Exotic Aquatic, another place I must get to soon. LBF swears by it and I hear they have some amazing display tanks there.

One thing I hate about not driving is not being able to ferry guests around, but if you don't mind trams and buses, you and your Mum would be very welcome to stay for a weekend if you do come down to Melbourne. We don't know many fish people either (I did meet LBF of course, she is very nice  ) so it would be lovely to meet some others. We're about 10 mins from the airport, and 35 mins or so from the city on the slowpoke tram, and not very far at all from both the zoo and Vic Market. If you look up 'Fawkner cemetery' we are just a stone's throw from it (not that we've actually thrown a stone over there or anything.. >> ). 

Our little household might be a _teensy_ bit geekish and odd (wait til you meet Irish, he is the very definition of 'odd' - perhaps he'll be wearing his bowler hat and goggles, though I sincerely hope not..) but we're certainly not creepy internet people! :lol:

As for snails.. oh my gosh. I turned Cole's light on today and there must be at least forty teensy babies in there. I squinted at them really hard, and I am pretty sure most are ramshorns, with a few pond snails, what I hope are some baby MTS and maybe even a few blond snails. 

I really do not think I can bring myself to squish them. :-( So I might just re-use some of the plastic moving tubs and make some outdoor snail sanctuaries, lol.


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## Aus

*Just one of those moments..*

It's 3am. I have insomnia, being a little overtired, and am relaxing by reading and posting on my favourite fish forum. 

The strohi tank has its lights on, as it didn't have much lights-on time today. As I finished my last post I glanced up to the tank, which is opposite the end of my bed. The water level's a little lower than usual, as I have to empty it in a few days. The fish are mostly asleep, aside from one who is hunting among the reeds and little Peeka who is in the fork of the tall driftwood, which is her territory, staring back at me.

The plants are thriving, as green as green gets. The moss, in growing, is covered in glistening, brilliant green tips, which gives the illusion of it sparkling. The wood is a dark contrast, and Om-nomnom the pleco is wagtailing his way around the bottom of Peeka's log, fat as a pup and merry as ever. The Darwins are shrimping about, as shrimps do.

Everything in there is so beautifully _alive_. 

I love being a fishkeeper. And in moments like this, I can only be thankful that I have the means and the opportunity to do so - because this little bit of nature I've transplanted into my room makes me feel intimately connected to the world in a way that people do not. 

And with that happy thought, I think I may attempt to get a little sleep. =)


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## Pilot00

Aus said:


> I love being a fishkeeper. And in moments like this, I can only be thankful that I have the means and the opportunity to do so - because this little bit of nature I've transplanted into my room makes me feel intimately connected to the world in a way that people do not.


Snaps fingers. Thats it! I was searching for a time the reason why i get excited with that water bowl of mine (thats what i call the aquarium) and why i feel kinda depressed now that i have to leave it behind (along side my betta).

Thanks! 

Heres to hopping that i will find a job in that northern country soon and build a new one!

EDIT: BTW i might not comment much but i read this thread and i like both your poetry and your general disposition. Also i am happy that you found a suitable house. I know how it is since i grew up without even a room to call me own.

Keep inspiring us!


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## LittleBettaFish

Hey Aus, have you ever thought about attending one of the Victorian Betta club meetings? I don't go but I know a few people from AusAqua who do and they are always badgering for me to come along so it mustn't be too bad. 

Just thought I'd suggest it since you said you hadn't met any other fish people. 

EA is awesome. I was there the other day getting some celestial pearl danios and some moss. Although I think my mum and Adrian were about to have a punch on over what dog he is going to get haha. It's a really nice presented store with lots of cool scaping stuff and awesome little nano suitable fish and shrimp.


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## magnum

Wow, Thanks! That would be awesome, of course I'd have to talk to my mum about it, and still tell her that Melbourne would be an awesome place to stay. Exotic Aquatics sounds like one of those fishy places were you can spend hours in! I don't mind odd houses, a house is your home and I love seeing the ways people decorate. I'm still trying to tell Mum that a giant tank as a wall would be a great selling point for our house. 

As for your snails, I could see if you could ship some up to me. I seem to have somehow exterminated the local snail population in my tanks. Thats if you have no other use for them. If that was the case, I could also see if I could get some products from Jodi-Lea or something to send down to you, almost like a trade.

Just a quick off topic note here, I am in love with LBF's display picture. Your HMPK is adorable.


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## LittleBettaFish

Thanks. He's one of Jodi-Lea's. I have tons of fish sent either through her (from AB) or purchased directly from her. She is such a pleasure to deal with and from what I've seen online her store looks immaculate and her bettas very well cared for. I've had fish arrive from her and as soon as I put them in their tanks they have started trying to spawn. 

EA is great if you are into cool little fish and shrimp, planted aquariums and lots of neat 'stuff'. Wolfgang and Adrian are both really nice and make you feel very welcome. Adrian even lets our German shepherd puppy come and sit in his store when we drop in after dog club. Although that may be so he can steal her one day haha.


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## magnum

Ah, Jodie-Lea's fish are amazing. I've been to her store, and I could pretty much spend all day in there. It's quite rare though that she gets a HMPK male in singularly though.

Ah, it sounds exactly like my kind of store! EA will have to be on my stops for when I convince my mum to go to Melbourne! Your German Shepard puppy sounds adorable too btw!


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## magnum

Ah, Jodie-Lea's fish are amazing. I've been to her store, and I could pretty much spend all day in there. It's quite rare though that she gets a HMPK male in singularly though.

Ah, it sounds exactly like my kind of store! EA will have to be on my stops for when I convince my mum to go to Melbourne! Your German Shepard puppy sounds adorable too btw!


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## Aus

Well, then - perhaps we can all meet up for a spot of lunch somewhere and a visit to EA, when Magnum comes down to Melbourne?

It'll be a few weeks until I'm financially viable again, though.. this move is a giant money-sucking black hole. :-? And I don't want to go to EA with at least a _little_ spare cash.. NO FISH though. You guys would have to restrain me. No more fish for Aus!

Maybe just some shrimp.. >>


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## SeaHorse

When is the big event anyway? Moving day? I can at least be there in spirit! I'll have a drink for you. lol


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## Aus

Perhaps in spirit - quite literally, then?  (make mine a vanilla vodka martini)

The truck arrives Saturday! And I still have SO much to do. ><

The fish are going over tomorrow evening, and before that I have the big shed and my room to finish up. Eek! Oh well, I'm sure we'll get it all done.


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## magnum

You'll be good no stress! I'd be more worried on transporting the fish if it was me, I don't have any experience with that sort of thing!



> Well, then - perhaps we can all meet up for a spot of lunch somewhere and a visit to EA, when Magnum comes down to Melbourne?


That would be great! My mum's always said she'd take me to the Melbourne Cup (Im a horse maniac) so, if I come down then, it would be lovely!


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## birdielikestomatoes

Oh jeez, now I feel left out. I'd love to visit Melbourne and meet everyone here but I doubt that would happen any time soon if ever. Mom always wants to go visit England to see family if we want to go on a large vacation. Ah well.

Good luck on moving the fishies! I'm sure everyone will be fare alright, although they might be a little shaken during the move.


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## Aus

*Absolutely gutted.*

We moved on Saturday as planned, but I only got my phone and internet this morning (actually yesterday morning, as it's now 2am) -- I tried to post earlier but couldn't bring myself to -- as I lost all five of the strohi. 

I was careful with the fish. All made it over okay but the next morning I went to check on the wilds and they were all dead. The pleco and darwin shrimp are all fine. They were in the same large temporary tub (as the 3ft is still to come over..) and the snails had their own bucket to keep ammonia down for the fish. I don't know why the bettas died. 

LBF, I am so sorry. I must have done something wrong. I just don't know what. 

Will think/post more about it when I'm not feeling so shitful. I was very, very fond of those fish.


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## LittleBettaFish

Oh no, so sorry Aus.

It sounds like it was just bad luck if your shrimp and other fish were still alive. They were old enough when they left my house to not just keel over at the drop of a hat, and if you were using their old water or a mix of old or new I wouldn't expect a massive ammonia spike. And I think the shrimp obviously would have died off first. 

Don't worry. I lost six of their brothers and sisters one night when I thought they were still too young to require glad wrap over their tank. That made me feel like a murderer, but in your case I think it was more just (scuse my language) '**** happens'. 

RIP little strohi.


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## Aus

I buried them together under some pretty bamboo in the yard. 

I didn't have them for long, but they were quickly a part of our little family and were as loved and valued as any of our older pets. 


They were not easily stressed, as you said, LBF, or in contact with toxins at all that I know of. I was so careful transporting them - they were in proper fish bags with half old water, half fresh inside some smaller plastic tubs, and never had a chance to get chilled, I had heaters running at both ends of the move for them. All the tubs were good quality plastic, and/or food safe. The strohi were very pale when I transferred them to the big tub, and I did acclimate them - they coloured up in the bag and seemed okay. The lid was not on tight because of the cords, but it was glad-wrapped pretty thoroughly just in case. I wondered if so many plants in the small space with the glad wrap might have depleted oxygen too much or something, but then the pleco would have died as well, I should think? I just don't know, which is possibly more awful than actually knowing what happened to them.

Om-nomnom is still fine, as are the shrimp. It's probably terrible, but I left them in the same tub to see if something in there was a problem, then at least I'd know it was that and to never use those tubs again- but nope, they're all good. 

I feel like a giant failure of a fish keeper. And I miss them.

Aside from this, the move all went reasonably well, a few minor hiccups but the house is fine and all the other pets have settled in very well. I'll probably need some time to cheer up. The 3ft arrives tomorrow, so setting that up will not be the happy chore I'd planned on.


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## LittleBettaFish

I am just sorry that you had to lose all of them in one go. That's pretty rough especially as you do so easily fall in love with them. 

I was going to say once you were settled and had your tank all set-up that I have a lone ideii female (she's around the size of a macrostoma) who could do with a nice spacious 3ft tank. Her male jumped through the lid to his death last week and she is now just sitting down in my rumpus room getting fed and water changed and not much else. 

If you want her at any stage let me know.


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## magnum

Aw, that's so very sad to hear. I wouldn't blame yourself, sometimes these things just happen and we have no control over them. At least all your other fish are okay and happy.


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## Pilot00

I know how you feel Aus. I had lost most of my fish a few years ago after the aquarium started dripping all of a sudden. Only my oscar and catfish survived the ordeal.

Sometimes we cant do anything, you need to remember that you did everything you could for those fishes and that they had a lovely home as long they were with you.


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## birdielikestomatoes

I'm sorry to hear that you lost the strohi, Aus. I'm going to miss reading about them. It sounds like you did everything right, but sometimes accidents happen when we don't expect them to. 

I'm glad to hear everyone else is alright though.


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## Hallyx

<sigh>


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## SeaHorse

(((Big Hugs))) 

Luv Jakie


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## Aus

Thank you, everyone, for kind thoughts and words. I'm still rather sad without my little troupe of strohi, it's just not the same waking up to no fish tank and no little faces going :shock: at me. 

When we went back to finalise things at the old house, Slammy the Flatmate from Not-Quite-Hell-More-Like-Somewhere-More-Boring-and-Slimy told me that I owed him for all the cleaning he'd had to do (though I said I was actually there to do the cleaning, and seeing as he hadn't actually cleaned anything at all for the past two years we'd lived there, I was expecting to be at it for a while...) and so I wasn't getting either my bond or the 3ft fish tank back until I paid all remaining utility bills (which, oddly, came to about the same amount as the bond which I'd said he could keep to cover the bills, plus the cost of a new fish tank). 

I laughed. Told him that I'd rather been expecting this sort of thing, and walked away. 

In the taxi on the way home, Daughter spotted Irish at a bus stop we were passing and hollered for the driver to stop. We told Irish about Slammy and the fish tank, and the bills and the bond, and he kindly offered to go back to the house and shake Slammy by the throat until he coughed up the key to the shed, where presumably the fish tank was being kept hostage.

I politely declined, having decided that really, it was all around better just to walk away and be done with it.

So now I need a new fish tank for the fish I don't have any more and the pleco that I do.. though I get the feeling Om-nomnom might just as well live happily in a plastic tub as long as there's wood to chew on and the odd algae pellet floating down once in a while. 

Small and at times strange dramas and small but profound tragedies aside, things are going swimmingly over here at the new house. Tomtom is very pleased to have landed in a dogless environment, and is once more Lord of the Yard and the Comfiest Comfy Spot on the Sofa. 

Cole's tank has sprouted like nothing I've seen before - this NPT thing really is a very good idea.. - though I keep finding shrimp that I am fairly sure I didn't actually put in there.

Cleo is as fat and sassy as ever. She is now Lady of the Kitchen Bench Next to the Toaster, and so gets a lot of attention in the mornings. 

And Aang will soon have a tank makeover, I think, and come to live in the loungeroom until I find another 3ft to fill the space where the other one isn't. 

Daughter is exhausted. I think the strain of tolerating Slammy was a burden she only truly felt once we'd put it down, as I did -- though being an adult, I tend to carry such things more lightly. But she's happier, and that makes the place more sunny, no matter the weather (which is currently awful but was actually very nice all during the move, thanks to the Weather Fairies, which I'll tell you about next time..).

Irish, poor thing, has had to work long hours through all of this, and spend his spare time carting boxes about and fetching things from the hardware shop and so on. But he too is happy to have a peaceful, Slammyless home with no sweet but ill-behaved dogs leaping about, no inanimately malevolent ceilings looming like cartoon anvils overhead just waiting for providence to allow them to fall and squash us all like so many beetles, and a very good fish and chip shop just a half a block away. 

LBF - I looked up the ideii.. gosh, so beautiful. If you're happy to hang onto her a little while, I must replace the 3ft for the sake of the plants and pleco. When I do, I'd love to offer her a home. Thanks for that. I really do appreciate it.


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## Aus

*Oh yes - and Demyx..*

I forget to mention him. Probably as he's eaten 85% of his tail and now is swimming like a happy little maniac around his tank, "wheeeee!" without an ill-bred curtain-like tonnage of fin weighing him down. 

I'm increasing the ketapang in there, just in case of infection. His fins look ghastly. 

But it's also kind of nice to see him swimming freely for once..


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## LittleBettaFish

I have an old three footer tank sitting outside. It isn't spectacular looking (it's just the standard 3ft tank you get from a fish store), but it holds water and is just sitting there making our backyard look slightly ghetto. 

Not sure if it is as big as your one was, but if you want it and can arrange to come and pick it up, you can take it. 

I am waiting for my mum to screech at me to put it somewhere else once dog shows are over and we do our big clean-up haha so saves me and her having to toss it out or chuck it under the house for God knows how long.


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## SeaHorse

Missing you and your posts. Hope all is well and that you are just too busy to come on here. Come back soon!


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## magnum

Yes! I wonder were Aus has gotten to!


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## Hallyx

This is the only journal I read. I miss her too.


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## Pilot00

Yeah, me 2 lets hope all is well.


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## Aus

Gosh, I didn't mean to worry anyone. Thanks so much for your comments and concerns, everyone, but things are okay -- I just have been quite busy settling in to the new digs and resuming a bit of writing and some art that is way overdue. 

I've also been a bit despondent since the strohi died..  so I haven't felt much like talking about fish. But I'm kind of okay now, I just miss the little boogers a lot.

Everyone else is just fine, though I had a scare the other day when Cleo leaped out of her tank like a maniac (I missed her morning feed by sleeping in - that'll learn me!) and she went flopping around the kitchen bench. No harm resulted at all, I plopped her back in her tank and she was perfectly fine, staring at me as if to say, "what's a girl gotta do to get her breakfast around here?'

Om-Nomnom and the Darwin shrimp are all doing great in the tub, no more casualties. I am so fond of this pleco.. 

Aang has really coloured up, with some lovely deep indigo near his tail and lots more dark scales now. 

Cole is still his big ol' mean self. Irish takes great delight in stirring him up. They're as bad as each other. 

Demyx still has a nub for a tail, since he ate 85% of it after the move. He's happier than ever with this development, and swims about like a little bullet without all that ridiculous finnage bogging him down. I worry about infection, however, so keep an eye on water quality and his general health. All's well so far, though.

Daughter loves the new house, and her room and her bungalow/shed, which is looking very 'homey' and -- shockingly - very tidy as well, relatively speaking. She's done a very nice Lichtenstein-style pop art painting and hung it in the shed, and I am as ever really proud of her art and photography. 

The garden here is great. I've been slowly tackling the overgrowth and identifying all the plants. We have a very nice apple tree in blossom out the back, a really old one.. but I have no idea what apple variety it is, so I'm looking forward to finding out (Daughter wants granny smiths, I want red delicious -- both of us are hoping it's not a crab-apple!).

I made a tiny water-garden in a pot by the front door, with some Vietnamese mint, bacopa, golden-eye and dwarf papyrus. It's quite pretty, and I hope it does okay. 

Being unable to find sundews anywhere closeby, I bought a nice pitcher plant for my kitchen window, which is sprouting new pitcher-shoots like crazy. Hopefully I can get some Sth African sundews fairly soon, and maybe some of the very large pitchers as well. They'll all go in the sun room, once we have that sorted out -- there's still a few large boxes around the house... I am so sick of boxes! But everything's slowly finding its place. 

We also got superfast internet, so we've been watching a lot of movies!

LBF, if I can figure out a way to pick that tank up, I'd like it for sure. My 3ft light got left behind as well, I discovered to my horror, and $ are tight this next month or so.. If it's still around when I can afford a light, a stand and transport for it, I will be happy to take it off your hands. 

I probably have a ton of stuff to catch up on here, so off I go to read threads for a while! Great to be back, and thanks again all.


----------



## Hallyx

Wish I had an emoticon of Kermit (the Frog) going

YAAAYAYAYAYAAAyyyyeeee


----------



## LittleBettaFish

Glad to hear you are alright. I was afraid you might have been in hospital or something since you told me you can sometimes have to go in. 

The tank is just sitting there doing whatever it is empty tanks do. So whenever you want to come around and pick it up it will be ready and waiting. Shame about your light though! They can be more expensive than a stock standard tank to replace. 

I feel like a mass murderer since most of my tanks have come down with some sort of ich/velvet infestation, so I will join you as a member of the despondency club. Lost half of my rutilans family that I have been growing out for a year and the rest don't look well at all. Stupid wild bettas that make you get so attached to them only for them to go and die on you.


----------



## Aus

LOL, Hallyx! I love Kermit's arm-waving cheers. 

LBF - oh no! I am sorry to hear about your rutilans. How's the persephones going?? And yeah, its bloody sad to lose them, they are such little personalities.. I am a bit scared to try them again, just yet, but I really do want some more wilds. I have no intention of moving house for the next several (many) years, so that'll probably help. ><

I just did another check on Om-nom's tank, took everything out and gave it a bit of a clean (everyone in there is so poopy..) - all the Waterhouse snails are well, too, and Om-nom is probably double the size of when we got him. I put in some of those shrimp flake things you gave me, LBF, as I fear with 4 snails, 7 shrimp and 1 pleco all eating the wood gunk and algae the food might be running low by now. 

I should be doing water changes right now, but it's bucketing rain out and I don't feel like getting wet indoors, either! Maybe I'll watch some Last Airbender episodes and do them later.... 

Cole's tank is a big mess. I am pondering whether to make myself renovate it when I do the water changes. It's annoying to look at - I keep itching to change things around.


----------



## LittleBettaFish

As you can see, persephone are all thankfully healthy and sprouting. Going to have to separate out some of the bigger ones as they are harassing everyone. Had the milestone of their first meal of live blackworms the other day and that went down a treat. 

Lost mum and dad, and then my replacement male jumped to his death so I just have one very very carefully guarded adult female haha. 

My ideii female is there if you still want her. She is enjoying the single life now her domineering husband has departed and is much friendlier than she used to be.


----------



## Aus

Think she'd get along with the pleco? They'd have to share, as I can't manage more tanks than what I have (plus Om-nom's tank when that's up again). 

D'aww, baby persephones. I hope there's some males among the fry.


----------



## Pilot00

Glad to hear everything settled down Aus. Thats the first peace of good news I had in 20 days!


----------



## magnum

YAAAAY! Aus is back! You have missed so much!

First of all, I'm happy to see that all your fish are doing fine. Hopefully Demyx will get out of the habit of tail-biting now that he's adjusted to his new home. Spike started tail-biting, but it's growing back in nicely.

Once again, my condolences go out to the Strohi. Ive had some rough times too. I lost Stu, Ace and my new female to an unknown disease while you were gone. ):

Anyway, I'm just so happy that your back !


----------



## Aus

Cheers, pilot! I hope you have lots more good news from now on, too. 

Magnum, I am SO sorry to hear about Stu and the others.. It really is hard, losing them in droves. But we have our other fish to see us through, I suppose. It's nice to see you again, too - I'll have to come by your thread and read all what I've missed. 

Anyways, I re-decorated Cole's tank a bit last night, rearranged/thinned out his plants some and added a bit of wood - which is, apparently, THE ENEMY.

Yes, Cole spent hours sidling up to the wood, flaring and barging around like a disgruntled Spanish galleon in full sail. Irish laughed his ass off. So did I. Cole was not amused. 

He has calmed down a bit tonight, though he still seems uneasy and is patrolling the tank like a maniac. Good news is, I found three or four shrimp .. how they survived is nothing short of a minor crustacean miracle. But it was nice to see them shrimping about in the undergrowth. 

The tank looks pretty empty now, compared to what it was. But I expect when the plants fill out a bit, they'll bush it up again. The swords are looking really healthy, the elodea is trying to evolve into some sort of multi-stemmed aquatic triffid, and the baby lotuses are doing very well, too. Oh, and my crypts are multiplying! I divided those, and took out the massive clump of java fern up the back, which provided a good deal of the height.. So now it looks a bit cut-off-at-halfway until the lotuses and newly redistributed triffids really get to growing. 

Aang's tank will be re-done tomorrow if this cold snap in the weather goes away and I feel more like sploshing around in water. I want to plant it quite heavily, but keep the funky 'island' look that Daughter set up in there.


----------



## magnum

Weh, your tanks all sound so NICE. I want to plant all mine naturally, but lately all the LFS is selling tiny anubias on rocks which are twelve dollars. The Java Fern looked dead and they were selling clumps of random plants for $5, but when I asked what they were, the lady had know idea. 

You need to post some pictures of Aangs tank! I have never seen this masterpiece!


----------



## Aus

Magnum, I'd love to send you some anubias and java fern, etc. Not like I don't have a stack to spare, ha. PM me your addy and I'll get around to it in a week or so, once I sort them out a bit. You'd actually be doing me a favour, as there's way too many plants in the pleco's plastic holding tank.. they might not be liking the lack of light in the laundry and with Daughter's birthday coming up soon I won't be able to afford a new tank set-up before November. Throw me some $ for postage, and Bob's your uncle. 

Water change day today, and I'm putting Demyx in a 3 gallon kritter keeper thingy to see how he does in that. I aim to slowly upgrade him to Aang's old 8 gallon, once I upgrade Aang in a few weeks. 

No new pics yet, as all the tanks are a bit of a mess still from the move and I am still at a loss for where to put them all permanently. Cole's tank is the only one I've found the perfect place for, and it looks great where it is. I need to think about where to put the 3ft when I replace that.. 

Cleo's still looks great (it's a moss and susswassertang factory, apparently, being ready for another moss cull already) but I'd like to move it across the other side of the kitchen, which I might do today. 

Just a word on sponge filters: they rock. 

I haven't had any problems whatsoever with them, and they work a treat. The water quality is brilliant, they are easy to clean (give 'em a squish, voila!) and they provide aeration as well as surface motion. 

Went to dinner last night with the out-laws (my ex's parents) and Very Cool Uncle (the ex's brother) and his partner. Daughter had a lovely time playing with her uncle's new Jack Russel x Mini Fox terrier pup, which is 9 weeks old and omg-adorable. 

On the way home, we listened to a great Aussie rock band from Brisbane called Rollerball --- I was an instant fan, and Very Cool Uncle gave me the CD which was nice of him. 

How I did not know about this band before, I do not know! I feel terribly deprived. Here's some songs I found on Youtube.. 

*WARNING:* loud, heavy awesome Australian rock music ahead!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mvlu30oMtQU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_dv2_2tGQcY&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eym8zkt6euI&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uPhEE1Ktafc&feature=related


----------



## Aus

Shrimp! I found one! In Cleo's tank! :blink: 

I haven't seen any since several weeks before the move. Poor Zoidbergs... Cleo picked them off one by one and I had assumed she'd gotten them all. 

But no! Baby Z is still alive and kicking, and still the same brilliant scarlet colour as ever. She's just a bit bigger now.

I will probably remove her, just because she's such a lovely red, and put her in Aang's new set-up (which is still a work in progress, I got him some lovely plants from the LPS, wait til you see...) with some other nicely coloured RCS - if I can get any. 

And then restock the Zoiberg population in Cleo's tank. She seems a little bored (I can tell by the plaintive way she flails around wildly at the slightest tremor or sound, clearly hoping whatever it is will fit in her mouth..)


----------



## birdielikestomatoes

Got caught up again! 

Cleo's antics always bring a smile to my face. She just seems so amazing. Baby Z must be a master of stealth to avoid being eaten so far. 

I can't wait to see a picture of Aang's tank, it sounds really beautiful. I have yet to try a NPT but that doesn't mean I don't love the looks of them. 

I'm glad you're settling in well. I'm so completely jealous of Daughter's little shed room, I want one for myself.


----------



## Aus

Thanks, BLT - yeah, the shed, lol. I want one, too!

Aang's tank is... a work in progress, lol. I'll post some pics when I get a chance.. I decided not to go the NPT route with his tank just yet, as it may be getting upgraded soon, dunno.. It looks a lot nicer now, though, and he loves the new plants. Can't wait to get him & Demyx a pair of matching tanks (yes, I am upgrading Demyx.. will have to keep lower water level, but he needs a bigger tank!! Plus, I think a planted tank will only help with his ongoing fin issues). 

Cole's NPT is lovely, however, and sooo healthy looking (if a little messy, but I like that look and he loves exploring it all). Pics imminent!

I've been really tired/listless this week, think I'm coming down with something.  So ofc, insomnia settles in again, and I'm too weary to be creative with the time. 

And one of my exes that I love to hate and don't speak to for months, sometimes years at a time, is hanging around again. Just as a friend but he was a truly terrible bf, and isn't much better at platonic relationships. I really don't know what to do with that. And he's the one person to whom I can't simply give the flick, as I would with anybody else. My achilles heel, sort of.

He's some kind of heel, anyway..


----------



## LittleBettaFish

Sounds like my mum and dad haha. They got divorced like 12 or so years ago, and it was horrible. They were like mortal enemies for the first half of it and my dad's mum wouldn't even like to hear my mum being talked about in her house.

Then when my mum broke up with her boyfriend of around 10 years, my dad and her started talking as friends again. Then they tried to see how a relationship would go the second time around...

It failed as badly as the first time around as they are completely incompatible and neither had changed _that_ much. 

Now they are back to just doing stuff together as friends. My dad helps bike the dogs, comes around for dinner 1-2 nights a week and is helping us with getting the house sorted out. I have told them to just stay as friends. They make good friends and lousy lovers haha 

You just have to figure if having him there is worse than not having him there. If it's neither better nor worse and he is truly interested in just being a friend I would say just see how it goes. If however, he is using the friend ploy to try and get back into a relationship and he was horrible the last time around, send him packing. 

It is very rare for someone to do a complete character turnaround. Usually they are just pretending and the truth comes out eventually.


----------



## Pilot00

Aye, 

***facepalms laughing.

I can sort of understand this. Some people love with passion but their characters clash so much that they cant stand one another after a while.
Best avoid a relationship if thats the case. Or just keep it friendly and open.


----------



## Aus

Thanks, pilot & LBF. I don't often have, or talk about, this sort of problem so it's nice to get some words of wisdom on it. 

You're 100% right, LBF, about the pretending thing.. this guy is The Great Pretender. A real a-hole. No, really. It annoys me that I am always giving him a chance to start acting like a decent human being and then he messes it up, over and again. I annoy myself more by letting it happen. If he would just quit doing that, we could get along and be really great friends, damn his eyes. 

I am so sorry your parents had an awful breakup - their first 6 years as exes is very much, by the sound of it, like how it is between myself and Daughter's father, whom I cannot stand and would cheerfully drag behind a horse over ten acres of scotch thistles. 

My answer to this is to avoid her Dad like the plague, so all that anger isn't spewing all over our house and on Daughter, who has had a hard enough time of it. I do hope one day that Super Deadbeatdad grows his fricken brain back and starts to once more passingly resemble the man I was married to for 16 years.... I doubt that will ever happen. But as mad as I am at him, I have to hope and remain open to the possibility of it, for Daughter's sake.

Pilot, it must by now sound like I sure can pick 'em... 

Me and this guy I mentioned in the other post are just friends and have been for a long time now, it's just that he tends to not be very respectful or caring as a friend (though he was worse as a bf...). One of those charmers who is sooo charming and handsome you can forgive them almost anything -- to a point. I am just wondering if I am too far past that particular point these days to allow him to regain 'friend' status.. 

Really, if I am even having this level of doubt, it's an answer in itself, isn't it?

Anyways. Fish!!! 

Speaking of dysfunctional relationships - Irish and Cole have this weird man-thing going on right now. Every night, Irish stands in front of Cole's tank and stirs him up, and Cole flares at Irish like a goon. Cole never does this for me. But the moment Irish steps up to the tank, Cole muscles over to stare at his "enemy" and flare at the ball of lint Irish uses to stir him up with. And it's obvious that both enjoy this moment of daily aggro immensely. 

Men. They are weird, whatever the species.


----------



## Aus

And as I haven't posted a poem in a while, here's a dysfunctional fish/love poem which I really enjoy (though all those parentheses are a little bit annoying): 


*(love song, with two goldfish)*
_by Grace Chua_ 

(He's a drifter, always
floating around her, has
nowhere else to go. He wishes
she would sing, not much, just the scales;
or take some notice,
give him the fish eye.)

(Bounded by round walls
she makes fish eyes
and kissy lips at him, darts
behind pebbles, swallows
his charms hook, line and sinker)

(He's bowled over. He would
take her to the ocean, they could
count the waves. There,
in the submarine silence, they would share
their deepest secrets. Dive for pearls
like stars.)

(But her love's since
gone belly-up. His heart sinks
like a fish. He drinks
like a stone. Drowns those sorrows,
stares emptily through glass.)

(the reason, she said
she wanted)
(and he could not give)
a life
beyond the
(bowl)


----------



## Pilot00

Its....A little sad.


----------



## Pilot00

Aus said:


> Men. They are weird, whatever the species.


Thats the second time I had a chuckle with meself miss. Thank you very much!


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## birdielikestomatoes

I have to agree with both of Pilot's posts. I adored that poem, it was..bittersweet. 

And yes, men are all weird, despite their species. :lol:

LOL at Irish and Cole, that sounds like a hilarious sight. Just something I randomly wanted to add; whenever you speak of Irish I always think of Irish from Red Dead Redemption.


----------



## Aus

LOL!!^ 

Well, you got the beard nearly right! Just make it ginger. :B

Ex Update: I have chosen to pretend I am incommunicado. Yes, I have the chosen the path of simple avoidance. Not the best solution, perhaps, but it's what I'm going with!

Betta Update: I'm moving Demyx up to a 3-gallon KK for a while, so he gets used to having more room before he gets his 8-gallon (the same kind as Aang, I'd like them to have matching NPT's eventually.. ). 

Pleco Update: I cleaned the 55L tub out (it gets kind of poopy in there!), and found Omnom fat and happy, growing like a weed. I think HE might be a SHE.. but perhaps it's too soon to tell? I should probably look up at what age/size accurate sexing is possible.. Anyway, he and the Darwins are all still doing fine in the tub. 

Daughter Update: 14th birthday in a few days! Plans for dinner with the Out-Laws, and a shiny new camera. Wants her nose pierced. I am pretending I've never heard of such a thing and therefore it doesn't exist. 

Ostriches have the right idea, for sure!

(though explaining how it is that I myself have a pierced nose is getting kind tricky - I think I'm going with 'victim of alien abduction body mod procedure' or 'I fell over on a cactus'..)


----------



## Freyja

Did she get her nose pierced?


----------



## Pilot00

Le sigh... Wish I could get a tatoo...

Also wish I had the financial backrgound to adopt a baby and have that sort of problems. 

Well did she pierced? Some girls look way better with a nose piercing IMHO.


----------



## Pilot00

On a side note Aus, do you mind if I post a poem that really touched me? Its not about fish though.


----------



## Aus

Pilot, I'd love it if you posted a poem! 

Daughter did not get her nose pierced. She got her camera, a new DS and a Wacom Bamboo tablet, so made out like a bandit and should be happy with all that! 

Tattoos a/ hurt b/ are really hard to remove when you change your mind/get sick of them/ get older and realise they aren't nearly as cool as they seemed when you were younger. I would recommend not getting any til you're at least 25 and know where your head's at. They really are forever... 

Shrimp update: So it seems that FOUR of my Darwin shrimp are carrying eggs!!!! I am going to have a LOT of baby shrimp, if they all manage to survive. I would recommend these shrimp to anybody who likes inverts and hates algae, they do a brilliant job at keeping the moss clean. 

So it's water change day, and I am tempted to do some major overhauls. Bloody Cole has torn up his nice new ludwigia and pogo, they're floating about.. looking healthy, though. Aang loves them (he got some too).. but the cat has decided that his tank is the new water bowl, as I can't find the lid for it.. and Tom-tom's decided that fish water is not just tasty but also comes with free entertainment, lol. 

Luckily for Aang, Tom-tom hates getting his paws wet..

I actually have a LOT to write about this week, so expect some hefty posts in the near future!


----------



## Pilot00

Problem for tatoo is not age or how much I like them, but my skin. It tends to be oversensitive. If I take a shower and you look at my back you would think that a mule kicked me! Good think is it last only for a few minutes but still...

This poem, I cant remember the artist though...

A way has to be found for all
God's creatures to coexist.
To bring harmony﻿ and justice
To Wolves, and Gorillas in the mist.
So, before you condemn him,
Or shoot him -- even worse
Remember the Wolf, like Indians
Inhabited this land first.


----------



## Aus

Great poem, pilot! And a very true sentiment behind it. I have this funny feeling I've read that poem before, but it was longer? I read so much online, I can't keep track.. maybe I'm mistaken.

I hadn't thought to ask people to share their favourite poems with me. But I wish you all would!

As for what's been going on - my 91 year old grandmother is not doing so good. After a life of fierce independence and sharp wit, she is in a nursing home with dementia, and a broken hip. I went to see her the other day and it just gutted me. She didn't know who I was.. nor Daughter... I wasn't upset about that, but moreso just that she isn't herself and at times I am sure she she knows it. The sadness of that is hard to take. She always said 'if I lose my mind, have me put to sleep. I don't want to live like that'. So I've been a bit down about it all. 

My grandmother raised me, pretty much. I can't imagine a world without her in it. Now I'm getting all teary...

My health's not been great, either. I feel very out of sorts, and my condition has flared up quite badly, making it harder to do the simplest things, or go anywhere. I haven't been sleeping well, either. 

But amid it all, I do try to find reason to laugh. Tonight was Halloween here, and Irish and I sat out in the cool air of the back yard with Daughter, swapping ghost stories (funny ones, mostly)... Daughter literally fell over when I mentioned the name of one of my teenage-era boyfriends. Okay, he really had a silly-sounding name! But Daughter rolling around in fits on the lawn about it was even funnier. 

More tomorrow, I hope. I have some poems to post and updates to give. Happy Halloween, everyone!


----------



## Pilot00

Thats short of strange. You see I was in foul mood as well this last months, but today I realized that I cant fight the world. At least not anymore. I have reached a dead end in my employment options and though I know it will bite me in the butt in the future, I decided not to worry anymore and enjoy life whoever it comes out.

Hope you feel better in the future and my greatest wishes to your gran.


----------



## Hallyx

My Dad's in a nursing home at 91 years-old--- blind, mostly deaf and no short-term memory to speak of, not much long-term anymore (I have to remind him who I am when I call)--but, in many ways, physically healthier than I am. So I know exactly how you feel. 

My wife and I are making sure (in writing) that neither of us will have to live that way.


----------



## SeaHorse

Feeling your pain (and aches) and right there with you. Dad is 85 finally settled into a lovely home that he likes and is thriving again. We nearly lost him twice this year. Stressful when we are all 2 hours away, makes for a long day to visit and you get no work done. I'm self employed and I can't pay the bills when I'm driving. That sounds crass, I don't mean it to be at all, it's just the facts. Just another dimension of how some have to deal with our aging parents. 
Aus I'm glad you had a good laugh with daughter and Irish. What fun. 

Hang in there tho... there are many feeling the anxiety in the world right now. It's a phase we are all in right now... the Mayan calender?... Astrology?...I don't know the science... It's huge and we are are all in it. Hang in there until after Christmas, into the New Year. 
They even told us in business not to spend 2012 competing. 2012 MUST be a year of relationships and working together even with our competition. Several of us have managed to secure exclusive work by providing components together, complimenting each other's work. That kind of thing. It's amazing what a little effort has made by working together. It has lined up bookings and work for the next year and we have our own support group to achieve it and several sets of eyes watching out. And yet we all have our own businesses, make and sell different products/services with some overlaps. I would call it a higher level than networking.... it's business relationship building. What I tell all small business owners... "Find your niche... And do it well!" 
It's finding your way to do your business/work/art from home and be home when you feel crappy. Even if that is everyday. I know there must be people out there who would buy your art!! Book illustrating? With the internet you could draw for anyone in the world! It's just finding the right connections. They say it's 6 degrees of separation but with the internet I'm finding it's often really only 2.


----------



## dramaqueen

I'm also taking care of an aging parent. It's especially hard when you can't drive. I'm waiting g now for someone to take me out to run errands.


----------



## Aus

Well, bettafish.commers... 

It's been a while, for several reasons. Mainly, I've been just exhausted in general for a while. This was of course leading up to another bout in hospital, major infection for which I've been on drip antibiotics and thankfully at-home nursing care for a while now. But slowly improving, which is awesome. 


Also, I stared writing again, which consumes a deal of my time. But I missed talking about my fish and reading about yours, so I think I'll just have to make some regular bettafish time, eh?

Everyone's doing great, though, fish-wise. No more losses since the strohi.. all are happy, fat and doing well in the heat (which is hotting up for summer proper, gonna be a scorcher, I think).

The planted tanks are doing great too.. Cole's a bit of a messy jungle in need of some work, but it looks lush and jungly. Cleo's had a susswassertang explosion, I had to move a huge chunk up the back of the tank so I could see the rest of it, ha. Aang's tank needs work, too, but I just have not been well enough to do anything about it. Omg, and the poor catfish and Darwin shrimp are STILL in a 55L tub, but I don't really think they care... they're all still kicking along just fine. Demyx was moved up to a 3 gallon keeper, and he loves it. Okay, so he chews his tail off like an idiot so he can zoom around the tank without tons of drag behind him.. silly fish.. but despite all odds, the little booger is still kicking and happy as ever. 

So there's a really quick update, whew.

I hope you're all doing well - and if you're not, that things are better soon. I also hope to be around more often!


----------



## SeaHorse

So nice to see you back! Please take it slow and work on your recovery!! Wonderful to hear you are writing again!! 
We are heading into winter, there is snow on the ground!... (I like spring and fall best!) Gotta get new skates for the pond just a block away! ( I can see it from my driveway, it's that close!)


----------



## Pilot00

No real good news from me, but thats beside the point. Glad to hear you are ok, I was starting to worry to be honest. Hope you recover pretty soon, I miss your poems. Heres a toast to your health and speedy recovery!


----------



## birdielikestomatoes

I'm glad to hear you're alright also. I just figured that you were settling into your new home. Glad to hear all the fishies are doing good! Have a quick recovery!


----------



## dramaqueen

I hope you feel better soon.


----------



## Hallyx

I just heard you were not feeling well. I hope it's not serious and that you recover expeditiously.

(I have to learn to keep better track of my friends.)


----------



## Picasso84

I hope you have recovered, and are feeling better by now!  (I know what it's like to be de-railed by a chronic physical condition) Where have you been? I wanted to tell you how much I have loved.... Scratch that... *LOVED* reading your journal, you are hilarious! I've read this whole thing in like around 4-5 hours!  Theres ups, and downs, tears, laughter, everything! I love your writing style, it's fabulous!  Please come back! I hope your grandmother is doing well, I miss both of mine, didn't truly know what I had til they were gone, and they (actually all three of my remaining grandparents) died within 8 months of each other... So it's definitely good to not take them for granted...

I am also liking your poetry, I usually don't like poetry (@ least when I was in school) but I like what you have posted! I guess it's b/c I can't always understand it, don't know why, but I don't, yours are easier though... I have, however always loved to read books...... when I was a child, because of insomnia, and I still do this (it's 2am now), just with my iPad, I would read _at least_ a book a night, most of the time, it would be two! So, good luck with starting that novel! My dad has written about four, maybe five (published, not sure how many r 'waiting in the wings' so to speak) the last one was/is "based on my (his daughter- i.e ME) summer adventures at the beach" (Boats, Bars, & Beaches!) Lmao So, if ur looking to torture your daughter... Lol j/k I hope everything is going well for you right now!


----------



## Aus

*Oh hai there!*

Lots to catch up on. To start with: hi, everyone! I'll make a proper post a bit later, but since you've all been denied my poety posts for so long, I thought I'd splash some wordy goodness around. 


*The Fish*
by G.K. Chesterton

Dark the sea was: but I saw him, 
One great head with goggle eyes, 
Like a diabolic cherub 
Flying in those fallen skies. 

I have heard the hoarse deniers, 
I have known the wordy wars; 
I have seen a man, by shouting, 
Seek to orphan all the stars. 

I have seen a fool half-fashioned 
Borrow from the heavens a tongue, 
So to curse them more at leisure— 
—And I trod him not as dung. 

For I saw that finny goblin 
Hidden in the abyss untrod; 
And I knew there can be laughter 
On the secret face of God. 

Blow the trumpets, crown the sages, 
Bring the age by reason fed! 
(He that sitteth in the heavens, 
‘He shall laugh’—the prophet said.)


*From 'Paradise Lost', Book Seven*
by John Milton

Forthwith the sounds and seas, each creek and bay, 
With fry innumerable swarm, and shoals 
Of fish that with their fins, and shining scales, 
Glide under the green wave, in sculls that oft 
Bank the mid sea: part single, or with mate, 
Graze the sea-weed their pasture, and through groves 
Of coral stray; or, sporting with quick glance, 
Show to the sun their waved coats dropt with gold; 
Or, in their pearly shells at ease, attend 
Moist nutriment; or under rocks their food 
In jointed armour watch: on smooth the seal 
And bended dolphins play: part huge of bulk 
Wallowing unwieldy, enormous in their gait, 
Tempest the ocean: there leviathan, 
Hugest of living creatures, on the deep 
Stretched like a promontory sleeps or swims, 
And seems a moving land; and at his gills 
Draws in, and at his trunk spouts out, a sea. 

*Privacy*
by Robert Service


Oh you who are shy of the popular eye,
(Though most of us seek to survive it)
Just think of the goldfish who wanted to die
Because she could never be private.
There are pebbles and reeds for aquarium needs
Of eel and of pike who are bold fish;
But who gives a thought to a sheltering spot
For the sensitive soul of a goldfish?

So the poor little thing swam around in a ring,
In a globe of a crystalline crudity;
Swam round and swam round, but no refuge she found
From the public display of her nudity;
No weedy retreat for a cloister discreet,
From the eye of the mob to exempt her;
Can you wonder she paled, and her appetite failed,
Till even a fly couldn’t tempt her?

I watched with dismay as she faded away;
Each day she grew slimmer and slimmer.
From an amber hat burned, to a silver she turned
Then swiftly was dimmer and dimmer.
No longer she gleamed, like a spectre she seemed,
One morning I anxiously sought her:
I only could stare—she no longer was there . . .
She’d simply dissolved in the water.

So when you behold bright fishes of gold,
In globes of immaculate purity;
Just think how they’d be more contented and free
If you gave them a little obscurity.
And you who make laws, get busy because
You can brighten he lives of untold fish,
If its sadness you note, and a measure promote
To Ensure Private Life For The Goldfish.


----------



## Aus

*Oh hai there!*

Oh gods, dang poetry sites and their spacing c&p dang issues...


----------



## Hallyx

And my WP fixed it right up.

Welcome back, Aus. Good to see you. Looking forward to your update.


----------



## dramaqueen

Welcome back.


----------



## LittleBettaFish

I was so just talking about you the other day with someone from another forum who I was selling some fish to. 

I was saying about how it is a worry when people who are really active on forums suddenly don't come online for ages. You were the example I used because I hadn't see you on here for quite some time and was hoping nothing serious was going on. 

Glad to see you are still around.


----------



## birdielikestomatoes

Glad to see you back again, Aus!


----------



## Aus

Hello, lovely fishfolks! I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and will have a great New Year. 

Well, lots has been happening around here, most of it sadly drama to do with my health.. plus, I've been feeling like the worst fishkeeper in the world after losing not only the strohi but Demyx, Cleo and Cole as well.. the later two to a horrendous bacterial infection that --I introduced-- to the tanks via inadequate quarantine and shoddy sterilisation of shared equipment. A very hard lesson, that one, so I've been a bit disinclined to want to talk about my fishies.. 

Demyx simply quit swimming one morning a couple of months ago. I think he just succumbed at last to his inherent health issues - but he did live much longer than I thought he would - a real trooper, that little guy. He also is terribly missed. 

Rest in peace, dear lil fish. 

Updates! Aang is still going strong, and is sharing a 3ft tank with two bristlenose catfish (Omnom and an as-yet unnamed baby albino), one surviving Darwin shrimp and lots of trumpet snails. 

I have some new pics of Aang to put up, but they're on Daughter's phone and she's away for a week or so. He's looking pretty good, despite chewing his whole doubletail off after the move to the big tank, I think it was the stress. But it's mostly regrown, and he's as pretty and flouncy as ever, funny little guy. 

I have been hesitant to get any new fish.. Losing so many had about crushed my confidence as a fishkeeper. But I still have two smaller tanks spare and mostly ready. Just in case... 

I DID see a wonderful little bright purple female at my local pet supply store (the good one) and very nearly took her home, but .. nah. Not yet. I am hoping they'll get some more in that colour, though, for when I am ready, it was just so pretty.. 

To take my mind off all the sad, I took up amigurumi (crochet dolls) which I've been totally enjoying, as well as a few other crochet projects. Here's some pics:




















I have a few more -- but again, pics are on the phone and will have to wait.. 

Anyways, that's really fun. I like making mythical beings, so ideas there would be very welcome. I have a naga and a gorgon in the making, as well as a forest elf.. and maybe a unicorn, in the new year.

I hope you're all well, and your fishies are all doing fine. I have missed this community and all you lovely people. Now I'm feeling a bit better, I hope to be around more often. <3


----------



## Aus

Here's a lovely visual poem, which is too large to display.

 Click here for poemfishy goodness.


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## SeaHorse

Wow, you could totally sell those!!! I can crochet, knit and sew but I've never made figures in crochet before... mainly flat work like afghans so I KNOW how hard those are to do. Have you made a Betta Fish yet? 

So sorry to hear about your losses! And your health! Take it easy. You'll know when you are ready to start again. One day you'll walk into a store and there he will be wiggling at you saying, "Hi Mom!"

Welcome back!!


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## Hallyx

Good to see you again, Aus. Hope your endurance allows to be around more. We miss you. I, especially, miss your poetry.


----------



## Aus

Thank you, Hallyx! Good to see you, too. 

I do hope to be able to be around a bit more, it helps that our unfeasibly long spring cold spell is now well and truly over (in late December... sheesh..) so I'm not so achy and flu-ey all the time. 

I also hope to find/write/inspire some more fishy poems in 2014, so you won't be disappointed there, I promise! 

SeaHorse, cheers! I actually intend to sell some next year, when I have enough stock for an etsy store. No, not done a betta.. yet. But you've inspired me to give it a shot! Let's just see how I do... lol. I also make afghans, just finished a pure wool and silk/merino mix one in strawberry and cream colours which I'll probably keep for myself, for once. It's just so perty. Have you any pics of your afghans? I'd love to see some. 

And ah, yeah.. well. Fish. You're probably right there, and that's why I haven't packed all the spare tanks up, I guess. I sure would love another female, I miss Cleo most of all and her funny ways. The right one will pop up at the right time, I have no doubt. 

Just being back here is really healing to my wounded inner fishkeeper, lol. Very inspiring, looking at everyone's wonderful tanks and fishies. Love this place. <3


----------



## Aus

Here's a really cute site I thought I'd share.. you can make your own poems with a picture behind and save them.. I like this picture best (link to site below):











http://storybird.com/victoriausova/artwork/fancy-fish/

There's lots of other pictures, too.. I love this woman's art, and what a great idea, to combine it with words and let people create their own collaboration. 

I really must sign up to the site so I can save these properly.


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## JustinieBeanie

I just found your journal, I just started the beginning but stopped to leave a comment to say you have a way with words! I'm sorry to hear about your fish, and your health issues. Your drawings and crochet dolls are really cool, it makes me want to get back into art.


----------



## Aus

Thank you, Justinie.  It feels good to inspire others. I hope you do return to your art. 

I have discovered that three trumpet snails can, in one year, become 2957673636475 trumpet snails. 

Really, I have about 40 now, that I've managed to count. Since Cole passed away, they've had thier own tank to proliferate in, and they've obviously done so with gusto. 

I've decided that Cole's tank will become home to some long-armed river prawns in a month or so. And I'll probably strip it down and re-decorate for that, so I'll be sifting the mud for all the MTS's and they'll probably go in the 3ft. I really want some aquasoil for this project, so that's on the must-get list. 

My Dymax cube sorely needs an overhaul, as well. Not sure what I'll do with that, yet. But it need to look prettier than presently does, for sure. I robbed it of its abundant java ferns recently, which had outgrown the tank. I think java fern must just adore LED lights, as I've never grown such healthy plants under any other kind. 

I forgot to mention that we also lost two of our three rats, the brothers Fergus and Scuttle. We've had health issues with them from day 1, they had recurring infections all sorts, so it wasn't a surprise they passed. Little Archie, their half-brother, who came to us with cataracts, is still going strong and is missing his brothers, poor thing. He's blind, but this doesn't seem to bother him except for sudden noises and touching at which he freaks out a bit, so we're cautious about going slow at feeding time so he can sniff us out. 

We also gained a pet -- a little female tabby we've called Tinkerbell, who our ginger cat Tom brought home for supper one night. 

It's quite a story, really. We'd -heard- her long before we saw her, as a mysterious tinkling sound in the yard at night. We never saw her, though, until Tom herded her into the sunroom and let her eat from his bowl. This was astoundingly odd behaviour for Tom, I must stress. He hates other cats. Hates them. Why he brought this little girl home, we will never know. Personally, I think she just melted his hard ginger heart. 

She was incredibly timid, terrified of human feet and hands, but so hungry (and horribly emaciated) that food won out in the end, and after a few weeks we could give her a little pat without her bolting off in fear. The sound of footsteps freaked her out badly, and she would always bolt if anyone came up the hall. Six months later, she finally accepted that nobody in this house was ever going to harm her and she relaxed completely. 

Anyways. She's spent the last few nights asleep on my feet and is now the cuddliest, sweetest, funniest, tamest kitty ever. She has some hilarious personality quirks, like her hatred of closed cupboards, which she'll spend hours opening one after the other. She likes to hide behind doors and peek through the crack, climbs around in my bookshelf, and will leap three feet in the air to catch birds almost her own size. Thus, we got her an extra bell, so she tinkles even louder now. Still catches the odd bird, however, and I think this is how she was probably eating before she moved in so became a very good hunter indeed.

Tinkerbell (what else were we going to call her? lol) was wearing a collar and pet registry tag. We agonised about calling her in as lost, but it became very apparent she wasn't just lost -- she'd been badly abused by somebody, and was showing signs of trauma from that.

So what the hey, we've kept her. This is her forever home, the end. There will be a massive problem soon, as she needs to have shots and if we take her to the vet they'll scan her (this is compulsory) and report her to the pet registry and -- we'll lose her. 

I can't adequately describe how much joy she brings our odd little home. She is so very loved, even by Tom who hates other cats with a passion. We all dote on her, and she graciously laps up our love and care like cream. I don't want her returned to an abusive home. 

What to do, what to do...


----------



## Aus

Perhaps an ominous thing to put directly after my last post... especially considering Tinkerbell's habit of walking across the clingwrap covering my big tank... 


*On The Death Of A Favourite Cat, Drowned In A Tub Of Gold Fishes*

*by Thomas Gray*

 'Twas on a lofty vase's side,
Where China's gayest art had dyed
The azure flowers that blow,
Demurest of the tabby kind,
The pensive Selima, reclined,
Gazed on the lake below.

Her conscious tail her joy declared;
The fair round face, the snowy beard,
The velvet of her paws,
Her coat, that with the tortoise vies,
Her ears of jet, and emerald eyes,
She saw; and purred applause.

Still had she gazed; but 'midst the tide
Two angel forms were seen to glide,
The genii of the stream:
Their scaly armour's Tyrian hue
Through richest purple to the view
Betrayed a golden gleam.

The hapless nymph with wonder saw:
A whisker first, and then a claw,
With many an ardent wish,
She stretched, in vain, to reach the prize.
What female heart can gold despise?
What cat's averse to fish?

Presumptuous maid! with looks intent
Again she stretched, again she bent,
Nor knew the gulf between:
(Malignant Fate sat by, and smiled)
The slippery verge her feet beguiled,
She tumbled headlong in.

Eight times emerging from the flood
She mewed to ev'ry wat'ry god
Some speedy aid to send.
No dolphin came, no nereid stirred;
Nor cruel Tom, nor Susan heard.
A fav'rite has no friend!

From hence, ye beauties undeceived,
Know, one false step is ne'er retrieved,
And be with caution bold.
Not all that tempts your wand'ring eyes
And heedless hearts is lawful prize;
Nor all that glisters, gold.


----------



## Aus

Tinkerbell...


----------



## JustinieBeanie

I'm so sorry to hear about your loss of your lovely sounding rats. I'm glad you took Tinkerbell in and gave her a nice home! Maybe she wont have a microchip or the owners won't want her and you'll get to keep her! Maybe she wasn't abused by people, perhaps she was just traumatized from living outdoors in a possibly unfamiliar place and being so hungry or something. Just because an animal is afraid of people doesn't always mean they have been abused, although that can very often be a sign of past abuse.

For instance we had a dog that we adopted from the shelter and at first she was terrified of people, which might lead one to believe she'd ben abused. She and her sister got out and were running lose and were picked up by animal control so they had to pay a fine to get them back but could only afford to pay the fee for one, so they had to choose who to take. Now maybe the previous owners did abuse her, we'll never know, but she didn't have any psychical signs of abuse or neglect and the owners had even made notes on the relinquishment sheet thing about how she was a bit nervous riding the car and things that, which made me think that maybe they cared but just couldn't afford her. I think the trauma of getting out running lose with her sister, having to be caught by the animal control strangers who possibly caught them with catch poles or nets, then transported in a car, which she was nervous of anyway to a strange place with other dogs in cages barking all the time, then separated from her sister and owners forever was really traumatic. When we first got her she was really afraid of people and if we let her out off leash she'd run away full speed. She always ran off in the same direction, I often wondered if we hadn't been able to catch her she would have run back to her old home! Like I said maybe she was abused, but even if she wasn't abused, she'd had plenty enough of a traumatic experience being caught by strangers and separated from her sister and family, which may have been the reason for her scared behavior. 

So maybe your cat wasn't abused by people, maybe it was other things that made her so scared. And if she was abused, maybe it wasn't by her original owners, like if she was a stray for a while people other than her owners were mean to her. Hopefully if you do have to give her back, her owners are not abusive or neglectful. It seems like she's settled in nicely and is much loved with you guys, it would be a shame for you to have to give her up! If you take her to the vet, I'd really stress to the vet how thin, hungry and terrified this cat was and how many months it took her to no longer be afraid of people, suggesting that maybe she had been abused and/or neglected by the previous owners. Good luck!


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## Aus

Thanks!

I'm pretty sure she was mistreated, however. She wasn't just timid - she was really afraid of a raised hand, even when she knew it had food in it.

To put it as delicately as I can... there's a lot of people in my area who are terrible pet owners. Dogs locked in the yard their whole lives, skinny cats. One house seems to get a new kitten every year, and I am not sure where the old ones go. So the chances for being abused are pretty high, if you're a cat around here. 

As for the vet - I think I'll try a mobile vet, and maybe ask him to leave his scanner in the car.


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## JustinieBeanie

Oh that sounds horrible for the local pets in that area. Im disturbed by wondering where those people's cats go. We have a few not so great owners in my neighborhood, although the people I would consider falling into this category are not abusive (that we know of) they are just ignorant about proper pet care. I'm glad you took her in, gave her a lovely home and showed her not all people are bad! It's amazing to watch the transformation in animals that are so scared to animals that aren't. The dog I mentioned who was so scared of people when we first got her she'd run from us become one of the most people loving dogs you'd ever meet. So much so that we were worried that a small, cute dog like her that would go up to pretty much anyone would be an easy target should anyone want to take her for themselves lol!


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## Hallyx

How I admire well-crafted rhymed verse. Creatively formed with established scansion scrupulously adhered to. I'm not missing the point, either. Craftsmanship enhances my appreciation of the form. Sestina, anyone? How about a sweet triolet?


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## rsskylight04

Think I know who'll win the holiday song contest!
Poetry is not dead! 
Thomas Gray is one of my favorites. Along with Edmund Spenser, John Donne, and of course the great Ben Johnson.
Best of luck with your pets and hope you stay away from the hospital for a long long time.

Syracuse University Hall of Languages. c1870


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## Aus

Awh, Justinie - what a lovely story about your little dog. I have always thought adopted pets must know they dodged a potentially awful life, and always seem that little bit more loving for it... 

Hallyx, I am SO inspired now to write a sestina! Omg, or a triolet (I adore those!). I agree about well-crafted rhyming/metered poetry. I have been aspiring to be a poet for nearly ten years now, and I'm still not confident with rhyme.. Maybe it's time we held a little poem contest, next year? Challenge being to write a fishy-inspired triolet or something... I would so throw prizes at something like that. 

Hey rssky, nice to meetcha, and thanks for the well-wishes! Dunno about the contest - if I recover from the holiday food and wine in time, I probably will have a go at it though. I am personally a great fan of Spenser, Johnson and Donne, though Blake was my first love. What a lovely old building, btw. I bet those halls have a few good stories (and poems) to tell... 

Speaking of poems.. I thought I'd diverge a bit from my fishy theme and share some New Year's pieces.


----------



## Aus

*The Passing of the Year*
by Robert W. Service 

My glass is filled, my pipe is lit,
My den is all a cosy glow;
And snug before the fire I sit,
And wait to feel the old year go.
I dedicate to solemn thought
Amid my too-unthinking days,
This sober moment, sadly fraught
With much of blame, with little praise.

Old Year! upon the Stage of Time
You stand to bow your last adieu;
A moment, and the prompter's chime
Will ring the curtain down on you.
Your mien is sad, your step is slow;
You falter as a Sage in pain;
Yet turn, Old Year, before you go,
And face your audience again.

That sphinx-like face, remote, austere,
Let us all read, whate'er the cost:
O Maiden! why that bitter tear?
Is it for dear one you have lost?
Is it for fond illusion gone?
For trusted lover proved untrue?
O sweet girl-face, so sad, so wan
What hath the Old Year meant to you?

And you, O neighbour on my right
So sleek, so prosperously clad!
What see you in that aged wight
That makes your smile so gay and glad?
What opportunity unmissed?
What golden gain, what pride of place?
What splendid hope? O Optimist!
What read you in that withered face?

And You, deep shrinking in the gloom,
What find you in that filmy gaze?
What menace of a tragic doom?
What dark, condemning yesterdays?
What urge to crime, what evil done?
What cold, confronting shape of fear?
O haggard, haunted, hidden One
What see you in the dying year?

And so from face to face I flit,
The countless eyes that stare and stare;
Some are with approbation lit,
And some are shadowed with despair.
Some show a smile and some a frown;
Some joy and hope, some pain and woe:
Enough! Oh, ring the curtain down!
Old weary year! it's time to go.

My pipe is out, my glass is dry;
My fire is almost ashes too;
But once again, before you go,
And I prepare to meet the New:
Old Year! a parting word that's true,
For we've been comrades, you and I --
I thank God for each day of you;
There! bless you now! Old Year, good-bye!




*In Memoriam, [Ring out, wild bells]*
by Lord Alfred Tennyson 

Ring out, wild bells, to the wild sky,
The flying cloud, the frosty light:
The year is dying in the night;
Ring out, wild bells, and let him die.

Ring out the old, ring in the new,
Ring, happy bells, across the snow:
The year is going, let him go;
Ring out the false, ring in the true.

Ring out the grief that saps the mind
For those that here we see no more;
Ring out the feud of rich and poor,
Ring in redress to all mankind.

Ring out a slowly dying cause,
And ancient forms of party strife;
Ring in the nobler modes of life,
With sweeter manners, purer laws.

Ring out the want, the care, the sin,
The faithless coldness of the times;
Ring out, ring out my mournful rhymes
But ring the fuller minstrel in.

Ring out false pride in place and blood,
The civic slander and the spite;
Ring in the love of truth and right,
Ring in the common love of good.

Ring out old shapes of foul disease;
Ring out the narrowing lust of gold;
Ring out the thousand wars of old,
Ring in the thousand years of peace.

Ring in the valiant man and free,
The larger heart, the kindlier hand;
Ring out the darkness of the land,
Ring in the Christ that is to be.



And what would New Year's be, without... 



*Auld Lang Syne*
by Robert Burns 

Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And never brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And auld lang syne!

Chorus: 
For auld lang syne, my dear,
For auld lang syne.
We'll tak a cup o' kindness yet,
For auld lang syne.

And surely ye'll be your pint stowp!
And surely I'll be mine!
And we'll tak a cup o' kindness yet,
For auld lang syne.

Chorus

We twa hae run about the braes,
And pou'd the gowans fine;
But we've wander'd mony a weary fit,
Sin' auld lang syne.

Chorus

We twa hae paidl'd in the burn,
Frae morning sun till dine;
But seas between us braid hae roar'd
Sin' auld lang syne.

Chorus

And there's a hand, my trusty fere!
And gie's a hand o' thine!
And we'll tak a right gude-willie waught,
For auld lang syne.

Chorus: 
For auld lang syne, my dear,
For auld lang syne.
We'll tak a cup o' kindness yet,
For auld lang syne

(I still don't know what "a right gude-willie waught" is, but ohboy did it make my high school poetry class giggle...)


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## Hallyx

Ahhh... Robert W and Bobby. Way to end the year, Aus. May your gude-willie be well-waught.

Speaking of triolets..... They're a cookie. I caught these two without much effort. I may have to write my own fish sestina if I can't find one on here. (He says blithely, as if it were the easiest thing in the world.)


*I wish I were a jelly fish* ~~~G.K. Chesterton

I wish I were a jelly fish
That cannot fall downstairs:
Of all the things I wish to wish
I wish I were a jelly fish
That hasn't any cares,
And doesn't even have to wish
'I wish I were a jelly fish
That cannot fall downstairs.'
~~~G, K, Chesterton

This one may be by someone with the screen-name Supervillegirl

that Monday, They swam through Sam’s oceans
heeding lessons, "Stay far from Light."
By Thursday, foreplay seized notions,
that Monday, they swam through Sam's oceans.
And to the Light of Sam's potions,
the chum bridge seemed to taste so right.
Last Monday, They swam through Sam's oceans
heeding outcome, "Fish die in Light."


----------



## Aus

Heehee, those are lovely! I adore Chesterton. And hey, look, I found a fishy sestina:

*Flounder sestina*
by Stephanie Anderson

The flounder is a cubist fish,
eyes close-set on filet-flat head,
as though a drugged artist, rebelling,
plucked and shoved them together.
Giving the lie to that Disney film,
antithesis of plump and yellow and blue.

In fact, the flounder is rarely blue.
It is a reclusive, sneaky, detective fish,
not flitting natural neon-bright on fickle film.
Rather, eons of Darwinian theory sculpted a head
and mixed browns and greys together
so that it blends with pebbles underfin, rebelling.

That is, if a fish can be seen as rebelling.
Can it really blend with the ocean blue
if it is grey? Perhaps the two together
cause the flounder, awkward fish
to stand out in the water like a bald head
in a homemade high school film.

Or is it my mind, with the perspective of film
and created archetype of rebelling,
that makes the flounder more than a flat head?
I see an odd fish and wonder why it isn’t blue;
I decide that its blending makes it more than a fish,
arrogantly, fruitlessly, bringing it and me together.

Also fish and Picasso together.
If this were some sort of arthouse film
I could insist on a visual metaphor: fish
as artist, fish as me, symbol of my rebelling
tied tight with twine and plopped in the blue
sea, a heavy burden for such a floppy head

because my rounded head wants a thin film
of connection brushed together over everything, rebelling
against the simple life of blue and clear and distinct, of fish.


(you should write one anyway, Hallix.. and so will I! Plus a triolet, when I haven't had quite so much NYE champers.. )


----------



## Hallyx

Not bad. At least she got the line-form correct. I really like the ones in pentameter (olde-stylie). Mine was in pentameter, but the form was flawed. I wonder where it got to.


----------



## Aus

You must find it! Because I want to see it. :B

While we're talking form poems.. and triolets.. I really must share my very most favourite triolet of all time. Actually a double triolet.. but anyways. Here 'tis:

*The Country Wife*

by Dana Gioia



She makes her way through the dark trees
Down to the lake to be alone.
Following their voices on the breeze,
She makes her way. Through the dark trees
The distant stars are all she sees.
They cannot light the way she's gone.
She makes her way through the dark trees
Down to the lake to be alone.

The night reflected on the lake,
The fire of stars changed into water.
She cannot see the winds that break
The night reflected on the lake
But knows they motion for her sake.
These are the choices they have brought her:
The night reflected on the lake,
The fire of stars changed into water.


----------



## summersea

Over the past several days I have read through your entire journal (that should give you a pretty good estimation on the amount of free time I have had while on Christmas Break ;-) ). I have smiled, laughed, and even cried a little with you as I read. 

I just wanted to say that I love your writings and your aqua-scraping has me inspired to do research into NPT tanks. I will have to create my own "dream list" for that tank as it will likely be far into the future. 

I hope to see you post again soon! Happy New Year!


----------



## birdielikestomatoes

Good to see you posting again, Aus. You've actually made me come out of BF hiding just to write this. 

I'm sorry to hear of your losses. It's always hard to lose a pet no matter how furry or scaly they are.  

Those amigurumi are amazing. I've been wanting to get into them for awhile but I just have never had the motivation to start. I have all the supplies and everything. Inspire me?

Tinkerbell is gorgeous. I hate the thought of you losing her as well. But at the same time she does need her shots. It's a tough decision. Let's hope the vet you choose takes pity on her and let's her stay in the loving home she's found.

Lovely poems as usual! Happy New Year. ♥


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## Aus

Thank you Summersea -- and nice to meet you! What's summer hols for, if not slothing about and relaxing, eh? I am glad you spent a portion of yours reading my journal, lol. As for the NPT -- gosh, check OldFishLady and her tanks, she is a fountain of wisdom for NPT's. They really are not that hard, you know, if you start out with the right materials and lots of stem plants (lots!). My own needs an overhaul, that the one with the bajillion trumpet snails in it, so maybe I'll need to make a new wishlist for that!

BLT!!!! Gosh, good to see you (so to speak, ha)! Thank you, and yes, fingers crossed about Tinkerbell. She's really become part of our home now.. I think it's almost a year since I first heard that strange little tink-tink-tink in the yard at night. And I now consider it my personal mission in life to show you the art of amigurumi. 

Your mission for today, should you accept it, is to look up "how to make a magic ring" on youtube. 

No, it's not a Harry Potter thing. :B It's the basic starter stitch for working in the round, for heads and such, so you don't end up with little holey gaps in the middle. 

No, this journal will not self-destruct in 30 seconds. But I might, if I don't get some coffee into me. Let me know when you've perfected the magic ring, and I'll show you some wonderful starter patterns. :>


----------



## Aus

I have decided that my own mission for today will be to attempt to come up with a really pretty pattern for a betta fish.. I have a ton of aqua cotton sitting about doing nothing much, so it'll be a VERY blue fishy, if this work out, ha. I was thinking maybe.. a blue and white marble...


*gets to hookin'*

no not THAT kind of hooking... ;-)


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## rsskylight04

I thought a magic ring could only be made in the fiery pits of Mordor. Jk.


----------



## Aus

Jk? Clearly, you have not witnessed my home, the day after New Years. :shock:


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## birdielikestomatoes

I'll have to look that up for sure! Although, if I started crocheting again I'd probably be tempted to make the scarf that I planned on doing 3 years ago. I even bought the softest wool at the time, and it's gorgeous to boot! It's a soft cream, baby pink, and brown mix. Have I mentioned how wondrously soft it is?

Plus, I have this cute little rabbit pin that I bought recently that would look adorable on the end of a scarf. Hmmm, temptation. 

I hope you guys had a wonderful new years night. I accidentally slept though it. Haha. I was just going to have a nap, honest!


----------



## Aus

Crochet betta update: Body done... and betta fins are incredibly hard to create a pattern for. That is all. 

BLT, you party animal, you. We had a quiet one this year, as we went out the evening before and Irish worked all day, poor thing. Daughter was on the 'net with her bajillion friends from all over the world, and yeah. Once our nice dinner was done, I was watching Being Human episodes and relaxing with a few glasses of champers.. felt like a real luxury-puss, ha. 

That yarn sounds really nice! Go onnnnn, make the scarf... you know you want to. 

I made heaps of scarves this winter past, having some truly lovely lace-weight and 4ply silk and merino yarns laying about, and some patterns inspired by Victorian lacemakers. 

I wish I had abundant monies, sometimes. I really do. I don't want much, I'm not a materialistic person at all... but hoboy, what I wouldn't do for a chance to go shopping for Fyberspates and Handmaiden lace yarns without worrying about the $. Oh, and some fishy accessories too.


----------



## Aus

Well, I had --every intention-- of overhauling my 3g cube today. It's really mucky with old leaves and whatnot, as I've been using it as a grow-out tank for the many baby java ferns my big tank has produced. No stock.. so just water changing out of habit, really and to keep the plants fed. It look like a wreck, which irks me, but the damned arthritis was just too painful today, it makes me feel very weary indeed. It is, however, water change time for the big tank tomorrow and pain or not, that has to be done, so I might do the cube while I'm at it.. 

My crochet has progressed very little, also.. Basically, I've been reading and grouching about being up to doing nothing else. I hope to get at least the tail done by tomorrow. 

But is it a plakat, or a veiltail???


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## Aus

Well, it seems my crochet betta is a plakat. The way I've done the tail is a bit strange, but I like the way it looks. I've done the smaller fins, now for the dorsal and anal fins, a bit more of a challenge. Without them, it looks very much like a peculiar blue and white prawn, haha. I did try to get the body shape as right as I could make it, and I'm not unhappy with the result. I do think, however, that I'll be smoothing things out a great deal in order to make a replicable pattern for this fish, which I will of course share! 

If I don't make too much of a muck of it, that is... :roll:

Well. I have been so very despondent this past year or so (during which we lost my mother, my beloved grandmother, Daughter's best childhood friend via suicide, and all my most beloved fish as well as the two ratty brothers, and I honestly began to feel like some sort of unwitting angel of death-by-association..), I have hardly written at all, let alone bored you all into atoms with blah-blah about my new house, Daughter's doings, Irish and the goggles... (oh dear...) and our various other non-adventures in The House of Geekery and Awesome. (Daughter refuses to own geekery as a subculture, despite my encouragement, and insists she is 'cool' and 'awesome' instead, though we --have-- managed to turn her onto Doctor Who, which everyone knows is the No. 1 gateway drug for geekish behaviour.... Hope springs eternal. One day, she might want me to crochet her a Tardis bedspread. But I am not holding my breath). 

I really like our new house. It's another rambly, bit-run-down, too-much-lawn-to-sensibly-manage-if-you're-Irish-and-terminally-lazy, rooms-we-don't-use-ish, Northern suburbs investment property rental, BUT... it has a lovely sunroom where my big tank lives, and lots of houseplants including some carnivorous plants, which I shall hoot about at length in some other post.. And the loungeroom is hospital green, so with our lovely new orange sofa it's a bit like sitting on the inside of a giant cantaloupe. 

I have tubs and tubs of wonderful yarns, and this new hobby (okay.. obsession.. I _might_ be just a _tad _overly fond of posh expensive yarns for my own good...) has really seen me through what was otherwise a very dark year. 

I find turning to creativity such a healing thing to do. The act of -making- tends to take the edge off the urge to loll about in bed feeling sorry for myself and eating too many sweeties while watching unfeasibly mopey vampire shows and neglecting to clean the fluff out of the corners of things. Most uplifting, and I do hope to make some really lovely dolls in the years to come. 

Now... the goggles. 

Try to imagine here: Ned Kelly (a great big, Viking-bred, beardy Irishman) with a pony tail hanging to the back of his knees, dressed all in black accessorised with some snappy scarlet gardening gloves and a pair of black aviator goggles, pushing a Flymo motorless lawnmower around the yard. 

This, folks, is a weekly occurrence in The House of Geekery and Awesome. 

Or rather, it ought to be but actually _wasn't_ for a few months there, so our grass grew. And grew. Until the cats were lost in it, and the battle-cries of warlike bands of pygmies could be heard from somewhere within. 

I told Irish that I was -seriously- considering replacing him with a goat, and fortunately this appears to have done the trick. But now I have to look at those blasted goggles again, which freak me out a little bit.


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## Aus

Yesterday was water change day for the big tank, and my bristlenoses hate me. They've become very skittish after the move to the big tank. I think it's all the greenery and wood, and they've gone a bit feral, bit call of the wild.. 

They still love me for my zucchini slices, though, so that's something. I suppose. 

Aang is such a funny fish. His fins are so long now (no more fin biting!), I honestly think they'll end up in a knot one day as he turns somersaults trying to catch his pellets. He also sees the tank siphon as a mad wild adventure in the making, and does all he can to stuff himself in front of the sucky bit. I had to use the net to nudge him off, the lil booger. 

I also worked on the cube and flushed it out, tidied some dead leaves. It's a tad messy for now, if very clean, but I do plan to re-scape it soonish so that's okay. I hate seeing it empty. I really do.  

Next will be the 10 gallon. That's being completely gutted on the weekend, as blasted hair algae has strangled everything and it's depressing, and empty and and and... SIGH. Gutting it. Starting again. This time, with those long-armed prawns in mind.  OR maybe a couple of nice something-somethings from Jodi-Lea. IF my next phone bill isn't as dreadful as I think it might be. Anyway, the tank does need a major overhaul and a new light globe, so that's step 1. 

I need to head to the LFS this weekend for some cherry shrimp and maybe a few (hairless!) plants. Some plastic tubing. Filter stuffs for the Eheim. Maybe some clay balls for some riparium planters. NO FISH, however. I swear it! I hate buying fish from there. No more pity-purchases for me!

Most surprisingly, perhaps ... that tiny 1/4 L micro NPT tank I set up all that time ago in the old house is -still going- haha. It lives on my kitchen windowsill, and has all the original plants in. Growth is very slow, I'm supposing because I water change infrequently and it's tiny.. There's a single pond snail in there who gobbles up the algae nicely, and the camboba is really tall now, poking its heads out the water. It needs a few coldwater small species, and I am thinking of raiding a local creek for some, at some point. 

I was staring at our spare room earlier today. Really, it is a perfect fish-room. Just perfect! Pity the cranky old carcass my fish-loving soul happens to inhabit is not presently so keen on the work necessary to the upkeep of a fish room. THOUGH I -am- going to see my doc soon, about some new pain management solutions for the arthritis, at least.

I'm not -that- old, eh, (no really...) just this blasted osteoarthritis I have apparently had for donkey's years is slowly eating away at my sacroiliac joint (right near the base of my spine-ish sort of area) and the effect is like having been kicked in the arse by a rather irate donkey, repeatedly. This on top of other mobility issues. Fun-fun! (not)

ANYway, should I manage to reduce that, I would consider a fish room, which has an awesome window for siphoning water out of onto a bit of garden (or grass, really, the 'garden' part is another thing I wish for, but can't quite manage as things are). And it's got a wooden floor, and it's airy and light but not too much so. AND it's ten steps from the laundry and bathroom, for ease of bucketing water. It's a bit like those fish tanks.. I hate seeing it empty. 

I think I ought to shut up on it, now, before I start looking at tanks on ebay..


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## rsskylight04

A fishroom is a great idea! My oldest daughter just moved out to college and her room is looking mighty tempting. I think its awesome that you do crochet. My wife makes some super warm blankets and scarves from wool yarn. Its a great craft. 
Best of luck to you and your pets!


Lake effect snow, Syracuse, New York.


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## birdielikestomatoes

I think we need some pics of that betta you're crocheting. I'm loving the sound of it. 

Well....I sat down to crochet only to do and say something like this: 










Never did end up getting that first row onto that darn scarf. I'm not giving up on it just yet, I merely need to find the time to sit down and relearn the basics. 

I'm super glad to learn Aang is no longer fin biting. WOOHOO. I'm going to request some pictures of him as well. Mmmhmm.

That sunroom sounds lovely. I'm so super jealous though! I've wanted one for years and years. If you can't care for more fish tanks just fill it up with more plants. You can never have enough plants, I say. 

Hahahahaha, the goggles. I have the most hilarious mental image in my head right now. I can see why you're a bit frightened but at the same time it sounds amazing. 

rsskylight04: Give me some of your snow??? Utah is having a most disturbing snow dry spell. I don't like it. SNOW, GOSH DARN IT.


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## Aus

Thank you, rssky! I am seriously considering a fish-and-crochet room, now, haha. How neat would that be, my two hobbies rolled into one.

BLT -- rofl! That picture! I giggled for ages. And yes, never enough plants.. I have a few now, but I have plans for some more. I found some lovely glass jars the other day - bit pricey, but they're the tall sort with the glass lids.. perfect for odd-shaped carnivorous terrariums. I am very tempted to make a few. Like these ones (the jars are very similar) :


















I have several species of pitcher plant now. Well, really, two species with a couple of variations on each. And two species of sundew.. I fully intend to collect some of the Aussie sundews, they're all very pretty. My favourite though is drosera capensis which never fail to grow and reproduce like guppies on viagra for me. 

I have a tiny mature plant, variety unknown, about the diameter of a milk bottle lid, which has sent out a flower spike of about 7 inches.. most peculiar, and I have no idea what it is other than it's a small sundew species. Very lovely, and I am enjoying the tiny purple flowers. 

Pictures.. well, if I can ever wrestle her phone away from her, I'll use Daughter's most beloved item ever to take a few, as my camera's out of battery and I --always forget-- to buy replacements. Which I shall. One of these days, heh.


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## Aus

*A Very Silly Triolet For Hallyx*
by Aus

They drive me nuts, these fish I keep. 
Collecting like a loony hoarder
isn't sane - and isn't cheap!
They drive me nuts, these fish! I keep
a schedule, which is free of sleep,
to monitor their ways and water. 
They drive me nuts, these fish I keep
collecting, like a loony hoarder!

:shock:


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## birdielikestomatoes

Those jars are gorgeous. I had to look up what a sundew was as I'd never heard of it. All I can say about them is: :O 
They're super unusual and amazing. 

Haha! That's a great triolet. And so, so true.


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## Hallyx

<Applause> Aren't triolets just so much fun. I've never had a poem dedicated to me before. I'm flattered beyond words.

I can't find that blasted sestina. I may have lost it in a computer crash. I hope my friend has a copy. I haven't talked to him in years.

Here's what happens when inspiration concatenates with lack of sleep.

Sleepy Triolet for Aus,
by Hallyx

Asleep upon the top of plant
Anubias or Hornwort, either.
I would wake him, but I can’t.
Asleep upon the top of plant.
The only place where he’s extant
Not in his cave nor bottom neither 
Asleep upon the top of plant
Wisteria, Anacharis, either.


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## Aus

What a lovely, sleepy poem, Hallyx.  

I can so see us playing triolet pong.


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## Hallyx

The next one's going to be a Villanelle.

By the way, I just noticed how you used the trope in two different ways, and punctuated it so as to emphasize the difference. Very crafty.


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## Aus

*I'm Off To bed, Myself*
by Aus

By tank-light's glow and window-moon,
the filter's gentle thrum and bubble
ripples through the quiet room.
By tank-light's glow and window-moon,
slumber's tide will wash in soon,
my dreams silvered as fish. Untroubled
by tank-light's glow, by window-moon,
the filter's gentle thrum and bubble.


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## Aus

OOh a villanelle! Now you're getting fancy.:lol:

Might have to remember to how to write a ghazal. But after sleep! ZzzZZz


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## Hallyx

That is just Aus-some. What a mood. I'm off to Zzzz, myself.

(And you did it again, the broken trope.)


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## Aus

One day, there must exist - a darkly lit bar in a back alley somewhere, which is open only from 11pm- 5am in order to service the needs of despondent poets who can't get their meter quite right, or are attempting sapphics for the first time, or have just read -too- much Plath, or whatever poet-ish miseries poets may nurse during the wee hours when obviously they cannot sleep.

It'll serve drinks like "The Lord Byron" - Aged cherry brandy with a splash of _club_ soda (get it?) and "The Bukowski" which is basically just furniture polish with a decorative umbrella in it. Oh - and absinthe by the pint. 

And it must called: The Broken Trope.

:-D

Yeah.. it's technically not perfect form, but it does give the triolet a little more flexibility (and makes them a little bit easier to write as well). Cheating? Why, yes it is. But then, we poets are a dastardly lot.

I wrote a ghazal quite some time ago, while extremely "inspired" by a quarter of a bottle of vanilla vodka, after talking on the phone to an American friend in the middle of the night. I cannot -believe- I managed to even half-stick to the form (which again is not quite proper, but then after all that vodka, neither was I..) let alone get it --published-- in a poetry magazine. Color me very surprised! Anyways, here 'tis:


*Ghazal for the American*

I live on an island, eighteen hours into your future and upside-down.
This gives me special powers: I can drink vodka upside-down.

Warning: heavy drinking may cause phantoms. Cinematic ones.
In bold American sports cars, burning on highways upside-down.

That's how the dead roll. Like dice, or green numbers. Like cats.
Their logic is internal, peculiar. It only appears to be upside-down.

Like a cat, I observe phantoms. I am, at times, caught staring.
In ceiling-corners, the ghosts of spiders dandle upside-down.

And that's how I roll. Like cars on highways. Empty bottles. Cats.
Eighteen shots makes you a ghost. It turns me upside-down.

I am capsized. Eighteen hours into your future, I am also drunk.
The cat, observing, finds that I no longer have an upside nor a down.


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## Aus

The point of this being.. I intend to try a fish-oriented ghazal, in a bit more of a traditional format. Heh.


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## Aus

Well, my trip to LFS got put off thanks to the heat I was whining about being absent actually showing up and insisting on being a wonderful day to launder some blankets that need doing.... 

Also having a major pain day, and am out of the _good_ pain meds. So instead, I am distracting myself with laundry, making way too many forum posts, and staring at this incredibly cute puppy:


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## Hallyx

G'lord. Hard to believe that's a real live animal. LoL

My enjoyment of your broken tropes was not an admonishment or criticism. In fact I found it original, charming, creative, compelling. It added a frisson of danger, of getting-away-with-it. I thought you did it deliberately as a way of ...uhhh, showing off, of displaying craft. My wife, who appreciates poetry more than I, came undone. It cracked her right up. It just left me giddy. I keep that thing on my desktop and keep reading it over and over.

I liked the ghazal, but I'm not familiar with the form. I need to write one to "get' it.

(Both of us over here know what you mean bout the _good_ pain meds.)


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## Aus

Oh not taken that way at all!

I just found it fun that you noticed, as I'd been doing that so long it sort of comes as a reflex.. and in the place where I cut my poetry teeth, which is famed for being extremely staid and critical, I was something of a bandit (along with a few other ne'er-do-wells) for taking liberties with form. So we were rebuked a lot, but were also the cool kids who smoked up the back of the gym at lunchtime, kind of thing. Haha. Really, we're all dorks. 

The ghazal is a really interesting form, which in its traditional Urdu roots has so many rules it makes my head spin..most of which are not obvious. Bit like the sonnet, only on crack. I'm not sure all those rules make much sense when a ghazal is written in English.. but it's just convoluted enough to appeal to my linguistic OCD. Here's one one of the most famous ones I know, which does follow the traditional form, and you'll see the difference to mine most clearly in the rhyme pattern in the second line of each couplet:

*Even the Rain*
by Agha Shahid Ali 

What will suffice for a true-love knot? Even the rain?
But he has bought grief's lottery, bought even the rain.

"our glosses / wanting in this world" "Can you remember?"
Anyone! "when we thought / the poets taught" even the rain?

After we died--That was it!--God left us in the dark.
And as we forgot the dark, we forgot even the rain.

Drought was over. Where was I? Drinks were on the house.
For mixers, my love, you'd poured--what?--even the rain.

Of this pear-shaped orange's perfumed twist, I will say:
Extract Vermouth from the bergamot, even the rain.

How did the Enemy love you--with earth? air? and fire?
He held just one thing back till he got even: the rain.

This is God's site for a new house of executions?
You swear by the Bible, Despot, even the rain?

After the bones--those flowers--this was found in the urn:
The lost river, ashes from the ghat, even the rain.

What was I to prophesy if not the end of the world?
A salt pillar for the lonely lot, even the rain.

How the air raged, desperate, streaming the earth with flames--
to help burn down my house, Fire sought even the rain.

He would raze the mountains, he would level the waves,
he would, to smooth his epic plot, even the rain.

New York belongs at daybreak to only me, just me--
to make this claim Memory's brought even the rain.

They've found the knife that killed you, but whose prints are these?
No one has such small hands, Shahid, not even the rain.

---

Sigh. So wonderful. Sometimes I wish I'd taken poetry and fishkeeping up much, much sooner in life so I had decades more to enjoy them both than I have had, or will have. 

Hallyx, I'd love to see some of your wife's poetry if she has any she'd not mind sharing? And more of yours, for that matter! Your triolet was most inspiring. 

Today, in a heatwave I have no right to complain about, seeing as only yesterday I was whinging about the lack of summer.. I found myself reading Robert Frost again. And every time I do, I find -another- layer or nuance of meaning in every poem. 

Today, in a fit of pique, I committed a sneaky fish-act, which shall be super-secret for the moment so I do not jinx my self (or the project). Yes, I am a bit superstitious. 

Tomorrow, if I am not too weary after the trip to the LFS, will be groping-for-snails day as I attempt to retrieve as many MTS's as possible from the now defunct dirt tank before I strip it down properly on the weekend. 

I was dead serious about that bar, btw. What a great name for a poet's pub! I wasn't, however, terribly serious about the floor-polish cocktail with the umbrella in. :lol:


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## BettaLover1313

Just finished reading your entire journal, and I must say that it's been a real treat! Your writing style is a pleasure to read, not to mention the humor and how well you convey emotions, not to mention the lovely additions of poetry and other forms of art! I've been meaning to read your journal for quite some time now, and I'm glad I finally had the chance to do so.


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## Aus

Well, I am very flattered, thank you! :-D

Daughter has finally decided that living in the manner of a mushroom in her dark cave of a bedroom is not a valid lifestyle choice and has ventured out for the day into the city, with a friend. It seems a bit weird to be shoving a teenager out the door, rather than encouraging one to stay at home, lol.. but she's a bit of a homebody atm, and that's okay. Just - going out once in a while to do normal teenage things is okay too!

So, I have found that the result of me whining about the lack of summer is that summer will then appear suddenly, and with its best heatwave on. :\

Once more, I am dodging going out in it, as this morning an -enormous- parcel arrived from ebay, full of a ton of lovely cottons, actually far more than I think I paid for.. so ofc, I had to sort through them, muttering to myself like Gollum (precioussssss!) and by the time I'd done that it was already too hot for me to want to be going to the LFS. 

The cottons are -gorgeous- colours and nice and soft, pure cotton, and there's a few fancy yarns thrown in as well. Squeee!

(and this cost me $30 with postage.. preciousssssss!)


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## Kali

Wow. Can I just say I've absolutely loved reading through your entire journal today (yep, started it this morning). I just couldn't put the ipad down! I laughed (and wanted to cry) out loud quite a few times, and have loved all the poems you've shared, fishy or otherwise. 

You really are an inspiration, going from being a total betta beginner to someone who has created some amazing NPTs. Shows maybe I could do it after all. 

Finally, I really do hope you write your novel, and you can put me down for one copy, I'll pay extra if you sign it


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## Aus

Thank you, Kali.  Being someone's inspiration (for anything, really) is an honour. I hope you do go on to make some NPT's, they are very rewarding. 

Well, it's 6.30 am and I haven't slept yet.. What I thought was a mosquito bite has turned into the telltale signs of yet another subcutaneous infection. I am pretty sure I'll be off to hospital today, for some intravenous meds. 

Which wouldn't be so bad if I only had easy-to-get-to veins. Whatever horrid little karmic despot is in charge of my fate must have rubbed its nasty paws together with glee, as it assigned me not only a lifelong illness requiring lots of needles, but a vascular system so exceedingly deep-set under my skin that nurses may as well hang me on the back of a door, draw a few strategic rings on me and try to hit the middle of them by chucking IV needles from the other end of the room. 

At least that way, their inability to hit a vein in under 20 tries would be entertaining for -somebody-. 

Anyway, if I go missing again, that's where I'll be. Hopefully not, and if so, hopefully home soon after. I plan to pack some toiletries and a bag of crochet projects, for just-in-case.

In the spirit of it all, here's my favourite mopey hospital poem:

*Tulips *
By Sylvia Plath


The tulips are too excitable, it is winter here. 
Look how white everything is, how quiet, how snowed-in. 
I am learning peacefulness, lying by myself quietly 
As the light lies on these white walls, this bed, these hands. 
I am nobody; I have nothing to do with explosions. 
I have given my name and my day-clothes up to the nurses 
And my history to the anesthetist and my body to surgeons. 

They have propped my head between the pillow and the sheet-cuff 
Like an eye between two white lids that will not shut. 
Stupid pupil, it has to take everything in. 
The nurses pass and pass, they are no trouble, 
They pass the way gulls pass inland in their white caps, 
Doing things with their hands, one just the same as another, 
So it is impossible to tell how many there are. 

My body is a pebble to them, they tend it as water 
Tends to the pebbles it must run over, smoothing them gently. 
They bring me numbness in their bright needles, they bring me sleep. 
Now I have lost myself I am sick of baggage—— 
My patent leather overnight case like a black pillbox, 
My husband and child smiling out of the family photo; 
Their smiles catch onto my skin, little smiling hooks. 

I have let things slip, a thirty-year-old cargo boat 
stubbornly hanging on to my name and address. 
They have swabbed me clear of my loving associations. 
Scared and bare on the green plastic-pillowed trolley 
I watched my teaset, my bureaus of linen, my books 
Sink out of sight, and the water went over my head. 
I am a nun now, I have never been so pure. 

I didn’t want any flowers, I only wanted 
To lie with my hands turned up and be utterly empty. 
How free it is, you have no idea how free—— 
The peacefulness is so big it dazes you, 
And it asks nothing, a name tag, a few trinkets. 
It is what the dead close on, finally; I imagine them 
Shutting their mouths on it, like a Communion tablet. 

The tulips are too red in the first place, they hurt me. 
Even through the gift paper I could hear them breathe 
Lightly, through their white swaddlings, like an awful baby. 
Their redness talks to my wound, it corresponds. 
They are subtle : they seem to float, though they weigh me down, 
Upsetting me with their sudden tongues and their color, 
A dozen red lead sinkers round my neck. 

Nobody watched me before, now I am watched. 
The tulips turn to me, and the window behind me 
Where once a day the light slowly widens and slowly thins, 
And I see myself, flat, ridiculous, a cut-paper shadow 
Between the eye of the sun and the eyes of the tulips, 
And I have no face, I have wanted to efface myself. 
The vivid tulips eat my oxygen. 

Before they came the air was calm enough, 
Coming and going, breath by breath, without any fuss. 
Then the tulips filled it up like a loud noise. 
Now the air snags and eddies round them the way a river 
Snags and eddies round a sunken rust-red engine. 
They concentrate my attention, that was happy 
Playing and resting without committing itself. 

The walls, also, seem to be warming themselves. 
The tulips should be behind bars like dangerous animals; 
They are opening like the mouth of some great African cat, 
And I am aware of my heart: it opens and closes 
Its bowl of red blooms out of sheer love of me. 
The water I taste is warm and salt, like the sea, 
And comes from a country far away as health.


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## summersea

Oh no! Hope you don't end up at the hospital but if you do I wih you a speedy recovery!! Crochet a few bettas - and take pics so we can see!!


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## BettaLover1313

I'm going to have to start reading some of Sylvia Path.

I hope you feel better and don't have to stay at the hospital!


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## Kali

Sending you good healing vibes, I hope you feel better soon and manage to avoid the hospital/IV dartboard


----------



## Aus

Thanks all, for well-wishes. I'm on pill-variety antibiotics (the kind they give to people with Legionnaire's disease.. this is srs meds, lol) which appear to be working as the swelling in my arm has gone down a bit. 

Not completely out of the woods yet, but it's looking hopeful that an extended stay in the hosp. + dartboard impressions can be avoided. 

Irish is so sweet, he took the day off work to make sure I was okay and run errands if I need anything. Best. Flatmate. Evar.

BL1313, there's a link a few pages back to a Plath website where they have an almost complete collection. She really is worth reading.


----------



## BettaLover1313

I shall have to go back through and find the link then!

I'm glad that you have a kind flatmate like, Irish. He sounds like a really good friend.


----------



## summersea

Yay for no hospital visits! Irish is awesome! I am so glad you have a flat mate like that! Must make you feel pretty good too! Here is to a speedy recovery!


----------



## rsskylight04

Healing and bodily health vvvvvvvv


----------



## Aus

I solemnly vow to -never- complain about a lack of summer again.. 


Phew! 4-5 days of over-40C heat this week.. I've been struggling to keep up with caring for the tanks and animals and complainy teenagers, let alone myself. Thank goodness for icy poles (no, I didn't put any in the tanks, but the ratty loves them) and cool showers, is all I can say. 

As the heat has utterly addled my ability to be truly creative, all dolls have been on hold and I've instead used up a few fancy yarns to make some 'interesting' scarves (well, I think they're nice... lol) and work on some doll clothes, which are a lot less demanding than the actual dolls. 

Been watching a stack of Doctor Who episodes, too, in preparation for the NEW DOCTOR (always so exciting...). And thus, drooling over Jack Harkness, of course. 

And -- Sherlock-- omg, I adore that series. I just really do. Aside from the above bit of geekout fangirling, there's no other show I love more right now. Benedict Cumberbatch? Yes, please. What an unlikely heart-throb he is. And, just because ...











SIGH. 

Okay. Fish... I've decided the fish/craft room is an excellent idea, and shall be beginning to reorganise the spare room for that purpose. 

But what I want to do is put a fold-put single bed/chair in there, for if we have a houseguest. 

Cuz then I can say things like, ".. he's sleepin' wit' da fishes" -- and mean it. :-D


----------



## LittleBettaFish

It's been so hot these past few days. I was watching the news tonight and they said the coolest we got last night was about 30 degrees. I went out early (about 7am) to water the poor garden and it was already hot enough that I was sweating by the time I'd finished. 

We got thunder here this afternoon but no rain or lightning. Such weird weather. 

I can't wait for the new Dr Who. I didn't really like Matt Smith, but it was River Song that really put me off. I felt that she was written to almost be 'practically perfect in every way'. Everyone keeps going on about how old the new Dr is, but I think an older Dr again will be good. Might bring some gravity to the role. I am sick of storylines based around the Dr falling in love with his companions or being the subject of their adoration. It's why I liked Donna Noble. 

I heard they were looking at doing mandatory power cuts in Victoria. I hope they don't because my poor goldfish are not going to be happy with their filters off.


----------



## Kali

I was literally about to post the following:

"Well Aus you got the summer you were after, now MAKE IT STAAAAHHHP!!!!!"

It's quite horrible, yes? First time the tropical fish tank is cooler than the air outside. Tonight is becoming nice (I'm sitting outside enjoying the 30 degree air I would have complained about a month ago), but I suspect tomorrow summer will be back with a vengeance. 44 I believe. 

I blame you Aus, I really do. 

Btw glad to hear you are still hospital free, and yes, yes Benedict does something to female loins that science itself cannot explain. And season 3 shall be epic.


----------



## Kali

Also Little Betta Fish, I'm quite excited about the new doctor. Everyone hates on the new doctors because they love the previous one, but it only takes a few episodes before they love the new one, and the next one becomes fair game


----------



## Hallyx

44*C = 114*F !!! Are you kidding? I've been in 116* in the Imperial Valley of California. Fortunately with access to Air-conditioning. And never day-after-day. It was still quite literally shocking.

Speaking of the Donna Noble character, has anyone seen the Catherine Tate show? That is one amazingly talented lady, if somewhat bawdily demented. 

Had to reduce Sat TV so won't get to enjoy the new Dr. Who. Fortunately Sherlock is a PBS (Public Broadcasting System) offering. We get that and wouldn't miss it.

And, speaking of geniuses --- and Dr.Who and Sherlock --- Steven Moffat is in a class of his own.


----------



## Aus

Thank you, Hallyx, for the wonderful sestina in my mailbox, I really enjoyed it. 

And Moffat sure is a talented man! Nope, haven't seen Catherine Tate's show but wouldn't mind checking it out. 

LOL, Kali.. you should hear Irish cussing at me for pissing the weather fairies off again. He commented last year that it only rains when I plan to go somewhere, or he has to go to the shop because I need something for the kitchen.. and I told him that at some point in my life, I must have annoyed the weather fairies, as even in college my friends refused to go out with me.. every time I set foot out the door it rained. Every single time. For about six months. HA. So you see, it really is all my fault. 

I've watched all of season 3 Sherlock.. and it IS epic. O-m-g-epic. The wedding episode's probably my favourite of all the series so far. Spoilers! Not really. 

LBF, I am SO looking forward to Peter Capaldi's take on the character, for much the same reasons (though David Tennant I think, is quite worth a snog and I liked the Rose Tyler storyline for the most part, that being really the first proper 'romance' in the series..). I get a bit irritated at the teeny fans crying about the new Doctor not being 'hot'.. pfft, wannabes!

I was actually watching the Donna Noble episodes this past few days, and I agree she was a breath of fresh air after mopey Martha, whom I should like to have seen punted off the Tardis mid-vortex. 

*The Doctor:* The last time, with Martha, it got complicated. And that was all my fault. I just want a mate.

*Donna Noble* (insert best expression ever here): You just want to _mate_?

*The Doctor:* I just want *a* mate!

*Donna Noble:* You're not matin' with me, sunshine!

*The Doctor:* A mate! I want *a* mate!

*Donna Noble:* Well, just as well, because I'm not having any of that nonsense!

LOL!

I'm really hoping they don't do power cuts round here, as I will surely perish in the heat without at least a fan on.. Well, at least it isn't happening in winter, I'd be in utter panic, then!


eta: My biggest geekwish this year is to see a Doctor Who spin-off a la Torchwood, only with Madame Vastra, Jenny Flint and Strax....


----------



## BettaLover1313

Yay! More Doctor Who fans to talk with! I'm still catching up (so behind-curse my friends for getting me into the show so late in the series!) I just started watching the episodes with Donna, and I loved that scene so much, Aus! I have a feeling Donna will be my favorite companion.


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## rsskylight04

Don't complain about being too hot! Its been below 0°F. for a total of 7 days here. Middle of winter up here on the top half of the world. 
Just kidding ...I think I can handle extreme cold much better than extreme heat, stay safe and keep your fish cool!


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## birdielikestomatoes

Doctor Who ♥ I still haven't watched the Time of the Doctor yet. I haven't been in the mood for sobbing. Plus I'm still mourning David Tennant's doctor. I miss hiiimmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. He was my first.

I'll be glad to be rid of Clara though! Something about her just made me irrationally (or maybe not) annoyed. 

I haven't looked up who the next Doctor is either. I don't want to know yet! 

Donna was amazing.


----------



## Aus

SQUEE. More Whovians! 

I don't mind Clara really, BLT, but Martha annoyed the heck out of me! I adore David Tennant in general (have you seen Broadchurch? Gloomy.. but Tennant is brilliant!) and he's my favourite 'new' Doctor by far. And I think Donna's my favourite companion, aside from Sarah Jane Smith, BL1313. Absolutely hysterical expressions she's got - and that voice! 

My first Doctor was John Pertwee (gosh, showing my age.. I was quite little though, lol..) and I adored him, but MY Doctor is really Tom Baker. I just dl'd his entire 6 seasons and plan to spend many an evening crocheting and reminiscing.. 

Rssky... honestly, though this little heatwave is truly ridiculous (114F worth of ridiculous today..) I really rather like living in a place where it only snows once every 100 years or so... I have never even seen proper snow in person, but I did toboggan through snirt once .. BRRR! I think I would perish in those deep frozen American winters. 

Well, I just did a smallish water change on the big tank, worrying about the buildup of heat in the water. I decided on a whim to remove the tube that funnels the bubbles from the sponge filter to the very top of the water.. and now Aang is having a total blast bubble-surfing like a maniac. I swear, one day he is going to end up in the siphon, I had to nudge him off it -again- silly thing. 

Irish stayed him again today to fetch and carry and generally make sure I'm okay in this heat. Bless him.. I'm crocheting him a plague doctor hand puppet by way of thanks. 

Daughter has been experimenting with the amount of time it takes to melt a block of butter on the concrete out the back. 14 mins was the record so far, before it was reduced to a puddle of grease. Next, she's going to try to cook an egg. I'm half tempted to suggest she add a bit of bacon to that, lol.. 

Now, off to fill the ice trays and watch more Tardis-based shenanigans.


----------



## LittleBettaFish

My mum had this TV on wheels that had no remote, was covered in this fake wood, had antenna made out of meccano pieces and that was about a hundred years old. I had it in my bedroom back in high school and that was when I actually saw my first episode of Dr Who. They were re-runs of the Tom Baker era doctor and I used to sit there and watch it every night for ages until the poor TV died during one episode haha. 

Snow is overrated. We went to Mt Baw Baw I think and it was fun for all of two seconds. I can't imagine having a whole winter of the snow. Seems like you'd hardly be able to do anything at all outside. 

I am like a lizard and love hot weather. But this whole week has just been a little extreme. We have a tree where the branches touch the tin roof and they are all burnt to a crisp. I reckon you could definitely fry an egg up there as it gets the full afternoon sun.


----------



## Aus

Ahaha, I had a TV like that in college.. we had terrible reception, and as I tend to channel static electricity like a lightning rod, the TV was only ever 100% clear when I held the aerial up high while standing in the entrance hall.

So I that's how I watched the whole Young Ones series.. every week, there I was, watching it sideways, with my head poking around the corner from the living room, aerial in hand, and being hollered at by a bunch of art and humanities students every time I got an itchy nose, or a cramp. 

I made an order from Aquagreen today.. some new plants, more Darwin shrimp and a couple of long-armed river prawns, finally! So excited to get those... and they'll probably be sent on Monday, so I have all weekend to get their tank properly sorted. 

I must once more extol the virtues of Darwin shrimp... my one remaining fellow is about 1.5 cm now, with a body depth of about .5.. (huge!) and takes no guff from any betta. It no longer fears even me, lol, and has occasionally landed on my hand while I'm fiddling with the tank. They also change colour according to their surrounds, being almost snow white in the old fish-bucket, and a lovely golden brown now, from being in riversand and wood. 

I believe all the rest perished of old age - they were pretty large, not as large as this last one, but well and truly mature a year ago. There was one much smaller shrimp, and I think this bloke might be that little one, grown up. 

What a pity they're so apparently hard to breed. I am very tempted to give it a shot, however, having a little spare tank for the berried females (they berry easily enough, but the eggs don't hatch..) which I can try to make a bit brackish and see what happens. Myabe Dave from Aquagreen can help me out a bit, there. 

Plants on order are bacopa, a red lily, some Coomali Creek hairgrass (for the prawn tank) and some water sprite. 

Also, a Waterhouse snail for the kitchen cube, which is now my java fern factory, and gets a bit algae-ish time to time. I love those, too. 

Somebody in the US really needs to get these species of shrimp and snail going over there.. they're brilliant, and a bit exotic, and not really invasive or anything. Best algae-removers I have ever come across!


----------



## Hallyx

I snaffled this from a political discussion site I'm onto. I especially like the mixed meter and the relentless rhyme scheme with "Shakespeare.".

Bloody Bill
~David Smith-White

I blame it all on bloody Bill Shakespeare.
I blame it all on the plays of the Bard.
No counterfeit feelings are faked there.
True love, they teach, can be hard.

I blame it all on bloody Bill Shakespeare,
And the furious battles of yore.
The glory encrusted and caked there,
Stain the pages of history with gore.

I could give you a pamphlet,
On the pride of Prince Hamlet,
And the bodies that litter the stage.
In his testosterone funk, this prototype punk,
Junked the state, his family, the age.

I blame it all on bloody Bill Shakespeare.
I blame it all on plays like Othello.
The depiction of evil it makes there:
All green-eyed monsters are yellow!

I blame it all on bloody Bill Shakespeare.
On plays like A Winter's Tale.
The exile of loved ones forsaken there,
Pay their tribute to the jealous male.

I can give you a journal, of Sonnets eternal,
Of horizons receding, and the briefness of life.
You too can go crazy in pursuit of dark ladies,
And that handsome young man,
That might be a wife!

I blame it all on bloody Bill Shakespeare,
And the wisdom that marks the Fool.
On the hubris and folly of King Lear,
Who was vain, mean-spirited, and cruel.

I blame it all on bloody Bill Shakespeare,
Like a Timon that curses the world.
That suffers not one even break there,
And remains, at the end, unfulfilled.

I could give you a dossier, on ******* and Portia,
And the fixed compound interest on flesh.
With the merchant's resurgence,
There's the moral detergent,
And the scour of satire and jest.

I blame it all on bloody Bill Shakespeare.
On plays like Richard the Third.
The knowing self-hatred displayed there,
Resolving in murder absurd.

I blame it all on bloody Bill Shakespeare.
I blame it all on plays like Macbeth.
The fate of great kingdoms are staked there;
On domestic ambitions and death.

So why should it please ya, to see Julius Caesar,
A victim of noble betrayal?
With true friends like Brutus,
To help execute us,
What other excuses to fail?

I blame it all on bloody Bill Shakespeare.
I blame it all on the plays of the Bard.
This pain in the heart, how it aches there;
One more star-crossed lover is scarred.

Oh yeah, and speaking (however peripherally) of Hamlet. David Tenant's Hamlet is great fun and well-done. That is his true metier.


----------



## Aus

Ahaha - I loved "moral detergent"! Thank you, Hallyx, I so enjoy people sharing poems with me.

I have not yet seen Tennant in Hamlet... for shame! I really must do so.


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## logisticsguy

What an enjoyable read your journal is Aus! We have seen a tiny bit of TV coverage about fires in Australia. +44 OMG We would melt in a heat like that. If it hits +28 here people freak out complaining about the heat.


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## Hallyx

While I'm ego-tripping in your journal, I thought I'd direct you to this post (rather than take up your space with it.) and the associated thread, for those unfamiliar with it.

http://www.tropicalfishkeeping.com/lounge/english-she-spoke-110810/page4/


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## rsskylight04

Hallyx said:


> While I'm ego-tripping in your journal, I thought I'd direct you to this post (rather than take up your space with it.) and the associated thread, for those unfamiliar with it.
> 
> http://www.tropicalfishkeeping.com/lounge/english-she-spoke-110810/page4/


I've been meaning to post to this thread for a long time. Its hillarious!


----------



## Aus

LOL, I love that thread!

And cheers, CJ, glad you enjoyed reading. Yup, the heat was a bit much but we only get a few days like that per year. It's really rather clement down here in Melbourne, mid-winter and the end of summer always being a bit dramatic and miserable. 

Ohey people, I just have to show you the CUTE. AWH! Look at the nose. 










I ordered 8 of these - Darwin Red-nosed shrimp. Just adorable, and apparently every bit as good at nomming algae as the regular Darwin shrimp, with the added bonus of being able to breed in fresh water. 

I want to cuddle them. But.. yeah, won't. :-D

I was emailing Dave from Aquagreen, and he said he was planning to go feral betta-hunting! Apparently there's been feral bettas sighted in a few dams up there in the NT so Dave and some bigwig from the University are going to check them out. Dave has plans for maybe breeding them for study. I want some, as how hardy and interesting would they be? I'm not sure he'll ever sell any but I thought it worth an ask.

Here's one more dose of cute, just for the halibut.


----------



## Aus

And now it's time for some carnivorous love:











So, it turns out my tiny mystery plant is drosera spatulata, probably a native variety. Its flower stem finally ended up being almost 7 inches long! Awesome effort, I think, for a plant with diameter of not much more than an inch.

Here's a piccy of the species, a bit bigger than life size.










It;s been a bumpy ride for the occupants of the sunroom's carnivorous corner this week. The extreme heat seems to have pushed all the sundews into flowering, while the pitcher plants were utterly horrified, and lost a lot leaves -- which I am furious about, as one of them had just gotten HUGE and looked very impressive indeed. 

Now, not so impressive.  They really do not like having warm roots, and picked up a lot after I cooled the bottoms of their pots with some slightly refrigerated water. But too late to avoid the damage, sadly. Ah, well, I'll know better next year.

I'm also setting up some sort of rain collection device at some point, as they don't cope well with tap water and prefer rain. I'm making do with distilled, but it's a bit impractical for me to be lumping big plastic bottles home from the shops on the bus. Rainbarrels, ftw. 

So far, I have sarracenia purpurea, s. leucophylla (very pretty, see below) and plain old s. flava, which I really like as it gets so tall. 










^ Leucophylla, so pretty. Mine's not as dark and contrast-y as that, it's more pinkish.


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## summersea

I love the shrimps you are getting! So cute! I wish the LFS here had such varieties of shrimp for sale. As is I will be lucky to get ghost shrimp for my NPT. Would have preferred something a bit more "fun" like your Darwins! I can't wait to see more pics when yours come in!


----------



## BettaLover1313

Love your plants! Oooh they're so pretty! Those little shrimp are too cute as well!


----------



## Hallyx

We have the somewhat rare Darlingtonia pitcher plants (aka Cobra lilly) just down the road from us. Not supposed to pick them. I just found out they'll grow from seed, but they're hard to raise. Cobra Lily Darlingtonia californica care, Carnivorous Plants


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## rsskylight04

Hallyx said:


> We have the somewhat rare Darlingtonia pitcher plants (aka Cobra lilly) just down the road from us. Not supposed to pick them. I just found out they'll grow from seed, but they're hard to raise. Cobra Lily Darlingtonia californica care, Carnivorous Plants


We also have rare pitcher plants growing wild in a few wildlife managment areas near syracuse. Beautiful plants, but numbers declining because people pick them or try to transplant into home gardens or pots.


----------



## Aus

Ooh, wild cobra lilies! And pitchers! I wish I was still able to go swamp-tromping, we have some interesting plants here, too... 

It's a shame when people take protected species from the wild, with no license, and no idea how to care for them... We have a tiny, rare orchid here, very beautiful, which is seriously endangered because its habitat is all developed, and in the few places it still grows so many people remove them.

http://www.viridans.com/RAREPL/beautiful.htm

Many years ago now, I was on a friend's property in the hills and marvelled at a stand of these flowers, hundreds of them. The owners were very concerned with conserving it, so hopefully it still has a few places to grow that are safe.

I dread to think how many not-so-pretty or very small species have gone extinct thanks to land development and such.


----------



## LittleBettaFish

Yeah I think if you are going to illegally remove something whether it be flora or fauna please at least know how to look after it so that you then just don't go and kill it!

My nan and pa have property up in Kinglake that is made up of almost entirely virgin bush (meaning I don't think it's ever been cleared or touched in places). It's amazing the breadth of plant and animal species you can see on only a few acres of their property, and how easy it would be to lose the less attractive or easily overlooked of these.

When one day I have my own house (or more likely my bungalow on my mum's property), I want to have a strictly native garden. Everyone always thinks natives are boring and ugly but there are some really beautiful plants out there and the wildlife love them.


----------



## Aus

I used to have family up that way, too. Lovely area. 

And yep, LBF, I agree with everything you've said there. I often wonder, as I am pulling weeds from my driveway (some are very tiny, and actually quite pretty. I replant them in nooks in the garden, where I can..) how many native plants I'm unwittingly destroying in the process. 

As the orchid site said, it's the pretty one which get the most resources, but there's many other endangered things most people are never even aware of.. 


A few minor updates --- my shrimps and things ought to be here by early next week. YAY! 

I am pondering a pair of Australian giant land snails. Just because. Awh, giant snails.

Dave from Aquagreen went feral betta hunting after the storm. He got about 80 out of a pond... all plakats, males are a nice turquoise and there's some blues, from what I saw. 

Dave plans to chuck 'em in a breeding pond then apply for a license extension so he can sell me a pair, ahaha. Do want! I'd like to study them a bit. 

Interestingly, it seems this large population of males and females all live together quite happily. Maybe the typical splendens aggression gets lost in a highly planted environment, where everyone has room and a lot of places to hide. Next we speak, I will ask if I can share the pictures. 

My bristlenoses are SO ADORABLE. I am ever so fond of them and their funny ways. My albino is much more friendly than the spotted one. 

Next week will be *finally taking pictures* week!!


----------



## Aus

Yay! Plants and inverts all arrived safe and well. Dave is awesome, I'm happy as always with Aquagreen. 

OMG the long-armed prawns are --so-- amazing! But more about those later. 

So I have five Darwin shrimp now, and about a dozen or more red-nosed shrimp (including one mature, berried female!) shrimping about in the very planty indeed 3ft tank. The waterhouse snails are in there too, and loving it, they have not quit moving since they went in. 

So here's a recap of current stock and plants in the 3ft, keeping in mind this will need revising as I shuffle stuff about.. 

1 betta, marble cello DT
2 young bristlenoses
12+ red-nosed shrimp (mostly immature)
5 Darwin algae shrimp 
2 waterhouse snails (large)
12+ Malaysian trumpet snails
about a million pond snails (cull pending...)

2 Malaysian red lilies
1 ton of java fern, many pups (will be sent out soon, sharing is awesome)
LOTS of peacock moss
LOTS of java moss
2 huge bunches of camboba
1 large bunch of Coomali Creek hairgrass (I love this plant so much)
20 chain sword plants (these will be going to another tank soon)
5+ anubias plants
various crypts
some water lettuce (will go to another tank)

... I am sure I have forgotten stuff. But that's about it. 


I -do- have some pics, but waiting for Daughter to put them on my puter. 

Long-armed river prawns! They are awesome! And currently in a smaller tank, kind of cramped but happy, until I finish fidgeting with their home tank. I get the feeling they -hate- being disturbed, so I thought that was better than putting up with my constant fidgeting.. 

I have two big ones (and boy, they're big!) and two smaller ones. They are highly aggressive and hungry all the time! They hide a lot, but the minute food goes in? They are all over it. 

They all hated me on sight, except one of the smaller ones, whom I have named Daisy.  Daisy comes out of the woodwork (literally) when I gently tap the tank and waves her prawny arms at me. SO CUTE. Though she probably just wants to chew my nose off, lol. 

I cannot -wait- to get them settled in the home tank. It will need several hides, as I think they're quite territorial and aggressive. Lots of plants!


----------



## cheekysquirrel

Just read through this journal! I like the way you write. It's clever, but not intimidatingly so.
I'm very (belatedly) sorry to hear about the loss of your fishies and ratties :-( I've not had a fish-loss yet, but I am very worried about how I'll feel when it does happen. I had pet rats when I was a teen, about ten years ago now. Scabbers and Bart. Scabbers was quite ill from the start, wheezy and suffering blood noses, but he was so very sweet and cuddly. He passed after about a year, we believe he had a heart condition. Bart passed a year after that, old age, while I was cuddling him. I empathise with your pain :-(

Also, I LOVE crochet! I'd love to see your betta :-D I crocheted some Pokemon as gifts over Christmas, and I've got a pattern for a bilby for the kiddies this Easter.

Doctor Who! Yay! Ten is my Doctor, though I only started watching a year and a half ago  I thought Matt Smith was wonderful, for what he was given to work with- partner and I both feel it has gone downhill a bit since the departure of Russell T Davies. This is of course a personal opinion. I look forward to seeing where it will go from here.

I hope you are feeling well! I can't imagine how it would be to have ongoing health problems, my medication-induced issues are hard enough :-/


----------



## Aus

Cheekysquirrel, glad you've enjoyed the journal! Lovely to meet another Aussie. Yay, crochet!! And yes, thanks, feeling a bit better at the moment, as our current heatwave here is in remission for a day or two, so at least sleeping's on the agenda again! 

Well, here's some Very Exciting News. It appears the middle-sized prawn is berried!!!! I thought she looked a bit fat, ha. She appears to be hanging out high in the tank's plants a lot, which none of the others are doing, and definitely is carrying some eggs. I think I will leave her on her own in the smaller tank, then. And with a bit of luck, I'll have some baby prawns! 

Just some interesting notes on the macrobrachium (long-armed river prawn) in general...

The species I have is Macrobrachium handschini, which is the smallest river prawn species, and grows to a maximum of about 3-4 inches. There's a lot of other species - some of them grow HUGE. I mean, scary big. The length of your forearm big.. Considering that I find my wee little ones a bit unnerving at times, I cannot imagine how creepy (and adorable.. but creepy!) the really big ones must look as they crawl about or pop out of their hidey spots.

They don't like slow-flowing or still water, so I've turned up the flow rate up on the small tank. They sure look a lot happier now I've done that. 

They are pretty much omnivores, but require a deal of protein.. in a mixed tank, this will often be provided by smaller fish, snails or leftover food. They'll also eat leftover fishfood, and mine are eating a mix of algae wafers and fish pellets right now. I also dropped a couple of large pond snails in -- and I am pretty sure they became supper for somebody. I am picking them up some feeder guppies soon, as well.

The 10 gallon is about the right size for a pair/trio (I have four.. I think they'll be ok, I have a lot of plants!).. They are highly territorial and often argue with each other. I haven't seen any damage yet, though.

Pics of them are almost impossible to get in their current set-up, as it's -all- hidey spaces and plants. But hopefully very shortly I'll have the tank the way I want it, and can coax them out for a clear shot... They are getting more relaxed every day with my visits and general fussing. Sometimes, they'll actually pop up when they feel me walking toward the tank. They're -very- sensitive to floor vibration/movement and must have very good eyesight. Anyway, they are getting used to the idea that they'll get fed, not -become- food, ha, which is nice.


----------



## Aus

While I am a bit invert-obsessed, I'll be posting a few invertebrate poems, for a change. Sadly, many involve the eating of said inverts.. but not all of them, thank goodness. Here's a nice one (though eating is implied!) which I found just today:


*Tiny Little Shrimp*
By Lisa Jarnot

Up out out of the despair of night 
the blue shrimp swaying to the 
sound of drums, the blue night 
swaying to the shrimp light guns, 
the gun shrimp hunting in the 
village fens, the village fens of 
floating shrimp, the foliage of 
smoking tides, the shrimp boats 
amber in the glow, the work boots 
suited with the boats, the shrimp 
boats hollow filled with fish, 
elastic glowing in the mist and 
dressed in bins of shrimp.


----------



## Hallyx

See the "Badger of the Sea" thread in the lounge for my kind of invert.

Though, i must admit, those long-nosed jobbies are a hoot.


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## Aus

OMG! I just adore mantis shrimp. My brother in law had one, some years ago.. He was worried about it cracking his tank, as it was a hitch-hiker in some live coral and he hadn't planned on it, lol. 

They've actually tempted me to want to try a salt tank, just so I can have one.. Are the ones in the pics actually yours, Hallyx? if so, I am extremely envious! (of both shrimp and photography skills!)


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## Hallyx

No, not mine. But, like you, I could be tempted to set up a small reef just to keep a couple pair....and maybe one of those Mandarin Goby (which are small enough to be expensive shrimp food).

My wife left those Mantis pics and others on the desktop for me. I was so gobsmacked, I just had to share.

(_Gobsmacked_ didn't even noodge my spellchecker. Haha.,,. but it doesn't know _noodge_.)


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## Aus

Wow, do I have a lot of catching up to do! So much to tell! I might need a couple of days to get it all down, lol. Here's what I'm excited about today:

My 3 foot tank has become about as low-tech, low-light as it gets -- filtered sunlight, no electric light at all. And it's a jungle! Full of happy plants and fish and algae-munching critters. I'm a huge fan of low-tech/light setups, I guess I'm just trying to push the boundary of how low that tech can get and still support a healthy tank. So far, so good!

And keeping Aang and the Bristlenoses (and shrimps) company now is a school of White Cloud Mountain minnows. Peaceful fish, my ass! All they do is argue, but it's very entertaining. And breed! Fortunately, they're nasty little cannibals who like to much their own young, so I only get about 1-2 babies per hatching. I have so much to say about these fish, it'll have to wait for another post. But BABY MINNOWS! Omg, cuuuuute!!!

ALL of my gorgeous, gorgeous java fern (both species!!!) has been completely decimated by pond snails. They have pushed me too far! No more Ms. Nice Aus! The words 'extreme prejudice' most definitely apply! I've pulled about 150 of the munchy little suckers out this week, and I won't stop 'til I collect 'em all!

The Bn's have grown a heap, I love them to bits. 

I think the minnows have hassled a lot of my smaller shrimps to death, but I still have the big Darwins, they take guff from no-one!

Aang's fins are stupidly long now. And doubly stupid, being as he has two tails' worth of extravagant finnage. No more fancy fins for me! As pretty as they are, the floofy-fins make swimming so obviously exhausting for these poor lil guys. I just feel bad for Aang, I can tell he wants to zip around and can't. Thankfully, he's completely forgotten the fact that gnawing the fins off = go faster. But now, he spends a lot of time resting on plants rather than swimming, it bothers me. I think I'll stick to plakats from now on.

The long-armed prawns share the 10-gallon tank for now. A little cramped, really, seeing as they've all grown a heap. But they seem happy enough, each has its own hidey-spot and arguments haven't involved someone becoming someone else's supper yet, so it's all good.

The female prawn is eggy again! I think the minnows (all eaten now) I had in there ate the last lot, so I'm crossing my fingers I get a few babies from this one. They -will- need a bigger tank, but that can wait for summer, I'm not messing about with large new tanks in the cold months. 

While the prawns LOVE to eat pond snails (which is lucky! as I love feeding pond snails to them :twisted: ) they won't touch MTS, so I have the the most enormous and numerous population of those in the prawn tank. They'te thriving, and entertaining in their funny, snaily way.

Both tanks are horribly untidy at the moment, but are doing well and I'm thrilled with how healthy they've been. 

Anyway, there's a quick update. I promise to drop in more often!


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## BettaLover1313

Glad to hear that things are going well (apart from the Pond Snails)!


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## Aus

Cheers, BL! And I finally have a few pics to post. I'm SO annoyed I didn't get a chance to get some good ones when the tank was looking -good-!!! It's shocking to see how the snails have devastated the tank... I'll try to get a before and after pic set up some time. 

Anyway - pics! Of the "pond" (which is what we call the 3ft) and my carnivorous plants too. 

Some minnows pics to begin with, and a not-very-nice one of Aang, who's hard to get good pictures of as he wiggles so much. He's not nearly as raggy-looking as this makes him seem. Oh well!


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## Aus

You can see in one of the pics above, the state of my java fern. That literally happened overnight. I don't know why, but the snails suddenly went from being very well-behaved to doing THAT! And thus, sealed their imminent doom. :evil:

And awh, baby minnows. I wish they'd stay babies, they're incredibly bright neon-blue when they're little, and look very pretty as they swim about together.

You can see the white fin-tips on the male up there. They flare and fight more than bettas do! Thankfully, they rarely injure each other, it's mosty all show. I'll do a post about that later some time. 

But now - more pics!


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## Aus

Never mind the cat hair!!! stuck all over my sundews, Tomtom loves sunbathing on the windowsill above them.... :roll:

I'm pretty pleased with the carnivores, they've all flowered and sprouted constantly so far.

I wanted to get pics of the prawns but for some reason the camera just won't let me get a nice focus on that tank.. It need a good tidy-up anyway and the glass cleaned as well, so I might do that later and try again. 

The prawns have just been thriving. All of them have molted several times now. I panicked, the first time! I thought I had a big, dead prawn!~ The white cast-off shell even includes their delicate, very long antennae so I assumed it was a dead one. 

It looks like I have three males and one female, now the little ones have grown (a lot!) so I plan to put the two smaller males into their own tank, and leave the big male and the female to themselves. 

The love to eat snails, betta pellets, bits of shrimp picked out of fried rice and rinsed well, tiny bits of minced beef (a rare treat, but they love it!). Basically, I have found, they are just little long-armed yabbies. 

For the non-Aussies, Google yabbies! They're awesome. Mean, but awesome.


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## Aus

In other news, a drunk driver ran into my HOUSE. Smashed through the brick front fence, sending -massive- chunks of brick flying across the entire front yard and into the wall, knocking holes in the actual outer wall of my home and destroying downpipes, etc. Of course the fence is a write-off. 

Fortunately no-one was seriously hurt. The driver -and- his wife were both *stinking* drunk, literally stinking of booze. Irish and Daughter did heroic jobs of keeping them calm while the police and ambulance arrived, I am proud of them both! (especially Daughter! she gave the woman hugs and stopped her trying to walk around.. amazingly calm, for a girl of just 15. <3 )

This was at 1.30 AM, I was watching TV and heard the car screeching its brakes, then it just go0t louder and louder.... then BOOM!!! 

Lucky there was a tree in the way of the window I was sitting in front of, or the car might've ended up through the wall and in my lap. 

We even made the news! A reporter showed up and tried to talk to me. I told him if he pointed the camera at me, I'd hunt him down and take revenge. So he settled on talking to Irish, who was happy to oblige. 

The good news is, this scary-but-not-too-bad accident could have saved all our lives!!! We had a guy out to check the gas heater over and he was *horrified* - said the heater was a death-trap to begin with, and we're lucky to not have a major explosion on our hands, or a terrible house fire at the least!!! That was -scary-! The whole thing is disconnected now, thank goodness. 

Irish says I have a knack for both attracting spectacular disasters AND narrowly avoiding death. Lucky me!


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## Aus

*A wonderful poem, featuring minnows*

*The Pond*
by Louise Gluck

​ Night covers the pond with its wing.
Under the ringed moon I can make out
your face swimming among minnows and the small
echoing stars. In the night air
the surface of the pond is metal.

Within, your eyes are open. They contain
a memory I recognize, as though
we had been children together. Our ponies
grazed on the hill, they were gray
with white markings. Now they graze
with the dead who wait
like children under their granite breastplates,
lucid and helpless:

The hills are far away. They rise up
blacker than childhood.
What do you think of, lying so quietly
by the water? When you look that way I want
to touch you, but do not, seeing
as in another life we were of the same blood.​


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## Aus

*And another one...*



*
*
*Calling the Minnows*
by David Cazden

Anyone you could find
you brought to the fishpond.
You surprised them
by painting crosses on the tips of the clover,
by fishing for minnows,
drawing them up on a slender line.

They always laughed at your boldness
until the silver hook stuck.
They would fight
the barbs tugging their gills.
They tried to leap in the dark
belly of the pond.
But you were insistent, unhurried. 

You knew a small, blind fish
swam inside every man,
that there was the thought of a tree
in every tree, that the idea of the minnow
was only forgotten, and would slowly emerge,
flash and squirm up the thread
of your voice, the invisible line. 

Once, you went alone to the fishpond 
and found the idea of yourself
walking out of its flesh,
out of your dress as you moved. 

You explored the weeds, pond side. 
Plovers' high knees plowed the edge-waves 
and water lapped lavender flowers.
You stretched over the banks,
feet in the mud and algae blooms,
watching hundreds of minnows
flip like coins in the sun, tangling your hair,
calling whatever swam below,
asking the world to swallow you whole.


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## Hallyx

So good to have you back, Aus...and with such a story to tell (and able to tell it, thank goodness.) I missed your re-arrival, having been away myself. 

Delighted to see you're still enjoying you fishums et al and are still growing with the hobby. As always, your photography is amazing. Those carnivores are really to die for...if you're the right kind of bug.

I see by the poems you have minnows on the mind. (Sounds like a song-title.)
They are precious, indeed.

Hope you'll be around for a spell. My spellcheker os borken <ba-da-boom>


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## magnum

Hey Aus! I just finished reading up on where I left off... which was only about a year! It's been great to see your tanks evolve! I'm sure you remember me (I live near Jodie Leas store!). I thought I'd pop in and say Hi, I wasn't sure you still even used the forums when I came back - which was only last night! Anyway, great to see your still around Aus!


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## Aus

Hi guys!!! Great to see you! I'm still a bit lax with the updates, been a bit busy and also struggling a bit with the health stuff, winter isn't my friend any more and getting around/lifting things is getting harder by the year. 

Anyway, enough about creaky old me! I have fishy/prawnish updates!

First of all GOOD NEWS on the prawns. They're healthy and happy - and breeding! Successfully! We now have SEVEN prawns! I really didn't notice right away. I was eyeing the female the other day, thinking she hadn't grown much, compared to the males. Then I looked harder, and thought "is it just me or is she getting *smaller*??!" haha!

So then out pops the female! And I'm like :shock:

So I'm thinking, this extra one might be a successful survivor of the very first egg batch that she dropped not long after they arrived. No idea what sex it is, yet.. 

So I'm all excited as heck -- when out pops *another* one! This one's only about a half a cm long, and still very transparent. A baby prawn! I was SO EXCITED!!!!!And thennnn --- I saw *another* one!!!! it was about this long: -

So cute! Newborn prawn!

I guess they're happy in the 10 gallon. But really, I must organise a much bigger tank for them soonish. They're so territorial, four is really too many for that small space even with all the hidey spaces they have. let alone *seven*!! 


The "pond" (3ft) is still a bit messy, I'm doing a tidy up with tonight's water change. Bloody snails! I've now plucked another sixty or so out. I have declared a war. I'm taking no prisoners. The prawn think this is a great idea, as it means many more snacks for them. 

I have six half grown baby minnows now, and Aang is really fat, I think he's eating the majority of the babies that've hatched lately, they vanish pretty quickly. Even so, if the minnows keep breeding like this, I'll have to find homes for them as I don't want to overstock and that tank is about at its limit for stock, in my opinion. 

Without the java fern, it looks less jungly, But I won't get more in until I've eradicated the snails. In its place, the java moss has *exploded* and I now have far more of it than I really want. I mean, TONS of the stuff. I can always put some in the new prawn tank, I suppose.. 

And -- we have a brand new betta! Daughter decided the empty tank was too sad, and purchased us a little lavender marble veiltail. She called him 'Tweek'. He's settling in alright, but is still pretty new so I don't want to take pics for a while yet, in case the flash stresses him out. He's *tiny*! Not quite a fry, but plenty of growing to do. 

I can't wait to take pics though, he's just lovely. 

I still dream of wilds, but the winter budget is always tight, power/gas bills being as high as they are. The little spare room out back is slated for a fishroom come summer, though. I am determined to have at least two wild species once I have nicely settled tanks for them. 

The biggest downer about not being wealthy is that all these things must take so much time to achieve. Oh well, it just means I appreciate them more when they finally happen. 

I hope all my friends here are well and your fishies too. :heart:


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## Aus

I was looking for prawnish poems, but most of them are about the marine varieties. I found this one, though - and the river prawns are really just little long-armed yabbies by nature. Not sure I'd ever eat my prawns, ha, but gosh yabbies are nice on the BBQ.

Philip Hodgins reminds me somewhat of Philip Larkin in this.. 



*Those Yabbies*
by Philip Hodgins 


All that day the bulldozer ground back and forth
with a pendulum's arc in the widening hole.
Fixed as a boxer with one straight punch
it produced surfaces and low battlements
soon to be replaced by more copies of copies.
Its rhythm built hillocks at each end,
new highs and lows for fifty bucks an hour.
I loved the clean dirt, those gravels and clays.
At dusk the driver dropped to his feet
and became quaint down there in the vast middle,
having a piss. “Well it's a start!” he yelled.
The dam lay before us, slung into the earth,
monstrous enough for the worst war crimes.

It filled in a few winter weeks once the rain
began to run like a rumour off the high ground
in the State Forest at the back of our place,
and in no time at all the holes appeared
like machine-gun spray above the water-line,
most of them large enough to fit your big toe.
And then there were claws and body shells
around the dam like broken discarded toys
and a single shag holding its wings pegged out
or tipping underwater with a splash as if yanked.
I first saw yabbies near the edge after dark,
in pairs, testing three elements. They torpedoed
backward out of the torch's bent barrel of light.

On land they were unnimble as the bulldozer
though their claws could still manage a dog's nose.
They kept sinking new holes, as if dissatisfied.
Enough of them could ruin a levee, my father said.
Where had they come from? For a while
I imagined them struggling overland at night,
drawn on by secret knowledge of the new dam.
But they were being airlifted there as eggs
by spoonbills, ibises and white-faced herons,
swinging in on the end of long pruned legs.
Later I saw the eggs, crimson and small as seeds,
packed in rows on a mother's sectioned underside,
her tail's three leaves folding nurture over them.

Squatting at the edge we threw that one back
but most we added to a bucket of slow wrestles.
They found it hard to give up the meated string
and would rise from the dam in a rescue scene
rather than let go. They'd slide from the bucket
still hanging on to each other in clumps
like models of uncommon molecular structures
and sink into the big boiling pot with a squeal
that was heated air escaping from their shells.
A bucketful would give you one good pile
of bleached pink nuggets steaming in a bowl.
We'd sprinkle salt and lemon juice and down them
with beer, as happy as the peasants we were.


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## LittleBettaFish

That poem reminds me of when we used to net yabbies out of the dam up at my pa's farm in Lancefield. We never ate them though, it was purely catch and release haha. We were probably just catching the same group of yabbies. 

Whenever yabbies are mentioned in our family, they all like to recall the time when I got nipped on the hand by a yabby as a kid and cried. 

Glad to hear Aang is still around and that you are too.


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## Aus

Hey LBF! You know, Daughter was only asking about you the other day. She remembers you fondly and from that conversation got all inspired to get us another marble betta, ha. I said we'd have to invite you out for a cuppa (and some serious moss-adoption, perhaps, I fear it will soon crawl out the tank and go triffid on us all.. ) once the workmen are done making a mess of the place, fixing all the stuff that runaway car broke (including our ceiling, omg imagine going through a falling ceiling *again!*) 

So you must come out, one day, I insist! I planned on catching up with your thread after dinner, actually, I bet there's heaps of new news since I last looked.

Hallyx and Magnum, so nice to catch up also! I'll come bother you on your journals or just in replies here, in the next couple days. 

I've been cooking a lot lately (no yabbies, haha) as well, and gosh, the household's been enjoying lots of winter soups and stews. If anyone's got a nice recipe for simple wintry foods, please do share!


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## magnum

It's so good to see you remember me! 

It'll be great to see the picture of the new betta, I'm excited to see what he/she looks like. I'm buying a new baby this afternoon  
I also went to Jodie Leas store on Monday and Tuesday! I wanted to grab some stuff for the 5G I'm re-attempting to set up, but sadly, it was closed both days! If you'd like anything Aus I can grab it for you and hopefully mail it down?


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## Hallyx

My wife found this little book of verses (mostly trite and inferior). This one popped.

By you-know-who.

Tell me, O Octopus, I begs,

Is those things arms, or is they legs?

I marvel at thee, Octopus.

If I were thou, I’d call me Us.


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## Aus

Magnum - oh how I wish I was financially viable enough right now to splurge on fish things.. but winter! the bills! it's shocking how expensive it all is, these days.  Thank you anyway, do tell me what you purchased! And I might just take you up on the offer, if you visit in the warmer months (when I tend to have spare cash). 

Hallyx, HAHA that's just adorable! 

I'll have some pics of little Tweek when Daughter gets back from some time away. He's changed colours! But being a marble, that's not surprising, really. He's looking to end up red/white/blue. But who knows!

I spotted two new tiny minnow fry this morning. They breed like rabbits! That tank needs a serious clean-up, and the java moss is still spreading everywhere. 

I did find a few more pieces of a strange, unidentified moss I've been trying to ID for a while now (I have found so many small plants in there that I didn't deliberately put in, it's getting a bit strange, LOL!) -- this moss has a dark rhizome-like stem, from which very tiny 'fingers' of dark green poke up, these being tipped in brighter green. The best thing about it is that it pearls constantly, so it shines with lots of tiny bubbles, very pretty! 

When I tidy the tank, I'll try to gather all the bits of it and put them together in one place.. Hopefully I can pics to aid in ID'ing it. But it's just so small I'm not sure I can get clear ones. 

The prawn tank is due for cleaning today - I love how they zoom about like mad things on water change.. There's a LOT of mulm in that tank presently, which I must try to get up. They're messy little blighters. 

I haven't seen the tiniest baby prawn in a while, but the middle sized one is living at the back of the sponge filter and had worked out how to dodge its parents and the rest.

I think most of them are due for a molt, they get noticeably dark just prior and tend to hide. 

Aang's looking a bit raggy - I think he's been nipping bits of his very long dorsal. He also likes to wedge himself in and around the driftwood a lot, and sometimes has to struggle his way free. I found in right in the middle of a soft-ball sized clump of java fern yesterday.

I wonder if the minnow explosion is stressing him out a bit. I am seriously pondering culling a few, for prawn food...

Things I did not know, but do now: White Cloud Mountain Minnows can live for up to 8 years!


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## Hallyx

My wife and I were enjoying _Endeavor_ on the Masterpiece series on American Public Television -- the prequel to the Detective Morse Series. Anyway, the protagonist quoted the last stanza of an unfamiliar poem. We remembered the last line and Googled it. Google is good enough to recognize writings by their last lines -- I assume by any accurately quoted fragment, nowadays. Even though Houseman didn't think much of poetry -- likening it to adolescent private play -- I liked it enough to share it here.

XVI: How Clear, How Lovely Bright
~A.E. Houseman

How clear, how lovely bright,
How beautiful to sight
Those beams of morning play;
How heaven laughs out with glee
Where, like a bird set free,
Up from the eastern sea
Soars the delightful day.

To-day I shall be strong,
No more shall yield to wrong,
Shall squander life no more;
Days lost, I know not how,
I shall retrieve them now;
Now I shall keep the vow
I never kept before.

Ensanguining the skies
How heavily it dies
Into the west away;
Past touch and sight and sound
Not further to be found,
How hopeless under ground
Falls the remorseful day.

(Bonus points if you can identify the form.)

Googling last lines reminds me that the first time I did that, back in '99, was to find the source of one of my my sister's favorite whines, "..when I mope, I mope."

As it did just now, when I repeated the exercise, Google returned this wonderful complaint:

So Penseroso

Come, megrims, mollygrubs and collywobbles! 
Come, gloom that limps and misery that hobbles!
Come also, most exquisite meloncholiage,
As dank and decadent as November foliage!
I crave to shudder in your moist embrace,
To feel your oystery fingers on my face.
This is my hour of sadness and soulfulness,
And cursed be he who dissipates my dolefulness.
I do not desire to be cheered,
I desire to retire, I am thinking of growing a beard.
A sorrowful beard with a mournful, dolorous hue in it,
With ashes and glue in it.
I want to be drunk with despair,
I want to caress my care.
I do not wish to be blithe,
I wish to recoil and writhe.
I will revel in cosmic woe,
And I want my woe to show.
This is the morbid moment,
this is the ebony hour.
Aroint thee, sweetness and light!
I want to be dark and sour!
Away with the bird that twitters!
All that glitters is jitters!
Roses, roses are gray,
Violets cry Boo! and frighten me.
Sugar is stimulating,
and people conspire to brighten me.
Go hence, people, go hence!
Go sit on a picket fence!
Go gargle with mineral oil,
Go out and develop a boil!
Melancholy is what I brag and boast of,
Melancholy I plan to make the most of.
You beaming optimists shall not destroy it,
But while I am at it, I intend to enjoy it.
Go, people, stuff your mouths with soap,
And remember, please, that when I mope, I mope!

~Ogden Nash


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