# Working at the LFS- collecting all the fishes~



## torileeann11 (Dec 17, 2015)

I'm Tori, I work am head of the pet care department at a LPS. Rest assured that the bettas at my store get 100% daily water changes and we use SeaChem Prime with every change. 
The only things outside of my control are:
1. I cannot choose _our supplier_. Sometimes it changes unexpectedly. If the supplier sends me a poor fish, I either rescue it, or euthanize with clove oil if the poor creature is beyond repair. (hasn't happened yet, and I have only had to rescue 3)
2. _Sales cups._ I can't give them all 2.5 gallon aquariums. They are sold in sales cups and that is not my call. I can however, make sure that they always have clean water parameters.
3. _Temperature_; outside of moving them to a warmer room at night (which we do) and keeping their display away from doors and drafts (also taken care of), it is hard to keep those stinking cups warm enough. It breaks my heart that I often loose them to cold during the winter months.

I studied Marine Science at Jacksonville University in Florida. My main studies during my time in school involved brackish communities around the St. John's River and Hannah Park. Which is why I have a 20 gallon brackish tank in my room. This is my largest tank, and is undergoing remodeling (budget pending). Going to change it to all live planted planted, with brown/tan National Geographic Aquarium substrate. My GSP lives with a handful of mollies, who make him snacks every 6-8 weeks. 























*This is my Fluval V 5 gallon that lives on my desk. My favorite tank right now. King rules over this aquarium with his coming and going population of ghost shrimp (2-6, sometimes he gets bored and picks one off) I used National Geographic black Aquarium Substrate, I am in love with this stuff!*























*This is my current in house rescue, Kennedy. He had some pretty knarly fin rot when he arrived, so I went ahead and took him home. He is slowly getting better. My mom is adopting him into her cycled (and empty xD) 5.5 gallon when he is healthy. I got her the tank for xmas and she insisted that she wait for one of my rescues! <3
*








I have crazy plans already in action for a bookshelf converted into a "betta station". The first to shelves will have a total of four Greeat Choice 2.5 gallon aquariums that are modded to all run down to a 10 gallon sump where an insane amount of water conditioning will happen, them pump it back up. The 3rd shelf has a 10 gallon sorority with a hang filter to keep the water on a separate system, also HIGHLY planted. Like a jungle in there. All in all, I will be getting around 10 more bettas in the coming year. So stay tuned~

Also have plans to try breeding after I get the large stand built, and get everyone settled in nicely. So my collection will ideally be of some beautiful guys and gals;but this also means I am going to be extremely picky!


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## BeautifulBettaFishies (Dec 21, 2014)

I love the fact that we are able to get the other side of the story from LPS's, and I think it's a fabulous job you do keeping all them happy. I have to say how stunning Buster is. I'm not usually keen on butterflies but he is a stunning guy! 

How is the rescue? I did comment on her rescue thread 

Wow! Loving the "betta station". I'm proper jealous. I'm looking at getting some smaller 2.5gals or above for some more males. I do however am lucky enough to have a 15gal sorority. Only 3 girlies, still looking for more, and needing some more low level plants and a hidey, but all is going really well. I have the dominant female currently in a net however, since I wanted to give the other girls a few days to recover as she did give them both a bit of a beating - she got very territorial over one of the biggest bubblenests I ever saw.

I too also have plans for a breeding project. I have extensively planned and discussed it and I'm getting rather excited. Currently looking for my perfect pair to be the founders of my line. Well, the female atleast. I still need to get another tank setup for my future male.

Subbing!


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## torileeann11 (Dec 17, 2015)

I don't usually like red! Actually my breeding plans don't involve red at all xD. I want to breed fancy marbles; but my goal is for blue, black and turquoise marbles that resemble koi patterning. Halfmoons, double tails, but no PK, VT or CTs for me.

Kennedy is getting better, but it isn't an overnight miracle. I can still tell that he isn't 100% and he is still very timid. But aside from his shyness, he is eating, and seems better each day.


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## BeautifulBettaFishies (Dec 21, 2014)

He really is nice. 

Ah that sounds like a beautiful combination! My aims are for red & black bicolour fish - black body, red fins. Simple as that :,) but, I'm aiming for show quality, perfect form and clean coloured fish. Halfmoons, OHM for me only, although, I'm not too fussed about DTs, I probably won't win for them but if they weave themeselves in then that's fine. I'm the same, no CTs, PKs or VTs allowed  I also really don't want any deltas making appearances.

The end result will be very interesting and I'm excited about naming my line.

Glad to hear Kennedy is doing well! Prayers to that little guy! Hope he gets better soon.


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## BettaLover1313 (Apr 15, 2013)

Glad to see a journal like this. I look forward to reading more


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## feistygirl (Dec 18, 2015)

BeautifulBettaFishies said:


> I love the fact that we are able to get the other side of the story from LPS's, and I think it's a fabulous job you do keeping all them happy.
> 
> Wow! Loving the "betta station".....I too also have plans for a breeding project....
> 
> Subbing!





BettaLover1313 said:


> Glad to see a journal like this. I look forward to reading more


+1 .... also subbing :-D

Thank you for all that you do, Tori, in your field of work... doing whatever you can to help the bettas in the store where you work. I understand your hands are tied on some things, and I imagine it can be frustrating, but I believe you are doing the best that you can and that's wonderful.  Thank you also for sharing it with us through this journal.


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## torileeann11 (Dec 17, 2015)

He loves his "cave" tree hole. Also, I can't get over how beautiful he is. He makes for such stunning photos. Love this fish. <3


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## BeautifulBettaFishies (Dec 21, 2014)

Wow that cave is really neat. Where did you get it? I agree, he looks so pretty, and almost like he's "posing". :,)


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## torileeann11 (Dec 17, 2015)

BeautifulBettaFishies said:


> Wow that cave is really neat. Where did you get it? I agree, he looks so pretty, and almost like he's "posing". :,)


I got it at PetSmart, It's a TopFin betta bonsai, but it has rough edges, so be wary of that.


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## BeautifulBettaFishies (Dec 21, 2014)

Dang it. Id have to hunt it down and ship it - which normally ends up with me paying £20 on top for customs charges -_- it's at these times I kind of wish we had a petsmart or petco here.


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## torileeann11 (Dec 17, 2015)

So the fish order came in today... lots of handsome deltas, but no nice half moon males. I did, however, fall in love with this little girl. Who is my first little lady. Her name is Jade. She's a turquoise steel half moon female. A touch of fin rot, and stress from her new home, plus my phone camera refused to focus correctly. She is not shy at all. Love her already! 
Time to update my signature


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## Olivia27 (Nov 26, 2015)

Can she be both turquoise and steel? :0 

Lovely lady though hope she colors back up soon  x


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## torileeann11 (Dec 17, 2015)

Lol good call, I got mixed up. She is just turquoise. The three blues, steel, turquoise and royal blue are all so shiny I got my adjectives mixed.


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## Olivia27 (Nov 26, 2015)

Ah I got it wrong then LOL my bets were on steel blue. But then again she hasn't regained her original color in that picture.


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## torileeann11 (Dec 17, 2015)

You could still be right Seren. Yo be honest, until she's been eating omega one and happy for about a week, I won't know her true color. Her iridescent layer seems turquoise more than steel. But Buster has developed a lovely lavender iridescence since he's been on prime diet and water changes.


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## themamaj (May 11, 2015)

Intrigued with your betta station bookshelf idea. Love Kennedy. Have a special place in heart for rescues. Your halfmoon boy and new girl are beautiful as are your other fish. Look forward to reading more.


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## BeautifulBettaFishies (Dec 21, 2014)

Love your little lady! Hopefully she settles in soon.


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## torileeann11 (Dec 17, 2015)

*Beautiful Jade!*

Look at this beautiful little bloop bloop face I woke up to fins this morning! She is so bright and beautiful!


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## themamaj (May 11, 2015)

what a cutie


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## BeautifulBettaFishies (Dec 21, 2014)

She is so pretty! I may just have to steal her  and that dorsal is so unique, wow. :0


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## torileeann11 (Dec 17, 2015)

*Update on Kennedy and pics of Jade*

Kennedy is doing much much better! I have stopped his salt treatments and switched to API Stress coat for the remainder of his fin regrowth time. His colors are just amazing! He is going to have some killer long fins when he is done healing! My mom is so excited!










Also Jade is all about my fingers. She will happily eat from my hand, as well as give kisses... which may or may not be small assaults from a tiny shark.


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## themamaj (May 11, 2015)

Kennedy looks great! So cute Jade will feed from your hand.


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## torileeann11 (Dec 17, 2015)

*Meet Nia*

The latest little lady fish, Nia. She is just a stunner. Two down, 5 to go. Such a stunner girl! Her color is teal/black multi? Any thoughts? She definitely has some thick metallic scales, but not white, so not "dragon".


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## Olivia27 (Nov 26, 2015)

She looks like my Seren!  Seren actually doesn't fit into any color group. You can't say multi since the color doesn't blend together, you can't say bicolor either since there's too much color bleeding into the fins, and you can't say marble either for obvious reasons XD so she's just a turquoise metallic oddball.


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## torileeann11 (Dec 17, 2015)

I'm finding I have an attraction to the metallic ones. I just can't get over how shiny and beautiful they are! I might be a bird >.<

Thanks for the help Seren. I couldn't find a true category of color to call her either. Yay for oddball fish! Truly one of a kinds! <3


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## torileeann11 (Dec 17, 2015)

*Rosanne Cash, (not a betta lol)*

Little Rosanne was sooo shy when I first introduced her to my tank. She has opened up a lot, and finally found a place in the molly community. I love love my little balloons.


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## torileeann11 (Dec 17, 2015)

*Neptune*

So I opened this morning and received the fish order. I am happy to report that everyone arrived healthy! All 35 of them :shock:

*This goofy little guy caught my eye. He has some crazy finnage. So say hello to my new double tail, Neptune!*















*Also here is a picture of Nia being fabulous. She is such a diva. She always comes to show off, but ever so nonchalantly. Oh my is she gorgeous! Such flawless color!*








*Kennedy is going to my mom's house this Friday. I will miss the little guy. He is quite spunky and loves attention.*


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## themamaj (May 11, 2015)

Love new boy Neptune. Niagara has fabulous colors. Glad Kennedy doing so well!


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## BeautifulBettaFishies (Dec 21, 2014)

Loving the newbie!!

I assume this will not be the last of Kennedy. Hopefully he will still pop up from time to time  glad he's going to have a fabulous home!!

And woot! 35/35 healthy ones - quite a milestone. Yay to you and your supplier


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## torileeann11 (Dec 17, 2015)

*Back to Roots Water Garden Review Pt. 1*

Ok, so I have a Back to Roots water Garden.
Robot Check
We got to talking about them on another thread, and I wanted to go ahead and write about my personal experience with it in my journal as well.

So to start, these are not easy and I don't recommend them to anyone new or inexperienced with fish keeping. Your fish come first if you want this tank to work. 

I made several adjustments to my tank. I added a 50W grow light, a heater, and additional gravel and grow media. I also decorated with a couple TopFin products, but it isn't really relevant. I plant to replace the fake plant with live when I can afford plants or propagate from my other tank. I keep the tank next to a morning sun window, and I dose with Seachem Flourish Excel (not shrimp safe, be wary) to kill off algae and add additional carbons for my plants. 
I ran the cord for my heater up the side of the tank, rather than in the grow tray. The grow tray "bows" in, which gives space for the heater's cord. Turn a flaw into a blessing.

I did a fishless cycle with DrTim's Aquatics Ammonium chloride and planted seeds immediately. Instead of the seeds they gave me, I planted organic heirloom parsley, oregano, thyme, cilantro and rosemary. Everything has sprouted except the rosemary and cilantro. I figure they can't take the moisture. I am an experienced fish keeper, not an experienced gardener, so more plant knowledge would help you out a lot. I am learning as I go. I'm going to try something else in their trays here soon.
You can buy the ammonium chloride here: http://www.amazon.com/DrTims-Aquatics-Ammonium-chloride-bottle/dp/B006MP4QG6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1454351715&sr=8-1&keywords=aquarium+ammonia

There is a hatch that opens from the top of the tank that allows for feeding. You have to feed carefully and make sure your betta knows it's coming. The outflow from the grow tray will knock pellets to the gravel quickly if your betta isn't paying attention.

_This tank is NOT self cleaning_. 
I do 50% water changes twice a week and dose with SeaChem Prime. When detoxifying with prime, plants are still able to use the bonded substances.
When cleaning, I remove the plant/pot tray. I run my syphon hose down through the feed hole. The hole is too small to fit my pump start gravel vacuum in, so I use my mouth to start the syphon using just the tubing from the gravel vacuum. (Yea it's gross, but hey, dedication!) 

My current water test readings are:
Ammonia:* 0ppm*
Nitrite:* 0ppm*
Nitrate: *20ppm*
pH: *7.2*

*Pictures~*












































I will update if anything cool happens or if my experiences change. So I named this post "Part 1" lol


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## torileeann11 (Dec 17, 2015)

*Kennedy is missing!*

So my mom took Kennedy home a couple nights ago and she said that he adjusted to his new 5.5gal nicely. He was the only fish in the tank, his own kingdom. She's (*I've*) been pre-cycling the tank since Christmas using ammonium chloride. Robot Check

It was all good to go. 

Well today she called me (no text, she actually picked up the phone and called me). She said she fed him this morning and went to work, and when she came home he was gone. She said he normally came right up to the glass to greet her.(this is normal Kennedy behavior from my experience as well) She was worried that he didn't come out, but she made dinner and then went to check back. Still no sign of him. She ended up taking apart the filter, removing all the decor, and looking around on the floor and no fish. What could have happened?? She is really upset. I am bummed out, but I know these things happen, but just how? How can a whole fish disappear? She doesn't have any other pets at all, so it's not like something ate it.

If Kennedy doesn't show in the next few days I am going to go inspect her tank and then give her Neptune. :/


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## Witchipoo (Dec 13, 2015)

How strange. Is there a cover on the tank? If he jumped out he could have flopped pretty far before he succumbed.


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## torileeann11 (Dec 17, 2015)

Yea there is a cover on it. It's the topfin 5.5 kit with mainland upgraded filter. Panty hose around the intake.


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## themamaj (May 11, 2015)

torileeann11 said:


> Yea there is a cover on it. It's the topfin 5.5 kit with mainland upgraded filter. Panty hose around the intake.


Oh no! I have had one jump pretty far before. Look around and under cords too. Let us know. So sorry.


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## Olivia27 (Nov 26, 2015)

Oh gee that's scary  keep us updated!


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## torileeann11 (Dec 17, 2015)

So the order came in today. All 15 betta were alive and well with no illness. I am really liking this supplier lately. That's the good news.

Still no sign of Kennedy. 

When we were doing the water changes, one of the super tiny (probably 2-3 month old) crowntail females did not take to the water change. She started doing a headstand. I tried a drop of API Stress Coat in her cup, but she showed little improvement. I took her home with me and put her into this awesome quick scape I made. But she passed about 10 mins after releasing her from the bag. She wasn't shipped on the order, so this wasn't her first water change. All other fish with the same water were fine. We condition with SeaChem Prime, and measure temps to 77F. I just don't get it sometimes. On a positive note, I got a neat scape out of it; and the first of my betta bookshelf collection. Needs some plants (but a light first, the temp LED is not suitable for plants. Looking at getting Finnex Stingrays).








So I didn't see anyone I liked on our shipment (hadn't decided to take the lady home yet). So I drove across the street to the "other" large chain LPS to check out their order. There has been this one giant betta there forever. I thought he was black/grey. He always looked stressed, but never as bad as today. He was there for 3 months. I know because I looked at him every time. But I tried to keep myself "goal orientated", and giant PKs are not in the plan... But I couldn't leave him there today.. not like that. I can't wait to see what color he turns. I am hoping he will be ok, but when I got him home, I noticed he is starting to pinecone, ever so slightly. I am treating him for dropsy.. I hope it's not too late. I named him Bruce. This new scape also needs plants. 






















*Everyone else is splendid~*


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## themamaj (May 11, 2015)

So hope Bruce responds well to treatment!


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## torileeann11 (Dec 17, 2015)

I would say that Bruce is doing like 10% better today. He is moving around a tiny bit; but mostly just sits at the bottom, or at the top on the betta hammock. I have a feeling he is going to be gorgeous when he gets better. I am starting to see tiny, faint streaks of blue in his outer fins. He still hasn't eaten anything. I offered pellets last night and this morning. (had to take em out with a turkey baster because he just let them sink) He is in luck because this evening is bloodworm night. So I will be thawing out an OmegaOne Cube to split amongst the masses lol. 








Also, I made more progress on my "betta station". I reinforced and set all the shelves. I also cut all the holes to run cords down the back. Filters, airline tubing, etc are supposed to be delivered by amazon on Monday/Tuesday.
I decided to use to Use Lee's Triple Flow Corner Filter,Small, stuffed with Matrix and Poly-Fil to start. I want to add a sponge, Matrix Carbon and some Purigen to the canister in the future. I got 4 filters, one big air pump, back-flow check valves, tubing, suction cups and a 5 way gang valve.
I set up two rough hardscapes last night. I need some plants! But lights first. I am looking at the Finnex Stingray. I just can't decide if two 2.5 gal could just share one 12", or if I need to get the 24". I need one for each shelf, and they aren't exactly cheap, and I'm not exactly rich. :/.. If anyone else has a lighting idea, please share! I am in a bit of a rut with that right now.


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## Olivia27 (Nov 26, 2015)

What about just stock up on low-light plants? There are enough crypt species out there for you to collect  that's what I did with my 2.65. I can't get another Finnex, so I put it a good distance away from the window (with blinds limiting the sunlight) and stocked up on crypts. Anubias too. And riccia, technically, but my fishies keep on killing the little poor things =\


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## torileeann11 (Dec 17, 2015)

I was just worried that if I didn't get a good enough light I might kill everything. My fluval spec V came with a decent light and it's my only planted tank. I found cheaper LED that are 6500K, but the aquascaping people on facebook said that it wouldn't work well for plants.

So now I like totally don't understand lighting at all. 

These are the cheaper ones that I wanted to use. You think they would work if I used low-med light plants?Robot Check

I really like that I could connect all of these to a single plug, switch and dimmer.


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## Olivia27 (Nov 26, 2015)

Eh, maybe I just have a green thumb, but my Anubias and crypts grow very well without any specific lighting at all. Of course since your setup is a book shelf the lighting may be even more limited, but I've always been told that these two guys don't need any special lighting. Same goes for pennywort I heard but I don't have them in my 2.65

How many inches will the light be from the tank surface? I feel like there's not a lot of space left atop the tanks in each shelf? My Finnex FugeRay is 11-12" above the surface, is 7000K, some 8watts or so (just like the one you linked) and is way too much lighting for my lot. If for any reason I can't make it home to turn off the light at the end of the 8-hour photoperiod, BOOM! Algae. Algae everywhere @[email protected]


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## torileeann11 (Dec 17, 2015)

I think I am going to go with these cheaper lights.. They are low wattage so I will try some anubias sp. and some S. repens like my other tank and see how it goes with them. Also, there is 4 inches of space above each tank. I have a... creative idea for water changes lol. I'm going to put a bucket on top of the case and syphon down with a buffer on the end so I don't destroy my delicate pebble placement. Water out is easier. But pouring from a pitcher into the tanks isn't an option (physically or for the sake of my pebbles. lol)


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## Olivia27 (Nov 26, 2015)

I'd try Wisteria and floating plants too. Wisteria needs a lot of light to grow so your investment won't go to waste, and the floating plants can minimize the brightness for the Bettas  good luck! Now to get fishies to fill up all those tanks!


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## torileeann11 (Dec 17, 2015)

I'm trying not to get too fish happy lol. I like to have room to take in the sad ones. The 10gal is for my gals, when I have 5. Right now I only have two. They hardly ever send us females! 
I really want to order a pair from aquabid, so I try to keep that in mind when I puruse. I am just so picky! If they aren't sick, I just can't bring myself to settle.


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## torileeann11 (Dec 17, 2015)

*Update: SIP Bruce*

Bruce passed away sometime when I was asleep last night. He was alive when I went to bed. :< I tried, but I figured it was too late when I saw the pine-coneing. 

Going to Petco today to get an exchange, they owe me a fish.


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## Olivia27 (Nov 26, 2015)

I'm sorry to hear that  do you think Petco would make that kinda deal?


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## torileeann11 (Dec 17, 2015)

I have his body in a bag and the receipt. And I could muster up an "I need a manager" attitude if I have to lol


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## torileeann11 (Dec 17, 2015)

Didn't see anyone I needed at Petco, so I got a store credit to check back later. The manager was on the register, it was a pretty easy exchange. He asked me if I put him in the appropriate tank and water, and I told him all about it, then he gave me my money back. Lol


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## torileeann11 (Dec 17, 2015)

*Betta Station Update*

We have bubbles!! Filters are arriving tomorrow! Nia is very excited about the bubbles! lol






















I also gave the shark tank an update. Jade was skeptical at first, but she approves now.


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## Olivia27 (Nov 26, 2015)

Aw Jade is gorgeous! Yay for the filters! I'm always so excited when new supplies are in the mail XD like right now, I have a floating Betta log, a Hydor Theo 50w, a 5-gal and a hospital 0.75 all in the mail. Can't wait can't wait!!


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## torileeann11 (Dec 17, 2015)

*Omgsh I just bid*

So I just bid on this guy as a boyfriend attempt for Jade. He is just too perfect for her. 
I am super scared, and super excited. He is coming from NINEBETTAS in Thailand. 
My transhipper is Pegasus in Miami, FL. Anyone have experience with him?

omgsh I can't believe I am getting an import. xD


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## Olivia27 (Nov 26, 2015)

I have been googling about this elusive Pegasus guy. Seems like he's your regular transhipper. Communication issues, but gets his job done. Contact him as soon as you win your fish. Right after the shipment arrives he'd be very very busy.

Thay boy is gorgeous! I see spoonhead, slightly-too-long anal and minor stair stepping but if I remember correctly, Jade should be able to correct that. Looking forward to a bunch of Jade Juniors!


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## torileeann11 (Dec 17, 2015)

I noticed the spoonhead. I think they will complement each other. I should be able to correct it a few lines in. I just hope they like each other and he gets here safely! It's supposed to stay warm in my part of TX for a few weeks. I am off on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday every week, so hopefully it will work out nicely.


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## BeautifulBettaFishies (Dec 21, 2014)

Olivia27 said:


> That boy is gorgeous! I see spoonhead, slightly-too-long anal and minor stair stepping but if I remember correctly, Jade should be able to correct that.


Couldn't have said that better, that's what I saw. His general form is really quite good! His main flaw would be the spoon head - but as mentioned Jade should correct him. They compliment each other well  he's stunning. His colour reminds me of a precious gem too, maybe a opal of some sorts, so pretty - suits Jade.

As for your lighting- I use any old stuff I can get hold of. Right now I have an LED one in my community, which is alright, plants are surviving and some are rooting really good. 

My Leddy 60 sorority comes with a hood that only allows the Leddy fluorescent tube lighting, which suits me as its only about £10-15 to replace. My plants are thriving with it though which makes me happy. I've never had to use any specialised plant lights.

I'd recommend any low-light level plants. Crypts are good as far as I know - but I've never had any. All of my Cabomba plants thrive and my Amazon sword loves my fluorescent tube opposed to the LED which it survives in. I'm not a lighting person so I usually just plonk anything in. If it doesn't make it then don't buy it again, but that rarely happens. 1/6 of my plants that I bought last time nearly died - it's just clinging on now it's not weighted.

Good luck  I love your journal so much by the way, it's lovely to read an dim loving watching your Betta station progress. I'm considering one for myself - but alas, where can I fit it?? ): eh.


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## Olivia27 (Nov 26, 2015)

I am head over heels in love with crypts. The pygmaea and pontederiifolia ones are a favorite. I'm looking to get some petchii on the next SNE, but really I'm not picky. I'll just Google every species listed and buy any that suits my tank LOL wisteria is still high on my all-star list too, but I can only keep it on Seren's tank (the one with Finnex FugeRay). Same goes with Moneywort.

When's the next SNE again? I'm not gonna be buying a whole forest's worth but I do have an empty tank to fill.


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## torileeann11 (Dec 17, 2015)

Speaking of tanks to fill.... I all the tanks on the betta station have running filters and water! They all also have substrate and thermometers. Next up lights, then heaters, then stocking. I might just pick up heaters as I pick up fish. I went ahead and started a fishless cycle on the 10gal by adding some ammonium chloride. 
After lights, I will be looking for plants in the worst way. I'm hoping to find a nice low light kit to start with. Those seem to be the best deals.


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## torileeann11 (Dec 17, 2015)

The fry from my salt tank say HI! 3 of them are 3 months old, the other two are one week old. They managed to enter the fry trap from the outside when they were first born. I decided they could stay, they have moxi. The older ones are from the balloon molly tank at work, and were planned lol.


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## torileeann11 (Dec 17, 2015)

*Neptune has been re-homed*

I took Neptune over to my moms house today. No signs of Kennedy at all. I did a water test and change, everything checks out fine. I added a baffle around the intake of her filter. 

And managed to get pics.


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## JaymesBirne (Jan 23, 2016)

torileeann11 said:


> Didn't see anyone I needed at Petco, so I got a store credit to check back later. The manager was on the register, it was a pretty easy exchange. He asked me if I put him in the appropriate tank and water, and I told him all about it, then he gave me my money back. Lol


They didn't make you do a water test? Where I work, they're pretty strict about it. They will gladly do an exchange/refund within 30 days, with the original receipt, the fish's body, and a water sample (in a separate container from the fish).

Love looking through your journal, though!  You've got some lovely fish!!


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## torileeann11 (Dec 17, 2015)

Yay for my tax return! Lights are on the way... amoung other things...

Here's what I will be getting Tuesday!

A castle for my 10gal Princess Tank http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00061FCII?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=od_aui_detailpages01
SeaChem Matrix Carbon, SeaChem Purigen and tiny media bags.
x3 more heaters
This awesome log hide which I haven't decided where it's going yet. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00J58YY7S?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=od_aui_detailpages01
SeaChem Flourish
InstantOcean Salt (it's a deal for an add on, and I can always use it for the WC on the brackish tank)
a 20" Finnex Stingray for the princess shark tank 
two of these 20" Cool white lights for above the 2.5gals, and all the splitters, adapters, dimmer and fixins to hopefully get them working. Amazon.com : LEDENET 24V DC 20 Inch Cool White (6500K - 7000K) Supper Bright 5050 SMD Aquarium LED Strip - Waterproof Aluminum Lighting (Cold White (20" long)) : Pet Supplies
and one more little cave to work with http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002LTQ9WG?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=od_aui_detailpages00


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## BeautifulBettaFishies (Dec 21, 2014)

Ooh! Exciting! Can't wait to see your haul! Take lots of pictures, it will be exciting to see


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## themamaj (May 11, 2015)

Sounds great!! Can't wait to see pictures when get it all set up.


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## Betta44 (Aug 9, 2015)

I'm happy to read that the bettas at your store get such good care! Thank you! All we can do is our part but I'm sure the fish in your store benefit, as do their future owners. Thanks for all your hard work. I love Buster- is a gorgeous fish.


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## torileeann11 (Dec 17, 2015)

*Meet Viola*

So you know the teeny tiny CT females that we have had.... Well one of them is a lavender/white marble.. and now she is mine. Meet Viola! She is still getting used to her tank, I just released her from the bag. I don't think this fish has ever seen bubbles in her life. She is fascinated by them.. Pretty sure she is borderline fry. That, or extremely tiny.








I also picked up some Dwarf Hairgrass, haven't decided where to put it lol. 

Oh, and the Marineland Nook 3 is only $20 at PetSmart and online right now. So I grabbed one of those to shove in my closet.
MARINELAND® 3 Gallon Nook Aquarium System | Aquariums | PetSmart


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## themamaj (May 11, 2015)

torileeann11 said:


> So you know the teeny tiny CT females that we have had.... Well one of them is a lavender/white marble.. and now she is mine. Meet Viola! She is still getting used to her tank, I just released her from the bag. I don't think this fish has ever seen bubbles in her life. She is fascinated by them.. Pretty sure she is borderline fry. That, or extremely tiny.
> View attachment 719754
> 
> 
> ...




She is precious! Does your store carry babies or was she just labeled female? Thanks for letting us know of great deal on Marineland. Any other good sales for betta friendly products love to hear about.


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## torileeann11 (Dec 17, 2015)

@themamaj We don't carry labeled "babies" , but these little girls came in so so tiny. They look just like the ones at PetCo labeled babies. I had 5 come in this small a few weeks ago. All CT females. I have lost 2 to temperature/water changes. 
I just noticed this little girl colored up yesterday! I still have a red cambodian her size, and a weird chocolate cambodian based marble. I have thought about bringing her home as well, but I don't know if the brown would hold true, or brighten up into something else with good food and cycled water.


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## Olivia27 (Nov 26, 2015)

EEEP she's adorable! Welcome home Viola!


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## Tree (Sep 29, 2013)

Watching now! oh man you have some beautiful fish!


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## BeautifulBettaFishies (Dec 21, 2014)

Eek! She is just so precious! <3


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## Tealight03 (Nov 15, 2014)

Thanks for linking the tank. I am in the market for one.


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## themamaj (May 11, 2015)

torileeann11 said:


> @themamaj We don't carry labeled "babies" , but these little girls came in so so tiny. They look just like the ones at PetCo labeled babies. I had 5 come in this small a few weeks ago. All CT females. I have lost 2 to temperature/water changes.
> I just noticed this little girl colored up yesterday! I still have a red cambodian her size, and a weird chocolate cambodian based marble. I have thought about bringing her home as well, but I don't know if the brown would hold true, or brighten up into something else with good food and cycled water.


Could you get a picture of choc Cambodian based marble? Would love to see that!


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## torileeann11 (Dec 17, 2015)

Oh marbles. She isn't Cambodian based, seeing as today she added some brown to her body. Or "copper" maybe? but it isn't shiny. It's not a true black, she has orange now too. Still cute, and interesting colors. Very "Autumn" lol


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## themamaj (May 11, 2015)

torileeann11 said:


> Oh marbles. She isn't Cambodian based, seeing as today she added some brown to her body. Or "copper" maybe? but it isn't shiny. It's not a true black, she has orange now too. Still cute, and interesting colors. Very "Autumn" lol
> 
> View attachment 720730


Oh she is lovely!! You are lucky your store gets in such a nice variety. It is really rare I run across anything unique around here. When I see something unusual I tend to bring it home  so maybe good not too common lol.

I love seeing the pictures you post. Any time you see pretty ones in your store feel free to post. Always fun seeing what different fishes come in!


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## BeautifulBettaFishies (Dec 21, 2014)

^ yeah pictures are fun 

I love her she's so cute <3 lol, wonder what colour she will end up!


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## ThatFishThough (Jan 15, 2016)

Subbing.


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## torileeann11 (Dec 17, 2015)

So just the lights came today. I will have everything else (and more pics) tomorrow. Still in need of more plants (probably going to be a forever issue lol). MORE PLANTS!

Was looking into getting a low light kit off of aquabid.com. 
One like this; AquaBid.com - Closed Auction # liveplants1455609607 - 40 Live Aquarium Plants / 15 Kinds FREE SHIPPING!! - Ended: Tue Feb 16 02:00:07 2016

I set up the stingray on top of the two top tanks for now. It will be moved to the 10gal tomorrow when the rest of the pieces for the LED strips get here. But I got a few plants and ferts added to the top two tanks. (went ahead and started with them, as they house Jade and Viola currently). 

Viola is such a lovely color, and she gets more beautiful by the day! I sure do love my lady fishes. <3


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## BeautifulBettaFishies (Dec 21, 2014)

Eek! Yay. ^^ they look so happy.

I bought a whole bunch for mine like that. It was a learning curve. I completely had one variety die, but the rest have taken. The plants took a lot of effort to get to root as some were cuttings. Overall I'm fairly happy with them, but I don't think I'd order again. Definitely going to just get store bought ones. I found a Maidenhead Aquatics semi close to me which has 3 tanks dedicated just for plants. One of them has sand in to encourage roots. All the plants are really bushy and nice unlike the ones I ordered.

It's risky, but you never know. I order from a different person and ordered 25 with 5 varieties. 

My tank is still not dense enough for my liking! It's very much the issue of not enough plants.


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## torileeann11 (Dec 17, 2015)

*Betta Station Update*

Ok so today I installed _all_ of the lights. To my delight, they all came on first try! lol
I did a little landscaping. Some of the decor was a little bigger than expected. 
Also, this log, 



 is much too sharp for betta. I stored it away, maybe if I get a dremel I can smooth it out. But it would only be large enough for non-giant females. I may just not use it at all. 
I planted dwarf hairgrass for the "courtyard" of the lady tank. All open space will be filled with jungle, hoping to add some floating plants too. Can't decide what kind. I would like something that is relatively neat and tidy.
I'm trying to make tanks 3&4 interconnects, they both got some dwarf hairgrass as well. I also put my wimpy moneywort in tank 4.. they melt in my Spec V, so I don't have high hopes for them. 
I put the wisteria into tank 3.. they have also been doing poorly in the spec.
Tanks 1 and 2 have an algae bloom from the root tabs. (can never get it right). I did a 50% water change on each tank, hoping it will settle.
I switched to flourish comprehensive on the other tanks, so we shall see if I have algae blooms in the other tanks come morning.
I need suggestions for clean up crew in the 10gal. I would like to do a small catfish, but I can't seem to find a species small enough or that can be solitary. I don't like snails, and until I can get an injected CO2 system build in, I can't do shrimp. Ideas, or just keep up with using q-tips to polish the marbles...

*PICS!*








*Tank 1*








*Tank 2*








*Tank 3&4*







*
Sorority WIP*


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## BeautifulBettaFishies (Dec 21, 2014)

Ooh! I love it! I'm in love with the sorority and tank 3! And all of them TBH.

Do you have any pictures of Buster's tank out of curiosity?


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## bettarina (Feb 12, 2016)

The sorority tank is so dreamy! 

Sent from my SM-G925I using Tapatalk


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## ThatFishThough (Jan 15, 2016)

Love number 3.


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## torileeann11 (Dec 17, 2015)

*Went on an adventure today*

Well I went on an adventure to every store that sells fish on the northeast side of Dallas and it's suburbs. I ended up with tons of plants, but no fishes.

So, I added S. subulata (Sagg), M. pteropus (narrow leaf java fern) and H. angustifolia( Willow hygro) to the sorority tank.








I put some T. barbieri (xmas moss) and H. angustifolia(willow hygro) in tank 1. I weighed the moss down with a rock, hopefully it can attach to terracotta. 








...added more H. difformis (wisteria) to tanks 3&4.








Looking good so far!








Fish order comes in tomorrow morning! Hopefully I can do some stocking


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## BeautifulBettaFishies (Dec 21, 2014)

Wow! Looking good! Hopefully you'll have some new arrivals.


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## torileeann11 (Dec 17, 2015)

*Meet Sushi, Rio and Logan~*

Ended up getting 3 new male bettas, two from my store, and one from the store across the street. 

*Logan*- this is my boyfriend's first betta. He picked him out!  Not sure what to call his color yet.. Maybe pineapple? MG? Yellow? Idk. He is a delta tail though. 








This is *Sushi*!! A truly beautiful samurai... or koi... can he be both?? Confusing fish!








And finally, *Rio*. Love these colors, he looks just like Nia! I am also a sucker for a DT.


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## Olivia27 (Nov 26, 2015)

I can't really see if Logan has enough BSE to be called a Pineapple. I'm calling just yellow for now. Sushi looks more like a young, full-on dragon to me TBH because Samurai scales are supposed to only be a small sprinkle on top. And yes, he can be both Samurai and Koi. Samurai has nothing to do with the color, just like how dragon is only about the scale thickness. Rio is a black orchid


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## torileeann11 (Dec 17, 2015)

*New Rescue "Emmy"*

So I have a new rescue. I brought home a female VT Saturday night. She is swimming and eating just fine, but her left gill is extremely swollen. I have no idea what is going on with her. I am hoping it is just an infection, I started her on some AQ salt Saturday night. It is still very swollen, and now it is red around the outside of the gill. She is still eating, active and sassy. I made a thread for her in the _Betta Fish Diseases and Emergencies_ section.


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## themamaj (May 11, 2015)

Your tanks look so clean and amazing. Feeling envious as many of mine to clean today haha. Love your boy Sushi! Good luck with new rescue. She is a cutie.


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## BeautifulBettaFishies (Dec 21, 2014)

Awh rooting for your little Emmy!!  hopefully it's something curable. I heard redness could be a sign of ammonia burns, but I could be wrong. It's very late and my brain is feeling less than enthused to say the least, haha!

I too love Sushi!! So cute! Love your others too though!! <3


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## torileeann11 (Dec 17, 2015)

*A little more plants, and pics of everyone!*

So I tried to get a picture of every fish today. I also added a few more plants. I planted a bunch of_ Lobelia cardinalis _in the sorority tank, but it is cloudy, so I skipped the pic. All of my plants appear to be growing, so yay! 


Tank 1 has gotten a new _Anubias nana_ since I last took a pic.








Eventually I want to rescape this tank completely. Not a fan of how it is coming along. But look how cute Viola is! I am in love with her little blue eyes!








Some pics of the Sushi monster and his cave. Need to find a plant for the left side still; something tall to hide the filter.















Rio also still needs some sort of decorative center piece... Haven't been able to find anything I like. 















Only took one shot to get a perfect picture of Nia. She is such a calm and sweet little fish.








Emmy is still doing well, aside from her gill. It still doesn't seem to be bothering her. 








King just makes it soo easy to take photos. His marbling continues as he slowly loses his butterfly. He is still gorgeous though. I am in love with the shot I got of him with his mouth open lol.






















I moved the _Microsorum pteropus_ 'trident' to Logan's tank. He needed at least something in there until Marco (my boyfriend) can figure out his decor. I also think that his color is "chocolate".










Also everyone from the brackish tank says hi! They are so cute! <3








All of my well behaved molly fry all lined up for a photo like prep school kids


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## ThatFishThough (Jan 15, 2016)

Haha! Love it!


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## BeautifulBettaFishies (Dec 21, 2014)

Loving it all! Sushi I'm in love with him >3<

Glad your tanks are all coming along! My words of advice are plants plants  I think it's really beneficial to have a nice clump somewhere 

Loving your journal ^_^


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## torileeann11 (Dec 17, 2015)

Got a new HM lady fish to add to the lineup. Her name is *Xena* and she is (as of this moment) all black with no irid. She however, was just shipped across the country and then rehomed twice today, so she may have irid in a few days. She is nothing but stress stripes and wiggle butts when I try to take pictures, so I will try again tomorrow when I have a more agreeable light.

She is sooo cute! Can't wait to show you!


Also, the supposed_ Sagittaria subulata_ that the LFS sold me is actually _Vallisneria spiralis_.. Which I am pretty happy about! It is an even better choice for what I would like to happen on that side of the sorority tank, and much easier to care for! yay!


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## torileeann11 (Dec 17, 2015)

Hello my name is *Xena* and I am impossibly difficult to photograph! 
Xena is also very outgoing and adorable so far. 






















_drumroll....._ *Rex* arrived today! Alive and well! I am relieved! He did chew up his tail during shipping, hopefully that doesn't develope into a nasty habit. He is already starting to color up and doing great. He even got Jade all worked up and blushing. I had to put a divider between them. 























Here is *Rio* looking so majestic.








And a shot of the sorority tank's progress. The bacteria bloom has eased back a little bit. It still looks eerie in there, not the look I'm going for lol.


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## Olivia27 (Nov 26, 2015)

Yaaay welcome home, Rex! Would you mind reviewing your selle and trans shipper for future reference?


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## torileeann11 (Dec 17, 2015)

Olivia27 said:


> Yaaay welcome home, Rex! Would you mind reviewing your selle and trans shipper for future reference?


Purchased off of aquabid from *NINEBETTAS.*
https://www.facebook.com/Ninebettas/

My trans shipper ended up being 
*Jesse*
[email protected]
Home Page

He was shipped with a heat pack. He had IAL in his water. I had no problems with communication.
I did a slow acclimation of adding a little of the tank water to his water in a floated betta cup with a turkey baster every hour.


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## torileeann11 (Dec 17, 2015)

So I'm on a small road trip right now. We are driving down to Corpus Christi,TX from Dallas. It's about a 6 hour drive... I have my first ever exhibition opening tomorrow at Studio C gallery. (Studio C Gallery, Corpus Christ TX). I am really excited and really nervous. I hope I did everything right and my pieces are wired appropriately for gallery hanging. I'm no pro, I just paint from my kitchen lol. I don't know anything about how I should act at this thing... I'm just guna go with "be myself" and hope that doesn't rapidly backfire and burn my career somehow.... 

Here's my artwork of you haven't already seen it.. www.bluenosetrading.wix.com/visualartbytori
On the plus side there are 3 fish stores in Corpus Christi, and I packed a "betta care travel pack" of water conditioner and pellets in case I find a special girl or two.


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## BettaLover1313 (Apr 15, 2013)

torileeann11 said:


> So I'm on a small road trip right now. We are driving down to Corpus Christi,TX from Dallas. It's about a 6 hour drive... I have my first ever exhibition opening tomorrow at Studio C gallery. (Studio C Gallery, Corpus Christ TX). I am really excited and really nervous. I hope I did everything right and my pieces are wired appropriately for gallery hanging. I'm no pro, I just paint from my kitchen lol. I don't know anything about how I should act at this thing... I'm just guna go with "be myself" and hope that doesn't rapidly backfire and burn my career somehow....
> 
> Here's my artwork of you haven't already seen it.. Tori Callahan |Visual Artist
> On the plus side there are 3 fish stores in Corpus Christi, and I packed a "betta care travel pack" of water conditioner and pellets in case I find a special girl or two.


Beautiful pieces! I hope everything goes well!


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## ShadeSlayer (Jul 20, 2015)

what plants do you have in your soriety?


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## torileeann11 (Dec 17, 2015)

ShadeSlayer said:


> what plants do you have in your soriety?


Currently, I have_ Eleocharis parvula, Vallisneria spiralis, Hygrophilia angustifolia _and_ Lobelia cardinalis_







And the car broke down. Of course it did! Now we are stuck in San Antonio, 4 hours from home. We took it to a shop and no one can fix it today or tomorrow. We busted a rear axle seal and the axle suffered irreversible damage. Why? Whyyyyyyy??? Now we have NO car between the two of us. How are we going to get to work? Life is so complicated!


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## torileeann11 (Dec 17, 2015)

Update: a we offered a guy at the shop double to fix it immediately. He said ok, but when he took the tire off he found more damage. He stopped the leak by shoving a towel in the axle. Said we should make it home... we have to stop every hour and turn it off for 30mins... literally, a piece of cloth is holding this thing together... pray we can get it home.


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## torileeann11 (Dec 17, 2015)

Made it home last night. Sorry was too tired to post so I just went straight to bed. 

Now I'm gonna do some water changes. Glad to be home.


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## ThatFishThough (Jan 15, 2016)

What's the grassy stuff in your sorority? Loving your journal!

I'm so. freaking. jealous. of all your aquascaping skills! ;-;


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## torileeann11 (Dec 17, 2015)

ThatFishThough said:


> What's the grassy stuff in your sorority? Loving your journal!
> 
> I'm so. freaking. jealous. of all your aquascaping skills! ;-;


Thank you! These are my first aquascapes... I have a background in art and design though, so I think that helps a lot. 
The grass in the courtyard is _Eleocharis parvula_ or "dwarf hairgrass". I'm hoping it will fill out that lawn. It's a real pain to trim LOL, but worth it. There is a tad bit of it in tanks 3 and 4, but the lighting is different for them, so it will grow slower. I am also going to let theirs grow up pretty tall. Lower light should make it thinner as well.


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## ThatFishThough (Jan 15, 2016)

Hehe; I meant the tall stuff on the left. I'll look into the Dwarf Hairgrass, too!


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## torileeann11 (Dec 17, 2015)

ThatFishThough said:


> Hehe; I meant the tall stuff on the left. I'll look into the Dwarf Hairgrass, too!


The tall plant to the left in my most recent pictures is _Vallisneria spiralis_, or "eel grass".


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## ThatFishThough (Jan 15, 2016)

It looks so nice! Updates!

Chu get anything from any of the stores?


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## torileeann11 (Dec 17, 2015)

Sadly no. We were going to start our fish hunt in San Antonio, but when we made our first stop at PetSmart we noticed the axel seal had busted. It was 4pm already so we didn't go inside, we immediatley went looking for a mechanic. Then that took forever and we had to nurse the car home, so we didn't get to make any fun stops...

BUT, I am trying to buy this female from *Scarletts Bettas* on facebook. If she gets back to me. Someone else said they "might" want it before me.. So idk if I will get her or not.


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## Olivia27 (Nov 26, 2015)

She's adorable!

If you didn't get her my LFS has a female dumbo spawn up for sale. They're only $8 each. It's been warm this week so I can ship if you want  gotta check if any is still left though


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## torileeann11 (Dec 17, 2015)

Olivia27 said:


> She's adorable!
> 
> If you didn't get her my LFS has a female dumbo spawn up for sale. They're only $8 each. It's been warm this week so I can ship if you want  gotta check if any is still left though


Omgsh Yes yes yes! Is there anyway to tell me the colors? I really am just looking for a match for King. I'd prefer a decent dorsal, passed up a few ebay gals for too much stub or stepping.


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## Olivia27 (Nov 26, 2015)

Ouuch sorry I thought you were just looking for an addition to the sorority tank. The girls I'm talking about are all siblings so they all have similar features - which is a skinny dorsal  Such a bummer because their body shape is just two thumbs up! They are all Salamanders. Varies from royal blue to hot pink (and no that's not a real color but they really are pink lol). Katie's Lavender and Saphira are from the spawn. I can snap pics this weekend. I need to pick up more Prime... and Stability... And possibly Excel.

Edit: if you don't mind the non EE girls though I remember meeting a gorgeous HM female before. She was only $6 and I had to resist with every piece of me to not bring her home @[email protected] colors are mostly like your Nia, but we've had some interesting chocolates as well. I wish they still have metallics =\


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## torileeann11 (Dec 17, 2015)

Olivia27 said:


> Ouuch sorry I thought you were just looking for an addition to the sorority tank. The girls I'm talking about are all siblings so they all have similar features - which is a skinny dorsal  Such a bummer because their body shape is just two thumbs up! They are all Salamanders. Varies from royal blue to hot pink (and no that's not a real color but they really are pink lol). Katie's Lavender and Saphira are from the spawn. I can snap pics this weekend. I need to pick up more Prime... and Stability... And possibly Excel.


Better or worse than the one I am looking at on FB? (still no confirmation either way with that). I like hot pink! , but any red/pink variation would be ok for a dorsal upgrade.


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## Olivia27 (Nov 26, 2015)

Just like my Seren. So that's a "worse" unfortunately  but I can snap pics anyway just because XD


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## Betta44 (Aug 9, 2015)

Your tanks look great, I esp. like the way you did the plants around the castle. I'm enjoying seeing the pics of your new fish; they are all beautiful in their own unique way.
I'm behind on reading this thread, so sorry to hear about Bruce. But, at least he got a chance to be cared for in a better environment- even for a brief time. Kudos to you for trying.
Looking forward to more updates, etc. about your fish.


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## torileeann11 (Dec 17, 2015)

*New baby betta!*

I tend to have little interest in the baby betta at petco. I usually just feel sad for them and can't commit to the uncertainty... but this little fish! I am pretty sure it is an EE. I say "it" because I can't figure out a for sure answer about gender. I also don't want to pick a name until I figure out gender, it is referred to as "little fish" right now lol. But look at those flappers~~


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## ThatFishThough (Jan 15, 2016)

Aww! 

^ That's a girl.


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## torileeann11 (Dec 17, 2015)

ThatFishThough said:


> Aww!
> 
> ^ That's a girl.


I sure hope so! We asked Lil and she said it was hard to know for sure. So it might be a boy. I am going to raise it separate just in case until I know for sure.


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## Olivia27 (Nov 26, 2015)

If it turned out to be a "he", do I win anything? LOL either ways you'll probably find out real soon.


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## ThatFishThough (Jan 15, 2016)

It looks like s/he has a yellow belly, indicating ovaries.


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## torileeann11 (Dec 17, 2015)

*Envy is on her way home!*

Olivia was kind enough to pick up an EE girl for me from her LFS! She should be here Monday! I can't wait! Her name is *Envy*. She is the last addition to the ladies in the betta station sorority.


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## themamaj (May 11, 2015)

Precious!


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## torileeann11 (Dec 17, 2015)

Took some pics of the tanks this morning.
I went to the LFS when I picked up the baby and got some_ more plants_ lol. 

The sorority is still battling bacteria. I am doing daily 30% water changes. I know I could let it ride, but it bugs me. 
The _Lobelia cardinalis_ was not having a good time in the sorority. Most of it melted away. I am guessing it was from lack of light. This annoying bacteria bloom is lowering my PAR levels :-x . So I relocated what was left of the _L. cardinalis_ to Tank 3 with Rio. I added some _Cabomba caroliniana_ and _Cyprus helferi_ to the sorority in place of the_ L. cardinalis_... I LOVE CABOMBA! It is sooo soft and beautiful, I sure hope it likes my tank.
I noticed some ramshorn snails on some of my cabomba so we added an assassin snail as precaution. His name is *Jerry*.















*Jade* in Tank 1, *Rex* in Tank 2 and* King* in the spec all got some more _E. densa_.





























*Rio* got all of the remaining _ L. cardinalis_








*Sushi* is still adorable~
I really hate that his tank gets the worst glare. 








*Xena* when I woke her up this morning lol








*Emmy* has had a full run of kanaplex. With a 3 day break. She is now on day 3 of Metroplex. She is still sassy as ever, so it's still a mystery to me what's up with that gill.








And finally *Logan*, the snazzy chocolate fish. He is in the Nook3, and it has the possibly the worst stock lighting setup ever.


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## ThatFishThough (Jan 15, 2016)

Are any of these up for adoption? Or are they all permanents?

(Not that I have space... But....)


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## torileeann11 (Dec 17, 2015)

ThatFishThough said:


> Are any of these up for adoption? Or are they all permanents?
> 
> (Not that I have space... But....)


these are all core crew for now. Except Emmy. She is a female VT, but she won't be up for adoption until/if I can clear that she is healthy.. With her goofy gill. lol


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## torileeann11 (Dec 17, 2015)

*The ich that never ends!*

So I have been battling ich at work for a while now. The dang supplier keeps sending in black skirt tetras with ich. EVERY SINGLE TIME! Well it came on the gouramis, and it is floating around the main tank. I have gotten most of it isolated to the 29gal hospital tank in the back.

Here's the specs
Housing: *29gal, bare bottom, two solid rock decor*
How many gallons is your tank? *29gal*
Does it have a filter?*TopFin hang on filter with sponge instead of carbon pack.*
Does it have a heater? *Aqueon 100w heater*
What temperature is your tank? *83F*
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration? *No*
Does your Betta have tank mates? What kind?* No bettas thankfully. Right now the tank has Blue gouramis (not the dwarves either), assorted platys, assorted mollies and black skirt tetras.*

Food:
What food brand do you use? *SFB Frozen bloodworms for the hospital tank.*
Do you feed flakes or pellets? *No.*
Freeze-dried? *No.*
How often do you feed your Betta? How much? *Tank is fed daily in the PM, one block (or less if there are less fish)*

Maintenance:
How often do you perform a water change? *Water changes are done based on medication specs. Or, 50% daily.*
Do you vacuum the substrate or just dip out water? *Water changes are done with a python, so yes *
What additives do you use?* API Stress coat. *

Water Parameters:
What are your water parameters? Please give exact numbers. If tested by pet store please get exact numbers. "Fine" or "Safe" won't help us help you.

Ammonia: *0ppm*
Nitrite:* 0ppm*
Nitrate: *0ppm*
pH: *7.2*
Hardness (GH): *150ppm*
Alkalinity (KH): *120ppm*

Symptoms and Treatment:
When did you first notice the symptoms?* I pull fish when I notice the ich. I check them all daily. Some go straight off the order into the hospital.*
Treatments? *So far I have done full runs (like the whole packet or bottle) of the following: Marineland Ich Remedy and Tetra Ich Guard Tabs.
We have now marked out a bottle of API Super Ick Cure.*

So I guess this is one way of figuring out which of the products we sell are totally bogus.. But it is SO frustrating. Because this is what I have to work with, and all the people around me are like "why isn't it working Tori?". I don't know man! Geeeze, so much pressure. :shock:

I notice some obvious shortcomings, but I am limited on options. I have had to work my way up to the more expensive meds, since some superiors thought the other would be just dandy.

Sorry, I can't take pics, pretty sure that could put my job at risk. But imagine the worst ich you have ever seen. It looks like that, maybe even worse than you can imagine.


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## Olivia27 (Nov 26, 2015)

Is it possible to have another hospital tank? The problem with ick is that we're treating the tank, not the fish. Treatment is only effective when the protozoa is in its free-swimming stage, which is why we crank up the temp to get them all to the free swimming stage ASAP. So even if the medications has successfully reduced all the... Free swimming things (there's a proper name for it beginning with T)... The newly introduced fish will bring in some more in parasite stage that will later burst and add to the free swimming population. The fact that the tank is overstocked does not help as well. Ich protozoans die when they can't find a host to attach to within 48 hours of becoming free swimming. More fish means they don't have to worry about not finding a host. So my advice would be to treat with pure malachite green and get more hospital tanks. Try to keep each tank as understocked as possible.

Edit: and for those fish that has made it into another tank before they got hospitalized, track down which tank they've been in and treat that one too. Don't take any chances as you can't see the protozoans!


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## torileeann11 (Dec 17, 2015)

Olivia27 said:


> Is it possible to have another hospital tank? The problem with ick is that we're treating the tank, not the fish. Treatment is only effective when the protozoa is in its free-swimming stage, which is why we crank up the temp to get them all to the free swimming stage ASAP. So even if the medications has successfully reduced all the... Free swimming things (there's a proper name for it beginning with T)... The newly introduced fish will bring in some more in parasite stage that will later burst and add to the free swimming population. The fact that the tank is overstocked does not help as well. Ich protozoans die when they can't find a host to attach to within 48 hours of becoming free swimming. More fish means they don't have to worry about not finding a host. So my advice would be to treat with pure malachite green and get more hospital tanks. Try to keep each tank as understocked as possible.
> 
> Edit: and for those fish that has made it into another tank before they got hospitalized, track down which tank they've been in and treat that one too. Don't take any chances as you can't see the protozoans!


I feel like I am on an impossible mission. I just got a new store manager yesterday (which NO ONE saw coming). So of course, she is all about the corporate rules and policies. There is no way I am going to be able to use any "outside medications" or set up any "non standard" tanks. I don't know who the idiots are that make these standards, but I bet not one of those mofos has ever had a successful fish tank. I hate that I am stuck in this position. Pretty much means that all the fish that get put in that tank are going to just die. :'(


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## torileeann11 (Dec 17, 2015)

to your edit: 

unfortunately, the "fish wall" is one giant, connected system that runs through an insane sump in the back. It has a fluidized bed, floss pads (changed daily), UV sterilizers, activated carbon, and a bunch of other crazy stuff I can't access. Usually an outside company comes in to maintenance it. 

So basically, any meds are pretty much immediately nullified. I can't jack up the temps for the fish wall, or I will kill all the goldfish. (who already have it hard enough at 77F). I was hoping that the UV sterilizers would kill the free swimmers (but who knows if the bulbs are still good. They are locked in a chamber only the maintenance people can open.) 

That's it! Next plan, harass my managers into having the UV bulbs checked. That won't fix it, but it might help the main tank..

I can't use any meds that we can't order from corporate, or buy off our shelves.


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## Olivia27 (Nov 26, 2015)

Well the good news is, I just googled super ick cure and apparently they're just mal green in a different bottle. As for the big fish wall... Welp. I was going to suggest you can "simply" jar all the fish that has shared a tank with the sick ones for 48 hours instead of doing an actual treatment, but it doesn't look like it's possible  I'm sorry. Can you complain to the supplier?


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## torileeann11 (Dec 17, 2015)

I have been marking all fish that arrive with ich as DOA. That should eventually raise some flags with people who care about money. I hope. I'm pretty powerless, I know, it sucks. I wish I wasn't poor with wrecked credit, I would love to open my own fish store.


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## ThatFishThough (Jan 15, 2016)

I would totally help you if I could o.o

(New Fish Store)

Edit: we're kinda.. far away, though. Maybe when NDSU comes down to Frisco next year.


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## torileeann11 (Dec 17, 2015)

Well, I did all of the cleaning and water changes today. Every tank is doing wonderful 

The girls are floating!! I am so nervous! Of course Jade is throwing bars, but she is the only one.. Definitely letting her out last. Envy arrived today! Alive, active and healthy. I fed them all 4 pellets before I started the floating. They all ate like little piggies. Thank you again Olivia!









*Viola*







*
Nia*








*Jade*








*
Envy*








*
Xena*, who is matte black and impossible to photograph.









Little baby fish (who I think might be a boy, but still not 100) isn't quite sure what to think of all this new space he has lol.








Rex was showing off his amazing dorsal today~


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## torileeann11 (Dec 17, 2015)

The girls have been released. So far it hasn't been too bad. They do have some issues to work out, but it hasn't been anything dangerous or too violent. The current standing on the pecking order is looking like:
1. Nia
2. Jade
3. Envy
4. Xena
5. Viola

Nia and Jade haven't worked out who exactly is number 1, but Nia is winning. Envy doesn't need to be in charge, but she isn't taking crap from anyone at all. Xena is hiding and really wishes she wasn't involved in all this drama. Viola is exploring and yields to everyone.


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## Olivia27 (Nov 26, 2015)

Eeep good luck! Love Envy's flare photo. I couldn't get her to flare at all so was doubting the HM part of the EEHMPK label, but apparently she really is a HM, huh? I'm rooting for Nia as queen bee  black orchids rule!


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## torileeann11 (Dec 17, 2015)

Yea, she is really really nice. Good eye!

Jade, Nia and Envy are all full halfmoons. Nia is a 6 ray! I've seen lots and lots of flaring tonight lol.


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## Thalanaya (Feb 25, 2016)

This thread is really neat. I never knew you could keep beta fish together. I think I am going to have to do more reading on the Betas. I have one Beta that I gave to my hubby on Valentine's day. His Tank background says I fish you would be my Valentine. he is pink and is in a small desk tank. I think it is a 1 gallon but that is temporary.


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## Olivia27 (Nov 26, 2015)

Thalanaya said:


> This thread is really neat. I never knew you could keep beta fish together. I think I am going to have to do more reading on the Betas. I have one Beta that I gave to my hubby on Valentine's day. His Tank background says I fish you would be my Valentine. he is pink and is in a small desk tank. I think it is a 1 gallon but that is temporary.


Yep, do more reading. Sorority is not for beginners, I'm afraid. If you have just stepped into this hobby I'd say drop the thought. And you can't keep two male Bettas together beginner or not. Happy researching!


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## torileeann11 (Dec 17, 2015)

Well we are under a tornado watch. I detest spring storms. My anxiety can't handle this.

I also noticed a hairline crack in the frontmost pane of my Aqueon Hex20... Which, I didn't like that tank much anyway, So I guess it's time to move them all to something different (with a bigger footprint!)

All the girls are playing nice... enough. It seems that Envy has taken the lead. Jade is still defiant, but it getting slowly put in her place. Thankfully no biting at all. No more slapping, and the flares are down.

New pecking order lineup as of now:
1. Envy
2. Nia
3. Jade
4. Xena
5. Viola


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## ShadeSlayer (Jul 20, 2015)

I’m pretty sure Nia is the most beautiful female betta I’ve ever seen. O.O


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## torileeann11 (Dec 17, 2015)

ShadeSlayer said:


> I’m pretty sure Nia is the most beautiful female betta I’ve ever seen. O.O


Awe thank you! <3


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## ShadeSlayer (Jul 20, 2015)

she. is. STUNNING! Gosh I’m so jealous.


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## Betta44 (Aug 9, 2015)

I'm enjoying reading the 'drama' of the sorority tank. I'm glad all the girls seem to be adjusting well. Beautiful pics- thanks!


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## torileeann11 (Dec 17, 2015)

So of course Jade has to be all about the drama, and someone took a piece of her anal fin. So now I am debating what to do. I am pretty sure I want to take her out.... but I don't know if that is me just overreacting.. Maybe I should let them work it out? But I don't want her to get beat up too bad, or worse...

Basically, Jade *is not* the biggest fish in the tank, but good luck telling her that. She refuses to yield to the big girls (Nia and Envy). In addition to refusing to yield, she outright finds them and throws bars to start fights. Which are typically chasing, flare offs. But at some point, someone bit her good. I am just afraid she is going to start something she can't win.

So I am about 2 seconds away from bringing her home a new tank to set up on my desk..... 

Think I should let them work it out? Am I just being over-protective?

Here is my poor baby girl's fin.. but she is still gorgeous though, and proud as ever.


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## LittleBettaFish (Oct 2, 2010)

Personally I think that's fairly minor fin damage. I certainly wouldn't be removing a female from a sorority for that small amount of damage. 

Unfortunately, when you put a group of territorial and aggressive fish together, this is quite often the result. 

I would wait and see if there was any further damage inflicted before I would think of removing her. However, if one or more of your females seem to be ceaselessly targeting her for physical attacks I would definitely remove her. But for now, I would let them sort it out amongst themselves.


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## torileeann11 (Dec 17, 2015)

LittleBettaFish said:


> Personally I think that's fairly minor fin damage. I certainly wouldn't be removing a female from a sorority for that small amount of damage.
> 
> Unfortunately, when you put a group of territorial and aggressive fish together, this is quite often the result.
> 
> I would wait and see if there was any further damage inflicted before I would think of removing her. However, if one or more of your females seem to be ceaselessly targeting her for physical attacks I would definitely remove her. But for now, I would let them sort it out amongst themselves.



Ok I will let it ride for a little bit. But if it get's worse I am netting her off. They don't target her, she starts it! No one else has fin damage. Viola and Xena stay out of the way, Envy and Nia hang around by themselves, and Jade starts crap. lol

I'm adding SeaChem StressGuard to their tank as a precaution against infection in the fins.


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## Betta44 (Aug 9, 2015)

I'm not on expert on sorority tanks- someday,maybe, I'd like to attempt one when I have a lot more experience but I think your approach makes a lot of sense. My guess is that you'll just need to keep a close eye on the girls- which you are doing.
Good luck!


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## torileeann11 (Dec 17, 2015)

*Awesome News~!!*

So a silver lining has been found!!! *WE GOT THE HOUSE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!* We are still waiting on closing, but we have the keys and got approved for the money. Well, not "us". Marco's parents are financing it and we are going to pay the mortgage. I am eternally grateful for this situation. 

This means that I can do more set ups, and upgrade some others! Marco also got a huge raise. Just when I was getting down, things turned around. I am thanking everything right now!

We are going to get my car fixed soon (we hope), and I am going to push hard to get a new job at LFS. Guess I will have to change the journal title. But I feel like I would find more enjoyment in working at a speciality store as opposed to a large box chain.

So here are my plans, aka things for y'all to look forward to seeing in this journal sometime in the future!

1. We are going to build a goldfish pond out of a 200+ stock tank.. something like this. Just need to figure out what material will be safe. https://www.southernstates.com/catalog/p-8522-behlen-country-round-galvanized-stock-tank-265gal.aspx
I want to use stones, bricks, cinderblocks or something to put around the tank, then fill the space between the tank and the "wall" with soil and grow some plants. Also going to have pond plants with the goldfish. Much more research needs to be done. But I am SO excited.

2. Marco wants to set up a reef tank. We are thinking something like 36-45gal. It will be my first run on a real reef system. Pretty stoked about that. Also really happy that Marco is getting into it. 

3. He said I can build as many "betta stations" as I want, but the wood has to match the room, and they must be aquascaped. lol

4. I get a WHOLE BEDROOM to myself for my fish room/art studio! So I plan to attempt my first spawn sometime this summer!!

This is all going to take time, we aren't by any means rich at all. But we are diligent DIYers. 


Here are some pics of the ladies I took tonight, and a shot of the overall betta station progress!

Jade's anal fin is a bit worse, but she still seems sassy and fine. Keeping a close eye on her. Overall, everyone seems to be calming down. I don't see anymore serious chasing. Everyone seems to know their place. Jade hasn't been picking fights (that I have seen), and Envy is no longer bullying Nia. For now I suppose..

















*Envy*








*Viola*


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## Betta44 (Aug 9, 2015)

Congrats on all the recent blessings! Looking forward to hearing more about your projects.


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## ThatFishThough (Jan 15, 2016)

Yes! Yes! Yes! OMG you have me *almost*, if not more, (as?) excited as you! 

Yes! OMG! I CANT FREAKING WAIT!


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## ashleynicol3 (Feb 23, 2016)

They're all so beautiful! The tank setup is amazing too! Viola is my favorite. I love her coloring. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## ThatFishThough (Jan 15, 2016)

Hehe, viola looks like my new girl, Candy.


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## torileeann11 (Dec 17, 2015)

*Emmy was adopted today!*

Today Emmy went to her new home with a family friend. Her new name is Dottie. She has this whole 10gal to herself. They understand that she is special needs and her longevity is unknown. I treated her for everything under the sun, and her gill just got bigger. She now has a lump coming up from under her pectoral fin by the same gill. I fear it might be a tumor. But she shouldn't have to live out her life in my 1gal hospital tank, so I decided to rehome her to someone I knew. When she left me today, she was still peppy and zippy, and she ate like a pig this morning. 

Here is a pic of her in her new home!


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## Betta44 (Aug 9, 2015)

Best of luck to Emmy! For however she lives, at least she will be well taken care of.


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## Sadist (Jan 1, 2015)

I'm glad she has a real home (instead of a hospital tank) for the rest of her life!


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## torileeann11 (Dec 17, 2015)

Took some pics today.

Little baby fish still has no name and is growing like a weed.








Rex's tail is growing back, but slowly as to be expected. He is the laziest fish of all time. He lounges on his plants, only getting up to flare at my finger or patrol. The plants are doing well, but I want to replace the shells with something else.. Perhaps some rocks. 















Sushi and the window glare refused to let me get any decent shots of his tank.

Rio's tank is growing nicely, but he is a ninja in there against the black gravel.








The girls are doing sorority tank things. I am doing 50% water changes twice weekly to ensure optimal cleanliness for them. The plants in the tank are thriving! I am very happy with the Finnex Stingray.








Overall shot of the station's progress.








Logan the sassy fish. Who is on lights out and double water changes to try to handle some of that staghorn algae.








And of course, King. My handsome and overly photogenic desk companion.


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## Sadist (Jan 1, 2015)

I love those tanks! My favorite is the castle with the path of stones.


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## torileeann11 (Dec 17, 2015)

The new Betta Station shelf!!!! My step dad made it out of solid oak. I put a 10gal on it for size reference... it will fit my 20Long!!!! Also has much more room above each tank to work with, it dwarfs the old shelf. So excited!

I also posted a picture of the fish room, the planned flooring and the color scheme. The theme is going to be "beach". Please excuse the mess/Marco and his mom in the pic. We have lots of work to do still.


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## ShadeSlayer (Jul 20, 2015)

love Marco’s shirt. LOL


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## torileeann11 (Dec 17, 2015)

ShadeSlayer said:


> love Marco’s shirt. LOL


Metallic is in his top 5 favorite bands. I wish they weren't so expensive and impossible to get tickets to. :/


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## ShadeSlayer (Jul 20, 2015)

Ditto!!!!!!


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## torileeann11 (Dec 17, 2015)

So my step dad found me a fishtank. My mom said that he is going to give it to me after we move and he has it in his shed. No pics yet, but I am going to pester her into getting me some ASAP. So my mom _thinks_ this tank is a 45-65gal corner tank with the stand. I hope she is right! I would *love* a corner tank! So what should I do with it????? I have no idea.. The options are endless. I could do a reef? Or I could do a planted freshwater? Then there is stocking? I have NO IDEA. Too many options. What would ya'll do??


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## themamaj (May 11, 2015)

Love ideas on the fish room! New tank station is really great. It would be great to have shelves you didn't have to worry about weight of larger tanks. King is beautiful. I really like how you have scaped his tank.


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## Olivia27 (Nov 26, 2015)

45! Is a grow out tank for spaaawn >


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## torileeann11 (Dec 17, 2015)

Olivia27 said:


> 45! Is a grow out tank for spaaawn >


holy tar Olivia! I don't plan to spawn that many at once!! LOL And I can't even imagine trying to fish them out of a 45gal corner for jarring lol. I was going to use 20Longs for growouts.

I was thinking a large sorority.. I am going to have to do a LOT of looking into it and planning if I go that route. I just worry that it could go from a reality TV show with flava flave to a Kmart on black friday in Detroit... 

I want to plant it. High tech, hanging fancy light and pressurized CO2. Canister filter, filled with my own filter media cocktail ;D

I was thinking 19 females, 5 ottos and 10 juli cories.. and maybe a couple more ladies if it reaches the 65gal range.

I want to plant it first.. Using SeaChem Black Flourite capped with sand (for the julies sake!) After I have it heavily planted, stable and cycled for about 3 months, add fish.

Meanwhile, I am going to talk to a guy at a LFS about some custom, rimless micro tanks to fit that shelf. Would make a good QT system for ladies while I set the tank. Plus it is going to take me FOREVER to get all this together.. But a plan is the best start...


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## Olivia27 (Nov 26, 2015)

Oi more room means more space for the fries to grow larger! (Right?) something with growth stunting hormone and this and that. I really shouldn't be awake at this hour lol all my head is saying is cute tiny black orchid babies by the hundreds. If people count sheep I count Bettas 

Ooohh I love cories! Get a boat load of them!


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## OUOhYeah2016 (Dec 9, 2015)

As much as sororities can be stressful it's not impossible for them to go well. Idk if you have any other community tanks, but it's kinda nice after having single tanks or divided tanks, to have a tank full of fish all in together. That feels kinda selfish to say, but then again my new sorority is going well.


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## torileeann11 (Dec 17, 2015)

OUOhYeah2016 said:


> As much as sororities can be stressful it's not impossible for them to go well. Idk if you have any other community tanks, but it's kinda nice after having single tanks or divided tanks, to have a tank full of fish all in together. That feels kinda selfish to say, but then again my new sorority is going well.


My sorority is also going pretty well. But as I hear, more ladies and more room will spread territories and aggression. As long as I don't jump into it, and take all necessary precautions to pre-cycle and ensure there are TONS of plants and coverage, it should be alright.

I talked to some of the breeders on facebook. They said that most people won't mess with a tank that big for "just betta". According to several opinions on there the large tank will work. Seems the turn off is how much time and equipment it will take to properly set one up. It will take just as much precaution, care and observation (if not 3x more) as any other sorority system, and all the same risks apply. I understand the distaste for them. While I have one, I would never ever recommend them to someone if I did not know that they were _fully_ educated as well as _willing_ and ready to do what is necessary for the safety of the girls. They are very much hard work, and still very unpredictable. 

I have a brackish molly/GSP community. I like it and all, but that tank is actually getting an upgrade and remodel before the new tank even gets substrate. They need a bigger footprint something awful, and my puffer is 3" now, so it's time to move him to something closer to a 30gal.


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## Sadist (Jan 1, 2015)

Oh, with the bigger tank, I would totally get one of those blue crayfish! I don't think they're compatible with bettas or anything that rests near the bottom at night, though.


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## torileeann11 (Dec 17, 2015)

Sadist said:


> Oh, with the bigger tank, I would totally get one of those blue crayfish! I don't think they're compatible with bettas or anything that rests near the bottom at night, though.


Yea I have heard that those are a bit nippy. I might just avoid the crayfish. They don't spark my interest personally, but yours are beautiful 

The only other things I really like are oscars (which this tank isn't even big enough to _think_ about housing even one by itself), reefs (an option with some modifications) and goldfish (which in my opinion belong in ponds. Too messy for inside.)


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## Sadist (Jan 1, 2015)

Good luck! I just really love watching shrimp, so getting giant shrimp (dwarf crayfish) just seemed like the thing to do! I found pictures of blue ones online after I bought the orange ones. I would have rather waited for blue ones!


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## torileeann11 (Dec 17, 2015)

Ok, so the tank is a 26gal octagon.. Idk where my mom got "45-60gal corner tank" out of that lol. I am just going to move my brackish community into there. They have a hairline crack in the front pane of their hex, and the 26 has a bigger footprint.. it is nasssttty looking. Ill share a pic if y'all want, but it needs some vinegar scrubbing for real. Also, my step dad has to build a new stand. The one it's on is rotted out.


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## Sadist (Jan 1, 2015)

I'd like to wait until you clean it off with vinegar and get it filled up and redo the stand! Gotta love the free tanks out of closets, garages, and storage areas.


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## BeautifulBettaFishies (Dec 21, 2014)

I've missed a lot on my little break! Your little station has progressed so much and is doing fabulous by the look and sounds of it 

Whats in your brackish tank right now? 

I'd love to have a corner discus tank. So cool. Discus... <3


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## torileeann11 (Dec 17, 2015)

BeautifulBettaFishies said:


> I've missed a lot on my little break! Your little station has progressed so much and is doing fabulous by the look and sounds of it
> 
> Whats in your brackish tank right now?
> 
> I'd love to have a corner discus tank. So cool. Discus... <3


Right now my brackish tank has 9 mollies and a green spotted puffer. 5 of the mollies are fry. They need an upgrade. lol. Thankfully everyone is small right now. (for now) But I haven't added any new fish to that tank since I set it up, and only two of the babies were born in the tank.

Idk about discus, we have really hard water here. And they are so expensive and so fragile! Idk if I would ever try them out. I just don't love them enough.

Sadly, that "corner tank" is just a 28gal octagon tank. lol. So I am just going to move the brackish to that tank and toss their hex. Their hex has a crack in the top of it.


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## BeautifulBettaFishies (Dec 21, 2014)

Ah that's a shame. But atleast you have something a bit more roomy for them all, haha. Any pictures of the fries? I remember when mine had fry, it was in a community tank. I obviously wasn't very observant, because, I one day I found a absolute heap of around 15 several week old mollies at the top! They had hidden until they finally all came out too big to be eaten.
Then, about 2 days later, I decided to have a poke around in their wether there was any more. I poked around the rocks, and sure enough a mass of Molly fry were chilling in there! I put the rocks back and left them to it. A good amount made it to adulthood, and I didn't buy any mollies for like 2 years, haha.

The stendker variety of discus is supposed to be less fragile and accept hard water. They seem a lot more hardy but I couldn't say for sure. I'm not sure what are water is like, but I'm planning on getting a pair at some point. They are just so pretty to me. 

And I have a crack at the top of my 15gal too!! I'm doing a repair when my sealant comes, my sorority plus neons are in a ikea tub right now, and seem to be doing fabulously actually, almost better than when they were in the tank??
Loads of people I've shown it too say that it's a gonner, but I'm just so sure I can bodge it together, lol.


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## torileeann11 (Dec 17, 2015)

BeautifulBettaFishies said:


> Ah that's a shame. But atleast you have something a bit more roomy for them all, haha. Any pictures of the fries? I remember when mine had fry, it was in a community tank. I obviously wasn't very observant, because, I one day I found a absolute heap of around 15 several week old mollies at the top! They had hidden until they finally all came out too big to be eaten.
> Then, about 2 days later, I decided to have a poke around in their wether there was any more. I poked around the rocks, and sure enough a mass of Molly fry were chilling in there! I put the rocks back and left them to it. A good amount made it to adulthood, and I didn't buy any mollies for like 2 years, haha.
> 
> The stendker variety of discus is supposed to be less fragile and accept hard water. They seem a lot more hardy but I couldn't say for sure. I'm not sure what are water is like, but I'm planning on getting a pair at some point. They are just so pretty to me.
> ...


This is a repost pic, but it's SO hard to get them all to cooperate!








The 3 larger ones are balloon bellies I took home from work months ago. The two smaller are dalmatians. The smallest one got himself INTO the divider all by himself, so he earned his keep, that is just too crafty. The other managed to survive in my tank on his own long enough to be too big for a betta snack, so he also got to stay. Typically the puffer takes care of the fry, and any stragglers I give to the betta (as long as they are only a couple days old).

I am afraid I might be stunting them by keeping them in the breeder... I mean, the balloons are almost 4 months old and still 1.5cm long... I am afraid to let them out into the big tank, the puffer might eat them... I could move them to a 2.5gal... You think they need to be moved?


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## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

Now, THAT is cute!!!


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## ShadeSlayer (Jul 20, 2015)

AMEN! I love fry!


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## torileeann11 (Dec 17, 2015)

So I decided to try to take some photos of the betta tonight... andddd none, other than Rex, was having my crap tonight. So here are all of the photos where they almost cooperated lol.


My "baby betta" now has a name. _His_ name is Pancho. +1 to Olivia 
He is also more like an "angsty teenage betta" who gets a wiggle fit anytime you come to the tank. He acts a lot like Jade as far as the uncontrolled wiggles go. But, I do see him rest... when he thinks I'm not looking or can't see me.








Sushi's tank just doesn't ever let me get a good photo of him. That, and he is very camera shy. He comes up to the glass for people, but when you pull that camera out, he goes and hides in his plants. *sigh*









Rio gets the award for shyest fish in the house. He is scared of everything. He runs for the plants easier than anyone else. He does not like the camera at all.









Rex thankfully has the attitude that he was born for these photos. He flexes and poses. Show betta at heart right here!
















And I got some pictures of me playing "chase my finger" with the lady fish. They are SO CUTE! Everyone is doing very very well. Jade has been healing up very quickly and no one has any new injuries. Also, Xena had a growth spurt! She is getting to be quite a big girl. She is the peacekeeper between Jade and Envy who bicker. Viola keeps to herself and is usually hanging in the depths of the cabomba. Nia keeps to herself.. she does this weird thing where she rubs all over the dwarf hairgrass.. She is the only one that does it, and at first I was afraid she might itching, but there are no signs of velvet, ich, or any other visual external issues. I have no idea why she does this... any ideas? Or is she just a weirdo?
















*Edit: After more reading I am concerned it might be early velvet. I don't see anything on her, but she is a heavy irrid fish, so I am worried I might not see it until it was really bad. Should I isolate her? Treat the whole tank? Or just calm down? Also, if I do treat the whole tank, is there anything I can use that will be relatively safe for my plants? I have Metroplex, I can start that now if I need to..*


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## Olivia27 (Nov 26, 2015)

Cupramine. It's safe and can be used as a preventative. Meanwhile cut down on the light and crank up the heat to 85-86


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## Olivia27 (Nov 26, 2015)

And HA! XD told ya it's a boy lol love the name!


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## Flashyfins (Mar 27, 2016)

How do I start a thread of my own??


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## Olivia27 (Nov 26, 2015)

Flashyfins said:


> How do I start a thread of my own??


There's a button that says NEW THREAD on the top left corner of every section x


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## ShadeSlayer (Jul 20, 2015)

what additives do you use to make your tanks so green and vibrant???


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## torileeann11 (Dec 17, 2015)

ShadeSlayer said:


> what additives do you use to make your tanks so green and vibrant???


I do weekly 50% water changes. I use SeaChem Prime, Flourish Excel daily, and Flourish Comp weekly. I use Stress Guard weekly if anyone has a booboo. 

My filters are corner filters ran on airstones with floss, matrix, matrix carbon and purigen.


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## torileeann11 (Dec 17, 2015)

I have been reading about keeping cichlid tanks. I don't want one, just curious and thirsty for knowledge. To my real point, the social dynamics seem to be very similar to keeping a sorority. They don't seem to be particularly nice to one another without a perfect tank.

I just find it interesting that cichlid tanks are so common, considering the complexity and anticipated level of risk.


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## torileeann11 (Dec 17, 2015)

So I went and applied at all the local fish stores in the area today. I really really hope I can snag a job at one! I will just keep applying until someone gives in or kicks me out lol.

I snagged up a beautiful steel blue princess at one of them. Her name is Storm. She is going to live in QT for a while. She is such a lovely sky blue, when she has her color dropped, she has yellow undertones in places. She also has BSE. I couldn't resist her sass at the store. She kept swimming up and down her cup and wiggling her little tail at me!


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## Olivia27 (Nov 26, 2015)

Oi! You got too many fish!  

Lol welcome home Princess Storm xx


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## torileeann11 (Dec 17, 2015)

Olivia27 said:


> Oi! You got too many fish!
> 
> Lol welcome home Princess Storm xx


Well when the ladies get a 20gal she can join them, but for now she is in the QT tank. She was the only female they had, and such zoomies.. Remember I have to unpack all the fishes every Thursday and somehow* not *bring them all home. She was special <3


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## ShadeSlayer (Jul 20, 2015)

CUTIE! Love her name!!


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## ShadeSlayer (Jul 20, 2015)

torileeann11 said:


> I do weekly 50% water changes. I use SeaChem Prime, Flourish Excel daily, and Flourish Comp weekly. I use Stress Guard weekly if anyone has a booboo.
> 
> My filters are corner filters ran on airstones with floss, matrix, matrix carbon and purigen.


Going to start following your regimen to green up my sad plants. I do the 50% changes anyway, but all the additives will certainly help. Thanks!!!!


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## torileeann11 (Dec 17, 2015)

ShadeSlayer said:


> Going to start following your regimen to green up my sad plants. I do the 50% changes anyway, but all the additives will certainly help. Thanks!!!!


If that doesn't help them, might need to look at your lighting. All of my tanks are under full spectrum lights. The sorority has the highest PAR, with a Finnex Stingray


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## ShadeSlayer (Jul 20, 2015)

okay, good to know. I’m soo new to plants. You’re tanks are my end goal. they’re simply gorgeous!


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## torileeann11 (Dec 17, 2015)

The ancharias (_E. densa_) in Pancho and Rex's tank are getting a little out of hand. I love all the top cover, so I deal with it, but water changes are hard. lol
It's getting really difficult to take water out and not upset a plant with all these darn roots falling from the sky.


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## torileeann11 (Dec 17, 2015)

So I have a new foster.
Here's the long version of the story,
A dog food promo chick that works at my store, also works at the other store across the street. She just sells dog food, and doesn't work for any of the stores. She works for Blue Buffalo specifically. Anyway, that chick was at the store across the street and they had a betta with one eye, and the other really cloudy. She told them about me, and then they brought me this fish. Soooooooooooo, now I have Wap. He is gorgeous! I am also really happy to hear that someone at that store cared enough to take him to me for rescue. <3
My department manager really likes him. She said she's going to look into getting a tank set up for him and let me know. She has 2 already (each of her kids have a betta), so this one would be for her. I think she has husband screening to go through first lol.

Here he is! This is his bad eye, I couldn't get one of the other side. It's really weird, because when I look close at him, it looks like his eye just never developed fully. He has like a part of an eye inside the hole. (sorry if that's gross). The other eye is just really cloudy, but I think it's from ammonia. I have him in clean, warm water with a touch of Kanaplex, just in case that eye is infected.


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## ShadeSlayer (Jul 20, 2015)

awwwwwwww, poor dude!! I’m so glad you got to give him a chance!


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## Olivia27 (Nov 26, 2015)

He's a beautiful guy despite all that though!


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## torileeann11 (Dec 17, 2015)

Fun times... Due to the increasing number of requests.. I have decided to finally expand my business into home aquarium maintenance. So Blue Nose Trading LLC now has the sub-company of Blue Nose Trading LLC's _Better Betta Aquatics_.

Do y'all like the name? I'm super excited. My first client is tomorrow morning at 8am... GEEZE I need to go to bed. But I have been up all night writing liability release forms and aquarium maintenance contracts. 

I have 4 clients already and just started today.


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## torileeann11 (Dec 17, 2015)

I made a logo.. and now I really am going to bed. Nite~


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## Betta44 (Aug 9, 2015)

Nice logo! Good luck with your new venture.


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## Betta44 (Aug 9, 2015)

Good luck with your new foster fish- he's a cutie and I think will grow into a beautiful fish with some TLC. Please keep us posted.


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## themamaj (May 11, 2015)

That is awesome! Love the logo. Can't wait to hear more. Very happy for your new foster. What a compliment to you that they came looking for you to help this little guy. Hope he does well. What a cutie!


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## torileeann11 (Dec 17, 2015)

So my first tank cleaning went well. SO MUCH ALGAE! I spent 3 hours scrubbing river rocks with a toothbrush, but it was worth it! I was only going to charge $55, but he insisted I take $80 for the first cleaning. I will be cleaning his tank every other Monday . He also said he is going to talk to a few of his friends about me caring for theirs as well. 



Snapped a few pics today after the water changes...

A tank shot of the sorority








The "Mean Girls Club"








Envy was being a beautiful flutter-fish today <3















Jade always manages to show of her killer colors 








I got a somewhat clear photo of Sushi








And it is crazy how different Pancho looks depending on the lighting!


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## SplashyBetta (Jul 28, 2014)

Your sorority tank is GORGEOUS! That castle with the little garden around it, wow. Absolutely stunning.


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## themamaj (May 11, 2015)

What incredible pictures! I could help but laugh out loud when read the "mean girls club". Too funny! Wow how wonderful to get paid so well for tank cleaning! How large was tank?


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## Kingcrimson (Sep 3, 2015)

torileeann11 said:


> The ancharias (_E. densa_) in Pancho and Rex's tank are getting a little out of hand. I love all the top cover, so I deal with it, but water changes are hard. lol
> It's getting really difficult to take water out and not upset a plant with all these darn roots falling from the sky.
> View attachment 758129
> 
> View attachment 758137



I love all those plants growing on the bottom. What kind are they?


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## torileeann11 (Dec 17, 2015)

themamaj said:


> What incredible pictures! I could help but laugh out loud when read the "mean girls club". Too funny! Wow how wonderful to get paid so well for tank cleaning! How large was tank?


It is a 55gal tropical community 



Kingcrimson said:


> I love all those plants growing on the bottom. What kind are they?


 The plants carpeting Rex's tanks are _Sterogyn repens_. Pancho has a few too


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## torileeann11 (Dec 17, 2015)

My website is now live~
Baby steps 

betterbettaaquatics


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## ThatFishThough (Jan 15, 2016)

Aww, too bad your so far away. :3


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## Betta44 (Aug 9, 2015)

The mean girl club cracked me up; I swear your fish had the same expressions of some mean girls I knew back in high school. 
Glad the new business venture is going well. Man, 3 hours of scrubbing algae off stones- you are patient!


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## Betta44 (Aug 9, 2015)

How's your foster fish doing?


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## torileeann11 (Dec 17, 2015)

Betta44 said:


> The mean girl club cracked me up; I swear your fish had the same expressions of some mean girls I knew back in high school.
> Glad the new business venture is going well. Man, 3 hours of scrubbing algae off stones- you are patient!


Haha Idk. Sometimes I have patience, and sometimes not at all. But, I do really enjoy tedious, repetitive work. It keeps my hands busy and gives my mind time to ponder things.

I got a new phone. It was upgrade time (finally!) so I got a Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge. I picked it for the camera, this is my first Galaxy... OMG I am in love. The camera is the BEST camera I have ever owned in my life!

*** seem's to be doing fine. He is sweet, friendly, active and eats well. I really like him. Although, more news on his story is leading me to think other things happened. My new theory is that he may have had popeye and lost an eye. Apparently, he had both eyes when they got him.  Poor little dude. I am off tomorrow and will take some pics of him.

I got another rescue, Finnick. He is a very skittish fish who came in with fin rot and is biting his tail. We were treating him at work for the rot, but when I did his water change last night a huge chunk of his tail came off and was in my water bucket. Soooo I brought him home. 








We went to the local fish stores downtown today!

I got a cool shot of the parrot fish display tank 








These pleco were $100 EACH!








Annnd I my bff got me my first stick.. it's a beautiful stick. It's a special stick.. I am thinking wayyyy to hard about what to do with this stick. I can't let it down lol... right now it is boiling, and will boil some more tomorrow.















She also gave me this cool 1.5gal vase. Don't worry, no betta will have to live it's whole life in this thing. But it will be a great jar for a spawn, or hospital/hotel for a rescue. 








I also found this old pic of our oscar "Candy" that we used to have. She was 10" long when I moved. Poor fish, we didn't know that we weren't keeping her properly, she was a close friends fish (who I lived with for a while... long story).








Annnd I got one more... I couldn't not. She's so vibrant and beautiful. I had to!
Meet Sol, female orange BSE VT. <3


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## Sadist (Jan 1, 2015)

What a gorgeous girl! She matches my Tequila Sunrise except he has pink iridescence on his body.


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## ThatFishThough (Jan 15, 2016)

Aww she looks like my Honey. SIP. <3


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## torileeann11 (Dec 17, 2015)

A couple pics of my fosters, Finnick and ***. Finnick needs a bigger tank asap. We should be moving into our new house before the end of April, that is the only reason I am holding off on setting it up.


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## ThisDragonisNerdy (Mar 28, 2015)

Wow, Finnick is handsome! I was wondering- can you even tell what tail type he is, with all the damage? And did he really lose all that tail to fin rot, or is the picture at an odd angle?


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## Olivia27 (Nov 26, 2015)

I am SO jealous of your Anacharis. Mine died. Totally my fault though, I keep on spending my money on other stuff so poor thing went without lighting for a good month or so  now that I actually have a Stingray, it's long gone. *sniff sniff*

@Dragon: butting in here, but you can see by the base of the tail that Finnick is at least a Delta. If not, then a Super Delta. If not, then a HM. You get the point. And I honestly don't believe he has fin rot. He's fin biting. Severely. But it may turn to rot if Tori didn't swoop in just in time.


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## torileeann11 (Dec 17, 2015)

+1 to Olivia, it was biting. He hasn't had any new injuries since I have had him. I change half his water daily with a turkey baster. He's getting better. He isn't stressed, but he is shy and will spaz out when I take pics. But he seems to be warming up to me. He still is really cautious, you can see it in his eyes. I wonder what we did that traumatized him 

I only keep the Ancharias in the bowl for a week, then I swap it with a fresh piece and let the old piece recover. I just have SO much of it.. it loves my water apparently. lol

Edit: He was also labeled as a HM at the store. If I had to guess, I would say he is fairly young.


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## ThisDragonisNerdy (Mar 28, 2015)

Ohhh alright. To both of you.
Aww, poor guy. 
It looks like I won't be able to go to the lps until this weekend- that's the deciding factor, if you didn't look at my 'adopting' thread. If no there catches my eye, I'm considering this cutie. No other betta has stepped forward on here! And besides, he needs help! He.. is up for adoption still, right? If you changed your mind it's fine. (The post with the pic of him makes it sound like you're keeping him..?)


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## torileeann11 (Dec 17, 2015)

THATDragonLovesBettas said:


> Ohhh alright. To both of you.
> Aww, poor guy.
> It looks like I won't be able to go to the lps until this weekend- that's the deciding factor, if you didn't look at my 'adopting' thread. If no there catches my eye, I'm considering this cutie. No other betta has stepped forward on here! And besides, he needs help! He.. is up for adoption still, right? If you changed your mind it's fine. (The post with the pic of him makes it sound like you're keeping him..?)


He is available for adoption, but I do love getting to know each betta I rescue. I would like to keep ahold of him for at least another week. It will take time for his tail to heal back completely, but I like to have them for 2 weeks to keep an eye out for anything. Finnick is $5 plus shipping to my paypal. If you decide for sure you would like him, you can send me a PM.


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## ThisDragonisNerdy (Mar 28, 2015)

torileeann11 said:


> He is available for adoption, but I do love getting to know each betta I rescue. I would like to keep ahold of him for at least another week. It will take time for his tail to heal back completely, but I like to have them for 2 weeks to keep an eye out for anything. Finnick is $5 plus shipping to my paypal. If you decide for sure you would like him, you can send me a PM.


Got it! Thanks for explaining.


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## Aqua Aurora (Oct 4, 2013)

torileeann11 said:


> Annnd I got one more... I couldn't not. She's so vibrant and beautiful. I had to!
> Meet Sol, female orange BSE VT. <3
> View attachment 762129
> 
> [/SIZE]


Nice orange pinapple gal!


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## ShadeSlayer (Jul 20, 2015)

FINNCIK

There goes my heart.


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## torileeann11 (Dec 17, 2015)

I have been so insanely busy. This post is going to be extremely picture heavy.

I did a photoshoot of the betta station fishes tonight. They have the best light and I got lazy, sorry. But they are so gorgeous, and the tanks are all coming along so beautifully. I have staghorn algae in tank 1. Sad day. It's getting better. I have snails in tank 3, but I have just been taking them out and feeding them to the puffer, so I guess that's ok. 


*Tank 1- Pancho*
Pancho is growing like a weed, and so is the _Egeria densa_.















*Tank 2- Rex*
Derpy derp fish.















*Tank 3- Sushi*
Still hard to take pics of this tank, but the new camera helps a bit.















*Tank 4- Rio*
Shy shy Rio. This shelf row never lets me take pics!  But Rio got a new stick! Which I need to tie some anubias nana to!







*
Sorority*
My ladies.. All so beautiful as always. Storm and Sol are going to live separate until I upgrade to a 20L. The cupramine treatment is through and the girls got a much needed water change. Some of the plants didn't take well to the treatment. Some of the _Vallisneria spiralis_ turned red. (?) and all of the _Cyprus helferi_ melted. 












































Sooooo we closed on the house today! Got the deed and all that jazz. I work all weekend, so I won't get to start working on it until Monday. We have already bought all the flooring, paint, outlet covers, window blinds and some other misc items. I am itching to get started!! SO EXCITED! Soooo I made an (as close to exact as possible) layout of our house after our remodeling, and it should look something like this....

Let's start with the fish room! I want the two large tanks to be 75's. One is going to be a sorority, and I have to think on the second one... Brackish, discus, single oscar or saltwater are tossed around in my head. The two bookshelves aside the window will be betta stations. My computer desk is totes in this room, it might not fit in the corner like I want, so I'll have to toy with it. My real desk is also HUGE and tall. I want to keep a succulent collection on the shelves above my tank. To the north wall, I will set up my art studio space. I want to turn that WHOLE wall around my painting table into shelves of mass organization.






















Bedroom is a loose idea of a jungle theme with lots of different wood colors/patterns. King's Spec V will be in our bedroom.















The kitchen! The house was built in the 50's so idk where these people sat down to eat. No table room here. All of these cabinets exist already. We still need to find a washer and dryer. I am holding out for front loading so I can build a counter over them and make more space. I also have to figure out what to do with that awkward space next to the stove... Anything I put there is certain to get greasy from the stove. -_-















The living room, aka The Studio. This is Marco's room. He is designing it like a recording studio, because that what he will use it for most of the time lol. We already have all the instruments, and a few more than the game had available. He wants to build a guitar rack to set them on.






















The bathroom is pretty basic, and small. The actual space from the shower to the window is about 9". Sims is just a little weird, and that room is weird. 








This is the sun room that we plan to add on eventually. (who knows when, but it is a big dream of ours. I know we can make it happen!) This is the place to have coffee and hang out. Also, the home of the bird later, but... if I am lucky...... really lucky..... Marco will let me bring home Chloe... She is a cockatiel that I have bonded with, and I want her so bad it hurts. I am so scared someone is going to buy her before I get a chance. :/... I might not even get her... I have to get all the money and supplies together... But I am going to try to save... And then try to convince Marco that I can keep her in my fish room......






















So this is a rough layout of the planned backyard. The square thing is the goldfish pond, but will be bigger and not square. I really really really love Mimosa Trees, and they are able to grow in my garden zone!! So one of those has to happen! They attract so many butterflies, bees and hummingbirds! <3, but it has to be away from and downwind of the pond, those sticky flowers would make a mess. The deck doesn't exist yet, nor does the sun room. But the work shed is real! The weird dirt rows are where I want to attempt again and again to grow food I can eat.


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## ThatFishThough (Jan 15, 2016)

Loving it! Sooo excited for you and Marco!


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## torileeann11 (Dec 17, 2015)

Sorry I've been away. My life has been: wake up at 8am and remodel house, go to work, get off work, work on house until midnight, sleep, repeat.

Sad sad news, I found Rex passed away this morning:'(

Hoping to move everything on Thursday if we can get the flooring all done by then. *fingers crossed*

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## torileeann11 (Dec 17, 2015)

I also almost forgot! I adopted Chloe! She is at my friends house until I feel the house has aired out sufficiently. 









And here are a couple cute pics I snapped this morning. 

Quote of the day: "Do you think they think we are underwater too?" 


















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## DangerousAngel (Mar 26, 2015)

Your fish and tanks are beautiful! I LOVE your puffer! I adore the layout of your home too! Congrats!
I'm so happy you got to bring home Chloe!!


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## ThatFishThough (Jan 15, 2016)

Yayaaayayay!!! More pictures! MORE! MOOORRREEE! MOOAAAARRRRRRR!


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## Olivia27 (Nov 26, 2015)

IS A PUFFER! Eeeeep! 

I really really should get over my snail phobia. *Then* I can have them ><


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## Betta44 (Aug 9, 2015)

Congrats on the new house! Sounds like you have lots of great ideas! Congrats, also, on getting Chloe- she'll be in good hands. RIP for Rex, sorry to hear that.


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## torileeann11 (Dec 17, 2015)

Ughhhh moving is so lame! I broke down all of my tanks and put all my guys and gals into cups two days ago. Well it decided to torrential downpour on our moving days and we only have a pick up truck to move 15 miles.... All my poor babies are in cups on the new counter, and half the tanks are at the new place with 1/3 of their water... I am so worried about my plants. I have as much submerged as I can, but nothing has a filter or lights. We just got the shelf itself moved tonight, but it poured rain on us, so it has to sit and dry before I set it up. (all of the electrical stuff got wet... hope it still works)

I still have to get King, Logan and the 20gal in my room.

Thankfully the office is done! Well as far as the hard part goes.. Still needs outlet plates, new ceiling fan installed, new light fixture over art table and all the furniture. But it's come a long long way!

*Before*







*After
*







this is before the floors, but the natural light makes it easier to see the paint... (needs new light fixtures)








and here is the progress for the rest of the remodel...

*Living Room*
Before







And Now... still working on installing the floors in there. It's going to be wood as well.. just don't have enough to do it because apparently I cannot measure or math...















*The bedroom~*
before







After: we pretty much rebuilt this room. We also removed the closet. When we took off the paneling all of the drywall crumbled under it. So we had to lay all new drywall... Floors and trim also pending.. Trim will likely get done tomorrow. We have it and a miter saw, so piece of cake.






















*The bathroom is almost liveable!*
Before















We are still waiting on floors. I was going to do a peel and stick vinyl, but there are just too many odd cuts.. So we have to call in an adultier adult. 
















We haven't even touched the kitchen... but we know that all of the top cabinets have to come down and we have to rebuild _at least_ 2 walls. They are just freaking plywood right now -__-


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## torileeann11 (Dec 17, 2015)

Whewwww... my betta are all cozy back in their homes at the new house. Just one more tank to move... the 2gal brackish... not totally excited for that... especially considering the hairline crack it already has on one pane... thank goodness it's the dollar per gallon sale at my petco right now.. I might need a new 29 









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## DangerousAngel (Mar 26, 2015)

The tanks look AMAZING!! So does your house! 
Good luck moving the 2 gal, hopefully it'll be OK.


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## torileeann11 (Dec 17, 2015)

Haha it's a 20gal.. lolol. 2gal would be no problemo 

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## torileeann11 (Dec 17, 2015)

Oh and one more thing that I don't know _how _ I forgot to mention! 
* I got an interview at the local fish store!* 
I'm pretty sure I got the job. I'm suppose to call next week of he doesn't call me to ask about a start date 
So _ hopefully _ this means goodbye corporate machine~

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## torileeann11 (Dec 17, 2015)

After the biggest headache in the whole world, I have finally assembled Chloe's cage.









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## ShadeSlayer (Jul 20, 2015)

I’m so glad you could get her. She looks like a sweet bird. I wish I could have one but with three cats having a fish and hamsters is enough to worry about. the mighty hunters never rest ;0)
Crossing my fingers you get the job. If you do, I predict you’re going to be getting a lot more bettas and other fishes. Have you ever considered a big 50+ gallon? That’s my dream. I want to stock it with bettas, corydoras and livebearers. I’ve always thought it would be cool to set one up in my living room. Parents aren’t too sure. 
Your house is looking great. i love wood floors.


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## torileeann11 (Dec 17, 2015)

Thanks ShadeSlayer! I actually want to get a 75gal for my sorority. And I need to move the brackish community to a larger tank as well.. maybe a 36.. we are also looking into doing a 36ish gal reed if I get the job. The LFS sells saltwater and the owner wants me to run a reef at home for the experience 
. No complaints here lol. 

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## DangerousAngel (Mar 26, 2015)

Ohh, yes, a 20 would definitely make things a bit more difficult XD
The cage looks great, I'm so happy you got her!! 
And congrats on the job interview!


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## torileeann11 (Dec 17, 2015)

*I got the job!!!!*
And not only did I get it, but I got hired on as a boss lady. I am Head of Freshwater Systems and Aquatic Plants <3.
Thank everything for the blessings in my life right now. <3

SO HAPPY and SO THANKFUL.

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## ThatFishThough (Jan 15, 2016)

Congrats!


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## Aetherius (Sep 5, 2015)

Congratulations on getting the new job! After reading through the whole journal, I know you'll thrive in that position. You're house is turning out wonderfully. All of your tanks make me so envious..I would totally steal that sorority. The plants in all of them look amazing. I'm totally going to subscribe and check in daily .


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## Olivia27 (Nov 26, 2015)

Well deserved  congrats on the new job and good luck!


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## ShadeSlayer (Jul 20, 2015)

OMG congratulations! So happy for you!


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## torileeann11 (Dec 17, 2015)

Well.. I now have a goldfish. But I don't plan to keep him long. Probably guna take him to my new job. I only have a 10gal and that is wayy not enough space.

Some guy came into my store and was like "do you take fish back?" And I was like. "Well we aren't supposed to anymore" (per my new manager)
And this guy got all stupid and tried (and succeded) to throw this poor guy in my trash can. Like WTF? 
So I took it home. The new manager won't let fish into the fish wall without a week in ISO, but that tank is being 'treated' for ich. This guy is like 8 inches long.... so he's in a 10gal with nothing but a filter for the moment. Guna take him to the fish store on my next day off work.

















Also, half my face is swollen and I need to get a wisdom tooth out ASAP.
Quick rant: we pay $125 a month for health insurance. And the stupid insurance company will only cover $160 out of the $500 for the extraction. Healthcare in the US is such a freaking scam. This isn't an optional thing. It's not even my fault! My body was just like _ hey let's make amother tooth and send it in sideways!_

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## torileeann11 (Dec 17, 2015)

King says hi! 
My handsome little marble who now lives on the nightstand on my side of the bed. 









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## torileeann11 (Dec 17, 2015)

Sushi has velvet  
I turned on his lights today and he was just covered in it. I started Cupramine immediately and lights out. This makes me wonder if Rex died of velvet? I moved Sushi to Rex's old tank (tank 2) and put *** in tank 3 where Sushi used to live. I just don't recall ever seeing the signs on Rex. Sushi has it so obviously. 

(This pic is from about a week ago)









I also have random bouts of Stag horn algae. It's really really annoying. I either need CO2, or to add a HOB filter to increase flow. Which is only really viable on the sorority. Oh the headache.

I started my new job tomorrow... I think. I'm going up there, but no one has given me any solid schedule since it's a training week. I guess I'll just go tomorrow and figure out the rest of the week from there.

Oh and I got a new tattoo on Friday the 13th for $13. It's an eevee <3. (For non pokemon fans, it's a pokemon)









I need a vacation. Still working on remodeling day by day. 

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## torileeann11 (Dec 17, 2015)

Some photos of the girls.









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## goldfishfanforever (May 8, 2016)

Wow I love your journal and am so envious of Sol


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## torileeann11 (Dec 17, 2015)

Thanks! She's my own little "goldfish" without the mess xD

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## goldfishfanforever (May 8, 2016)

torileeann11 said:


> Thanks! She's my own little "goldfish" without the mess xD
> 
> Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G935A using Tapatalk


Haha tell me about it my two telescope eye goldfish are so messy and they are still babies although in a just under a month one of them has almost doubled in weight. The goldfish in my pond are like poop machines :lol:


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## torileeann11 (Dec 17, 2015)

Water change day and a nice photo op. 

Pancho is growing so much! 









Sushi doesn't have any more gold dust on him, but he seems stressed and generally unwell

















*** is blind and was asleep when I was taking pics... lol. He's so beautiful









Rio hid under the heater in the back as soon as I snapped the first picture and it was blurry. -_-

The girls! 









Today my favorite molly passed away.. SIP Pudge.
An old pic if Pudge 









Some pics from the brackish tank. Loredo has such beautiful spots.









Logansport filter broke -_- so lame. I really don't like this tank at all. (Marineland Nook 3)










And this adorable oranda at my new job. 










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## Elanhac (Apr 24, 2016)

*keep them warm*

_"Temperature_; outside of moving them to a warmer room at night (which we do) and keeping their display away from doors and drafts (also taken care of), it is hard to keep those stinking cups warm enough. It breaks my heart that I often loose them to cold during the winter months."

I don't know if this will work or not for keeping them warm in colder months, but since I live in Minnesota, where it does get cold and electricity does go out, I am thinking if it happens to put mine in cups then put them in a cooler with a source of heat like a bottle of hot water....


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## torileeann11 (Dec 17, 2015)

Elanhac said:


> _"Temperature_; outside of moving them to a warmer room at night (which we do) and keeping their display away from doors and drafts (also taken care of), it is hard to keep those stinking cups warm enough. It breaks my heart that I often loose them to cold during the winter months."
> 
> I don't know if this will work or not for keeping them warm in colder months, but since I live in Minnesota, where it does get cold and electricity does go out, I am thinking if it happens to put mine in cups then put them in a cooler with a source of heat like a bottle of hot water....


Well, that was in reference to my old job at a large box pet store. They typically have 30-50 betta in cups on hand. When it gets really cold (not here because it's Texas) there is a space heater in the quiet room. So one could put them all onto a cart and roll them in there for the night. But idk what they would do if the power went out. It would take quick thinking and someone who really cared, a rare find at part time $8/hour.

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## ShadeSlayer (Jul 20, 2015)

Your fish are so gorgeous. Glad you have the new job.


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## torileeann11 (Dec 17, 2015)

I exchanged some fishes today. I decided to trade my two long bodied mollies for two more balloons. I like them better and now there is less food competition, as well as my bully 4" platinum sailfin can no longer harass the girls. He was like the worst possible guy at the night club who can't take a freaking hint. They are at our store in the tank.

I'm also really happy with a conversation I had with my new boss/the owner of my new job. He said (paraphrasing) 
we aren't sales people and he doesn't like sales people. He said our job is to figure out the experience level of our customer and help them be in situations they can handle based on their experience. If someone is new and they want saltwater, but have never even had a betta, we make them start with tropical community. His reasoning is that fish don't need to die for people to learn. Moreover, many of these saltwater fish are taken from the wild, and should be cared for to the best of our ability. We have to respect these fish, their ecosystems and preserve our planet...

His other reason, is that people try to go in over their heads and then quit the hobby. Our goal is to enrich the hobby. Not only does that increase sales, but it spreads knowledge and makes more successful and responsible fish keepers.


Like hold up! That is so amazing!

Long awaited new fish pics~

Trigger









Lani (Lah-nee)










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## Olivia27 (Nov 26, 2015)

LOL Lani (also pronounced Lah-nee) is my best friend. Never knew that name is popular outside this place. Congrats on the new fishies and yay for everything going so well in your new job!


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## torileeann11 (Dec 17, 2015)

Well that spare 10gal that used to just be sitting around is getting some life.. well it got water, rocks, a filter and an epic stick..

Going to try to run a Beamswork on this tank. Will let you know how I feel about it. It will be here Tuesday.

Filtering with an Aquaclear 20. I added a bag of Purigen and switched the Bio-max for Matrix. Just some personal preferences. 

Started a fishless cycle with Dr. Tim's Ammonium Chloride Solution.

I cleaned out all the plant tanks at work, my boss told me to put all the really small plants, stem trimmings and anything that only had one plant left in a bucket. Then he gave me that bucket at the end of the day. So I got a "bag-o-plants"... not sure what some of them even are.. So I guess we will see how it goes lol

















This is Puka. Someone dropped him off today, and my is he drop dead gorgeous ��









And some random pics from work
The hands down most adorable and beautiful Jack Dempsey (_Rocio octofasciata_) I have ever seen. He is so cute. But I have nothing even close to reasonable to keep one of these mean little boogers.

















We got in 3 panda telescope goldfish! They looked a little sad from shipping  But still really pretty!









_
Cryptocoryne beckettii 'Petchii'_









_Hygrophila polysperma_













































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## torileeann11 (Dec 17, 2015)

" The plan"
Some of these plants are really hard, so I am likely going good to try a DIY CO2 setup on this tank.









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## SimplyXt (Mar 27, 2016)

I am so glad you are happy at your new job!! Your boss sounds awesome


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## Sadist (Jan 1, 2015)

I love the plans! That set up looks lovely.


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## Scribbler (Mar 11, 2016)

Congrats on the new job! It looks like an awesome place to work. 

I wish the LFS by my college kept their plants as well as the ones in your pics. Those prices are great too! There is no LFS back home so I'm gonna have to order plants online when I get back :/


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## torileeann11 (Dec 17, 2015)

Well my fish room is going through some real struggle right now. I am pretty much in full panic mode. The entire betta station now has velvet. Can't say I'm surprised, due to how close the tanks are to one another. 

My theory, velvet is in all systems and fish just resist it until they are stressed. Well I am guessing that Rex got it from stress during the move. Then he died, I moved Sushi into his tank, unaware of the velvet and Sushi got it. Now it's spread to all tanks on the shelf. 

Worst nightmare come true.
So I took out all and threw away all of my sensitive plants (the would just melt anyway) and everyone is on Cupramine and lights out for the next 3 weeks.

I can't do water changes with Prime as it will react with the copper and kill them. So I am guna get 5gal buckets of RO water and use an alkalinity buffer to do water changes every 3 days. We have copper tests at work, so I can use that to calculate how much copper I need to put back in.

Prayers for my fishes. We surley need them.



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## Sadist (Jan 1, 2015)

What a nightmare! I hope they pull through.


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## torileeann11 (Dec 17, 2015)

Me too. I live my fishes very much. I'm irked that my fish got sick and I try so hard to give them the best, meanwhile, someone has had a betta in a bowl somewhere for years. 

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## torileeann11 (Dec 17, 2015)

Got some more plants today 









_Micranthemum "Monte carlo"_









_Rotala wallichii_









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## Hopefish (Feb 9, 2016)

oooh, I am loving those Rotala things. I know nothing about them. Would they be suitable in a betta 5 g or 6.5? What kind of light do they need?


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## Hopefish (Feb 9, 2016)

and I hope your fishies are doing better!


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## torileeann11 (Dec 17, 2015)

Hopefish said:


> oooh, I am loving those Rotala things. I know nothing about them. Would they be suitable in a betta 5 g or 6.5? What kind of light do they need?


To keep them red, they need High light, CO2 injection and Iron supplements. They are supposed to be kinda hard.. but not as hard as the _Rotala macrandra_ to the left side... I'm really really hoping I can keep those alive and hopefully at least pink.

All my fishes are still eating, so that is a good sign. Envy looks the worst of everyone. I had to remove her from the sorority and put her in isolation for the remainder of her treatment. She was having a hard time and everyone was picking on her... To be honest, she isn't doing well


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## Sadist (Jan 1, 2015)

Love the plants! I'm hoping your girl gets better.


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## ShadeSlayer (Jul 20, 2015)

Tank's looking very nice. I love monte carlo. It’s my favorite aquarium plant. I’m unfortunately unable to use it since I have a low-tech tank. One day.....


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## Betta44 (Aug 9, 2015)

Plants look great. I am praying for your fish and you. I hope they all pull through, esp. Envy. Good luck!


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## ShadeSlayer (Jul 20, 2015)

Which one is Envy?


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## torileeann11 (Dec 17, 2015)

ShadeSlayer said:


> Which one is Envy?


She's the EE female.. she's stopped eating as of today. :'(

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## torileeann11 (Dec 17, 2015)

On a lighter note, I have CO2 on my desk setup now.









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## MissLibby (Jul 8, 2015)

Wow! Your set-up is amazing!


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## torileeann11 (Dec 17, 2015)

​


MissLibby said:


> Wow! Your set-up is amazing!


Thanks! I am still waiting to order a couple more plants to fill in some of the spaces, but I will post updates. 

This journal is like my personal diary and fish log. lol. So I post all the time.


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## torileeann11 (Dec 17, 2015)

Painted a portrait of Pancho to clear my mind tonight. <3









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## ashleynicol3 (Feb 23, 2016)

That painting is amazing!!!


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## gogo7 (Feb 9, 2016)

that painting is beatiful...well done..plus one


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## themamaj (May 11, 2015)

torileeann11 said:


> Painted a portrait of Pancho to clear my mind tonight. <3
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Wow incredibly beautiful!


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## themamaj (May 11, 2015)

Tank is gorgeous. Is that a homemade CO2? Very cool looking.


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## torileeann11 (Dec 17, 2015)

Thanks guys <3

SO I bought a 55gal for the girls 
it's guna take me a month or two to get it ready... but I HAVE THE TANK 









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## Betta44 (Aug 9, 2015)

Looking forward to seeing how you set up the new 55 gal tank.
Lovely painting, btw.
How's Envy doing?


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## Sadist (Jan 1, 2015)

Wow, the painting looks like a photograph! Awesome! I love that you have a nice big tank ready to set up! I can't wait to see how it turns out.


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## torileeann11 (Dec 17, 2015)

Betta44 said:


> Looking forward to seeing how you set up the new 55 gal tank.
> Lovely painting, btw.
> How's Envy doing?


She's still very active, but she isn't eating well. She did eat one pellet this morning. So I have some hope. All medications should be done by the 8th of June. So far, everyone is looking great (except my plants)

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## themamaj (May 11, 2015)

Cant wait to see what you do with 55. Do you ever have family members like mine to want to tell you how many pounds larger tanks weigh? Drives me crazy as if that will discouraged my quest for bigger tanks i guess.


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## Hopefish (Feb 9, 2016)

Great painting! Acyrlic?


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## torileeann11 (Dec 17, 2015)

Hopefish said:


> Great painting! Acyrlic?


Yes, I use Liquitex professionals 

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## torileeann11 (Dec 17, 2015)

Well we are done with medicines. Everyone is looking good. (Envy is still in isolation). My plants are all so sad. All the Egeria densa, Valosineria and most of the hygro willow died. Everything else looks sad, sickly and starved. That two week blackout really set me back. But we will recover. 

I switched the girls to a 18" Beamswork light. I don't love it to be honest. The color of light it gives off is not my favorite. So I won't be buying another one of these fixtures. We will see how it handles the plants. I also planted some Red foxtail (Myriophyllum heterophyllum) to replace the Vals. I don't think I will be doing anymore Val or Ancharias, they don't like Flourish Excel a whole lot and I do.

































Also some really really awesome black corydoras at work. These little guys are $30 EACH. I would love a shoal of them though. MUST REISIST. 










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## themamaj (May 11, 2015)

Tanks look great. Especially like foxtail. Understand plant struggle....melting...ugg. Aren't the black cories the prettiest! They are from Venezuela I believe. Have eyed them in our good LPS but super pricey here too. Excited you got some!


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## torileeann11 (Dec 17, 2015)

themamaj said:


> Tanks look great. Especially like foxtail. Understand plant struggle....melting...ugg. Aren't the black cories the prettiest! They are from Venezuela I believe. Have eyed them in our good LPS but super pricey here too. Excited you got some!


I didn't get the corys... I want to.. but I can't talk myself into $90 for the trio of them. And I can't just get one.. and even 3 isn't technically enough.. :x


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## themamaj (May 11, 2015)

Understand. Why i dont have them either but you can mix types of cories and they still shoal together. I have a group of 2 panda, 2 albino and 2 peppered. They do great together but funny they will always go back to their same kind.


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## ShadeSlayer (Jul 20, 2015)

I have seven pygmys and one salt and pepper. I’m only keeping the one because he seems to fit in very well with the pygmys. I may get another three of his own kind, though, in the near future. Point being they do well as long as some type of cory is in there with them.


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## ThatFishThough (Jan 15, 2016)

@torileeann11 --- OMG. I want those Amazon Sword a few pages back. Sorry I haven't been keeping up. Good luck with Envy!


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## torileeann11 (Dec 17, 2015)

Made some progress on my newest underwater garden tonight. Added some java moss. Still cycling, ammonia is down, but nitrites are refusing to budge. Can't wait till it is ready for fish!


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## Autumncrossing (May 2, 2016)

I really love your one tank with the castle. Looks so cool! 


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## Amberjp (Apr 28, 2016)

What are you using to hold all of your tanks? I'm looking for something similar to that to keep my tanks as I have limited room


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## torileeann11 (Dec 17, 2015)

Amberjp said:


> What are you using to hold all of your tanks? I'm looking for something similar to that to keep my tanks as I have limited room


Well... Logan's 3gallon and King's 5gallon are both currently on nightstands on either side of our bed.

The new 10gallon is on my desk.

The 20gallon is on a nightstand in the living room.

The 55gallon is on a stand it came with.

The "betta station" started as a bookshelf that I got on craigslist that looked pretty sturdy, and is still holding up. BUT they are being moved to a stronger shelf as soon as I can get some 20 longs all set up on it.

Definitely look for an insanely strong shelf, or build one. The particle board is kinda scary, and I'm pretty sure it wouldn't hold up forever.


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## torileeann11 (Dec 17, 2015)

This is the new shelf.

I need to paint it, then it will have 20 longs split 3 ways on the top two shelves. A 2 way split 20long on the 3rd shelf, and filtration gear on the bottom.


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## ShadeSlayer (Jul 20, 2015)

@torileeann11, are those twenty longs going to be new tanks or for your current boys/girls?


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## torileeann11 (Dec 17, 2015)

For the current 4 males I have on the betta station. I will have space for two more males. The girls are moving to a 55gallon. And the two 10gal partitions are likely to be spawn and grow out.

I will be breaking down the old betta station, it's starting to bow in the middle . I don't think it would be safe long term. It already makes me nervous.


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## torileeann11 (Dec 17, 2015)

Alright, some updates..

I got a really awesome piece of driftwood attached to slate today. I've also decided to use this canister filter for the 55, and I have 80lbs of eco complete. Needa lights, more sticks, more rocks and plants... and possibly a heater, it came with one but idk if it works or not yet. I also still need to level the stand. 

















One of my balloons molly girls has some funky funk going on on her side... my guess is cancer or just a cyst of some sort as she doesn't seem affected by it and it's been slow growing over some time now. Everyone else is doing great. This tank is due for upgrade soon. Thinking 40 breeder, as a ballpark guess.

















I got a whole bunch of shrimps for my desk tank tonight! I got:
x3 amano shrimp 
x3 red cherry shrimp
x2 black carbon shrimp 
x1 blue velvet shrimp

I really hope they all do well. I have had bad luck with shrimp in the past, but I figured it was from the Flourish Excel. This tank is CO2 so no Excel dosing. They got straight to work on cleaning my plants. I love them already!









My boss also got me a surprise gift on the order this week! I am excited to get this stuff planted! 









And here is a picture of an African dwarf frogs being super cute in a rock hole at work.


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## Aluyasha (Sep 2, 2010)

torileeann11 said:


> This is the new shelf.
> 
> I need to paint it, then it will have 20 longs split 3 ways on the top two shelves. A 2 way split 20long on the 3rd shelf, and filtration gear on the bottom.
> View attachment 800890


Is it hard to clean the tanks with them on a shelf like that? I have always thought about doing that but was worried the siphon wouldn't fit.


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## torileeann11 (Dec 17, 2015)

Aluyasha said:


> Is it hard to clean the tanks with them on a shelf like that? I have always thought about doing that but was worried the siphon wouldn't fit.


It doesn't fit lol. I use an algae pads to scrub. And then I use the syphon hose without the safety part. So I have to go extra slow and be careful not to suck up and fish or plants. I don't vacuum my gravel since I have carpet plants

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## ShadeSlayer (Jul 20, 2015)

That frog is ADORABLE!


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## torileeann11 (Dec 17, 2015)

So I just got a 28gal Oceanic Bioacube for free from a customer. It's been established for 2 years, he just upgraded to a 150 and didn't need this one. I went to his house and broke it down. He gave me everything; live sand, live rock, established refugium, refugium light, Coralife timer outlet and an extra accent moonlight. There are lots of pretty things on this rock, I will have quite a time identifying them all. There is also an assortment of little creatures in the sand. Shouldn't be too long before I can get a fish. 😍









The last pic is how I got it home. I got the tank, stand and 28 gallons of water into my 92 camaro. I get a tetras sticker today!

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## Aluyasha (Sep 2, 2010)

For free?!? That is why I couldn't work at a petstore, too many opportunities. 
Your car photo makes me miss the good old days when it was just my husband and I zooming around in our Civic picking up things from craigslist people. lol


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## ThatFishThough (Jan 15, 2016)

*jellyfish* 




Bye, Imma go work at our LFS.


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## themamaj (May 11, 2015)

How lucky to get free tank! Love all upgrades doing. Shrimp are cuties!


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## ShadeSlayer (Jul 20, 2015)

What do you think you’ll have in there? Nemo fish, maybe? 
Got to see my new second cousin (Or something) yesterday. My cousin’s kid. She’s six weeks old. The Nemo movie (New one) has been on my mind. I wonder if she’ll like it when Blake’s old enough to watch it.


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## Aluyasha (Sep 2, 2010)

You mean clown fish?
If I had that saltwater tank I would get Damselfish, ever since I saw a setup with them at my lfs I have wanted some.


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## themamaj (May 11, 2015)

Damsels are gorgeous


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## ShadeSlayer (Jul 20, 2015)

yeah clown fish I just always call ‘em nemo fish. I have little cousins and they ALWAYS ask me when I talk about my fishes if I have a nemo fish. It stuck.


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## torileeann11 (Dec 17, 2015)

Sad news first... I lost my little Envy today.. I finally moved her from isolation back to the main tank yesterday. I floated her for 6 hours, she was dead this morning. I don't know if they killed her or what, but I bet they did. SIP little fishy girl.








My desk tank is making progress in some areas. I feel like I might need an even stronger light than the stingray to get my Rotala to do what I want. The little shrimps are staying busy cleaning up my gravel tank.















Got a close up of Storm yesterday after the water change. Also took a pic of the tank. (do NOT love the color that the beamswork gives off.) 
















Got lots of pictures of random stuff from my reef tank. My planned fish for the tank are (x2) A. ocellaris (clowns), (x1) C. leptocephalus (pink spotted watchman goby), (x1) S. splendidus (green mandarin), and perhaps one or two other small fish that are undetermined.


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## Aluyasha (Sep 2, 2010)

Sorry for your loss. At least it sounds like your other fish are doing good.
Great looking tanks! Can't wait to see the saltwater tank stocked.


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## ShadeSlayer (Jul 20, 2015)

Sorry about Envy. She was a pretty girl. 
your salt water tank is looking nice. I like the stocking ideas.


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## Sadist (Jan 1, 2015)

Wow, a free saltwater tank! How awesome! I love the little critters in there already.


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