# Kurt's Betta Journal



## dieselthedemon (May 1, 2014)

Bettas:

Highblood Prince- _deceased_, first betta, Male Crowntail from Petco, healthy when i got him, lived for about a year before passing from stress

Diesel the Demon- Male Veiltail, blue with some red, bought from a local fish store and a surprize gift from my father, Healthy when i got him 

Professor Seuss- Male Halfmoon bought on 5/11/2014, bought from local Petsmart, dirty water when purchesed and some signs of tail biting and otherwise in good shape

Tanks-

1 gallon hospital tank with no perminant decor- familar decor is moved with fish to reduce stress, currently empty

10 gallon divided tank, five gallons for each fish currently holding Seuss and Diesel. 


5/11/2014

Got my third betta. Halfmoon male with red and white on him. Sister gave him the name Seuss, Long name Professor Seuss. Ate the first day and ajusted well.

Divided the ten gallon for Seuss and Diesel and removed the mason jar Diesel preferred as a hiding spot in favor of a floating hiding spot. Seuss also got a floating hiding spot handmade by me with plastic craft mesh. Diesel also got a mesh tower that he cant seem to figure out. 

I added a heater (grreat value/choice brand) to the tank and it only seems to be bringing it up a few degrees. When i get money I'll have to get a better one. The temp is at about 72 degrees last I checked this morning.

5/12/2014

Both Diesel and Seuss ate this morning. Diesel hasn't eaten for the last few week and has been showing signs of stress, I put him in the hospital tank until he started eating again. Seuss also ate which means he's comfertable in his home and also approched my finger when i dipped it in the water, I rewarded him with a pellet of food. I also noticed just how big Diesel has gotten since I adopted him a few months ago and it made me smile, Seuss will be that big someday I hope or bigger, his fins are absolutely stunning and i hope he recovers from his fin biting quickly, he hasn't done any of that since I brought him home, enrichment seemed to be the cure.

Both fish seem to be doing well and I'm going to look into getting Seuss his own Decorations soon, he's barrowing some of Diesel's because he seemed to need the enrichment more.

Be be continued and pictures added soon.


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## dieselthedemon (May 1, 2014)

*5/13/2014*

Diesel is still eating but very little, he's still active and healthy with no remaining signs of fin rot but i worry about his eating. I put the filter back in the tank on his side and he just flared at it for an hour straight. I'll switch their sides when i get home and put the filter back in but it still needs to be properly baffled.

Seuss is doing well and his color has perked up since coming home. He follows my finger when i put it in the water and I've even taught him to follow it through a hoop floating in the water. He gets a pellet after he goes through and he seems to enjoy it, I'm also teaching him to swim up to my finger and point his nose up towards it before i feed him in an effort to make him less skittish then Diesel is.

Graduating high school soon. It's opening new doors for me, but I'm scared. Can I really make it as a writer while working my way up in the workforce? My mom managed to work her way up through the ranks in the carpet business with three young kids. Can I do the same? I've never had a job before outside of pet sitting and I'm afraid I can't do it. My little darlings are getting me through this. Their swimming is so calm and careless and their eager little faces looking up at you when you feed them, its theraputic.

Their both going to be making the trip from my Dad's house to my Mom's within the next few weeks. I'm exciteted and fearful. They both travel rather well if their trip from the pet store to the house is any indication. We made stops for a few hours with both of them so the two hour trip should be nothing for them.

The next chapter of my life is about to start, and the first sentance will probably be something like this:

"I lifted the heavy tank onto the shelf, took a deep breath, and started my journey back and forth from the bathroom with a one gallon bucket, and no idea what the next year would mean for me."

I'm okay with that I think, see you tomarrow.


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## dieselthedemon (May 1, 2014)

*Origen Story Time*

Thought I'd add a short thing about how I got into bettas since I'm bored.

My first fish were little tropical fish in a triangle shaped tank that my grandmother gave me. It was small probably a gallon and house about five or six little fish. I don't know who cleaned it because I was very young. I won a little goldfish named Fred from a fair, and sadly when i put him in my tank he killed the rest of my fish. 

Fast forward three years and I'm watching Animal Planet. Their doing a special on betta fish and I'm in love with the giant tank they show that houses several females and two males together. This thing i gigantic. I really wanted a betta because they were so beutiful, but I never asked for one because my parents got grumpy when I asked for stuff. I loved going to the walmart that had the fish and watching the little bettas swim and for the next few years that's what I settled with. (I almost bought two bettas when I was fourteen and put them in one of those half gallon split tanks, but my mom talked me out of it). 

I didn't have any more fish until about a year ago when my mom's then new boyfriend rescued a large 20 gallon out of an abandoned house. In it were a freshwater shark a white goldfish and a orange goldfish. My mom and stepdad got several fish to put in there but after about a year the only ones that survived and schooled with the two old fish where two calico goldies they got from Petco. 
For Christmas that year my grandfather gave me a hundred dollars and i recalled the days i spent years ago researching the proper care of betta fish. I bought a ten gallon tank with a hood and filter and a Crowntail I named Grand Highblood but soon changed to Highblood Prince. 

When Highblood passed I was left with an empty ten gallon and a need for a lot more of these little cuties, so here I am!


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## dieselthedemon (May 1, 2014)

*5/14/2014*

Saw Seuss flare for the first time. Switched their sides so i could put the filter back in the tank, still have to baffle it but I'm going to wait until their both at my mom's house. Diesel is still being picky about eating but he's getting better and Seuss definantly has an appitite. Both are doing well and i haven'T observed anymore finbiting on Seuss


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## BettaLover1313 (Apr 15, 2013)

Subscribing! Sounds like you have a lot of interesting adventures with your fish.


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## dieselthedemon (May 1, 2014)

*5/15/2014*

Seuss has a hunter's instinct. He will eat his food off the top of t he tank but really enjoys chasing them and catching them before they hit the bottom. I've also been very sucessful in teaching him to come to my finger for food.

Diesel's favorite hobby is flareing at the divider, even when Seuss isn't on the other side. He's much more lively then Young Seuss. He ravouness at meal times now and I'm thankful, though he won't bother to chase a falling piece of food.

I'm presenting my Senior Project today. Really nervous and I think typing is the only thing keeping me from shaking too much. Everything is in order I'm just waiting for presenting time. Wish me luck I'll be updating after I present if theres time.


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## dieselthedemon (May 1, 2014)

So i presented today! I was super nervous and scared! But I actually pulled it off rather well so there's that! So tired! Ready to go home and sleep!


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## dieselthedemon (May 1, 2014)

*Finally some pics of my boys!*










This is my newest boy, Seuss. In this picture he's in his cup on his way home.










This is the only picture I have of Diesel ATM. He's a VT He's in the one gallon i had him in for the first month.










And finally, this is my boy Highblood, a CT i bought at Petco, sadly I didn't have him for more then seven months and he passed away due to unforeseen circumstances reguarding my mom moving houses


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## dieselthedemon (May 1, 2014)

Hey everyone! Sorry i haven't posted but life has been a little hectic.

I got a little female finally! She's a half moon, but really young so she doesn't have much color yet aside from being pink. 

I'm moving in with my mom today and taking my three babies with me, I umoed the gun a little and put them in their cups because i thought draining the tanks would take longer then it did, but i guess it gives them time to settle before the move. I'm not worried about keeping them warm because its summer here and really warm out. I was going to leave Maya, my new female, with my brother instead of moving her, but i decided i couldn't leave her.

thats all for now, update soon


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## dieselthedemon (May 1, 2014)

Yesterday I got my fifth betta, Haru (after Haru from Free) He's a blue veiltail. His personality hasn't started shining through yet, so I don't know if he's gonna be shy like Seuss, sweet like Maya, or bubbly like Diesel. I haven't gotten him to eat anything yet, which I've heard is normal but in the past I've never had trouble getting my fesh to eat on the first day. He's in about a 3.5 gallon cookie jar right now cause I wasn't prepaired to bring home a new fish, all my tanks and the rest of my babies are with my mom. 
I really enjoy keeping this journal, when my babies have passed I'll be able to come back and remember them and their little quips. here's some pics of Haru. I promise to get some of Maya soon but she's so tiny its hard to get a good one. 


















In other news I'm going to try and breed Seuss an Maya soon. I think she might be a mustard gas which would be interesting to see most defiantly. I've promised a friend one of the babies, and I might give a few away as gifts, but the rest of the bunch I'm going to sell if I can, I'll start a spawn journal in the betta breeding category so you guys can watch them grow up.
later days ladies and gents


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