# [F]hobic to [Ph]anatic



## Nyri (Sep 23, 2014)

I've decided that since I keep having things I want to post, but don't want to get annoying with it, I should start a journal. If you continue, be prepared for lots of pictures 

For a short intro: I got my first betta in August (2014), which was a frightening experience for me because I have a fish phobia. Yes, have... I still have it 

I named him Xander, and he's quite the character. Then in the past two months, I've gone from one little betta to two community tanks (one is still in progress) and five bettas. I'm completely obsessed with my fish and taking care of them, but I'm still somehow afraid of fish, but now at least it's not EVERY fish, just the big, scary, dead, out of water, or me in the same water as them fish. 

Going to the fish store is crazy for me... on one level I really want to be there to get supplies and maybe new fish, but on the other hand, I'm extremely stressed out from some of the fish, and on top of that I have social anxiety, and the fish store is one place you know you're going to have to talk to someone. 

Anyway... today I came home with one more betta, and due to the reaction I got from my fiance, it will probably be my last for now. He's my 5th and I think 5 is a good number, anyway.


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## Nyri (Sep 23, 2014)

*Xander*

Xander is so funny. He's always at the front of the tank wiggling at me when he sees me in the same room. He ended up biting his tail quite a bit a couple of months ago, and it's not quite all grown back yet, but he's still a pretty boy. He likes his new tank a lot better than the old 360 he was in and hasn't been having any problems lately


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## Nyri (Sep 23, 2014)

*Tyrion*

Tyrion was my second. I was already bidding on some that were on Aquabid, but they weren't mine yet, so I'll count Tyrion next. 

I was in Petsmart with my partner, and I'm sure there was a fish related reason, but I can't remember what it was. I made the mistake of looking at the betta wall, and saw this little EE guy trying to push his way out of the side of his cup. Looking at him at first, it looked like he was missing his top lip, and he may be, or it may just be shorter than normal, but anyway, his face looks a little funny, and he is missing half of one of his "ears" but it's starting to grow back now. I pointed him out to my partner who told me to go ahead and get him (he didn't know about aquabid), so that's how he came to be living with me.

My dog really likes him, and he's always running over to the corner to greet the dog who proceeds to lick the glass where he's sitting... so while that is adorable, the dog slobber doesn't make for good pictures (and every time I clean it off, I forget about pictures until it's messed up again). I'll get more of him eventually, though.


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## Nyri (Sep 23, 2014)

*Yin and Yang*

My first aquabid fish! I really wanted a female, so I got one, and a second that I didn't specify... didn't even know what he'd look like until I opened the package! I'm glad that's how it worked out, too because I couldn't be happier with what I got. My first thought at looking in the bag (after the "yay, they're alive!") with the light and dark fish was yin and yang, so that is where they get their names. 

Yin is a bold little girl. She is also very sassy. She has gone into my cory and oto community (where she immediately started munching on snail eggs!) She reminds me of a little shark cruising around in there. She doesn't bother anyone except the snail eggs, which I really don't mind. I'm just afraid she'll get bloated eating the snail eggs plus some of the oto/cory food. Her tummy is kind of big right now.

Yang (pretty sure he's a boy) is temporarily in between my other boys, but that will change tomorrow... three gallons per fish just doesn't seem like that much. He is a little more timid, but he's friendly. I would never have picked out a white fish on my own, which is part of why I'm super glad I didn't specify anything. I'm so happy with him just as he is.

Yin is a bit darker than in the pictures... I'd just added her to the tank and she was a little stressed... since she's colored up, she hasn't held still for a picture, but I'll try to get better ones later.


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## Nyri (Sep 23, 2014)

*Hagrid*

Today, my fiance basically took a day-long nap, and I went to Petco... bad idea. Well, not really, because I got an awesome fish out of it, and the fish got a home... I had everything set up by the time Jake woke up and he didn't even notice for a good couple of hours  

I'd never seen a king betta in any of the local stores, so he caught my eye while I was trying not to look at the fish... there were two king bettas, and one was ignoring me, and one was following me with his head (this is how I got Xander, too... he was looking at me) so I had to take him home. The water in his cup was really dirty, and the ammonia and nitrite readings were basically off the charts. 

Right now he's in quarantine in Xander's old tank, which is unfortunate because that is the worst tank to take pictures in with the cylinder shape. Planning on dividing a second 10g soon for him and the baby to share... would look funny with the huge and tiny fish next to each other. I named him Hagrid. He hasn't flared at anything that I've seen, so wondering if he's docile or just not into that right now. He seems to have a little bit of tail missing, maybe finrot? I gave him some aquarium salt for general health anyway, so hopefully that will help.


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## Nyri (Sep 23, 2014)

I got carried away about talking about all of the fish after I'd already put Xander up with about as much info as I'd planned on doing for all of them, so now I feel bad that I didn't talk him up, too  

Anyway, I got him at Petco, wasn't planning on EVER having a fish, but I really wanted to get over my fear, so I was looking at the betta wall they have. As stated before, he was looking at me, and it really intrigued me that he was looking back (none of the other fish were, and I'd never, in my very limited time with any fish seen one do that) so I figured the best way to beat the phobia was to actually get to know a fish... so I spent probably a good two hours in the store looking up what bettas need on my phone. Thankfully, this forum was pretty much the first thing I came across, and I've been here ever since. 

Anyway, I'll probably post quite a few pictures here and progress on my 40 gallon community tank I'm setting up. Also changes to my 10 gallon community which I'm debating on changing to 20 but really don't want to buy a new light for...


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## Nyri (Sep 23, 2014)

My tentative stocking plan for my 40 gallon breeder:










The panda garras are for sure, and I already have and like the emperor tetras, so they are as well. I have the cherry barbs, but am willing to put them somewhere else or part with them. 

I've never seen a pencilfish in person, so I'm not really sure about them, but it seems like something different... if not maybe some rasboas or something.

I'm really unsure about the zebra loaches. They seem like they'd be better than yoyo loaches, and definitely clown loaches, but I'm afraid they might be too boisterous for the rams or take up too much bottom space. Aquadvisor doesn't say anything about them not working, but then... I don't really trust it for all of that. 

I'm also considering some syno cats that my LFS has. They must be a hybrid because they're called Zebra Synodontis. The owner said they should be about 4", be fine with other fish, and even without others of their kind. Since they're a hybrid I can't plug them into aquadvisor. The owner has been really knowledgeable about everything else (except the panda garras) so I'd like to trust him, but then I don't want to get attached to a fish only to find out that it's eating my other fish or getting too big and have to get rid of it...


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## Schmoo (Oct 3, 2014)

Tyrion and Hagrid.  Nice names.


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## myexplodingcat (Apr 9, 2014)

Good for you, working through your phobia! That takes a lot.

From Google, it really looks like you should make absolutely sure the zebra syno is what it says it is. I found liveaquaria's sale page on them, and I also found someone on a forum saying that they were sold some "zebra synodontis" that turned out to be another, predatory species that picked off their guppies.

Liveaquaria's sale page:
http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=830+1163+2935&pcatid=2935

False zebra syno:
http://www.tropicalfishkeeping.com/catfish/what-can-i-do-my-synodontis-59857/

As you can see, they look quite a bit different. Make sure the ones at your pet store look like the former, and not the latter.


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## Nyri (Sep 23, 2014)

They actually look a lot different than both of those... and the one for sale on liveaquaria says it will get 9" long, so I really hope it's not that, either. To my untrained eye, they basically look exactly like baby synodontis nigriventris except the color is a bit different... I found a picture on a catfish site of one that looked just like them saying it was a synodontis nigriventris with a zebra kutu varient... I'll attach a picture of the one I brought home if anyone wants to take a guess.

Yeah... I ended up getting one of them (and two regular s. nigriventris from another store for company and comparison along the way). It is really cute right now as a tiny baby, and I'm sure I'll probably grow attached to it, but I'm ready to take it back if any of my other fish turn up missing or harmed because of it later on. 

Meanwhile the other two I got are about two to three times the size and remind me of plecos. Not the way they're shaped, but the dark coloring and they're hard to find in my tank, so it kind of startles me when I DO finally find them... plecos have always scared me because I don't see them right away, so maybe having these will help me get over that a little. 

I've been trying to decide for two days whether I should move my oto/cory/betta community to a 20 gallon long and have two divided 10 gallons for my other bettas, or if I should divide the 20 into four sections for them and leave the other tank undisturbed. It seems like a lot of trouble moving the plants and substrate, but at the same time, I'd love to have several more cories and otos... maybe some galaxy rasboras or something in there with them.


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## Nyri (Sep 23, 2014)

The little synodontis finally stopped hiding behind the thermometer for a little while even though the lights were on, so I took more pictures. I put them on a catfish forum too to see if anyone can identify him, but I wanted to stick them here, too...

Never mind the dog nose prints/slobber on the aquarium glass...


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## myexplodingcat (Apr 9, 2014)

Aww! He's cute 

Catfish are supposed to be hard to identify. I don't know enough about them to help you there. Maybe if you asked on bettafish.com's sister forum, tropicalfishkeeping, someone could id the little guy for you.

Plecos used to kinda freak me out, too. They don't exactly look like what I thought of as "fish," and their mouth stuck to the side of the glass was kind of... um. But since then, I've heard people talk about how active and sweet-natured their plecos are, so that kind of upgrades them from "freaky looking fish" to "bizarre but cute animal." Kind of in the same category as axolotls.  (I think that's how you spell that.)

Your tanks are so pretty, btw. I bet it rocks to be a fish living in one of those.


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## Nyri (Sep 23, 2014)

Yeah, I'll check there if I can't figure it out! 

I know a lot of people really like their plecos, and I'm starting to come around to where they don't frighten me AS much, especially if I'm expecting to see one. I saw some really crazy pleco-like fish at the store, too... they're called farlowella. 

Thank you! I'm trying to keep them that way, but am on the verge of possibly moving my 10 up to 20 gallons, and I'm afraid I won't be able to get it to look good again if I do that.


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## Nyri (Sep 23, 2014)

What a day! Woke up to a dying tetra... (poor thing was gone in 5 minutes from when I found it) but it didn't have anything visually wrong with it... Tested my water, which came out to ammonia 0, nitrite 0, nitrate 5 ppm. After that, I very carefully examined all other fish in my tank... ONE of them had little white spots on its fins, and only a couple of them, and having never seen ich, I went to look for pictures of that to see if that's what it could be and also what might have killed my other fish that didn't even have the white spots, and by the time I was done with that, my food, and my coffee, all of my tetras were completely covered in the spots. I had no idea it moved that fast. I found another stuck to the filter tonight  I'm still not sure if my two deaths were ich related or something else. (They're being treated, but I still feel really bad about not preventing their deaths) 

On a positive note:
MY PANDA GARRAS ARE HERE! 
I requested they be held at the post office (which I kind of dreaded going back to after my last experience), but apparently the post office didn't want to hold the fish so they sent them out in the mail anyway. I was afraid they'd have a worse time riding around in the mail truck from 7 am to 2 pm and then going through the mail room at my apartment complex... Well, I was right about the mail room at least. I ran there as soon as I got the text saying they were delivered, and they hadn't even been put in the mail room yet. They were sitting sideways although the box was clearly marked "this side up", and they tossed me the package when they saw me even though it said "fragile" (so much attention to detail there ) but they were all fine, and the seller put an extra one in the bag, probably in case of a doa but now I have seven little pandas that all seem healthy enough. They are so much tinier than I thought they would be (doesn't bother me, just even more adorable that way)


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## Nyri (Sep 23, 2014)

I already had one little guy try to escape via the filter. Fortunately, it's just a whisper, so there's nothing harmful in it, and he was just swimming around in there. Got it blocked off pretty well with sponges now  

They seem to really want out of the tank, though... I've read that they'll try to escape for the first few days, but I figured they'd take some time to rest when they first got in the tank... Nope. They aren't interested in the food or shelter, just trying to get out. They were drip acclimated and my parameters are okay... unless I have some minerals I don't know about in there or something. Very active.


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## Tress (Jun 6, 2014)

You should post pics of all your tanks and fishies <3 :3


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## Schmoo (Oct 3, 2014)

Agreed! ^___^

Also, I would put a complaint in at the post office and your apartment complex, especially your complex because they were clearly mishandling your mail. No, they didn't know there were live animals in there, but still. PAY ATTENTION TO THE LABEL. And, at the very least, don't toss the package to the person it's for when the person it's for knows what's in it is fragile!


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## Nyri (Sep 23, 2014)

I'll try to post pics once I get everything settled down... right now I'm just really worried about the ich... I've already lost three of the tetras, and the others don't really seem to be showing any signs of improvement... The catfish has a few spots each, but nothing like the tetras... 

I was about to call the post office, but when I looked at the packaging, it looks like the seller forgot to mark "hold at post office" on the box, so I guess it's not their fault. I can't say too much bad about the seller, though as they included an extra fish, and they all seem healthy... and the packaging was good enough to keep them that way. The person who tossed me the package at the office is the owner of the property, so I'm not even sure who I would complain to about that... I'll probably mention it next time I see her, though.


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## myexplodingcat (Apr 9, 2014)

When fish get ich, it's generally a stress thing. Do you have anything in your tank that could be stressing them out? It's not the water condition, obviously. But generally IME ich doesn't spread to healthy fish when the water's in perfect shape, and certainly not that fast, so there is probably a stressor involved that weakened their immune system.

I can see two obvious possible stressors: 1) a preexisting internal disease, or 2) an aggressive fish in the tank with them that may have been chasing or threatening them. Have the fish shown any symptoms that haven't lined up with ich? Have you identified that catfish yet?

For example.

When I got my most recent betta acquisition and introduced him to the tank (which is stressful for any fish), he popped up with a few spots of ich--just a bit, nothing serious, so I decided to let him be and just watch him to make sure he didn't get worse. In a day or two, they went away on their own as he de-stressed, having gotten used to his new environment.

One of my neon tetras right now has ich, because he's at the bottom position in the school and eats last--he's the smallest and tends to eat last. He has some ich spots, but they don't appear to be spreading to any of the other tetras, since they're healthy and eat like pigs. (I would separate and treat him, but I fear that since he is a schooling fish, separating him from the rest of the school would actually be more stressful--therefore, I'm going to let him try to heal up on his own too.)

The first time I had to deal with ich, it was on some platies I'd recently introduced, and I was keeping the temperature too warm for them. The other tank inhabitant was a single betta, who had no ich issues. Fearing that he'd get sick, I separated him and treated the platies on their own with plenty of salt... they got over it and the betta never got ich. Since I was treating with salt, this was actually the right choice--the salt would stress and sicken my betta if I hadn't.

Ich is super common and it's actually not something that should kill your fish too fast unless it affects their gills. It's also easy to treat, except with catfish (who are sensitive to medications in general, including aquarium salt--so for catfish, an ounce of prevention is worth a metric freaking ton of cure which can damage them). This doesn't mean your catfish is in danger as long as his immune system is ok--even if he gets a few spots of ich at first, he'll probably kick them (just make sure it doesn't get worse). He is unlikely to be bullied by other fish, but if there's an internal sort of disease in the tank that's causing the stress, he will be susceptible to that.

The ich parasite is PRESENT in basically all freshwater aquaria. Whether it takes hold depends on the fish's immune system. Most fish don't get ich because their immune system holds up.

A final and important note: I highly doubt you did anything wrong. Disease happens. If you're keeping your tank clean and the right temperature and keeping compatible fish as best you can, you don't need to feel responsible for disease because you're already preventing things as much as possible. Even if it's your catfish that's causing the issue, it's because you don't have enough information; it's not because of a blunder on your part.

Hope that helps!


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## myexplodingcat (Apr 9, 2014)

Oh, and those farlowellas look kind of like what Clint Eastwood (Hawkeye) would have if he had a fishtank.


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## Nyri (Sep 23, 2014)

Well, I made a few mistakes I know of that could have caused the ich, and there are a couple of other things that could possibly stress them out, and it could just be everything combined. 

Big mistake: Didn't quarantine new fish separately. This is partly because both of the fish stores I bought from say they quarantine the fish themselves. I'm sure they probably do if they say they do... at least one of them, anyway. The other I have a little less experience with, but they were really good about not selling people fish out of the one tank I saw that had ich in it (clown loaches). They turned down a guy asking for them... but the ich could have come from there, I suppose

Next mistake: I put my two remaining cherry barbs in with them. I bought some cherry barbs and platies at petsmart a while back, and they kind of died off one by one as well... they had no visible signs of illness. Petsmart said they had a bad batch in and everyone was complaining about them dying, so I figured it was just the fish instead of something I'd done. The two remaining cherry barbs had been by themselves for about a week (it seemed like longer, but didn't check my calendar to confirm. Should have waited at least two, right?) and appeared to be fine. They now both have about 3 ich spots each and don't seem nearly as bothered by it as the other fish.

Separation: At first I took the tetras out because I was going to treat them differently than the tank and catfish since catfish and plants are sensitive to a lot of stuff, but then decided to just treat them with the catfish anyway, so moving them around like that could have stressed them out even more. 

Light. I had just gotten a light for the tank maybe the day before they started dying and really showing ich. I hadn't thought of it, but it was something that had just changed, and it's pretty bright. They do have some caves and quite a few plants for shade, though. I've had it off since they started showing the spots, though except for feeding, water changes, and checking to see how the fish look... not much apatite, though. They actually hadn't been eating very well since I got them  

Catfish: The little guy is most likely a Synodontis sp. hybrid (4). I don't know if that means anything to you, but I was told it would probably reach 6" (fish store said 4") and could possibly eat small, slow fish once bigger (fish store said it would be fine with any fish)... but it's still tiny, and the tetras don't seem bothered by it. I can not find any info on what the 4th hybrid is a combination of... apparently people are just making hybrids and not wanting the info to get out to keep other people from using their "secret recipe" which I think is stupid... whatever. The two upsidedown catfish, on the other hand are at least 2" long right now, and when I put them with the tetras, they all schooled together following them around, staring at them. I'm now wondering if that meant they were intimidated by them a bit. The tetras are too big to be swallowed by them, and I stayed up on the night I put them together to see if there was any predatory behavior once the lights were off, but the catfish seemed to do their own thing while the tetras followed them around. The cherry barbs didn't seem bothered by them at all even though they're more "snack sized"

They were at about 80 degrees before raising the temperature. Now at 86, it is out of their recommended range, so I wonder if that could be causing them further stress. 

Hardness: After they started getting sick, I ordered a hardness test to see what my water was... not specifically for them, but I thought I'd check anyway. I'm still slightly unclear on how to read the chart, but it took 5 drops of the KH to change, and 12 for the GH to change colors, so I'm guessing my GH is pretty high... I acclimated them really slowly, and they're supposed to be tolerant to 18-215ppm

Powerhead/bubbler: I put a powerhead/bubbler in with them after raising the temp... at first they didn't like it, but soon after were playing in the stream with the cherry barbs... so I don't know if that actually stressed them out or not. It was a change, though.


I really liked these tetras and I am feeling sick that I pretty much brought them here to die. I know there was a lot of stuff I should have done differently and they'd probably still be alive if I hadn't gotten them. I want to just take everything back and stick with my bettas, cories, otos, and garras, but the stores aren't going to take sick fish, and it's already too late for most of the tetras, too. I'd ordered the garras before anyone started looking sick, and two other fish that haven't gotten here yet... but now I'm wishing that I had not done that yet... bad timing on my part.


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## Nyri (Sep 23, 2014)

Now that I've lost all but my baby syno in the 40g to ich (he seems rather unscathed by the whole thing) and Hagrid to whatever was wrong with him, I'm feeling kind of shaky about my fish keeping skills. At least with the ich, I think I know where I went wrong, but with Hagrid, I'm not sure at all. 

Fortunately, everyone in my 10 gallon community seems to be fine, all of my panda garras are still doing okay, and my two small bettas seem to be fine. 

But now Xander has started acting a bit lethargic and has been chomping at his tail even more, and Tyrion hasn't been eating much. I think he's getting skinny... or maybe I'm just now noticing it. I've isolated both of them in case something is going on, hoping the little baby sharing water with them stays well. 

Also... I went to the Petsmart where I got Tyrion, and was looking to see what they had for bettas, when I saw the same fish that had caught my eye when I took Tyrion home (has to have been about a month ago now...) He had been at the front when I got Tyrion, very actively trying to get out of his cup and I had considered taking him home until I found Tyrion behind him... Well, this time he'd been moved to the back of the shelf to make room for the newer, "prettier" bettas and the bottom of his cup was literally covered with feces and uneaten food. He has fin rot, but was still actively trying to get out of his cup, so I have hope for him  I couldn't leave him there, so now I have him, too. I guess now I have a tank to put him in 

Speaking of tanks, I found a great deal on Craigslist for either a 55 or 60 gallon tank, not sure which, so I ended up getting that. I'd been planning on getting it since before Hagrid died, and almost changed my mind, but decided to go ahead... can always mess with it later if not now. It did, however, come with two huge plecos. To me they already looked too big for the tank, and since I'm not fond of plecos (and really kind of afraid to handle them at all or even look at them much) and would rather they end up with someone who can really appreciate them and give them a good home (and tank that they fit), so I'm going to take them to my favorite LFS in the morning... the owner already told me I could bring them by, so I'm glad about that. The previous owner just picked them up and tossed them in the bucket. I was having a minor panic episode while he was doing that but trying to be normal so I could still get the tank. 

So now I'm mostly trying to juggle what tank will go where, what fish will go in what tank, make sure the apartment floor will hold the tanks, calculate when my ichy tank will be safe to put new fish in... not sure if I should take the catfish out so there's no host in there, so it will definitely be completely gone. My plants in there have taken a huge beating between not having as much light and the meds, so I'll probably have to throw some of them out. Not sure how to tell if they're salvageable or not.


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## myexplodingcat (Apr 9, 2014)

Well, go ahead and set up your new tank if you can and put your plants in that. Any lingering ich should die off of them, and you can move them out of the medication. Also, they probably don't like the 86F temperature.

Those cherry barbs and platies may have been your disease source. I would speculate internal infection? Or something like columnaris, but a strain with no external symptoms... But yeah. I doubt it was your light; they probably were just sick from the store, and spread it around without your being able to tell except when they got ich as a secondary illness. Moral of the story, quarantine, especially when fish from the same tank at the store are dying mysteriously.

Sometimes fish get sick and there's not much you can do about it. Fish are touchy like that. It's not always your fault. But now I guess we know that pet store's "quarantine" doesn't guarantee you a healthy fish.

Why are you all the way up at 86? That's higher than I usually hear for ich treatment. 83 or 84 is more commonly recommended.

Good luck with your new guy!


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## DaytonBetta (Feb 4, 2014)

82-84 isn't high enough to kill ich, but it will speed the life cycle. If you are just using heat and no medicines 86-90 is the way to go.


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## Nyri (Sep 23, 2014)

myexplodingcat said:


> Well, go ahead and set up your new tank if you can and put your plants in that. Any lingering ich should die off of them, and you can move them out of the medication. Also, they probably don't like the 86F temperature.
> 
> Those cherry barbs and platies may have been your disease source. I would speculate internal infection? Or something like columnaris, but a strain with no external symptoms... But yeah. I doubt it was your light; they probably were just sick from the store, and spread it around without your being able to tell except when they got ich as a secondary illness. Moral of the story, quarantine, especially when fish from the same tank at the store are dying mysteriously.
> 
> ...


Yeah, I thought it had been longer since the two remaining cherry barbs had been by themselves (or since the last platy had died, at least) and didn't check my dates to make sure, so that was probably it. If it was some sort of internal infection, would that be likely to stay in the water longer than ich? Do I need to do anything special to the tank, or just wait? Since my catfish is still not showing any signs of anything wrong, do I need to worry about him, or will he be fine if he doesn't start showing any signs of illness in two weeks? 

On another note, my blue rams came in the mail yesterday. I wasn't sure what to do with them for quarantine since they're not supposed to go into a new tank, but don't quarantine tanks pretty much have to be new tanks? Unless you put a known to be healthy fish that you don't care about as much in it for a while first. They are supposed to be a breeding pair, but the male is chasing the female and looks like possibly nipping at her.


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## Nyri (Sep 23, 2014)

I'm feeling kind of down about both of the fish I've lost in the past week... so I wanted to focus on some positive for a bit! 

Xander hasn't bitten his fins since I moved him to a section of the tank where the filter isn't! He has a little regrowth, too  He is starting to get over excited about food and jump when he sees me coming... it's good because it's cute, and I love that he gets so excited... but at the same time, I'm not about to encourage it, especially since I just lost one to jumping out, and he's in a divided tank. 

Yin and Yang are both growing really well. It's so hard to get a picture of Yin since she stripes up every time she sees my phone (what I use for camera) and then swims away. I guess she hates pictures, but I'm not sure what it is. I don't use flash or anything. Yang is difficult to photograph in a different way. He will hold still until I can get it to focus on him, then he'll swim away really fast... he also won't stop looking at me so it's hard to get anything other than a face shot. Yang is getting some more dark spots on him, and I think that Yin has pretty much singlehandedly destroyed the pest snail population in the tank. Between her eating the eggs (and snails themselves) and me picking out the eggs to try to keep her from overeating (used to leave them so my assasins could eat, but the population didn't disappear as suddenly as when I put Yin in there) I am really glad I bought these two babies! Lots of fun...

My newest addition is doing a lot better now that he's got a tank and decent water changes instead of a cup full of poop. I'm still not 100% set on a name for him yet, but I'm really glad he's doing good. He also has a bit of regrowth on his fins. He has a really big personality and is really smart about avoiding netting and cupping both. 

All of my panda garras seem to be fine... goofy little guys. My rams are also doing okay... although the male does get a bit agressive with the female sometimes and she loses a lot of her color. They're supposed to be a mated pair so I'm not sure what his deal is... maybe he's just an *******.

My lone catfish is also doing good. He really likes his food.


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## Tress (Jun 6, 2014)

My young betta always would stripe up at the camera, though now that he's older he tolerates it a _little_ more. They'll get used to it eventually. You could try feeding them when the camera is near the glass. Then they associate it with food.

Glad to hear though that you've got some good to balance out the bad


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## Nyri (Sep 23, 2014)

I've thought of that, but she she is always munching on snail eggs and actual snails, so I don't feed her very much... I have to put her in a breeder box when I feed my otos because she WILL lay herself on top of the algae wafer and proceed to eat as much of it as she can get away with before I catch her. Such a little pig, that one... I'm always worried, but she hasn't had any problems so far. Maybe next time she's in the breeder box I'll feed her a little with a camera on hand and plan on leaving her in for the night (I do that on occasion because I want to make sure she has what she needs in her diet)


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## Nyri (Sep 23, 2014)

I'm starting to think I might see ovaries on my little "male" baby. Hmm... he was included with my female as one they weren't sure about, but he's white, so easy to see through, and I haven't ever seen ovaries before this week, but now I'm questioning myself quite a bit with it. I don't really care either way, but I don't like the name for a female


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## Nyri (Sep 23, 2014)

I went to feed my QT fish and noticed my female ram had an interesting looking bump on her tummy... got a flashlight to look closer, then realized that I didn't see the male near her... he was at the other end of the tank. Then I noticed why. My blue rams have layed eggs! It's their first spawn so I'm sure they'll end up eating the eggs or something, but it's really cool, they're not even out of the quarantine tank yet! They layed them on top of one of the coffee mugs that is on its side in there... figured they'd at least put them inside the cup. I'm so excited... figured my water would be too hard or not acidic enough for them


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## Nyri (Sep 23, 2014)

And here's a picture of my rams guarding their eggs! Ignore the really ugly tank...


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## Tress (Jun 6, 2014)

so cute


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## Nyri (Sep 23, 2014)

I'm excited to see if they actually hatch or not. I want expecting eggs so soon, especially in quarantine, so I'm not exactly prepared with fry food, but if they live to be free swimming I will figure something out!


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## Tress (Jun 6, 2014)

I think in unexpected situations you can use egg yolk, but I'd check the breeding section for help! Or even post in the TFK main site's similar section


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## Nyri (Sep 23, 2014)

Yeah, I've been looking into it... sometimes they'll eat egg yolks, and sometimes Hikari first bites, although not the most ideal, I do have on hand... I have somewhere I can go buy BBS which is much better for them if I end up needing too. I still think that my PH and hardness are a little high for for them to hatch, but we will see! I feel like if I go get food now, I'll be jinxing it.


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## Nyri (Sep 23, 2014)

Well, the eggs were gone when I woke up this morning. I can't wait to get my 55 up and running so I can give these two a bit more space. 

Speaking of the 55. I spent a good portion of they day scraping old silicone out of it and trying to clean it up... also looking for the best silicone to buy to replace that which I took out. There was so much algae working its way under it, and even small rocks at the bottom that it just wasn't worth keeping in...


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## Tress (Jun 6, 2014)

Oh Oh! Want a good tip for getting those nice clean lines when resiliconing a tank? Painters tape  Urgh I thought of it AFTER I redid my 15g lol. At least with your 55g you'll have way more space to work in x.x


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## Nyri (Sep 23, 2014)

Ooh, thanks for the tip! I would never have thought of it on my own. Yeah, there's more space to work with... more space than I can actually reach hahaha I felt like I was doing some weird acrobatics trying to get into the corners


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## Tress (Jun 6, 2014)

Yea, I could barely get the gun in the tank and it was so awkward x.x I trimmed up the silicone after. I'm just happy it holds water xD


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## Nyri (Sep 23, 2014)

I ended up buying the small tubes because I've heard people have a hard time getting the bigger one started... and keeping the flow even. I'm fairly confident with the strength in my hands, but at the same time I just didn't want to mess with it.


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## Nyri (Sep 23, 2014)

Well, I divided a 20 long finally for my boys to live in. All was good for about two days, and Yang figured out how to get past the divider. I found him cowering in the corner (thankfully the other one seems to have forgotten about him after he swam off) but he's now a double tail. Or well, he looks like one because he got a nice notch taken out of the middle of his tail.


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## Tress (Jun 6, 2014)

Hey just think, it could have been much worse! I wish I had the supplies to properly divide my 20g long, urgh it's such an ugly mess atm.


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## Nyri (Sep 23, 2014)

That's true, it could have been! I was terrified of what I'd find when I didn't see him in his section. I'm really glad that he is alive... feel bad for the little guy, though. 

I had a hard time finding what I needed to divide the tank the right way, too. Everyone was talking about poster hangers, which I couldn't find on amazon for less than $20 but I was able to get to a Walmart and they were just hanging behind the posters... also it was hard finding the mesh that is big enough for the 20. I think if I get enough time, I'll drain it and actually silicone the dividers in. I like having them to where I can move them if I need to, but apparently they don't fit snugly enough against the glass for the younger betta.


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## fishtankwatcher (Feb 5, 2015)

Nyri said:


> I like having them to where I can move them if I need to, but apparently they don't fit snugly enough against the glass for the younger betta.


Snip off a tiny end of the poster hanger & use it as shim to "tighten" the fit  I had to do that on mine since I accidentally snipped a couple just a shade short of snug fit. I also want mine to be moveable for cleaning or redecorating!


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## Nyri (Sep 23, 2014)

fishtankwatcher said:


> Snip off a tiny end of the poster hanger & use it as shim to "tighten" the fit  I had to do that on mine since I accidentally snipped a couple just a shade short of snug fit. I also want mine to be moveable for cleaning or redecorating!


I'm not sure if that will help in my situation... they fit really tight under the inner lip of the rim, but I can't push them toward the glass any further. It doesn't look like a huge gap and my full grown bettas can't even begin to get past it, just the baby. 

Speaking of the baby... I'm becoming more and more certain it's probably a girl, so she may not be long for that divided tank, anyway. 

I was planning on getting everything in the right tank, plants planted, etc this past week, but if it's not one thing it's another! Started out with a random fever and body aches bad enough to keep me fairly immobile, lasting a couple of days, turning into a migraine which lasted three days merging into what I'm guessing is either a cold or the flu (and the fever is back), which I've had for another three days now. I got a little done today, but not much. I did stock up on dayquil, though so hopefully I'll be somewhat more productive tomorrow.

In other news... the bettas I got on Aquabid what must have been a month ago almost are going to be here this week! Yay! Also I just received some really cool cholla from RussellTheShihTzu that I can't wait to get into my tanks


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## fishtankwatcher (Feb 5, 2015)

Nyri said:


> I'm not sure if that will help in my situation... they fit really tight under the inner lip of the rim, but I can't push them toward the glass any further. It doesn't look like a huge gap and my full grown bettas can't even begin to get past it, just the baby.


I know what you are talking about  If you cut the side shorter, it will snug up to the glass & the "shim" piece will fill in the top


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## Nyri (Sep 23, 2014)

fishtankwatcher said:


> I know what you are talking about  If you cut the side shorter, it will snug up to the glass & the "shim" piece will fill in the top


Oh, now I got ya! Sorry, my reading to visualization skills suck right now


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## Nyri (Sep 23, 2014)

My new fish just got here! They're alive, but I'm a little worried that the male might have something... my first thought is columnaris, but I'm trying to to worry until I can see him better. They're still in the bags acclimating so I guess we will see. Hopefully it's just weird marbling or some fungus that will be easy to deal with


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## Tress (Jun 6, 2014)

I hope he is alright!


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## Nyri (Sep 23, 2014)

Thank you, I hope so too! He definitely has something, and I'm still hoping it's something less scary and easily treatable. I made a post for him and whatever he has so hopefully I can get it taken care of. 

Meanwhile the poor female isn't really getting any love because I've been busy with him (only picture I have of her, she's still in the bag). She seems to be okay at least


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## Nyri (Sep 23, 2014)

I contacted the seller and let them know the fish arrived but the male came with a cyst, and they said they'd replace him! I was so bummed out when I found out I couldn't breed with him (but glad he was going to live, at least) but now I'm so excited. Now I just need to find room for another male giant... not sure if I should keep this one or find him a home with someone else. He's a really interactive fish, so I don't really want to give him up except for the room thing


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## Tress (Jun 6, 2014)

Just a cyst? Phew! I'm glad he'll be ok. If you do try to find him a home I'd look around locally at least till it warms up to be safe to ship


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## Nyri (Sep 23, 2014)

That's what I'm told! I have no idea what I'll do with him yet, but if I do find someone local who wants, that would make life easy for both him and me. Maybe I'll just throw him in my 40 with the pandas and catfish like I was going to with Hagrid. His fins are slightly longer though so I don't know.


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## Nyri (Sep 23, 2014)

Hi, my name is Erin and my least favorite color is yellow. 

But you would never know that looking at my new fish! I got a yellow, giant female because she had the best form of the fish that were available. She is the only one i actually have already. So far I love her. 

Then, I found some fancy male with a lot of yellow. At first I didn't really like him but posted him since I figured someone would want him. A couple days later and I couldn't get him out of my mind. I found a bank transfer from my partner labeled "fish addiction" so I got him. 

I decided to get a couple of females, too so I can start a sorority... Koi bettas aren't usually my favorite either, but I've been so curious to see how much they change as they age... So I found a yellow Koi female. Interesting story there. She's cute, not perfect Koi coloring, but it's still there. 

That is the story of how I came to own three yellow bettas. The colour seems to be growing on me... At least on fish. 

I also have a pet store impulse buy that is orange, and one that is pink... Now all I need is a red one to complete the list of colors I don't like. The orange one is really cool in the way he acts... Not sure about the pink one. I didn't choose him... He doesn't do much. I was excited that my fiance actually wanted a certain betta and that he was finally interested, bit it turns out he was just trying to steer me toward a cheap fish so I wouldn't pick an expensive one. I keep trying to get him to be a little more interactive, but he's just not that kind of fish I guess. I can relate.


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## Nyri (Sep 23, 2014)

I feel so off lately... keep feeling like I'm sick again after I feel better for a day. I keep trying to get stuff done with my tanks, but besides water changes, there are some other things that take priority which end up eating up the time I have which I'm not feeling awful, so my tanks are... not neglected, but not as attended to as I wish they were. I've felt sick off and on this whole month. 

I'm really excited for the new fish I'm getting, but I'm starting to be afraid that I'll still feel like crap when I get them and that will cancel out my joy...


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## Nyri (Sep 23, 2014)

I just had my second really weird Aquabid transaction in the last couple of days. The first one I mentioned in the Aquabid thread, and it was really confusing for me. Basically I asked a question, the seller accidentally banned me, later we figured it all out, and I have a fish coming my way. They were sick, so they probably have foggy head like I do right now. 

Today, a seller I've been trying to contact for a few days since the auction ended finally answered... Also they showed me a few females I could add to the transaction if I wanted for $10/fish. One of them had amazing form, so I jumped on it... and like the stupid person I am, asked for the total although I already knew what the math came up to. Well... now instead of the price of the fish in the auction plus $5 shipping, and the $10 for the female plus $5 shipping, they want to sell them by the pair for an extra random $5. I don't want to piss them off or anything by arguing about it, but I also only was going to add the female since she's only 10 and I already spent more than I wanted on the male, so I guess I'm just going to forget about the female... and her very nicely shaped fins and body and pay for the male and his shipping. I liked the female better than the male I was originally getting, but since I bid on him, I have to get him 
My mind is so fuzzy that I keep second guessing myself on the math even though it's simple addition and I know I'm right, but it throws just enough doubt in that I'm actually scared to mention it to the seller... but I have two times because they didn't understand my email the first time. I also don't want to get on the seller's bad side because they're highly recommended by top breeders here and have both really nice fish and really cool fish.

Sorry, I really have a hard time interacting with people to begin with, and it's usually much easier online... but then things like this are so hard for me to deal with like a normal adult


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## Nyri (Sep 23, 2014)

Sadly, if it were my own money I was spending, and I had slightly more of it, I'd just pay what they asked without question because I hate conflict and really don't like starting it.


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## Nyri (Sep 23, 2014)

Yay! Weird interaction with seller #2 is settled! Getting them for the originally asked price. Not sure if they actually calculated wrong, thought I'd won a different fish, or were hoping I wouldn't notice, but I'm glad I didn't just pay the extra $5 and that I'm still getting both fish  Maybe I'll learn how to stand up for myself yet


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## Nyri (Sep 23, 2014)

To add to the yellow fever that I seem to have come down with:









I was looking at this fish, when Jake came in the room and called it Tiger Lilly. 
She has a name. 
Jake showed interest in a random fish.
We had to get the fish.


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## Nyri (Sep 23, 2014)

Did some stuff in my 55  Still a work in progress though

The wonderful cholla and Akro Agate (what looks like a really cool rock) are from Russel


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## Nyri (Sep 23, 2014)

Was rearranging more stuff and one of my panda garras started chewing or sucking on me.... weirdest feeling ever. I only almost screamed once when another touched the back of my hand. I was afraid to move and scare it off because I don't want them to be afraid of me, but it was so hard not to move. I think my phobia is diminishing


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## Tress (Jun 6, 2014)

Tank is looking great and that rock is awesome! Can't wait to see it grow in some more  I wanna know what that feels like! My bettas always nip me but one actually tries to really bite and tear my finger tips off xD


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## Nyri (Sep 23, 2014)

Thank you! I have more plants I may or may not put in, too, and a piece of wood that stays down but not upright, but I'm really excited to see what it grows into, too! 

The garras feel really weird, it doesn't hurt at all, it feels really gentle, actually... it's not really sucking, but I'm not sure how to describe it.


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## Nyri (Sep 23, 2014)

Never mind about the last yellow fish... the seller accidentally sent her to another country


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## Tress (Jun 6, 2014)

oh no D:


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## Fenghuang (Dec 28, 2012)

Nyri said:


> Never mind about the last yellow fish... the seller accidentally sent her to another country


What?! :-( I'm so sorry!


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## Nyri (Sep 23, 2014)

Yeah... Got An email from them with a picture of another fish asking if it would be okay... The coloring looks like it's probably more "ideal" to someone breeding tiger Koi, but then again, in not really sure about tiger Koi so I may be wrong. The picture isn't as cute, and the only reason I was getting that one in the first place is that my partner showed interest in a fish... Which was that fish and not the new one. I understand mistakes happen, and I'm not angry, just kind of bummed, ya know? Putting up the fish they asked about. Not the greatest pics and I feel kind of weird about it... Can't see ventrals, can't really see the shape of the face as well as I'd like. I feel like I've had all of the weird luck with sellers in the last week


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## fishtankwatcher (Feb 5, 2015)

Nyri said:


> Yeah... Got An email from them with a picture of another fish asking if it would be okay... The coloring looks like it's probably more "ideal" to someone breeding tiger Koi, but then again, in not really sure about tiger Koi so I may be wrong. The picture isn't as cute, and the only reason I was getting that one in the first place is that my partner showed interest in a fish... Which was that fish and not the new one. I understand mistakes happen, and I'm not angry, just kind of bummed, ya know? Putting up the fish they asked about. Not the greatest pics and I feel kind of weird about it... Can't see ventrals, can't really see the shape of the face as well as I'd like. I feel like I've had all of the weird luck with sellers in the last week


I would request better pictures, it was not your mistake.

But I'm a stickler :-D
P.S. I also prefer the color/markings of the original yellow


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## Nyri (Sep 23, 2014)

I asked for some better ones... we will see! I'm kind of worried about the other fish... what happens if a transhipper gets a random accident fish?


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## Nyri (Sep 23, 2014)

Hmm, he just sent the same picture again. I guess I need to figure out how to word it better... but I had some secret hope that he'd sent the email to the wrong person, and this just confirmed that he didn't. 

I feel like I'm being a drama queen about this... I feel sad about a fish I've never even seen in person. I mean, it's better than a DOA or dying shortly after arrival, right? I am really worried about this random fish and wondering if it will be okay wherever she ends up. I also really don't want to accept this other fish (especially without a different picture), and I'm not sure why. I guess it's just because I really wanted the other one... but the seller is trying to make it right, and it's just hard when it involves living creatures. I don't know what to do.


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## fishtankwatcher (Feb 5, 2015)

Nyri said:


> Hmm, he just sent the same picture again. I guess I need to figure out how to word it better... but I had some secret hope that he'd sent the email to the wrong person, and this just confirmed that he didn't.
> 
> I feel like I'm being a drama queen about this... I feel sad about a fish I've never even seen in person. I mean, it's better than a DOA or dying shortly after arrival, right? I am really worried about this random fish and wondering if it will be okay wherever she ends up. I also really don't want to accept this other fish (especially without a different picture), and I'm not sure why. I guess it's just because I really wanted the other one... but the seller is trying to make it right, and it's just hard when it involves living creatures. I don't know what to do.


Definitely keep it short, " I need different pictures of the fish "

You are not being a drama queen (not from my standpoint) You bought a specific fish & the seller messed up. I would just get a refund, unless he/she has another equally nice fish *YOU* like.

I would *think* she'll be cared for & sold as the other fish received. 
What country did she get shipped to? (did the seller say?)


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## Nyri (Sep 23, 2014)

Well, still no response, so I have no idea where the fish went. He didn't say, but he did accidentally send another email of sending someone else the wrong fish to me, so I wonder if he sent my fish to them. 

I went to the store today and picked up a couple of girls to put into the sorority I'm planning on trying... grabbed a green crowntail (my first!) and a blue "veiltail" but she looks part CT, but my eyes caught a King. I ignored it, although Jake was telling me to go ahead and get it because I don't have room... but I got home and got the girls situated in their qt tanks, I couldn't get my mind off of it. Eventually Jake threw money at me and told me to go get it (that was a first... ) so I did after figuring out where I'd put him. Turns out they had two kings, and it took me a while to decide. They look pretty close, wondering if they're from the same spawn... grabbed another girl, this time a tealish spork, also labeled as a veil. Tried to get pictures in their cups, but it was too dim, and I've left them alone to get comfortable in their tanks, so I'll get better pics in the morning. 

Now I just need to come up with a lot of names, plant the plants that have been floating in my 40 gallon for forever, and clean up my newly emptied 10g.


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## Tress (Jun 6, 2014)

Just.. ALL the bettas. I wish I could walk out with just an armful of bettas... I wonder what the employees thought...


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## Nyri (Sep 23, 2014)

Tress said:


> Just.. ALL the bettas. I wish I could walk out with just an armful of bettas... I wonder what the employees thought...


I know! I saw so many others there I wish I could have gotten... but since I want to try breeding, I really don't have a lot of room for more pet fish right now. Sadly the little green female was exactly the shade of green I wish I could find on a breedable HMPK on aquabid, but they seem to not exist. The employee that rang me up for the fish hardly looked at them, so I think she was just thinking about her shift ending


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## Tress (Jun 6, 2014)

Nyri said:


> I know! I saw so many others there I wish I could have gotten... but since I want to try breeding, I really don't have a lot of room for more pet fish right now. Sadly the little green female was exactly the shade of green I wish I could find on a breedable HMPK on aquabid, but they seem to not exist. The employee that rang me up for the fish hardly looked at them, so I think she was just thinking about her shift ending


Haha xD I'm glad you didn't get any weird looks. They know me too well in the local store, seeing as its the only one... Once one of them asked "Geez, just how many bettas do you have now?" and gave me a weird look when I told her the one I was getting was #6 .-. Then the next time one of the other ones was in the mall heading back to the store and she asked me how all my fishies were. 

It was so awkward.. but it's like.. why should it be? It wouldn't be the same if it was shoaling fish, but because it's bettas it's like they look at you suspiciously or something .-. If it was cats and I said I have 5 (which I do >.>) I'd understand because hey, that's a lot of cats. Lots of poop to scoop and bowls to fill.


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## Nyri (Sep 23, 2014)

This was just a Petco, so most of them just care about getting payed. Not all, but the only employee I encountered today seemed that way... my actual fish store is another question, so I kind of know how you feel. The guy at my LFS knows me as the weird betta girl... I've talked to him about the condition of his bettas, spent about 20 minutes choosing one once, and my first encounter, ran in frantically asking if he had kanaplex. I walked out that time with the kanaplex, a new heater, and I don't remember what else, but he was like, "all that for a betta?" He treats all of the other fish amazingly, just not the bettas. I don't go there as often any more because of the betta remarks he throws at me every time I go in, and if I go in alone, he always asks where my boyfriend is. Yeah, I drug him in there at first because I was terrified to walk past all of the fish, and I really don't like having panic attacks in public without a safe person... and we're also a really odd looking couple, but when I start going in more frequently by myself I don't need to be asked why Jake isn't there every time.


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## Tress (Jun 6, 2014)

Urgh, that's so annoying. What happened to the days of friendly chatting? I also don't get how they can justify improper care for bettas when they treat their other stock well. Is it no longer "Just a fish" and now "Just a betta"?

Odd couple? I don't think it could be much odder than a 6'2"ft skinny, geeky British guy and little 5'4" chunky, country kid me.


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## Nyri (Sep 23, 2014)

Tress said:


> Urgh, that's so annoying. What happened to the days of friendly chatting? I also don't get how they can justify improper care for bettas when they treat their other stock well. Is it no longer "Just a fish" and now "Just a betta"?
> 
> Odd couple? I don't think it could be much odder than a 6'2"ft skinny, geeky British guy and little 5'4" chunky, country kid me.


For us it's more like we're both odd, although we're also odd like that, like I keep my hair short and wear men's clothing... pretty much without my partner in tow, people assume I'm a lesbian, and are very surprised when they find out I have a male partner. He is a regular guy, but his long, flowing hair next to my short, unkept hair makes a lot of people recognize us. But then, we're both quiet and introverted, kind of nerdy looking, and people find that odd a lot of the time that we do what is comfortable for us instead of trying to fit better into society.


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## Tress (Jun 6, 2014)

Nyri said:


> For us it's more like we're both odd, although we're also odd like that, like I keep my hair short and wear men's clothing... pretty much without my partner in tow, people assume I'm a lesbian, and are very surprised when they find out I have a male partner. He is a regular guy, but his long, flowing hair next to my short, unkept hair makes a lot of people recognize us. But then, we're both quiet and introverted, kind of nerdy looking, and people find that odd a lot of the time that we do what is comfortable for us instead of trying to fit better into society.


You sounds like my kind of people :3 Too bad we didn't live closer!


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## Nyri (Sep 23, 2014)

That would be really great! I'd love to have a betta friend in real life... not that you're not in real life. I guess I mean in person.


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## Tress (Jun 6, 2014)

I know what you mean... its really lonely when you're the only one into a certain hobby. Or the other people into it aren't really... at your level. Like I'm sure we could find other people WITH bettas, but we'd be hard pressed to find someone who, at the very least, doesn't keep them in unheated bowls/vases.


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## Nyri (Sep 23, 2014)

Yeah, I actually had a friend with a betta before I got Xander, and that was part of the reason I felt okay actually looking at the bettas in the store, but she kept hers in an unheated, small bowl, and wasn't really interested in learning any more about them or hearing anything I had to say about how to keep them at their healthiest. I think since he lived over two years, she figured she must be doing something right and there was no reason to change anything up. He died last month, though... and she tried to give me her supplies  she thought it was weird when I even got a second one, so... she must think I'm insane by now.


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## Tress (Jun 6, 2014)

When I was getting back into bettas a friend of my mom heard and she got me one as a surprise. She also gave me all her "supplies" from her attempts at keeping bettas. I think she went through like 3 or 4 of them... all kept in a small bowl/vase thing. I talked to her the day I got Ruben and she was like "so did your fish die yet?". And she looked at me crazy for telling her I had just bought my 6th betta. 

She also said that if she ever tries bettas again she'll talk to me first, but she's one of those people who never follow through or get bored of things after a week. Heck.. she gave us a bunch of houseplants that she'd managed to kill cause she kept forgetting to water them. 

I think some people just aren't meant to have pets.


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## Nyri (Sep 23, 2014)

That is sad. Seems like non-living things would be better for people like that. Movies... books that aren't part of a series, games... stuff that doesn't suffer when you get bored of it. The saddest thing is a lot of people are bored with bettas before they get them, but they're "decorative" so that's the only reason they get them. At least she plans on talking to you before she gets another... maybe you can convince her not to once she realizes that it's a fairly long-term commitment you make to take care of that fish.


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## Tress (Jun 6, 2014)

It's been a few months, I'm sure she's forgotten by now lol. I'm glad she didn't, would have been quite difficult. I'm still trying to get through to my mom about so many things and not "just trying to be a smart arse".

Anyways I'll stop taking over your journal here >.< How are your fishies?


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## Nyri (Sep 23, 2014)

For the most part they're all okay! 

My 55 is doing really good... everyone seems to be getting along so far. I ended up putting my otos and cories in there, and the bigger catfish doesn't seem to be bothering them at all. I have been counting them all to make sure none have "disappeared" 

All of the boys I have in my divided 20 gallon are well, and really excited that I've been keeping a towel over their tank lately (they're near a large window that lets the cold in) so they've all been building bubble nests. 

My giants are doing well! The male (the one with the cyst) is becoming quite active, building bubble nests and such. Still kind of sad he can't be bred, but he's so funny that I'm really not sorry I have him. The female is taking full advantage of the 20 gallon long she has all to herself right now and swimming laps. She's so cute!
My new ones were a bit stressed looking today so I didn't bother them much. I was going to get pictures, but the girls all striped up and hid, and my new king was kind of clampy so I didn't want to bother him, either. 

I did find my real camera tonight, so I'm going to try to take good pictures with that tomorrow. My phone is so bad at focusing on the right thing when it comes to fish... Most of the time I have a perfect leaf somewhere... and a really blurry fish. Not sure if my camera will do any better, but I'm excited to try!


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## Nyri (Sep 23, 2014)

And you can take over my journal, I really don't mind


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## Tress (Jun 6, 2014)

Glad to hear! I miss bubblenests :< my boys are too lazy. I hope your camera works good! I find with taking pictures of fish... just spam click and hope for good shots lol. Drives me nuts when the shot is in focus, but they have their ventrals up, or their tail not spread all the way... but then they will pose prefectly right in front of a water mark on the glass! Silly fish.


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## Nyri (Sep 23, 2014)

I have that happen, too. I have one that will hold still and look really nice, then once I get the picture focused on her, she will zip away, so all I get is a blur. It's like she knows.


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## Nyri (Sep 23, 2014)

So much for the camera... can't figure out how to charge it. 

I did get some really bad phone pictures, of my new fish, though. Can't get the yellow girl in focus for the life of me... need a darker background to photograph her properly, I think.

from top to bottom: Giant male with cyst, king from petco, giant blurry female, blue "vt" female, female ct that normally looks green, female "vt" that normally looks teal.


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## Tress (Jun 6, 2014)

oh god... I just have this thing about tiny ventrals... xD Love that 4th girl!


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## Nyri (Sep 23, 2014)

Unfortunately Yang passed away yesterday.  She was fine on Saturday, but on Sunday when I woke up, her internal filter had come unstuck from the back of the tank (from the suction cup), and she was missing her whole dorsal fin and the whole top half of her tail... On further examination, I noticed she had a scrape going down her whole back, and a decent sized chunk missing where her dorsal used to be. The filter has a sharp lip on the output, and I'm kicking myself for not noticing it before. I didn't ever expect the output to be in the water, not that I examined the filter at all before using it anyway. I was stupid and forgot safety measures with it. I was keeping her by herself and putting aquarium salt in the water, but yesterday when I came home, she was dead. 

Now one of my new petco girls is scaring me... I think I'm just being paranoid now...


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## Nyri (Sep 23, 2014)

I feel completely sick about my missing package of fish. I should have just gone express so there'd be a signature required and they couldn't have possibly gone to anyone else.


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## Tress (Jun 6, 2014)

;-; Oh hun, things just seem to be really sucking over there. I hope your fish make it alright <3


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## Nyri (Sep 23, 2014)

Tress said:


> ;-; Oh hun, things just seem to be really sucking over there. I hope your fish make it alright <3


I really hope so, too... I've been having a hard time doing anything besides worry about them all day. I know worrying can't help, but I've done everything I can do, for now and I'm kind of lost as to what I should do now. Tomorrow I'm going to go back to the post office before my mail carrier leaves and see if I can talk to him. It's almost easier having the one fish die, because I KNOW she's dead, but now I have several fish that I don't even know where they are


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## Nyri (Sep 23, 2014)

They were found! All of them are alive, too... the giant looks really pale, but the rest don't even look all that stressed


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## Axeria (Feb 6, 2015)

Glad your fish was not lost  looking forward to seeing pics


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## Nyri (Sep 23, 2014)

I can't wait until I can get pics! They're so beautiful... some are quite different from when I ordered them a month ago haha 

I've got them all acclimating and have added a drop of prime to each bag. I stole (I think it was Feng's?) quarantine idea, so they're going to be in jars at first, which will make photographing them hard, but it will happen!


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## Nyri (Sep 23, 2014)

Here's the bag pictures  Sorry a couple are pretty blurry, I'm bad at pictures anyway, and it was hard to focus on the fish


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## Tress (Jun 6, 2014)

So glad they made it safe and sound <3


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## Axeria (Feb 6, 2015)

Awww! Pretty fishies


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## Nyri (Sep 23, 2014)

All of the new ones seem to be really well today. There were a couple that were kind of inactive last night, but they were all excited to be fed this morning! The girls are so much bigger than any of my petco females, or even the ones I got from a breeder in the US... though the breeder ones were pretty young when I got them, and maybe I should have fed them live or frozen food to get them to grow better? Anyway, I'm so happy to have them finally. 

About half of the plants I put in my 55 have melted... I was planning on having a better light for it by now, but life happened and apparently I need a t12 instead of t8 (my fault for not checking before ordering), so that's probably the problem with the plants...


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## Nyri (Sep 23, 2014)

Two of the girls have dropped eggs in their jars


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## Tress (Jun 6, 2014)

lol I love the pale face one xD


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## Nyri (Sep 23, 2014)

Tress said:


> lol I love the pale face one xD


I do too! Want to see what she looked like when I ordered her? I think there was about a month between the time I picked her out and the time that I got her, and she's changed SO much! I think she's beautiful both ways, though... The male is the same way, but not quite as huge of a change


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## Nyri (Sep 23, 2014)

*The girls*

Got some more pictures while I was changing water earlier. Some are still pretty hard to get pictures of, either from moving a lot, or not moving enough  

I like all of the females quite a bit... still no names.

First one is a green female I didn't get to see before I got her. I'm not disappointed. 

Second hasn't been as active as I'd like... she's on the bottom quite a bit. She's quite beautiful, though. 

Third: I fell in love with a sibling on aquabid that sold before I could buy her... so I'd been stalking the seller for a similar one. Again, not disappointed

Fourth one was a replacement for the one the seller accidentally sent to another country. I was devastated, but I think I like this one enough haha. 

Fifth... I already posted a picture of her before I bought her. Very different. Also very active!

I really have a thing for the last one... so hard to get a picture of her, though because she's always moving.


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## Nyri (Sep 23, 2014)

*The boys*

Here are the boys. I have more mixed feelings about the males than the females. 

I really like the top one, although I'm somewhat worried that his eyes might scale over... I'm not sure how to tell with that yet as I haven't really had any full dragons

The second one down doesn't really look as nice as he did in the picture, and kind of has a hump. He's still pretty small, so I'll wait to see what he looks like when he's a little bigger... it's unfortunate because I really like his green. His eyes are also a little cloudy... 

The giant (second to last) is a lot less active than the one he's replacing, so I'm not sure if he'll be up for breeding or not. He has more rays, so that's nice. 

The last one is fun to look at next to the picture I bought him with... definitely change there, but he's still cute. I can get him to flare a lot, but when he does, he won't stop moving, so I can't get a picture..


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## Fenghuang (Dec 28, 2012)

We used the same sort of quarantine system... Mason jars in a heated tank. Simple, but efficient. 

I love your "piebald" female. She is adorable.


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## Nyri (Sep 23, 2014)

Fenghuang said:


> We used the same sort of quarantine system... Mason jars in a heated tank. Simple, but efficient.
> 
> I love your "piebald" female. She is adorable.


Yeah, I think I stole the idea from you haha! It works amazingly so far. 

Isn't she? I'm excited to see if her face stays light or if she'll end up solid. I've only had one marble before, and she was really slow at changing, so this is exciting for me


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## LittleMissSunshine (Mar 26, 2015)

I have anxiety as well as depression Nyri and my bettas have really helped me. I love taking care of them and being able to provide the best possible home for them. I enjoyed reading through your journal


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## Nyri (Sep 23, 2014)

LittleMissSunshine said:


> I have anxiety as well as depression Nyri and my bettas have really helped me. I love taking care of them and being able to provide the best possible home for them. I enjoyed reading through your journal


I really love taking care of them, too... Just having them around is nice. Watching them is relaxing, the water trickle sound from the filter is also relaxing. Not only that, but some days I feel too drained to or like I just can't for some reason or another, but I have to. It's good to have something you HAVE to do, because they depend on you... It helps me because there are some days I'd stay in bed all day or something. 


One of my petco girls has been having SBD problems... she was pretty skinny when I got her, and I think she thinned out even more while she was settling in with me. She's doing a lot better now, and putting on weight, but I'm still slightly worried... not because of the SBD, but because her spine ended up curving a bit, and I hear horror stories about TB, but I don't think that can be it. She's getting fatter and now she eats well and seems to be in as good of spirits as a fish can be... she doesn't have any other symptoms, but I'm still paranoid, and she's not coming out of quarantine for quite some time

My green dragon male was pouting today. I thought he was dead in his QT jar. He came up to the top when I leaned over to see him better, but he wouldn't eat or anything. I sat up a kritter keeper to put him in so I could dose medications a little more effectively, and after acclimating him for a little bit, netted him in... and he was fine. He's been very active exploring his new home and readily took some food. He's the only one who has had any problems in a jar so far. I can't wait to get them into their new tanks. I think I'm going to move them on the 16th.


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## Tress (Jun 6, 2014)

Sometimes when fish are having SBD problems they curve their spine in an S. Is that kinda like what she is doing?


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## Nyri (Sep 23, 2014)

Yeah, that's why I'm not as worried as I would be if she just ended up curving without the SBD (or emaciation that probably caused the SBD without putting weight back on) but I'm still a bit paranoid about it. I think the SBD itself is mostly gone... she gets around extremely well, but she's still at the top by default.


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## LittleMissSunshine (Mar 26, 2015)

Nyri said:


> I really love taking care of them, too... Just having them around is nice. Watching them is relaxing, the water trickle sound from the filter is also relaxing. Not only that, but some days I feel too drained to or like I just can't for some reason or another, but I have to. It's good to have something you HAVE to do, because they depend on you... It helps me because there are some days I'd stay in bed all day or something.


I completely agree Nyri! I lay and watch my guys every night before falling asleep and listen to the water trickling. Before I did a lot of sleeping and was so overwhelmed with simple tasks but now I have 5 boys and taking care of them like you said is something that you HAVE and will often distract you from other worries. I want to start a journal or blog about dealing with depression and anxiety issues and my Bettas


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## Nyri (Sep 23, 2014)

It's been so long since I updated, so I thought I'd make a post!

I have gotten all of my fish into their new homes (except for two girls who look to have velvet, but they're in small tanks instead of jars), and they're settling in nicely. Of course the sorority has had a few spats, which seem to be centered around three females who now look a bit ragged... the rest of them may have a fin nip here or there, but seem to be fine. I'm posting a picture of the one who seems to be the most aggressive (sadly also one of my favorites) but instead of her beating up everyone else, it seems like she's been more on the losing end, so she's also the most beat up so far... missing scales and such... her fins don't look as bad as I'd expect

One of my males definitely has diamond eye, so that sucks... but I'm just going to teach him where his food goes, so he's hopefully not going to be too bothered by it. Only one of my males looks like something I'd want to breed, which is probably good haha. He's definitely not perfect, but he's nice enough, and the female he came with is good too. I'm thinking of taking her out of the sorority just to make sure she stays safe.


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## Nyri (Sep 23, 2014)

Here are pictures of pretty much all of my boys, minus the petco king (who I took a million pictures of the other day but can't find them). 

Some of them never hold still when they see me, so it's a little rough getting pics... Xander tries to look pretty, but my phone cam really doesn't like photographing him  His fins are growing back again, though!


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