# Oiseau's Nest



## Oiseau (Nov 8, 2011)

Im always forgetting that I have these things, so my journal entries are fairly sporadic. :3


----------



## Oiseau (Nov 8, 2011)

21/12/11

It's been a rough week. First, V died out of nowhere, no signs or being ill or anything. Last night I found my smallest girl clamped, pale and just floating at the top. She'd seemed perfectly fine when I fed her that morning. I took her out and made her comfortable in my 1g bowl but when I woke up, she had died. And when I was feeding my community tank, I found one of my glass catfish dead. I'm trying to convince myself these deaths aren't my fault. I mean, I had to return one of my glass catfish the day after we got it because when my boyfriend brought the poor thing home, he realized it had a bent spine. And now we have two deaths a few days after. Plus, my tank is cycled and peramiters are fine. All my research (looking up the personality, care, etc of each fish on 4 - 5 different websites, getting advice on forums, AqAdvisor and talking to workers in the lfs) says all my fish should be good together. I've seen zero aggression and I'm only 80% stocked. Ugh, I'm going to drive myself crazy wondering about this. 

Also, non-fish life happenings. I lost a shift at work because I can't work until 11pm, which means less food money at the end of the month. My boyfriend has to wear a back brace because his spine is so far out that it's not even funny. :/ I was supposed to pick up my portfolio from an internship I had over the summer but that isn't happening now.

Sigh. I need a coffee.


----------



## Oiseau (Nov 8, 2011)

Sigh. And now my buenos aeries tetras and Chinese algae water have died. I don't know what's going on. :/


----------



## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

Oh, no! I'm sorry you lost your fish! I hope you're able to figure out what's going on.


----------



## Oiseau (Nov 8, 2011)

24/12/11

I don't think I can keep fish anymore. It's too painful. I woke up to my baby, Flounder, dead. He was begging for food and flaring at his reflection just last night. I've spent the last hour crying. I miss him so much.


----------



## Oiseau (Nov 8, 2011)

Thank you, DQ.


----------



## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

Not again! I am so sorry. Maybe you should take a break from fish for awhile and try again in a few months or something. It's hard enough to lose one but when you lose several in a row it's really hard.


----------



## ANHEL123 (Jul 21, 2010)

Hi everyone. I am kind of late on this discussion but just trying to figure out what possibly could be wrong. 3 bettas in a row died. Were they already sick when you bought them? 
Did you disinfect the tank after first betta died? If your first betta had bacterial or fungal infection or sometimes it bacterial and fungal infection together then just hot water not enough to kill bacteria and fungus that might still remain in the tank,gravel,plants….

Also I have a problem at home and I was wondering if Oiseau can help me. Sorry I don’t know your name…i will explain..

I am not allowed to go to the pet store, because every time I am going to the store i come bace with a betta , so as of today I have 10 bettas. Last one I bought a few weeks ago. I had big argument with my husband and he want me to return betta to the store. I told him that i need time to find who I can give him to. So if you want you can have him. He is happy and healthy. I am not sure what state you live in , I am in Philadelphia PA. So you can rescue my betta and do me a favor. He needs home. I also can give you his 2.5 gall tank.


----------



## Oiseau (Nov 8, 2011)

Update:

After a few more deaths in my community tank, I tried returning all of the fish for a refund because it became immediately obvious that I had either bought them sick or the one original sick fish had infected everyone. (My glass catfish appeared to have TB.) The store refused to honor their return policy and left me out $250 worth of fish and plants. Within a week, all but a few of the fish had died. I had kept up regular water changes, etc. No signs of illness in any of the fish until they were dead. I had no idea who to quarantine or how to treat anything, so I did another major water change with siphon. There haven't been any more deaths since, though I only have about 6 of the original fish left. 

A123,

My sorority girls + the community tank fish were definitely sick when I bought them, or infected shortly afterward. I put them in a cycled tank, proper feedings, understocked, with regular large water changes. However, I do not know if V was sick when I bought him. He didn't show signs of being ill. He was not in the same tank as any of the girls; however, I thoroughly disinfect all of my tanks. I use hot water to rinse everything off a few times, then rinse it again with a vinegar/hot water mix. After another hot water rinse, I use a bleach/hot water mix, which I usually let sit for a couple hours, and then rinse with hot water again until there's no residue left.

I had Flounder for five(?) months before he got sick. I found out after that he had ich, which I didn't detect earlier due to his light colouration and him being such an active swimmer. I did the same method to disinfect his tank and quarantined the plants and the shrimp as well. I've been keeping a close eye on all my fish though, just in case.

I would love to take your betta, but my boyfriend has a "no more fish or tanks" rule now, especially after all the money we spent - and had go to waste. I'm also in Canada, so the poor thing might not make it. :c I hope you can find a new home for him, though!


----------



## ANHEL123 (Jul 21, 2010)

Well you don't know how long you keeping your boyfriend lol But if you love fish you should have it. Boyfriend will go and your hobby will stay lol . My husband is very understandable. I don't know how he takes me. All my bettas downstairs, so basically all my living room table occupied by bettas tank. We also have bar table where we eat and i have two tanks there too. He feeds them every morning too and feed them at night.

How is your sorority going? I hope your girls will work out for you. You saying that you have 6 of the original fish left. I am not sure which one are they. 

I really don't know what to do with that betta. It painful for me to return it to the store. 
Let me know if you change your mind. Because i can wait until wormer weather at least i will know that he will have home.

About disinfection. I did it before and i saw instructions from Oldfishlady about disinfection. I recommendation would be diluted clorax. I am not sure the proportion. 1 to 10? If you ever need it we can find out from the forum. I did 1 to 10 though. Wash it very well, wipe it, wash it and air dry… I put it outside to stay on the sun or you can live it inside on the sun for a few days.

I also want to say that with betta you never know if they can be sick since it a lot of them in the store and most of the stores don’t do right care of them so a lot of time they are sick. That is why I prefer to keep them separate. Because if one betta get sick then if will contaminate another one. So….


----------



## Oiseau (Nov 8, 2011)

Pretty sure the boyfriend will be staying.  He's been keeping fish for lOnger than I have, so he understands my love. Our apartment just isn't big enough for any more fish or tanks. We have a tank in every room except the kitchen! And since he and I share expenses (rent, water/electricity, fish expenses, etc), I respect his wishes to not have more than what we do already. Lol, we already have more than we expected, since my step-son didn't take his tank home with him. 

Only one girl survived. My boyfriend took her out of the community tank and saved her life. She's slowly Colouring up but she eats and swims just fine. She managed to destroy her tail in her new tank, but there's already new growth. I bought another girl after Xmas too, and I quarantined both her and Saria (remaining betta girl) and now they're in a split 5.5g. 

Have you thought about posting in the classifieds or Craigslist? I'm sure there are tons of people who would love to give your baby a new home!

I use Clorox. 

This store seems to always have sick fish/fish that are nearly dead/inferior fish, but I didn't find out until it was too late. As sad and heartbreaking as it all was, I learned.


----------



## ANHEL123 (Jul 21, 2010)

Sorry that you had to go through all of that. It makes me really sad. You know it always something has to go wrong …not for the long time it usually get resolved though. I love bettas and it make me sad when people who want them having a trouble. Well at least you have two betta girls I never had female betta. All my bettas are males. May be you will have male betta too, later on… 


 I read your thread again , i don’t know how I missed it first time , about clorox part that you wrote about. I just always assume people don’t know about clorox. I think I mentioned about it one time long time ago and someone was very skeptical about that. I think it the best way to disinfect. 

I don’t think i like craigslist for my betta. I just don’t trust …since I don’t want any money back for betta or for the tank people can take advantage …Somehow I saw on the u tube that I never even think people can do it. Even if you don’t like care about fish It would never come to my mind to do what other people do. They put 3-4 bettas together and watch how they fight. I didn’t know it exist..so I don’t want to give someone I don’t know. I would trust forum people though. It also drives me crazy that people who wants betta having a problem and those people who don’t care always get healthy ones.

Also i am wondering how you going to change the water for 5.5 gall tank with your girls

Also i want to make sure that you know about Aquarium and Epsom salt which is very effective to treat bettas. Not every fish salt tolerant but bettas are benefit from it.
Of course only if they show any symptoms of the disease. It is not advised to use salt on a regular basis.


----------



## Oiseau (Nov 8, 2011)

It's insane. I house my betta in heated tanks, usually 2.5g or more and spend endless amounts of money to keep them happy and healthy, and they get sick still. My boyfriend told me a friend of his inherited a betta when someone passed away, and the previous owner had it for 5 years in a cup on a windowsill. Once I have all my girls for the sorority, I'll be getting one or two males for the 5.5g. 

It's really scary to use bleach for the first time! I was worried that it wouldn't come out and would harm my fish. I understand why people are afraid to use it. Some bacteria can survive through multiple bleachings though. That's why I use the vinegar method as well.

I know what you mean. I had to rehome my ferret last year and so many people who knew nothing about ferrets wanted to adopt him. I eventually ended up charging for him, just because I was so tired of it. Finding a new owner takes time, but eventually you'll find someone.

On Sunday and Thursday I do 25% water changes and vacuum the bottom of the tank. (It's bare bottom right now.) On Tuesday I do 50% water change and clean all the decorations and plants. I have a bunch of hoses that work as siphons, so it's really quite easy.

Yep, I know about them. I have a huge bag of Epsom salts for my arthritis and I've used it with my girls before. I've been searching high and low for AQ salt though. The only place I've seen it wanted $50 for a tiny bag.


----------



## Oiseau (Nov 8, 2011)

Happy Feet 2 was so cute. :3

Babydoll hams it up for the camera but getting a picture of Saria is nearly impossible. Getting a picture that shows her colour is even harder.


----------



## Oiseau (Nov 8, 2011)

The PS3 was nearly impossible to set up. But it was worth it. Our new TV isn't much bigger but it's so much nicer. I'm really excited for tomorrow. My dad is bringing over their old 60" TV for us to have. Video games are going to be so much more fun. 

My cold has kept my boyfriend and I up for the past two nights. Finally bought some medicine. Ugh, being allergic to penicillin and amoxicillin makes buying cold medication scary. 

Here's hoping we get some sleep tonight!


----------



## ANHEL123 (Jul 21, 2010)

I hope you feel better . I thought that amoxicilin and penicilin only by proscription. I thought that everything over the counter without amoxicilin and penicilin. May be i am not right. I am working in doctor office and i will ask the doctor. I am just curious. I hope you feel better.

I want to say something about your 5.5 gall tank. Please don't get mad. You don't need to cycle tank if it under 10 gall. and without filter. For 5.5 gall without filter you need to do 1-50% and 1-100% water changes. 

There is recommendation from some people on the forum to do this way. I do 100% water changes for my 2.5 gall every 4-5 days.

The forum recomendations for 2.5 gall 1-50% and 1-100% water changes a week. For 5 gall 50% every week and 100% a month. But i think because you have 2 girls in 5.5 gall you need to do 1-50 and 1-100% a wk.

I think it will be also easier for you even after you put gravel i think it easier to change like that instead of vacuum the gravel.

Try that it really good . I do 100% water changes all the time since i get first betta. And it also good because you get all debris out.

Also i know some one who live in Canada. She also has sick betta and she bought aq salt . I will ask her which store she found it. I know we have it in any pet store. Just in case you might need it in the future. 

Have a good night sleep guys


----------



## BettaGirl290 (Jul 29, 2010)

dramaqueen said:


> Not again! I am so sorry. Maybe you should take a break from fish for awhile and try again in a few months or something. It's hard enough to lose one but when you lose several in a row it's really hard.


i lost all several in a month remember that DQ? i quit the forums and the bettas for a month, and then Rocketeer got me going again


----------



## Oiseau (Nov 8, 2011)

UPDATE:

While I was cleaning the 5.5g yesterday, Babydoll jumped out of her cup (which only had a couple inches of water in it) and landed in the sink. Thankfully I had conditioned water ready on the side. I covered up the tank and had the lights out all day. She's acting like nothing happened, but I'm keeping an eye on her.

----

I'm not sure. When I was younger, I had medicine with amoxicillin in it and I had an allergic reaction and had to go to the hospital. It might have changed now, but I still keep an eye out.

I'm aware of the cycle, water changes, etc.  I have a cycled 50g tank right now. When I had Flounder in the 5.5g, I did one 25% and one 50% every week. I only do 100% every second week. I have back problems and lifting the tank - even empty - is hard on me. I prefer to keep risk of injuring myself to a minimum!

I'm thinking of trying sand in the 5.5g. I hated the gravel. It was annoying to clean and I had to do more water changes to make sure I got everything. We'll see.

Thank you! I hope I don't need aq salt, but if I ever do, it'd be nice to have on hand.


----------



## ANHEL123 (Jul 21, 2010)

I had a few accidents like that a few times. One betta jumped out while i was changing him and another one jumped out of tank. The one which jumped out of tank (2 years ago) still alive he had fungus though after that. So be careful watch him. If he has any symptoms you probably will need to separate her from another one. I usually try to tell people that bettas are very good jumpers. 

Do you have small gravel? I am surprised you didn't like it. I don’t like small gravel. I have big river stones mixed with bigger gravel i could find in the pet store. I love it because it easy to rinse and i want to make sure that i get all debris out. I don't think you can get all debris out with sand. I saw one post on this forum from someone who had sand . He/she tried to find out why water was cloudy. I don't know if it was from the sand though. I just trying to imagine, I know you don’t have a filter but especially If anyone have filter and sand I think the water will be cloudy.... It remind me big waves in the ocean ….a lot of sand in my mouth LOL I need vocation….Sorry i think i hate sand even before i try it..lol i think it more problem with that...
Try bigger stones. Well river stones in the pet stores i think expansive. One time i find them in Target. I am not sure if you have that store in Canada. But if you will ever see it be careful . I found black stones though (not sure if you like the color) they are good. But sometimes store sells different color stones and one time i bought them and they were cover with some kind of slime that make the water a little cloud but didn't hurt my betta. If I see them then I just know which one because I already experienced that.

The store where that person bought Aquarium salt called Pet Cetera and she live in Vancouver. I am surprised you didn't find Aq salt. We have it in every Pet store. If you ever really need it and you can't find i can try to mail it to you. It is really not expansive at all. Just heavy though. You don't have to pay me back. But I think you would be able also find it on line.

 When you buy proscription drug i think any pharmacy will probably help you when you pick up the medications. If you buy at the store without proscription then i think it will say on the bottle if is has it. You need to be careful.


----------



## ANHEL123 (Jul 21, 2010)

Just worry how is your betta doing?


----------



## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

BettaGirl290 said:


> i lost all several in a month remember that DQ? i quit the forums and the bettas for a month, and then Rocketeer got me going again


 
I remember. 
I've never had any to jump out of their tank or cup but I HAVE knocked 2 onto the floor and both survived.


----------



## ANHEL123 (Jul 21, 2010)

I know i always afraid to do it 
But i had one betta jumped out and survived. He had something white on his body and i did a lot of water changes for him. 


The other fish jumped out and i don't know how long he was on the table. ( may be 15-35 min approx). He died next day


----------



## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

I think the longer they're out of water the less likely they will survive.


----------

