Betta Diaries

[AyalaCookiejar]

I'm sorry for your loss :( her and Okami are swimming together now under the rainbow bridge. <3

[Syriiven]

I hope they find eachother, I think they could've been friends.

[AyalaCookiejar]

I imagine that all her swimming problems and stuff are cured and there is a big perfect sorority up there. :) I bet they are very happy now.

[Syriiven]

I really hope so. I mean...I saw this coming. I knew that sooner or later she was going to kick over to something I wasn't going to be able to cure. She had a real hard life, and half a year of mis-treatment before she even got to me. But I know I tried my best for her.

[AyalaCookiejar]

I know :( you are a great owner, though, and they appreciate it even though they don't really comprehend how you are actively helping them... They learn to love you for the food you give them and she knew that her life had improved when she got into your hands... They don't think of it exactly the way we do, but they do show it. It's very obvious when they go from being mistreated to happy in good conditions.

I know she was special. You had her for longer than I had Okami. Sometimes things happen even when they are given the very best care. It's not fair but you did the most you could. Sometimes we blame ourselves even though it isn't our fault :(

[Syriiven]

Thanks Ayala. Its good to hear it from someone else.

[AyalaCookiejar]

It really sucks, though. Pretty much everything was making me cry Sunday.

I have a question, though. You have ten tanks, right? How long does it take you to do all your water changes and stuff per week? I always want more tanks but am never sure if I have time, ha. I already do two changes a week on my five gallons and one a day for my girls.

[logisticsguy]

Thats too bad. Sometimes there is not much we can do. Your an excellent keeper and fish are lucky to have you. I so wish I had your tank design eye. May have to get your help cuz mine look so bland now compared to yours.

[Syriiven]

I really liked yours, CJ. had this rugged but natural look to them.

I have lots of tank ideas, but some aren't the best for bettas cause of their delicate fins. I'd love to play with some pumice and coral in planted tanks. I like the idea of a coral reef, but I adore the idea of a moss-growing piece of drift wood with a bunch of knots and holes in it.

One I've been wondering about is a 55 gal with the waterfall/filter built up top to splash down but to also have a pond lily growing on the surface.

I'm a child of the air, but I've always loved building moats and castles with stones in the rivers around here, and at the lake we'd make our own little lagoons. >.> And then raid eachother's lagoons as pirates using rocks as ammo ^^;

As for my tanks, Ayala...the one day I did all the tanks it took me about three hours. Since then I've made a schedule - >5g Thursday and Sundays, 5gallons Fridays, 5g< on Saturday.

Honestly if I ever move to a more established residence where I'm allowed to make holes in the wall and floor, I want to set up some sort of huge bio-filter and water exchange system so I don't have to do the water changes - at least for anything above 10 gallons.

[Syriiven]

My IAL is late. This annoys me greatly. Especially since I'm out of the leaves I rationed from CJ.

So, the current count is;

12 males
6 females

5 females in the sorority, Sylvannas gets her own tank

And a total of 11 tanks.

I'm wiped most days, but things are going well. I need to change out 6 gallons of the sorority quick here, and small tanks are due tomorrow - but it's all good. Really. Not losing my marbles at all~ xD

I have a week off coming up with work, which I plan to dedicate to cleaning up my 'fish mess' of decorations and gravel in here (computer room) and in teh bathroom xD It's not a horrid mess, but things could be packed away into the closet. And I need to boil some decorations still from Demi's qt tank and from Toothless' contaminated tank. All that gravel needs boiling too.

I also have 6 commissions I owe people, staring with SkyeWillow's. So hopefully this week off gives me that chance to get that done, as well as hook up my art for sale online.

So let's down to it - if you've got it, flaunt it, and I've got me some beautiful fish.

Let the flaunting commence!

Seiya's beautiful! Ever graceful and playful now that he has 10 gallons all to himself, my spoiled little prince <3 He's changed a lot since I first got him From a teal part dragonscale marble cutie to this;


He's perfected his war dance and shows off any chance he gets. He's still shiny, but his turquoise has definitely darkened, throwing his dragonscales into contrast. Lost most of his orange on his face too. And as I type this he flares at the back of his tank, then looks over at me as if asking 'Did you see mom?! Did you see me scare that other fish away!? =D" And after months of debating his tail, I can confirm he's a halfmoon, not a super delta.

Kalec'gos is still his awsm, sassy self. His eyes kind of bulged out a little and developed a bit of white or gray around them...for a few weeks I thought it was popeye, but he has no other symptoms of being sick, and behaves normally. Including jumping at my fingers for food His rays have continued to split into double-rays and he just looks so bad ass! I just hope I can at least give him his own 5 gallon in the next month or so.



Sylvannas is a big girl now and has me constantly wondering about her true gender and type. Pretty sure she's just a blue veiltail female, but some days and the way she acts I'd say she was male. She even has a boy's beard, but has the girl's shape. but is never eggy. =/ But shows vertical stripes.


Slyph is no longer a runt. Okay, well he is, as he is the smallest of my adult betta fish. He's a profficient bubblenest maker, and he has as much spunk as Kale does. He also has the CUTEST pectorals. I know he's not an EE, but watching Slyph and Kale makes me think the EE gene came from CT's as all my other betta's pectorals are clear. he also has a very, very tiny little fierce =)


Eranikus is doing well. We finally had a water change where nothing happened to him ^^; And the plants in his tank are doing great! I even have algae growing ^^; I'm not sure if he's super delta or halfmoon, though the way his tail has multiple folds I'm thinking halfmoon Unfortunately, he doesnt freak out and flare like the others, just a mild flare, so it's never fully spread. I recently made him a bed in a homemade hammock with some tumbled seaglass and java moss and weed I got form CJ =) I think they've made a big difference in his little zen tank.
http://youtu.be/Ugn4Ug4nzTU


Last of the adults is Ryuu-Ten (Sky Dragon). When we went to petSmart for bloodworms and heaters, they were having a big sale and had tons of bettas. I was torn between four of them, but my heart was snatched by this guy's colors and how badly demented his fins were getting being in a cup. I hope his fins grow back =)


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZoeN7Yoha8

Now, for the chidlins....3.5-4 months old now.

Tatsu, Styxx and Artemis are my gender bending kois. Sposed to be girls, ended up being boys, and they're all still marbling on me xD
Styxx

Artemis

Tatsu

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DhWi3Nl58QQ

Acheron was the only 'male' I picked from CJ's spawn, and I definitely have a crush on him! He's definitely not as 'fierce' as the others, but he's very protective of his progressive bubblenest. he took his Indian Almond Leaf and used it to 'hide' the nest, until he blew so many bubbles the leaf wasn't int he water anymore! I've also found, he dances and looks best in sunlight =)




Now for the rest.

Toothless. Poor little guy got subjected some sort of toxin in his tank and he's gone through a bad bout of finrot. But I've moved him to a new tank, new decor, clean water and he's doing much better. He also may be one of the very few VT males out of that DTgeno X Delta spawn.




Vol'jin and Nyx have had a chance to go at it in their divided 5g. I was feeding Vol'jin, and Nyx decided he didn't want to wait and hopped the fence. I've also discovered Vol'jin's a tailbiter, and being next to Vol'jin, Toothless caught on to his brother's bad habit Vol'jin and Nyx are difficult to photograph, but I got a vid of them flaring at eachother last night after Nyx invaded Vol'jin's side.


And finally the Sorority. Oh my gosh these girls. Nothing but trouble. I've attempted several times to photograph them, and it does no good, so I'll have to do descriptions ;
The pale girl bigger than the others is Saffron, and is the only koi girl that stayed a girl. The smallest girl with aqua blue is Pearl. The one with large dark red fins is Rogue, the one similar but with slightly more orange fins and a lighter body is Rouge. And today (finally all their colors are darkening) I can tell you that Saphira is a bit of a sapphire blue/purple w/ red fins.
So, a few pics, but mostly just the video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KKX6vG-ZJ2c
Some of these are before Artemis was removed.






I am also happy to report that Gary was not found dead, just lost for days on end in the sorority tank. Along with the baby ramshorn who hitchiked on CJ's moss =) And in March I will be adding a mystery snail so long as when I go I dont see any dead one's in PetSmart's tank. Last time didnt look promising, and I hate the qt wait before adding things to the tanks >.<

Also will be getting some more girl-girls from CJ xD And hopefully some plants =) So far I've managed to keep marimo, java moss, java fern, that...seaweed thing...and hornwart more or less alive. Oh, and some sort of grass and there's this clumb of wisteria floating freely in the sorority that keeps disappearing then re-appearing and isn't dead yet...so I'm counting that as a win too!

This weekend I'm going to try OFL's shriimp/spinach/garlic betta food recipie. She say hers grow quickly on that diet, so I'm hoping the same goes for mine as the little ones are all...very little.

Okay, that's a huuuge update. I'm going to go actually do the water change on the sorority now xD