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Lyzz's Journal.

8K views 68 replies 5 participants last post by  LyzzaRyzz 
#1 ·
So, today, I snagged me a winner.

Among the gorgeous bettas at my LFS, [which is one of the few good ones], I spied a mustard gas male, and I almost didnt get him, almost bough a banded red and blue, but i went back and grabbed him right before i paid, and Im so glad I did!

Hes so smart, Hes already playing peek a boo with his pots, checking to see if im watching him, and using the feeding station in the front of the tank..
His first feeding i fed him there, and he just got the hang of it...now hes begging for more food!

This is such a change from my last bettas, who died last night of a vicious case of ick.
So my new betta is bittersweet, but i did my best for Bosco and Purp, Now thier in the million gallon tank in the sky.

Anyways, this is my journal, and in it, Ill share my life, with my many pets, and my boyfriend, Joe. Im 22, am enrolled in a vet tech college, and I live in Rhode Island.

Ive got one betta, five koi, two dogs, a cat and three tree frogs.

The koi live in a pond in my back yard, a decent sized one, but not deep enough fro the fish to winter, [believe me, we tried, sad, sad, dead fish.] So, they get moved indoors, where we noticed two werent as big as the others, and I seperated them to see if i could get em nice and plump for next year.
Turns out they had swim bladder problems, and they were treated with peas and fasting, but the smaller koi, SickFish, is still lagging, so ive decided to not put him in the pond in the spring.
Sick Fish and Orange live in a ten gallon, upgrading to a 15 gallon.

My beagle, Lilly is 12 years old and always the proper lady, the complete opposite of my Dachshund/Poodle, Khodii, whose one and a half, and is just a ball of endless energy, unless hes sleeping. cause that dog is a napping machine!

My car, Rainbob is the biggest tomcat in the neighborhood, and he patrols our property, beating up other cats who dare look at our house. I once saw him take on two cats at once and come out on top.
But hes not all toughness, he loves to cuddle, and is the only cat I know that drools with happiness when you pet him. =] He sits on your hip like a child, and even wraps his paws around your neck. So cute!

And then we have the tree frogs. We raised two of them from tadpoles, the spring peepers, and the other one is a grey tree frog, that a friend found and gave to us.

So, those are my pets; Questions, comments, hey-how-are-ya's, feel free!
 
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#3 ·
I saw MG online, and knew i needed one...then i saw him at the store and needed to have him!
 
#4 ·
So, since my new betta[ he still doesnt have a name] is such a piggy, I decided to see how many pellets hed eat...well, I stopped at ten, cause i dont need him getting sick!
Its just my other two didnt eat alot at all, so this is new!

Although, after he was done eating, I noticed the area directly beneath his dorsal fins was bulging slightly. Not pineconing, just slightly bigger than the rest of him.
I wonder, is this because of all the food i fed him, or could it be an enlarging liver? Or maybe, he is really a she? I havent heard alot about ,males getting stress stripes easily, and taking him home, he was all stress stripey...And i was thinking maybe the bulgey area is him/her being eggy?

The picture attached is kind of blurry, damned itouch, but theres a area under his side fin [on both sides] that is bulgy to me.

I swear hes doing all of this on purpose.
 

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#5 ·
Two days ago, i jumped the gun, and bought two tiny corydoras, with then intention of making a new tank...but i didnt research well enough, and that resulted in one, the albino, dying. The green one is still trying to hang on, but im 95% positive that hell die too.
Once again, me being impatient killed some fish that didnt need to.
Though, from the moment we got them, they were acting funny...i guess ill never know.

But because of this, i now have a plan, and if i stick to the plan, everything will be alright, and Ill have four healthy thriving tanks.

So, the skeleton of my plan looks like this:

2.3 gal - one male betta, a few snails.

9.5 gal - Sickfish and Orange, two koi, one 4 inches the other six. [they are already happily living in this tank, just the location in the house is changing.

10.5 gal - 6 corys, 1 male betta, pleco [none are bought yet, and yes i know plecos get huge, im planning on it, i will devote an entire tank to him/her when bigger.]

13.7 gal - three 7.5-inch koi, who are currently living in a 10 gal together for the winter, and its slightly murky, so im hoping giving them the 3+ gallon upgrade with a filter upgrade[found out my mom had been using a 10gal filter, instead of a 20gal, and with the size of these fish, its no wonder the water is such poor quality!] The koi live in a pond in the spring/summer/fall. Next year well be buying a 50 gal or larger, depending on how big the koi are, so im starting my search now!

I also have a small bowl containing ramshorns, and ill be starting a small tank with shrimp, as tankmates, and food for the koi.

So, what do you think?

Ive been doing alot of work and research, so, im hoping this goes with smooth sailing!
 
#6 ·
So, I have done my tank switch, which is a bit different, seeing that there's now koi in my bathroom! Lol

But, I'll take pictures of all of them, and tomorrow I'm getting a new betta, to put in my ten gallon, to ready it for the corys ill be getting...

Well, off to play games with my boyfriend, he gets jealous I spend so much time on here! Hehe
 
#7 ·
Pictures of the big tank switch

So, first is a picture of Tyrion, my MG VT, in his 2.5 gal, very happy blowing bubble nests in his gatorade caps..lol

Second is my Fat fish tank. Two are goldfish and one is a koi, who will be rehomed soon. I just upgraded from 9.5 to a 13.7 gal, and they seem alot happier.

Third is my 10 gal tank with my koi Sickfish and Orange, Orange is also hetting rehomed, but Sickfish is staying, Im more than a bit attached to him. Its a bit cloudy, cause i moved everything, and they need a water change.

And fourth is my newly set up 10gal tank, for future cories, and a betta Ill be getting tomorrow!
 

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#8 ·
Today was very busy for me, I had a doctors appointment,I had to go food shopping, but more imPortantly, I was going to get a betta!
So on the way to the store to get groceries, I asked my dad to drop us off at the petsmart, and I was instantly overwhelmed with all the betta types!

Vieltail, crown tail, dragonscale, halfmoons, females, so many gorgeous females! Almost shelled out for a sorority, but stopped myself. I had decided I wanted a lighter colored one, white, yellow, or hopefully a marble or koi one, but It was my first time seeing a crown tail live and I was captivated. I systematically went through the bettas, and it was between a pretty red with slight blue toned crown tail and a white masked plakats dragon scale when my dad called and said he was ready to go, so I quickly chose the crown tail, and ran out the door.
When I got home, I was watching him, and I was less enthused about him than any other betta, and I realized his coloring wasn't what I wanted, and I quickly called my LPS and asked if I could trade, and within four minutes of walking in Thier door I was walking out with a white veil tail with slight black dragon scale, and I've since found out the most gorgeous flare ever! Clear except for a lacy. Type pattern..I've named him zoolander, because hell be swimming along stop, turn just his head and as the same time FLARE! Sometimes he "screams" at us!

I am so happy, and I know the crown tail will go to a great owner, cause my LPS actually cares..

Pictures in a bit, or tomorrow
 
#9 ·
Oh and I've switched Tyrion and Zoolander, because of Zoolanders hade, he's harder to see from across the room, plus, Tyrion is bigger, though the currents a bit strong, I'll have to build a buffer..
 
#10 ·
Zoolander!

Hes so freaking pretty!
 

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#12 ·
lessons learned.




Ugh, I feel so bad about it..and i know its because i wasnt fully prepared and didnt research and it was an utter impulse buy...and because of that, two tiny cories are gone..=[ But, it will make me more prepared and aware to my next cories/catfish, and as a reminder to not impulse buy, and to know what im getting into!
 
#13 ·
Another new plan. My boyfriends going nuts with my fish plans. lol.

So, this is a thread i started over in TFK, in the catfish section.

Going to be new catfish owner, help with stocking, cories or pleco? Some of you may have seen me over at BettaFish, I had no idea that this was the mother site of them!
So glad theres more of the amazing people to help me with my new fish addiction. Catfish.

I currently have two male bettas, both heated and filtered, one 2.5 and one 10 gal.
My questions come with the ten gallon tank...
My betta is about 2.5 inches long, including his tail, and I was originally was thinking 5-6 albino or green cories,[thats what my LPS has] or maybe two albinos and three greens? [My LPS will most likely be able to order me pandas, but i hear thier less hardy]

Then I saw, at my LPS, they have home tanks, where its the owners fish, and in every giant tank there were one giant or a couple bigger plecos, the biggest being about 3 feet long! they were also in tanks with a few other fish. They responded to my friend, who works there, like dogs, and ate from her hand, and liked to be petted...And i fell in love!

I thought, That is they best fish in the world. I HAVE to have one.

Now, I didnt need to dive headfirst into yet another venture, while my cory tank was still cycling, so Im spending as much time researching as I can..Which is also good, since plecos need to be in well established tanks, and definitely not cycling!

My 2.5 is cycled and pretty healthy my newest betta is healing from store bought finrot very nicely, so i was thinking, if i find the right type of pleco, i could, after QTing, place him in the 2.5, until the 10 gal has finished cycling. This is assuming I get a young one, as I planned, so itll be smaller at first. And I fully plan on having the pleco have its own tank by itself, or with other tankmates, when fully grown, Id just like to see him grow through the current tanks I have until he gets big enough to get a bigger tank..

And then I was reading that albino plecos are much smaller than regular plecos, even commons coming in at a short 7 inches, instead of 2 feet. So, I was figuring, If i get a smaller species, like say a bristlenose, or another, and then also grab an albino at that, a fish ranging 7-12 inches normally would be 4-6!

Tell me if my reasoning is wrong!

So that got my mind turning, and if i only have a four inch pleco, and a 2.5 betta, could I still have cories, the playful guys that got me into catfish in the first place? And if I could, how many? Certainly not the original planning of five? Maybe four?

I really would like both, even if i can only get three cories, and the pleco, get him his own tank and then get two-three more cories..






And there I go on another fish tangent.

Update are awesome;

Tyrion, my MGVT, is in the 10 gallon, awaiting his new tankmates, whatever they may be, and hes taken to sleeping in the front of the tank, in a dip in the gravel, in his "im pretty" stance...or it could be hes right under the feeding station, thats the really fuzzy zoom in picture, but thats all i can get for right now, he moves whenever i get close..i even tried to send Joe in a "covert mission" to try to get a good one, and thats what we got. *sigh* I will keep trying!

Then theres Zoolander, the ever entertainer, whom i hope will be getting shrimps as tank mates, as soon as I can find them! He got a w/c and a tank rearrange, and this is what it looks like now, and then him, having a staring contest with the thermometer. Silly fish. Also, I like to make a "feeding station" for my fish, so they know where to go to eat, and the food is somewhat contained, though, i usually dont need to worry, foods gone in seconds! So heres Zoolander, begging for food. Again, silly fish. =]

And then theres the monster tank. Its empty, in my basement, and its lurking. We used it a few winters to hold goldfish/koi for the pond, but it was never very clean, but it was functional at the time, but since has been left alone and Im thinking how gorgeous would it look with a betta, six cories and a pleco? Perfection! And I could have live plants, though id have to get a bigger heater and filters, its a 29 gallon, filled almost all the way to the top...Just another idea...Hmm...Anyways, heres pictures..

my friend at my LPS is going to be trading me goldfish for my two koi soon, as soon as we can make a time!

So, those are my thoughts and updates on my fishes...=]

But on a furry friend note, well be getting a new baby rat, as soon as my LPS litter is mature enough..Imagine it, a freshly hand weaned rat who thinks YOUR thier mommy...how much more perfect is that?
 

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#14 ·
Oh, and the snails!

I recently was given a few trumpet snails by my petsmart, and i excitedly put them in the tank with my ramshorns, unknowing that theyll eat each others babies! So then i had to seperate them again, and now they are in separate critter keepers, and there are egg sacks in the trumpets tank! Im so excited!
 

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#15 ·
And even the petsmart near my house which i never go to doesnt even have the shrimps! Darn!

All anyone around here has are barely visable ghost shrimp, which i can never even find in thier tanks, let alone catch and breed at home!
 
#17 ·
Mysterys are cool, but Thier so big! I'm trying to raise them as food for my goldfish, and mysteries will be too big! Plus, I kinda like the buggers...I think Thier cute!
 
#19 ·
Can you post pics of the frogs? Frogs are the cutest skimey thing besides betta's.
 
#20 ·
how did you know?!




I think you are telepathic.

I dont remember, nor looking back can see a post where i mentioned frogs..

though today, i picked up a ADF!

Come home, and see this? Geez, your right on the money!
So, for your prize, heres pictures of my new little guy!

I plan on putting him in my 2.5 with Zoolander, and doing a water change every two days, and having a froggy feeding plate so he doesnt much up the water with his food..and that way i can make sure hes eating too.

Silly me thought frogs should have running water, so in his temp qt tank, i put an airstone, only to read further to find out they are sensitive to water vibrations, and it could mess him up, and stress him, so i ran up the stairs, and yanked the air stone out, and apologized profusley to froggy...i still feel bad..thats something i shouldve known before getting him!
 

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#21 ·
Also, changed the water on Zoolanders tank, was going to change the snails water, but im not sure how to change the water with eggs on the glass and gravel and possible baby snails roaming around...ugh..i put up a thread, but apparently, anything with "snail" in the title, people ignore..=[

And saturday, were getting a baby rat! I cant wait, its been so long since i had a baby one to raise..Sammi is all grown up, and i think shell do good with a little sister/daughter rattie to look after and play with..Im so excited! and im not sure if the weaning period is 6 weeks or 8, but either way, right off the mothers teat, to a great loving home!
 

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#22 ·
How could i forget?!

Little Mr.[or Ms.?] Aquatic froggie, had and adventure at my boyfriends parents house. i was checking on him every half hour, til i went to show his mom, and there was no frog.

I started lookingon the ground, under the couch, the cushions, blaming the poor dog for eating him, telling my boyfriend that i wanted my frog back, and how could he just hide him on me like this?! I finally gave up, glaring at the dog, telling him that god help him if he threw up a peice of my frog...then Joes dad yelled, found him!
Clear across the room, behind a stand, was poor dry, sticky, covered in hair and lint froggie. He jumped away, plenty of life in him, and i gently picked him up and gingerly tried to unwrap the hair from his little legs, but they only seemed to pull tighter! Joes dad managed to work his magic on him in two seconds flat, i guess i was just nervous, and we plopped him back into the travel tank, and started fishing out the lint that came off him.

What troubled me, besides the whole damned thing, was what looked like clear milk skin in the water..it was transparent, looked like maybe a layer of his skin floating around the water. I mean, its understandable that it could just be a sticky film, but im still worried..

But he seems fine now, acting as ive read hes supposed to act..
 
#23 ·
Apparently

I got an African CLAWED Frog. o_O

I am going to keep him in the 2.5 for now, as hes only 1 1/18 inches long, and until I can set up my 39 gal.

From what i gather, they grow slowly, and live a long time..which is awesome!

My plan for the 39 gal is as follows..Bristlenose pleco, 2-3 clawed frogs...
 
#24 ·
Today was the end of my new ACF's QT, So i readied the tank for adding My betta, Zoolander, and my little barely-over-an-inch froggie. [Picture1]


Then I let Froggie float in his cup in the tank, and i took a picture, and managed to catch him blowing a bubble! [pic2]

He enjoyed himself for a while, and I put Zoolander in a see through cup, so he could acclimate, and see the new addition to his tank. He was staring at him, not flaring, just curious. [Pic 3]

When I released him, nothing happened. IOt was as if the frog wasnt there at all. Zoolander was mildly curious, but bthen he decided he couldent care less, and decided to dance for me, right in front of the frog! [pic 4 and 5]

The only thing Hes doing different is he seems to be obsessed with the bubbles from the filter. I think he thinks the bubbles are food, and then hes confused wen all he gets is air! But hes been eating air for a little while now..;lol [Pic6]

Froggie has wedged himself inbetween the heater cord and the glass, probably going to his "happy place".

Well see if its going to go peacefully!
 

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#26 ·
Oh believe me, I will! Its going to be next saturday though, the babies arent ready...=/ Disappointed, but its only til Saturday!
 
#27 ·
It shoulda stayed the way it was...

So last night i got a little excited, and decided to set up the Monster tank...[pic1] this took into the late night, cause there were parts I had to fill in, and normally, someone would just fill it with gravel, or plant plants there, but since i have neither extra gravel to throw around, or soil/plants, I was stuck filling it with water bottles, netting it off, and trying to pour a bit of gravel to cover it...The basics are there, and no fishy/frog can wiggle though, but its not the prettiest. =]

I floated Tyrion til this morning, and then released him, snatched up Senorita Frog, the first frog i got, and started to acclimate her,but she decided she didnt want to be in the cup and proceeded to jump out, and get herself stuck behind the"river rock" plastic peices in the tank. Believe me, i didnt put these things in, or they would be much better placed! As it is, Senorita went from one side, to another, while stuck in the plastic, then wedged herself into a hole where i couldent reach her for the life of me. So, i started swirling the water around, and despite her best efforts, she came fighting out of her little hole, [pic 2 its the smaller bump, underneath the top opening, which conveniently doesnt open into the smaller one. my fingers only bend one way!] And I had to do this a few times, cause getting her out of that opening was no easy feat!

It was when I released her, did i realize how lost she looked in the big tank, and How was she going to find the feeding portion, I suddenly felt it was a bad idea to move the frogs to such a big tankbeing so little, and since i feed them with a pipette, i was just nervous i was going to accidentally starve them. So, traumatizing the poor Senorita yet again, I took her and put her back in the 2.5, took Zoolander to acclimate in the big tank, and started emptying water. Im lucky enough that whoever put this monster tank together, did it so that with about 6 gallons of water, the tank is saftley seperated, giving me a safe place to house the bettas. Though one betta gets two sections, and one only gets one, i doubt they mind. [pic 3]

So as of now, the frogs are in the 2.5, yes, two African Clawed Frogs, each about an inch an a half, are in my 2.5 gallon...[pic 4]
I do have the 10 gallon empty, but no filter, as they are already set up in the monster tank. Im doing water changes everytime they eat, which is a few blood worms twice a day, from this food from tetra, called fresh delica, which is basically bloodworms in jello, and they go crazy for it!
Im not sure if im going to wait til they get a bit bigger, then move them, or just move them and put less water in there. They ARE tiny.

Hmm...ill think it through tonight.

Its feeding and water changing time, so ill leave you with this..[pic5]
 

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#28 ·
#29 ·
So, its been a while since i posted, but I have gotten another AFC female, though they havent grown..at all! Maybe they are dwarf ACF?
AQnyways, here sre some pictures, but my main reason for posting is my new babies! I got them at three weeks, a bit young, but they are doing just fine!

The first five are from the first day, the next ten are a few days after and the rest are them at four weeks...
 

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#31 ·
They are! Thier so much bigger now, witfat little bellies! I'll take a few more, and post em up tomorrow!
 
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