Betta Diaries

[Syriiven]

Well, the tanks are fine and the kids are too. Kalec still flares practically all day, but I've spied him swimming in his log and leaves and in his hammock a few times. Seiya hasn't re-built his nest, but Kalec has some sparse bubbles he might do something with. Though their water change tomorrow will stop any progress on that xP.

Demi's doing fantastic! her iridescence has turned from green to a very bright azure blue and her fins are coming in very nicely. She's still super friendly and energetic, and I got this video to share of her new 'trick'. ^^



Just click the pic.

I've also started doing digital betta arts, viewable via my Betta Art photo album. Though I won't be doing more until after New Years.

I'm going to be just too darn busy this next week...

But next weekend I get to go buy a new betta! And get plants and hopefully track down two nerite snails =3

[Syriiven]

-yawn- I dont really enjoy holidays, and I'm glad this week is almost over. And new betta on Sunday!! I'm excited AND anxious because I have no idea what bettas the stores will have. I know I'll be lucky to find a fancy or dragon, so I'll start my search with halfmoons. Love a rose-tail, but I'm trying not to get my hopes up for a rare find. Also wondering if there'll be on that really catches my eye or not.

As for the current family, they're all doing well =) Got some tweezers to feed them blood worms a few at a time instead of using the turkey baster to suck them up. Demi gets too excited and totally doesnt see her food all the time and it sometimes sinks >.< Same with Seiya. But yesterday they all got a good blood worm meal and today they found all their pellets.

Kalec and Seiya are both tending bubble nests inside their little hammocks =)

Ah~ I've also got my list of things for Sunday;

a smaller wattage of heater for Demi's tank and the new 3 gallon I'll be buying, anacharis, anubias and possibly some wisteria, and hopefully I'll find some nerite snails =)

Ah, slight update on Seiya's 'marbling'; He was a solid teal on his left side, and now it's mottled like his right. He's also developing black under his beard and into his anal fin, but just a little bit. He also seems to be going fleshy-colored around the face. Will definitely be cool to see what future changes will come =D

[twolovers101]

you should take pictures of his marbling process!

[Syriiven]

I am =D Though it's hard sometimes cause he's so excited when I come home so he doesnt stop moving and he flares in the back behind his plants >.<

[AyalaCookiejar]

I know what you mean. It takes patience to get pictures of pretty much any animal but they are definitely my favorite thing to photograph :)

[Syriiven]

I sometimes wonder if its worth getting a digital camera vs my iPhone. They move so much! But i'd love some crystal clear clise ups.

[AyalaCookiejar]

My DSLR has a hard time sometimes getting good pics and it's a $650 camera. It takes patience is all I can say. I photograph a lot of kids and animals. You can't get them to pose for you, you just have to be patient for that perfect moment.

Bahari is now much easier to photograph than DaBaDee, but since Bahari can't see anything he is much slower moving and more cautious when he moves around. He still explores his tank but I can tell that his vision problems really slow him down. I think he may have realized that its not a good idea to dart around and accidentally run face first into things!

[Syriiven]

But that means he's a smart fish and is learning =) Adapting. Did you find much info on blind bettas?

[AyalaCookiejar]

Not really. I think he will do okay when he gets used to it. I can tell he still wants to explore but he's so cautious... I kind of want to remove the caves and replace them with soft silk plants but he's so used to the caves and I don't want to stress him by changing his decor. He had it even before he started losing his vision.

I'll probably do quite a bit of researching but for now I have found a pretty good way to help him find his food and I've been using vibrations to get him stimulated. Hopefully I will be able to train him to follow my finger somehow with water movement. He used to follow it when he could actually see it... He was pretty small when I got him. I think the blindness may be genetic, but I don't understand why he wasn't blind when I got him. I'm still a bit afraid that I've done something wrong :/

[Syriiven]

I highly doubt it's something you've done, sweetie =) You've done nothing but try your best for them both. And it could be just like eye sight in people, where the parent have bad vision, so their children usually have good vision when young, and it progressively gets worse to a point as they age. I imagine it's like that. If it's genetic anyways. And who knows if he had a bug or something before you got him, some don't show symptoms.