Can I resist? Should I?

[Bombalurina]

That wouldn't happen to be Pets Paradise, would it?

The thing is, I don't know what fish I really want. I know what I want for the 16 gal, thanks to you, LBF (betta chanoides!), but my plans for the 23 gal are still hazy.

I went back in today on the way from uni. They are still there, and have a little more colour, but they are beginning to harass each other since there is nothing to break up their line of sight. Someone bought the anubias in the tank and they don't have anything they can put in there now to replace it until they restock. There is one girl who will be red, but I doubt will get much colour in her body. Another will be a stunning royal blue and yellow MG. The most dominant one is going to be a gorgeous blue and red, and the final girl will be a green and red.
I think half the lure of these fish is watching them colour up, which is one reason I want them. Another reason is that it is much easier to fall in love with a tiny little fish wiggling around in front of the glass, saying, "I can take ya!". This dominant girl (the blue and red) was a total tough-girl and I always fall for that in a fish. :p

However, I bought some Flourish and a leaf hammock for Odysseus and left, because yesterday I emailed Jodi-Lea to ask a rough estimate for six females plus shipping, and I thought I should wait for her reply rather than make an impulse decision. I know that there will be other bettas just as adorable in the shop in the future.
I also saw something to hearten me - a totally uninterested girl, about 16, who just wanted a fish, and chose a very pretty blue-green VT. The sales assistant pointed her to a 17 litre tank with a heater and filter, food and water conditioner, so hopefully she'll take his advice and go down that route. :) As such, I think the girls are in good hands until I make up my mind (if they are still there when I do).

[LittleBettaFish]

No it's Coburg Aquarium. I go there from time to time because they have a good range of unusual fish and the price for livestock is usually fairly decent. But their service is terrible and the bettas always look poorly.

Just wait until you get your first wild bettas. Then you won't even want to look at splendens anymore.

[Bombalurina]

I don't think I'll ever be able to resist having at least one splendens. They are what got me into the hobby and will always have a special place in my affections. I'm also not sure most wild-types would slot happily into my non-tanniny, brightly lit, hyper-active 23 gallon. :p

So Jodi-Lea got back to me with admirable promptness and has offered me dragon VTs ($12), HMs and HMPKS ($35). It would be quite lovely to have two of each, and I'm confident in your recommendation that her fish are of the highest quality. :)
The big question is, do I:
a) get the 4 Petbarn girls + 2 Fishchick girls
b) get 6 Fishchick girls now
c) wait and get 6 Fishchick girls later?
I am now positively decided on a sorority. I miss the colour, character and activity that they provide and since I'll be getting channoides (after Odysseus crosses the Rainbow Bridge, or if he doesn't like the big tank) for the 16 gallon, I want some splendens to brighten up my day. I definitely have the room for them currently and think they would thrive in my tank. Importantly, I also have the finances. On the flip side of the coin, I'm very shortly going to have to buy a bucket load of soil, sand, new plants (hopefully off Jodi-Lea) and a pond pump.

Thank you for always being there for my stocking-saga dilemmas, LBF! :p :)

[Gogee]

Not sure that I can add anything else to your stocking dilemma Bombalurina, but I'd love to see your 23 gallon when it's complete as it's sure to be speccy!
I've drooled over Jodi-Lea's youtube page for while, but unfortunately only have the one tank at the moment, so it's look and no touch haha....but there's always room for another tank isn't there?! Hmmmm.....

[Bombalurina]

Don't worry, when I do get the 23 gallon I will be doing a very long, involved, phot-heavy post of my breakdown of the 16 gallon and the scaping/rescaping of both tanks!

But I still can't decide whether to buy them now or not. I'm waiting on photos/videos, if she has some, so hopefully that will decide me. :p

[Picasso84]

Oooh, what did u decide? Pics? :) I also can't wait to see the design of ur new 23 gal tank!! (can u post a link on this thread? So I can find it)

Out of curiosity, do ppl call u Bomba for short?

[Bombalurina]

They do. :)

So, I ordered 6 beautiful girls from a seller in QLD and they should be here today! They'll go in my 16 gallon until I can get the 23 gallon (that is, get the fat goldfish in the 23 gallon into the pond and steal his tank!) and Odysseus can stay in his hospital tank til his fins get a bit bigger.

Unfortunately, my girl Artemis died a week or so ago, so I don't have to worry about fitting her into a sorority.

This is the list of girls I got:
Red HM Plakat Female $35
Black HM Plakat Female $35
Longfin blue veiltail female $15
Longfin red veiltail female $15
Dragon Veiltail female $20
Dragon HM female $40

I'll make a thread about them when they arrive and link you guys to it. :) Thanks for your interest in my dilemma!

I just hope those tiny, fiesty little girls in Petbarn go to a good home - they all thought they were sharks. :)