Your new guy is lovely! Rakki is cute too

I think Borealis is nice, maybe something to do with Ice, Glacier, Arctic and such?

 

New fishy got his first 50% water change tonight. My plan is to do a 50% WC on Mondays and Wednesdays and then a 100% on Fridays for as long as he's in the 1-gallon bowl. I tested his water tonight and the ammonia was only up to 0.25, so I think I'm on the right track. Maybe his anubias is helping a little, too. New fishy was so good during the WC. He seemed more curious than anything. I hope he's as good for his first 100% WC later this week.

Both boys got their evening pellets and seem happy.

 

I think I've finally settled on a name for my new fishy. I'd narrowed it down to Borealis and Yurei, and I started catching myself thinking of him as Yurei.

So, my new little DeT boy will be known as Yurei, a Japanese word for ghost.

Even if he ends up changing colors on me, I still like the name.

Yurei got another 50% water change tonight. He wasn't happy about me removing water, but he played in the bubbles when I added new water. I usually feed my fish after water changes, and I think he's starting to understand he'll get something nice after the water change is done. He got a little overenthusiastic when I dropped in the first pellet and missed when he first grabbed for it, but he did fine after that.

Rakki has been hanging out in his tube, adding onto his bubble nests, and generally being his little tough guy self.

 

Yurei made his first bubble nest tonight! I'd like to think this means he's getting more comfortable being in a home instead of a Petco cup.

He's getting his first 100% water change tomorrow. I'm a little nervous since I haven't done this in a while. Rakki is never easy to catch when he has to be cupped. Maybe Yurei will be a little easier. I can hope, right?

Today was my birthday, and I celebrated by going to work. I work at a small-town library with a great little group of people, so it wasn't such a bad thing. We do a "Birthday Fairy" thing, which is like Secret Santa except with birthdays. One of my friends at work drew my name, so today I received a pumpkin pie complete with Cool Whip and a really cute card signed by all my co-workers with $25 in it.

I like pumpkin pie better than I like most cake, so it was a good thing. :lol:

The money will be going toward getting Yurei a bigger tank. Last year the gift card I got for my birthday ended going toward buying Rakki's 5g tank and getting him out the 1g bowl Yurei is currently in. I guess it's becoming a tradition that money received on my birthday goes toward new tanks.

Hmm... does that mean I might get another fish next year? Who know! :-D

 

I've been trying to figure out why Yurei sometimes looks weird to me, and I think I finally have it. I'm so used to having a betta who's a fin biter, even though Rakki doesn't bite as much as he used to. Yurei's fins, even his tail, are still pristine. Granted, I haven't had Yurei quite a week yet, but he seems more chill overall than Rakki. A little more skittish, too. And I have yet to see Yurei flare. But I guess he could still be getting used to things. He seems to like peeking at me from behind a leaf and then coming closer and wiggle dancing for me.

Rakki has been hanging out in his tube for the past hour now, but if I wave to him, even from across the room, he'll meander out and flare at me and wiggle around before making a circuit around his tank. Crazy fish.

Quick bit of randomness... there's a spider, maybe a wolf spider, hanging on the outside of the window screen. Watching it got me thinking that it could be interesting to have a tarantula, but that's probably not a good idea when my fiance hates spiders and one of my friends is terrified of spiders.

 

I would like a tarantula one day ^ 3 ^

Cute fishie ! Very creative name , I like it !

 

Thank you, Jonthefish.

Rakki is supposed to be Japanese for "lucky," or at least that's what Google said. *shrugs* Since he was originally supposed to be my fiance's and my fish, my fiance helped name him. But I ended up being the one who took pleasure in taking care of him and reading about how I could keep him healthy and happy. My fiance likes him, but mostly he just plays with Rakki or feeds him for me sometimes.

With Yurei, I ended up deciding to continue the Japanese name theme, so he ended up being named a Japanese word for ghost.

...I tend to be a little long-winded when I write, if you couldn't tell.

 

Yurei got his first 100% water change tonight, and he handled it like a pro. I tried not to rush him when I was trying to catch him with a coffee cup, and once I had him in it, I gently transferred him to his Petco cup to wait. Taking a leaf from myexplodingcat's journal, I put his anubias in the cup with him, and he seemed very calm while I rinsed his silk plant and thermometer and rinsed out his bowl. Once I'd refilled the bowl with new water, I gently tipped him back home. He got an extra pellet tonight for being such a good boy.

The only mistake I feel that I made was being a little off on the temperature of the new water. I thought it couldn't be more than 2 degrees different by feel. It was more like 4 degrees. I think I might buy another thermometer to measure new water for water changes.

My fiance thinks Yurei is getting a little more color on his body. While I'd be happy if he kept the colors he has now, I'm kind of excited to see how his colors might change.

 

Yurei just flared for the first time! :-D I decided have a quick peek at him, and he zoomed over to the side of the bowl flaring. So cute!

 

Aww a betta's first flare is always special And happy birthday!

 

Thank you, starlight! And yeah, the first flare is always special. But then every first is special with a new fish. :-D

 

I've been at work most of the day and then had to go grocery shopping after work, so I didn't see much of my boys until a couple hours ago. Rakki and Yurei were both happy to see me when I got home. So were the cats. They seemed excited when I told them the store finally had their preferred wet food. Or maybe they were demanding to know where I'd been and when I'd feed them. One or the other.

I bought another aquarium thermometer for water changes so I don't have to use the tank/bowl thermometers. Of course I forgot a replacement eye dropper for the one that somehow managed to shatter when I dropped it last night. I use the eye dropper to measure out Prime for the tanks, so it's kind of important. Back to the store tomorrow, I guess.

I just ordered a Hydor Theo 25w heater, a bottle of Tetra SafeStart, and another leaf hammock on Amazon for Yurei's upcoming tank. They should arrive sometime between Thursday and next Monday. My fiance and I have made plans to go to Petsmart next Saturday to buy the tank itself. I decided on a Top Fin 5.5g kit since Yurei seems annoyed with the way the bowl curves and this tank is a traditional rectangle shape. I have sand left from when I bought some for Rakki's tank, and I should have enough extra silk plants to make a new tank comfortable. If not, I can always buy a couple more. I have a new hiding ornament I want to try in Rakki's tank, so Yurei can have Rakki's flower pot if all goes well. Ah, planning new tanks is so much fun!

It's funny, but Yurei's arrival has made me feel more appreciation for the animals I already share my life with. There's this feeling of completeness that I've felt for the first time since two of my cats made their journeys to the Rainbow Bridge earlier this year. It doesn't make me miss them any less, but there's a comfort in having someone new to love in addition to the critters still with me.

 

I'm happy for you! Pets are such a sweet part of life.

 

I definitely know that feeling, I lost my 14 and 8 year old dogs at the start of this year. I felt rather empty and knew I needed to focus on something new - and now I have bettas. Like you said, there is comfort in having something new to give your love and attention to.

And I'm jealous, I was eying one of those Top Fin 5.5g tanks that was on sale here but didn't have the money. Let me know what it's like!

 

Thank you, Dayton. I can't imagine not having at least one animal of some kind in the house. Life is definitely better with pets.

I'm so sorry for your losses, Tress. It's so hard to lose a beloved pet, never mind two pets. I lost my two cats in April within a week of each other. Kumo was just shy of five years old, and Bo was only two months away from his ninth birthday. I remember them fondly and miss them every day. The ones we loved and lost live on in our hearts and memories.

I'll definitely update when I get the tank and have it set up. Hopefully I'll like it as much as I like Rakki's Hawkeye 5g!

 

I'm sorry for the loss of your cats, only a week apart must have been heartbreaking... Our two passed a month apart but both were battling sickness for a while.

it's the one with the normal bulb hood right? Not the LED?

 

Thank you, Tress. Only a month apart must have been really hard, too. I'm sorry they were sick, but now they're young and whole and happy at the Rainbow Bridge. That doesn't make it any easier when they're gone, but I like to think we'll see our beloved animals again one day.

Yes, it's the one with the incandescent hood and bulb. Here's a link: http://www.petsmart.com/fish/aquari...in-5.5-gal-aquarium-starter-kit-zid36-17829/cat-36-catid-300013?var_id=36-17829 I like getting the ones that don't have the LEDS so that I can change the bulbs out if I eventually decide to grow plants in my tanks. Right now, Rakki and Yurei each have a little anubias plant, and they seem okay without any special lighting.

 

Today was water change day for Rakki. I meant to do it yesterday, but I was worn out and had a nasty headache building. I put in the little urn thing I got from Petco as a new hide for him. I'm not sure I like how big it looks in the tank, but Rakki's opinion is the one that matters. His anubias plant is floating around right now since the hide took over the old spot where I had the roots loosely covered in sand. I think I'll be buying some fishing line next time I go to the store to anchor the plant. He seems to like it better floating as he's already inspected it and wiggled through the leaves. I turned off his light as his water change so that he can explore the changes more comfortably.

Yurei has been so cute today. He's made a huge bubble nest in his bowl and is sitting on a leaf of his anubias near it to guard his creation. Earlier my fiance was playing with him. He has this "jellyfish" game he likes to play with the fish where he wiggles his hand and fingers to resemble the movement of a jellyfish, and Rakki and Yurei will both chase after it and flare. They're so funny.

I think Yurei might be trying to change colors on me, or at least getting some more color. There's a blue patch on his side that I'm pretty sure wasn't there before.

I'll try to get some pictures later after Rakki has time to explore his tank again.

 

I thought so, that's the same one I was looking at and yea I hate LEDs in tanks to start with.

Haha that's so cute xD I just point my fingers at my guys and they flare, I should try the jellyfish hand!

 

First, here's a picture of Rakki's tank after I changed some of the water and added the new hide and let his plant float. He's peaking over the top of the silk plant on the right side of the tank.

 

And here's Yurei being cute. You can see the big blue patch on his left side in the one of the pictures. I'm fairly sure it wasn't there when I got him. He's also getting more dark spots on his right side.

The last picture is of his latest bubble nest. He seemed pretty proud of it.

Sorry this post got a little photo heavy. I got a little carried away taking pictures of Yurei tonight, haha.

 

Rakki's tank looks lovely! Love the dark blue sand That vase is nice too

 

Thank you, Tress. I'd read that sand is easier to keep clean than gravel, and the only choices at my LPS at the time were black and dark blue. I thought the blue would compliment Rakki's colors better, so blue it was. I still have a lot left, so Yurei will be getting the blue sand in his tank as well. I think it'll look great with his white body and mostly-white fins.

Rakki was being so cute earlier. He mostly ignores the dragon ornament in his tank, but every once in a while he has to circle it several times and flare it into submission again. Now it looks like he's napping in his floating tube. :-D

 

Welcome I have glass stones that colour in one of my tanks so I know what you mean. I think it will definitely look good with Yurei!

Haha that's adorable!

 

I think I'm being paranoid tonight. It seems like Rakki has been spending more time in his floating tube than normal the last few days, so I starting thinking something might be wrong. I added a new little jug from Petco as a hide on Sunday when I did a water change, so I started thinking things like, "Is the jug chipping paint? Is it leaching something into the water?" So I took the jug out for a moment to check it over and sniff it. No bubbling paint, no chipping paint, no weird smells. His temperature and water parameters are fine. Rakki looks like his normal serlf except for deciding to "trim" his tail again. So I guess he's fine. Maybe he's just getting older? I've had him for almost a year and half, and I have no idea how old he was when I rescued him, although I guessed somewhere around nine months to a year. He was already bigger than the bettas you normally see at Walmart, which is where I suspect his first owner bought him. So with that bit of rambling, I conclude he's around two or 2.5 years old.

Now he's zooming around his tank to see what the heck I did. I finally got to see him in his jug for a few seconds! Maybe he knows he scared mom, so he's trying to make up for it by being more active. I love that fish, haha.

I'm becoming more and more sure that Yurei is getting more blue on his body. Other than that, he's still my cute little masked fishy.

That's all that's new on the fish front today. I hope everyone's had a good day!